'Get beyond the pain' Yuffie swung out at the wooden block, sweat in her eyes stang as much as her muscles. She slammed it with what little strength she still had and it shuddered sideways a fraction. Her chest ached and her breathing had degenerated into a series of coughing fits. "Yuffie! Take a break! Have a drink of water!" Rikku called out from the sidelines. Yuffie ignored her and ran toward the next series of blocks. In her mind she saw Rikku's graceful form, diving and ducking. 'Get beyond the pain' Yuffie winced and stumbled across the floor on numb legs. She lashed out at random and caught the corner of something, tipping her balance. Rikku called out again, "You're overdoing it!" Yuffie coughed, the air she forced into her lungs went in like sandpaper. Something hit her side and she spun to meet it, kicked out and was knocked sideways. "Yuffie!" Rikku ran toward her, 'Honestly, who is she trying to impress?' "If she's not fit then she is not fit. There really isn't anything you can do." Skye pulled Rikku back to the sidelines. "I don't want to go alone." Rikku pleaded. "You may have to. We don't have the time to wait." Yuffie staggered toward them and stopped to listen to the conversation for a moment. Her eyes squinted shut as sweat dripped from her forehead. Rikku watched Yuffie panting for breath. Her resignation caused a wave of gloom to fall over her face. Yuffie stood, gasping and coughing, her legs sagging and her face white. "She is not only unfit but unhealthy. She is malnourished still and is not at all ready. We don't know what you will face but she can't face anything in that condition." Rikku nodded. Yuffie wiped at her eyes and saw Rikku's face, it told her everything that the rasping of her chest had blocked. 'They'll leave me behind!' Rikku shook her head at Yuffie. She mouthed, 'I'm sorry.' A fury stared out from behind Yuffie's tired face and Rikku shrank a little under the onslaught. Skye shrugged, "Sorry Yuffie. You're just not ready." Yuffie pinned Skye with an angry stare and yelled, "I'm NOT going to be left behind!" Yuffie stood up straight and glared at Rikku. Yuffie's eyes shot open and flared with life in a sudden surge that screamed through her body and sent Rikku reeling backwards. Yuffie took a deep breath and white light burst from the ground and streamed upwards in a fiery pillar. Rikku's breath was forced from her as the pressure in the room rose. Light flashed, the pressure vanished; Rikku's ears popped and she fell backwards. The glare of the light intensified until Rikku could see red light even through her closed eyes and her hands that covered her face. Roaring rushing white noise crashed down and stunned her. Something sharp brushed her leg, then another, then a series of sharp prickles ran over her skin. She curled up on the floor and it stopped. The light faded. Her ears hummed. She opened her eyes and peeked through her fingers. There were little pieces of wood lying in splinters all around her. She scrambled to her feet. Yuffie stood in the middle of the room amongst a pile of wooden debris. Her eyes shone with fury and fear combined. Rikku felt the blood rush to her stomach, then, as a sly grin crept across Yuffie's face, the blood sank further. Rikku realised she was smiling, "Wow!" Yuffie punched the air. Skye was still huddled in a corner with his clipboard over his head. "Pass! PASS! Make it STOP!" ***************************** Zidane sat with Blitzen and listened to the sketchy details of their recent efforts to follow the ghosts. "This one didn't just disappear like the others. It … sort of sank…" Zidane remained silent. "Sank like a brick in mud… and … like I said… everything was just dying around it… dying and falling and … horrible." 'So I wasn't seeing things.' The park bench they sat at, under one of the trees Zidane had seen die earlier, was shaded by the thick canopy of green leaves. "I don't know what's going on any more. The little one got away. It was really upset. I mean, it … it was just a kid, they were both just kids. That… horrid thing just sliced …" Blitzen stopped and covered his face. Zidane put an arm around his shoulders and remained silent. ******************************** Eiko frowned at the little ghost girl who was huddled in the corner of her room, holding the little toy in her trembling arms. She cried in little gasps and stared up at Eiko. "It's gunna come for me now." "What is?" "The… coshes .. ense… the one what…" she stopped and dissolved into tears. "The what?" Eiko scanned her room for a suitable weapon. She wondered if, being a ghost, a healing spell would kill it. "I don't wanna die." The little ghost sobbed. "I'll fight it for you. I'll get it." Eiko stated. The little ghost stared up at her and then looked down at the floor. Fat tears rolled down her pudgy cheeks, she took a shaky little breath. "Why does it want to kill you? Anyway you're a ghost too!" Eiko sat by the shivering girl and questioned her last remark. The girl seemed real enough here and now. "I don't know. 'cause I was bad." Eiko tilted her head at the girl, "Bad? How?" The girl closed her eyes, "I don't know. That's what it said. The other ones what got killed said that too. I wasn't really bad was I?" "But if you're a ghost then…" Eiko stopped, 'You're already dead.' "I'm not a ghost!" "What? Then what are you?" The little girl looked up, her face contorted with the mental effort of trying to remember what others had told her, "I'm a part of the arky… tie… arky type… arky type. That's what we all was." Eiko paused and wondered which of the thousand questions to ask next. "Arky Type? What on earth is that? And what's the other one?" "The other one isn't apposed to be here. It got in coz … um… it … well the others said it wasn't apposed to be here. Consey Ness. Not apposed to be in here. I don't know why!" Eiko sighed. It was no use getting anything useful out of the little kid. "They said… if it killed us… everything would be dead! But… they said it was gunna die too! I don't wanna die! I don't want everything to die!" The words were a jolt of electricity that slammed through Eiko's body as the words repeated in her mind. She swallowed the acid back into her stomach and staggered up. The floor tilted and swayed as she ran out of the room. ********************************************* Blitzen stood and gave Zidane a halfhearted salute. Zidane nodded him away. He watched the traumatised man wander back to the castle. "All the pieces… all the pieces are there. All the pieces are right there. And it still makes no sense." There was nothing to go with, no despot to laugh and divulge their evil plan. 'The only possibility would be to get information out of that ghost.' Zidane froze at this thought. He ran it over his tongue, "Information out of the ghost." 'Ghosts ghosts ghosts… first in our heads and now out here!! Did something let one free? Did they decide to take over the world? Why are they killing each other?' "ZIDANE!!" Eiko collided with Zidane as he stood up. She clung to his leg and buried her face in his side. "The ghost said it was going to kill everything!" "You saw the ghost?" Zidane pulled Eiko up into his arms and looked at her pale face. She nodded. 'Ahh, familiar territory at last,' Zidane thought. "Where was it?" He glanced back at the bedrooms; somewhere up there Garnet was asleep. "It's in my room! It's not the bad one. It's just a little girl. She told me." Zidane took a breath. 'She was talking to Eiko?' "The bad one will kill her too. She said it was killing everything. We gotta stop it!" Eiko continued. Zidane paused. Something was itching at his mind with furious intensity. Ghosts… ghosts… "They weren't ghosts! They were memories!" He remembered and dropped Eiko. "HEY! Thanks a lot! Owww…" Eiko picked herself off the ground and rubbed at her backside. "Now what does that mean?" He continued to think as he wandered back to the house, "Whose memories are these? And why have they escaped?" Eiko trailed behind, "Memories? What of? Anyway… that's not what she said she was… she wouldn't even tell me her name." ******************************** Training was over for Rikku and Yuffie. Training was also over for everyone else. It would be for some time seeing as the training room had been reduced to so much kindling by Yuffie's magic. Rikku stood at the entrance to their flat while Harriet fetched their copy of the key. Yuffie grinned at her. She could see the grin out of the corner of her eyes. It had been there for hours, catching her eye at every opportunity and carving its name on her mind. "I think I'll have a shower when we get inside." Rikku mumbled. Yuffie leered at her and nodded. Rikku nodded back, at a loss for what to say. Even so, her heart was pounding its own message. Rikku returned her gaze to her feet. She could feel Yuffie grinning at her even then. "Ahhhhhh here we go ducks!" Harriet crunched across the gravel and paused halfway. She looked up at the tree in the middle of the courtyard. The once green leaves were streaked with decay. "That thing is sick. Must be." "Thanks." Rikku opened the door to the flat and wandered inside, feeling Yuffie's grin on her back. She stopped and stared at the bedrooms. One was now missing a bed. It looked like a small study with two desks and chairs. The remaning bedroom now had one large bed. "Um…" Rikku started to talk then saw Yuffie's leer. It had gone to overdrive, a look of smug achievement. "Well I'll leave you two alone to… uh…get acquainted … with each other… I MEAN WITH THE FLAT!! Ahhh! Ohdearlord… I'll just be out here watering the tree… with a hose." Harriet blushed red and scurried out. ************************** Zidane was halfway to Garnet's room when a huge hand landed on his shoulder and shook him from his daydream. He turned around. Steiner's glare hit him full in the face. "We need to talk." "You're back! What happened?" "Get the girls." Zidane turned again. Eiko dodged out of his way and he ran into the small child who had been standing behind her. She toppled backwards and squealed. "Hey! It's the girl!" Eiko picked the child off the floor. Zidane knelt down and looked the girl over. She stared back with intense apprehension. "Hey! You there!" Steiner yelled out, Zidane looked up. The cloaked ghost killer was walking with purposeful slow stride down the corridor toward them. She drew her sword and held it out. Steiner drew his own and tried to knock her sword out of her hands with a slash - but it sailed right through. "That one is a ghost. The rest were real." Zidane pushed the two girls behind his back. Steiner readjusted his stance and lunged out again at the approaching ghost. Her whole body was translucent and greyed. Again his sword sailed through hers, and through her arm. She payed him no attention and walked on. "I'm sure the kid wasn't so real before…" Eiko mumbled to herself, she reached out and prodded the little girl's arm. "I don't want to die!" The girl began to cry. The ghost's sword passed through Zidane's body and halted at the little girl's neck. She hesitated and watched the girl cry. Zidane and Eiko could see a little of her face and it's gloomy sad eyes. "Stop this at once!" Steiner yelled to no avail. The ghost lifted her sword. She mouthed the word 'sorry' as she held the sword high over her head. "Please don't." A little voice caused the ghost to lower her sword and look about her. Another little kid had appeared out of nowhere. This one had dark skin and short light brown hair and green eyes. Unlike the one who hid behind Zidane. The ghost girl stepped toward the new girl. "NO! Run away! She'll kill you too!" The little girl yelled out from behind Zidane. "Wake up." The dark skinned girl said. The ghost vanished. ****************************** Yuffie stared. And stared. She glanced at Rikku who now stood by the sink looking out of the kitchen window and then her gaze returned to the little ball of white on the floor of the bathroom. She swallowed. Rikku hadn't noticed at all. 'If I just pick them up… I can give them back.' Yuffie was stuck by a sudden brainwave. "Hey Rikku I might have a shower too!" She slammed the door of the bathroom behind her and looked again at the little pile of white. 'I wonder if she dropped them deliberately… for me to find them.' Rikku sighed. Training was exhausting enough for her, let alone for Yuffie. She replayed the scene in her mind. 'What kind of magic was that?' She shrugged and wandered to their bedroom. She stood by the door for a moment and considered the bed. Waves of guilt followed her thoughts; to reach out and just accidentally brush against her skin, to feel her breath on her face, smell her. 'I can't do that to her, it's like … abuse.' Rikku picked up the pile of clothes she'd changed out of and tossed them into the clothes hamper. She sighed again and looked. There was something missing. She couldn't hear the shower going so she just yelled out, "Hey Yuffie you dressed?" "Hm? Yeh." Yuffie answered somewhat dreamily. Rikku opened the door of the bathroom, "I think I dropped my…" She stopped and stared. And stared. At Yuffie holding something white against her face. "…underwear … in … what are you doing?!" Yuffie's face was a deep shade of red; she held the pants out to Rikku "I found them?" "I uh… might go for a walk… or something." Rikku took them and wandered out of the bathroom. She closed the door with a gentle click. Yuffie slumped. "Suppose I might as well have a shower now." **************************** Zidane, Steiner and Eiko stood in a little group, in silence, while the dark skinned girl spoke to them. "It won't work twice. The next time she won't be able to. I know. We're going back. There are two more. They're the only ones who can fight now. I can still help but only until she decides to let go. Then I'll die." "You can't!!" The little girl squealed and grabbed the dark skinned girl, hugging her tight. "Wait! What? Who are you two?! Who is that ghost?!" Steiner jumped up and down in a frantic fit. "Steiner, I'll explain later. The other two, Rikku and Yuffie?" Zidane asked. The two girls nodded. Steiner stomped his foot, "Just what is going on!?" ********************* By the time Yuffie emerged from the shower Rikku had gone. She sat on the edge of their bed and collapsed onto it. Pieces of conversation drifted past like feathers on the breeze. They swirled away as Yuffie's mind was free to expand in the absence of other people. She allowed herself to sink down into the deep. 'I wonder if my old man is worried…' down in the dark she knew the answer. 'Silly old coot… sorry.' Yuffie floated for a while, quiet and thoughtless. The image of Rikku stirred her heartbeat from its restful slow pace every time it appeared. 'She's the coolest… she's so hot… she's so sad… I bet I could make her happy… I wish she liked me… wish she liked me… wish she was in love with me… wonder if she ever will… wonder why she doesn't.' Yuffie took a deep breath and sat up. Once the fog had cleared she wandered back out of the room and stood in front of the mirror that had been propped up in the lounge area. Her skinny frame was discomforting. Her eyes, she noticed, were just as sad as Rikku's. She imagined Rikku holding her tight. "Hey there good looking… you wanna play a little game?" Yuffie jumped backwards. It was Rikku, in the mirror. The mirror Rikku winked and beckoned with her finger. Yuffie took another step backwards. "Awww don't be like that! Come and play with me. I'm allll alone and I need your help…" "You're not real." Yuffie mumbled. The mirror Rikku pouted at her. "Ptish, who cares! Anyway… I'm what you wanted right? Come on cutie… I neeeed you to come over here… and," mirror Rikku ran her hands over her body, dressed in a buttoned top and shorts, "undo alllllll these mean buttons that I just cant undo!" Mirror Rikku pouted again and made a feeble pretend attempt at one of the buttons. Yuffie stepped a little closer, "But I can't… you're in there!" "Try it! Go on… pleeease?" Mirror Rikku pressed herself up against the glass. Yuffie reached out and pressed a finger against the cold hard surface of the mirror. The image of Rikku giggled, "Ohh! Ticklish! Come on Yuffie!" "I can't… it's just a mirror!" Yuffie knelt by the mirror and ran her hand along the surface. In her mind she could almost feel Rikku's hot skin, smell her like she had in the bathroom. "Don't be a spoilsport! Look, I'll start…" Mirror Rikku unbuttoned the first few buttons of her top, grinning at Yuffie. "Now you do the rest!" Yuffie reached out again, her hand shaking a little, and touched the glass. She ran her finger down the surface while the image of Rikku giggled and undid more buttons. Yuffie felt the fire inside grow. Mirror Rikku giggled again while her top slid to the floor. Mirror Rikku, bereft of her top, traced her fingers down her stomach toward her shorts, she undid the first button and stopped, "Go on… unzip me… go on… do it," she whispered. Yuffie reached for the glass again, her hands shaking so much she could barely control where they went. She traced her finger down Rikku's stomach, though her fingertip slid down the cold hard glass. Rikku groaned under the pretend touch. "Oh man…" Yuffie lifted her hand when the aching inside her became so intense it hurt. "Hey Yuffie… undo yours… I wanna see. Go on." Mirror Rikku's finger slid across the glass surface, down toward Yuffie's shorts. Yuffie took a breath and fumbled with the button on her own shorts. Mirror Rikku giggled and pressed herself against the glass, "Come here and hold me." Yuffie nodded, all thought had gone elsewhere, she pressed herself up against the glass. Her face was against the image of Rikku's. Yet it was still cold. Mirror Rikku licked her lips, "Kiss me." Yuffie licked her own lips but stopped. 'I don't want to kiss cold glass.' "I wish you were the real Rikku." Yuffie pulled away as the tears welled. Mirror Rikku smiled and winked, "I am!" She pointed behind Yuffie, who turned to see Rikku standing behind her. "ARGH!" Yuffie fell backwards, "I mean… Um… I was just… You s… ahhhhhhh!" "I came back." Rikku stared at the mirror image of herself, who now stared sheepishly at the floor. The mirror image faded until Rikku could see her own tranced expression. The memory was already floating away from reach, like a dream. Yuffie scrambled herself to her feet and forced out a laugh, "Ah… I didn't hear you come in! Oh man… did you… see… much?" Rikku walked past Yuffie and sat on the side of the bed. Her mind was frozen. She fought to even think her own name. She could hear her thoughts being driven without her control, 'She's just curious. Leave it. She's lonely. She was just fooling around, its not like it is for you.' Yuffie sat next to Rikku, "Are you okay?" She watched Rikku's eyes flickering as she stared into nothing. "Hey? Are you okay?" Yuffie shook Rikku's shoulders. Rikku turned to look at her. She shrugged, "Yeh. I'm okay." The trance left her eyes and she blinked. "Um…so um." Yuffie wondered how she would explain what Rikku had walked in on. What she'd said replayed in her mind, 'I wish you were the real Rikku.' "Hey Rikku … did you hear what I said to that mirror image… which was of you?" Yuffie felt the need to point out. "No?" "Oh… well I" "HELLO?" Steiner's voice broke the moment and was followed by a loud thumping on the door, "IS ANYONE HOME?" "I don't understand any of this!" Rikku's eyes overflowed and she began to cry. Zidane called out, "Hello?" Yuffie got up and ran to the door, "Listen we're busy okay? What?" "This is important! You are required to meet with his Majes" "Knock it off Rusty! Hey Yuffie, we really need to talk!" "Immediately!" Yuffie sighed and turned, Rikku got up and walked toward them, wiping her eyes, "I'll be okay." Yuffie opened the door. She glared out at the gathered people. They stared back. "Uhhh…" Zidane coughed and turned his head, "I'm sorry to intrude …" "GOOD LORD! Uh… Uh… Uh… Young Lady. You are Undone!" Steiner covered his eyes and pointed at Yuffie. "Huh? What did I do!?" Eiko smirked and snorted. Rikku touched Yuffie's arm, "Your shorts…" Yuffie looked down to see her shorts, the zipper wide open, "Ahh! Hahahahaha?!" ***************** Garnet was well enough to join the group for their emergency meeting. Beatrix and the chief of police were also attending. They were joined by the two children, Eiko and a team of people from the airship. Rikku and Yuffie sat alongside the two young girls. Neither had offered a name. "This is the situation." Steiner rolled a sheet of paper out on the table. A sketchy image, huge gaping gaps in the ground like an open wound, was drawn on it. "Whole area is just a mess." Beatrix said quietly, "Like a nightmare." "That's the island?" Zidane stood up and leaned over the drawing. "It's red like blood. The island is like a torn hole in the ground. That growth we saw earlier is dying. It's terrible. It smells like death there. We had nowhere to land." "It was just dirt and rocks!" Yuffie yelled. "Not any more." "That's our fault. Because we're not supposed to be here." The little dark skinned girl stated. "How come?" The other little girl asked. "We will go back as soon as we can, we needed to hide you here. For long enough. I'm still not sure it was long enough." The dark skinned girl continued, staring at Rikku and Yuffie. 'Finally,' thought Zidane, 'someone who can explain this mess.' "Who are you two? Do you have names?" Steiner snapped. Both girls remained silent for a moment. The dark skinned girl shrugged, "No." "She is going to say goodbye. She will return to finish what she started." The dark skinned girl said and closed her eyes. "So we have to stop her right?" Rikku stared at the girls. "Finish what?" Steiner pounded his fist on the table. "She wants to kill everything!" Eiko yelled. The little girl at her side frowned. "What do we have to do with this?" Rikku asked. "We're the ones that kick butt! There's always the ones who kick butt! We're it!" Yuffie exclaimed, punching the air. "There were thousands, but you're the only two left now. She is lost. This is the only way she knows. That's the link she is trying to break. Even I don't know what that was… but she…" The girl slumped forward onto the table. "Are you okay?" "She is … saying… goodbye…" the dark skinned girl's body faded, she tried to speak one last time but was gone before the words emerged. The other little girl screamed out and clung to Eiko. Zidane stood up and stared at the vacant seat. 'This can't be happening! The only one who knew what was going on!' "Who was that? Kid? Who was that?" Eiko wriggled the little girl's shoulders. She continued to sob unabated. The child stopped sobbing and gulped for air for a moment, "I don't feel well… I think I should go back now." "Back where?" Eiko asked. The girl pointed at the map, "That's where this goes." Steiner sighed and rolled up the sheet of paper, "I don't think we are ever going to understand what is going on here. It said, that girl said, you two are involved." He glared at Rikku and Yuffie. Both shrugged. Zidane stood up and stretched, "Should we go back to the island? We can lower these three down there. If that's where they need to go." "Why? Need to go? For what?" Steiner yelled. "What's down there?" Eiko asked the girl. She wriggled the girl's shoulders again. The little girl wiped her arm across her face, "The arky type is down in there. Way down. I think she's sick too now… because the consyness is sick." "Archetype? Like the plans for something? Wait… she? It's a person?" Garnet spoke up, sitting with her head propped on her hand. "We can lower you all down on ropes if you need to get back there… to this …" Zidane stopped. He could feel his understanding hit the edge of a cliff. "Consciousness?" The little girl looked up at him, "Yeh. She's sick. I think. Ali told me. She was sick and lost. And tchapped." "Whose consciousness? That doesn't make any sense, why would it be a ghost?" "She's not apposed to be here! … and Ali said it's not like sleeping." The little girl started to cry again. "Who's Ali?" Eiko popped her arm around the girl's shoulders. The girl looked over at the now empty seat. "Her? She said she had no name." "I called her that…I want her to come back!" ******************************* Zidane watched from the deck of the airship as the supplies were loaded. He watched someone carry the mirror on board as he had requested. He wasn't even sure they were doing the right thing. This time, there didn't seem to be a plan. The more he thought the sleepier he felt. The air, even outside, had become stale and heavy. He looked out over the once green and now grey fields, over the once blue and now grey water. The sky, overcast and foggy, was darkening. Zidane's stomach twisted at the sight of it. People were scarce now. Last he'd heard they were falling asleep or hiding. 'Somewhere, under all this… something is dying. Or being killed. Or sick. But it's taking us all with it. And that other… has something to do with it.' He kicked at the railing and sighed. The ship rocked slowly. Someone was pre-starting it. 'One day of travel and then what?' *************************** Yuffie stared out over the railing at the land below as it drifted past. Each paddock a little greyer and sicker than the last. Empty towns with brown trees. She leaned her head down on her arms and watched clouds drift past above. Even the sky wasn't blue any more. "I'm going to take Rikku home after this is over." She giggled at the thought. Then saw her father's face. "He'll probably kick me out." She sighed. "Hey there…" Rikku wandered up to Yuffie and looked out over the balcony at the brown lands below. Streaked with black and grey in lines that grew thicker as they travelled. "Hey Rikku," Yuffie paused. The words didn't seem to want to emerge. "Hmm?" "Um… anyway. Never mind. My dumb old man. I was just wondering stuff that's all. Hey. I never told you … he wants me to get married." Yuffie turned her head to face Rikku's. "Oh?" Rikku felt her stomach drop, down into the brown below, 'Of course. That's how it always goes, she's going to tell me she really loves him after all.' "He's a daft old coot. I never wanted to get married. That's why I left. Yuck! Can you imagine? … yuck!" Yuffie scoffed, "All these guys kept coming to meet me. And then the daft git said if they beat me in the Tower Challenge they could marry me! So I had to fight day after day and of course I win but … geez. All day every day. Made me sick of it. I used to love it. Yuck I mean … Hey! You get to marry a girl though right? Hey Rikku, you reckon you will marry a girl?" Yuffie stood up and watched Rikku lean her chin on the balcony. Rikku watched the land drift past, "One day a man will come along and you'll fall in love. Just like everyone else." She stood up and walked back inside. She sighed, "I gotta stop thinking of stuff like that now. Time to concentrate on the job Rikku okay? Concentrate! No more worrying about Yuffie. She'll get one of those guys and it will all be over. Gone. Leave it." Yuffie stared after her, mouth open. Mind racing. She blinked tears from her eyes, "I don't want to fall in love with some guy! I want to fall in love with her…" She blinked. The tears stopped. She took a deep breath. "I want to be like her!" Rikku was halfway to the sleeping quarters when Yuffie caught her up, "Hey Rikku! I wanna be like you! Guys are gross!" Rikku stopped and grabbed at her shoulders, "You can't just choose! You can't just decide to be like that. You can't just fall in love because you decided to! You don't get it! I never wanted to be like this! I hate it!!" Rikku shoved Yuffie backwards and ran into the nearest room, slamming the door. Yuffie stood still. She wandered back outside and sat by the railing. The tears returned. "I don't wanna marry a guy! I wish I was like her!" She drifted back to when she had first run away. "Love is for sappy losers," she had yelled on her way out of town, over and over. Yuffie buried her head in her knees, "I wanna love. I wanna love her!… she hates it? How? She gets to kiss girls! That's so cool! I wish I could kiss girls… kiss her. I'd kiss her. I'd kiss and kiss and kiss!" Yuffie felt a smile start in her stomach. A memory emerged, she remembered the words she'd spat at her father, "Kissing is gross and sick! Who'd wanna kiss?! Sick! Gross! Yuck! I can't think of anything sicker!" "I never did want to kiss guys…never thought of kissing a girl before I met her." Yuffie sank to the floor and felt the ship sink down a little. Sunlight stang her skin. She closed her eyes. "I never liked guys! I suppose that means…" ******************** Zidane watched another tear drop from his cheek to the world below. They had flown a long way into the dead area now. A trail of them had fallen from the start of the journey, lost into the dark black land below. In a sudden lurch the ship tilted sideways and dropped height. Zidane made a desperate grab for the edge and held on. "WOAH!" Something flashed below him. He felt the pressure wave before the sound hit. ***************** Yuffie collected herself from the ball she'd curled up in when the explosion below had hit. She ran inside and confronted the first person she saw, "WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?!" The crewmember shrugged and continued running down the corridor. Yuffie ran behind and met up with Eiko, who stopped, opened her mouth and pointed at Yuffie. "What?" Yuffie stopped and stared at the girl. Eiko opened and closed her mouth a few times. "Yuffie! What w… what the?" Zidane ran up to Yuffie and stopped. He stared. "What?!" Yuffie glanced behind her, nothing there. "Um… okay. Well that's good I suppose." Zidane squinted at her and shook his head. "WHAT?!" "You're not skinny any more! You got better!" Eiko stated. "Whhhhhhhaaaaaaaat?" Yuffie looked down at herself. She held her hands out and looked them over. A little less bony perhaps? She gave Zidane a critical glance, "You're not going mad are you?" "Go see for yourself," he pointed down the hall toward the bathrooms. He took a breath and collected his stomach from where it had hidden in his chest. Yuffie wandered past Steiner who clattered up the corridor like a metal typhoon, "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?" "Everything under control sir!" someone yelled from the other end. Yuffie stared at herself in the mirror. She remembered how shocked she was to see her skinniness when she'd looked at herself in the flat. Now she just looked normal. "I don't get it! This is what I always look like!" She tilted her head and looked again, "Course I'm hot too!" She grinned; something caught her attention and sent a small spark through her. Those eyes, weren't the sad eyes she'd seen before, they were full of life and fire. The grin spread. She punched at the air "Gunna kick arse!!" ***************** "How can she just pretend like that? Doesn't she know how much it hurts?" Rikku curled up on the deck of the airship, watching the land flow past underneath. Every so often a small spark of light streaked past them like the fuse of a bomb. "She wouldn't understand anyway." "I do understand. Rikku? I wasn't pretending!" Yuffie knelt down beside Rikku and put her hand on her shoulder. Rikku twisted away, "Don't." "Rikku I'm like you!" Yuffie pulled Rikku toward her. "Stop it! You're not! You're just… you're just confused!" Rikku twisted out of Yuffie's grip and crawled away from her. Pain seared through her head like ice and fire, she sank to the floor of the deck. "I am not confused. Rikku?" Yuffie edged toward Rikku. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" Rikku yelled. Yuffie stopped. 'I thought I did… didn't I?' She watched Rikku for a moment. Rikku winced, the pain spread through her body. She could see where her thoughts wanted to go, but the pain was like a barrier. It was easier to not go there. Easier to sink back into the dark. "Yuffie, you don't know anything about the way I am." Rikku sighed. The pain eased. 'Why is it like this?' "I … thought I did!" Yuffie stepped backwards. But she knew now. Like she knew the sky was blue. Rikku sat up and glared at Yuffie. She could see, even from the dark place she was in, where her mind wanted to be. She could feel the sharp edge of something else, the mental wall she was used to her thoughts being slammed against. 'Why can't I believe her?' "Yuffie? I want to believe you. I really do." Rikku closed her eyes on the girl she knew she loved. Her image stayed through her shut eyes. She felt Yuffie's hands on her shoulders and Yuffie's warm breath on her cheek. "You'll believe me. I'll prove it to you. I promise. I'll never give up until you believe me." Yuffie brushed Rikku's hair from her face and leaned closer. "Yuffie… you can't just suddenly decide to be like this. You just can't." Rikku clung onto the last piece of logic she could find, wanting Yuffie to break her free from it. "Hey! I worked that out too Rikku. I never like guys. I just never thought about it. I never really understood it. But then you come along and suddenly there's another way. And it felt good. Felt like … felt like…" Yuffie sniffed and wiped her face along her sleeve, "It felt right." Rikku waited. She replayed the words in her head. She waited for something to happen. The wall remained. 'I don't understand. I should believe her by now.' "Rikku?" Yuffie edged closer to Rikku and put her arm around her shoulders, "Its because of you. The way I feel about you. I uh…" Yuffie felt the blush burst onto her cheeks. She took a deep breath, 'Okay, gunna say it!' "Rikku? You're … the coolest most awesome person I ever met. I mean, I mean… I don't know that much about you n all but…I reckon I know you pretty good too. The way I feel… I never felt like this before. Never thought much about love before. But… you're… um… I mean…" Yuffie stopped. She looked down at Rikku. It came so easily then. "I love you." Rikku held her breath, Yuffie's imploring eyes gazed down at her. 'This is where I get it … right? And everything is good again? … this is the part where this feeling goes away… why wont it go away!' The disbelief, the pain and the disconnection remained. Yuffie noticed the look in her eyes. "You don't believe me do you." 'I want to believe her. I want to believe her! Why cant I !?' Yuffie leaned close to Rikku and whispered, "I never wanted to kiss anyone before," touching her lips to Rikku's cheek. She touched her lips to Rikku's cheek again and held them there. Yuffie reached up and stroked the side of Rikku's face. She edged closer, until she pressed her body against Rikku's. Real this time. No glass, just soft, just warm, just hot. Just intense and so real. Yuffie pulled Rikku closer, ignoring the protests of her knees on the hard wooden floor. The fire made her body shake, made her breathe in gasps, it burned, it ached. She held her lips just a fraction from Rikku's and tasted her breath for a moment. 'I wanted my first kiss to be something special. And I feel like I'm on another planet to her. Doesn't feel real at all.' Rikku swallowed the tears down. 'Maybe if I just go along with it for a bit. Maybe I just need this kiss and I'll be okay.' Yuffie touched her lips against Rikku's. They tickled against her own. Gentle soft kisses, each one a thousand times more powerful than the last. Then Rikku kissed back. A wave of energy caught Yuffie by surprise, she found herself pulling Rikku closer, sounds she never knew she had in her emerged from deep within. Rikku closed her eyes. 'I should be going crazy. I should be totally into this. This isn't working at all. Why?' A sudden searing stab of pain hit Rikku in the back of her head. She screamed and curled up, Yuffie fell backwards, "What's wrong?! What happened?!" "I don't understand!!" Rikku cried out, the pain scraped it's way down the inside of her body, killing the sensation of pleasure she had almost felt. "WHY… WON'T … YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" someone screamed from behind the girls. Yuffie looked over her shoulder. The ghost woman stood with her sword raised. "I wanted to die clean. LEAVE ME ALONE! WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!" She screamed again and coughed, Yuffie saw splatters of blood land on the wood. "I thought if I ignored you, you would go away. But you just keep COMING BACK!" "I've never even met you before!" Yuffie looked from the ghost to Rikku, who was still curled up and wincing. "It doesn't matter who you are!" The woman glared with wild glazed eyes, "IT'S THE SAME THING EVERY TIME! Sick Fucking Freak!" She slammed the sword down; Yuffie grabbed at Rikku and rolled her out of the way. She looked back at the ghost to see her holding the sword that was now embedded in her leg. "It doesn't even hurt any more. It never helped… never changed… it will rot in hell where it belongs." The ghost wrenched the sword free and coughed more blood onto the floor. "Why are you doing this!?" Rikku yelled, close to blacking out from the pain. The ghost glared at her in mock disbelief, "Oh my God, they TALK NOW? WHY ARE YOU TALKING TO ME? I AM NOT LISTENING!" She slammed the sword down again and hit the deck, which splintered and buckled. She hauled the sword up and brought it down again. More planks shattered. ******************* Eiko pulled the girls thumb out of her mouth again. She giggled and popped it back. They were bored. Not allowed to leave their room for a while. Eiko sighed. "Hey, kid, did that ghost lady ever say to you why she was killing people?" The girl pouted, "Nup. She just keep arksing me the same keschen over and over." "What does she ask?" "She arkses me if someone hurts me. She says someone must of. I don't remember. I said no and she said I never remember." "Someone hurt you?" Eiko paused. 'What an odd question!' "I don't fink so. Nobody ever hurt me. I did get smacked for tipping paint down the stair well but she said that wasn't it. She said if anyone ever did stuff that I wasn't allowed to say. I don't know what she was talking about!" "How do you mean?" "She said to tell her all my most secrets. And I did! But she said they wasn't it. That was all my secrets. She said I wasn't telling her. I did too! She got mad at me." Eiko sighed. It had gone from confusing to just abstract. The little girl gave her a humph and said, "I wish I never growed up." "It's not so bad kid. Really!" Eiko said absently. "Yes it is! I turned into her!" "Oh you… WHAT?!" Eiko leapt up and glared at the girl. She looked back at Eiko and her little chin wobbled. "Are you mad at me too?" *********************** Crew had gathered around the stern of the airship. Silent in their despair at the landscape behind them. Decayed brown trees, empty towns and dying fields drifted under the ship. Far behind the sky had lost all colour, the land was black. Occasional sparks of light surged from the dark, past the ship and zoomed out in the same direction the ship was headed. As far as the horizon stretched, death reached out in a giant black tide. "June." One crewmember whispered the name of his lover. ************************ "Zidane! Wait!" Eiko called out to Zidane. He stopped and turned, "You're supposed to stay in your room." "It's her! The little girl and the ghost are the same person!" Eiko had lost most of the colour in her face. She was on the verge of tears. Zidane nodded. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he already knew. Pieces were floating around inside and every so often one would fit into a gap. "Why?" Eiko sniffed, "I thought she was my friend." "She is. People change." "But she said, the girl said that the ghost keeps asking her if someone hurt her… and she says no-one did. I don't get it. Why would she care?" Zidane stopped. Another piece entered the melee. He shrugged, "I don't know." Somewhere inside, they clattered and clunked and formed pictures that spoke without words. A feeling of an idea. He continued on his way outside. He needed to keep moving, keep his body occupied while he thought. He opened the outside door, "Go back inside and talk to her more okay?" Eiko nodded and returned to her room. Zidane watched her leave, not wanting her to see the devastation outside. Though it tore his own heart to see. Eiko stumbled on the floor, dizzy now as well as out of breath, her heart raced from the growing panic. She felt a sudden wave of pain, the air became heavy, hard to breathe. ***************** The ghost woman was a mess. She was dying as fast as the land. Curled up on the deck, bleeding from the wounds she had cut in her own body. "What's happening? Why are you doing this? Why is everything dying?" Yuffie asked. "It is the only way now. You'll die and be gone. How it should be." Rikku closed her eyes and rested her head on Yuffie's shoulder. They left the ghost woman to her mania at the front of the ship and stood by the railing, watching the land under them fall from view. Cascading like water into the gaping, growing crevasse that snaked it's way to every horizon. 'Maybe … just maybe... I could have… if things weren't like this… I might of believed eventually…' She tried to think, but the pain stabbed it's warning. "There you are. How a…" Zidane's gaze moved from the girls to the ground and it's demise. He felt his stomach sink. A light flashed and caught his eye; he looked up again and saw the ghost approaching. She was sicker than before, yellow skinned and a zombie's tranced glare. Rikku stumbled forwards and reached for the sword, her hand passed though it. "How can we fight if we can't touch her?" ******************** The ship headed out over the widening gap in the land, the island long gone. Neither of the girls could see far into it, the sunlight was fading fast, the sun itself was dying. The ghost woman stared out at the death below in silence. "I'm not afraid of death. And if I'm cursed enough to take you to my grave then so be it." "There are lights down there… I think… looks like there are some kind of platforms… hard to see… you might have somewhere to land." Zidane squinted at the gap, it was as though it were out of focus somehow, hard to look at without his mind wanting to turn inside out. "So be it." The woman held her sword up and hauled herself onto the railings. Zidane looked up at her just as she jumped. "Woah!" Yuffie watched her slice through the air, an un-natural glide down. "Are you going in after her?" Zidane asked. Rikku glared at him, "Down THERE?!" "Whatever you think is best." "I don't know." Rikku took a deep breath and forced out worries of the pain that seared itself across her head. "I suppose we have to try…" Zidane walked to the stern of the ship, stepped over the sleeping bodies of the crewmembers and pulled a rope from the deck. He could feel himself slipping away, just enough left to hold on and act. "Rope ladder, down into the gap. You can stop her. I …" Zidane hooked the rope around the railing and watched it sail out over the blackness as he sunk to his knees. He saw Yuffie's determined eyes flare like the sun just before he closed his eyes. *************** Eiko shook Garnet's shoulders, she remained slumped across the chair she had almost fallen out of. Beatrix lay on the floor, unmoving. Eiko cried out and found herself more out of breath than when she had arrived running. It wasn't getting better. She blinked and sent another wave of tears down her cheeks. Her chest began to ache; she curled up next to Garnet and shook her shoulder once more. "Wake up… wake up, I'm scared, wake up, I'm scared I don't want to die, wake up." The pain stung at the back of her throat, down her body in agonising pulses. She clung to Garnet's hand and closed her eyes. The pain faded as she sunk into unconsciousness, just as she felt herself slip away, the hand she held squeezed back just a little. *************** "What happened? Zidane? Are you okay?" Rikku knelt by Zidane's unmoving body and held his head in her hands. "Come on! We have to stop her!" Yuffie held onto the rope ladder and climbed over the railing. Rikku looked down at the pulsating dim lights below, "I don't like this." She waited until Yuffie was a little of the way down the ladder before making her own shaky way over the railing. The dark grey air was still. It had long lost its freshness. Rikku looked down at Yuffie's head, bobbing it's way down the ladder. "Hey Rikku! There are bits of land still down here. It's a long way down though, the ladder doesn't reach far enough!" Rikku climbed back up a few rungs just as the ship began to sink. Rikku yelped and clung to the ladder. She looked up at the ship and saw something break loose and fall free. Then another. "Oh no! It's falling apart!" The ship sank faster as it broke up, almost gracefully slow. "Hey, we're nearly there! It's like … water or something…" Yuffie called out, she was right at the end of the ladder, swinging out over the abyss. What little light remained shimmered over the surface of what appeared to be water. "We're getting really close now!" Yuffie called out again. Rikku lowered herself down until her foot was on the same rung as Yuffie's hand. Yuffie reached the hand up and gave Rikku's foot a quick squeeze. She lifted herself up a rung and planted a quick peck on Rikku's leg. Rikku felt her heart jump, a smile assaulted her face. 'Maybe I can do this.' She let the thought sneak itself in un-worded, to avoid the pain. It settled in her mind and created a small warm glow, a tiny light. The ship sank faster. "Going to have to jump soon okay? Then we need to swim out of the way or we'll be crushed." Yuffie called out. "Okay." Rikku tried to focus on the water's surface. The light had all but gone. Somewhere above them both the bulk of the airship was drifting down, falling apart. Their friends aboard it. To think about it brought more pain, of a different sort, to Rikku's stomach. 'I hope, somehow, they will be okay.' "Okay! Jump!" Yuffie called out, she threw herself off the ladder and sailed from it. Rikku watched her fall, slower than she expected. Then she waited for the splash. It didn't come. Rikku let go and felt herself floating for a moment. Then a windless, silent fall. A sudden flash of light, a rush of air, awful chaotic noise, abstract shapes flared with colour and faded. Cold and hot wind rushed over her skin, a thousand sounds faded. Rikku fell faster. She watched the surface of the water zoom away above her head. Across it shimmered thousands of tiny flashes of light. As pieces of the airship fell they broke into a firework. Something crashed into a loud cacophony of noise and light. Nothing sank below the surface… all but one vague shape. Rikku noticed that she now fell through a dimly glowing landscape of tangled vines, dead and dying. Larger ones twisted through the mess. Vague shades of blue and purple. Arms bound around her body and she fell into them. Yuffie cried out, "Hey! It wasn't water!" and held Rikku tight. "What happened?" "It was weird… all flashing lights n stuff." "Where are we?" Rikku held onto Yuffie and steadied herself onto her feet. They looked down at the platform the stood on, brown and decayed. Another giant vine. "We're under the world." Yuffie scuffed at the vine; a chunk peeled off and oozed a brownish thick substance. All around the vines were a neglected mess. Pieces hung limp and broken over others. The sounds of thousands of random bits breaking off was like gentle slopping rain. Yuffie expected there to be a stench, but there was nothing.
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