Friday Afternoon: The Meeting
Rikku sat nervously, waiting for everyone to arrive. She hadn't managed much sleep the night before, but the warm-fuzzy-Jude-kitten in her lap was helping. A lot.
Once everyone got settled, Rikku took a deep breath and started talking.
"Okay." Rikku shifted a bit. "There's a lot of stuff that some of you know and some of you don't, and I don't think anybody knows all of it, so ... you're gonna have to listen to me talk for a little bit. This is kinda important."
"A thousand years ago, there was a war. And one city, Zanarkand, was going to be destroyed. So all the people who lived there went up to Mt. Gagazet and sacrificed themselves. Became fayth. It's ... somewhere between life and death, where your spirit gets stuck in a statue-thing, and your dreams can be used by a Summoner to ... change reality." She shook her head. "I'm an Al Bhed. We don't do any of this, so it's kinda hard for me to explain. But usually fayth are just one or two people. Not a whole city. And what they dreamed was a Zanarkand that wasn't destroyed. That lived on, with people working and playing and going about their lives. This fake city went on for a thousand years."
"That's when he showed up. T-Tidus." She shivered, still feeling weird about using his name. "In our world, not the dream one. He told me he was the star player of the Zanarkand Abes - never mind that Zanarkand was destroyed a thousand years ago. I thought he had hit his head."
"Yuna, my cousin, she wanted to save the world, even though it meant she was gonna die. He was gonna help me save her. We went on this pilgrimage, as her Guardians, and we found out that a lot of people had been lying for a very long time. We got rid of Sin for good, not just for a few years. Okay, I know none of that makes sense, but ... we saved the world, and we did it right this time. Not just temporary, not sacrificing someone to make it go away for everyone else. No more Sin. No more Yevon. But ... that also meant the dream city was going to disappear. Like it was never there at all."
Deep breath, because this bit was hard. "He ... knew it would happen. We didn't. We didn't even know then that he was from there, or anything. All I knew was that we had saved the world, and then we lost Auron, and then suddenly Tidus just ..." She closed her eyes. "He said he had to go. He told her he was sorry, and she ran to him and fell through him. He was already fading out. He wrapped his arms around her and she ... she said she loved him. And then he vanished into thin air."
Rikku sat for a few moments, petting the Judekitty and not trusting herself to speak just yet. "That's ... what we're trying to fix. Who I want to save. What this is all about."
She stopped long enough to answer the questions that had to be coming - the ones she knew the answers to, anyway - and finally moved on to the next part.
"I don't really understand ... how this works. What you guys can do. What I know is that Dawn, you said that you and someone else might be able to find him if you knew where he was. If I could get you a dimensional, uh, phone number. Is that still right?"
She turned to the blonde girl. "Isabel, you said you might be able to find ... where the fayth dream. If I had a picture, or something. I have this, is this ... does this work?" She held out the sketch. "It's a good likeness. I don't know how he did it. I just talked for a while and suddenly he held it out for me."
"And Lulu sent me this." She held out the parcel she'd received in the mail that morning, taking out a large blue sword. "This is Caladbolg. It was his legendary weapon. I think it's ... I think it's tied to him, somehow, like the Godhand is for me. I don't know if I believe in fate or destiny or all that, but there was one for each of us, and ... they're more powerful than anything I could make."
"And it's probably kinda stupid, but I also drew this," she said, holding out a separate piece of paper:
"I don't really know what this symbol is, but he had it on his outfit like ten times, so it was important."
She looked around the group. "Isabel, if you can find him ... if we can contact him? Would that be enough for us to get to him and bring him over? Does any of this tie in?"
After another long break for conversation and discussion and planning, Rikku bit her lip and started talking again.
"There's more, though." This was going to be harder to say, but it was important. She wasn't going to let them walk into this blind.
"I thought a few weeks ago that I could fix this myself. Maybe I wasn't thinking at all. I hoped. And ... I guess I feel guilty, being here. Yuna ... my cousin? She's on Besaid and she's so unhappy, and here I am having a wonderful time. Or maybe I just wanted to make some of it not real. There's been so much death. I wanted some of it to go away, I guess."
She looked down. "So I ... I went in to the Special Collections section of the library, and I pieced together a ritual. It was dark and scary and I was out of my mind. There were incantations and candles and sand and ... and blood. I slashed my finger open and bled on everything until something opened."
She scritched under the kitty's chin, because that was easier than looking up for this next bit. "Whatever I wanted to do didn't work. I got pulled into an empty space, and something was coming towards me. I didn't wait to see what. It looked like some kind of demon. I had a Blessed Gem ... Holy. White magic. And I threw it as hard as I could. That's the only reason I'm back in one piece. Or back at all. And I think ... I think that's what ripped a hole. Holy tearing open the walls of whatever that space was. I don't know. It could have been anything."
"The hole stayed open for two days and things were bendy and ... and Hermione had to get Hades to close it, because I was crazy and still thought I could fix it myself. No, I knew I couldn't, I just didn't want to give up yet."
She waited for all of that to sink in. "This ... is what we're talking about. When I did it wrong ... Dawn, you said I'm lucky to be alive. You're right. I am. And I don't know that it's going to be any different, whatever we're planning. I don't have any information. Yevon hid its secrets well, and the library here had never heard of fayth or Spira or Summoners. We don't have enough information. We just don't."
"I think we might have all the pieces here. I'm just ... I'm not so sure right now that we should. I can't ask any of you to do this. He may not even exist any more. We could end up back in that weird nonspace again. This may be even dumber than when I tried last time." Another deep breath. She needed it.
"I need all of you to know that. What could happen. What this means. And I want to know what you all think, whether this is worth trying, whether it's even doable, whether there are failsafes in place, or ... or if I need to let go. I can't say for sure that that's not the right answer. And if any of you want to walk away now, call this off ... I understand. I'm not sure yet that I don't."
Rikku shook her head. "I think we have a lot to talk about."
[OOC: locked to those people who got the phone invites yesterday. Please wait for the OCD. Severe OCD now up. This post requires OCD, trust me.]
Once everyone got settled, Rikku took a deep breath and started talking.
"Okay." Rikku shifted a bit. "There's a lot of stuff that some of you know and some of you don't, and I don't think anybody knows all of it, so ... you're gonna have to listen to me talk for a little bit. This is kinda important."
"A thousand years ago, there was a war. And one city, Zanarkand, was going to be destroyed. So all the people who lived there went up to Mt. Gagazet and sacrificed themselves. Became fayth. It's ... somewhere between life and death, where your spirit gets stuck in a statue-thing, and your dreams can be used by a Summoner to ... change reality." She shook her head. "I'm an Al Bhed. We don't do any of this, so it's kinda hard for me to explain. But usually fayth are just one or two people. Not a whole city. And what they dreamed was a Zanarkand that wasn't destroyed. That lived on, with people working and playing and going about their lives. This fake city went on for a thousand years."
"That's when he showed up. T-Tidus." She shivered, still feeling weird about using his name. "In our world, not the dream one. He told me he was the star player of the Zanarkand Abes - never mind that Zanarkand was destroyed a thousand years ago. I thought he had hit his head."
"Yuna, my cousin, she wanted to save the world, even though it meant she was gonna die. He was gonna help me save her. We went on this pilgrimage, as her Guardians, and we found out that a lot of people had been lying for a very long time. We got rid of Sin for good, not just for a few years. Okay, I know none of that makes sense, but ... we saved the world, and we did it right this time. Not just temporary, not sacrificing someone to make it go away for everyone else. No more Sin. No more Yevon. But ... that also meant the dream city was going to disappear. Like it was never there at all."
Deep breath, because this bit was hard. "He ... knew it would happen. We didn't. We didn't even know then that he was from there, or anything. All I knew was that we had saved the world, and then we lost Auron, and then suddenly Tidus just ..." She closed her eyes. "He said he had to go. He told her he was sorry, and she ran to him and fell through him. He was already fading out. He wrapped his arms around her and she ... she said she loved him. And then he vanished into thin air."
Rikku sat for a few moments, petting the Judekitty and not trusting herself to speak just yet. "That's ... what we're trying to fix. Who I want to save. What this is all about."
She stopped long enough to answer the questions that had to be coming - the ones she knew the answers to, anyway - and finally moved on to the next part.
"I don't really understand ... how this works. What you guys can do. What I know is that Dawn, you said that you and someone else might be able to find him if you knew where he was. If I could get you a dimensional, uh, phone number. Is that still right?"
She turned to the blonde girl. "Isabel, you said you might be able to find ... where the fayth dream. If I had a picture, or something. I have this, is this ... does this work?" She held out the sketch. "It's a good likeness. I don't know how he did it. I just talked for a while and suddenly he held it out for me."
"And Lulu sent me this." She held out the parcel she'd received in the mail that morning, taking out a large blue sword. "This is Caladbolg. It was his legendary weapon. I think it's ... I think it's tied to him, somehow, like the Godhand is for me. I don't know if I believe in fate or destiny or all that, but there was one for each of us, and ... they're more powerful than anything I could make."
"And it's probably kinda stupid, but I also drew this," she said, holding out a separate piece of paper:
"I don't really know what this symbol is, but he had it on his outfit like ten times, so it was important."
She looked around the group. "Isabel, if you can find him ... if we can contact him? Would that be enough for us to get to him and bring him over? Does any of this tie in?"
After another long break for conversation and discussion and planning, Rikku bit her lip and started talking again.
"There's more, though." This was going to be harder to say, but it was important. She wasn't going to let them walk into this blind.
"I thought a few weeks ago that I could fix this myself. Maybe I wasn't thinking at all. I hoped. And ... I guess I feel guilty, being here. Yuna ... my cousin? She's on Besaid and she's so unhappy, and here I am having a wonderful time. Or maybe I just wanted to make some of it not real. There's been so much death. I wanted some of it to go away, I guess."
She looked down. "So I ... I went in to the Special Collections section of the library, and I pieced together a ritual. It was dark and scary and I was out of my mind. There were incantations and candles and sand and ... and blood. I slashed my finger open and bled on everything until something opened."
She scritched under the kitty's chin, because that was easier than looking up for this next bit. "Whatever I wanted to do didn't work. I got pulled into an empty space, and something was coming towards me. I didn't wait to see what. It looked like some kind of demon. I had a Blessed Gem ... Holy. White magic. And I threw it as hard as I could. That's the only reason I'm back in one piece. Or back at all. And I think ... I think that's what ripped a hole. Holy tearing open the walls of whatever that space was. I don't know. It could have been anything."
"The hole stayed open for two days and things were bendy and ... and Hermione had to get Hades to close it, because I was crazy and still thought I could fix it myself. No, I knew I couldn't, I just didn't want to give up yet."
She waited for all of that to sink in. "This ... is what we're talking about. When I did it wrong ... Dawn, you said I'm lucky to be alive. You're right. I am. And I don't know that it's going to be any different, whatever we're planning. I don't have any information. Yevon hid its secrets well, and the library here had never heard of fayth or Spira or Summoners. We don't have enough information. We just don't."
"I think we might have all the pieces here. I'm just ... I'm not so sure right now that we should. I can't ask any of you to do this. He may not even exist any more. We could end up back in that weird nonspace again. This may be even dumber than when I tried last time." Another deep breath. She needed it.
"I need all of you to know that. What could happen. What this means. And I want to know what you all think, whether this is worth trying, whether it's even doable, whether there are failsafes in place, or ... or if I need to let go. I can't say for sure that that's not the right answer. And if any of you want to walk away now, call this off ... I understand. I'm not sure yet that I don't."
Rikku shook her head. "I think we have a lot to talk about."
[OOC: locked to those people who got the phone invites yesterday. Please wait for the OCD. Severe OCD now up. This post requires OCD, trust me.]