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Despite Rydia's
attempts to avoid Reno on the airship, the vessel was only so large,
and there was only so long that she could conveniently be at the
helm when he was near the stern, and only so many times she could
duck out of eyesight with an excuse of needing to check the supplies
in her new pack (or adjust the straps, or speak with the captain).
Unfortunate as it was, there was little she could do about it when
he finally managed to corner her near the railing.
She thought briefly about pretending to spot a wild pack of black
chocobos below so she could jump off the side, but he was quicker
than she gave him credit for, and she didn't even have the time to
berate herself for the stupidity of the idea. There was a long
moment of awkward silence, and she tried to look everywhere but in
his direction.
"So, I guess I should thank you for saving my life," he said,
lazily, easily, and she cursed him for being able to stay calm in
such situations. She was drumming her fingers quickly over the rail
to keep herself somewhat occupied. "Even though it hurt like a
bitch–"
"The pain was better than dying slowly of poison, I'm sure," she
shot at him, temper flaring.
"And even though you could have been more gentle–" he continued.
"With all your flailing, it's a wonder I managed at all!" she
huffed.
"And even though your methods were under-handed–" he said, pausing
in obvious expectation for her to cut him off again. She opened her
mouth to do so before she caught onto what exactly he was referring
to, and then shut her jaw with a snap, looking sheepishly at an
incredibly interesting knot in the planks below her feet.
"Yes, well," she stammered, shaking her head.
"Because my mouth was in a lot of pain," he suggested.
"I wanted to make sure you got to keep it," she said, glancing at
him. "So you could at least continue to make stupid comments with
it."
He smirked, and she smiled against her will, unable to fight against
the expression tugging at the corners of her mouth. There was
another moment of quiet between them, but the heavy tension had left
her shoulders, and he didn't seem to want to press the issue any
further, which she was glad for. Her fingers had stopped the nervous
drumming.
"So, this place we're going," he said, looking into the distance
with a curious expression. "There'll be monsters?"
"Many," she said.
"I guess I'll have to return the favor and watch your back, yo" he
told her, and anticipated her fist swinging towards his arm enough
to dart out of the way before she could hit him. When he cackled and
stuck his tongue out, she leveled him a glare.
"Please!" she scoffed. "Like you amateurs could make it down there
without my help. You have no idea what you're up against."
"Yeah," he said, suddenly serious, nodding. "You're right."
The abrupt change in demeanor was sobering, and she turned back to
the clouds rushing by the airship. They were nearing Agart– that
much she knew. Her muscles tensed a bit in apprehension for
traveling through the tunnel to the Underground. The journey in the
mountain took less than a minute, but she disliked the tugging
sensation on her navel, no matter how short the length of time.
Thinking of the uncomfortable travel through the planet's crust was
preferable to dwelling on seeing the Land of Summons again. She knew
it would not be there– knew, and had accepted, mostly, that her
homeland was gone. But to see the corridors overrun with monsters,
or corroded with dark magic was something she was not entirely
prepared to handle, and she rather suspected that no matter how much
she steeled herself for it, the sight would shock her regardless.
The knot in her stomach refused to unclench, and she sighed.
"Reno!" Tseng called from the opposite side of the deck. The
red-haired man turned to her, cocking his head to one side.
"Guess I'm needed," he said, and with his rod positioned easily on
his shoulder, he started to move towards the other Turks again.
Rydia decided the opening gave her time to check the supplies of her
pack– actually check the supplies, this time– and she turned
as well, making for the other direction.
"Oi!" Reno called, after she had moved a few paces. She turned to
face him. "Next time you're overcome with the desire to kiss me, you
could just ask!"
His laughter faded as he spun away from her, and she fought a losing
battle against the heat in her cheeks, not feeling guilty at all all
flicking a Thunder spell in his direction.
His yelp was nothing compared to the flush on her face as she
stomped away.
------
"We're preparing to enter the Underworld!" the captain called, and
she let her fingers wrap around the railing tightly. If she shut her
eyes, the sensation was lessened, and she could avoid the nausea
resulting in seeing miles of crust rush up from beneath her. The
pulling at her stomach was the same as it had always been, and when
it was over, she let out the breath she hadn't known she'd been
holding.
The red of the lava was so bright she had to squint for the first
moment of looking out over the world below the surface, but her eyes
quickly adjusted, and she was pleased to see the landscape hadn't
changed since her departure. The Dwarven castle still stood proud
and dark against the orange rocks, and the Tower of Babil still made
a ferocious cut in the warm tones. Looking out over the rolling
magma, she could see the islands that sat there, blips on the
horizon, and felt her stomach twist.
The energy felt wrong.
She must have gasped without knowing it, because all three Turks
turned in her direction with matching expressions.
"What is it?" Tseng asked.
"It's–" she started, and then stopped, because she couldn't pinpoint
exactly what it was about the mystical aura that was unnerving her
so. She stretched out as far as she could with her senses, which
were no where near as well-honed as they had been while living in
the Land, and could feel a strange pulse near the absence of the
magic island itself. "Something isn't right."
She felt for her inability to explain it further, but the Turks
seemed to take her statement at face value.
"It's probably him," Tseng said. "He's followed the stream back
here."
"So he'll leave on his own?" Rydia asked, even though she knew the
question was silly.
"Unlikely," Rude chimed in. "Especially at this point."
"I need more explanation," Rydia said, turning abruptly to face the
men. "You've been secretive with this being the entire time, and now
he's affecting the magic of the Underworld. I deserve to know what
is going on."
The three shared an uneasy look, and Reno shrugged. With a
well-concealed sigh, Tseng turned back to her, his face hard and
set.
"In our world," he started, "there is a lifestream."
"It's like magic," Rydia supplied, and he nodded.
"It lives in the earth itself, in the planet. A few years ago, there
was a disturbance, an imbalance of sorts within it, and many people
were infected with a disease made up of mutated cellular structure."
"Geostigma," Reno said. The very name sent chills down Rydia's
spine, which she fought vainly to conceal by wrapping her arms
across her chest.
"Is it– fatal?" she asked, softly, her words almost lost in the
rushing of the wind.
"It has proven to be," Tseng replied. "And there is no cure."
"And this man– he has it?" she continued. "Is he searching for a
cure here, then?"
"Well, there was a cure," Reno said suddenly, looking at Tseng. "The
rain and water, remember?"
"We can't replicate it," Tseng answered, and Rydia wasn't sure if he
was responding to Reno or herself. Her mind was already spinning,
and the tangent of the conversation was not helping. Reaching out
again, she could feel tremors in the magic flowing across the lava–
something was corroded, at least, and she didn't know if it was the
man in question or not.
"Anyway," Tseng said, snapping Rydia back to the present. "His brain
has been– addled, by the diseased cells in his body."
"You mean– you mean to say he's mad," she gasped, hugging her arms
tighter. "There's no telling what he might do."
The three men shared another unreadable look.
"And the hole here," she continued, gesturing out past the rail of
the airship, "it's allowed him to move freely between the planes.
What if the magic here can strengthen him? He can use it, he's shown
that already, on Mt. Ordeals, he's found some way to tap into the
mystical energy here. Is that because of the stigma as well?"
"Probably," Rude said.
"We'll learn more when we get to this 'hole'," Tseng added. "I
suggest we prepare ourselves for arrival."
The twisting Rydia's stomach had only increased, and even the warmth
from her arms wasn't helping dislodge it any. She resolved herself
to stay by the railing and wait until they reached the island,
because worrying would do little good, and she knew any attempts to
distract her thoughts would be useless.
She settled her elbows on the wood, and waited.
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