HELLO!!! My precious tikku fans! I'm back and kicking with the sequel, Scattered Memories, Yours and Mine. I'm sorry i didn't posted this chapter sooner, because i'm trying to concentrate on school, but apparently i'm doing worse than not going online. and so i realized that the only way to make me better in school, is to update my story. In this case, the start of my sequel to 'Memories Are Nice, But They're More Then That'.
Also, the title. I just want to say this now, but my last story, the Memories, the title was said by Rikku...get it. Can you guess who is saying this title?...i'll save you the trouble. "Scattered Memories, Yours and Mine" are Tidus's words. And guessing by the title, you can guess what might happen in the story, huh? If you do, there's still more to it then what the title says. So read what happens!!
One more thing, if you've read the 1st one, then you should know Rikku's position. And of course, this is going to be a Tikku story. But Tidus isn't around, right? So if you're a rippal fan, you won't mind this story. If you're a rippal hater, don't worry, it's just fluff. Down to the core, this IS a tikku story. There will be other pairings as well. but i won't tell!
Another thing that's gonna be different...I made Paine and Lulu relatives. Mainly cuz they have the same eye color, but i couldn't think of a way to make Paine appear. So there...
If you've played FFX and FFX-2, you'll probably wondering why i didn't post this story in FFX-2 category. Well 1, FFX-2 was Yuna's story. And this story isn't a Yuna POV, it's now Rikku's POV, so this is Rikku's story. 2, it hasn't been 2 years since FFX, or in my case, it hasn't been 2 years since my story. Only 2 months has past in the story, ok. So there isn't Gullwings, or New Yevon, or Youth League YET... But don't worry, fans of Paine, Baralai, Gippal, Brother, Buddy, mostly all the characters you met in FFX-2 will be here in this story. So don't fret!
For now, enjoy the first chapter.
Disclaimer: Throughout this entire story, I do not own the Final Fantasy characters or their settings.
Chapter 1
"Rikku, hurry up!" Paine yelled from outside my door. I was in one of Luca's fancy hotel rooms, getting dressed.
"Just a minute! Wait for me outside." I called back to her. I heard Paine's footsteps walk away as I zipped up my jacket to hind my belly, and took one last look at myself in the mirror before I headed out the door.
It's been two months and three weeks since Sin was defeated. The parties are starting to die down, but people are still excited and happy about The New Spira. Yuna is especially the busiest one, attending ceremonies for awards, coming to "important" parties with high officers, and just making a public view for Spira. I haven't seen her in nearly a month, but I don't mind. Rumor has it that she's always near a handsome man in white blond hair and heavily tanned name Baralai. It's nice that Yuna is admired by everyone, and she's with someone she loves...
And me...?
"There you are. You're such a slowpoke." Paine said, walking up towards me.
"Sorry...I was thinking of something." I explained, which was actually true.
"Well, come on. The sooner we go to the doctor, the sooner I can get to my ship." She said, and turned around. I smiled and followed her through the popular city.
It's true. I'm going to the doctor, and Paine, who is Lulu's niece, is accompanying me to a gynecologist. I'm sort of scared as to what information the doctor will say, but in a way I'm excited too. There could be a chance that I'm pregnant!
And the father of the child? ...well...
It wasn't long until we found the tall, white building where we were suppose to go. Lulu was the one who gave us the address and told Paine to come with me. I took a deep breath, and Paine's comforting hand landed on my shoulder.
"Let's get going." She said. I nodded my head.
"I'm ready." I said. We walked inside, and the place was very clean with a few nurses, doctors, and patients walking around to get to their destination.
"It doesn't look that bad, Rikku. I don't see why you're so scared of coming here-"
Immediately to my right, the huge double-doors burst open and people moved out of the way. A team of emergency doctors and nurses was rolling a bed with a woman on it. Her belly was really round, and she was constantly breathing in and out very fast. Several trails of blood ran from the top of her head, and down to her face.
"Hurry! Get her to the ER." Shouted one of the doctors. A nurse ran by.
"Is she in labor? What trimester is she in?" She asked. The woman screamed in pain and cried.
"Her second. Close to her third. Her child might be-" The team disappeared behind another pair of double doors labeled, 'Emergency Room.' I was white to the face.
"Well...uh..." Paine said, after the commotion. She clears her throat and pushes me behind my back. "Let's get going!" I tried to stop her by digging my heels to the hard floor.
"No!! It's torture!!" I yelled. People were now staring at us, but Paine was incredibly strong and managed to shove me into the elevator. She pushed the button to go up, and I moaned.
"Calm down, Rikku." She said, sounding irritated like she always is. "It's best you get this over with, you know."
"Yeah, I guess so..." I mumbled. Paine always gets to the point, which is so cool.
Soon, the elevator doors opened and we walked down the empty hallway. The doors were labeled with the room number and the doctor's name. Paine was looking at each door until we found the right one...
Room 532
Dr. Musika
Paine opened the door and we walked in as I held my breath. The room was comforting. The walls were painted in a calming blue and gold. The seats circled around the small lobby and there was a magazine stand in the corner. Up front was the counter where someone sat behind with glasses and writing on papers, and next to the counter was another door that probably leads to the doctor's office. I walked over to the secretary as Paine sat down and grabs a magazine.
"Hi," I said softly. She looked up and smiled.
"Can I help you?"
"I have an appointment with Dr. Musika at five." I explained. She wheeled away in her chair and opened a file cabinet. She came back, still in her chair, and opened the folder that had my name. I watched her organize a few papers and then nodded her head.
"Yes. Dr. Musika will see you shortly, please take a seat and she'll call you." She said, and I did.
I sat down next to Paine and looked around the room more. There were two other women in the room with us. One of them looked a few years older than me, but her belly was round and yet she was smiling while she was reading her magazine. The other lady was much older, possible in her late twenties, but she too had a certain glow around her.
I sat there, fiddling with my fingers waiting for my name to be called. Then the door opened and Dr. Musika stepped out with another patient.
"And I'll see you in two weeks." She said happily. The patient smiled, her hand over her belly and walked out the door. My mouth hanged. Dr.Musika was Lanka, the lady I've met two months ago in Besaid Island!
"Rikku?" She said. I got up and followed Lanka to her office.
"You're Dr.Musika?" I asked, once I sat down on the table. Lanka sat on her wheel chair and started typing something on the computer.
"Yes." Then, after a few keystrokes on her computer, she turned her wheel chair to face me. "It's good to see you again, Rikku. It's been so long."
"Yes, it has." I couldn't help but smile.
"How's the toxin?" She asked.
"Everything's fine. You know, now that Sin is gone, the toxin has no effect." I said. She nodded her head.
"True, true." She looked into my eyes, still smiling. "But that's not why you're here, huh?"
I felt like a kid. "No." I mumbled.
"Have you taken a pregnancy test yet?" She asked, professional.
"No, I haven't." I said, feeling foolish that I didn't. She reached into her drawer and pulled out a box.
"The bathrooms down the hall." She said, returning back to her computer. My face turned red as I grabbed the box and walked into the bathroom.
After a few minutes, I came out blushing so hard, I knew that my face was melting. Lanka looked up at me and smiled.
"Well?" She said. I bit my lip and mumbled.
"It's positive." I said. Lanka nodded her head.
"Congratulations. Now, we can get started." She said, as I sat down on the table. I watched her grab one of those popsicle sticks and said 'Ah' to me. While she doing my check up, I asked.
"Lanka, when did you decide to be a doctor? And so soon?" I saw Lanka smile.
"Actually, when I was in Besaid, I was already a resident doctor."
"Oh! I didn't know. I mean, I thought you worked at that item shop."
"Well, yeah I did. But I was also the doctor at the Island, besides Yuna being the summoner. But when you washed up on the shore, I was running low on medicine. That's why I didn't do much when you were having you're toxin seizure."
"Oh, but you did enough! Honestly."
"I did my best..." She was looking into my ear before she slowly pulled away and looked at me. "I just remembered...whatever happened to that man you were with."
I blushed.
"Ummm..."
"You know, when you were having your seizure, he was really worried about you. He sat next to you and holding your hand when you were out of control...He really did cared about you." She said, with such a motherly like voice. Suddenly, I burst into tears.
"Really?" I whispered, trying to wipe the tears away. Lanka pulled out a handkerchief for me, and she sat down in her chair.
"Rikku...I only guessing, but is he the father of your child?" She asked. I choked.
"Y-yes." I heard her sighed.
"Rikku, I know it's none of my business, but exactly how old are you?"
"I-I'm sixteen now...but I'm t-turning seventeen real soon." I said, trying to convince her that I wasn't young.
"How soon?" She asked. I stumbled.
"Ummm...about another eight months from now." I said. I excepted her to shake her in disbelief, but instead she nodded her in understanding.
"Well, I'm sure he loves you. And he'll be happy to hear the news." She said, but I cried even harder.
I know Tidus would love to know he'll have a son. If only he was here so I can tell him...
"So what did she say?" Paine asked. The sun was setting that it looks like it was sinking into the ocean. Paine and I were walking along the harbor until we reached Dock 2, where her ship was tied.
"Lanka said to come back after two weeks, since I've passed the first trimester."
"Well, what do you plan to do now?" We walked on the ramp and onto the deck.
Paine's ship is small, but very fast. Lulu mentioned that she works as a ship merchant and delivery. Paine works solo, but she does have a young partner name Shinra, who is Al Bhed and is only a kid. Shinra, however, is a total genius since he's navigating.
"I'm not sure." I said, crossing my arms and thinking.
"Have you told any of your family?" She asked curiously, but I went berserk.
"NO! Never! Pops will kill me! And my brother will say I'm lying, and..." I stopped and looked down. Paine tilted her head, trying to see my face.
"There's someone else you don't want to tell...huh?" She said.
"How did you-"
"It's written all over your face. So who is it you don't want them to know?" She asked. I bit my lip.
"Uh...an old friend...er, I mean, someone I've known for a long time. And...uh..."
"It's a he, right?" She said.
Paine is a genius too.
"Well!...It's just...I don't know what to say to him." I started whining. Paine sighed.
"Who is he?"
"I'm not gonna tell!"
"It's Gippal, right?" She said, raising her eyebrow. I gasped.
"You know him?!"
"Gippal was the one who got me this job." She walked over to the other side of the boat and leaned on the railing, facing me. "At first, I was working for him. But then, he went to Djose Temple to be part of the new Machina Faction. So I continued the merchant business. He gave me a ship, too." I saw a smirk grew on her face, "But I totally trashed it and got this one on my own."
"Wow." I whispered, forgetting my frustration earlier. "You and Gippal must be close." Paine laughed.
"Are you kidding me?! The guy is a total idiot. I was doing most of the work while he goes off and mess things up. And I thought he was an 'expert' in engineering." She said. I laughed with her.
"Yeah. He has a big ego." I smiled to myself.
"You seem to know him well. And you're not going to tell him you're expecting?" She said in a serious tone. I was quiet for a long time.
Why am I scared of facing Gippal? I haven't seen him in two months. Maybe it was the fact that my father wanted Gippal as my future husband, but Gippal didn't wanted to marry. I was pleased, because at the time, Tidus was there. Maybe I thought I would marry Tidus. And now that my love isn't here anymore...what will Gippal do?
Suddenly, the door opened and Shinra came running out.
"Hey! I've picked up a signal on the radar. About 10 meters away from here, and it looks like it has powerful Soul Energy coming from it" He said, excited.
"Soul Energy?" I asked Paine, as we followed Shinra down to the deck below.
"Pyreflies. You know, while you were all cozy in Besaid Island, weird things has been happening."
"Like?" I said, feeling irritated.
"Something is wrong with the Farplane. For some reason, pyreflies are flowing out of it. And those pyreflies either form new stronger fiends, or they absorb into objects."
"What kind of objects?"
"Anything. Which is why we call them Soul Energy when we find them in an item." We walked into a small room with several blurry screens or some that were beeping. Shinra jumped onto his chair and started typing on his computer. Paine was right next to him, staring at a very complicated screen with codes zooming by.
"What does it mean for something to have a lot of Soul Energy?" I asked, being curious.
"Nobody knows, really. I mean, we're dealing with the souls of the dead here. Even when Sin was around, people don't understand the powers of the Farplane." Paine looked at me with her red eyes, "Pyreflies are spilling out because the summoners don't need them, anymore. I guess it's overflowing"
"The Guados are getting worried about this business." Shinra spoke, still making keystrokes. "They're giving rewards for anyone who finds Souls Energy. It's a new hunt these days."
"Soul hunting?" I said. "That's like...hunting that's already dead!" I shivered.
"It's disrespect to the dead, yes." Paine said, "But Shinra and I aren't giving Souls Energies to the Guados."
"Why not?"
"Shinra always says he's a genius-"
"Which I am!" He blurted.
"But I think his theory is ridiculous."
"What is?" I asked. Shinra stopped typing, turned around and looked at me. Paine took over the computer.
"My assumption is that if we find enough Soul Energy, we can program a time link in Spira." He said. I felt cold when he spoke, as if something unspoken shouldn't have been said.
"You mean...traveling in time? Like into the future?" I whispered.
"Not to the future..." He turned to face the computer, "To the past."
"How far into the past?" I asked, but I felt I knew the answer.
"A thousand years."
"Got it!" Paine yelled, making me jump. We all looked closely to the screen and saw the radar bleeping. A bright, green light appeared whenever the line passes it. "Shinra, how deep is it?"
"About 15 meters deep. It's not that bad." He said, looking at the number chart on another screen.
"Come on, Rikku." She said, and I followed her on deck.
"Are you going to dive?" I asked. Paine, who was already putting on her swimming gear, stopped and looked at me.
"Uh...no duh, Rikku!" She said, sarcastically. I pouted. I watched her jumped over the railing and dive into the dark water. The door opened and Shinra walked towards me.
"I hope this item is jammed pack with souls." He said, excited. I shivered again, and looked down at him.
"Shinra?" I said.
"Yeah?"
"When you said...a thousand years...isn't that when-"
"Zanarkand was still at large. Yes."
"Are you saying the souls of the dead can bring you to Zanarkand?!"
"Well, it's like this." He pulled out a small sphere, and it projection an image of a city. "This is data collected from one soul. As you can see, it can only show us the image of what it looks like."
I leaned in closer and saw how accurate the image was. It looked like a real nighttime city, where the buildings were tall, and Water Skywalk Ways flowed between buildings. Just as I remembered it...
"That means...the soul remembers it?" I asked. Even though he was wearing a helmet, I could tell he was smirking when he spoke.
"Rikku, just because they're dead, doesn't mean they lose their memories when they were alive." He said. My mouth was slightly open, and my heart was racing. Shinra tilted his head like a puppy, "My theory? If we collect enough souls, enough memories, we can travel to Zanarkand."
"But...why?!" I asked. My heart was still pounding.
"Oh, come on, Rikku. You and I are both Al Bhed. We dream a city like this. A city of machina! Seeing Zanarkand first hand? That's all of the Al Bhed's dream!" He said.
I sighed and leaned on the railing, looking down at the dark water. It's true. My father was obsessed of finding a way to travel in time to Zanarkand, and he did. He found the ancient portal, and it sucked me and my mother to Zanarkand. But the result...my mother died, and I was stuck in Zanarkand for a year until I found the portal again. The same gateway my father found a thousand years in the future, and I used it to take me home. All and all, Zanarkand was a beautiful city, but I had the worst time there...
Except when I first met him.
I bit my lip and closed my eyes. That sad memory always comes back to me, and it makes my heart ache...
"Hey, she's coming." Shinra said, looking down at the water. Sure enough, Paine was swimming towards the surface, and something small was clutched in her hand. She splashes to the surface, and climb back onto deck.
"I got it." She said, holding it out for us to see. I, literally, gasped loudly.
"What's wrong, Rikku?" Both Paine and Shinra said. There, in the palm of Paine's hand, was a piece of jewelry I know too well.
It was Tidus's necklace.
OMG!! My cliffhangers are back!
ok...if you've read my first story, then you've probably remember I mentioned Tidus's necklace at times, but then it never shows up again...I didn't forgot about it, ok!! And don't start think, "If Tidus's necklace is still whole...then where is the rest of Tidus's clothes?"
...I don't know! OKAY!!! Don't be sick like that! I just choose the necklace because I want to, ok!! I'm the author, shut up! and...
Please Review! (smiles) (one more thing, if i made a grammer error, tell me!)