Chapter 1:

Faded Dreams

Rikku lay on her back on the deck of the airship looking up at the sky above her. Filaments of white clouds streaked with blue firmament passed by in a hazy blur, like some hard to recall remnant of a dream.

And perhaps that description was fitting because for the past six years her hope, which was once a shinning great beacon, seemed to be fading away like the wisps of the clouds above her. It was as though she had been dreaming for so long only to have awoken and forgot what it was all about.

The first time it happened was about a year after Tidus returned. Both Paine and Yuna had quit the Gullwings, each having found the things they were searching for, and now it was just her, Brother, Buddy, and Shinra. Still sphere hunters. Still searching for things they had lost.

For Brother and Buddy it was a way of making a name for themselves. To reap the benefits and the rewards and to become famous for being the best sphere hunters in all of Spira. For Shinra, it was simply to continue inventing new and amazing things.

For Rikku…for Rikku it was more personal. It felt like something inside had gone missing. The vivacity she once held for life. The hope that had once burned bright in her and inspired others. It all had gotten lost somewhere, and she traveled in hopes of getting it back.

She needed to find herself. Discover who she was again and relearn exactly what it meant to be Rikku. Had she changed? Of course. Had she become stronger in both ability and character? Most definitely. Had time and experience taught her resolve but made her harder and more cynical? Perhaps.

But that was neither here nor there. While living on Spira might have made her grow up faster, it was not the cause of the desolation she found inside herself. No. That honor belonged solely to the man who had stolen her heart. But he was no longer there for her to yell at.

He hadn't been for six long years.


I own nothing. Final Fantasy X and X-2 and all it's characters belong to Square Enix and it's developers. This is the only time I will state that.