Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own FFVIII, Nor do I own FFX. But I do own this story because I wrote it!
---------- From now on, the story will be in Rinoa's POV ----------
"Hey!" I faintly heard someone yell. "You okay?" I opened my eyes to find that I was surrounded in water. I quickly lifted my head. What the hell? How long have I been in the water for? What happened… How come I didn't drown? Millions of thoughts clouded my mind. I shook my head and turned around to see a tall guy with hair that sort of looked like Zell's standing on a beach. He waved his arms. Where am I? This place doesn't look familiar… As I swam towards the beach, I heard the guy say, "Not another one… This is two in one day!" I didn't know what he was talking about.
I walked up onto the beach, towards the guy. "Where am I?" I asked him. He looked at me funny, and asked,
"You're from Zanarkand aren't you?" I looked at him, and he sighed. Before he began to speak again I started to talk again.
"No… I don't know where I am from… Actually…" I stopped to think. I couldn't remember anything. It was killing me! I remember Zell, because of this man's hair… But I feel as if there are other people I should be remembering! Why can't I remember? What's wrong with me? I shook me head and looked at the guy again.
"Oh?" he seemed confused. "This is odd, ya?" He was still confused. "Well, I'm Wakka, nice to meet you, ya. What's your name?"
I smiled. This guy, Wakka, seemed nice.
"My name is… Rinoa," I almost forgot my name! What is up with that? "So, where have I stumbled upon?" I asked Wakka.
He replied, "You are on the Isle of Besaid." I have never heard of any island by the name of Besaid. And it didn't look too familiar to me. Maybe I have been here. I don't know. My memory is so cloudy. I can't seem to remember anything. "C'mon, I'll take you to the village." he insisted. I followed him. We ran into many monsters on the way. They didn't seem familiar to me.
After a while, we got to the village. The village was quite small… Actually, it was really small. I don't think I have been to such a small village like this one before… Wakka walked ahead of me and started talking to a group of people who were similarly dressed like him. I decided that I would do a little exploring of my own, so I walked into one of the tents. It seemed to be an Item Shop of some sort, so I decided to buy a few potions.
"Excuse me?" I asked. The lady who was sitting on the floor looked up and me.
"Welcome! Welcome!" she smiled. "What would you like to buy today?" She showed me all the items she had in stock. I decided that I would only buy a Potion or two because I wasn't sure how much Gil I had left. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a few coins.
"I'd like two Potions please," I told the lady. I gave her my Gil and she stopped. She examined the Gil for a moment and then returned it to me.
"You're not from around here are you?" she questioned. I took the Gil back. "Your Gil is very different from our Gil… Or are you counterfeiting money?" She tilted her head.
"Oh… No," I replied. "I'm sorry, I guess… I thought… What I mean is…" I couldn't find the words to say. The lady looked at me and smiled.
"That's okay…" she told me. "You seem lost, here." She handed me a Potion. I thanked her then left the tent. Everyone here was dressed quite funny… I looked out of place here. Oh well, it's good to stand out in a crowd! I looked around, and saw… some… sort of… Temple?
I walked up the stairs to the temple. Wow. I don't think I have ever been to such a place. This was definitely not the world I came from! I don't remember having temples… But… something else… Not exactly like a temple… But really big. And there were three… I began to remember more of the place from which I came from. I hope I don't forget… Maybe I will remember more later.
Inside the temple, I heard a Hymn. It didn't sound familiar, but it was nice and relaxing. It was weird though, because were was this hymn coming from? There was no one around that could be singing it… Strange. I looked around and saw many people kneeled before statues of people. They were praying… I think. They kept doing some weird motion with their hands as well. This place is very odd… I looked around some more and caught a glimpse of a guy. Suddenly memories of an important guy in my life flooded my mind.
Squall!! My love! I remember you know! How could I ever forget you… I love you… I turned back to the guy who I had briefly caught a glimpse of. He didn't look like Squall… really. I guess it was that slight glimpse I got of him that reminded me of Squall. He was looking around, looking as clueless as I was. I decided to talk to him. I ran up to him and said, "Hi!"
He turned around. Wow! His face reminds me so much of Squall! His eyes too. I continued to look at him and more memories came back. I remember we danced one night… When he became… A SeeD. We danced that wonderful dance… Then… He saved me from falling off the edge… The edge of the Garden! I remember so much now! "Hey!" he interrupted my thoughts. "My name's Tidus, and yours?" I quickly pulled my eyes off his face. He light heartedly laughed.
"Rinoa…" I looked to the floor and back up at him. "I'm not from around here…" He gave me the weirdest look. Maybe I shouldn't have said that.
"Are you from Zanarkand too?" his eyes were full of hope as he asked me. What? Someone asked me that question. Wakka did! He asked me if I was from Zanarkand… What is Zanarkand?
"No… I don't remember where I came from…" I replied.
He looked to the ground, "Sin got you too, huh?" Sin? Who was Sin? Or what was Sin?
"What's Sin?" I asked him.
"Wow! You truly don't come from around here," he replied. "Are you sure you are not from Zanarkand?" I know I couldn't be. The name wasn't familiar at all… "Maybe you are, and you just can't remember," he insisted. I thought for a moment. Could I be from this 'Zanarkand' he was talking about? Maybe I was and I just don't remember, like he said.
"Maybe…" I said. "I just don't remember anything…" He put his arm around me and we exited the temple. Tidus reminded me so much of Squall. But his attitude was nothing like Squall's… I then realized that he had his arm around me. I quickly pushed myself away… I didn't want to lead him on or anything. I had Squall to return to.
"Hmm?" he stopped and looked at me. I looked to the ground.
"I'm sorry," I apologized. "It's just that…" I looked back up to him and he was smiling.
He laughed, "Oh, I'm sorry…" I couldn't help myself but laugh. We both laughed for a few moments and then continued walking. "Oh! I gotta introduce you to Wakka!"
"I've already met Wakka," I replied. He shrugged his shoulders.
"Let's go see him anyways," he insisted. "He is the only other person besides you that I know here." I followed him to a small tent where Wakka was sitting on a bed. Tidus walked up to Wakka.
"Take a nap! You look bushed." Wakka told Tidus, who in turn accepted his offer. Wakka walked to me and said, "You should get some rest as well…"
"I'm fine," I told him. He shrugged and left the tent. Tidus was sleeping on the bed. I could hear a slight snore come out of him. He was really tired if he fell asleep that fast. I sat on the couch across the room, and looked at Tidus. His face flooded me with memories. The more I looked at him, the more I remembered.
A memory suddenly hit me like a brick. I grabbed onto the chain around my neck and held the rings. I then remembered the ring that Squall had given me! "Griever!" I whispered quietly to myself. I took it off the chain to look at it. I smiled then returned it to the chain around my neck. I want to make sure I don't lose this. Another memory came to me when I was thinking of the ring. Sorceress Ultimecia had summoned Griever during that battle in which we defeated her… Squall, Zell, Irvine, Quistis, Selphie and I! We were all there, and we defeated Ultimecia!
More memories flooded my mind again. I remembered that after that battle, we were all lost in time, and I was trying to find Squall. Squall was lost… But I found him, in the field… Where he promised that he would be. If I went there, I would find him. I also started to remember Garden, and SeeD. This is great! I am remembering more and more now!
Suddenly it hit me. I remembered that I was a Sorceress! I looked everywhere for the pendant that Dr. Odine gave me to wear. As long as I was wearing it, I would be able to control my powers. I couldn't find it. This isn't good… What if I lost control over my powers and caused mass destruction to this world? These people would try to kill me if I was labelled as 'evil'. I tried to calm down. I took several deep breaths. I haven't caused any damage yet. I should be able to control my powers… Right?
