Freedom Lies Beneath Reality:
Chapter One:
Burn Out.
"Ugh... My head" mumbled the young Al-bhed as the searing pain of attempting to sit up forced her to collapse back down again. The sand around her felt unusually soft, almost bed like, but it still offered little comfort to her aching mind and body.
"Where am -" She couldn't finish her sentence, cut short by a coughing fit, she lay there clutching her stomach. Waves of pain flooded through Rikku's frail body as tears threatened to spill from her half closed eyes, barely open enough to notice a shadowy figure making their way towards her.
"Besaid" A familiar, soft voice stated You're in Besaid... Don't worry; I'll take care of you until you leave. Undoubtedly you already have your next big adventure planned out."
"Lu" Once again, Rikku's sentence was cut short by another coughing fit, this one slightly worse and more prolonged than the last.
"Shhh" Said the still slightly obscure figure. "You were out there a long time... You're dehydrated... And lucky to be alive."
"But..."
"No buts... Please just rest. I'll take care of everything for now" Rikku nodded slowly, her body numb as an after-effect of the shockwaves coursing through her. She closed her eyes and drifted to sleep, lulled by the sounds of the source of her only comfort dragging a chair over to wherever she had passed out.
Once Lulu had made sure that Rikku was definitely asleep, she placed the small blonde's limp hand into her own while checking her temperature with the other. The dark mage shook her head and sighed.
"It's the same thing again... But it could become a problem if... We don't deal with it now."
That night, I had the best nights sleep I'd ever had since the end of Yunie's pilgrimage... No, it wasn't just Yunie's pilgrimage, it was our pilgrimage. It wasn't just Tidus' story either; it was everybody's story. The events of those few days made me think, they forced me to open my eyes up to the real world as opposed to the sugar coated illusion I'd created in my head. I realised that I needed a life, not just another adventure.
