Author's Notes: Hiya! Thank you for the reviews guys, it really makes me want to keep writing this story!! The next part is doing really well so far...so if all you guys are nice and review me (no force implied!!) I'll put it up soon!! Oh, and also, it's been a while since I last played the game, so I can't exactly remember what happened at the end of it. I will be starting it again soon though!!! Also, one last thing, some Al Bhed is used so if a couple of sentences are in an odd language that you don't understand a word of, then there is a translation at the bottom of the page!! :) Anywho...here is Chapter 1!!!
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy X or X-2. But, I am totally fascinated and obsessed with them!! Like everyone else isn't?!?
Chapter One: Enraged
I woke up that morning completely dazed, my head pounding madly. The sound of my throbbing temples in my ears, I pulled my pillow over my head in exasperation. I guess all the stress from over the last few days was finally piling up on me now that things had settled down. So much had happened in so short a time. It had been less than a week ago since Yuna had sung at the Thunder Plains, dazzling everyone with her voice. It wasn't long after that when Yuna, Paine and I had broken into Bevelle and jumped into that large hole to defeat Vegnagun and finally face Shuyin. At least now it was all over, and I could go home soon and relax.
I got up from my bed, made my way to the doors that led out to the balcony, and pulled open the thick drapes that covered them. The bright morning sun glared down through the glass, hurting my eyes and head even more. Realizing that I had made a mistake, I quickly shut the drapes again, walked back to my bed, and fell flat onto my stomach with my face buried in the tangled covers. Suddenly, a loud knock that hurt my ears came from the dark wooden door on the other side of the room.
"Rikku?" came Yuna's voice from the behind it. Pushing myself up and crossing the room, I made my way to the door, a not too happy look on my face. Yuna stared at me annoyed, when I opened the door wide.
"Why are you still in bed?" she said, pushing her way into the room. "The meeting has already started and you haven't even gotten dressed out of your pajamas yet!"
"Meeting?" I replied, not comprehending a word she was saying. "What meeting?"
"We discussed this yesterday. You obviously weren't paying attention!" Yuna said back to me, her voice rising with each syllable that left her mouth. "What were you doing all of yesterday during all those speeches in Luca? And even after that when we got here and Baralai clearly said that we were going to go over the political issues before we all went our different ways? I don't know about you, but I don't intend to stay here any longer than I have to." I didn't respond since my head felt as if a hammer had hit it.
"Uh! You're hopeless!" Yuna said, looking up as she spinned around on the balls of her feet to rummage through my bag.
"Here, put this on!" she said throwing me my mini skirt, bikini panties, and bra. Blowing my bangs from my face, I sighed. This was not going to be a fun day.
-"-"-
Yuna pushed me through the grand doors that opened into the room where the meeting was being held. The room was very striking with its intricately painted walls and its exquisite mosaic tiled floor. Each wall had a vast window that looked out over the puzzling city of Bevelle. The ceiling was dome-shaped and had the story of the origin of Spira painted on it in a tableau. In the middle was a large circular table, at which Paine, Baralai, Nooj, Gippal, and other members of New Yevon were seated. As I entered, stumbling from Yuna's push, all heads turned towards me. Baralai looked up from his papers that he had been previously reviewing, and eyed me with a look of irritation.
"Ahm," Baralai coughed, clearing his voice to gather the attention of the others. I sat down in the only available seat. "Now, about the matter on the underground temple..." I sunk back into the soft cushioning of the chair, Baralai's voice drawling in the background. My head still throbbing, I closed my eyes and put my hand to my forehead, my usual blue band not on today.
"At least keep your eyes open," I heard a voice whisper from beside me. I quickly opened them, and looked to the left of me. Sitting relaxed, with one arm slung over the back of his chair and one of his legs over the other, was Gippal. I hadn't noticed him there when I had come in distracted by the looks I was given by everyone. Not responding, I turned from him and faced forward trying harder to pay attention to what was being said. Despite my efforts, my mind drifted away again, Baralai's voice being drowned out by the sound of my pulsing headache.
"Where were you?" he whispered again, from the side of his mouth.
"Headache," I said, not turning to look over at him. Gippal had changed over the last few weeks that I had seen him. I could remember when we were kids, and how he would strut around "Home" like he was the best thing that had happened to the place. He had only gotten worse as we grew older. Gippal was the boy that all the girls were in love with and had obsessed over. He had always hit my nerves the wrong way, and every time I saw him I wanted to scream. He didn't even call me by my name; it was always 'Cid's Girl' or 'Brother's baby sister'. But when I was fifteen, he suddenly changed in my eyes. He was still as cocky as ever, except I had suddenly found myself being one of the girls that were in love with him. I hadn't told him that I had feelings for him, but whenever we met I was really quiet and not really sure what to say or what to do. And then, one night when I was skipping stones at the Oasis, he told me that he had feelings for me and kissed me. The time we spent together after that was pretty magical but, one day I saw him kissing another girl. I tried to tell myself that he was just some stupid boy, but my mind couldn't sway the fact that I had been really hurt. After that, I had tried my hardest to avoid him, keeping my anger and sadness welled up inside me. Soon we were forced to go our different ways; I left to help Yuna on her pilgrimage and he left to join the 'Crimson Squad'. The problem was just left unsolved, however when we met again recently at the Djose Temple he had acted like nothing had really happened between us.
Lately though, the arrogant Gippal I used to know had begun to disappear. He didn't strut around anymore, and he had actually started calling me Rikku. Even last night when he had come out and put a blanket around me wasn't anything like Gippal. Maybe it was just the situation that had restrained his behaviour or maybe something was actually changing inside of him.
"Until we can rebuild a stronger government, Spira will be headed by both New Yevon and The Youth League." Baralai said, looking up from his papers and gathering them together. "A monthly meeting will be held in Bevelle to discuss certain issues, and no decisions will be made without the support of both groups. With that I believe we have covered everything. Now we just have to convey this to the public." Baralai got up from where he was sitting and started to walk towards the grand doors. All the others around me began to get up and file out of the room as well, leaving me stunned and confused to dumbly follow them. I stepped out of the meeting room and onto a balcony that overlooked the High-bridge. Standing at the base of the gates and along the High-bridge, were hundreds of people cheering as all of us came out. I looked down at them, children and adults gathered to hear what Baralai and Nooj were going to say on behalf of New Yevon and The Youth League. Baralai stepped up to the podium that had been set up on the balcony, closely followed by Nooj, whose half-machina half-human body was causing his some difficulty.
"First of all," Baralai said into the microphone, the sun shinning down on the anticipating faces of Spira. "Both myself and my friend Nooj, would like to thank the people of Spira for being willing to support us as we endeavour to create a more peaceful and united government."
"It is you, the people," Nooj continued, supporting the statement that Baralai had just announced, "for who we strive to obtain a better society. We are working together to keep our wonderful land of Spira alive, so that generations and generations of peace may come. But if we don't stay united as one people all that we have worked for will sink. That is why we call upon you to help guide us in this difficult time."
"Until we are able to build one strong and unifying body," Baralai said, laying down the circumstance for the people. "Spira shall be governed by both New Yevon and The Youth League. We will seek for new reforms hand in hand that will bring Spira closer and closer to gaining complete harmony." Both Nooj and Baralai continued to inform the increasing crowd of all the decisions that had been made previously. Everyone's smiles grew larger as they began to believe that peace was truly being given to them. My own thoughts, on the other hand, had started to go in the opposite direction; each word that was uttered seemed to anger me even more than before. Eternal peace was always promised but in the end it was never given. People would always be different and so naturally times changed depending on who was ruling and who was being ruled over. No one seemed to notice that this is the way it had always been; everything was exactly the same. Soon all would go back to normal and everyone would calm down. Then more arguments and disputes will rise. Some of these disputes will go farther and people will end up fighting against each other again in more battles and pointless wars. My mind compelled me to say something: the anger was just too much.
"Gippal, leader of the Machine Faction, will now say something on behalf of the Al Bhed race." Nooj said, turning towards his friend who had begun to walk to the podium. The crowd cheered, the Al Bhed's voices rising above those of the rest of the people. He smiled and put his hand up to quiet down the crowd so he could begin to speak.
"I know one thing to be true," he began, entrancing all that were listening to him. I couldn't stand it; even he didn't see that nothing was different. "That we are all—"
"Wait!" I cried with all my strength, the echo of my yell bouncing off the many tall pillars surrounding us. Everyone stopped and looked at me, as I turned my head from each stunned face to the next. I ran up to the podium and pushed my way past Gippal whose eyes were critical.
"Can't you see it?" I said looking down at the people who were also shocked by my sudden disturbance of the speeches. "Nothing has changed; no one has changed; Spira hasn't changed. Peace has been promised to us over and over again but it has never really been given. Only certain problems have been solved, but new ones always arise. The Youth League and New Yevon may be working together now, but what happens when new arguments emerge and people disagree with one another once again. More wars will begin more pointless wars. And you people will just follow and accept what comes. What will you do when no one is leading you; what will you do when you have to fend for yourselves?" I looked down at their faces, each one exactly the same.
"Nothing," I said in almost a whisper. "You will do nothing." No one reacted to me. A growl grew from within my throat, more rage gathering within me.
"E lyh'd pameaja oui baubma!" I cried so angry and frustrated that I slipped into using Al Bhed. "Oui yna cu ekhunyhd!" I paused, my breathing hard from all the feelings that had come out of my words.
"E kiacc E's dra uhmo uh fru caac ed." I turned from the podium, all on the balcony especially Gippal, staring at me. I walked down and back to my room, tears gathering up in my eyes.
-"-"-
I rushed in my room, hurrying to pack up all my belongings. By now, tears were freely flowing down my cheeks, my eyes red and my face flushed.
I couldn't seem to handle all the emotions that had suddenly boiled up inside me. I hadn't cried for so long time, and now that I was, I couldn't stop. All of this crying was causing my headache to pound even more. It had to be more than just stress that was causing this headache and all my emotions to go haywire all at once.
Throwing my arms up and placing them on the top of my head, I made a groan of anger deep in my throat.
"Uh! Get a hold of yourself Rikku!"I said to myself angrily, while wiping the salty tears from my face. "Just get through today and you'll be fine!" Taking slow deep breaths, I managed to stop my crying. After a couple minutes of calming down a bit more, I was able to finish packing my bag. When I was done making sure I hadn't missed anything, I picked up a small black device that was used to contact the Celsius. I tapped it twice and then attached it to my black bra strap.
"Yes?" came the high pitched voice of my very odd brother. He paused for a couple of seconds, confused if the speaker was on or not. "Rikku? Is that you?"
"Oac, Brother!" I said annoyed, my voice growing louder as I continued. "ED'C SA!!"
"Whoa! Calm down!" he replied, his English stilted by his thick Al Bhed accent. "What do you want?"
"Everything is taken care of here," I said, pulling on my strap so that he could hear me the first time I said it. "Get the Celsius ready to leave!"
"Roger!" he cried into the device, the loud crackling sound causing me to wince back, my eyes squinting from the ear splitting sound. The transmission broke, leaving the room in silence once again. Sighing deeply, I flopped down onto the bed with my arms sprawled above me. Soon, I would be back at home in the Bikanel Desert and not have to worry about anything. I closed my eyes for a few minutes allowing my sore and tired head to relax. My few minutes passing rather quickly, I moaned and hauled myself up from the bed. In order to unwind I had to get home, and to do that I had to convince Yuna and Paine to leave to. I grabbed my bag and headed out the door.
I walked along the massive hallways, the sound of my footsteps ringing against the walls. I looked out of one of the large windows that were scattered along the corridor and up at the sky. It was now probably two o'clock in the afternoon since the sun was still high. As I hastily made my way along, I searched in all directions for the others but they were nowhere to be seen. Stopping abruptly in the middle of one hall, I made a groan of as my bag slowly slipped off of my shoulder and hit the marble floor.
"Whoa!" I heard Paine's low voice call from behind me. "Where are you going in such a hurry?" I quickly turned around, my blond hair whipping at the air around it. Both Paine and Yuna ran up to me, their faces confused.
"I've been looking for you two," I said, my voice showing my obvious frustration. "Where have you been?"
"We were with the others," Yuna replied as her brow furrowed in concern. "We were trying to figure out if you were okay. We decided it was best to give you some space." I looked down at the intricate floor with my arms clasped behind my back.
"Does everyone hate me for what I said?" asking meekly.
"No," Paine answered a half-smile forming on her face. I looked up again, as my green swirling eyes grew wider. "But everyone was wondering where the usual Rikku has gone." It was true; lately I hadn't been myself.
"You haven't been the same for some time now," Yuna said, agreeing with what Paine had just told me.
"I know," I replied sighing as I talked. "I guess I've been slowly turning less and less like myself since all the issues with New Yevon, The Youth League, and The Machine Faction started. When the wars began between them and Nooj and Baralai and Gippal all disappeared at the same time, things had just started to strike me more." Paine looked at Yuna and gave her an amused look. When they had first looked at each other I hadn't noticed anything different, but as I began to realize what was happening inside me I understood that there was more than just a glance between them.
"Right now, I just want to go home," I said to them. "That's why I was looking for you. What do you guys want to do?" Paine pulled her hand behind her head as a big smile curved across her face. I hadn't really seen Paine smile like that before; it was kind of nice to see her happy.
"I think I'm going to stay here for a while," she said to us, her dark maroon eyes not focused on anything in particular. I jumped up abruptly and squealed with delight. I knew exactly what she meant. Paine suddenly looked at me with squinted eyes.
"At least we know what can bring the usual Rikku back out!" Yuna said laughing as I had began to buckle under Paine's firm stare. "Seriously Paine, enjoy your time." she looked over at Yuna and smiled finally realising me.
"What about you?" Paine inquired, motioning her head up at Yuna. "Got any plans?"
"Yah," she answered. "I think I'm going to travel Spira again the old way. I haven't been able to see any part of it without being on some desperate mission." I looked at both of them, small tears filling up in my eyes.
"So we are actually going to go our separate ways now," I said, saddened that I wouldn't have my best friends with me anymore. Dashing up to them, I gathered both of them in a huge hug, their faces happily surprised. "I'll really miss you guys!"
"Don't worry, we'll stay in touch," Yuna said smiling as we broke away from our group hug. I nodded in agreement.
"Hey, if you ever see a commsphere don't be afraid to use it!" I said, my eyes still wide. Yuna and Paine both laughed at me.
"It's really nice to see you happy again," Yuna said to me, running her hand back and forth over my hair. "Say goodbye to everyone on the Celsius for us, okay?"
"Sure!" I answered. "And say bye to the guys for me." Yuna looked at me, one eyebrow raised over the other.
"Anything else you want me to say?" she asked a delighted look on her face. I eyed her, puzzled at what she was implying. I didn't answer and Yuna and Paine both laughed as the waved good bye and walked down the hall.
At the time, I didn't realize it, but both Yuna and Paine knew exactly what was happening to me. What they had said that day was still puzzling to me for quite a while after, but as time went on I understood what was meant and agreed that it was true.
I ran along the rest of the corridors to the hanger where the Celsius was waiting, happy that I was finally leaving. Once I found the hanger, I hurried into it but stopped abruptly as Gippal was about to walk out. I skidded on the back of my feet so that I wouldn't hit into him. The sudden halt caused my upper-half to lean forward, falling square onto his chest. I looked up still leaning against him and blushed.
"Leaving so soon?" he asked as he helped me stand up straight again.
"I just need to go home," I said quietly. I gazed up at him, my swirling eyes locking onto his. I made an inward sigh. No matter how much my mind might tried to say against it, I couldn't stop myself from thinking how handsome he was. He stood in front of me with his weight on his back leg. He was wearing his usual maroon and purple leather clothing. His hair, facial features, and patched eye were all really striking. No wonder me and about every other Al Bhed girl our age had fallen for him.
"Hmmm...okay," he replied breaking from the haze and nodding at me. "Well, then I'll see you later Rikku."
"Yah," I replied, my eyes closing slightly. "I'll see you later." I walked away from him, my head turning to watch him as he left the Hanger. Once the door closed behind him, I looked at my arms that had suddenly become rather cold. Running my fingers along my skin, I could feel the small Goosebumps that had formed. I quickly rubbed the upper parts of my arms as I ran up to the Celsius and got onto the ramp that had just been lowered. I dash onto the lift got up to the bridge and explained to Brother, Buddy, and Shinra that Yuna and Paine were going to go on their own for a while.
"Then where to?" Buddy asked me from his navigation chair at the front of the bridge. I smiled as I sunk back into my own spot across from him.
"Home!" I said, a wide smile stretching across my face.
"Yehaw!" Brother called from the cockpit, starting the engine and flying the airship out of the Hanger and over the city of Bevelle.
Translations
E lyh'd pameaja oui baubma! - I can't believe you people!
Oui yna cu ekhunyhd! - You are so ignorant!
E kiacc E's dra uhmo uh fru caac ed. - I guess I'm the only on who sees it.
Oac, Brother! - Yes, Brother!
ED'C SA!! - IT'S ME!!
Yay!! I really hope you enjoyed that!! Please review!!
