Again, I don't own FFX, FFX-2, or any of the characters in them. This is
just a story I'm writing as I go along. Don't expect anything flashy. I'm
just writing how I saw the story. It WILL pick up, just give it time.
Comments are welcome. Senseless flames are not.
Just a warning, I haven't had much experience uploading stuff, so if the format is all screwy and hard to read, please inform me and I'll try to fix it, somehow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 1 - (Two years later)
Yuna drew in a deep breath of the fresh air. Putting her fingers to her lips, she let the breath out in a long whistle that called out over the water. She stood silent for a moment, listening to the gulls cry and the ocean roll against Luca's docks. She felt disheartened, but she had not expected an answer. She sighed and turned away from the ocean, heading towards the airship that was resting at the docks.
This was finally it. The day when she became a Sphere Hunter. Rikku was already coming to greet her, skipping out onto the dock's landing and waving her arms wildly in the air towards her cousin. Yuna couldn't help but smile.
The morning was still quiet, it seemed Luca hadn't quite woken up yet. With Blitzball out of season, there wasn't very many crowds around, so people didn't really have a reason to get up early. It was the best time to slip away more or less unnoticed, though Yuna still wondered if it was a good idea to leave at all.
She had left Besaid a few days ago, traveling to Kilka, then to Luca. The airship would have disturbed everyone on Besaid Island, and she didn't want them to know she was going. So the best solution was to meet in Luca, where the airship would be met with curiosity, but no massing crowds. And of course, no Lulu or Wakka to tell her not to go or offer advice. She dearly loved them as family, but she had to do this journey on her own.
Walking towards her flailing cousin, she smiled more and recalled the events that had brought her to this point. It had been a painful time, the last two years. She had slowly come to terms with what had happened, though she never spoke of it. Everyone tried their best to comfort her, and not to mention the events. But they were burned into Yuna's mind to the point she would never forget them.
Life hadn't been very eventful after she had given her speech to the people of Spira, after the defeat of Sin. They had wanted her to become their leader, but she had refused. Now they treated her like she was above them, almost as if they worshipped her. Perhaps some of them did. But she was tired of it, and she didn't want to face it each day. So she quietly left Luca and returned to Besaid, for the first time in her life free of the burden of Sin and facing a free life ahead of her. She had needed time to think, time to enjoy the peace and quiet life in the village she had known while growing up.
But it wasn't the same anymore. The peacefulness was empty and the quiet was deafening. She felt empty and alone. Most of her days were spent sitting on the beach, staring off into the ocean. Lulu and the others had worried greatly for a while, but eventually they seemed to believe she was healing. Kimarhi left to become the Elder of his lost people, Wakka and Lulu were married, and Rikku left for Bikanel on Al Bhed business. Amid all the changes, Yuna realized that she had to change too. A new life lay in front of her, with no more worries of saving Spira or having the Calm run out. After a year, she began to become more cheerful again. She shed her old life, but hung on to the memories that were important to her. She still grieved inside, but she sought to keep going anyway.
Over the course of the next year, many people came from all over Spira to speak with her about various things. Many were the same, always asking if she would come to Luca and lead the people, or if she would move to Bevelle and settle the problems with the Yevonites and their lost faith. But she refused it all, she didn't want to leave Besaid and she saw no reason to go. Let someone else solve the problems of Spira, she had done her part, she didn't know how to run things.
Then came the offers of marriage. At first she was upset, and refused them outright. After a while she began to calm down and refused them more politely, but firmly. They wished to marry her for what she was to them, the High Summoner. They felt they loved her because of what she had done for Spira. But she felt nothing for them, not any of the men that came. Eventually they stopped coming, and she began to settle back down into life in Besaid, not content but striving to be happy.
Time went by, and as it reached the two year point, she began to realize she had the cravings for adventure again. She often felt restless, and though she loved the village dearly, she needed a change. Something was missing.
So when Rikku appeared with a mysterious sphere that Kimarhi had found, Yuna was quick to jump at the idea of going on a search for more. The images inside the sphere surprised her and made her spirit rise. It looked like him. But how could it be? She tried not to get her hopes up, but the image haunted her dreams. Was he alive, somehow?
There was no way she could let the matter rest.
Accepting Rikku's invitation to join the Gullwings, she finally decided to start another journey. But this time, she wouldn't be going on a mission to save Spira. She wouldn't have to worry about all her guardians, or the fact that she would die once she reached the end of it. This time, she could enjoy herself. And maybe, somehow, she'd find him.
"Yunie!" Rikku shouted, bouncing up and down and hugging her cousin. "I thought you weren't coming!" Yuna smiled and hugged Rikku back, pushing her thoughts to the back of her head. She could sort them out later, now she had to keep herself focused, or she'd miss something.
"I'm sorry, Rikku, but the boat from Kilka was running a bit late. We ran into a fiend along the way." Rikku grinned and opened her mouth to reply, when a tall figure walked out onto the docks beside her. Rikku shut her mouth and spun around to face the woman.
"Yunie, this is Paine! Paine, this is Yunie!" The woman regarded Rikku with a cool and unimpressed gaze. Then she looked to Yuna and nodded slightly, but said nothing. Yuna was slightly taken aback by the coldness, but Rikku didn't give her time to have a chance to say anything to the woman.
"Come on, Yunie, we've wasted enough time already! Let's go hunt some spheres!" To this Paine rolled her eyes, then started up the ramp into the airship. Yuna blinked in surprise, wondering why the woman seemed so. distant. She almost seemed like she didn't want to be here. Then why was she with the Gullwings?
Running up the ramp after Rikku, she decided to ask Rikku about it later. Maybe Paine was just having a bad day. In any case, she wouldn't let herself be bothered by it. She was in too good of a mood to feel down. Today her adventure was starting, and she wanted to enjoy as much of it as she could. Even though the one person she wanted to be with her wasn't, she would try to continue on.
Rikku led her up to the bridge, where she was introduced to the rest of the Gullwing crew.
"This is Shinra, he's our resident wonder kid. Any kind of machina, you name it, he knows all about it. He even invents stuff, though it's not always useful." Rikku chattered on, waving her arm towards a young boy sitting in a overly large chair in front of various machina consoles. He turned and waved, and Yuna was surprised to see that his entire body was covered in a suit, even his face.
"Pleased to meet you." He nodded politely, then turned back to the glowing console
"And this is Buddy! He's our pilot." Rikku waved towards the dark man standing nearby the pilot's seat. Goggles covered his eyes from view but there was a smile on his face.
"Nice to see you again!" He said cheerfully. Yuna frowned a little, and tried to remember.
"Again?" She finally asked apologetically, and his smile went away.
"I was on the airship two years ago, when you defeated Sin?"
Her mind drew a blank and she looked even more apologetic. "I'm sorry, I don't remember." He looked disappointed, but didn't say anything else. Rikku ignored them and waved her hand in Paine's direction.
"And you already met Paine! She's our. um. warrior! She's new too, so don't worry if you feel lost, you and Paine can help each other out!"
"If you're lost, that's your problem." Paine said coldly, staring at a point on the wall.
Rikku's face fell and she edged closer to Yuna, whispering into her ear.
"Don't mind her, she's just a bit grouchy. We don't really know much about her. I sure hope she's not always like this."
"Don't get your hopes up." Apparently either Rikku wasn't quiet enough, or Paine had very good hearing.
Rikku shot a teasing glare at Paine, then dragged Yuna away.
"And that's the crew!" She announced happily, swinging her arms around the bridge with a flourish.
"Rikku!" Shouted a voice, and someone suddenly dived into the room, screeching Al Bhed in Rikku's general direction.
Rikku sighed in annoyance as the man stood up and dusted himself off. Waving his arms in the air he turned to Rikku, looking very odd as he started to shout something at her.
"And you've already met Brother." Rikku said, completely ignoring him with a smile.
"Oh! I remember, you flew our airship two years ago." Yuna smiled, extending her hand to Brother as he turned to face her.
Instead of taking her hand, he suddenly twisted himself into an odd position and started muttering something in Al Bhed. He reached for her hand hesitantly, but acted as if it he was having great difficulty moving. Uncertain how to react, she looked over to Rikku.
"Stop that already!" Rikku shouted, and started kicking her brother in the ribs. Buddy came up beside them and just shook his head with a laugh.
"Don't mind him, he's just dumb." Rikku finally concluded, turning away from Brother and crossing her arms.
"I am also Captain!" Brother shouted from his place on the ground, giving his sister an angry glare.
"Captain?" Yuna asked raising her eyebrows in surprise.
Rikku gave a loud sigh and crossed her arms. "He thinks just because he started the Gullwings, he can be the Captain. But he doesn't really do much around here."
"Why you!" Brother shouted, and then continued on in Al Bhed. Rikku bantered back at him, and Buddy just shook his head.
"You better get used to this, they do it a lot." He said, then turned away and headed towards the pilot's seat. "I'm going to get us up into the air, if we hang around Luca anymore we're just going to attract unwanted attention."
Yuna seemed to be the only one who heard him, as Rikku and Brother continued to fight, and Paine walked out of the room in disgust.
It wasn't quite what she had expected. But things were definitely going to be interesting. With a grin, she turned towards the window and watched as they soared up out of Luca. The guilt she had felt about leaving was suddenly gone, and all she felt was the excitement of what was happening.
And in the back of her mind, the small hope continued to wait, holding tight to the memories and the image that was held in the sphere.
Just a warning, I haven't had much experience uploading stuff, so if the format is all screwy and hard to read, please inform me and I'll try to fix it, somehow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 1 - (Two years later)
Yuna drew in a deep breath of the fresh air. Putting her fingers to her lips, she let the breath out in a long whistle that called out over the water. She stood silent for a moment, listening to the gulls cry and the ocean roll against Luca's docks. She felt disheartened, but she had not expected an answer. She sighed and turned away from the ocean, heading towards the airship that was resting at the docks.
This was finally it. The day when she became a Sphere Hunter. Rikku was already coming to greet her, skipping out onto the dock's landing and waving her arms wildly in the air towards her cousin. Yuna couldn't help but smile.
The morning was still quiet, it seemed Luca hadn't quite woken up yet. With Blitzball out of season, there wasn't very many crowds around, so people didn't really have a reason to get up early. It was the best time to slip away more or less unnoticed, though Yuna still wondered if it was a good idea to leave at all.
She had left Besaid a few days ago, traveling to Kilka, then to Luca. The airship would have disturbed everyone on Besaid Island, and she didn't want them to know she was going. So the best solution was to meet in Luca, where the airship would be met with curiosity, but no massing crowds. And of course, no Lulu or Wakka to tell her not to go or offer advice. She dearly loved them as family, but she had to do this journey on her own.
Walking towards her flailing cousin, she smiled more and recalled the events that had brought her to this point. It had been a painful time, the last two years. She had slowly come to terms with what had happened, though she never spoke of it. Everyone tried their best to comfort her, and not to mention the events. But they were burned into Yuna's mind to the point she would never forget them.
Life hadn't been very eventful after she had given her speech to the people of Spira, after the defeat of Sin. They had wanted her to become their leader, but she had refused. Now they treated her like she was above them, almost as if they worshipped her. Perhaps some of them did. But she was tired of it, and she didn't want to face it each day. So she quietly left Luca and returned to Besaid, for the first time in her life free of the burden of Sin and facing a free life ahead of her. She had needed time to think, time to enjoy the peace and quiet life in the village she had known while growing up.
But it wasn't the same anymore. The peacefulness was empty and the quiet was deafening. She felt empty and alone. Most of her days were spent sitting on the beach, staring off into the ocean. Lulu and the others had worried greatly for a while, but eventually they seemed to believe she was healing. Kimarhi left to become the Elder of his lost people, Wakka and Lulu were married, and Rikku left for Bikanel on Al Bhed business. Amid all the changes, Yuna realized that she had to change too. A new life lay in front of her, with no more worries of saving Spira or having the Calm run out. After a year, she began to become more cheerful again. She shed her old life, but hung on to the memories that were important to her. She still grieved inside, but she sought to keep going anyway.
Over the course of the next year, many people came from all over Spira to speak with her about various things. Many were the same, always asking if she would come to Luca and lead the people, or if she would move to Bevelle and settle the problems with the Yevonites and their lost faith. But she refused it all, she didn't want to leave Besaid and she saw no reason to go. Let someone else solve the problems of Spira, she had done her part, she didn't know how to run things.
Then came the offers of marriage. At first she was upset, and refused them outright. After a while she began to calm down and refused them more politely, but firmly. They wished to marry her for what she was to them, the High Summoner. They felt they loved her because of what she had done for Spira. But she felt nothing for them, not any of the men that came. Eventually they stopped coming, and she began to settle back down into life in Besaid, not content but striving to be happy.
Time went by, and as it reached the two year point, she began to realize she had the cravings for adventure again. She often felt restless, and though she loved the village dearly, she needed a change. Something was missing.
So when Rikku appeared with a mysterious sphere that Kimarhi had found, Yuna was quick to jump at the idea of going on a search for more. The images inside the sphere surprised her and made her spirit rise. It looked like him. But how could it be? She tried not to get her hopes up, but the image haunted her dreams. Was he alive, somehow?
There was no way she could let the matter rest.
Accepting Rikku's invitation to join the Gullwings, she finally decided to start another journey. But this time, she wouldn't be going on a mission to save Spira. She wouldn't have to worry about all her guardians, or the fact that she would die once she reached the end of it. This time, she could enjoy herself. And maybe, somehow, she'd find him.
"Yunie!" Rikku shouted, bouncing up and down and hugging her cousin. "I thought you weren't coming!" Yuna smiled and hugged Rikku back, pushing her thoughts to the back of her head. She could sort them out later, now she had to keep herself focused, or she'd miss something.
"I'm sorry, Rikku, but the boat from Kilka was running a bit late. We ran into a fiend along the way." Rikku grinned and opened her mouth to reply, when a tall figure walked out onto the docks beside her. Rikku shut her mouth and spun around to face the woman.
"Yunie, this is Paine! Paine, this is Yunie!" The woman regarded Rikku with a cool and unimpressed gaze. Then she looked to Yuna and nodded slightly, but said nothing. Yuna was slightly taken aback by the coldness, but Rikku didn't give her time to have a chance to say anything to the woman.
"Come on, Yunie, we've wasted enough time already! Let's go hunt some spheres!" To this Paine rolled her eyes, then started up the ramp into the airship. Yuna blinked in surprise, wondering why the woman seemed so. distant. She almost seemed like she didn't want to be here. Then why was she with the Gullwings?
Running up the ramp after Rikku, she decided to ask Rikku about it later. Maybe Paine was just having a bad day. In any case, she wouldn't let herself be bothered by it. She was in too good of a mood to feel down. Today her adventure was starting, and she wanted to enjoy as much of it as she could. Even though the one person she wanted to be with her wasn't, she would try to continue on.
Rikku led her up to the bridge, where she was introduced to the rest of the Gullwing crew.
"This is Shinra, he's our resident wonder kid. Any kind of machina, you name it, he knows all about it. He even invents stuff, though it's not always useful." Rikku chattered on, waving her arm towards a young boy sitting in a overly large chair in front of various machina consoles. He turned and waved, and Yuna was surprised to see that his entire body was covered in a suit, even his face.
"Pleased to meet you." He nodded politely, then turned back to the glowing console
"And this is Buddy! He's our pilot." Rikku waved towards the dark man standing nearby the pilot's seat. Goggles covered his eyes from view but there was a smile on his face.
"Nice to see you again!" He said cheerfully. Yuna frowned a little, and tried to remember.
"Again?" She finally asked apologetically, and his smile went away.
"I was on the airship two years ago, when you defeated Sin?"
Her mind drew a blank and she looked even more apologetic. "I'm sorry, I don't remember." He looked disappointed, but didn't say anything else. Rikku ignored them and waved her hand in Paine's direction.
"And you already met Paine! She's our. um. warrior! She's new too, so don't worry if you feel lost, you and Paine can help each other out!"
"If you're lost, that's your problem." Paine said coldly, staring at a point on the wall.
Rikku's face fell and she edged closer to Yuna, whispering into her ear.
"Don't mind her, she's just a bit grouchy. We don't really know much about her. I sure hope she's not always like this."
"Don't get your hopes up." Apparently either Rikku wasn't quiet enough, or Paine had very good hearing.
Rikku shot a teasing glare at Paine, then dragged Yuna away.
"And that's the crew!" She announced happily, swinging her arms around the bridge with a flourish.
"Rikku!" Shouted a voice, and someone suddenly dived into the room, screeching Al Bhed in Rikku's general direction.
Rikku sighed in annoyance as the man stood up and dusted himself off. Waving his arms in the air he turned to Rikku, looking very odd as he started to shout something at her.
"And you've already met Brother." Rikku said, completely ignoring him with a smile.
"Oh! I remember, you flew our airship two years ago." Yuna smiled, extending her hand to Brother as he turned to face her.
Instead of taking her hand, he suddenly twisted himself into an odd position and started muttering something in Al Bhed. He reached for her hand hesitantly, but acted as if it he was having great difficulty moving. Uncertain how to react, she looked over to Rikku.
"Stop that already!" Rikku shouted, and started kicking her brother in the ribs. Buddy came up beside them and just shook his head with a laugh.
"Don't mind him, he's just dumb." Rikku finally concluded, turning away from Brother and crossing her arms.
"I am also Captain!" Brother shouted from his place on the ground, giving his sister an angry glare.
"Captain?" Yuna asked raising her eyebrows in surprise.
Rikku gave a loud sigh and crossed her arms. "He thinks just because he started the Gullwings, he can be the Captain. But he doesn't really do much around here."
"Why you!" Brother shouted, and then continued on in Al Bhed. Rikku bantered back at him, and Buddy just shook his head.
"You better get used to this, they do it a lot." He said, then turned away and headed towards the pilot's seat. "I'm going to get us up into the air, if we hang around Luca anymore we're just going to attract unwanted attention."
Yuna seemed to be the only one who heard him, as Rikku and Brother continued to fight, and Paine walked out of the room in disgust.
It wasn't quite what she had expected. But things were definitely going to be interesting. With a grin, she turned towards the window and watched as they soared up out of Luca. The guilt she had felt about leaving was suddenly gone, and all she felt was the excitement of what was happening.
And in the back of her mind, the small hope continued to wait, holding tight to the memories and the image that was held in the sphere.
