Author's Note: This is an example of where that whole Lewis Carol quote "Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop" really makes absolute sense. It's shorter then the others chapters, but it just seemed to end... of course the fact that it's currently 3:20 in the morning might have something do with it... nah... I think that it's a good stopping point, you'll have to judge for yourself and unless you just skipped over this note, you have no idea waht the frock I am talking about anyway... I ramble... On the plus side, this just means I still know exactly which way the story is going, so no writer's block as of yet, knock on wood. knock knock If I reiterated a bit from the first chapter, I apologize... and if you see any extraneous commas you have my permission to whack me over the head with a large blunt object. Those damn commas will be the death of me...

Chapter Three: The Storm

"The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds, and the tranquil water-way leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky--seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness".

-- Joseph Conrad

As Rikku drew away from the party and out into the night, the pressing feeling of claustrophobia diminished, but a feeling of dread remained in the pit of her stomach. She didn't understand it. For the first time in her life she was free of all obligations. She should be ecstatic. The Al Bhed were by free spirited by nature, that's why they branched out into so many different fields, and constantly changed their lifestyles. While Rikku had always been glad to do what she could for Spira, what she could do for Yunie, she had spent that time stifled, restricted, succumbing to childish antics to keep up the pretense that everything was going to be ok. When Yunie was saved and Tidus seemed lost, her energy was spent on making it right. It's right now... it's right! She was always the happy one, the quirky one, the one who did not get depressed Rikku was the mannequin whose face was forever locked in a smile, even as the world went to hell. She was the ballerina in the box, twirling and twirling, trapped in dance over which she had no control, so all she could do was move with the beat. Yunie knew that dance and that gave Rikku the strength to dance it with her: The ultimate masquerade... Could she rip of the mask? Would she find herself in the mirror, or find only a shell, filled to the brim with unshed tears. Rikku had listened to Tidus's sphere... "Listen to my story..." That was all her life amounted to; a mere echo in someone else's story...

Rikku shuddered slightly, deeply disturbed by the direction of her thoughts. They were completely and utterly unlike her. It was as if some fiend rested on her shoulder, reaching into her mind to stir up shadows... Rikku breathed deeply of the humid night air, trying to push the disturbing images she had conjured from her mind, and it suddenly dawned on her that perhaps this feeling of foreboding had nothing to do with her uncertainty over the future, but something else... Rikku sighed. She was just being ridiculous. In order to make herself feel better, she began to hum the Hymn of the Fayth as she walked. As one of the heretic Al Bhed "heathens", Rikku had never viewed the hymn to be some sacrosanct expression of faith in Yevon, but a meaningful song nonetheless. It was a song of peace, and she used it to clear the turmoil in her mind. It was this quality of the song that she was certain had held Sin-Jecht so spellbound. As the clear sound of her own humming rang out into the night, Rikku felt soothed. Her feet ceased to drag and she even began to entertain thoughts of going for a swim once she reached the beach. As she reached the crossroads, she forced her head up. She had walked with her gaze cast down, partially due to the nature of her thoughts, but mostly for practicality, the nights were dark on the island and she had to be very careful where she stepped. She wanted to see the beach gleaming in the moonlight in all its pristine glory. Now that she was paying closer attention her surroundings, she found that it was a lot darker then it had been when she left. As Rikku looked up, she noticed a group of thick black clouds, blotting out her view of the stars. She frowned. Maybe there was going to be a—

Rikku's foot hit something solid, and propelled forward, she tumbled to the ground, striking her right elbow hard on the rocky soil. Rikku swore at her clumsiness.

"Cruubivv! Knayd zicd knayd, hela kuehk, Rikku... Naym csuudr..."

Shoopuff! great just great, nice going Rikku... Real smooth...

She clutched at her elbow, trying to ignore the painful throb as she turned to see what had tripped her. Her expression darkened even further when she saw in the faint light that it was none other then her older brother, who had gone off, just as she suspected. Rikku rolled away from him, thoroughly irritated. She glared at him, ready to give him a piece of her mind.

"Oui tnihgah cuh uv cysymyhtan! Fryd yna oui tuehk zicd moehk eh dra settma uv dra—"

You drunken son of samalander! What are you doing just lying in the middle of the—

Rikku broke off from her shouting when she realized that her brother hadn't made a wound, not a whimper, not a peep, not one... not even when she had fallen over him. Her body leaned forward of it's own will, despite the inner voice telling her that she must not look... at that moment there was a faint flash of light, illuminating the features on her brother's face before flickering back into darkness again. The one look was enough, the deep gash, the widely staring eyes, looking up at the sky unseeing... glazed over in death. She began to scream...

Rikku had seen dead bodies before, she had seen people die; the look in a person's eyes in that final moment, and she had seen the fiends that spawned from the violence when an innocent life was taken. Rikku didn't really remember her mother. She had died when Rikku was young, and without any strong memories to recall her, her death just didn't havethe full effect. The closest thing that resembled a memory was a familiar voice singing in the dark. Her brother though... he had always been there. Sure he tried to bully her and was as daft as they come, but he had a good heart, and had always looked out for her. Sure, he was responsible for her fear of thunderstorms— Rikku had been swimming in the water when a fiend came after her. Her brother had seen andused a spell of lightning to zap the fiend. The first time he missed, hitting Rikku instead, but that wasn't the point. He had been trying to save her and as Rikku went into shock, her pulled her out of the water and carried her all the way back home for help, whispering to her all the while. Oui'mm pa ug. Ed'c ymm kuehk du pa ug. You'll be ok, it's all going to be ok. At the age of six, her big brother was her hero. Rikku had believed him then, but now... It was never going to be ok ever again.

Rikku's scream turned into a loud choking sob, as she pressed her hand against her brother's face. Then she screamed again, this time in anger. She would kill the bastard that did this. Hearing a sound behind her, Rikku whirled and slapping aside the outstretched arm, she darted out of reach. Her eyes widened when she saw who it was. His silvery hair and the burning blue eyes were unmistakable.

"You! What are you doing here!"

Rikku glanced down at her brother then up at the man again. She searched his face for answers and finding none she let her gaze fall downward, eventually coming to rest on the sword he carried, the outline of which was visible in the dark. She looked up swiftly again, her eyes blazing.

"Did you do this? Did you kill him!"

The man stared at her for a moment then very slowly he shook his head.

"No... It wasn't me."

Rikku scowled at him, the tears still streaming down her cheeks as she gestured towards his weapon.

"You expect me to believe that!"

The man shrugged slightly, but his eyes never left her face.

"I don't care what you believe..."

This only made Rikku angrier, the guy was a jerk. Her brother was lying dead on the ground, and that was all he could say! Rikku didn't have time for this. She had to go find her father, had to get...help. Kneeling next to her brother, she pressed a kiss on his clammy forehead, and got to her feet again. Pops... What was she going to say to him? Deciding to just ignore the man, she hurriedly stepped past him to head back to the village. Rikku yelped when his hand shot out and he grabbed her wrist, swinging her back around so she faced him. He once again stood between her and the way back to the village. Pulling her arm out of his grasp she glared furiously up at him though he still had the same obnoxiously expressionless look on his handsome face.

"Hey! Get away from me, what's the big idea. I have to go back... to tell them."

To warn them. Rikku tried to step by again, but the man moved to block the way again. She felt tears prickling at her eyes again, and she hurriedly brushed them away. "Let me by you big jerk!"

The man shook his head again. "You can't go back there. It's not safe." Rikku paled, a chill running down her spine.

"What do you mean it's not safe! You were following me..." Nod. Rikku stared at him in horror as she that his eyes weren't just bright; they were actually glowing in the dark. The man took a step forward and instinctively Rikku took a step back.

"Look, I— damn it!"

The man broke off as Rikku whirled and sprinted down the path to the beach, kicking off her shoes so she could run faster. She could hear him behind her which only made her run harder. When she reached the sandy shore, Rikku was hit by a gust of wind, and a sight that made her freeze in her tracks. The sky had completely darkened with a mass of turbulent dark clouds. They churned furiously with strange purple and red lights. They moved quickly, writhing, and pulsing with dark energy, the ocean bubbled in response, the waves crashing violently against the beach, which glowed with an eerie light, all in reaction to the storm which almost seemed like an entity unto itself as shadowy tendrils spiraled down from the clouds, covering the land with dark shadows. Rikku's hair flagged violently in the wind as she stared transfixed at the raging storm. She forgot everything for the moment and didn't even care when the man came to stand beside her, she tilted her head as she addressed him.

"What... what is it!"

From the corner of her eyes, Rikku could see him turn, watching her profile with a cold light in his blue eyes.

"The end."