A/N: I deeply apologize for the long wait. As you will see chapter two is pretty long. It took me a while to write. (I only strive for the best). Thank you for those who reviewed. You guys are why I keep going. Even if it's only two people.

Leon S. Kennedy-ec-rud: cool name. I was getting bored of seeing so many ffx-2 fanfics go fluffy and generic on me. I'm usually attracted to odd pairings and even those are hard to find. Why won't people give it a chance? I don't know. I guess my summary isn't catching enough?

Keep-me-in-the-shadows: thank you a lot. I've never had anyone complement me like that before. (Blushes…clears throat) moving on. It takes me a while to write a chapter because I'm my worse critic. I want the best for everyone. Hopefully I did a good job on this chapter.

Oh yeah…um…review.

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy X or X-2

Chapter Two: How it all began

"Missh Rikku" I heard a voice ask. "Missh Rikku wake up"

I opened my eyes and they were met with yellow sphere like ones. The blue figure known as Barkeep was peering down at me. It took me a minute to register what was going on and then I remembered.

"We are here yessh?" he asked.

I sat up and watched him walk over to the stairs. I stretched and yawned. Jumping up from the bed I took my back pack and journal from the night stand. I headed down to the elevator where my destination patiently waited.

I made it to the exit to say goodbye to Brother.

"If you are in trouble, you will call me" he said doing a hero like pose.

I giggled a bit then sighed. Sometimes I questioned his sanity.

"I'll call when I need a ride" I turned around and walked down the ramp of the air ship. I heard the door slam shut and felt wind it created during it's departure. The air ship disappeared with in seconds.

I looked around me. I wasn't at the Moonflow banks to be exact. I was at the road to go to it. Walking down I could hear the crickets chirping. I took a deep breath and smelled the perfume of grass and dirt. On the way I saw a young man and I winked and smiled at him. But I didn't make this journey to look at guys. I made my way past the tunnel that was created by the tall overlapping trees and finally got to the Moon Flow.

There was Tobli's band playing a beautifulsoft melody on a wagon near the Moonflow banks. It fit perfectly with the atmosphere. The Moonflow didn't look like a place that should have fast upbeat music. I admired them for a moment and moved on. I walked along the Flow seeing the pyreflies kiss and dance over the water.

I decided that this is the perfect spot to begin. I was near the music and there was a tree right behind me that provided the perfect shade. I sat down ignoring the fact that I might get dirty and dug through my back pack. I took out the journal and a pen. Taking a deep breath I opened it to a clean page and began my story.

Journal Entry #1

As a hyper active child I never really thought before I acted. I was clumsy and that always led to trouble. Either I was breaking something important or trying to steal something and getting caught in the act.

I never really had my own friends. It wasn't because Cid was my father. I was either too hyper to hang out with girls or too annoying to hang out with boys. So I forced my friendship upon Brother, Buddy and Gippal. Of course they didn't like me there but I knew that Brother couldn't just flat out leave me because pops would punish him. I took advantage of that fact and tagged happily along.

We were by the sand dunes digging for machina parts. It was our playground and fiends never attacked there. Sometimes an adult was there with us to make sure that we wouldn't leave and encounter fiends. But they were always driven away by our high pitched laughs, screams, and annoying questions.

There where other kids digging and running around playing games. I was with Brother and Gippal.

"Look! I found a part" I said showing it to Brother and Gippal. Gippal rolled his eyes.

"Rikku, you do know that all of these parts are planted in the sand for us to find?" he asked.

Yes. I did know that. I'd been digging in that playground as early as I could walk. I wasn't stupid to see that the adults planted machina parts and didn't bother to change them either. Gippal was just trying to get on my case. Even at the age of seven, Gippal always found a way to act older and mature and rain on my sunshine at the same time.

"Soooooo? I don't care!" I yelled "Why do you always have to ruin the fun Gippal?" I whined. I threw the part back down to the sand. I looked at it. It was same part that I found yesterday and after finding it, annoyingly paraded around Gippal screaming "Look what I found!" over and over again.

"Look, keep digging here, we'll be on the other side" Gippal stood up and dusted off some sand from his clothes.

"But I want to come too!" I said standing up. I felt the excess sand slither down my bare tanned legs. I put my goggles up to where my pig tails were.

"Stay here!" Brother was getting annoyed.

I huffed and kicked the sand. My little tantrum didn't seem to stop them though. Watching them leave I felt like I was going to cry. It wasn't fair. Why didn't anyone like to be with me?

There wasn't an adult on the outside of the entrance and I didn't want to wait for one. I got up from the sandy bed and left. I was so angry that I didn't see that my shoes were untied and I tripped and fell. I tried to block the fall with my hands and knees but it was a bad idea. The stinging sensation was starting to burn.

I stood up and saw that my knees and the palms of my hands were starting to bleed.

"Aww!" I pouted. I looked but there wasn't anyone around. I shrugged my shoulders and walked home. I didn't encounter any fiends because mom gave me a charm bangle, it repels any fiend attacks. Brother had one too but doesn't want me to tell Gippal because he always bragged at all the fiends that he's defeated.

I walked through the living area and went upstairs to my parent's room. Everything seemed so big in there. I looked up to where the bed was and saw a white dress neatly laid out on the bed. But my eyes traveled up to the shelf where the first aid kit was. I took a chair and pushed it to the bed and got on. I couldn't reach the shelf. I was pretty short for a six year old. I decided the best thing was to jump up and down until I could knock it off or grab it.

"Rikku! What are you doing?" The voice startled me and I turned while doing a jump to see who it was. It was mom and her bright green eyes were wide in shock.

I accidentally fell on her white dress. I saw that I stained it a little and looked up at her to see if she looked angry. Her attention wasn't on the dress. She quickly came over and looked at my injuries.

"I got hurt" I said sitting up and showing her my palms.

"Here, let's get you cleaned up" her voice was so soft and soothing. When I couldn't sleep at night she would always come in and talk to me until I fell asleep.

She reached up for the kit and opened it. It had many small bottles and cloths. She took out a potion and cloth and dabbed it on my knees. It felt weird because I could see the wound heal up. She dabbed some one my hands and I saw the scrapped skin reappear as new.

I looked at her dress that was ruined by my carelessness.

"Mommy I'm sorry about your dress" I said softly. I felt bad about it.

She turned to look and just noticed it.

"Oh it's just a dress, as long as you're better, it's all that really matters" she took the dress in her hands and she giggled like a little girl "No worries, I can always get another one" she folded the dress and put it away.

I wanted to get brother in trouble for not letting me play so I did what I did best.

"Mommy, can you tell Brother that he has to let me hang out with him?" I asked

She laughed.

"Now you know how I feel about you playing with brother and his friends. They're boys and play unfair. Don't you want to play with the girls?" she answered putting away the potion and reassembling the little glass bottles. She closed the kit and placed it back on the shelf on top of the bed.

"But they don't like me either" I complained.

She sighed and bent down in front of me.

"They do like you. Who wouldn't like you? Look, how about we spend the rest of the day together? We can go and by a new dress and maybe pick something for you!"

"Ok!" I jumped off the bed and she started tickling me. I ran and she chased me all the way to the outside of the house.

"Are you ready?" she said placing a note informing pops where we went on the door.

I nodded my head while still catching my breath. She took my hand and we were off to a different part of the desert.

Hand in hand, I felt this joy burst through my heart. She didn't see me as some annoying kid. She actually listened to all my babble and laughed at all my stories. Even if I made them up most of the time. She actually cared about who I was and I felt like I could tell her anything.

Our home was in the Sanubia Desert was like small city. Every thing was in different sections. There were here was broken ruins everywhere. There was also the Summoner's Sanctum where other Al Bhed lived. We walked passed that and went to the part where everyone sold items and clothes.

It looked like a huge scary dome from the outside. Inside was different. It was full of happy vendors trying to get you into their stores.

I stopped at the toy vender and looked at the new toys. Some were very small machinas with flashing lights, others were dolls and actions figures. I took a small machina. My mother didn't notice and dragged me away.

"Bye, bye" I chirped happily waving with my new stolen toy at the vender.

"Hey!" he said but we were already out of his sight.

Mom saw her favorite clothing shop. We went inside and my eyes were drowned with various colors. Mom went straight to picking and I was just walking around letting my hands just brush against the many different fabrics.

I reached a round rack and I went in the middle. I felt dizzy as I turned around and around with all the different colors rushing by me. I guess I turned a little too fast because the next thing I knew I knocked over the rack and a very angry owner was looking down at me.

"Rikku!" mom just came over and noticed what I did.

"I'm so sorry, it'll never happen again. I…" she said to the shop keeper but her sentence was cut off short. Everything rumbled around us. On instinct mom picked I up hugged me to her as if to protect me.

Everything rumbled again and racks of clothes fell over.

"What's going on?" she asked the store owner.

"I don't know!" he said shouting

The rumbling stopped and then an explosion was heard. I could feel my mom's heart beat through her shirt. She ran out the store and we were met with a mob of people panicking and screaming. Everyone was trying to exit the dome. We were pushed and shoved but it was all blocked.

That's when I heard a roar and the planet rumble again. My grip on mom tightened.

"Sin is attacking!" Someone yelled.

The ceiling of the dome crumbled on one side and the metal pieces fell on some civilians instantly killing them under its weight. The sun's rays came through giving light to the dim shopping center.

"This is impossible! Sin can't attack here! It only travels through water!" Mom yelled frantically, she was trying to find a way to go through the exit with out us getting trampled.

I buried my face into her neck. It was already damp with sweat and her pulse was insanely beating.

Sin has no limits. Sand would be its water today. It was all that could be said about the situation.

There was another explosion and more screams. We were shoved so hard that we lost our grip on each other. I looked up from the ground and my mom was gone.

"Mommy! Mom!" I screamed but no one came to me. People were tripping all around me or making me trip. I was walking against the direction they were running. I wanted my mom.

"Mommy!" I cried as I could feel my eyes fill up with tears. I was getting nervous and scared. I couldn't see her and everyone looked the same. Blond heads and green eyes were everywhere.

"Sinscales!" I heard someone yell. I turned around and saw that the entrance of the dome was getting clearer now but some Al Bhed soldiers were coming in with weapons.

"Rikku!" I turned and saw my mom. Her arms were open to embrace me. My heart overflowed with relief.

"Mommy!" I cried. I ran towards her. It was going to be ok. She was going to get us out of here and we were going to make it.

Then I saw her stiffen up. A large needle from a Sinscale came from the back and embedded itself into her back and came out through her torso. It shot out and exited leaving a huge gaping hole. I could see right through her.

I stopped dead in my tracks and felt my jaw drop. Her arms were still in front of her. The expression of her tanned face went pale and her green eyes rolled back.

"Mommy" I whispered with salty streams falling down my cheeks.

She fell down to her knees and she slumped backwards. A pool of blood soon surrounded her. I ran to her and I didn't care if people were still around me almost trampling me. I bent down to her head and cradled her. She was still alive but her breath was shallow.

"Mommy?" I cried.

"Ri-kku," she coughed up blood trying to breathe and talk to me at the same time.

Her bloody hand slowly reached up and touched my cheek leaving red imprints of her fingers.

"Ri…" her chest swelled up for the last time and let out a final breath.

"Mommy? Mommy!" she wouldn't wake up to my voice. Her eyes were open but the life and happiness that always shined through were clouded with death.

I kissed her forehead and held her close to me. Her soft blond hair was intertwined with my fingers as I gave her a massage on her scalp. Mom always got real bad headaches. She would let me do that to relax her and she would be good as new later on. That didn't help either.

A loud shriek distracted me from a far distance ahead. I looked up and saw a Sinscale coming towards us. It stopped and got ready to attack. Its needles pointed out of its oyster like armor and were aimed directly at me. I closed my eyes out of fear.

Then I heard a loud explosion in front of me. I expected instant death but I opened one eye and saw a blackened spot where the Sinscale used to be. I opened my other eye and turned around to see an Al Bhed solider. He put his weapon down and took off his goggles. He ran up and bent down to my level. He looked at my mother and recognized right away who I was.

"Are you ok?" Does it hurt anywhere?" he inspected my body for any injuries. I shook my head no slowly.

He cupped my face and peered into my eyes.

"I'm going to take you back to Cid. Everything will be…"

Before he could finish that sentence I felt warm blood catapult on my face along with sharp pieces of his skull. I blinked trying to get some of the blood out of my eyes but it stung. A jelly like substance clung to my face. Some of his blood seeped into my mouth but it was hard trying to keep the salty thick liquid out.

I had small cuts on my face from the sharp bones and they stung like fire. After blinking a few times, I saw what was in front of me. Half of his head was gone. The only surviving part was his bottom jaw. Thick crimson blood bubbled and gargled out looking like a water fall over his chin and neck. His hands still cupped my face. My body was paralyzed in fear and shock. The solider slumped to the side letting me go.

Behind him was a Sinscale. Its violet needles covered the rim of its concrete wings. It shrieked and stomped it's feet as if I was going to challenge it. I stared into its glistened oval ebony eyes. Its gaze of darkness raped me of my very innocence and it was then that I knew that I was never going to get it back or ever be the same.

It retreated as if some greater being was calling it back. Someone picked me up and turned me around. It was another solider. I looked up to him blinking and numb. He bent down and shook me a bit.

His mouth was moving but in my mind no sound came out. I felt his strong arms around me and he ran toward the exit of the dome. We were out with in seconds leaving behind dead bodies and other soldiers fighting against the sin scale. Outside of the crumbling dome was Sin. It roared as the soldiers tried to injure it with heavy machinas.

I felt tired. I buried my face into his chest, everything around me disappeared.

I wokeup laterin my bed. I was in my room. I looked around the pink room to see it nice and neat. From the window it looked like either early evening or very early morning. I looked at my arms and felt my face. The blood and grime were gone and my cuts were healed. I had on my pajamas. I thought that everything that happened was a big nightmare.

I got off my bed and went to the door. As I went to open it I heard a voice I didn't recognized.I ran back and hid under my covers.

"We still don't know how Sin found its way here." The voice said. My parent's room was right across from mine.

"How many casualties?" that voice I did recognized. It was pops.

"We're still recovering bodies. But so far 1500 have been found and identified."

There was silence for a quick second.

"Is everyone following my instructions?"

"Yes, no one is allowed to go out into the desert and all of our soldiers are searching the area and killing any stray sin spawn" The mystery man responded.

"I have to give a speech soon. I can't leave our people like this. Some words of encouragement would do some good at a time like this." I heard his foot steps walk back and forth in the room.

"Did you get a Summoner?"

"No, not yet. So far none want to help us send our dead because we're Al Bhed."

Pops grunted. "I'm not surprised."

There was another pause and more foot steps.

"She's traumatized Cid."

"She was covered in blood! How can't she be?" Pops sounded angry.

There was a dead silence for a moment.

"She's dead isn't she?" pops asked defeated. His weakness showed in his voice. It almost cracked.

"Yes…we found her body…I'm sorry."

"She left a note, explaining why they went to the dome."

"What are you trying to say Cid?"

Silence hung in the air.

"Cid? What are you trying to say?"

"If Rikku didn't ruin her dress then she would be here!" he roared.

I flinched. My heart skipped a beat at the loud boom of his voice.

Then I heard him break down and cry. I never heard pops cry before. And it WAS because of me. I've always got into trouble and felt guilty but this was different. I killed my mother. I killed her and she's not coming back. She wasn't going to heal my bruises when I fall. She wasn't going to listen to my exaggerated stories or laugh at my not so funny jokes. She wasn't going to talk to me at night before I go to sleep. Wasn't going to say that she would play with me and say she loved me.

Sorrow hung deep within my heart and consumed it until I couldn't breathe. I turned on my bed and faced the wall. I sensed someone in my room but I didn't want to turn around because I didn't want them to know that I was awake and silently crying.

"Esuna." I heard pops voice whisper.

I felt my body relax. The warm sensation ran through my body. I didn't want to close my eyes but the spell won the best of me. I closed them. The images of my mother lying in a pool of her own blood and the exploding soldier's head colored the darkness that my lids provided as pops words kept repeating themselves in my head.

'If Rikku didn't ruin her dress then she would be here.'

She's gone and she's never coming back.

The only person to blame for her death was me….

Rikku

I stopped writing when I felt my eyes blur a little. I blinked and I saw a tear reach the page. I wiped it off and noticed that it made my name smudge a little. My name was still there but it looked like someone was trying to erase it. That's how I felt at the moment. I felt like I was there but my emotions were trying to erase me from my existence.

I wiped my eyes and noticed that I was alone in the Flow. Tobli's band was gone and the people that usually stood at the end of the living dead river were gone. I closed the journal and put it in my back pack.

I stood up and felt the prickling feeling you get when your leg is asleep and it's grumpily waking up. I stretched and saw a lonely hypello walk by.

"Hey! Is the Shoopuf still making any trips?" I said

"Yessh," he answered. He turned in the direction of the traveling. I ran after him and finally got to the other end. Tobli's band was there but they weren't playing any music. I saw a mother of two trying to calm down her children and a fruit stand. My stomach rumbled and I walked towards it.

"Hiya! What you got today?" I asked admiringly. He was ayoung man of what I could guess fifteen.

"You-re Ri-kku" he stuttered.

I laughed at his nervousness.

"Yup! So can I have that fruit cup?" I asked pointing to the ice tub full of cups filled with assorted pieces of fruit.

He still looked like he was in shock. He simply nodded his head and went and got it for me. I wanted to laugh but it would only embarrass him.

"Thanks," I said paying the Gil necessary. I skipped off and walked up to the hypello that controlled the elevator. The Shoopuf was there looking as monstrous as ever yet it was well known for being a peaceful creature.

"Ride the Shoopuf?" He asked.

"All aboards?" He said talking to anyone else who wanted to join me. The woman with the two bickering kids came up. We got on the elevator and boarded the Shoopuf. I took my seat at the far end. The kids were still quarreling with each other. I was surprised that they didn't notice me and grateful for it. I got comfortable, sat back and I enjoyed the sweet juicy goodness of the fruit while watching the yellow sky.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading the second chapter. Remember to leave a review on your way out. I will try to get three up in another week.