Chapter Two: Follow that Moogle
I slammed down upon something hard and warm; I could feel the sun beaming down upon the back of my neck. My brain seemed to be able to function, though I felt a little dizzy. My body felt like it was on fire having landed on the hard stone floor. I opened my eyes, and adjusted them to the light; Where was I? The sound of ships moving on a harbor nearby; the sound of seagulls flying overhead; the sound of people talking…all of this passed through my ears. But then--
I slammed down upon something hard and warm; I could feel the sun beaming down upon the back of my neck. My brain seemed to be able to function, though I felt a little dizzy. My body felt like it was on fire having landed on the hard stone floor. I opened my eyes, and adjusted them to the light; The sound of ships moving on a harbor nearby; the sound of seagulls flying overhead; the sound of people talking…all of this passed through my ears. But then--
"You alright?" came a deep voice, with what I took to be a Jamaican accent attached to it. I knew that voice; I turned over on my back, and looked up at the source of the voice; my stomach did a summersault. Standing there at roughly six feet, one inches, Wakka stood; he had orange hair and hazel eyes; he was wearing the same Baggy yellow sweat pants; strange looking flip flops, and that strange contraption on his right hand from Final Fantasy X. He was wearing a vest of some sort as well; it was amazing how defined his body looked when looking up at him.
"Uh…yeah," I said as he extended his hand. I grabbed hold as he lifted me to my feet. I began dusting myself off, but all the while, keeping my hazel eyes locked on to Wakka. I couldn't believe it; this was real…he was actually standing in front of me.
Wakka grinned. "You don't have to stare, ya? I know I'm good-looking, but geez, cut me some slack," he said running his hand over through his hair.
I quickly unlocked my gaze. "Sorry,"
"Its alright. That was some fall, eh? You just appeared out of nowhere, like you fell from the sky,"
At this point, I looked around and realized where I was. I was standing at the foot of the stairs leading to what I guessed as the Mi'hen Highroad. I was standing at the top most part of Luca, the second largest city on Spira.
"Luca," I whispered, walking towards the railing so I could get a better view. The city did indeed look pretty from up high; the Blitzball stadium was huge, compared to what I saw in Final Fantasy X. The docks surrounding it were large too.
"Beautiful, aint it?" Wakka asked, walking over to me. "Too bad I'm gonna have to leave it though,"
I turned to him. "Where are you going?"
"Back to Besaid, ya? I'm about to be a father. I cant leave Lu all by herself; she'd kill me," he said, and I my eyes widened. Wakka, a father? No…I had to be dreaming; Wakka and Lulu, together?
I didn't know what to say, but I said the first thing that came to mind. "Congratulations,"
"Thanks," Wakka said, smiling. "I better be going. Can't miss the boat. You be careful, ya? Oh, could you do me a favor?" he asked, as he began walking away, but then stopped.
"S-sure,"
"Could you tell Yuna I said hey? I haven't seen her since she left Besaid, and that was three months ago. Tell her Wakka said hey, and that everyone in Besaid misses her. Hope she's having fun with Rikku,"
And with that said, Wakka ran off down the stairs, and deeper into the city of Luca. Wait a minute…Yuna left Besaid? Since when…? Last I checked, she returned to Besaid after bringing the Calm…was this what the Fayth was referring to when he said things have changed in Spira?
I had so many questions about the "new" Spira I was on. Apparently, I didn't know where to start. Well, I told myself. First things first. I gotta find Yuna...
But Luca was the second largest city on Spira; Where on earth was I supposed to start looking?
"Where'd she go?"
I whipped around toward the place where Wakka had run off and to my immense surprise, I spotted a familiar face; her blonde hair was in some sort of weird hairdo; her eyes were two different colors; I noticed that she was wearing far less than what she wore when I saw her in Final Fantasy X. It was Rikku. She looked more jolly than ever. Standing next to her was a new face; someone I had never seen before. She was standing at about five feet, seven inches. She was wearing black pants, and a strange looking black shirt. She wore boots which in my opinion looked ridiculous. Her hair was cut short, and her bang looked a little cool to me...this girl was obviously goth. There was an oversized Moogle standing with them.
However, Yuna was not with Rikku, as I thought she would be.
"We'll be back in two shakes, so be a good moogle," said the excited voice of Rikku. The oversized Moogle that was there, simply bowed its head, as Rikku and the other girl darted off towards the place where Wakka had left. Where was Yuna?
"I guess I should follow them," I muttered to myself, walking off after the Moogle, which I began to take in...it was a little strange; of all the Final Fantasy games I played, Moogles were definitely ALOT smaller than that one...I had a gut feeling that this Moogle could lead me to Yuna. We headed down the staircase into one of the large squares of Luca. I looked around; Luca definitely looked alot prettier than in the game...as I turned away, the Moogle got called over by a bossy guy, who ordered the Moogle to pass out balloons. It was tiresome to watch, but eventually the Moogle succeeded. It took about fifteen minutes...I wonder where Rikku and that other girl went?
Suddenly, as the Moogle walked passed me, I heard something; something like a radio transmission:
"Y...R...P...in position. Its showtime, girls," came the voice of Rikku. The Moogle let out a screech, and it wasn't a Moogle screech either; Something was definitely weird...and then...
"Oh no! It's starting!"
I knew that voice...it had to be Yuna. Before I could approach it, the Moogle darted away, towards the Blitzball stadium. I ran after it; it sure ran fast...
Finally, at the Blitzball stadium, I watched as the Moogle tried to gain admission inside, but the Guard turned it away, prompting that tickets were sold out. The Moogle turned away, and if its face wasn't a mask, I bet it would have been upset. Suddenly, the guard that was standing at the entry changed; it was now wearing a mask which resembled a gas mask, and green tights. It was approached by another person dressed exactly the same.
"We've got gatecrashers!" said the second man.
"Probably those sphere hunters!" said the first. The two of them disappeared. Gatecrashers? Could that have something to do with Rikku and that other girl? The Moogle looked around frantically. It walked down the stairs from the stadium, and began walking towards the dock area. I didnt know whether to follow, but I thought maybe if I did, I could find out if it was Yuna or not. Then, I heard Rikku.
"Hold still!" she yelled. The Moogle jumped from fright, and I heard Yuna's voice again;
"Its me!" she shrieked from inside the Moogle Suit.
However, Rikku wasn't talking to her. She was talking to--Yuna?
A girl that shockingly resembled Yuna ran passed. She was wearing a black dress like garment; it was very pretty indeed. Her hair was much shorter than in Final Fantasy X. She was wearing high black boots. The outfit made her look like a stripper...in my opinion. The Moogle cowered near a stack of boxes, while Rikku, the goth girl, and Yuna raced onwards towards Dock 4. I decided to follow them.
On Dock 4, Rikku and the other girl stood alone, frantically looking around. The Yuna they were chasing disappeared. I stood to the side, not wanting to interfere.
"She runs too fast!" Rikku said, breathing hard.
"You're too slow," came a slow voice from behind me, which made me nearly wet myself.
"Ha! Show's over!" came a high pitched voice.
Two men appeared. One was tall, and skinny while the other was short and squat. Both were dressed very funny. I see Spira's dresscode hasnt changed...
Suddenly, gun shots rang through the air, and I covered my ears. I whipped around and saw...Yuna! She was standing with her legs spread apart and pointing two hand guns towards the two men who had cornered Rikku and the other girl. She was wearing a different outfit; that means the other Yuna I saw was a fake...she had on a pair of blue denim shorts, and a long flowery looking thing that went all the way down 2 her ankles. Her shirt was pretty too. She looked much different than in Final Fantasy X. She then ran forward, and leapt over the two men towards Rikku and the other girl, aiming her guns at the two men again and firing at their feet. It was a very interesting sight, as she landed on her feet.
Suddenly, another voice rang out.
"Thats quite enough sniveling boys!"
It was the other Yuna.
"My, My, you are persistent aren't you?" she sneered.
"Give us back Yunie's Garment Grid!" Rikku said.
The girl laughed. "Haven't you ever learned to share?"
This was all very interesting to watch...I thought.
"Give it back!" the real Yuna said angrily tightening her hold on the guns.
"Fine, its yours!" said the Imposter. In a flash of light, the imposter was revealed. The girl was wearing a pink gown, which was open and nearly exposed her chest. She had blonde hair, and crystal blue eyes. She tossed a sphere to Yuna, who caught it and instantly, the same outfit that was on the imposter, appeared on Yuna.
"But it wont be yours for long!" she said, snapping a fan like object out of her hands.
A battle? Cool! Time to show my stuff!
"Hey, leave them alone!" I shouted running towards Yuna's group.
"Get lost or you'll get hurt little boy!" said the tall man.
"Try me!" I yelled.
The girl in the middle launched her first attack. She waved her fan as a semi-tornado kicked up, and launched itself at us.
I focused on using a fire spell, and watched as a stream of fire issued from my hands towards the tall skinny man.
"Nice one!" Rikku said, as she ran forward and struck the squat man with what appeared to be a combo hit.
Yuna then began to sing into the microphone. Since when did Yuna sing? Her voice sounded like an angels. I instantly felt myself become more powerful, as a blue light shimmered around our bodies. Rikku and the other girl ran forward and attacked the tall man.
"Stop your slacking this instant!" snapped the blonde haired woman as she turned toward the tall man, and cast some sort of protective spell over him; his body turned yellow then white, then the light disappeared. She must've headed him...
"Paine, try your flametounge attack!" Rikku said to the goth girl. So, her name was Paine, I thought.
Paine stepped forward and held up her sword, which then turned into a fiery blade. She ran forward and struck down the squat man, who then fell backwards, defeated. I tried my fire spell once more on the tall man, while Rikku and I struck with their attacks at the same time, thus defeating the tall guy. The Blonde haired girl looked stricken. She turned from left to right, and said:
"Next time, I wont go so easy on you!"
She then ran off.
"Hey boss! W-Wait!" said the squat man, leaping to his feet and sprinting off after her. The tall man followed them.
"Come back here!" Rikku yelled.
"Oh well," sighed Yuna. Suddenly, Yuna's feet began moving in a dance step. We all stared at her. She looked down at her feet, looking shocked and confused. Suddenly, she began to break out into a faster dance, spinning and moving her feet to the groove of a beat none of the rest of us could hear.
"W-What's going on?" she asked, as she continued dancing.
Finally, after several seconds of random dancing, Yuna regained control of her feet.
"What was that all about?" I asked.
"Guess I got a little carried away," She said with a nervous laughter. Rikku raised an eyebrow while Paine simply shrugged. They all then turned their attention to me. Oh...I guess this is the part where I introduce myself, I thought.
"Hi," I said. "I'm Alex,"
"Nice to meet you. I'm Rikku; that's Paine, and that's--"
"Yuna, yeah, I kind of figured it out earlier," I said.
The girl named Paine stood a little ways away from the group. I couldn't help but give her a small smile, which she did not return.
"That was some good black magic work earlier," Rikku said, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Someone's had a little too much sugar today, I thought, grinning. Rikku was never this bouncy in Final Fantasy X.
"Thanks. So, what was that all about? The whole chasing the tacky blonde girl thing?"
"Oh," said Yuna. "Well, let me explain. We chased her here to Luca because she stole my garment grid--"
I felt like I had to ask this question. "What's a garment grid?"
"Well...its a bit hard to explain. We'll let Shinra explain it to you," Rikku said moving around with lots of body movement.
Paine, who had been silent the entire time spoke. "So, this kid is coming with us?"
"Kid? I'm nineteen," I said, feeling slightly angry. She was a little rude...
"Sure, why not? We could always use someone like him in the Gullwings," Yuna said happily.
Well, mission objective complete, I thought.
Suddenly, a radio transmission was heard.
"Yuna! Is everything alright?" came the voice of a man with a heavy accent.
"Everything is good! Come and pick us up!" Yuna spoke as her outfit changed back to her regular one.
Suddenly, the sound of a loud engine could be heard and I looked over towards the ocean, to see a large airship coming towards us; it was huge; The front of it had two large claws which looked like crab claws and the rest of the airship was huge; it was bright red with blue outlining.
So, I guess Machina are no longer forbidden, I thought, as a rope descended from the airship to the dock. Rikku, Paine and I began boarding, but then I looked back, and saw Yuna standing alone facing opposite us towards the ocean. She seemed to be lost in thought. I stopped walking.
I remember when she used to do that...in Final Fantasy X. She'd look back...because she was saying good-bye to all the places she'd never see again, I thought. Those were his words...but now, what could Yuna be looking back for?...Could it be...him?
I started walking back towards Yuna, and finally when I was close enough, I spoke. "You alright?"
She looked a little startled, but then she put on a smile quickly. "Yeah," she said solemnly.
I didnt know if I was allowed to tell her where I was from...but knowing me as I knew me, I couldnt keep my mouth shut...
"No you're not, I can tell," I said looking at her. "I remember you used to do that two years ago. You'd look back into the distance to the places you'd never see again...or so you thought,"
Yuna stared at me, but it wasnt a stare of anger. It was a stare of understanding. "How did you know that?"
And so I launched into the entire story of what who I was and where I was from. During my speech, she did not look at me like I was crazy...which made me feel slightly better. I told her how I knew about her journey two years ago, but I didnt tell her about what the Fayth told me...about Spira being in danger...I didnt want to scare her. I know it seemed wrong, but...
When I had finished, Yuna let out a small laugh.
I looked taken aback. "D-Did I say something funny?" I asked.
"No...its just...You remind me of him," she said.
"Of...Tidus?"
"Yeah. Being so new to all of this...not knowing what was going to happen to him,"
She was right...I had no idea what was going to happen to me. And it was that day, standing on the dock I realized that I too, like Tidus wasnt going back home...
"Well, I kinda got one leg up on him...I know much more about Spira than he did,"
She chuckled. "True,"
"Guys!" came Rikku's perky voice from the ladder. "Come on!"
"We're coming," I called over to her. I turned back to Yuna. "Dont worry...I think he's still alive, somewhere," I said. She quickly looked at me.
I nodded.
"How do you know?"
"Because when I saw you're pilgrimage two years ago, at the end, Tidus woke up somewhere...I don't know where it was, but he was still there; he didn't disappear like everyone thought...he's somewhere,"
She smiled. "Kimarhi also found something too...a recording...come on, I'll show you on board!" she said, as she ran off towards the airship.
Well...I guess this was my story...and it began here...