Chapter 1 - Fly to Kilika
This is my first jab at a fanfic in quite a long time, over 2 years to be exact. I gotta get my creative juices flowing again (lol!). Anyway, I loved Final Fantasy X, and have recently picked up Final Fantasy X-2 (which I also love). Since the characters and story is so compelling, I've decided to make a fanfic about it. First, let me get this out of the way...
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy series is owned and copyrighted by Square-Enix.
That's better. So, let me lay a little story premise on you. My fic is set within the Final Fantasy X-2 storyline. It has no real exact place, and will include most of the character seen in it. I myself am in the middle of X-2, so new twists will parallel where I'm at in the game. If you haven't played either X or X-2, you really should if you want to understand the story. This is especially true for X, as I'm not throwing in any back story for it.
Anywho,Yuna, Rikku, and Paine are still sphere hunters. Yuna is still searching for Tidus, wherever he may be. There is much conflict between New Yevon and the Youth League. Lulu is still expecting. Leblanc and her gang are as obnoxious as always. And we'll leave it at that.
Note (3/23/05): I'm going back and rereading my previous chapters, making the occasional error fix or story tweak.
Yuna awakened from sleep, and was greeted by the sky's morning sunlight casting through the windows. She rubbed her eyes, and yawned a big morning yawn. The first conscious though in her mind was that of her lost love, Tidus. It always was her first though – no morning withstanding. Lying there, alone without him, always played an uncomfortable though in her mind.
However, she knew she must arise. She sighed a gentle sigh and sat up, turning around to glance out the window. A few birds were flying alongside the Celsius. Their silhouettes gracefully crossed in front of the rising sun. A beautiful image such as this made Yuna smile. Sometimes it was what got her through the day.
She proceeded to get out of bed fully, and change from her nightgown. She walked down the stairs of the cabin, and was cheerfully greeted by Bartender, the funny blue Hypello that lived on the ship with her.
"Good morning Mish Yoona. How are yoo tooday?" Barkeep greeted, standing behind the counter while washing a glass.
"Oh...not too bad I guess. It is a pretty sunrise though." she replied, while taking seat in a barstool.
"What would yoo like too drink?" he asked.
"Hmm, give me some juice I suppose."
Yuna rested her head on her hand, and watched blankly as Barkeep poured a red juice in a tall crystalline glass. She returned to her thoughts. However, now she was more focused on the present. Yesterday, Shinra had discovered sphere signals emanating from a remote island off of Kilika Port. Perhaps it might present another clue as to where Tidus was. Still, she knew not to get her hopes up, as she's been led down this path many times before. Maybe it would shed some light onto the mystery behind the "Crimson Report" spheres they had been finding.
Barkeep plopped the glass he was filling in front of Yuna, half startling her out of her daze. She stared at her tinted reflection in the juice.
"Are yoo feeling oo-kay Mish Yoona?" Barkeep asked, noticing her lackluster mood.
"Oh, yeah I'm alright. I think a lot in this mornings, you know..."
He chuckled, "My mother yoosed used too say that if a flower does not shine in the morning sun, it will wilt before it should."
Yuna laughed a somber laugh at Barkeep's peculiar but well-meaning verse. Finally picking up her glass, she drank some of the red juice. Its sweet taste aided in brightening up her mood.
"Let me ask you something..." she paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts, "during the time Sin was alive...how should I put this...how did you live?"
Barkeep glanced at her in puzzlement, "What do you mean Yoona?"
She sighed, and thought for a moment again, tapping her finger on the counter.
Again she spoke, "What I mean is...even with Spira in such peril, and your own life in constant danger...did you really want to continue living?"
"Of course," he smiled, "even though I was afraid a lot, I told myself good days would come too me. The world is a shpooky place. But if yoo have hope, yoo can get passed yoor your fears."
"Did you loose anyone close to you because of Sin?" Yuna continued.
Barkeep's mood dampened at the sound of her question. He paused wiping out the mug he was working on, and placed it on the counter.
"Yes I did Yoona, my beootiful beautiful wife Moonta. I lost her too Sin's wrath, I did." he said with somber expression.
"Oh...I-I'm terribly sorry. I shouldn't have pried."
"It's oo-kay Yoona. It was terribly painful when she died, but the tale of the summoners gave me hope. It was yoor your story that helped me go on."
Shocked, Yuna just sat there, looking at Barkeep in awe. Perhaps she has been too selfish, she though to herself. So many people had depended on her, both then and now, to help them through their despairs. Guilt of turning her back on the peoples of Spira, at least in her mind, raged throughout her head. It had been swirling now for a while. In the beginning, this path seemed perfect. It would be time for her to do something important for her own life. But now, she's accomplished nothing of any value. She believed if she would have stayed put, she could have prevented the feud between New Yevon and the Youth League. The Gullwings seemed like an act on cowardly lust.
An intercom signal beeped, and Brother's voice rambled out from the speakers.
"We are approaching Kilika Port. Better get to the bridge Yuna!"
"Ok Brother, I'm on my way!" she replied, and got up from her barstool.
"Thanks for talking with me...I gotta go."
"No problem, Miss Yoona. Please talk with me any time." he smiled, and went back to washing out the mug.
Yuna walked down the corridor, and entered the lift. It's been a while since they've been to Kilika. At first, the feud between New Yevon and the Youth League was throwing the town into dismay. Once the Gullwings dispatched the all the fiends that poured out from the temples, things had been calming down.
She thought back to the first time she and Tidus entered Kilika. Most of it had been destroyed by Sin, and the people were desperate. It was also the place where she got Ifrit, her second aeon. Now, Kilika was a thriving town, full of people.
The doors of the lift opened, and Yuna proceeded to the bridge. Rikku and Paine were both standing next to Shinra, who was explaining something to them. Brother and Buddy were getting ready to land the Celsius.
"Hey Yunie, it's about time you got up here!" the always charming Rikku laughed.
"Sorry. So, what's up Shinra?"
Shinra began typing fiercely on his console. He brought up a map of Kilika Port and the surrounding area. His finger pointed to a blinking red dot on the screen.
"This is where we'll be going. A small island about five clicks (2.699 nautical miles) northeast of Kilika. Somewhere on this island is where I'm picking up these mysterious sphere readings." he explained.
"Wonder what this sphere contains?" Paine questioned, hoping it would be of some use.
"Maybe we'll find a map of buried treasure!" Rikku blurted out.
"Uhh...sure we will Rikku..." Paine said sarcastically while rolling her eyes.
"Aw, c'mon. It's possible. Don't you want it to be something really neat?"
Yuna laughed at the two, and especially Rikku. She's always a ball of laughs, noting in her mind that she's jealous of her constant "chipperness." At any rate, she hoped as much as Paine that they find a sphere actually worth finding.
"What's on this island, Shinra?" Paine asked.
"Hmm..." Shinra went back to typing on his console, "there are a few fiends, nothing too dangerous. Besides that, a couple old stone buildings – ruins perhaps."
"Hey, I wonder if those ruins hold any secrets?" Yuna thought out loud.
"I doubt it, " Shinra replied dully, "but then again, no one has investigated them. I suppose it's worth a shot to see them as well."
"Yeah! That's the spirit!" bellowed Rikku in excitement.
"You better hope we don't run into trouble." Paine interjected, souring Rikku's enthusiasm.
"Bah...we can handle a few lousy fiends. How 'bout in Yunie?" Rikku rebutted, nudging Yuna in the ribs.
"Are you sure? All we need is to get into more trouble." Buddy proceeded to ask from across the bridge.
"Ahh...don't be a worry wort. I mean, how much trouble could be on a small island like that?" Rikku smugly answered.
"Well, why not. Although I usually don't agree with Rikku, I'm with her on this one." somberly agreed Paine, although against her better judgment.
"Yeah, that's...hey!" Rikku yelled, sticking her tongue out at Paine.
Two beeps came from Brother's console, "Hold tight Gullwings, we are gonna land soon."
"We'll land in Kilika, and use a boat to go to the island, " Buddy explained, "so be back by dusk. We'll have accommodations set up by then."
Yuna nodded, "Don't worry, we'll be fine."
"Yeah! Let's get going girls – it's time for the Gullwings to swing into action!" Rikku shouted, launching her hand into the air in a sign of battle.
Paine shook her head in disappointment and Yuna laughed. It was time for the Gullwings to go sphere hunting!
Next chapter: The gang row out to this little island hoping for big adventure, and big adventure is what they find! The Gullwings soon find that the mysterious ruins of the island are a lot more interesting than the sphere it has. But is this mystery something they are ready to handle?