Disclaimer: I do not own the Scott Pilgrim series or any of the characters mentioned in this story. All original characters and lines belong to Bryan Lee O'Malley. This story is for entertainment purposes only. Any similarity to persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.
A/N: This is my first ever fan fiction. So obviously, feedback is a wonderful thing!
Lily Pilgrim vs. Their World
Prologue
Toronto , Canada .
2 years have passed since Scott Pilgrim (Our Intrepid Hero) defeated Gideon Graves at the Chaos Theater and reunited with his love, Ramona Flowers. The two moved back to Scott's Toronto apartment (which he also shared with longtime friend Kim Pine), and all was well. They even got married, and had Link and Zelda as their cake toppers (because Scott insisted that, whenever he had seen Ramona towards the beginning of their relationship, he had heard the soundtrack to the Legend of Zelda). Kim moved out, because, as she put it, she would rather die than continue living in their happy little hellhole. She said it while smiling though, so Scott's pretty sure she was joking. Pretty sure.
Life was good. Scott worked his way up to main prep chef at the Happy Avocado. Ramona continued her job as an Amazon delivery girl, though she continuously looked for new employment to keep from skating through Scott's dreams. The two were happy until one fateful night…
ONCE UPON A TIME...
A nice, quiet neighborhood was slowly being buried by drifting snow. However, one of the buildings was not seeming to suffer any ill effects from the weather. Snow still banked in the yard, but even now, flowers were springing up amidst the white. The sidewalk leading to the door stayed inexplicably clear. A pair of roller blades were leaned against the building right next to the door.
Inside, Scott Pilgrim (Age: 26, Rating: Even More Awesome than Before) walked around the small apartment he shared with his wife, Ramona Flowers-Pilgrim. Although the apartment was small, it didn't seem so. Between Scott's minimalist (read: mostly broke) dispositions and Ramona's interior design, the room was less "small" and more "cozy." A tan couch adorned one side of the room, while nearby, a matching arm chair (Note: Chair? The thing is MASSIVE!) completed the room. The main source of light for the room? A single standing lamp, which gave the room a nice, non-florescent glow.
Of course, Scott's mind wasn't on the interior design of the room (Note: It never really was…). He was looking for something… something that was incredibly important to his life. Something that he wasn't entirely sure he could live the next few minutes without. Something he needed to find right now, or risk dying a slow, agonizing death directly related to its absence.
"Rammy! Have you seen my DS!" Scott yelled in the living room. "I was gonna try and beat that next guy before your parents get here!"
The sound of his voice echoed into the bathroom where Ramona Flowers-Pilgrim (Age: 27, Emotion: Scared to Death) was standing wide eyed, looking at herself in the mirror. It had been years since her head had glowed, but she was convinced, if it still could, it would have been blinding now.
"Ramona? Did you hear me?" Scott said as he walked into the bathroom behind her. She started suddenly at the closeness of his voice and whipped around, hiding something behind her back.
"Umm… yeah! I did. Didn't you leave it in the car?" she stammered. "After the whole 'you can't play while driving' argument?"
Scott's face was blank for a moment, but then smiling recognition came back.
"Oh yeah. I forgot about that," he said as he started to leave.
"Wait! Honey," Ramona grabbed out for him. Scott immediately turned around. That caused Ramona to stumble a little bit for the next set of words she needed to say. "Umm… I think… we need to… talk."
What? Did I do something wrong? Is she going to leave me? I thought we were doing so well at this married thing…
"Scott, you're talking out loud," Ramona said, not able to conceal her rolling eyes. "I've told you honey… you're not good at the whole 'inner monologue' thing."
"So what do we need to talk about?" Scott asked after a momentary pause. Ramona looked down at the ground, steeling her courage, took a deep breath, and brought out what she'd been hiding… a small white stick. "So… a stick?"
"It's a pregnancy test, Scott."
"So who's pregnant? Kim? Lisa? STACEY? If Neil did something, so help me…" Scott started as he clinched his fists.
"NO SCOTT!" Ramona dropped the test and grabbed Scott by the shirt. She took a short moment to recollect herself before continuing. "Seriously… Kim's not here, we haven't seen Lisa since the wedding, and Stacey… well…" Ramona paused. "I don't actually know if she and Neil are that serious yet," she lied.
"So who's pregnant?" asked Scott again, calming down.
"Me. I'm pregnant, Scott," Ramona said as her eyes teared up.
Scott stood there for a very long time, his expression blank. Then, a smile slowly crept onto his face.
"That's… that's AWESOME!" he exclaimed, hugging a thoroughly confused Ramona. "I promise you… we're gonna be the best parents EVER!"
Ramona closed her eyes and hugged Scott back. "Yeah honey. We will be."
SOME TIME LATER...
"So… Scott Pilgrim's gonna be a dad," said Kim Pine as she sat on the end of the Pilgrim couch (Note: This was actually Ramona's couch. Scott never owned the couch.) "I gotta say I was pretty scared of the idea of Scott reproducing, but seeing as how it's you, Rammy… I think the kid won't be half bad."
The whole gang had gathered in the Pilgrim living room as Scott and Ramona broke the news. Neil and Stacey sat together on the couch with Kim, while Stephen Stills had elected to stand, nervous at what they were going to be told. Scott and Ramona sat on the huge chair (Note: Seriously... big enough for the two of them. Just LOOK AT IT! It's practically a love seat!), hands entwined as they waited for everyone else's response.
"A kid huh? That's pretty heavy," said Stephen Stills as he half leaned, half collapsed against the wall. "You guys sure you're ready?"
"Well, with Scott being the new prep chef at the Avocado, we're definitely financially ready," Ramona chimed in. She'd been oddly silent almost the entire time, letting Scott try and infuse his excitement in everyone. "As for everything else… only one way to find out, right?"
All of the sudden, Ramona's phone signaled a text message. With everyone watching, she took it out and flipped it open.
"Scott… it's for you. Wallace," she said, annoyed as Scott took the phone. "We seriously need to get you your own phone."
Scott read the message:
Hey buddy! Congrats on the little Pilgrim! I'll be sure and tell your mom. –Wallace :-D
"How the heck did he know? We haven't told anyone," asked Scott as he looked around the room. He spotted Stacey slowly putting her phone away.
"What? Street goes both ways little brother," Stacey said with a smile.
"So what are you going to name it?" said Neil.
"We haven't really thought about it. I mean, it'll help once we know if it's a boy or a girl," answered Ramona, starting to smile at the thought.
"I was thinking, if it's a girl, we need to name her 'Ramona Jr," said Scott.
Everyone stopped and looked at Scott.
"Umm… honey… I hate to burst your bubble, but that's not a good idea," said Ramona, trying to deflect any glares at her husband.
"Why not? It's perfect!" exclaimed Scott.
"Scott, are you TRYING to be an idiot?" asked Kim, her left eye slightly twitching.
"What do you mean?"
"And there's the answer to my question," she muttered as she sat back on the couch.
"Well… I mean… I guess we COULD name her 'Kim," said Scott after a moment of thought. Kim's eyes shot wide open and her fists clinched yet again.
"You know… that's not such a bad idea," started Ramona. "Kim? If you don't mind, I think that would be sweet. You know? Naming our daughter after our mutual best friend."
"Scott… Ramona… do NOT name your daughter 'Kim.' Please," Kim said through her teeth.
"But it would be…" Scott began.
"SCOTT PILGRIM DON'T YOU DARE NAME YOUR CHILD KIM!" Kim yelled as she pointed at Scott.
"Okay… okay…" Scott said as he lowered his head, defeated.
Stephen Stills was the next to speak. "What about a flower name? I mean… I'm assuming she'll have the last name Pilgrim, so what about if she had that from Scott, and a name of a flower from Ramona? It'd be kind of poetic." (Stephen Stills: Awesome songwriter for that very reason!)
"A flower name? I like it," said Ramona as she slowly nodded her head in approval.
JUST DRIVE!
"SCOTT! WHAT DID WE SAY ABOUT PLAYING VIDEO GAMES WHILE DRIVING!" Ramona yelled from the passenger seat of their car. (Ramona V. Flowers, Status: IN HORRIFYING PAIN!)
Scott jumped, dropping his DS in the process. He immediately put his hands at 10 and 2 on the steering wheel. "But we're at a red light!"
"Another thing… WHY ARE WE STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT! GO!"
Scott punched the gas and the small car roared through the intersection, expertly dodging traffic. All those hours of GTA playing paid off as Scott sped down the road toward the hospital.
WAITING...
Scott sat nervously in the hospital waiting room. Ramona had been taken immediately to the maternity ward, but he was told he couldn't come back with her. Something about doctors and germs and zombies… he wasn't really paying attention. So now, he waited.
…and waited…
He looked around the room. There were about half a dozen other men sitting around in various stages of worried. Then, the world started to haze out as Scott turned his DS on and started playing again.
…some more time went by…
"Video games, Scott? I should have known. The most important day of your life and you're STILL playing that damn thing."
Scott's head snapped up and he saw Kim Pine, along with Stephen Stills and Neil Nordegraf.
"C'mon… I figured a bunch of white coated doctors wouldn't be able to keep the great Scott Pilgrim away from his wife. Not when 7 douche bags couldn't do it," said Kim with a faint hint of a smile.
"Where's Stacey?" asked Scott as he looked around the room.
"She's trying to get your parents here, and of course, keeping your gay former roommate abreast of the situation," answered Kim. "Now c'mon… I figure if any experience is going to make you grow up, watching your child be born will do it."
Kim grabbed Scott by the collar of the shirt and pulled him to his feet and through the doors to the maternity ward with Stephen Stills and Neil quickly following behind.
THE BIRTH OF A HEROINE...
Scott sat next to Ramona in the hospital room as the doctors rushed to clean their baby. Ramona lay back on her pillows, exhausted, as Scott took her hand. The two just sat there with their friends looking on from the window (Note: the doctors had allowed Scott, but after actually standing up to the anger of Kim Pine, they forced everyone else outside). Scott noticed a few vases on the counter. A small bunch of flowers marked from Knives Chau. A much bigger bouquet from Lisa Miller. And an even bigger one from…
"Mr. and Mrs. Pilgrim?" a nurse started as she walked up.
"Flowers-Pilgrim," breathed Ramona, not even lifting her head.
"Right. Umm… are you ready to see your daughter?"
Scott's eyes flew open. "Daughter?"
"Yes sir. We told you when she was born, but you looked a little busy," the nurse answered. Scott and Ramona nodded their heads and the nurse walked away, returning just a moment later with a baby girl (Name: Lily Kimberly Pilgrim. Age: Less than one hour. Fun Fact: Cuter than bunnies and baby chickens PUT TOGETHER! Other Fun Fact: Kim doesn't know what her middle name is… and hopefully never will…).
"Oh my God…" sighed Ramona as the nurse put Lily into her arms.
Scott Pilgrim looked at his wife and daughter for a long moment, a light shining in his eyes. He placed a hand on his daughter's head.
"You will make my strength your own. You will see my life through your eyes, as your life will be seen through mine. The daughter becomes the…"
"Scott… don't be a geek," Ramona said with a weak roll of her eyes.
BEDTIME STORIES...
4 year old Lily Pilgrim sat on her bed, absolutely enthralled. It was bedtime story time, and as always, the man telling her the story was getting excited, jumping about the room as he always did when he told stories.
"And then… I jumped in your mom's bag, and fell through to subspace! And there he was. He had your mother and was holding her captive, but I rushed forward and head butted him as hard as I could," Scott Pilgrim (Age: 31, Rating: Best Dad EVER!) said as he jumped up and pantomimed giving a head butt.
"Then what happened, daddy!" Lily's eyes were wide with fear, but she couldn't resist knowing the rest of the story.
"Then… your mom broke free from her chain, and there were suddenly thousands of her. She was EVERYWHERE. And she was like 'Get out of my head!" Scott said, acting as though he were looking around at the Ramona's he spoke of at that moment.
"Honey… if you tell her that story, she's never going to go to sleep," said Ramona (Age: 32, Rating: Still hot as ever) as she walked into the room. Her hair was longer than it had been in her 20's, and it no longer sported any color but her own, a dark brown.
"But Mom! I've gotta know what happened to Gidon!" Lily pleaded as Ramona stepped past Scott and started to tuck her back into her bed. Lily looked almost exactly like Ramona, save the longer hair. She insisted on keeping it at a length that more closely matched Scott's.
"I think you mean Gideon, honey. And don't worry… your father will tell you these stories all your life if you let him. Just be thankful. When I first met him, he didn't know ANY stories," Ramona said with a playful smirk over her shoulder.
"I hadn't met the most interesting woman ever!" Scott retorted.
Ramona just shook her head as she kissed Lily on the forehead and turned out her light. "Good night, Lily," she said as she stood back up and walked out of the room. Scott lingered for a moment more before also kissing Lily and leaving.
Lily Pilgrim laid there for a while, her head still buzzing with the stories of Gideon and his epic battle with her father. She wondered if, one day, she would fight as bravely and as well as her father had…
SUBSPACE...
"The most important thing to remember is that you can control what goes on in here."
Lily Pilgrim (Age: 9, Rating: Pretty freaked out) was standing in the middle of a desert wasteland with her mother, Ramona. Around them, there was nothing but sand and a lone cactus that cast a long shadow on the ground. While Lily was trying to pay attention to Ramona's instructions, she was also still trying to figure out how they had gotten in the middle of a desert by going through a door in downtown Toronto .
"This, Lily, is subspace. It'll help you travel faster, and if you're ever in trouble, you can come in here to try and escape," Ramona continued, placing a reaffirming hand on Lily's shoulder.
"So… Dad wasn't just making it up?" asked Lily.
"No, honey. Subspace is real. I know they don't tell you about it in school, but believe it or not, it's common knowledge in America where I'm from," Ramona said. She then skated forward a bit on her roller blades, a seemingly impossible task on sand. "Now… follow me."
Lily tentatively pushed off. She wasn't wearing the clunky roller blades her mother had on, but instead was wearing simple tennis shoes that sprouted roller skate wheels for faster movement. Another American marvel, her mother had said. Lily expected to meet resistance from the sand under the wheels, but there was none. In fact, it was almost easier than ice skating. Lily pushed off again, harder this time, and sailed past her mother. Ramona caught up to her in no time though, and they were flying. The wind whipped past them, making Lily understand why her mother had insisted on her wearing goggles for this trip.
"Anything is possible in subspace," said Ramona as she began to pull ahead of Lily. "All you need to remember is to be careful, because your father…"
Lily didn't hear the rest of the sentence, as she suddenly tripped over something in her path and tumbled to the ground. Thankfully, the sand was much softer than it looked, and Lily rolled over to see none other than her father, Scott Pilgrim, shaking his head in bewilderment. He was dressed in a strange outfit, a sort of green and red patchwork tunic. Definitely not something she'd seen before.
"Dad?" asked Lily.
"Oh!" exclaimed Scott. "Subspace lesson, I guess?" He rubbed his head as Ramona skated over to help him up. Lily was shocked to find that he was shorter than she was, and appeared to have round, stubby limbs. He looked… like a comic book character. A badly drawn comic book character.
"Sorry honey… I should have told her before we started going," Ramona said as Scott dusted himself off.
"Oh it's fine. So I guess I DID, in fact, fall asleep," said Scott as he looked around. "I was hoping I wouldn't, but now that I'm here, might as well get the nap while I can."
"Okay… we'll be back in a little while, honey," Ramona said as she kissed mini-Scott. Lily was still baffled by what she was seeing, and couldn't keep her mouth from gaping. "And you," Ramona said as she turned to her daughter, "need to remember that the subspace highway goes directly through your father's head, so you'll need to be careful."
"Yes… ma'am," said Lily in a small voice…
THE STORY BEGINS...
And so the story of Lily Pilgrim began. She continued to learn from her parents Scott and Ramona (with the occasional visit from Aunt Kim, whom she was strictly forbidden from mentioning her middle name to), and grew into a marginally cool high schooler in a band. She still idolized her father, and while she kept up the teenage appearance of indifference, she still loved to hear his stories about the 7 evil exes that he had fought for her mother's hand (even if she didn't REALLY believe it was all true). As she turned 18, it seemed like everything was going swimmingly.
But then… things got turned upside down!