In dedication to Si-kun, with out him I wouldn't have even bothered to
finish the series. This is all for you my dearest twin, I hope you
enjoy.
"Lulu…Lulu…please…please…wake up," a soft voice whispered tenderly
into the darkness that surrounded the ebony manned black mage, her head
throbbed against the vast open nothingness that filled her line of
vision.
"Where, am I," Lulu inquired sullenly as a wave of white blinding
pinpricks flooded into her sore and tired orbs, a light hiss escaped her
pale purple coloured lips as pain began to swell from her head to every
millimeter of her body.
"Don't move Lulu, your pretty banged up, just relax okay," gently
murmured the featherlike voice that trembled ever so slightly as if the
person who was speaking was terrified.
"Where, where am I," tiredly groaned the dark haired witch,
forcing her wine red eyes into focus Lulu squinted against the twinge of
throbbing pain that set every nerve on fire. Gently a hand stroked her
bare collarbone in a tender act of comfort, a touch that the black mage
knew could only belong to Rikku.
"You're okay, you're in my room. I promise nothing is gonna
happen, you're safe now," softly mumbled the sandy manned Al-Bhed as she
reached over and held onto Lulu's hand for dear life. The action felt
odd, it was both reassuring and protective almost as if the younger
guardian was trying to shield her from some unseen force that lay in
wait ready to strike at any moment, prying her sore and tired hues open
the rest of the way the longhaired mage steadied her swimming vision
long enough to see the energetic thief's face. Her creamy cheeks were
pale and looked raw from endless crying a sight that didn't set well
with Lulu, reaching out a shaking hand the ebony haired witch stroked
that of the young blonde's petite hand.
"Rikku," softly murmured Lulu, her voice was slightly graver
sounding than she ever expected it to be, swallowing roughly she spoke
again. "Rikku, what is wrong, you seem, upset," lamely mutter the tall
sorceress in a low tone, she couldn't seem to get her thoughts organized
at least not enough to find the correct words to describe her poignant
lover. Rikku shook her head causing a lock of braided hair to bounce
against her shoulders and slid down her back, rubbing her forehead with
the back of her hand Lulu pushed herself up onto her elbows and
stiffened at the stabs of pain bolting through her shapely frame,
gritting her teeth she looked at the young Al-Bhed and forced a anxious
smile.
"Lulu," her voiced wavered as if she were about to break into
tears at any moment, looking down Rikku bit her bottom lip as if she
didn't want to go on with conversation any further. "Why did you do it,"
whispered the petite machina thief with restraint even though her voice
cracked and rose in pitch as she asked the question. Lulu blinked
confusedly, her head still hurt too much for it to register what the
younger guardian had inquired, rubbing her temples the mistress of the
black arts sighed heavily.
"What do you mean, why did I do what, I'm not completely following
you Rikku," her words trailed off into the tense stillness of the air,
shaking her head the small framed blonde cupped her face and began to
tremble violently.
"Fro dra ramm tet oui dno yht gemm Pnudran," screeched Rikku in a
frantic voice, her tone was terrified and hysterical as she rattled out
her reply, raising a slender eyebrow the dark manned black mage gazed at
her girlfriend with a fixed gaze filled with worry.
"Rikku, he attacked me, I was completely in the right with what I
did to him, he deserved it," cynically stated Lulu as she closed her
wine red hues and rested her head against the pillow taking in the
softness that was welcome due to the fact her head was still throbbing
excruciatingly, stifling a sob the younger of the two stood up and
braced herself against the nearest wall letting her shoulders rise and
fall with each ragged breath she took.
"Lulu, he's still alive, pop found him in time to revive him. He's
still out cold but, but when he wakes up it is gonna be your word
against his and guess who they are gonna believe," resentfully announced
the thin Al-Bhed darkly, she wasn't upset with the older woman for
trying to kill her brother but rather not succeeding in doing so,
locking eyes with that of the younger girl the ebony haired witch and
gave her a wicked half smirk.
"They will believe me of course, after all what pretenses do I
hold against your brother, none that they know of. And he was in my
room, all things added up Brother doesn't have a chance to convince them
of anything otherwise," brazenly mused Lulu in a tone that was uplifted
and slightly more malicious than she had intended to sound, turning away
from the wall Rikku wiped her pale eyes and smiled with relief.
"You always fix everything Lulu, I'm so lucky to have you,"
giddily chirped the young Al-Bhed as she launched herself towards the
bed bound mage landing on top of her as gently as she could, smiling
brightly Lulu stroked the playful girl's cheek and petted her messed
tresses.
"No more tears, there is no use in wasting energy on something so
pointless as being sad," tenderly mewled the older woman as she
continued to pet the lively thief's locks, her slender fingertips
dancing gracefully across the silken feeling of both the girl's hair and
her red leather top, the feeling was something close to nirvana to the
ivory complexioned mage.
"Mmhmm," lightly hummed Rikku as she nuzzled the older woman
gently rubbing her cheek against her collarbone, sighing lightly Lulu
slid her hand up and down the small blonde haired thief's back
comfortingly, the action sent small burst of tingling energy up and down
the girl's spine unexpectedly. "E muja oui, Lulu," tenderly purred Rikku
in a low simmer of a voice, her tone was drained yet relived as if a
great burden had lifted off of her petite shoulders with just having the
older guardian awake and in her arms.
"I love you too," murmured the dark haired mistress of the black
arts in a low tenor that denoted exhaustion and physical fatigue. "Where
is Cid now, is it possible for me to have a few words with him before
Brother wakes up?"
Scratching the back of her head the young Al-Bhed pushed herself
up onto her elbows so she could gaze deeply into Lulu's red wine hues,
there was tension in the air that the ebony manned woman could almost
taste; something didn't seem correct about the situation, having Rikku
pressed tightly against her fragile frame made her stomach knot up
peculiarly.
"Yeah, I guess Pops has the time, he has just been pacing the
bridge nonstop for hours, if ya want I can go get him," coyly informed
the sandy haired Al-Bhed, her aqua coloured spiraling hues glinted
slightly in the dim light of the room making her features more mature
than what they really were, licking the dryness from her slightly
purpled tinted lips Lulu nodded somewhat her tidy and neat braids
brushing against her clammy flesh as she moved.
"Yes, if you could do that, we can get my defense up faster, in
case Brother does have some outlandish account of what happened,"
stalwartly announced the slender ivory complexioned woman her brow
pulling into a tight wrinkle of thought before she broke into a
reassuring smile.
"Alrighty then, consider me already gone," giddily mused Rikku as
she lifted herself off of the older woman and quickly dashed for the
automatic door. "I'll be right back with dad so just rest up."
Nodding her still throbbing head slightly Lulu gave the thin
framed Al-Bhed a wavering smile in both acknowledgement and in thanks,
pushing her wounded frame up on her elbows sent fresh torrents of ache
through Lulu's shapely body but the action was necessary for her to sit
up, she didn't wish to be laying in bed like a sack of potatoes when Cid
arrived. Gnashing her teeth together painfully the longhaired black mage
managed to gather her battered frame into a semi-comfortable position,
with a deep sigh Lulu dragged a glossy purple nail across her own cheek
feeling the clammy coolness of her own flesh underneath her thin skilled
digits, the feeling somehow set her baffled and tired mind at easy.
"Daaaaaaaaaaad," childishly bleated Rikku as she darted onto the
bridge spastically, turning slowly to the source of the noise the bald
Al-Bhed wrinkled his brow in a sign of displeasure; at the moment Cid
wasn't ready to talk to anyone the feeling of confusion was too strong
for him to control, rolling her light blue hues at the look on her
father's face the young guardian bounced back and forth energetically
with her hands pulled closely to her small chest. "Lulu is awake, she
wants to talk to you, c'mon hurry you need to talk to her,"
instinctively rambled the thin Al-Bhed as she hopped from foot to foot
barely maintaining balance with each joy filled side jump, there was no
doubt that the young blonde was relived and excited about the older
woman coming to, anyone with eyes could plainly see that, grunting from
the back of his throat Cid took a lumbering step towards the girl with a
deep frown on his aged face, he was still perplexed about what had
happened between the gothic mage and his son yet in the back of his mind
the pilot of the machina airship knew it was most likely Brother's
fault.
"Is she alright," gruffly inquired the older of the two Al-Bheds,
his face was almost green with distress as he cast his eyes towards his
daughter causing her to shiver at the steely gaze he focused on her.
Flapping her petite hands in front of her as if she were batting away
bothersome pyrflies the energetic blonde thief bounced up and down a few
times before she spun around and gave her old man a wolfish grin.
"Oui pad cra ec, l'suh bubc oui ryja du ku caa ran, l'suh, l'suh
tuh'd gaab ran fyedehk," mirthfully urged the small framed blonde as she
shot her hand out towards the elevator and wagged her finger
impatiently, the grim expression on Cid's facial features softened
slightly making him look like a weary chocobo that had seem better days,
rubbing his eyes with a large callused hand the bald Al-Bhed let his
shoulders slump in unexpected relief.
"Ha, alright then, lets go," tenderly worded Cid in a light tone
that seemed foreign and heart heavy, blinking back an expression of
concern Rikku pressed the elevator call button while mustering a small
smile just for her father, she hadn't seen the older man in a mood such
as he was in, in a long time, shaking her apprehension for her father
from her mind the fair skinned blonde tapped the button impatiently as
if hitting it faster would make the large metal crate arrive more
quickly.
The elevator arrived with a soft mechanical hum as its large doors
opened with an audible click, there was something unnerving about the
dim light in the hallway, it cast oblong shadows of pipes and fixtures
upon the steely floor of the ship, giving the area a sinister air to it.
Folding her arms behind her head nonchalantly Rikku casually strolled
down the passage that lead to her sleeping quarters, Cid stayed a few
steps behind the petite guardian letting his cool gaze scan her
demeanour, he wasn't foolhardy and he had experienced situations similar
when Rikku's mother was still alive, a curt smile played across the bald
Al-Bhed's face for a moment as he remembered being young and in love, it
made people do bizarre things but in the end even when getting in
trouble it was worth it just so later there were sweet memories to
remind one of all the good times so the pain that followed wouldn't be
so horrible to bare. Tittering back and froth on her feet the slender
thief rubbed her nose sheepishly as she stood just outside of her
bedroom door, raising an eyebrow in question Cid looked from his
daughter to the closed door then back again while motioning her to knock
with his hand. Blowing her old man a loud raspberry Rikku tapped on the
door with the back of her gloved fist, the metallic hollow thuds echoed
dully in the hallway, the light sounds of movement from inside the room
forced a gentle smile across the young blonde's face.
"Enter," crisply stated a monotone voice from inside the sanctity
of Rikku's sleep quarters, flinching slightly the young Al-Bhed pressed
the door open and popped her head in with a tiny smirk on her face.
"Hiya, miss me much," cutely inquired Rikku as she pulled the door
open the rest of the way and entered slowly followed by the pilot of the
Highwind, sitting in the center of the bed with a grim expression on her
ivory coloured face Lulu pursed her purple tinted lips firmly as if she
were angry at the younger girl. Weakly taking a step backwards the
thin-framed girl blinked confusedly.
"Rikku," tensely breathed the mistress of the dark arts in a voice
that sounded low and serious. "If you wouldn't mind, could you please
let your father and I have a few moments to talk, privately," gently
worded the ebony manned witch in an apologetic tone that was soft yet
held a bit of resentment to it. Locking her eyes on the floor the sandy
haired guardian rubbed her arm in a sign that told the older woman she
felt put off and excluded.
"Eh, yeah, sure, ya know what's best Lu," embarrassedly murmured
Rikku in a meek tone as she faked a smile and shrugged, biting her
bottom lip the young Al-Bhed let out a phony laugh and rushed to the
door wearing a happy expression on her increasingly paling face. "I'll
be right out here if ya need me."
Heaving a deep sigh Lulu watched as the automatic door slid shut
leaving her and Cid alone to talk seriously about the situation at hand,
from the corner of her red wine hue the black haired mage could see the
older man slump down into a small chair off to her right.
"You know it's bad don't you," quietly inquired Lulu in a soft
tone as she looked at Cid with full attention, kneading his wrinkled
forehead with a large knuckle the bald Al-Bhed grunted in
acknowledgement, he knew that it had to be something pretty bad if the
witch would tell the younger girl to leave so abruptly, the whole air of
the situation seemed abysmal.
"Yeah, I guessed it right off the bat," Cid let out a deep sigh of
his own as he fumbled for enough thoughts to form intelligent sentences.
"He was dead when we found him, and you were passed out not too far from
his body, Rin used a phoenix down on him and revived him, we were almost
too late, he still hadn't waken up yet," darkly whispered the leader of
the Al-Bheds, his eyes were swimming with tears that refused to spill
both because of his masculinity and because he knew that whatever
happened it wasn't worth crying over, lowering her head slightly Lulu
shook her head as a twinge of guilt barely sparked in her subconscious
but was quickly doused by her knowledge of what had happened.
"I almost wish you were too late," bitterly hissed the black mage
in a sincere tone, looking up with uncertainty written on his rough
features Cid ran his hand over his bald skull as a vein throbbed on his
forehead.
"Just tell me what happened, I know my son, I know he isn't the
best person in Spira so just tell me what went on," gruffly declared the
bald pilot in a deep tone that told Lulu she need not hold anything
back.
"You see, Cid," hoarsely muttered the ebony haired woman in a tone
devoid of all emotion. "This retaliation dates back years before I even
met your daughter, but it is because of what happened so long ago that
this happened," coldly stated Lulu as she shut her crimson hues and
readied herself for the next installment of the story, gazing at the
gothic mage before him the confused Al-Bhed wrinkled his brow and
searched her face for some sort of answer. "Your son, defiled Rikku when
she was a child then threatened her with bodily harm so she wouldn't not
tell you. All these years she has been living in fear because of the
boy, and I could not stand around and let him continue to cause her so
much pain and anguish. He attacked me the night of the ceremony because
he knew that I would stand up to him and he knew that I would win," Lulu
sounded winded as she heated spat out her remarks, hot tears trickled
down her porcelain coloured cheeks and gathered at the base of her chin
refusing to fall from her face completely as Cid stared at her in wide
eyed shock.
"No, no, dryd lyh'd pa, cra fuimt ryja dumt sa, ra fuimth'd tu
dryd tu ran, ed lyh'd pa dnia," angry rejected the old Al-Bhed in rage
as he stood up from his chair knocking it over in the process, his face
was ashen if not slightly green with disgust, he hadn't imagined it
would have been something like that, something that he never had even
contemplated in his worst nightmares, opening her eyes into narrowed
slits Lulu glared at the man and let out a growl of pure fury.
"No Cid, it is the truth, I am the one that has stayed up night
after night holding her when she has feels so ashamed of herself she
wishes she would die, I am the one that told her it isn't her fault that
he did that to her, I am the one that was there for the first time that
she realized the truth, I saw her world break into a thousand pieces by
just looking into her eyes. It happened Cid; there is no changing that!
He hurt her, and I couldn't hold back my anger when he attacked me, I
wish he would have died, for Rikku's sake," violently sobbed Lulu as she
down cast her line of vision onto the bed as her tears finally spilled
from her face onto the mattress, she felt numb and cold all over, she
was certain the younger girl didn't want her father to know but it was
the only real way to fix the problem before it progressed even worse
than what it already was, cupping her jaw the thin magic user lifted her
sight so she could look at the name standing in the middle of the
bedroom like a statue.
"My little girl, my baby Rikku," whispered Cid in a light tone
that was strained and cracked as he talked, he looked torn, Lulu could
only imagine what he was feeling, they were both his children even if
Brother did the horrible things that he did she knew that Cid could not
fully hate him because he still was his son. Pushing her weight over the
side of the bed the female guardian weakly stood to her feet, she wasn't
fully rested but she knew that she needed to stand on her own and help
the older man in any way she could.
"You know she is getting over it, she is starting heal, I think
that the best thing for you do to right now, is to go and talk to her,
she's afraid of losing you," tenderly whispered the black haired woman
as she took an uneasy step forward and barely managed to maintain
balance, wiping his eyes roughly with his hand Cid nodded slightly, the
lack of emotion on his face seemed to fit his personality noted Lulu as
she placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly. Looking
up at her the bald pilot knitted his brow together in effort to keep
tears from streaming down his face.
"Rikku, kad eh rana," loudly commanded Cid as he struggled to keep
his voice level, with a loud click the metal door slid open reviling the
small Al-Bhed girl looking between her father and her lover curiously.
"Yeah, yeah I'm coming," happily chirped the blonde thief as she
stepped through the door and was instantly swept up in a large hug that
lifted her from the ground, letting out an overdramatic squeal Rikku
wormed around in her father's arms trying to get free of his monstrous
grip.
"E muja oui, E ys cu cunno dryd oui vamd mega oui luimth'd lusa du
sa, E's cunno dryd e ryja ymfyoc paah cu tecdyhd, E muja oui Rikku yht E
fyhd du oui ymfyoc ghuf dryd," shallowly breathed Cid as he held onto
the small framed girl in his arms and stroked her messy tresses
affectionately causing her to go rigid against his body almost as if she
were petrified with fear.
"Oui ghuf, pid…" slowly began Rikku but was cut short as a loud
voice boomed overhead and pounded into their ears.
"Sin tayt yrayt, ed'c cruf desa baubma, syga ic bnuit Yuna," the
voice belonged to one of the navigational readout men, stiffening Cid
let go of the small girl and smiled at her weakly, looking past her
father's broad shoulder the petite blonde gazed at Lulu with alarm in
her clear aqua hues, this was it, the final fight, the battle between
Sin and the battle between her own emotions.
"We had better go, the others will be waiting for us, Sin awaits,"
hazily stated Lulu as she walked towards the younger girl, leaning
forward the older woman wrapped a slender arm around the girl's waist
and held her lovingly. "Remember what I said, don't feed Sin your fear
and it isn't worth it, we are going to win, we are going to bring the
Eternal Calm and we are going to do it together," smirking reassuringly
the older woman planted a small kiss on the younger guardian's cheek,
nodding her head in agreement Rikku smiled slightly, a few months ago
they had barely scratched the surface to all of their problems and now
here they were ready to face off against the biggest problem of all and
she was certain they were going to win.
The End
Author's notes: I did it I finally did it! I finished the series! It
took me a freaking year to write the last chapter, but that is because I
wanted it perfect and to tie into the actual game, I would like you
thank you all who stayed on for the whole ride, and I would like to
thank Si-kun especially, you are my twin brother, where would this
series be without you? Unfinished and in a corner somewhere crying. For
those of you who wanted a full-blown sex scene, I am sad to say, I
cannot in good mind do that, it would ruin the story that I have worked
two years to write, I think that the teasing little tidbits I put it in
was good enough to sustain anyone who wanted hentai, smut, whatever you
want to call it. And for those of whom keep yelling at me that the
airship wasn't the Highwind I say raspberries on you, because in every
Final Fantasy the airship is called the Highwind, in exception to FFX-2,
but to me the Al-Bhed airship forever will be called the Highwind, so
here. But still I hope you all enjoyed the series; it was my pleasure to
write it. Thank you all.
Epilogue
"Some things love just can't give you Rikku, I need more, more
than what your love can give me, I think it is best that we stop seeing
each other," shallowly muttered Lulu as she looked the younger girl
straight in the eyes while a solemn frown etched on her ivory pale face,
her wine red hues looked void of all emotion as she gazed deeply into
the blonde thief, deep enough to pierce her soul and rob her of all
feelings.
"You don't mean that Lulu, you can't mean that, you love me, you
can't do this to me, please don't do this to me," helplessly pleaded
Rikku as she grabbed at the older woman's hands and forced her to stand
still and explain. "You love me, you told me you loved me…" cutting her
thoughts off before she could rant further the tall black mage pulled
away from the petite girl with a stern face.
"I loved you, loved," Lulu's voice was a strained whisper as she
locked her eyes skyward and held onto her onion knight plush toy so hard
that it ripped the fabric of its small cape, dropping the fetish to the
ground Lulu took a large step backward and closed her wine red orbs
exhaustedly. "What we had was great while it lasted, but there are
certain things in life that when you are older you want more than
anything, Rikku, I want to be a mother, I want to have a child of my
own, a part of me that will live on. You can't give me that no matter
how much you love me, Rikku, it's time to move on and see other people.
I will be leaving for Besaid with Lady Yuna and Wakka tomorrow and I
would prefer it if you didn't accompany us."
Turning on her heels Lulu slowly sauntered away from the pale
Al-Bhed leaving her shaking violently with sobs, she couldn't bare
seeing the girl in pain, much less pain that she herself caused but that
was the way things had to be.
The ceiling of the Celsius made the knot at the base of Rikku's
stomach tighten, it had been two years since that day, they had just
defeated Sin a few months prior to that moment, everything was perfect,
then out of nowhere the black mage had dumped her. Cid had gladly taken
her back aboard the Highwind, he wasn't angry with her in the least, but
she had been scared to go back to the ship with knowing her brother was
there, yet her father had set her mind at ease with telling the young
blonde that her bother's long term memory was completely gone due to the
fact they had revived him so late after death. But now here she was
laying back in her bed waiting to arrive in Besaid in a few hours, Lulu
was pregnant, her and Wakka were expecting, the sour taste of bile
filled the young blonde's mouth as she rolled over and gripped her side
wishing that they didn't have to go, that she didn't have to see the
woman she had once called her lover waddling with a round belly that was
filled with a child.
Sighing deeply Rikku turned onto her back and let her eyelids
gently shut.
"I'm a Gullwing now, I'm not some little kid that has a crush,
ooooh," gnashing her teeth together the tan skinned sphere hunter rolled
onto her stomach and slowly drifted off into an unease sleep.
Author's notes: Surprise, here comes the second series! Keep your eyes
pealed for Sealed Emotions. The continuation of Scratching the Surface.
You all know me; I can't leave well enough alone. Thank you all.
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