Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Place in Time: Fantasy Befallen ❯ The Reintroduction ( Chapter 4 )

 

 

Rikku looked about with dire curiosity. The streets were made of dirt, the shops were poorly constructed with slabs of wood and metal, and yet it was like she was back in Zanarkand Ruins. Every “we're open” sign, every item in storefront windows, was wonderful and awe-inspiring.

 

“So what did you say this place was called again?”

 

“Wall Market, though it's actually more like Wall Market 2.0. Much of the old one was destroyed, but a lot of the shop vendors stuck around and opened up new places. Unfortunately, business has been a little slow lately.”

 

Tifa was right. The streets were for the most part empty except for the occasional salesperson attempting to persuade them that their shop was better than any other shop. Rikku was comfortable and pleasant after what proved to be a comfortable night of sleep and relaxing morning. Vincent had went away early to find Cloud, and Cid and Shera were staying back at Seventh Heaven just in case some early-morning customer actually decided to stop by.

 

After the bizarre incident with the colored orbs the night before, Rikku had been a little on edge to see if what she did was natural or not. She wanted to just muster up the courage and ask Tifa, but at the same time she didn't want to look too much sillier than she already did. Apparently in this fantastic new world of “Gaia” women prefer to wear short dresses over khakis, so she already felt pretty awkward walking around like a 5000-year anachronism.

 

Luckily Tifa offered to change that with a visit to the dress shot, saying they'd “find something cute.” Having “girl time” was weird, though, when you don't really know the girl you're supposed to be spending time with.

 

“So how long have you known Cloud?” Rikku finally asked upon walking past what appeared to be an item shop.

 

“How long? Wow, I never thought such a basic question would be so complicated. I don't really know if I've ever known the real Cloud.”

 

“How so?”

 

Tifa shrugged. “Cloud is not exactly your average guy. He's…distant, to say the least. His time in SOLDIER made him that way. He's the perfect example of Mako gone bad.”

 

The two girls finally approached a small wood-paneled shop at the far end of the market.

 

“Why don't we talk more about Cloud later? We don't always have to be so serious.” Tifa ushered Rikku inside, and they were immediately met with a loud “good morning” from Sama, the slightly overweight but kindly seamstress.

 

“What brings you in today, Miss Lockhart?”

 

Tifa smiled. “We're looking for something for my friend Rikku here to wear. She's a bit ignorant towards the modern trends.”

 

“I'll say!” The seamstress said, looking at the Al Bhed girl's clothes with shock. “Where is she from, Mideel?”

 

“Um…close to it, yeah,” Tifa lied.

 

“We better fix her up then.” Sama then started to circle Rikku like a vulture looking at its prey, poking and prodding and occasionally staring.

 

“Hey, I'm not a mannequin!” Rikku protested.

 

“Oh, I know, but you must have what is best. I've made clothing for Tifa's friends for years and she expects nothing less out of me.” She laughed, a hearty and rather annoying laugh.

 

“I even remember the time I made a pretty little number for her friend Cloud.”

 

“You made a dress for a guy?” She glared at Tifa. “What kind of a place is this?”

 

“It's a long story, but Cloud was trying to free me from some guys that were trying to turn me into a prostitute.” Tifa looked down at the ground and started to mumble. “Now how that Don Corneo managed to pick Cloud over me and Aeris…that's another story.”

 

“What?”

 

“Never mind.”

 

Rikku was put through the charade for a number of hours, trying on various outfits and having various adjustments made. Ultimately the three women decided on a few pairs of pajamas, and couple of traveling outfits, and a solid blue gown that, in Rikku's opinion, made her look “pretty stinkin' hot.”

 

For now, she decided to just wear a button-up white shirt and tan skirt while she was walking outside.

 

“I'll be back in a minute!” She said, walking into the changing room. She quickly changed into her new clothes just as she would any other day, but soon she began to hear another voice speaking out in the store. This one was male.

 

“Hey, Tifa! What're you doing up in Wall Market?”

 

“Isn't it obvious? Shopping. I have a new friend that I brought up to Sama's for some new clothes. Now I think a better question might be what are YOU doing in Wall Market? I wouldn't think a dress shop would be your everyday hangout.”

 

“It's not usually, but I'm just doing a little shopping for the lady. Don't really know what I get her, since I'm not sure if she's worn a dress in her lifetime.”

 

The conversation didn't sound too serious, so Rikku decided to just walk out in her new clothes as if no one new had entered.

 

“So how do I look?” She did a few model turns, smiling as if she'd just picked up a new dressphere.

 

“Pretty good, if I do say so myself,” the mysterious voice, a man with long red hair tied back in a ponytail, stated immediately.

 

“But then again, I'm probably not the person you were looking for approval from.” He took a clean look up and down her body. “But I gotta say, if it wasn't for the wife at home I'd be asking you right now to join me for a little time at Costa del Sol.”

 

Rikku couldn't help but blush a little bit. The man was cute in a “bad boy” sort of way.

 

“So please tell me you know this guy so I don't have to act weirded out.”

 

“Okay then, I know him! Rikku, this is Reno. He used to be an enemy of ours but he's since converted over, at least for the most part. He was involved with Shinra at its peak.”

 

“Really? Can you—”

 

“Actually, why don't we wait to have this conversation until we're someplace a bit more private?” Rikku looked around and noticed Reno wasn't the only one to enter the store while she was changing.

 

They checked out the clothes with Sama quickly, not really bothering with any conversation for the time being. Outside Wall Market was fairly crowded, but at least they would have the flexibility to move to the far reaches of the market away from prying ears. That's precisely what they did, and soon they found themselves walking alone on a dirt road.

 

Rikku tried as hard as she could to explain her story to Reno, about her sudden journey from Luca and the possible connection through Shinra between Spira and this new world.

 

“Sounds like you got a pretty good theory there, kid.” Reno couldn't help but chuckle once, which peeved her off immensely. “But I gotta be straight with you, you're asking the wrong person entirely about company history! I joined Shinra for the pay and for the adventure, not to study up on how it was founded.”

 

“Don't you even remember it mentioned in a company meeting at one point?”

 

“Hey, Shrina's not going to sit there and remind us of the past. We're all about moving forward!”

 

It was disappointing, to say the least, that someone with direct connections to the company didn't want to help her out. He was probably just an idiot and an egomaniac, but it was hard for her to eliminate the possibility that he was lying. Just as she started to deliver a patented “Level 7 Glare” on the jerk, Tifa made a tactical move and changed the subject.

 

“So Reno, what were you really doing in Wall Market?”

 

Rikku obviously didn't have priority in this conversation, suggesting that visits from this fellow were very much few and far between.

 

“I was looking for you, to be honest.”

 

“Me? Please don't tell me Rude's going to try to ask me out again.”

 

“Nah. Well to think of it he probably will, but that's not why I'm here. I know you're going to be surprised to here this, but Shinra has a proposition for ya.”

 

“You better not be up to no good again!” Rikku blurted out.

 

“Sweet girl,” he replied sarcastically. “Rufus isn't really looking to stir up trouble right now. He's just trying to get the company back on its feet and keep the world from falling apart. That's why Tifa's services here are so important.”

 

“Rufus is the current president of Shinra,” Tifa mumbled, knowing the question was coming sooner or later. She then spoke up and shot a glance over at Reno. “Why are my services so important? Remember now that I'm a barmaid, not a scientist.”

 

“Yea, but you got a damn good knowledge of some of the Planet's inner workings. Plus, you're a good face for the public. There's been a lot of strange shit going down lately.”

 

“Like what Vincent was talking about?”

 

“The monsters in the Ancient Forest? That's just the start of it. There's even been monsters roaming up by the Northern Crater again. Place has been pretty much dead since we waved bye-bye to Sephiroth.” Tifa batted an eye in surprise, and Reno continued.

 

“Plus, we've heard rumors of some Lifestream pouring out up in the northern ocean. Some think it's got to do with the rock that crashed down yesterday.”

 

“If it caused a deep enough gash in the earth I would expect the Planet to bleed a little.”

 

“Then how do you explain the monsters, or the strange reports of green lights at nighttime? It may be nothing, but we gotta be consistently paranoid these days with all that's happened in the past.”

 

Rikku really didn't want to wander off (after all, she really didn't have any idea where she'd go even if she wanted to), but she did decide to look at the scenery surrounding her. It wasn't really much to look at, but at least she didn't feel so awkward listening to old friends talk about something completely foreign to her.

 

“So I still don't understand my role in this.”

 

“We just want you to visit Knights Island with a crew of scientists. See if anything points towards a potential disaster. You've been deep into the Planet, so you know what this stuff looks like.” There was a brief pause before Rikku spoke again.

 

“You know I can't take Cloud. He's too unpredictable. I promise you there won't be any violence involved.”

 

Tifa paused, looking over Reno with her eyes so distinctly even Rikku could tell.

 

“I'll think about it, but it sounds to me like you're still hiding something. Since when does Shinra care what the public thinks?”

 

“We're trying. I don't know what else I can tell you, Tiff.”

 

“I wanna go that way!” Rikku didn't even realize what she had said until she was already pointing towards south. It was like there was something drawing her there, something buried deep within her consciousness. She couldn't touch it in her mind, but to her eyes the southern road looked as if it was paved with gold.

 

Tifa looked at Reno nervously.

 

“Rikku's probably bored listening to us talk. Maybe this is a sign we better head out. Give my regards to Yuffie for me.”

 

“And about the job?”

 

“You'll know soon enough. I just need some…consultation first.” Reno nodded reluctantly, tucking one of his hands into his dark pants, and walked back towards Wall Market.

 

“So why do you want to go that way? It's not the quickest way back to the bar.”

 

“I know, but there's something important there. I can feel it!”

 

Apparently not one to upset a guest, Tifa allowed her new acquaintance to lead the way down the road in spite of the fact that Rikku didn't have any idea in the world where she was going or why she wanted to go there.

 

“I don't know if I can trust Reno…” Tifa mumbled.

 

Rikku beamed. “What? You're confiding in me already? How great!” She took a minute or two to formulate advice. After all, this was a new friend and one she didn't want to piss her off too quickly with a poor response.

 

“It sounds like this Knights Island is a tricky place. But sometimes you just gotta take risks, you know?”

 

--

 

Rikku remembered the lights of the Moonflow and the cries of the shoopuf handlers. She was completely and totally spent in the trip downstream.

 

She was still coming to terms with what had happened. She remembered picking up Tidus, the strange but attractive guy at the temple. Then there was noise. Furious waves splashed up across her back, and she watched him fall slowly off the boat.

 

Then, he attacked her! She had washed up on shore, wondering if it was really him or if her eyes were just playing tricks. Once she heard the voice, she knew. It was him, the same guy she last saw making a fall towards certain death.

 

She was struggling to stay conscious when he spoke.

 

“You're…not dead?”

Not realizing how awkward it probably made Tidus feel she quickly threw off her dark red Al Bhed outfit to reveal something far more comfortable: an orange sleeveless shirt and green shorts.

“Ah, thought I was done for back there.” She was so exhausted she fell back onto the ground.

“Rikku! You're Rikku! Hey, you're okay! How you been?”

“Terrible.”

“You don't look so good. What happened?”

“You beat me up, remember?” She kind of wished she hadn't said that. Probably came across as too harsh.

“Wait…that machina…that was you?”

“Uh, that really hurt, you know? You big meanie!”

“But you attacked us!”

“Nuh-uh. It's not exactly what you think.”

She remembered the conversation. So sweet, so innocent, at least until Tidus seemed nervous to tell the crowd of her race. She convened with Yuna and Lulu like they were eight-year olds talking about what boys they liked. Yuna was kind, thanking her for saving the life of one of her “guardians.” She was invited to join the pilgrimage, and she didn't hesitate for a second. She had to join the group for the sake of Tidus. She didn't really know what devotion was, but she still felt some sort of responsibility to help him. She was the first person to see him in Spira! After what happened on the boat she felt more obligated to protect him than anyone else.

But what about protecting Yuna? She was supposed to be her guardian. It was for the good of Spira, so she signed on for a battle against Sin, the being that took Tidus away in the first place. But she wasn't fighting for Yuna's sake, and she was quick to remind herself of that whenever she had the opportunity to talk with Tidus alone. Things were obviously different since their first meeting, but she took every chance she could.

At least she did for the first couple of weeks…

--

“See? You gotta take every chance you can! I didn't end up getting with the guy I liked, but I did end up helping to save Spira. Pretty good result of my decision, if I do say so myself.”

Tifa looked confused.

“So what's your point, that I should go along with Shinra even if…I don't end up with Reno? I don't even like Reno!”

“Wait, that's not it! Sorry, I'm not too good with these speeches…all I'm trying to say is that you just gotta follow your heart. You don't wanna be working at a bar forever!”

Rikku could see an outline of a red building to her right, and as they moved closer and closer its faint outline started to become clearer. It was the same church she saw the day before, except now it was almost tempting her to go inside its beaten-down walls.

“Tifa, what's in that church?”

Almost in perfect reflection of the day before with Cid and Shera, Tifa's entire face froze up.

“In there? There's nothing really special anymore. There used to be some flowers…”

“Well I wanna go in! It's different than anything else I've seen. I feel…connected to it, I guess. Like it's telling me to come inside.” Tifa tried to open her mouth in protest, but before she could say anything Rikku was recklessly bolting towards the church.

She immediately could tell upon entering that the place had seen its share of battles. The pews were uneven and broken, the paint of the walls was chipping off, and there was a gigantic hole in the right-hand corner of the ceiling. The hole allowed for a beacon of bright light to shine through, allowing a small garden of grass to sprout up in the middle.

Rikku almost didn't notice the man sitting in the front pew until she was right up on him. He was wearing solid black, and his mane of blonde hair was bent over in thought.

She wondered if he was the kind of guy she should be disturbing. He could be one of those crazy vagabonds Cid was talking about. Nevertheless she decided to go for it, patting him gently on the shoulder.

“Hey, mister! You okay?”

“Back off.” She immediately felt herself being shoved back into one of the adjacent pews, her face turning bright red and her anger building.

“That was uncalled for! I was just trying to help you out.”

“I don't want to be helped.”

The man started to rise to his feet, and Rikku immediately noticed him slowly pulling out an enormous sword from under a pew.

“Wait,” she said in protest. “I didn't mean to insult—”

“Cloud!”

The voice came from Tifa, who was running in from outside.

“What are you doing here?”

“Isn't it obvious? Paying my respects. This girl here was interrupting me.” Tifa looked at him disapprovingly.

“I wasn't going to hurt her,” he mumbled. “I just wanted to scare her a little. She has no business being here.”

“Says who?” Rikku shouted back. “It's not like you own the place.”

“I might as well,” he replied hastily, “I have a greater attachment to it than anyone else.”

“Calm down, you two. We've had enough battles here.” Tifa looked to both of them sternly. “Cloud, this is Rikku. She's a rather interesting girl Vincent found wandering in the City of the Ancients.”

“What?” Cloud finally turned around to face the girl, revealing a face filled with complete and utter shock. “You don't mean to say…”

“We don't know how she got there, either, and she doesn't seem to remember. She keeps saying she was transported here from Spira.”

“It's the truth!” Rikku argued, seemingly to no good.

“Spira?” Cloud carried his blade in his right arm as he paced in a circle around the miniature garden. “The foundation of Shinra. Few people know about it. Even fewer care.”

He pouted outward with his sword towards the hole in the ceiling.

“But for you to be from Spira would be impossible.”

“A woman's voice told me I was needed here.” Rikku had reminded herself of Vincent's words: Cloud would be interested in this.

The sudden halting of his movement proved Vincent's assumption right. His entire right hand began to shake, and Tifa looked on with obvious concern.

“A woman's voice? I wonder…no, it can't be.” He shot her a glare. “Concentrate! Close everything out of your mind and tell me what you hear.”

“What? I'm not going to hear anything.”

“Just try it!”

Quickly, partially out of fear since the guy had a sword, she closed her eyes and concentrated deep. She was drawn to this place for some reason, but she didn't know why. There was a faint whispering, so soft it could have very well been the wind.

“I can't really hear anything.”

“Concentrate harder!”

Again she focused in, but this time she completely disregarded where she was and how she arrived there. Instead she channeled her mind through her past and her present. She molded her memories and listened closely to the whispering. It grew louder and louder until more voices joined the conversation, none of them comprehensible. More and more joined, until what seemed like a hundred voices were jumping around in her head.

Then, one voice spoke out against the many.

It's here.

It was the same woman. She knew it!

“I heard it! I heard something!”

Unfortunately so did Cloud and Tifa, as a loud pounding noise came from outside.

There were three men that entered, each one carrying a large rifle and a copious amount of ammo.

“So, Mr. Cloud Strife, thought you could disobey the orders?”

“Yes, since the order consisted of lies. You told me this was medicine for Junon's kids! You're trying to brainwash them with this Mako-concentrated crap.”

The head man, a thick and angry-looking fellow with a long brown beard, cocked his rifle and pointed it quickly at the “disobedient one.”

“Who are you, delivery boy, to debate ethics? You failed to do the job, so now you gotta face your penalty. What do think, boys? I think a shot in the arm would teach him to follow orders.” Or, he said, with a quick and furious glance towards Rikku, “Maybe we can rough up one of his ladies.”

“I wouldn't take another step.” Cloud quickly took hold of his sword, and within a matter of seconds gunfire started to fill the room.

Rikku jumped back behind a pew in panic. Sure, she could help Vincent take down a monster, but these guys had guns! She could hear bullets ricocheting off Cloud's sword, and a quick slice followed by a groan. This was soon followed by more gunshots.

“Shit! That didn't kill you?”

She looked over to her left to see Tifa struggling with the one of the other gunmen. She had his halfway away from him, at least enough to keep him from pulling the trigger.

She felt terrible for hiding, but what else could she do? Then, she quickly noticed something lying under the pew, close to where Cloud's sword was located. It was a small black bag, decorated with a silver wolf and a zipper. She felt horrible intrusive for rooting inside, but she soon discovered a few of the same mysterious green orbs she found the night before in Tifa's basement.

“Okay, I gotta try something,” she mumbled to herself. She could hear Cloud's movements becoming slower, and Tifa was groaning in pain. She picked up two green orbs and quickly moved them around in her hands until one joined into the other.

“How do I use these green things?” She shouted, not really knowing what else to do.

One of the gunmen immediately turned his attention to her hiding place and began running towards her at full speed.

“Quick!” Tifa shouted. “Channel your energy and pick a target.” She focused on the guy moving towards her, but it was a little difficult considering she was relying only on his footsteps.

“I don't know what I'm doing, I don't know what I'm doing…” She pretended as if she was lunging a knife forward into her target, except with a green orb in its place. She pushed her energy forward.

What occurred next was something Rikku didn't expect. A rush of flames surrounded the gunman, scorching his entire body until shortly falling to the ground. She heard his scream one moment, but as he hit the ground she then heard a loud “ribbit.” She looked down to see a gun lying on the ground next to a slimy green creature hopping about.

“I just turned a gunman into a frog!” She was so shocked that she almost forgot there was a battle going on, and she almost didn't avoid a bullet coming at her because of it. She noticed that her outburst was at least enough to distract Tifa's opponent, who quickly lost control of his rifle. Tifa then struck him across the head with it and pointed at the bearded man, who was struggling to fend off Cloud.

“Drop the weapon or you die!” It was strange to hear such a threatening voice coming out of the girl's mouth, but it seemed to work as the leader's grip on his gun loosened. As it fell towards the ground, Cloud began to slowly back away.

“Thanks for teaching us a lesson,” Cloud sneered, shoving the man back into the door.

“You're lucky you had your little friends this time, Mr. Strife.” The man high-tailed it out of there before anything else could be said, leaving one of his men unconscious and the other one an amphibian.

The three left standing looked at each other for a moment, not knowing exactly what to say. Rikku finally broke the silence.

“That green stuff you have is pretty awesome! I set the guy on fire and turned him into a frog with just one blast.”

“…That's why we're so curious.” Rikku quickly realized both Cloud and Tifa were staring at her blankly. “How did you do that?”

“I don't know, I just mixed the two green ones together. Didn't think anything of it.”

Cloud approached her slowly, his arms sagging slightly after the battle.

“You said you were from Spira, right?”

“Yup, that's right.”

“Whether that's true or not, it looks like you definitely have some use to us. A girl who can transform Materia…”

“Is that what it's called?”

“Yes, but some people prefer to call it magic.”

“So who were those guys?” Rikku said, drastically changing the subject.

“They're part of the Junon Renegades, a new group started up by Vance, an ex-SOLDIER. But they're not that important all of a sudden. They can't do something that no one else on the planet can do.”

Tifa seemed to have more of a grin on her face, but even Rikku could tell she was also confused.

“Why don't we head back to Seventh Heaven? I'm sure the others are worried.”

“Vincent should be waiting there. He stopped by the church earlier.”

“Really?”

“He said he wanted to tell me about a possibly connection to the past. I didn't think it was going to come in the form of a person.” Cloud took out a makeshift lock and closed up the abandoned church. He then turned around towards Rikku, and shot her the most piercing glare she had ever experienced.

“I think it's time we know a little bit more about you. Strange things are happening, and I have a good feeling it's all connected.”

--

 

A/N: So I have a good feeling this chapter only works to create more questions, which is for right now my goal. I promise you it won't take longer than a year this time before I post something more. This chapter may seem a little disjointed, but I'm hoping to make it all relevant in the big picture as I regain my momentum.