Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Shades of White ❯ Eccentric Daydreamer ( Prologue )

It was about as long as your typical long sword, though nowhere near as heavy. It bore the appearance of a simple and ordinary gun, though the person working on it had no idea how to fire it let alone load it with ammunition. It bore strange runes and markings all along its barrel that glowed with a pale blue light whenever it was in the proximity of a piece of ice, though its master had no idea why. It just might be the answer to the problem that has been plaguing the Al Bhed and the rest of Spira for hundreds of years. However, that wasn't important to the person who has been tinkering with it for the past few days. If one were to peek in on this artifact a few moments before, he would have found a large, muscular man expertly poring over this piece of ancient technology; his brow furrowed in deep concentration as his mind battled to understand the machinery. Now, it lay discarded on the work table amidst various tools, charts, and blueprints.

It was only a few moments before that Varsa, Litok's youngest nurse, burst into Cid's workroom. She must have run all the way from across the island judging by the way that she was panting and gasping for air. Cid's face started to deepen into a frown at the girl's insolence. He was about to reprimand her for disturbing him so suddenly, but stopped short when she spat out the reason for her sudden appearance. A look of shock slowly crept across Cid's hard features; the frown giving way to allow for Cid's jaw to drop. It was time.

Varsa managed to elicit a small yelp as Cid barreled through the doorway, grabbing her by the arm in the process. Her feet left the ground a couple times as Cid practically dragged her towards his speeder. Plopping her onto it with absolutely no gentleness, he quickly hopped in front of her and sped towards Home. "Reckless" hardly described the trip across the sands and through the jungles. Varsa clung for dear life to the sides of the speeder as she was certain that Cid would either crash into a dune or veer off of the jungle path, smashing the both of them into a tree. She closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable disaster to occur. Suddenly, the speeder stopped with a jerk. Wondering why Cid had stopped, she slowly opened an eye. The Al Bhed hospital loomed before her. They were already here! Cid's footprints already led to the entrance. Sighing in relief, she shakily climbed her way off of the speeder and sprinted after the Al Bhed chief, slightly amazed at how fast they made it here.

Cid burst into the building. Storming over to the first aide that he saw, he grabbed the hapless clerk by his shirt, demanding to know his wife's location. His answer came in the form of an unintelligible sputtering and faltering of words. Growing impatient, Cid quickly shoved the man aside and began to jog down the nearest corridor. A hand on his shoulder made him stop in his tracks. Quickly turning around to see who would dare bother him at a time like this, he saw Varsa pointing to the opposite hallway. Grunting his thanks, he took off in the indicated direction with a slight nod to the nurse.

Running down the hallway, Cid began looking in various rooms as he was unsure as to which contained his wife. He found several different patients in various states of health, but not his wife. He even came upon a woman in a state of near undress. Cid didn't even bat an eyelash as the girl gave out a startled shriek; her body beginning to take on a crimson hue. Closing the door, Cid cursed under his breath. Ever since he woke up early in the morning, he knew that something was going to happen today. Despite his gut feeling, he decided to go to his workshop farthest away from Home. If he had only stayed in Home today, he would have known where his wife was. If only he didn't go to his most secluded workshop, he would be with her now.

A slight cry emanated from a room a couple doors down from where he was standing. Immediately, Cid sprinted towards the sound. Nearly knocking the door off of its hinges, Cid burst into the room while shouting his wife's name.

Kaysa, Cid's wife, was lying on the small hospital bed; her features and clothing damp with sweat. She was surrounded by several nurses, including Varsa, as well as Doctor Litok. Brother was at his mother's side, clutching her hand in his smaller ones. Knocking over a tray of instruments and two nurses, Cid rushed to his wife's side. Instinctively, he brushed her hair back and kissed her on the forehead. Her face bore expressions of pain, but she managed to smile at her husband. Glad that his wife seemed alright, he barked at Litok to make his wife more comfortable as well as do something about the pain. He was rewarded by the doctor holding his hand up, saying that he had everything under control. His wife was as comfortable as she could possibly be and any sedatives would endanger not only her life, but the baby's as well. Cid's face grew red with anger. He was about to make sure that Litok was the one who would need sedatives when Kaysa's hand suddenly snaked into his own. His anger quickly replaced with concern, he simply nodded and turned his attention back to his wife.

The labor continued for several more hours. Brother eventually fell asleep by his mother's side. A nurse had to pry the boy off of his mother's arm and carry him to a bed in the adjacent room. Litok left a while ago, explaining to Cid that Kaysa would not be ready for quite some time. Cid merely nodded, remembering when Brother was born a few years before. Asides from the occasional nurse coming in to check on Kaysa's condition, Cid and his wife were alone. Cid stayed by his wife the entire time, holding her hand, caressing her hair, and otherwise doing his best to try and comfort her.

He was slightly startled when she asked him what he thought the child's name should be. Cid had not given any thought to the matter, and was left quite speechless. Kaysa merely smiled at her husband and explained that something would come to him once he saw his daughter. Cid, perplexed, asked Kaysa how she knew the gender of their unborn child. His wife merely replied that it was a mother's intuition. Nodding slowly, his thoughts began to wander. If he did have a daughter, he wondered what she would be like. If she was anything like her mother, she would make people very happy. Kaysa had a very positive attitude that refused to be let down in even the most dire situations. She gave people hope in the darkest times. Cid had a feeling that his daughter would be the same way.

He was snapped out of his reverie by a scream coming from his wife. Unlike the small moans and yelps that his wife was making throughout the day, this sound was utterly bloodcurdling. It took Cid less than five seconds to run to the door, scream for help, and return to his wife's side. Within moments, Litok entered the room followed by Varsa. He took one look at Kaysa before announcing that it was time. Cid could only watch helplessly as his wife began to give birth.

Cid was a master of machina. It was because of this that he was made chief of the Al Bhed. As a leader, Cid has made several poor decisions based on hasty judgement. Despite this fact, he was a good leader to his people and they loved him for it. He was able to handle just about any situation decisively. Fiends attacking Home were dealt with swiftly and effectively. If a generator that was supplying power to the entire eastern quadrant of Home were to blow in the middle of the night, Cid could have it up and running within the hour. Even political disputes were quelled with barely any arguing and absolutely no bloodshed.

It killed Cid to know that there was nothing that he could do for his wife. If there was some type of machina that would help his wife give birth, Cid would have built it in a heartbeat. The fact of the matter, however, is that something like that would be impossible. So, Cid was confined to just sitting next to his wife. Kaysa suddenly grabbed Cid by the chin. She told him to just be here with her. Let his face be the first that his daughter will see when she enters the world. That's more than any contraption that Cid could come up with in that workroom of his. A slight smile began to tug at the edges of Cid's lips and he felt some of his worrying begin to seep away.

A loud cry started to fill the room. This time, it came not from Kaysa but from the small bundle that Litok was now holding. Kaysa, exhausted, slumped into a deep sleep; her ordeal finally over. Litok handed the bundle to Cid, informing him that it was a girl. Cid gingerly held the small form which quickly quieted down once in Cid's arms. Folding back a piece of cloth over the baby's head, Cid's finger brushed against her forehead leaving a trail of soot in its wake. Cursing loudly, Cid began to fumble for something to clean off his daughter's face. A happy giggle brought Cid's attention back to his burden. The baby's eyes were now open; bright jade orbs affixed on Cid's brown ones. The large man gave out a slight gasp, slightly surprised. Cid studied his daughter, so intent on gazing at him with a smile on her face. He idly noted how much she looked like her mother.

Litok asked Cid for her name so that the certificate of birth could be drafted. Cid's gaze returned to his daughter. He knew that she would be a hope to her people. Something inside told him that she would do big things for the Al Bhed, more than anything that he has ever done or will ever do. She might even end the oppression of her people.

"Rikku," Cid said. "Her name is Rikku."

A/N: I've seen so many fics about Braska, Auron, and Jecht, but not too many for any of the other characters. I've had this idea in the back of my mind for almost a month. After seeing all the awesome Rikku Cosplayers at Otakon last week, I finally got the will to start it. For any of those interested, my otakon pictures can be found at

Dezz.homestead.com/otakon.html

After doing some research, I was unable to find a name for Cid's wife. The name Kaysa is something that came from my own head, and is no means canon. If Square did have a name for Cid's wife, I will change it accordingly as soon as I find out.

This fic is dedicated to Nissa, the webmistress of www.ryukku.nu. Nissa, though we've never met or even traded words, this is for you.