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"Rikku's Destiny" - Chapter One
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The wind whipped over the desolate terrain, sand skidding across the dunes at a stinging speed. The head was sweltering, though the desert dryness helped to make it a bit more bearable. The only real danger was the threat of heat exhaustion or dehydration.
The Al Bhed girl was well equipped to weather such conditions. Her skin covered with special material designed to keep its wearer cool while protecting their prone human forms. Goggles shielded her eyes and a mask filtered and cooled the desert air for her to breathe.
“Rao Rikku, tet oui veht yhodrehk?” (Hey Rikku, did you find anything?)
The Al Bhed girl perked up a bit at the sound of her name through the faint static crackle of her earpiece radio. She’d been digging for almost three hours without any sound save for the wind over the sands. “Hudrehk. E drehg drec caldun ryc tneat ib.” (Nothing. I think this sector has dried up.)
“Ymm nekrd, lusa pylg eh. Hu ica gemmehk ouincamv vun hudrehk.” (All right, come back in. No use killing yourself for nothing.)
“Dryhg oui.” (Thank you) Rikku climbed to her feet and brushed herself off. She strode to the speeder, trying not to get annoyed at the watcher machina that flew somewhat spastically around her, all the while beeping and whirring. “Ready to head back?” it asked, in a somewhat smart-ass voice that someone had programmed into it.
“Yes,” she snapped, climbing into the speeder. Gunning the engine she sped off over the sands, heading back to camp.
When she reached the main camp she parked her speeder by the rest and went into her tent. She ripped off her facemask and goggles, still sweating despite the cool air that had been filtered through the mask. “E lyh’d dyga silr suna uv drec.” (I can’t take much more of this.)
She’d been on Bikanel Island for two long months, helping Nhadala and her crew dig up bits and pieces of the machina that had once made up the Al Bhed’s Home, not to mention help recover what had been lost from the attack of the Angra Mainyu. The sanctuary had been destroyed three years prior, its treasures lost beneath the sand. Then, a year before present day, Angra Mainyu had attacked and destroyed the camp.
She wouldn’t even be there had Brother not been so stupid. Somehow he’d managed to damage his airship Celsius so bad that it had to be completely overhauled, a task that promised to take at least six months. So the Gullwings had all gone their separate ways for a while.
Brother and Buddy took the Celsius to the Calm Lands to fix it up. Cid had gone after them to make sure they didn’t screw anything up. Brother and Cid were probably still arguing with each other. Those two were incorrigible.
Yuna had returned to Besaid Island with Tidus to spend some time with Lulu, Wakka, and their son Vidina. Rikku had a feeling Tidus and Yuna would be spending most of their time with each other and alone. And that was where she stopped that thought process. Ick.
Paine had been planning on visiting Barelai in Bevelle and then head over to see Nooj and Leblanc at the Mushroom Rock Road. After everything that happened, Rikku didn’t blame her for wanting to reconnect with her old friends.
With everyone leaving that left Rikku shit outta luck. She certainly didn’t want to hang out with her brother for that long a period of time, and the idea of traveling around Spira on foot didn’t exactly appeal to her. So she’d asked her father to drop her off at Bikanel Island to help Nhadala and her crew and make a bit of extra cash.
So here she was: sweating, sandy, and ready for a trip to the oasis to bathe. In fact, now that she thought about it, a bath sounded great right about then. “Nhadala E’s kuehk uid du dra Oasis. E haat y pnayg.” (Nhadala, I’m going out to the Oasis. I need a break.)
Nhadala poked her head into Rikku’s tent and nodded. “Pa lynavim Rikku. Drana yna fiends ynuiht.” (Be careful Rikku. There are fiends about.)
Rikku giggled and spun one of her dual knives for Nhadala to see. “Not a problem.”
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The water felt delightful on her desert-heated skin. Smiling she waded out to the middle of the oasis’ pond. The water barely reached her toned abdomen so she had to sit (careful not to get sand in her bathing suit bottom) in order to immerse herself in the water. She moved her hands back and forth through the crystal clear waters, tilting her head back further, holding her breath as she submerged herself completely. Her back landed gently on the pond’s sandy bed and she opened her eyes to look up at the cloudless sky from beneath the water.
It was weird, the thickness of sound beneath the surface. Rikku was a people person, she preferred noise to silence and her time digging in the silence of the desert. She missed Yuna, Paine, Buddy, Shinra and…as much as she hated to admit it…she even missed Brother. His infatuation with Yuna was annoying but her older brother was the only person who could match Rikku for enthusiasm.
Suddenly a deep rumbling noise replaced the silence. The sand beneath her seemed to vibrate and something large and dark suddenly obscured her vision. She stood up as quickly as she could, water running off her and back to its resting place as she turned her eyes upward, trying to discern what it was that had blocked the sun.
It was an airship!
“Bid cusa lmudrac uh, tyikrdan,” (Put some clothes on, daughter) came a loud and grating voice.
Rikku glanced down at her somewhat skimpy bathing suit before crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at the man who had emerged from the airship. “Fryd yna oui tuehk rana?” (What are you doing here?) she asked, the Al Bhed language sliding easily from her lips.
“Is that anyway to greet your father?” asked Cid, switching to English. “Especially when I brought you a present?”
Rikku immediately perked up and waded to the shore, hopping from one foot to the other excitedly. “What is it? What did you bring me?”
He gestured to the airship. “This.”
Rikku could have died. “The airship?!? It’s MINE?!?”
Cid nodded, obviously satisfied with his daughter’s reaction. “The paint’s just finished drying.”
The airship was a bit smaller than Brother’s and its design was more like the Highwind than the Celsius. The paint was a fatigue green trimmed with pale yellow and the ship was beautiful. Giggling to herself, Rikku boarded the ship to take a look around. The bridge was spacious, though a bit smaller that that of the Celsius. It looked like it was made for a three or four person crew. Pilot, navigator, weapons, and, of course, space for the captain. The cabin on the ship was cozier than the Celsius, boasting a living area and separate, two person bedrooms as opposed to the open sleeping space of the Celsius. The best part was that each bedroom had its own personal bathroom complete with a shower. All the comforts of home.
She returned to the bridge to find Cid there, looking over one of the control panels. “Ymm drec vun sa?” (All this for me?)
Cid nodded again. “It’s been in the works for a while now. All she needs is a name and she’s all yours.”
Rikku thought for a minute, trying to decide what to name the new airship. Finally it came to her and she grinned. “Destiny,” she announced, offering a satisfied nod to her father. “I’ll name it ‘Destiny’.”
Her father smiled approvingly. “Very well, Destiny it is. So where to, captain Rikku?”
“A ship’s gotta have a crew, right? First stop: Besaid Island!”
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