Irreplaceable

Chapter fourteen, Do I know you?

"Thank you." She said, but he didn't hear her. He was too shocked to say anything, his heart nearly stopped. He was staring right into a pair of remarkably familiar Crimson Red eyes.

Gippal blinked and rubbed his eye but he wasn't imagining things. Paine was right in front of him; he couldn't make heads or tails of it.

"Um...I uh..." she stammered as she tried to stand up. She blacked out before she could, and reminded Gippal that she needed medical attention.

With a frustrated sigh he picked her up and put her over his shoulder. She seemed lighter than he thought she would be, for some reason he always thought she would weigh more than she did. When he got to the tent that served as an infirmary, he set her down on a cot and started to dress the wound.

What confused him the most was why she didn't just fight that creep. She could have knocked out some drunk dude easily, so why didn't she? Nothing was adding up. And he wouldn't get any answers from her until she woke up. For now all he could do was wait until she awoke.

...

The next morning her eyes snapped open and she sat up in a panic. Gippal stirred from where he sat and urged her to lay back down.

"Take it easy. That was a pretty bad concussion you had." He told her. She nodded and settled back down.

Her white shirt and jeans were stained with sand and blood and her silver hair was a tangled mess. But that's not what caught Gippal's attention.

"You look younger...and shorter..." he remarked. "That's strange."

"Wait." She looked up at him with a frown. "Do I know you?"

Gippal's eyes widened. "Paine, don't you remember me? It's Gippal. Do you have amnesia?"

She shook her head. "No. I think you have the wrong person. My name is Ruby Foxx. I've been living with my mother in Luca all this time. Is Paine the one who helped Lady Yuna defeat Vegnagun?"

Gippal's heart stopped for the second time. How could someone look and sound so much like Paine, and not be her? "But...but you look just like her...are you sure you aren't mistaken? Like you think you're someone else because you have amnesia?"

Ruby stared at him like he'd gone crazy. "That happens often then? People just think they're someone else?" she asked sarcastically. "Look...I heard about what happened to your friend. And, I'm really sorry that I'm not her. But I'm not. I'm sorry."

She sighed and slowly sat up. "How long will this take to heal?" she asked. "I need to get back to work as soon as possible if I ever want to pay off our debt."

Gippal frowned. "It should heal in a week or two...you're in debt?"

"Yeah. My mom lost her job about a year ago and we missed a few bills...okay a lot of them. And um...yeah now I'm here." Ruby sighed "That man wasn't lying."

"What?" Gippal had no clue what she was talking about.

"Yesterday, when that guy attacked me. He dropped some gill and I tried to grab it and uh...he didn't like that very much."

Gippal laughed. "You sound like Rikku." He muttered to himself.

Ruby heard him and put her hand to her chin deep in thought. "Rikku...is she an Ex-Gullwing? I've always wanted to meet her."

Gippal frowned. How did she know who Rikku was? Sure, anyone knew of Yuna and how she defeated Vegnagun. But not very many people realized that Rikku and Paine had even been there at all...none of this was adding up.

"That's right." He said. "She lives in Luca now. I can introduce you if you want." Somewhere in his mind he realized that was a bad idea, but he brushed it aside.

He had to know more about this girl. He didn't know why she looked so much like Paine, or why she knew so much, but he was determined to get to the bottom of it. He only hoped that Rikku wouldn't react badly; even if he knew that's exactly what she would do.

A/N *Sighs* Sorry guys...I know you were hoping it'd be Paine. But sadly it's Ruby. She is a pretty good character though...so giver her a chance lol. Anyway this story is really starting to all come together now. I have the plot fully worked out and everything. Things are going to get very interesting from here.  So on a happier note, thank you guys for all the votes and comments y'all have been giving me. I honestly only ever expected one or two people to read the first chapter and then think this story sucks and stop reading it, but I was wrong and I've never been happier to be wrong. ^_~ Well I will see you guys on Monday, I hope you are enjoying this story so far. Stay tuned for more Final Fantasy goodness. Love y'all -Reibun