Part One – Leafing Through the Prologue
Chapter Two
8 B.E.C.
She was exactly where he had thought she would be. He let a small sigh of relief escape his lips as he climbed over the edge onto the top of the tower just to the left of Home's entrance. He was never quite sure why she chose that particular tower over the other 9 that surrounded the Al-Bhed city, but he knew better than to ask.
He looked at her for a moment, knowing that nothing he could say would make her feel better. Still, he knew he had to try. Gippal walked over to where she was standing not far from the edge and wrapped his arms around her from behind.
"Did Pops send you?"
"No. I came on my own."
She nodded. "I think Pops went crazy."
"Probably. But, he'll get better one day."
"Not likely...You always do that when I'm sad, hug me from behind like that. Why?"
Gippal shrugged. "My dad used to do it when my mom was sad and it always seemed to make her feel better."
"I can't believe you can talk about them when it's only been a year since they died."
He thought for a moment before answering. "I don't know. A year is a long time. I still miss them a lot, but...I still have my memories. They are always with me."
"I feel broken. Like a Machina that fell apart and nobody knows how to fix. How can she have died? How could mom go? It's not fair!"
Gippal agreed, not particularly agreeing with the fact that both of his parents had been taken from him by Sin the year previous, but he didn't say anything. After all, what COULD he say?
"I just want her back. And I want Brother to TALK again, to say something, anything, even just "Hi" or "go away," just as long as he spoke! And I want Pops to stop looking at me as if I'm next! First Auntie, then Mom, so it's gotta be me next, right?"
The idea of Rikku dying struck Gippal hard and tightened his grip on her. She glanced up at him before turning her gaze back to the endless sand dunes of the Sanubian desert. "I wish I could talk to Yunie."
"You can always talk to me, you know."
She turned to look at him, tears shining in her eyes and a tremulous smile on her lips. "But, I don't NEED to talk to you, Gippal. You look at me and know what I'm going to say and how I feel. Sometimes I think you are in my head. I need Yunie to TALK to, to say words to...get the feeling to go away with words. To share the pain with someone who knows what it is like...because everyone does, don't they?" She started crying, a far away look flooding her eyes at her own words. "My heart broke, Gippal, and I don't think it will ever stop hurting. I don't know what to do. I miss her so much." She clung to him and cried her eyes out."
Gippal hugged her to him tightly and swore he would never make her cry like this; he'd never LET her hurt this bad ever again. He promised her silently that he would never leave her, but would always protect her, from everything, even if it meant tearing Sin apart with his own two hands.
She stopped crying after a long time and he pulled away from her. He looked down and smiled, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "Come, Cid's girl. You are bound to be hungry after all that crying. Let's go get something to eat. It'll make you feel better."
She nodded silently and followed him down, back to the world where people died and away from her small world in the sky, her Sanctuary of the Sun.
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I don't own these characters.
