A/N: Yay, back for another chapter!!! This one's up quicker. ;) Which is good. Thanks for everyone who reviewed, and many thanks to sango-savino. Without her help and ideas, there would be no fic. ^^ Thankz again for reading and reviewing!!! Hope you enjoy. ^^

Chapter Three—Cruubiv's Purpose in Life

The machina was finished. I stroked it lovingly, grinning at it like the fool I am. There was great pleasure in finishing a machina, especially if it meant sticking it to the machina king. Boy, Gippal would be surprised when he found out I finished his machina. I always had been good with machina, but he didn't know the details. I could hear the praising now...

"Okay, machina!! Show me what you can do!!" I cheered happily, one arm raised into the air for super dramatic effect. I waited, watching. When it didn't respond, my shoulders slouched, and I deflated. "HEY!! I'm talking to you, punk!! Show me what you can do!!! Put your foot over your head!!! Butter toast!! SOMETHING!!!"

Still nothing. It was taunting me now. I could feel it's beady little eyes watching me but not caring enough to make a move. It definitely took after Gippal.

The only way to deal with this was to go straight to the source. I turned, hands planted defiantly on my hips, and began to march to the front of Djose Temple. I got many curious looks from the Al Bhed littering the halls, but I didn't care. I would not stop my intense and purposeful marching until I was in front of Gippal.

He was in the main room of the Temple, standing casually by the steps that led to the Chamber of the Fayth. Yunie and Paine were beside him, with Yunie doing most of the talking. I'd have to continue Paine's lessons on polite conversation later....

"You're machina's defective!!" I informed him angrily.

"What do 'ya mean, defective?" He asked, acting like I'd just insulted him personally. "If it's defective, it's because you made it that way!! Can't you do anything right, Cid's Girl?" His last remark was a tease, but that didn't help his current predicament. I was the adamantoise once again. Get ready, flan, 'cause I'm ready to attack!!

"Yes, I can!! I followed your blueprint directly. If anyone made it defective, it was you!!" I snapped, poking him threateningly in the chest, which was a mistake from the start.

Gippal grinned a little. "I love it when you're feisty."

"Shut up!!"

"Rikku, you might want to see this..." Yunie was tapping my shoulder repetitively, watching behind me, but I was too busy to turn around. It was probably an injured Brother who had valiantly done something stupid to get Yunie to comfort him. At the moment, Gippal was more important.

"It can wait!!" I said, waving her off.

"If it's defective, you're fired," said Gippal with a shake of his head. "You seemed so promising , too..."

"I don't work for you!! I'm a Gullwing!!" I informed him proudly. " I would never work for someone who makes defective machina!!"

"You're the one who finished it," he reminded.

"Right!!"

"Right." This establishment seemed to please him. I had that reoccurring urge to slap him once again. "So, if it's defective, which it apparently is because you say so, it's your fault. You were the last to work on it."

Yunie tugged at my arm again impatiently. "Rikku, turn around."

"Maybe you should listen to her...," said Paine, controlled amusement on her face.

"I'm busy!!" I argued, not even blinking an eyelash. "Your machina is defective because you made it that way!! I told you—I followed your blueprint!!"

"If it was defective, wouldn't you have noticed it when you were so diligently following my blueprints?" he pointed out.

Aw, shoopuf. He had me. "Well..." I had to say something to get out of this. There was no way in Spira that I was letting him outwit me.

"Well, since you didn't, and you're so good with machina, I think the fault is yours." Gippal looked down, shaking his head. "My poor machina never stood a chance..."

"HEY!!! Quit patronizing me!!" I snapped at him indignantly.

"Wow, you know such a big word..."

"Gippal!!"

"Rikku!!" said Yunie, her hands on her hips. "Oh, poopie. When are you going to listen to me?" she groaned in an exasperated tone.

"When I'm done with this joker, we'll spend some quality Gullwing time, okay?" I said, still glaring at Gippal.

"Yeah, you'd better make other plans," he agreed. "'Cause if you can't even finish building one simple machina, then I'm afraid you can't work here..."

"I don't work here!!" I moaned sadly.

Laughing, he teasingly ruffled my hair. "Breathe, Cid's Girl."

I was about to retort that my name wasn't that hard to remember when there was a large swooping over my head. The machina that I'd been working on dive over me and tackled Gippal to the floor. I gasped, staring at it with wide eyes as it pinned him down with no apparent intentions of ever letting him get up.

"See? That's what I've been trying to tell you about!!" Yunie said with a sigh of irritation. "Will you pay attention next time?"

"Nope," I said absently, marveling over it. "When did it get here? I thought it couldn't do anything!!"

"Apparently it can," said Paine, "and I don't think it likes Gippal very much."

"Good," I clarified. "I don't like him either." I frowned, scratching my chin. "But, um...why did it attack him?"

"Who cares?" Gippal said, squirming to free himself from the clutches of my machina. "Get the thing off me!!"

"No, I like this," I said, enjoying it slightly too much. He wasn't hurt, so there was no immediate reason to get it to let him go...

"It followed you out of the room," said Yunie, arms crossed. "It didn't attack either until Gippal touched you. I think it likes you."

"Aww!!" I cooed, patting the machina fondly on the head. "Good boy, Cruubiv!! You do have a purpose!! To attack Gippal!! I'm so proud that you can pinpoint the enemy!!"

"Cruubiv?" Yunie repeated, perplexed.

"Yes, Cruubiv. I think it fits him quite nicely," I said. "I mean, he's big....and, um...big..."

"So you name him shoopuf?" Paine and Gippal mumbled in unison.

"Of course. What other name could possibly fit him?" I asked, challenging any of them to argue. "His name is Cruubiv."

"Great. Whatever. Cruubiv. Will you get Cruubiv off of me?" Gippal snapped. He looked hot when he was angry.

No, Rikku, don't think that way!! You're falling for his charms, and he's not even trying to charm you!!

With a sigh, I grinned at Cruubiv. "Okay, I think you taught him a lesson. Let him go...for now." My grin broadened as Cruubiv obediently strolled off him and took a position behind me, like an angry sentinel waiting for Gippal to make the wrong move again. Well...he actually was waiting for Gippal to make the wrong move again (and I wasn't sure what the wrong move was, but it was bad in his case). 'There, 'ya big baby. Happy now?"

Gippal stood up, dusting off his thighs. I couldn't help but watching him. I quickly returned to my super-mega-pout-mode before he could notice. "Yeah, it's defective alright. It likes you."

"HEY!! I can order him to attack you again!!" I crossed my arms and stuck my tongue out at him. "Shouldn't you be working on Shinra's failure—ah, I mean, airship?"

"I've got a buncha my guys on the job," he said slowly, like I should've know this already and was an idiot for questioning him. "However, I do have more work to be done. Try not to cause any more havoc—and keep that thing under control while you're at it." He grinned at me and cast a wary glance at Cruubiv walking toward the exit of the temple. I found myself turning to watching him go, an urge I didn't like or know what to do about. It was happening again. I was falling into him all too easily, and I had a love-hate relationship with the whole thing. Of all places, why did Shinra have to crash land us here?

"Rikku?"

I turned my gaze on Yunie. "Yep?"

She frowned a little and shook her head. "Nothing. Just wondering what you plan on doing with, um...Cruubiv?"

"OOHH!!" I bounced on the balls of my feet energetically, trying to push Gippal out of my head. I prattled on about the things that I was going to have Cruubiv do (even though I had no idea what the machina was built for), ignoring Paine's eye. She was wearing a little knowing smile, as if she saw right through my facade. She was scary good at that, too. I'd have to remind her of the sphere I found recently with Baralai on it...

Then, from outside of the temple, came the shouts of one word that we all knew too well.

Fiends.

Okay, that's it. I hope you enjoyed it!! Thanks for reading, and I'll update soon!!