"You what?!" Rikku cried out, jawing dropping as she tried to process the information. "Why'd you give me it? How come I didn't know I was carrying around this power of major disaster, huh? I'm already a mess-"

"-got that right." Gippal muttered as Rikku jabbered on.

"-and what the hell is this thing anyways? Pops! Why didn't you give it to Brother?!" She finished with a groan. How could her father do this to her?

"Me? I don't want it!" Brother said glaring at her.

"It's that green hairpin you used to wear all the time. The stories we had heard about the key fit the hairpin's description so we figured it was it. We were so busy at the time, that we didn't know that it held any significance and then when we did, I just thought it would probably be better if you might lose it, and then I wouldn't have to worry about it. Besides, no one knew where the box was anyways and people were starting to think it was a myth and nothing to worry about. People's enthusiasm to seek out this powerful fiend had died out and didn't seem to be a problem anymore."

"Well, that was stupid…" Rikku muttered and it was hard to keep the frustration from her voice. Her father could be so dense sometimes!

It was true; Rikku had worn a small hairpin during Yuna's pilgrimage. When she had gotten it as a small girl, she considered it special and now it actually was) and had found it to be a good luck charm. Now it seemed like that must have been wishful thinking. During Yuna's pilgrimage, Rikku could remember how often she had hoped it would bring her good luck and find some way to save her Yunie from Sin. Maybe it had brought some luck, she had thought wistfully but now it seemed highly unlikely.

"Where is this trinket now?" Nhadala asked, breaking Rikku away from her thoughts.

"I…think…it's in my room, back in Bikanel. It should be in my jewelry box."

"So Cid's girl actually does own something feminine." Gippal said.

Rikku glared at him. Maybe he was trying to break the tension in the room, but Rikku didn't think it was helping at all.

"What are we supposed to do with it now?" Brother peeped in.

Cid thought a moment. "Since this guy knows where Rikku's room is, it's probably not safe for her to stay there. I think it would be best if we brought the trinket here and Rikku, and we'll keep a close watch on you. Hopefully this guy will make a mistake and we'll be able to catch him before he does any real damage."

"He already did real damage," Rikku muttered under her breath, her hand reaching unconsciously toward the bump on her head.

To everyone she shouted "Let's get a move on people!"

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Gippal's POV:

Gippal sunk down into one of the chairs aboard the Celsius and propped his feet onto the control panel. As he did so, he rested his hands behind his head. This had been one eventful day, thanks to Rikku. He chuckled, Rikku…boy had she started a mess. He hadn't seen her in awhile but she was still Cid's girl, clueless and clumsy in that cute way as always.

"Get your smelly feet off the control panel!" Rikku yelled at him, pushing his feet.

He cracked a smile for her. "And you think you smell like a bunch of roses?" he asked playfully.

She made a face but as soon as he complied with her demand, she bounced away happily.

Garpadah's box…it was interesting to find out that the myth was in fact, not a myth at all. More than anything he wanted to catch this man and bring him to justice. He could just see it, the fame he would receive…the ladies. Ha! What this would do for his career would be astounding.

The air trip didn't take long and they arrived at the Bikanel campsite quickly. Because Home was still in the process of being built, the Al Bhed had made temporary dorms for them to live in. Many shared rooms with three other people and the place also contained a small meeting room, lounge and mess hall.

Rikku trailed ahead of the group and lead them to her room. Turing the key, she slowly stepped inside.

First Gippal was amazed to see it was actually clean. He had always pictured her room to be messy…not that he pictured he would ever be in Rikku's room at all.

Rikku went over to a small wooden box and opened it. It had some mechina in it that played a little tune as the lid leaped up. Quickly she snatched the green hairpin out and shut it quickly. She turned cheeks red with slight embarrassment, and handed Cid the trinket.

"I've got a couple of things I need to take care off so I'll be staying here for a while. You go back with Gippal and put this somewhere safe, where you think no one will find it." Cid said, obviously nerved about having the hairpin in his hand and quickly gave it back to Rikku.

Rikku rolled her eyes but Gippal was amazed that she didn't start one of their famous arguments.

"Rikku…" Cid started as if he had just thought of something. "You never told us what this guy actually looked like."

Rikku shook her head. "I didn't see him. He was standing behind me."

"Then how do you know it was a guy?" Gippal asked.

"Because his shadow was like a thousands times bigger than mine and he had a deep voice." She answered him, clearly annoyed and waved her hands wildly. "It was like what you did when we were kids and you'd sneak up behind me and scare the crap out of me."

And with that she left the room, oblivious to the accusation she had just made. I stood shocked for a minute, hoping Cid had not caught it.

Unfortunately, he did. Cid had such a bad temper that almost anything could trigger it and sense he just caught Rikku's statement…he was going to be in for a good yelling. Sure enough, he rounded on me and grabbed my collar after he made sure Rikku was gone.

"Boy! I don't know what Rikku meant by that but if you have any involvement in this I swear I will hunt you down and kill you like the dog that you are!"

Gippal gulped but met Cid's eyes steadily. "I swear to you that I have no involvement in this. I would never hurt your daughter."

Cid grumbled as he dropped Gippal's collar and Gippal could just make out the words "You've already managed to do that."

Gippal frowned. He had never laid a hand on Rikku, well maybe he did but that would have just been some rough housing when they were kids but that was all it was. Then it hit him. He wasn't talking about physical hurt but emotional. Guilt rose up a little inside of him. When they had been teenagers, Gippal and Rikku had dated for a little bit. It had been reckless and they both had no idea what they were doing. Then he left to join the crimson squad and had let Rikku go. She had cried a little bit, he remembered but he hadn't really thought it had been really bad. Could she have really hid that pain away for all these years and not told him?

Suddenly Gippal realized that he was alone in Rikku's room. He scratched his head. When had Cid left? Shaking his head, he made a jog back to the Celsius.

Rikku was outside the entrance, tapping her foot impatiently with her hands on her hip.

"Come on, you slow poke! What's taking you so long?"

Gippal smirked. "Had a little chat with Cid."

She turned away from him and entered the ship.

"What could you two possible have to talk about that would take you this long?"

Gippal chucked, he could not hid the amusement. "You would never believe what Cid and I were just talking about."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"I saw her today, she came with too many people and I think they know what we've been up to, Shade," a young man informed his leader. He fidgeted slightly as if he was nervous.

Shade would have laughed at the boy's discomfort but found himself angry that Rikku and her friends had found out a portion of his plans. He sighed; Rikku was making it a lot harder than it had to be. He supposed she had now gone to Djose temple where she believed it would be safe and for at the moment it truly was. It would be so hard to get into that place if you were a stranger, and were caught snooping around now that Cid was watching out for anything suspicious. Shade needed to get someone in there. He would do it himself but…the girl did hear his voice, might even remember how tall he was when he had walked behind her. It would be too risky to go there himself. Perhaps, Westaire would do. He looked at the boy, somewhat glad he had been able to befriend him. He wasn't much but he would have to do.

"Westaire," he commanded. "I need you to do something for me. Go sign yourself up to help around in Djose temple. See if you can gain any information about Rikku and how we may be able to find that key…"

(A/N: Third chapter up! Oh I'm so happy! Thanks for everyone that review! I've gotten a lot of hits on this but not many are reviewing…so please, PLEASE review! It would mean the world to me to hear your feedback. Give me the good, the bad…and well…maybe not the ugly. I have Gippal's point of view now which I think came out really well. Thanks for taking the time to read this, I hoped you enjoyed it)