The Side Effects of Unoriginality
Author's Note: I do not own FFX-2. I simply own the plot and grammatical errors.
In ecology, a niche is a term describing the position or function of an organism in a community of other organisms.
Niche can also refer to a place or position suitable/appropriate for a person or thing.
Chapter 10: Niche
The next morning, I was up and about before the sun. Like I said, Cid believed in getting things done early. That way, when you wanted to go do something, everything you needed to do was already done. Simple, huh? I've always worked under this mantra, so it's simple for me. Waking up early, while sometimes a pain, does become necessary when you're working in the scorching desert heat. Heat stroke and dehydration are our biggest fears. Delighting in getting to work early, I rushed into the shower and changed in the bathroom across from my bedroom. Jumping down the hallway with the biggest smile and semi-damp hair, I rushed downstairs to be greeted by…no one.
"What the heck is this?" I said to myself, growling into the empty temple. "Where is everyone?!"
"You'll have to forgive them, Rikku," someone said. Turning, I saw Turrang with a half-eaten bagel in hand. He offered me one but I declined. "We're men, Rikku. Sure, we love our machina, but we don't have a firm hand to keep us in line, in case you hadn't noticed. Gippal is a fierce leader and an even harder worker, but we lack etiquette. We don't wake up early in the morning."
"Well that's pathetic! If you get everything done in the morning, then you have more time to party, or whatever it is that you men do out here in Djose," I grumbled. Sighing, I relented. "Well, let's just work until they wake up. I figure, if we start waking them up early now, soon they'll be used to it."
"You're probably right," he said, finishing his bagel.
Turrang and I began working on the interior. We already stripped the insides a few days ago and with what we retrieved the day before, refurbishing would be easy. Gippal gave me a list of the things he wanted. Though we had finished most of the work yesterday, we still needed to build furniture, room fixtures and even bathroom. I cringed at the thought of indoor plumbing. There were way too many pipes and screws for me to handle. Turrang told me it would be a piece of cake, once most of the crew was awake. Just as he was explaining to me some of the basics, two or three men came down, grumbling incoherently before disappearing into the kitchen area.
"I think we woke them up," Turrang said politely.
"Serves them right. Lazy monkeys!" I cried in that direction. Turning back to what he was explaining to me, I tilted my head to the side. "Turrang, I think you have that in the wrong place. Look," I said, pointing to the diagram he'd drawn and the actuality of the parts. Moving my finger from one side of his drawing to the other, I said, "That should be over there. If we put the steering wheel and everything there, he'll be blindsided from the right."
"I never said machina was my strong suit," he said, laughing softly. "You're pretty good at this, though. You and Gippal have a real knack for machina, huh?"
"He and I have been around machina our whole lives. Naturally, we learned a few things here and there," I said happily. "Of course, he won't ever admit it, but I'm way better at the ins and outs of it. Sure, he knows his way around a tool shed, but he's much better at putting them to good use than I am. I just find 'em, strip 'em and rebuild 'em."
"I don't think he'd denied that," Turrang said, stowing his diagram back in his pocket. "That was the basis of the Machine Faction, after all. Now that we work with Nooj and Baralai, things a little easier, but sometimes we're shorthanded."
"That's probably why Gippal asked me to come down here," I said, lifting a metal sheet over my head. Pressing it against another sheet of metal, I began melding the two pieces together.
"If we were short-manned, why wouldn't he have brought more than just you from the desert? Cid would have been more than happy to give Gippal some help," Turrang said, holding a light over me so that I wouldn't accidentally torch something. "Gippal knew we had enough men for this job. He went to the desert to get you specifically."
I peered up at the Al Bhed beside me and was awfully tempted to ask him more about his revelation. Before I could, however, a small throng of the crew marched in, each needing to know what to do in order to help. Turrang and I made quick work of the crowd, doling out jobs in clusters, dispersing the small crowd before two minutes had passed. Left alone with him again, we watched as the crew began heaving heavy sheets of metal and wires from outside, piling them in a corner.
"Pa lynavim fedr dryd!" I said. "Be careful with that!"
Digging my fingers into my scalp, I watched as several of them lifted a triple plated steel sheet and carried it to the other side of the temple.
"Kuut, huf suja cusa uv druca fenac du dryd bema," I said. "Good, now move some of those wires to that pile."
I pointed to the area from where they had just moved the metal sheet. Three of the men clustered together and threw themselves into the pile of wires. After grabbing a good amount of the wire, they marched over towards the corner where the wing rudders were. Catching movement out the corner of my eye, I pointed a hand at a group of men and squealed unhappily.
"Hu, hu, hu. Fa uhmo haat dra knaah fenac ujan drana hayn dra bebac," I wailed. "No, no, no. We only need the green wires over there near the pipes."
I sighed deeply once the few kinks worked themselves out. I was left with a smoothly running courier system. Once everything had been separated, I'd start them on tiny building projects.
"Well, I'll be a fiend in a monkey-suit. Would ya look at that," Gippal said from the top of the stairs.
"A fiend in a monkey suit? That's priceless!" I cried, clutching my sides from laughing so hard.
Gippal smirked and made his way over towards us. Turrang nodded in the direction of his fearless leader, while I merely smiled up at him, wondering how even so early his hair was so spiky. I decided to let that thought go, not really wanting to know what on Spira he put in that spiky mess of blonde hair.
"I have to hand it to you, Cid's girl. You managed to get all of my men up before noon? Now that's what I call a good investment. Amazing," he said. Leaning to the side in his introspective slant, he said aloud to himself, "Not only can she whip a machina into working condition, apparently the same technique works on us Al Bhed. Hn."
"Are we really that different from the machina we love so much?" Turrang asked.
"Eh, I guess you're right."
Not too far from the three of us, there was a younger Al Bhed looking quite lost in the chaos that swirled around him. He looked from his companions to the floor, feeling quite lost. Knowing that feeling, I searched for something—anything really—to help him.
"Rao, suja dryd beba ujan du dra udran lunhan," I said, smiling sympathetically. "Hey, move that pipe over to the other corner."
"Jeez, who died and left you in charge?" Gippal asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Well, given the way you were sleeping like the undead, I guess that would be you," I quipped as I rounded on him, my hands finding my hips.
For several long moments, Gippal and I engaged in a staring contest, one that I easily would have won, even if Turrang hadn't interrupted. He grabbed the man's arm and whisked him away. Behind his back, I stuck out my tongue and made some funny face. Those around me who saw laughed as they worked, making the tips of Gippal's ears red with embarrassment. Shaking my head, I got back to work, Gippal and Turrang joining me ten minutes later.
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I decided to take my lunch break outside, down the road that lead to Djose from Mushroom Rock Road. Surprisingly, Turrang was a very good chef. He made lunch for everyone within the temple. I teased Gippal about his rather lacking skills and even went as far as to compare the two. Of course, I shouldn't have, seeing as Gippal knows how terrible of a cook I am. Nevertheless, we all got along and laughed about it.
As I sat on the stone fencing, I let my legs dangle over the side, the salty breeze from the sea wrapping itself around me. The breeze danced playfully in my hair before rushing off to find another dance partner. Sighing, I finished my meal and set the plate down beside me. I stared out towards the sea, slightly envious of the freedom the waves seemed to have. I wondered if I could ever exhibit such abandon with my life. I wondered if I'd ever find adventure again.
"This seat taken, Cid's girl?"
"It's your home, not mine," I said. "Sit wherever you wanna sit."
Gippal sat beside me in silence and the two of us watched the ocean in silence. Our time on Bikanel was something similar, the two of us watching the sea, yearning for something so free to be apart of our lives. We had only ever known the cruel sand, the cruel people of Spira who hated our kind. But we learned to forgive them, learned to let go of past differences if nothing else. It was how we were raised. Machina was all that really mattered to kids like us.
"I used to stare at the sea when you were off saving the world," Gippal said suddenly. "The first time, I mean. I wanted to become a Crusader, but I couldn't because I was Al Bhed. I wanted to do something to help, you know. I wanted to be able to protect our families while you were out trying to save the world. I figured, if I could keep Cid safe for you, then maybe…"
"Is that why you joined the Crimson Squad?"
"Yeah. I wanted you to be proud of me if—when you came back," he said.
"You said if."
"I didn't think I'd ever see you again," Gippal admitted softly, his hands tightening their grip on the stone as he recounted his memories. I watched as the emotion on his face became steeper. I suddenly found myself wishing I never asked. "I knew you wanted to save Yuna. She was your family and you value that above everything. I needed to take my mind off of that, so I went out and did something, hoping that I could help you. I wanted to protect you. Sin was a pretty scary thing. It haunted all of Spira, but me most of all. Knowing that you were out there…knowing that at any moment you could have—"
"But I didn't. I promised you that I'd come back," I reminded him softly, smiling up at him as he stared down at me. I poked him in the chest, pretending to be offended. "I made you that promise, even though you weren't here. You were off, too, trying to save the world, weren't you? But I never broke my promise to you. The same with that old machina, Vegnagun. I promised that I'd come back… I mean, who else would keep you honed on your prized machina skills if not me?"
"I'm lost without you, Rikku."
"You called me Rikku," I said, blushing. I hoped he hadn't noticed.
"You've always been Rikku to me. I don't know what I'd do without my Rikku there to guide me," he said, staring off into the sea. "You've always been there to keep me in line, even when no one else was. You punched Brother for me once, too. I'm probably the reason you're so afraid of lightning. He says he was aiming for a fiend but I know better. Sometimes, I think I'm more trouble than I'm worth to you, but you never seem to think that. Even when I tease you and call you names, you're always right there. Even when I show up outta nowhere, you follow me. I don't get you sometimes, kiddo. But…I'm glad you're always with me…I'd be lost otherwise. I couldn't see the world as clearly, I think, if you weren't there standing beside me with that smile of yours to brighten up my grim view of things…"
I suddenly leaned into Gippal, attracted by the warmth he was suddenly emanating. Tightening my arms around his body, I buried my face into his chest. I only tensed momentarily when his hands brushed against my bare back, his face buried in the nook of my neck. I don't know how he managed to do it, but I was soon seated in his lap, my body pressed as closely to him as possible. His soft lips were pressed against my shoulder and I had to fight the urge to shudder at our shameless closeness.
A half hour later, something rumbled in Gippal's chest. I don't know why, but the soft sound and gentle vibrations were comforting. I snuggled deeper into his warmth, my face hot with something other than the heat.
"Rikku," he said, pressing his forehead against mine. I peeked up at him and smiled coyly. "We should…get going."
"Go where?" I squeaked, immediately not liking where he was going with this. I didn't want to move.
"We have to eventually get back to work, you know," he said, smiling at my pout. "Do you want me to carry you?"
"I can walk, you know," I murmured against him, loath for having to remove myself from his warmth. He seemed to hate the thought too; he wouldn't let me go when I went to move. "Gippal?"
"I know you can walk on your own two legs," he said, brushing aside one of my bangs. "But that doesn't make you weak if you decide to ask others to help carry your burden."
Gippal got to his feet and began walking back towards Djose. I sat in stunned silence as his words rang out in my head. What did he mean? I wondered. Unfortunately, I couldn't give it too much thought; he was waiting for me halfway down the road. I had to run to catch up to him.
As we drew closer to the temple, we noticed a small crowd standing outside. Shaking my head, since I already figured it was bad news, I followed behind Gippal. Shortly before we reached them, Turrang made a special appearance, wearing a not-too-happy grimace. In his hand was a smoke core.
"What happened here?" Gippal demanded, examining the core his second-in-command was holding. "What is this?"
"That's the central core," I groaned inwardly. My head falling, I sighed, "Disasterrific…"
"Uh-oh. Rikku's using strange, made up words," Gippal said, turning back to Turrang. "That can't be good."
"Would you mind enlightening us, Rikku?" Turrang asked slowly, peering around Gippal to look at me.
"The central core is like the battery for the whole ship," I explained. "And that's a pretty old model. Replacing it could be almost impossible."
"Hence the disasterrific?" Gippal said.
"Exactly. Trying to repair that thing would take months. The parts are way too small and emulating it is the best change we can hope for. But it wouldn't even be worth making an emulation, since you've have to repair it or replace it every other month." Frowning, I began remembering something Shinra had said a long time ago about pyreflies and machina. "Wait a sec…"
"You've thought of something, then?"
"Maybe. I just need to get a hold of a tiny Al Bhed boy genius."
Gippal shrugged at Turrang as I began walking back into the temple. He followed behind me up the stairs and together we walked into my room. He flopped down on my bed, making him especially comfortable, given that it was neither his room nor his bed. I frowned at him momentarily, before searching for my comsphere. After setting it up, I began scanning for a particularly well-known frequency. I waited until I heard his familiar voice.
"Shinra?"
"Huh? Oh, hello, Rikku," he said, sitting down in front of comsphere. He waved at Gippal and I. "So, did you need something?"
"Actually…I was wondering, how far have you gotten on harnessing the energy in the Farplane for practical uses?"
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I'd been working for twelve days straight in my room. I only ever left to take a shower in the morning and to get something to eat. By now, Turrang decided to have a whole meal made for me so that I wouldn't be grumpy when I forgot to get something to eat. He'd walk past my room, knock on my door and remind me to eat the next part. I was thankful. From time to time, Gippal would go down the hallway whistling, something he was pretty good at, actually. He was my daily entertainment.
The call to Shinra had been helpful. Although the old core was without energy, that didn't mean it needed to be completely replaced. I remembered Shinra having told us about how much energy was in the Farplane once, but we never did anything about it. Yunie thought perhaps if that energy was harvested that all of Spira would be revolutionized. Sometimes, I think she looks at the world through rose-colored shades. While it's not a bad thing to be optimistic, being idealistic is dangerous. Even I know that.
Keeping the comsphere up and running, Shinra managed to walk me through the complicated process of using pyreflies as a source of energy. To be honest I don't think I got it right. It glowed brightly sometimes and even though Shinra says it's all right, this is coming from the boy genius who answers most questions with, "Hey, I'm just a kid." Do you really think I'm gonna listen to everything he says just because it's in his field of expertise? Get real.
The core itself was relatively old. I'd say a good three hundred years old. Caked up sand and mud had preserved it pretty well, but had clogged up most of the parts. The sand eroded some of the casing and those parts needed replacing, along with a few nodes and I added supplementary wiring, just in case. With my tool kit and liters of caffeine, I managed to work out most of the kinks. Having Cid as my father had its perks; he was well versed in old machina. Machina ran in my family, so naturally, we were the pioneers of our kind. After a conversation with him, I knew enough about energy cores to have constructed one from metal scraps and plastic cords, if I wanted to.
A loud chirping snatched my attention from the softly purring heap of metal in my lap. I glanced up and saw Dezba staring out one of the windows. I suddenly felt bad, realizing that neither of us had really left the room in close to a week. Paling with my guilt, I abandoned my side-project and rushed over to his side, wrapping my arms around his neck. As I neared, he clicked his tongue at me disapprovingly and I couldn't blame him. Stroking his tuft of yellow feathers, I gave him an apologetic whimper and headed for the door.
"It's not like you couldn't have gone without me," I said as we walked down the hallway. He nipped at my shoulder playfully, though I understood his meaning. "Owie…that hurt, Dezba! You could have found someone to play outside with you. I know Gippal would have kept an eye on you."
"You seem to be under the impression that I'm fond of your bird," Gippal said from the end of the hallway.
"I know you are," I challenged. "I like him, so you have to like him. Besides," I said, crossing my arms over my chest defiantly. "It's not like you'd hurt Dezba. He's a chocobo if nothing else. You like them almost as much as I do."
"She has a point there, Dezba," Gippal said to my chocobo, ruffling his feathers playfully. Turning to me, he said, "I was beginning to worry about you, kiddo. Everyone's missed your sunny little smile. Turrang was even throwing a hissy fit about you."
"Oh, he was not," I teased as we walked down the stairs together, Dezba chirping merrily behind us. "That sounds more like you, machina man."
"I don't throw hissy fits," he confirmed.
"Sure, unless there's a machina and a pair of tools involved and your pride is at stake," I said, trying to be serious. The way he quirked his mouth did me in, however; I couldn't deny how funny he looked.
"I don't even see why you're bringing that up, kiddo," he quipped. "If I'd lost, you'd have been out of steel-plated wrench and the best hammer this side of the Calm Lands," he teased back, the smugness of his grin not lost on me.
"Wait a second. You wagered my tools on that stupid bet you had with Brother?" I demanded immediately.
When he nodded, I chased him around the temple, threatening to clobber him with whatever I had in my hands at the moment. It just so happened that I was in my Thief Garment Grid. His butt was so toast…or would have been, if Turrang had stepped in and stopped us. He peered down at me seriously and I, having been caught in the act, smiled up at him nervously, trying to hide my weapons behind my back.
"Uh, hiya," I said, trying to sound innocent. When he raised a brow at me, I considered my mission failed and did the only thing I could think of. "Gippal started it! That meanie was gonna wager my tools in some stupid bet! So I did what I had to do, Turrang."
"Surprisingly, that sounds like Gippal," he said. Turrang glanced at Gippal, shook his head disapprovingly and sighed. Turning back to me, he said, "By the way, have you made any progress on the core? That's what I was coming to ask you before I found you two running around the temple like idiots."
"Actually, I think I might have gotten it to work. But it's still just a prototype," I said. "If it works, then I'll need to do some more improvements here or there for it to be fully functional, but it's most workable. Why do you ask?"
"Our fearless leader wants to schedule was test run in a few days," Turrang explained. "Of course, a test run is useless if it doesn't even fly properly."
"I'm pretty sure it'll be ready by next week," I said thoughtfully. "But…I'll need someone to take care of Dezba while I'm working. I've been so busy that I've forgotten to get him any fresh air for a whole week."
"Gippal would be more than happy to give your companion fresh air," Turrang supplied, silencing Gippal's protest with a quiet glare. "Is there anything else you'll need?"
"Nope, I'm pretty sure that's it," I said, wandering into the kitchen. I made myself something to eat and was going to walk back out but something made me stop. It had to have been the gentle whispering I heard on the other side of the door. It was Gippal and Turrang.
"…belongs here and you know it. She's been nothing but helpful, Gippal," Turrang was saying.
"I never said she didn't belong here," he explained. "But she's my best friend and I don't want her staying unless it's something she wants to do. I don't want her here just because of all the machina and the tools. If she stays, I want it to be because she likes us."
"Don't you mean 'because she likes me,' Gippal?" There was silence and then, "Look, we all know how you feel. Still, she belongs here with us, even if she's a little slower to realize certain things. Give her time and she'll see all of your efforts, I promise. But don't send her away. Ultimatums never turn out well. Besides, you bluff too well."
I burst into the room at that moment, whistling softly with my plate balanced in one hand, a cup of water in the other. The two men turned and stared at me strangely, a distinct red tinge alit on Gippal's face. He turned away quickly, tugging Dezba along behind him. Turrang merely smiled before following suit, the three of them heading outside.
What the heck was that about? I wondered.
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The next morning, after I finished the energy core, showered and dressed, I went downstairs. It was still rather early, but not as early as I normally woke up. Wiping my eyes, I plopped down the stairs with Dezba following behind me like usual. The soft murmur of voices drifted to my ears. I smiled in spite of myself. I'd gotten everyone—except Gippal of course—into the habit of waking up early. I was rather proud of myself. With this in mind, I assumed it was Turrang giving those who were awake orders, since I'd been up to my butt in technological mayhem. As I reached the last step, I found the source of the chatter. Lo and behold, I find Cid having a conversation with Turrang, a package of some sort on my father's knee.
"Vydran?" I said incredulously. I rushed over and threw myself into him, smiling brightly. "What are you doing here, Pops?"
"I came down here to see how everythin' is workin' out," he replied gruffly. Once I resettled myself on my own two feet, I gave him a quizzical glance. "That, and Rosemary thought it would be a good time for the both of us to come and see you. It's been nearly three months and she decided it had been enough time to come and visit you. Besides, she's never been to Djose before and wanted to see what captivated you so much."
"Well where is she, Pops?" I asked.
"At the moment, she's probably out at one the of the local vendors getting things to feed your 'children' for breakfast. She was never one to deny a man food," Cid said, patting his stomach for emphasis. I had to admit, he had gained several pounds under Rosemary's ministrations, but he'd also become healthy as an ox, poundage or not. "She should be back soon. Oh, I also brought you and Gippal a gift."
"You got all my parts together that quickly, Vydran?" I squeaked happily, the adrenaline flushing through my system like blood.
When he handed me the rather heavy sack, I snatched it from him and jumped out of my skin with excitement. After kissing him on the forehead, I dashed off back to the sleeping quarters, intent on finding Gippal immediately. I found his room at the end of the hallway and burst in, completely forgetting that he was a full-grown man with…urges. Of course, I completely forgot about that when I jumped onto his bed and straddled him. I shook him until he roused, moaning something half-coherently as his one good eye fluttered open.
"Ri-Rikku? What the hell are you doing in here?" he stammered, blushing brightly. I paid this no mind, though, on hindsight, I probably should have.
"Gippal! Cid brought us the parts we needed!" I declared, bouncing for good measure. He groaned and I stopped momentarily, quirking my brow at him. "Aren't you excited?" I asked.
"You…could say that," he admitted begrudgingly. "Though…it might not be for the reason you think…"
At this point, he refused to look at me and it was at that moment that I felt what he was so desperately trying to hide from me. Blush overcoming self-restraint, I blanched slightly. His…thing was situated oh too conveniently for me. I slowly removed myself from Gippal, leaving the bag of parts and exiting his room. I didn't stop until I had returned to the front part of the temple, where Cid and Turrang were still conversing. Dezba chirped enthusiastically as I returned, but I was too hard-pressed to forget a certain something to have noticed. Crumbling at Cid's feet, I stared off at nothingness.
"Is something bothering you, Rikku?" Turrang asked, Cid peering down at me as well.
"Rikku?" Cid asked.
"Boys are icky."
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Author's Note: I rearranged the way I did the translations. Of course, I don't know which is more convenient. How about a vote?
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