Disclaimer

I don't own Final Fantasy. I don't own Final Fantasy X or X-2. Or any other Final Fantasy game. Not even Crystal Chronicals. But I do own the way the story is put together in this fic, so please don't take the only thing I have. Ok?

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So, it turns out, the sudden deceleration of the ship woke me up and alerted me to our arrival in Guadosalam. Not Gippal. I sat up slowly and rested a hand on my forehead. I still felt warm - whether because of my fever or the numerous blankets I had piled on was a mystery - but it wasn't as bad as when I went to sleep. There was a glass of water on my bedside table. Condensation was still dripping down the side, so Gippal must have sent someone in to check on me....unless he switched the glasses.... But, I shoved those thought aside and grabbed the glass, downing it in a few gulps.

My door creaked open and I glanced up. Gippal stepped inside slowly and froze when he saw me sitting up already. Annoyance flickered across his face.

"Rikku, you shouldn't over-exert yourself. You're still sick." He said, quickly walking to my side and pouring another glass of water for me.

I laughed. "I sat up, Gippal. It's not like I'm gonna run a marathon." I sighed and swung my legs over the side of the bed, hopping down.

Gippal was at my side in an instant and had a grip of my upper arm. I raised an eyebrow at him, in a way I hoped was telling him to back-off. I guess it did, because he took a few steps away from me. Rolling my eyes, I started towards the door. Gippal jumped ahead of me and slipped outside before me.

"We're going to stop at the Farplanes quickly and leave when we have all the supplies we need." He said. His voice was hurried as if he didn't want to stay on the ground any longer than neccesary. He had said we had a right to be paranoid, but this was ridiculous. So, I told him so. "I'm sorry, Rikku." He said after that. "I....I just have a bad feeling about this place..."

"Guadosalam?" I asked in disbelief as we walked through an automatic door and into the main cabin. "Why? I thought I was the one who was supposed to be terrified of thunder, Gippal, you know?"

He shook his head slowly and walked past a group of muttering crew members. "I don't know, Rikku. I'm still kind of jumpy from the other day, I guess. Sorry... I'll try to relax..."

I raised an eyebrow. It wasn't like him to give in so easily, but I could see from the way he was looking around the subject wasn't over. He was just going to be more descrete about it, you know? I sighed before running to catch up with him. He was already half way down the loading ramp, by the time I reached him. It didn't take us long after that to reach the enterance to the Farplanes and it fully hit us just how long the steps to the entrance were. How many bricks were on the second layer alone....this was going to take awhile. And that obviously upset Gippal. He was moody when we started and barely registered it when I would ask him a question.

I crouched on the left side of the brick railing and pressed on the first brick. Nothing. Gippal was doing the same on the left. A few were loose, but wouldn't budge and it crossed my mind that someone could have fixed the loose brick so it would budge anymore. Of course, I didn't bring it up. He'd probably make me go back to the ship then and there, you know? I couldn't risk it.

After a few hours of searching - when we were only half way up the stairs - the hundredth-some brick moved, almost falling out the other side. I stood up and leaned over the bricks. Pulling out my dagger, I pushed the brick from the other side. I guess Gippal noticed the lack of brick-tapping from my side and looked over because, not long after, he grabbed my waist to keep me from falling over and giving me more room to lean forward. It took a few minutes for me to find the right way to push my dagger without falling out of Gippal's grasp, but got it right eventually. Gippal pulled me back when it came out the other side and grabbed it. The brick was hollow. I knew that it was, but it was weird seeing a hollow brick, you know? But, the insides were empty. It was just an empty, hollow brick. We both stared at it for a minute before I spoke up.

"What are the chances of their being more than one hollow bricks?" I asked slowly, glancing up and down the walkway.

Gippal let out a growl and started walking back the way we had come, he gestured for me to follow. "None. No one else would hide something near such a sacred place..." His voice trailed off as we made our way back to the ship.

I paused in the entrance, glanceing towards leBlanc's house. "Hey, Gippal!" I called after him, he turned to look at me, obviously annoyed at my hesitation. "It said the last one was hidden in his house, shouldn't we check?"

He sighed. "Rikku, that house is huge. Do you actually think we would be able to find a secret compartment there, while hiding from leBlanc and her goons?" Gippal asked, barely sparing a glance at the house.

"I dunno, maybe leBlanc or someone found it there. She might have the sphere, you know?" I asked, walking up to him slowly.

"Don't you think she would have told one of you sooner, Rikku? leBlanc's weird, but not stupid. She would give something like that to Yuna without hesitation. And if not, she'd give it to Nooj. And Nooj would have told me and Baralai." He informed me, turning around like he had just settled the topic.

I frowned and jogged up to him. "C'mon, Gippal. It's worth a shot. I mean, leBlanc will understand that I don't want to be found and I don't think she has a Commsphere. So, how could she contact the others without us knowing it? We'd be long gone before they even got here." I argued, placing my hands on my hips and stopping next to the stairs leading to the main plaza and leBlanc's house.

"Rikku, I'm not worried about them coming here, I'm worried about-"

I cut him off with a wave of my hand. "Gippal, what's wrong with you? You're acting really weird. You've never worried this much before, I've never even really seen you panic before. Are you feeling alright?" I couldn't help the laugh at my next question. "Are you sure you weren't poisened by a water fiend?"

He opened his mouth to reply, but another voice broke through his.

"Rikku? What are you doing here?" We both spun around to the new voice. leBlanc was making her way towards us, Ormi and Logos were walking behind her. leBlanc stopped a few feet from them. "I heard from Yuna that you were kidnapped."

That threw me off. "Really?" I asked, thinking back to anything that may have insinuated a kidnapping. "Are you sure? You'd think I would have noticed if I'd been kidnapped, you know? I've just been wandering around with Gippal for a while." I grinned at them.

leBlanc's eyes narrowed. "Yeah...They said he was the one who kidnapped you, actually.... You're sure you're fine, Rikku?" She asked, glancing between me and Gippal. He seemed suddenly tense.

I nodded and smiled. "Course. We found a sphere a while ago with a huge secret of it." Gippal shot me a dangerous look. "It has a bunch of stuff on a rare Machina and we figured the only fair way to divide the search, was to go together. I know I should have told someone else, but there was the chance that another person would find out and we wanted to find it. I couldn't allow some nobody to find a Machina this awesome..." I was lying through my teeth, of course, but how would she know that? And there was always the chance she might tell Yunie or another Gullwing, this would explain our strange behaviour and obsession with the sphere. They might even drop it.

"Yeah." Gippal joined in, obviously getting the idea. "We we kind of hoping to keep the others out of it, as well. Because, well, because Rikku doesn't want to put more pressure on her friends after what happend, and I really want to beat Baralai and Nooj at something." To be honest, I almost started laughing at that. It was so....him, that it was almost perfect, of course a little something from me and it'd be perfect.

"And, you know how my father can get. He'd stop me from going just in spite, I don't want them to worry, but I don't want to have to fight with him about this too." I said, laughing happily.

leBlanc sighed and glanced at the sky. "How about you two come to my house for a while, maybe for some tea? I'm going to need more details when I tell your friends and I'm sure there's more of a story behind this, but I'll settle for giving you tea." She started walking towards her house.

Neither me or Gippal missed the nervous glance Ormi and Logos shared, a glance that said they knew something was up. So, I watched them carefully the entire way to the building. They kept glancing at leBlanc suspiciously or nervously, they sometimes even looked scared. I'm not sure why, but I kept thinking about Shuyin.... strange, you know?

Gippal cleared his throat when we reached the front steps. "Actually, I'm going to have to be a bit late. I have to explain what's going on to my crew and check on the supplies. I'll be back as soon as I can, alright?" He waved and turned to leave, but not before sending me a meaningfull glance. Telling me to be carefull.

leBlanc smiled and held the door open for me, Ormi and Logos followed me in. She disappeared into the kitchen for a few minutes while the smell of warm water and herb leaves filled the small living room. Ormi and Logos were standing at opposite sides of the room and looking around nervously. So, I took the initiative.

"What's going on?" I asked. They both turned to me in slight fear. "You're both acting funny, you know? Is leBlanc sick or something?"

They exchanged glances before Logos took a step towards me. He glanced at the kitchen door before speaking. "A while ago we found a strange box. It had markings on it and we didn't understand them. She opened the box and there wasn't anything in it. We thought someone must have taken whatever was in it before. But, she started acting funny after that, we couldn't figure out why. It's really strange... we never got a spherecall from the Gullwings that said you were missing, but you responded as if we should have. It was as if she just....knew what had happened.... And then, before we ran into you-" His voice broke off as the kitchen door opened. Both Logos and Ormi jumped and spun around.

leBlanc stepped in carrying a tray of tea cups and a tea pot. Steam was rising from the spout. A small cup of sugar was resting next to the cups. She placed it on the table and smiled at us. There was enough for all of us, even Gippal. She poured steaming amber liquid into the cups and handed them out.

"Add as much sugar as you like, this stuff can be very bitter." She told us, spooning a small amount of sugar into her cup and stirring it around.

She offered me a spoon but I declined. Living with cooking from my father and my brother had desensitized my tastebuds, bitter was fine by me. Ormi and Logos exchanged yet another glance before accepting the sugar jar and spoon. leBlanc leaned back and stared at me with an expectant expression, it was as if I had forgotten my lines in a play only she knew the lines to, you know? We all sat back for a few moments before an idea occured to me.

"So...." I started, attempting to form the words in my head. "Ormi and Logos told me you found a strange box somewhere... do you mind showing me where? Or could I see the box?"

leBlanc tilted her head to the side in confusion, but I could tell that's what she had been waiting for. She had listened to our conversation. "Of course you can." She said slowly, glancing at Logos and Ormi before turning back to me. She stood up and started walking towards a small door. "Do you figure it has something to do with your strange Machina?"

I shrugged nonchalantly. "Dunno. I'd have to see the box first. Logos said it had strang markings on it, it might be Al Bhed, you know?" I stood and followed her towards the door.

She paused in front of the door, placing a hand on the handle. She turned back to me and smiled. "Just be careful, alright? The stairs are very steep here and we haven't gotten around to refurnishing them, yet."

I nodded but something in my mind kept hinting about something I learned in school. I think it was called foreshadowing. It's when a character hints at something that will happen, even if the readers don't figure it out until it actually happens. I don't remember much of that class, though, Gippal kept pulling on my hair until I yelled at him for it - we got detention for the rest of that period.

leBlanc smiled and twisted the doorknob, the door swung open with a creak. She was right. Each stair was barely enough for someones foot and the drops from one stair to the next were pretty steep themselves. The open door created a perfect ring of light at the bottom, it framed leBlanc's and my shadows perfectly at the bottom of the stairs. She gestured for me to go first.

"There's a light switch about half-way down. I'm not sure why they didn't put it up here or down there, but they did." She said slowly, waiting for me to start walking. I didn't. "The box was found just a few feet to the left of the stairs and in between two bricks. I guess they painted it the same color, because no one else noticed it before me. It was sure strange it was empty, though."

I was about to take a step down the stairs when a loud crash met my ears. We all turned towards the noise. I turned in such a way that I was able to catch the glare leBlanc shot the noise's direction. Ormi and Logos took a few steps away from the door in fear. Seconds later, it crashed open and revealed:

"Gippal?" I yelled, letting the confusion drip into my voice. "What are you-"

"They're gone!" He cried, rushing forward until he was a meter or so away from me. "Mnhal stole the spheres we had!"

"C'mon, Gippal." I said, sighing and rubbing my temple. "Why would he do that? What would Mnhal gain from stealing those spheres? How would he steal the spheres? I don't even know where you keep them, how would he?"

"I don't know." Gippal ground out, switching his gaze from me to leBlanc. "I watched the security spheres. He went into my room empty handed and came out shoving three spheres into his pocket."

"Are you sure he wasn't taking them to get fixed, Gippal?" I countered, a strange urge to stand up for my new friend coming over me. Maybe I just wanted to fight with Gippal... "He's a sphere repair man, you know? He might have thought of something he missed and gone back to fix it before you noticed! If you haven't noticed, your crew seems to be scared of you."

Gippal let out a growl, still facing leBlanc not me. "I don't know what you're planning, but leave Rikku out of this! She didn't do anything!" He cried, pulling his Machina revolver out and pointing it over my shoulder. "Get out of your cover and tell us what's going on, now!"

"Gippal, what're you-"

My voice was cut off by a muscular arm wrapping around my arms and body from behind, another hand held a sword against my throat. It happened so fast I was barely able to get out a cry of pain when the blade cut into my shoulder slightly. I was distanting aware of the fact that leBlanc was the only one behind me and these arms didn't belong to her. A soft thump sounded somewhere to my left and my eyes darted around the room. They stopped when I found what I was looking for: A mirror just behind Gippal. A tall, short-haired blond man was holding me to his chest with a sword against my throat. leBlanc was laying behind him, unconsious. It seemed to me - judging from the others expression and Gippal's previous words - this stranger had come 'out of his cover' aka, leBlanc. The only conclusion I could come up with was possession, but that was crazy. And, unfortuneatly for me, this man wasn't a stranger. He was a good friend of mine:

"Mnhal..." I murmured, angling my neck to try and catch a glimpse of him. "What's going on, Mnhal? Why are you doing this?"

He ignored my question as Gippal took a step towards us. "Put her down, now." He didn't yell, which surprised me greatly, he just sounded angry. His voice, though, held so much fury and tension and murder and all those bad things, that I would have pulled back if I wasn't held against Mnhal's chest.

"Down?" Mnhal asked, as if the question confused him. I saw him smirk, through the mirror.

He dropped the sword he held against my neck, into the ground and pulled another from behind him. My breath caught in my throat when I saw it. The pointed tip that spread out backwards to create a hook on the sword, the familiar metal pattern...everything... All my memories charged into me full-force.

"Tidus..." I breathed, staring at the sword and remembering every fight he ever fought with that sword. The fight against Sin, his father, Seymour...even when he fought me...

With one hand, Mnhal grabbed both my wrists and held the sword with the other. He grinned at Gippal. "Down, it is." He angled me with his hand, so I was facing the stairs. I could see Logos and Ormi take a few steps forward in fear, leBlanc was sitting up weakly, Gippal let out a cry of rage. But, all I was aware of was the rapid beating of my heart and the pain that was sure to come. Mnhal pressed the hand with the sword against my back and shoved. I could feel the sword falling behind me and the light was gone in seconds, they locked me in here...wherever here was. Because of the darkness, I couldn't be sure how much farther down I had to go, but I know I hit three steps before hitting the ground and smashed into the sword a few times. My arm, shoulder and stomach were stinging, so I was positive that's where the sword had cut me. My head, my other shoulder, my wrist and my right leg were aching and I was positive I had broken or twisted something. A cool metal feeling was pressed into my back: the sword. I was lucky it landed on me on it's side, not the tip. I wouldn't be here now, if it did.

My first thought was that I had died, my second was dead people shouldn't feel pain unless they're in hell.

A soft, warm hand brushed against my face, moving my hair away from my eyes. A tall shadow was leaning over me. There was a lamp somewhere behind them and I could see the short blond hair. No, no please no! How long had I been out? Long enough for Mnhal to fight Gippal....and win? No....no that couldn't happen, no! But, surprisingly, the blond man smiled at me. I knew at that moment it wasn't Mnhal.

"You're gonna be fine..." He murmured, pushing the sword off me and wrapping an arm around my shoulder, so he could pull me up and into his arms. He was saying something else to me, but everything around me was fading. Fading fast. I didn't know anything but the intense pain spreading through my body. After a while, I didn't even know that. Just the soothing, cool, darkness around me...

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