Where am I? Gippal wondered as he looked around at the scene he found himself in. Then the memories suddenly clicked—he was in Home's open air market. It had been one of his favorite places as a child. But now, the normally noisy and bustling place was silent. The people simply walked around him as if he didn't exist. He was a mere phantom in this memory.
I must be dreaming, he thought. But this sure is a strange dream. Just then, he thought he heard somebody call his name.
"Gippal." There it was again. A voice—a man's voice—was trying to get his attention. Gippal spun around, looking for a familiar face in the crowd. At first he didn't see a single face that he knew. Then suddenly, he did—but it wasn't a face he expected to see.
The man standing before him was tall—almost as tall as Tristan—and looked to be in his early 30's. He had spiralled blue eyes, sandy blond hair, and a small earring identical to Gippal's own in his left ear as well as a tattoo on his right arm—a blitzball with the name Arya underneath it. Though it had been ten years since he'd died, Gippal would recognize that face anywhere.
"Vydran?" (Father?) he asked hesitantly. Gippal's father smiled despite a sad look in his eyes and nodded, and Gippal went over to join him.
"E's bnuitan uv oui dryh E phy cyo, Gippal," (I'm prouder of you than I can say, Gippal) his father said. "Oui knaf ib du pa ajanodrehk ouin sudran yht E luimt ryja ycagt vun yht suna. Yht oui tet ed ihtan dra faekrd uv suna pintahc dryh yho uha bancuh cruimt ryja du lynno." (You grew up to be everything your mother and I could have asked for and more. And you did it under the weight of more burdens than any one person should have to carry.)
"Yht huf E'ja kud dra pekkacd uha uv ymm," (And now I've got the biggest one of all) Gippal replied bitterly. "Paine's celg hyt drana'c hudrehk yhoputo lyh tu ypuid ed." (Paine's sick and there's nothing anybody can do about it.)
Gippal's father laid a hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture. "Oui sicd ryja vyedr," (You must have faith) he said. "Oui ryja du pa cduhk, vun ouincamv yht ran. Hu syddan fryd, hajan mad ouin cunnuf pnehk oui du tu cusadrehk oui sekrd nakand. Ajahdiymmo rybbehacc femm lusa du oui." (You have to be strong, for yourself and her. No matter what, never let your sorrow bring you to do something you might regret. Eventually happiness will come to you.)
"Huf E sicd ku," (Now I must go) he said gently. "Ed ec desa vun oui du yfygah. Ouin vneahtc ryja hafc vun oui." (It is time for you to awaken. Your friends have news for you.)
Gippal sighed. On one hand, his father had given him reason to hope again, but on the other hand he didn't want to leave him just yet. "Drygh oui, vydran," (Thank you, father) he said eventually. "Dra vencd cuh E… fa ryja E's kuehk du hysa yvdan oui." (The first son I... we have I'm going to name after you.)
His father smiled. "E muug vunfynt du ed," (I look forward to it) he said. "Ouin sudran yht E femm pa fydlrehk ujan oui." (Your mother and I will be watching over you.)
"Ihdem fa saad ykyeh," (Until we meet again) his father said, and they embraced. "E muja oui yht cu tuac ouin sudran. Kuut milg." (I love you and so does your mother. Good luck.)
"Dryhgc, vydran," (Thanks, father) said Gippal, and his dream faded to black.
When Gippal woke up, he could immediately discern three things—it was still dark (meaning he hadn't slept very long), somebody had given him a blanket and pillow after he'd fallen asleep on this spartan couch, and he was alone.
He sat up and looked around, taking a moment to remember where he was and what had transpired the previous day. They'd gotten to the hospital about 3 in the afternoon, at which time Paine had been rushed away by waiting healers. A young apprentice healer had come out to the waiting room where they were all gathered 15 minutes later to ask Gippal for a better description of her symptoms. Nooj and Lucil had arrived at 5:30, the Celsius having been sent to get them from Kilika. They'd spent most of the rest of the afternoon and evening in wait mode, sitting tensely on chairs and couches. Tristan had left at 6 PM to get them all dinner, returning not only with food but also with news—word of Baralai's impeachment had gotten around, and the citizens of Bevelle were split down the middle. Many were refusing to buy the story, but for every one of those was somebody who had been convinced by the Priest's lies, and people of opposing viewpoints were fighting and arguing all over the city. Gippal had finally fallen asleep around midnight, after several hours with no new word from the healers.
Where is everybody? Gippal got up and walked out into the corridor, looking in both directions. The lights were dimmed and aside from the occasional Healer hurrying by the hall was deserted. It seemed to be early morning.
His question of where everybody was was quickly answered when he heard familiar voices speaking down the hall. He followed the sound and stopped when he could clearly hear what was being said, just around the corner from the main reception area of the hospital.
"…going to be alright." That was Rikku, sounding relieved.
"She won't be." That was Auron. "Living is one thing. Recovering is quite another. I should know."
"Me too," Nooj interjected. "Paine's like me—she'll internalize. You'll think she's taking the loss much better than she actually is."
"Should we tell Gippal?" Lydia asked.
"Wait until he wakes up," came Tristan's voice. "Yevon knows he needs the sleep."
Gippal wasn't listening to their conversation any longer. He just stood there, frozen in shock. Paine was going to live, but by the sounds of it she'd had a miscarriage. Not only had Gippal gotten used to the idea of Paine having the baby, but he'd begun to look forward to it. He could tell she'd been as well. The sudden loss would be hard on them both.
He finally forced his legs into jerky motion and walked into the room. The nine people gathered there stopped talking and looked at him, with expressions ranging from uncertainty to fear to pity.
"You don't have to tell me," he said. "Paine lost the baby, didn't she?" A few of them nodded and Gippal sighed with relief as well as sadness. He couldn't help but feel grief at the loss of a child he'd never know, but as long as Paine would be okay little else mattered. They could always have another baby.
"So how is she?" Gippal asked eventually, sitting down between Auron and Tristan.
"She's sleeping," Baralai said softly. "The healers said she'll need to stay here for at least a few weeks, but she should be fine."
"Thank Yevon," Gippal muttered to himself. "If she'd… I don't know what I would have done." Then he looked up at the others. "Did they find out what was wrong in the first place?"
"Apparently it was some rare virus that only ever affects pregnant women," Tristan replied. "It makes the body think the baby is some sort of foreign antibody."
"Paine was really lucky," Rikku added. "They said she would have died if it hadn't been for us."
"Most women do," Auron said. "The healers said they've never seen a case that didn't result in either death or a miscarriage, most being the former of the two."
Gippal put his head in his hands and let out a noise somewhere between a deep sigh and a stifled sob. "I'm just glad she's alright," he muttered.
For a few moments, there was relative quiet. Then Gippal heard somebody get up and walk over to him, and then there was suddenly a pair of hands on his back, gently kneading his neck and shoulders. He turned his head to thank who he assumed was probably Lydia, but to his surprise saw Lucil.
"You looked like you needed it," she said in response to his inquiring glance. Gippal thanked her and put his head back down, welcoming the cool relief to his tense muscles. They stayed that way for a few minutes, but before long Gippal heard noises. Banging doors, stomping feet, and demanding voices. It sounded like a group of soldiers were coming their way.
"Uh-oh," Tidus said nervously. Lucil left Gippal and went to Nooj's side, casting a worried glance at the door. Gippal looked around at his friends, trying to figure out why soldiers would be disturbing the hospital. But before he could figure out what was going on, his question was answered.
The doors were banged open and a squad of twelve Warrior Monks marched inside. Ignoring shocked protests from the Apprentice Healers at the reception desk, they came up to them and the man who must have been the ranking officer spoke.
"You," he barked, pointing at Baralai. "You are Baralai Galen, formerly the Praetor of New Yevon. Correct?"
Baralai stood up and faced his questioner. "Yes," he said politely. "What business do you have with me?"
The man sighed and signaled to his fellow Warrior Monks (two of whom were female), who placed their hands on their weapons and adopted a ready stance.
"You're under arrest," he said. "You are to stand trial in the High Court of Yevon for treason."
Gippal felt like a physical blow had struck him. Treason? No way! They can't do that! He looked around at his friends. Yuna looked shocked and whispered "Treason?" in a small voice. Tidus looked angry. Rikku gasped and was clinging to Auron, and Auron was glaring daggers at the Warrior Monks as he held Rikku in his arms. Nooj had an equally menacing expression on his face. Lucil had gone pale and seemed to be speechless. Lydia was gaping at them, horrified. Tristan looked furious and he also seemed wary, as though he were expecting a fight to break out at any moment.
"I'm sorry about this," the man added, sounding less professional and more regretful. "Personally I don't believe a word of any of it, but orders are orders. You must come with us."
Baralai sighed in a resigned sort of way, but when he spoke his voice contained a quiet but at the same time impressive sort of dignity. "Of course," he said. "May I have a moment?" The Warrior Monk nodded and all twelve of them drew back to the door. Baralai turned away from the soldiers to face them.
"Hey," said Tidus. "Don't worry about it. They couldn't do it to Yuna and they won't do it to you either." He clapped Baralai on the shoulder and Baralai gave him a grateful look before turning to Yuna. She grasped his hand briefly and told him that he would be okay, that he had to be okay. Lucil and Nooj said they would do everything in their power to get him acquitted. Rikku, in her social and empathetic way, hugged him and told him not to let those "Yevon creeps" get to him. He shook hands with Auron and Auron told him he had faith that Baralai would make it through this.
When Baralai reached Gippal he gave him a weak grin. "Tell Paine I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye," he said. Gippal blinked a few times and pulled his best friend into a hug.
"I will," he said. "But if you don't come out of this alive and well Paine and I will both kick your ass." Baralai chuckled a little and moved away from him to face Tristan.
"I'm sorry," he said softly, speaking to his boots instead of looking the necessary seven or eight inches up at Tristan's face. "You were right not to trust me. All I've done is get Lydia into trouble, and now I'm leaving. I deserve everything you ever said about me. E's cunno." (I'm sorry.) Baralai shifted nervously and looked up then, and Gippal could see a mixture of fear, guilt, and respect on his friend's face.
There was guilt in Tristan's expression as well. Guilt, disbelief, self-loathing, sadness, and… respect. As much if not more than Baralai obviously awarded him. A moment's silence passed before Tristan did what seemed to be the last thing Baralai was expecting—he embraced him.
"Don't you ever let me hear you say that again," he said. "It's me who should be apologizing—I was wrong about you. I shouldn't have been so cynical. I... jumped to conclusions." If the situation had been less serious, Gippal might have laughed. He remembered only too well Tristan's reaction to hearing that of all the men on Spira she could have picked, his little sister just had to have a relationship with the one who was both a priest and a politician—Tristan's two least favorite (and, in his opinion, least trustworthy) people in the world.
Baralai muttered a soft "Thank you," and turned to face the last and hardest farewell of all. Lydia was shaking and tears had welled up in her spiraled green eyes. She looked like a lost, fearful little girl rather than the mature, independent young woman that she was, and the sight filled Gippal with anger. Do these bastards have any idea how much pain they're causing? This isn't right!
Lydia threw herself at Baralai, who accepted her with open arms and hugged her tightly. "You can't go," she half-whispered into his shirt. "What if they decide to… execute you?"
"They won't," Baralai said reassuringly. "If there's one shred of law or decency left in Yevon it won't happen. We have to have faith." One of the Warrior Monks made an impatient noise then, and over Lydia's shoulder Baralai shot him a glare that immediately made the man flinch and shut his mouth.
"I'm sorry, Lydia," he said softly. "I have to go." He turned away from her and said goodbye to them all before walking away to join the Squad of Warrior Monks guarding the door. With their guns out, they marched off with him in their midst. It wasn't until after the door had clicked shut behind them that Lydia put her head in her hands and quietly began to cry.
Gippal's eyes widened in concern and he swiftly went to his cousin's side. Together he and Tristan tried their best to comfort Lydia, but they might have been talking to 2 month old Vidina for all the good it seemed to be doing. Meanwhile, everybody else was caught in various states of shock, anger, or some combination thereof.
They stayed that way for several minutes, Lydia slowly calming down as they discussed what, if anything could be done. Tidus was just saying that it would be a lot less trouble if somebody would just shoot the Chairman of the Senior Priests when the doors opened again, this time quietly. Gippal looked up to see a rather stressed looking Issaru, and was immediately seized with a desire to punch the ex-summoner in the face. He's in charge, he should have been able to stop this! Judging by his expression, Issaru knew what had happened and knew they weren't happy with him.
"Issaru…" Lydia hissed. "How could you!" She was shaking again, but this time it was with suppressed fury. She suddenly moved as if to jump out of her seat, but Gippal and Tristan each grabbed one of her arms to keep her in it.
"How could you!" she said again. "I thought he was your friend! How could you do this to him?"
"Don't you think I tried to stop them?" Issaru asked quietly. "If you'll let me explain…" he waited a few seconds to make sure nobody else was going to start shouting at him before he sat down and continued.
"New Yevon is in turmoil," he said eventually. "I've barely been able to keep the Temple from becoming a war zone. Those that are loyal to the Chairman want Baralai dead. When word got back that he'd been sighted here, well… the troops weren't happy. If I hadn't signed off on the order for his arrest they would have rebelled and done it anyway, and Baralai might well have ended up dead before his trial could ever take place."
"Where've they taken him?" Lydia asked. She seemed calmer now, but Gippal maintained a precautionary grip on her upper arm nonetheless.
"I don't know," Issaru replied. "But after I leave here I intend to find out."
"Who's in charge of the court, anyway?" Tidus asked. "Who actually makes the decision?"
Issaru sighed. "I am," he said. "The High Court consists of five members—the Praetor, the Commander of the Warrior Monks, the Keeper of the Hall of Records, the Chief of the temple's mages, and… the Chairman of the Senior Priests."
"Hey!" Rikku exclaimed suddenly. "Didn't Baralai say something about the Chairman bullying the Keeper into releasing his file in the first place?"
"Yeah, he did," said Gippal. "So that makes it one for, two against, and… two neutral?" He looked at Issaru for confirmation and Issaru nodded.
"I don't know Cleon Loire very well… he's the Chief Mage. But Siri Kenobi has a good head on her shoulders, and she's managed to stay impartial for the last 24 hours. If she has any opinions, she's smart enough to not say anything."
Auron suddenly spoke up then. "I thought women weren't allowed positions of command in the Warrior Monks or the Crusaders higher than Captain," he said.
"That used to be true," Issaru said. "That was one of the first laws Baralai petitioned to have changed when he was elected last year." A moment's silence passed before Issaru spoke again.
"If all goes well his trial should be in a week or two," he said. "I should be back later today after I find out where he's being kept. If I'm lucky I'll be able to get you in to see him."
Another few moments of silence passed before Issaru stood up. "I'm truly sorry about this," he said. "I hoped that I'd never have to be involved in the condemnation of another innocent person-" for some reason that Gippal couldn't comprehend, Issaru seemed to be directing these words at Yuna. "But it seems that after more than 2 years, some are still manipulating the teachings to serve their own purposes."
"If you'll excuse me," Issaru continued. "I have an emergency meeting with Commander Siri." He made the sign of prayer and swiftly exited the room.
Coming into the room almost as soon as Issaru left it was a brown haired, gray eyed girl in long white robes. Gippal recognized her as an apprentice healer who had already come to them several times to ask for information and update them on Paine's condition. She hurried over to them, and Gippal could see she looked happy.
The teenage girl hastily made the sign of prayer and said "Your friend, she's waking... you may come see her now." Gippal's head jerked up and he looked first at the breathless grinning healer, then around at his friends.
"You go," said Nooj. "She'd rather hear it from you. I know she would."
"Go to her," Auron added. "We'll wait here." Gippal nodded and stood up then, following the apprentice healer down a hallway, around a corner, and through one of the many doors into a private hospital room.
Gippal barely even registered that the healer had left him alone and closed the door to give them privacy. His eyes were locked on Paine, who was stirring restlessly beneath her blankets as though emerging from a deep sleep.
He crossed the room to her bedside and took one of her hands in his. Looking down, he realized he'd grabbed the hand which held her engagement ring—a silver band set with a fiery red crystal. Gippal had had it custom made by an Al Bhed jeweller (whom he'd gone to on Nhadala's recommendation) in Luca.
Gippal was staring out the window, lost in thought, when he felt a sudden pressure on his hand—Paine was returning his grip. He looked down at their hands and then up at Paine's face, and felt a mixture of relief and joy rush through him. For the first time since this nightmare had began almost 24 hours ago, Paine's crimson eyes were open and her gaze was on him.