When It Rains, It Pours

"Damn it!" Gippal cried as he shoved himself up. He walked to the door of his office and called out to Rikku. She was already long gone. He turned around and looked at he woman who was trying to destroy everything he worked so hard for. "Valentina, if you are going to be my assistant you better get to work, and there will be rules. Number one, there is a dress code here. Underwear are a must. Not wearing them, if you get caught, is immediate termination. Number two, whether you like it or not, you do as I say. Number three, we work late hours on both friday and saturday and four, do not go near Rikku. Do not talk to her, do not look at her, do not even breath remotely close to her. Got it?"

"Aye aye captain. Guess I better got to my office... Where is it located?" Gippal laughed out loud.

"You do not have an office. You have a cubicle...upstairs." Valentina stared at him in horror. Gippal laughed on the inside. He doubted the great Valentina had ever had to work out of a cubicle before. "Now if that's all, I have to go do some damage control. So get to work." Gippal strode out of his office leaving Valentina standing there furious. Now he just had to find Rikku and set everything right.

xxxxxxxxxx - xx

"But it is still dangerous out there! The monsters have tripled and the sand can kick back up at any time! Do you know what Gippal would do to me if he found out that I was letting you go into the desert now?!" Gwappa cried out. Rikku was standing in the application office out front of Djose temple demanding work and Gwappa did not want to give it to her and be fired. He had a family to support.

"Oh Gwappa, don't be such a worry wart. Gippal knows I'm going into the desert, I just told him. Also, in case you have forgotten, I have helped save Spira on mnay occassions... One more prominent then others of course. I have handled monsters since I could handle getting dressed on my own. Now suck it up and give me my work order." Gwappa sighed at Rikku's tyrade. He couldn't win that was for sure. Reluctantly, he handed over a work order for the the south of Bikanel. It was the safest spot right now, least monsters. Also it was easy to get out of the desert from there. "Thank you kindly, Gwappa. I'm off to make some money." Rikku smiled and strode to her hover that would take her into the desert.

xxxxxxxxxx - xx

Rikku smiled as she drover to Bikanel. The sand always made her feel better. Something about the dry heat and fresh air made her happy. Always, even when she was kid. Cid used to hate it because whenever she was upset, she would run to the desert and play in the sand. He would freak out, worrying she would get lost. But she knew this desert like the back of her hand. She didn't know Gippal that well though. Her smiled dropped.

They had been so close, so long ago. Things change, people change. Maybe she should finally accept that Gippal was just not the one for her. He had denied any invovlement with Valentina, yet she walks into his office and there they are, making out! Valentina wasn't even wearing panties! Obviously, she had been oblivious to Gippal's lies. So, she must make enough money to rent out her on place. She didn't want to be made the fool again.

Rikku stopped the hover and turned off the engine. She was out the south of Bikanel and ready to work. She pulled on a cap she had in her pocket and grabbed a shovel. After digging for about twenty minutes she struck metal. Lifting it out she cried in delight. What luck. It was a core piece for machina. Worth a hefty sum. She also found two hundred Gil, burried near by. At this rate, she would be able to move out tonight.

xxxxxxxxxx - xx

"YOU LET HER GO?!" Gippal shouted. He couldn't believe they had let Rikku go out into the desert all by herself. There were tons of monsters out there and another sand storm could happen at any minute.

"She said she told you she was going sir. She did remind me that she is capable of taking care of herself. And there is no argueing with her. She was going whether I gave her a work order or not! At least this way I chose the safest place for her to go, plus we will get some equipment." Gwappa reasoned, praying he would not get fired.

"You are right of course. I'm sorry I yelled Gwappa. It's just been a really rough day already. Ok just tell me where you sent her and I will go and keep and eye out for her." Gippal was ashamed of how he had blown up at Gwappa, but he wished he hadn't let Rikku go. She was upset and the desert is a dangerous place.

Gwappa handed Gippal a copy of the work order he had given Rikku. He was glad Gippal had apologized but you never know with him. The man is a loose canon and can jump from emotion to emotion. He hoped he still had his job tomorrow.

xxxxxxxxxx - xx

Rikku sighed as she spotted a queen coeurl heading towards her. Looks like there is gonna be a fight. She quickly grabbed her thief dress sphere and eqquiped it. The monster stared at her, giving her the impression that it wanted her to come the rest of the way.

"It's not gonna happen like that, sorry!" Rikku said, doubting the monster even understood her. The two circled each other, waiting for the other to slip up. Unfortunately, the first to slip up was Rikku. She turned at the sound of her name bein called. The coeurl took the chance to pounce, and was on top of Rikku in a second. She wrestled with the monster, trying to get her hands free to grab her weapons. Stupid, stupid Rikku, she kept telling herself. Why did I look? Finally, she grabbed one of her daggers and thrust it up into the stomach of the monster. It cried out in agony and she shoved it of her.

xxxxxxxxxx - xx

Gippal parked his hover beside the one Rikku had used. She must have traveled a bit away from her hover because he couldn't see her. He decided to climb up the sand dune near by and check if she was on the other side. The whole ride there he was trying to think of ways he could explain the ackward situation she had witnessed and apologize for it. He knew she would be furious when he found her. He kept climbing until he was almost at the top. He heard a low growling and started to get worried.

"Rikku?!" Gippal called out, but no one answered. The only sound was something hitting the sand. He scrambled to the top and stared down in horror at the scene below. Rikku was wrestling with a queen coeurl, and on the one day he chose to leave his gun at work. He tried to walk down the dune, but of course, it was sand so it was slow going. He made his way down carefully, trying not to slide down and fall. He jsut kept praying that it wouldn't eat Rikkubefore he got there. Then a horrible howl pierced the air. It was the cry of death. Gippal looked up quickly, terrified of what he would see.

It was the coeurl that had cried out. It was pierced with one of Rikku's dagger and she was currently shoving the monster off her. He sighed with relief, then lost his footing. He slid down the hill and tumbled over, landing face first at the bottom of the hill. Hismouth was full of sand which made him angry. The laughter coming from above him didn't help his anger much either.

"Missed a step I see. You know, you shouldn't distract people in battle. We wouldn't want an accident to happen, now would we? It must be in your safety regulations binder or something." Something wasn't right. Gippal didn't hear any anger in her voice. She was laughing. She was supposed to be furious with him. Insanely upset and hurt by what had happened. But instead she sounded, well normal. Not affected at all. It made him more upset. Gippal spit ou the sand in his mouth and glared at Rikku.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING, COMING OUT HERE BY YOURSELF?! THERE ARE MONSTERS AND THE POSSIBILITY OF MORE SAND STORMS. AND YOU TRICKED GWAPPA INTO GIVING YOU THAT WORK ORDER!" Gippal shouted at her. He saw her fae tansform to a mask of anger.

"I did not trick Gwappa into giving me that work order at all. I told him I had informed you I was going into the desert." Rikku said icily. "I don't recall you trying to stop me. If you had wanted to, you should have. I understand you were busy and all but you said nothing at all. Therefor, neither Gwappa nor I are to blame. Now, if you will excuse me, I have some machina parts to turn in and some Gil to deposit into the bank."

With that Rikku jumped on her hover and left, leaving Gippal in the desert by himself, with nothing but the sand, sun and wind to keep him company.