A/N: You will quickly encounter something peculiar about the telespheres. I snagged the idea from Melanie Rawn's Mage globes. (Disclaimer: I did not create nor do I own Exiles (other than copies of the books, which I bought from Barnes and Noble), its characters, plots, locations, etc. It all belongs to Melanie Rawn and her publishers, and obviously I'm not making any money off of this. In other words, I'm a day dreamer with no originality to speak of!)
-P
Chapter 12
A Little Complicated
Part 3
Gippal spent a restless night pacing his tent and sending telegrams through his telesphere, an occupation devised more to keep himself busy until morning than to fulfill any obligations of keeping people informed. He had contacted Cid first, all the while thanking whatever was holy that the telegrams weren't sophisticated enough for direct communication, like Shinra's original commsphere network.
"Camp inspections fine; Nhadala in charge. Rikku missing, gone to find her. /report"
He tried to make the dirty deed of informing her father of her disappearance as quick and painless as possible, but he knew that as soon as Cid discovered both his and Micheal's reports, Gippal's head would be hunted.
Ignoring that unpleasant fact for the time being, Gippal sent brief reports to Nhadala, informing her of her duty to finish the inspection, along with his crew members at Djose, letting them know that he would be gone for some time.
"Some time, that's an understatement," Gippal muttered to himself grimly as he sent the message on its way. He hadn't even secured a way to Baaj Temple yet, but that was what his next message would take care of.
Of course he had saved the hardest one for last. It seemed even more painful to compose than the one he had sent to Cid, because this time he was asking for help and it was from one of the last people on earth he wanted to be caught begging it from.
"Brother, I need your ship– it's urgent. Going to Baaj Temple. Report back ASAP. /order"
Gippal scowled as he scribbled the note in Al Bhed onto a piece of paper and stuffed it into the glowing sphere. He watched as it magically zipped out of sight to its receiving sphere.
Now all he could do was wait... Gippal ran one hand through his stiff hair and vaguely noted that it needed washing. Not exactly up to a shower at the moment and deprived of any more busy work, he tried to relax into an armchair. He hadn't slept since the day before and he knew his body was tired, but his mind was running in frantic circles as he ticked off items on his mental "To-Do" list:
Go to the temple, find Rikku, kill Anje. Go to Bevelle, kill Yevon scum, go to prison...
Gippal groaned and rubbed his face vigorously. Either way, he was screwed. He knew he had to rescue Rikku, but what happened after that? Yevon was still after him, and most likely his "negotiation" with Anje would involve him trading his life for Rikku's...
Before he could sink any deeper into this internal argument, the tent flaps parted and Micheal entered the room. Gippal spared him a glance before rising from his chair and crossing the room to a desk. He picked up a stack of folders and turned to Micheal.
"Here ya go, your inspection results," Gippal tried to sound nonchalant, like his life hadn't just been threatened and Rikku hadn't just been kidnapped by the assassin.
"I'm going to put off the inspection of Home until next year," he went on, crossing the room to put the folders in Micheal's hand, who was eyeing Gippal curiously. The purple bruise that Gippal had inflicted beneath his eye had only swollen, giving him a particularly nasty wince. Gippal ignored this.
"I've already notified Nhadala about inspecting the Central Expanse, so don't worry about passing along the information. I'll be leaving here soon."
"To find Rikku," Micheal finished, unperturbed by Gippal's attempt to remain cool. Gippal bit the inside of his cheek until it stung. He was determined to remain in control.
"This is no longer any of your business," Gippal finally managed, unclenching his teeth as he turned his back to Micheal again. "I expect you to report back to your duty, which pertains to this camp and only this camp. You are excused."
When he heard no sound of Micheal obeying his order, Gippal turned back to face him, quickly losing his patience.
"Did you understand me or do I need to break it down for you?" he spat. "Leave. Now."
Micheal just crossed his arms over his chest and glared at him. Gippal noticed that he was holding something alongside the files he had just given him.
"Yes, sir," Micheal said finally, measuring his words carefully. "I won't question your plans of action. I... know that you are the best man for the job."
You're damn straight I am... Gippal thought with a smirk. Meanwhile, Micheal looked tired– a condition that did not suit his normally handsome features well, Gippal noted. The ugly bruise only served to enhance his haggard appearance that had gotten about as much sleep as Gippal had, which was to say none.
Micheal looked at the Machine Faction Leader who was undoubtably as stressed and sleepless as he was over the whole incident, but instead of reflecting that weariness, he looked more refined and determined than ever. He had to respect the arrogant man for that.
"My scouts have found some items that may still be of interest to you," Micheal spoke up again, breaking the brooding silence between them. He handed Gippal a sphere.
"That was found underneath the rubble in the excavation site, which is to say the ruins of the old Al Bhed Home." Gippal wasted a moment being irritated by the casual way this interloper regarded the destruction of Home, but didn't bother with a scathing reprimand. The man looked tired enough.
"It appears to be a surveillance sphere, recording the last moments of the Guado attack before the explosion," Micheal went on. "We've been collecting spheres like these in hopes of finding structural clues to base a blueprint upon, and I thought that you might pass it along to Captain Cid."
"Yeah, sure," Gippal said mechanically, turning the cracked sphere over in his hand absentmindedly. He didn't think he would be seeing Cid any time soon.
"And..." Micheal continued, noticing the darkening look in Gippal's features. "We found this near... the initial attack scene." Gippal looked up to find Micheal offering him the broken compass.
"I sent some scouts back to the scene of your attack to search for more clues, but I figured that this was yours."
"How's that?" Gippal's voice was gruff as he snatched the compass out of Micheal's extended hand.
"I noticed the inscription in Al Bhed on the back," Micheal said carefully, watching Gippal closely. "I doubt that your attacker..." he paused, unwilling to say "Rikku's kidnapper."
"I doubt that they would be carrying such a thing," he finished quickly.
Gippal was silent for a moment, and Micheal wondered if he had struck a nerve. He couldn't help but notice that the compass was broken and appeared to have been so for quite some time. He wasn't sure of the sentimental value this held for the Machine Faction Leader.
"Good," Gippal said finally, voice thickening with emotion. He turned his back to Micheal in the universal signal for dismissal.
"That is all I require of you now. Please leave."
Micheal dared to stand there a moment longer, staring at the Machine Faction Leader's back. He knew that this apparently callous man hid real feelings beneath his rough exterior, feelings that would lead him to save Rikku no matter the cost.
Gippal waited for the swish of the tent flaps to tell him that Micheal was gone. He walked across the room to his desk and set both the compass and the sphere on its surface, freeing his hands to rub his tired face. The sphere glowed softly, and Gippal stared at it for a moment before picking it up again. The ultimate purpose of his work at Djose and in the desert was to raise money to rebuild Home. This site, however, was specifically geared toward the actual building rather than simply fund raising.
Gippal sighed again and carried the sphere with him as he walked across the room and sat on the edge of his bed. The duties of his job seemed like such a distant idea now, what with Yevon's latest interferences and now Rikku...
Gippal unconsciously balled his fists at this thought, squeezing the sphere in the process. The pressure triggered the play-back mode of the recording, and Gippal watched as the sphere projected its contents before him.
The sphere had definitely been damaged in the explosion, resulting in the loss of most of its memory, but it still retained the last few moments of its surveillance. Gippal immediately recognized the metal hallways of Home, despite the fact that he had only visited the place half a dozen times and that the hallways he now viewed were filled with smoke and fire.
He watched as two Al Bhed men ran down the corridor and encountered an invading Guado. They shouted as the Guado summoned a large, fire-breathing beast before drawing their rifles and firing at the creature. Gippal's stomach turned as the monster bore down on the two men. He was grateful that the sound record had also beeen destroyed, sparing him the sounds of their agonized screams.
As their pyreflies disappeared, Gippal was just about to decide that this sphere was worthless as a blueprint source when several more figures ran down the corridor. Gippal watched closely as this new group encountered the monster and picked up the fight.
At first, Gippal could only see one of the figures clearly– he was a young, blonde man wielding a sword, and looking especially familiar...
Before Gippal could place him, another figure darted into the foreground and swung a massive sword at the monster. This one he recognized with a grin.
Auron.
A waterga spell crashed over the monster, which appeared to howl in pain. Gippal noticed the black mage from Besaid, Yuna's guardian Lulu that he remembered from the wedding. Suddenly he was able to place a name on the angry-looking blonde man who had just rushed forward to attack again. This had to be Tidus, Yuna's new husband whom he had just recently been introduced to.
"All of Yuna's guardians," Gippal murmured as he watched Tidus step back and allow a red-haired blitzball player to heave a spiked ball at the creature.
That's right, Auron told me that they were looking for Yuna. That was back when the Al Bhed were trying to spare the Summoners...
Gippal watched as the monster disappeared in a flurry of pyreflies. The party had been crowded around a stairwell and now pushed their way down the burning hallway, giving Gippal a clearer view of them as they neared the surveillance sphere. Gippal steeled himself.
Rikku was the last to run up the stairs after the group, and Tidus appeared to be waiting for her to guide them to where Yuna was being kept. The young man looked extremely impatient as Rikku gestured down the hallway. Before they could proceed, however, another Guado arrived on the scene, and the party immediately took up battle positions. Rikku crouched near the floor next to Tidus, working furiously with some items as Auron took another swing at the new onslaught of monsters.
"She looks so young..." he murmured as she stood up, waiting for her turn to join the fray.
He watched in a trance as the party battled their way through the burning hallway. Rikku wiped the dust and sweat off of her forehead and used an Al Bhed potion on her team members. Gippal could hardly remind himself that the steady, determined girl he was watching was Cid's whiny, clumsy little girl.
Two years ago, she fought Sin with Yuna and the others, Gippal thought to himself. Back when I heard about it, I couldn't believe that Cid was letting his 15 year old daughter fight such a battle. I guess I was the only one who underestimated her...
The screen flickered as pyreflies wafted up from the battle below where the surveillance sphere was mounted on the wall. The last of the monsters had just collapsed, and the party wasted no time in hurrying down the hall. The floor was shaking with another distant explosion as Rikku led the way past the sphere, disappearing from the recorded line of sight. It was only a few moments after the party had moved on that another explosion rocked the sphere from its perch, causing it to crash to the ground and cease recording.
Gippal sat for a few more moments, staring at the blank sphere before shaking himself back to reality. He stood and stretched, the sphere still clutched in his hand as he walked back to the desk to set it back down. There was no reason for him to take it with him to Baaj Temple, where he would confront Anje. Maybe Micheal would find it and send it along to Cid.
No, Gippal thought suddenly with renewed determination. I'll give it to Rikku when I bring her back home. Before he had seen the sphere, Gippal had been prepared to leave with Anje without a fight, as long as it ensured Rikku's safety. Now he was sure that Rikku wasn't just another damsel in distress. She would never let him give up the Al Bhed fight for independence from Yevon's stigmas so easily.
With a slight smirk, Gippal reached for the compass.
"I'll find a way, Rikku" Gippal murmured as he ran his thumb over the cracked face plate. "Just wait for me."
A/N: I apologize, but it may be some time before my next update. My internet is being disconnected for an indeterminate amount of time, and I still go to college and have a job. I also have a literary magazine to produce by this spring (being an editor sucks up most of my free time), so please don't be alarmed if it takes me a month between updates!
I still love this story and it takes precedence over all others (we're also coming up on a very interesting plot-thickener involving the rescue attempt and impending war between the Al Bhed and New Yevon, not to mention Gippal and Rikku's blossoming romance ;). Hang in there with me!
-P
Disclaimer: I did not create nor do I own Final Fantasy X-2(other than a copy of the game, which I bought at Best Buy), its characters, plots, locations, etc. It all belongs to SquareEnix and company, and obviously I'm not making any money off of this. In other words, I'm a day dreamer with no originality to speak of!