"Oy," Gippal said, reclining against the headboard of the bed he was sitting on, "This is awful."
"I concur," Rikku said, tracing the patterns of the bedspread on her own bed, then flopping over on her back, and spazzing out, kicking her long legs in the air, frustrated, "Oh, this sucks!"
"I'll say," Gippal said, "I almost had you."
"Hmm?"
"Nothing."
Rikku sighed, then slid off the bed.
"I'm so bored!" She raced around the room a few times, until she tripped on the edge of the carpet and went sailing through the air. Without thinking, Gippal reached out and caught her with one arm, using mostly one of his large hands to support her weight, which was next to nothing.
"Gippal…you can put me down now."
Startled, Gippal dropped her on the floor.
"Owie! What is this? That was mean."
"Sorry, you frightened me."
"Yeah, right…."
"Sorry…" Gippal laid back. "When are we going to actually go somewhere?"
"I dunno, ask Tidus. Since they left Shinra, Buddy, and Brother back home, there really can't be a single way we're going to do anything productive," Rikku stated crossly.
"I guess not!" Gippal chuckled. Rikku was so funny when she made faces as she spoke. It never failed to make him laugh.
"Let's go ask just where the hell Tidus thinks he's going," suggested Rikku, glancing out the window.
"Okay," Gippal agreed, stretching and cracking his knuckles.
Rikku skipped toward the bridge, when the Celsius hit an air pocket and stopped shortly, then jutted forward again. Rikku slipped and was thrown over the railing onto the side of the ship, hanging on with both hands for the sake of her life.
"RIKKU!" Like a shot, Gippal was leaning over the side. "High time for you to be flying off the bridge, genius!" He yelled, panicking.
"Shut up with the insults and help me up!"
"Oh, Rikku!" Yuna wailed.
"Yunie, help me!"
"Come on, this isn't getting her anywhere," Paine said, unable to hide the worry on her face, "let's form some kind of human chain to get her back up here!"
Gippal nodded. He volunteered to grab Rikku's hands, and did so. Paine grasped his ankles, and Yuna put her arms around Paine's waist. Tidus gripped Yuna's shoulders with one hand and the driver's seat with the other.
"Idiot!" Gippal barked, "What a time to fall!"
"I lost my balance," Rikku cried, as they tried to tug her up while the wind worked against them.
"Well," Gippal grunted, "You'd better go find it! We're going to need it!"
"Gippal!" Rikku whined, slipping, "Your fingers are sweaty!"
"I'm sor-RY," he yelled above the wind, "Pull, you guys!" The engine of the Celsius sputtered and stopped.
"Oh, CRAP!" Tidus shouted, "We're going down, you guys!"
"Oh, dammit," Gippal muttered, and they all slipped forward and Rikku and Yuna squealed as Tidus leapt over to the computer to see what was wrong.
"It's the engine," he said suddenly.
"Oh, well done," Gippal growled, grasping Rikku's wrists even tighter.
"Gippal, can you check it out?"
"Oh, of COURSE," Gippal said furiously, "Let's just DROP Rikku why don't we?"
Ignoring him, Tidus disappeared for a moment in which everyone but Yuna swore a few times. When he returned, his fingers worked quickly on Gippal's waist.
"Why are you touching me?" Gippal twisted, and lost his grip on one of Rikku's hands. She shrieked and flailed, banging against the side of the ship, holding Gippal's hand in an iron grip.
"GIPPAL, MY HAND'S CRAMPING," She warned at the top of her lungs.
"Alright, hang on!" Gippal told Yuna to take Rikku's hand.
And he jumped off the side of the ship.
"ARE YOU INSANE?" Rikku cried as he flew by her.
"A…rope?" The rope was stretched taut, and Gippal climbed up beside her.
"Here!" Paine tossed a rope to Rikku, who nearly missed it, but Gippal caught the other end.
"Let me tie it," he said, "so you don't end up floating away." He gently fastened the rope around her waist, then pulled it tight.
"Ouch!" Rikku squeaked, "Too tight!"
"Sorry." Gippal stuck his fingers into the loop of rope resting on her thigh and pulled. "Better?"
"Much," Rikku breathed.
"Good." Gippal went back to ignoring her. "NOW WHAT, SHERLOCK?" He hollered up to Tidus.
"Fix the engine, stupid!"
"Yes, master," Gippal grumbled. "Over here, Rikku." He pulled out his pocketknife and unfastened the bolts on a gleaming red panel by repeatedly rotating the knife. Rikku took it off.
"This isn't supposed to be here," Gippal said, "At least, I don't think." Gippal flicked the scissors open on the knife. And he cut the green wire.
The engine fired up, the ship shot forward, then everything died.
"OH, PERFECT!" Rikku screeched. Gippal slammed the panel back on and ordered Rikku to refasten the bolts. She did so as he maneuvered himself over to where the gang was standing.
"Well, I screwed that up," he yelled, "What now?"
"Well," Paine said back, "we're going to coast, and if you messed up the landing gears, which, I think you did, I'm going to have to slide us to a stop."
"What about Tidus?" Gippal roared, trusting the ship to a woman even less than to that airhead Tidus.
"He's out of commission," Paine said, not going any further into it, then took the driver's seat.
"I hate women," Gippal hissed, and went back over to Rikku. "You done yet?"
"Yeah!" Then, they heard the most foreboding sound, one Gippal never wanted to hear again. It was the sound of a frayed rope straining to bear weight. Snap.
"Gippal!" Rikku screamed and squeezed her eyes shut. Just as she was about to be swept away, someone latched onto her wrist.
"Gippal?"
"No, dimwit, a flower." He wound his arm around her, and tugged on his rope to let Yuna know he was coming up.
"Oh shit," he murmured.
"What is it?" Rikku asked, frightened.
"Well, if Tidus isn't up there, there's no way in hell I'm gonna get pulled back up there," he wanted to say, but that would just send Rikku into a frenzy, so he kept it to himself.
"Nothing."
Just then, a huge gust of wind buffeted the couple against the side of the Celsius, as the ship accelerated one last time before starting its 'coast' as Paine called it. Rikku cried out and buried her face in Gippal's chest. He stared at the top of her head, then blinked. Sand got in his eyes, and his fingers slipped on the rope.
"WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE," Yuna cried out from above.
"SHUT UP AND HELP ME STEER," Paine ordered harshly. The ship took a dangerous dip towards the ground.
Overcome with adrenaline, Gippal heaved Rikku onto his shoulders. They had taken some weird fighting class in which they learned acrobatics. Rikku stood on Gippal's shoulders.
"Promise me you won't get hurt?" Rikku asked, looking from him to the deck.
Without answering, Gippal shoved Rikku onto the ship. He turned to face the ground…which was coming up fast.
The ship crunched onto the ground and Gippal went with it, into a roll, sliding in the dirt, pain searing through him…The ship left him and kept skidding forward, and the last thing Gippal heard was Rikku…screaming his name.
"Urrgh…" Gippal couldn't feel his leg. He'd be surprised if it was still there.
"Gippal?"
"Nnnnnnguyh." Gippal couldn't force his lips to form words.
"Are you alright?"
"Who….are…you…?"
"Gippal, this is no time to fool around. It's Rikku, you idiot."
"Who?" Vision becoming less fuzzy, Gippal found two large green eyes staring him in the face. Startled, he fell backwards off the side of the bed.
The green eyes helped him to his feet.
"Oh, Gippal…" She looked at him. He tried to get up but cried out and fell. He was paralyzed from the waist down.
"Rikku? Are you in here?" The thick curtain was pushed aside and Yuna ducked beneath it and entered the room. "Rikku?"
"Get out," a voice replied from the shadows near the bed.
"Rikku, I know this is troubling you, but you can't stay in there forever."
"Oh yes I can!" Rikku retreated further into the dark when Yuna flung the shutters open. Rikku shielded her eyes against the brilliant rays of sun. She had been wearing her silky blue pajamas since forever and she looked bedraggled and tired, with dark circles around her eyes and her hair frayed around her shoulders, for she'd cut it again and it was now choppy and wild.
"Rikku," Yuna said gently, reaching for Rikku's wrist. Rikku snarled and snatched it away.
"Look at you, Rikku," Yuna chided, "do you honestly think Gippal would want to see you like this?
Rikku froze.
"No," she whispered, "no."