(Author's Note: Thanks to Eva Kasumi, who was kind enough to beta-read this chapter for me. You rock, Eva.)
"Nooj! Hey, Nooj!"
"I don't think he can hear you," observed Baralai, somewhat amused. Gippal paused in his frantic attempts to catch Nooj's attention in order to shoot him a disbelieving glance.
"Oh, he can hear me. He's just pretending not to – you'll see." Cupping his hands over his mouth, Gippal began yelling again. "Noojster! Noojie-Woojie, talk to me!"
This, at last, got a response. Meyvn Nooj turned around, eyes narrowed.
"What is it, brat?" Gippal mouthed the line at the same time as Nooj said it, and Baralai began to laugh uncontrollably. Seeing him, Nooj paused. "You shouldn't be here. We may have pledged an end to hostilities, but there are still people here who are... less than fond of the Praetor of New Yevon."
"You're too paranoid, Noojie," Gippal said, swaggering towards him. Nooj seemed almost to twitch again, and Gippal immediately adopted 'Noojie-Woojie' as his new favourite nickname. "Baralai is alive and well, in case you hadn't noticed. And we have a proposal for you."
"Make it quick. I've got work to do."
Gippal flashed his companion a smile and mouthed 'Such a charming man!' Turning back to Nooj, he nodded in mock-seriousness. "I see. Plotting against New Yevon, no doubt... because we all know that the best time to attack is just after signing a peace treaty. They'll never expect it!"
"Which is why I was so concerned for the other brat," said Nooj, turning away and walking towards the Youth League building. Gippal simply stood with mouth agape, unable to comprehend how his magnificent display of sarcasm could be so utterly lost on the man.
"Come on," Nooj called back. "If it's important, we should discuss it in headquarters."
"Did you hear that?" Gippal asked in disbelief. "Is it just me, or did he think I was being serious? 'Cause if he did, I think I might be having second thoughts about this whole sphere hunt thing."
Baralai smirked. "He understood you, you know. He just knew that acting as if he didn't would throw you off."
Gippal gave an overdramatic sigh. "Ever the sly one, our Noojie-Woojie."
"Oh, Yevon. You're going to be calling him that the whole time, aren't you?"
"But of course!" The Al Bhed grinned cheerfully, gave a sarcastic salute and set off towards the building. Baralai rolled his eyes and followed.
"So, that's what we're planning to do. You coming?" Gippal lounged in a chair, smirking insolently at the man on the other side of the desk. Nooj raised an eyebrow.
"You're suggesting that I leave my post as Meyvn of the Youth League? Just so I can go off with you brats and look for some spheres of things that we already know happened?"
"That's the general idea, yes." Nooj was even harder to read than Baralai. Gippal couldn't tell whether he was actually considering the proposal or not. "And as for leaving the Youth League, clearly New Yevon and the Machine Faction will be missing their leaders as well. See? Fairness." Nooj began to speak, but Gippal pressed on. "We're gonna dissolve the factions sometime soon anyway, right? 'All riding the ship together' and stuff. Right?"
The Mevyn seemed to consider. "Will Paine be going?"
"But of course! We're all going. The Crimson Squad, reunited... perfect, yeah?" He propped his feet up on the desk, then quickly dropped them back to the floor upon seeing Nooj's expression. Gippal heard Baralai snickering behind him, and made a mental note to glare at him later.
"Why isn't she here?"
Gippal grinned. "It's 'cause we haven't asked her yet."
"You're that sure she'll be willing to go?" asked Nooj.
"Hey, who can resist my incredible charm?" Gippal winked and stood, swaggering over to the other side of the desk. "Yeah, she'll go. And so will you..." throwing his arm across Nooj's shoulders and pausing dramatically... "Noojie-Woojie."
"This is your idea of persuasion?" asked Baralai, amused.
"Well, I don't exactly see him leaping at the opportunity. Seduction is the only weapon I have, eh, Noojie?" He paused. "That, and my rocket-launcher-machina gun. D'you think that'd be more effective?"
"I do not -" began Nooj, but once again Gippal cut him off.
"Say, it might be a pretty dangerous journey, Noojie-boy. You might even die. That interest you?"
Nooj chose to ignore that. "What will our transport be?"
"'Our'?" He grinned triumphantly. "You're coming? Great! Thought I might have to sleep with you or something before you finally gave in -"
"I'm not promising anything. What's our transport?"
Gippal smiled sheepishly, letting go and retreating to his side of the desk. "Yeah, that. Um... hey, how about we walk? Bet you could use the exercise, right, Noojster?"
"We have no transport." It wasn't a question. "The remaining Crimson Spheres could be anywhere on Spira, and you suggest that we walk?"
"...yeah..." he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head, "...kinda..."
"I think he might actually persuade me not to go," Baralai whispered to Gippal. "I'm not entirely sure that that was your intention."
"Okay then, Noojie," said the Al Bhed, trying to ignore Baralai's close proximity. "What's your brilliant idea?"
"I have no responsibility in this. It's your plan. But if you get some transport and persuade Paine to join you, I might be willing to come along. I still can't promise anything, though."
"Fine. Um... we can persuade Paine, we'll manage that. And then we can... uh..." A flash of inspiration hit him, and he grinned widely. "We can borrow the Celsius!"
Baralai tilted his head, frowning a little. "Gippal... can't you see anything wrong with that plan?"
"What are you talking about? It's perfect! How dare you doubt my perfect plan?" he cried overdramatically, before becoming more serious. "Brother hates me, doesn't he?"
"Well... in all honesty, even if he doesn't, most people won't just lend you an airship."
"I helped design that airship! Surely they owe me something!"
"Why don't you get your workers to build a new one?"
"Because," he said wearily, "it will take years. And I really don't want to wait that long."
Baralai nodded thoughtfully. "Point taken."
"I guess we'll go see Paine, then. We can sort out the transport later. Seeya, Noojie."
"Good luck," responded Nooj, sounding almost amused.
"So... explain to me again why I should come?"
"It'll be fun! And you'll get to watch all those recordings of our journey!"
"...that I recorded. And so I know exactly what is on all of them."
"Well, the 'it'll be fun' still stands."
"Which part is the fun part?" asked Paine, leaning back on the metal wall of the cabin. The two of them had picked up a functional CommSphere from the Mi'ihen Highroad, and used it to call the Celsius. Although Gippal hated to admit it, he had no choice but to admire Shinra. The kid could make some truly brilliant things.
"C'mon! You, me, B and Noojie? It'll be just like the old times!"
"Don't call him that. Please. One LeBlanc is bad enough." She paused, glancing around the cabin. "Where is Nooj, anyway?"
"Oh, he's already coming," lied Gippal smoothly. "He just had to take care of some stuff at the YL before he left."
"So, you three are all going. Nice. But I still don't see why I should come."
"Okay then," began Gippal. "Picture the scene. Gippal, Baralai and Noojie-Woojie are on a sphere hunt. Lo and behold, we see a sphere! ...but it is guarded by an indescribably huge and hideous monster. To attack it would obviously be suicide. Paine points this out, as she always does – but what's this? She refused to come with us? Too blinded by greed and adrenaline to realise the danger and without our 'Voice of Reason', the three of us rush to engage the beast in combat..."
Paine almost flinched. "Surely you would realise that it was suicide, Baralai? You're the most sensible of them when it comes to these things."
Baralai shrugged. "I don't know... I was foolish enough to attack the Gullwings..." he reminded her. She pressed a hand to her forehead, shaking her head in an overdramatic display of exasperation.
"It was to keep us from Vegnagun. You thought that you had no choice."
Gippal leapt back into the conversation at this opportunity. "So he thinks that there's no choice here! It's hard to think clearly when you're in combat, but I know you can do it. Besides, you're the most experienced fighter out of all of us, now."
She folded her arms, tilting her head slightly and considering. "...Okay, I'll go with you. If only to make sure that you don't do anything stupid."
"Knew you'd come around," said Gippal cheerfully, patting her on the back. "Oh, and one more thing..."
"What is it?"
"Can we borrow the Celsius?"
"What?"
He grinned. "Yeah, we're kind of short on transport. We'll need the airship."
Paine stared at him. "Gippal... Rikku and Buddy have nowhere else to live. And Brother won't let anyone else fly it."
For a moment Gippal seemed thrown by this, but then he recovered. "So they can stay! I can't read sphere waves, anyway. It'll be useful to have someone here who can." He hesitated, looking at Baralai. "I... know you were meant to be our navigator, Baralai. I'm sorry." Then he brightened. "But hey, our pilot's missing out on her job too, and you can always just relax in the cabin when I'm screaming at the engines. Right?"
She still looked doubtful. "Well, if you can persuade Brother to let you stay here... I guess we could use the Celsius."
"That's great! See, B, I told you it'd be okay!"
"You don't know that," Baralai pointed out mildly. "You haven't spoken to Brother yet. And Nooj may still not want to come."
Gippal smirked at him. "Oh, I'll win. Believe me, Baralai... I always win."
The arrival of the Celsius at Mushroom Rock was... unexpected, to say the least.
The Meyvn had been on his way to check Yaibal's progress on the ravine when he felt the blast of air. He looked up and watched in disbelief as the impossibly large crimson airship came soaring over the rocky walls, the downdraft from it blasting dust off the path and into the sky.
He was surprised enough before he saw a familiar figure balanced precariously on the side, holding onto a piece of metal that jutted out of the main body and waving at him vigorously. Squinting through the rock dust, Nooj discerned the figures of Baralai and Paine half-crouching on the deck behind him.
Gippal seemed to be yelling something, but Nooj was unable to make it out over the roar of the engines. Seeming to realise this, the Al Bhed man made a series of complicated hand gestures intended to convey that they had acquired both Paine and transport, and almost fell off the Celsius as a result. Baralai and Paine, who seemed to have been expecting something like this, managed to catch his arms and haul him back up onto the deck.
Realising that they were going to land, Nooj pressed himself against the side of the Road and watched the airship as it came to rest. Gippal leapt off the deck and landed neatly in front of him, grinning like a maniac.
"So, you coming?"
"I thought that he had already persuaded Nooj to come with us," murmured Paine, frowning slightly as she watched the discussion – Nooj's quiet responses, Gippal's bribery, flattery and outright begging – play out before them.
Baralai smiled to himself. "I thought you knew better than to trust Gippal on this."
She laughed softly. "Point taken. Seems to be good at getting what he wants, doesn't he?" she observed, noting that Nooj seemed to be weakening in the face of so much determination and energy.
"Yeah, I guess..." Baralai murmured, leaning against the outside of the lift. "You can tell that Nooj really wants to go, though. What I don't understand is how he managed to convince Brother. What happened there?"
Paine smirked. "You really should have seen it. In the end, Gippal agreed to maintain the engines, clean the Celsius twice a month and act as Yuna's bodyguard whenever she goes anywhere dangerous. Not that she needs one, but Brother seems to find that difficult to comprehend."
He laughed and turned back to watch Gippal's enthusiastic attempts at persuasion. "He must really want to find those spheres."
Watching the outcome of the 'dramatic entrance' that the Al Bhed had spent so long planning, Baralai came to the conclusion that Gippal in his regular state was bad enough...
...but a triumphant Gippal – a triumphant Gippal with a project – was nothing short of terrifying.