"How is she?" Yuna and Tidus walked up to the bed where Gippal carried Rikku and where he stayed the whole two hours she had been out.
"She'll physically be alright. That sphere was pretty hard for her to see." Gippal muttered, smoothing the golden stands of hair from her face. "I'm sure she'll tell you more when she wakes up." He turned around to the others and placed his hands on his legs. "Shinra find out anything?"
Tidus put a hand on his hip and shook his head. "He has no idea. That's weird, I thought Auron was dead."
Yuna sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, heavy in thought. "He is...or was. Does this mean he isn't? I don't think the dead can be beaten up like that. I sent him."
"Farplane..." Rikku's voice made the others jump and turn their heads to her. She had woken up to hear the conversation, and she tried to sit up before Gippal stopped her.
"Take it easy." He let out a small laugh of relief. Rikku gave him a look and sat up, rubbing the back of her head.
"I'm alright." She gave a small smile to Gippal and looked at Yuna and Tidus. "I'm guessing... it wasn't a nightmare after all." She sighed and frowned.
"What did you mean about the Farplane?" Yuna went to her cousin's side and squatted down next to the bed.
"Well, we should stop by the farplane to see if he's really dead, right? If he is, the pyreflies will show up and confirm that. If they do, that...sphere," she spat out the word like it was the most cursed and vile thing in the word, "can't be real, right?"
Yuna pursed her lips in thought and stood up. "I'll go ask Shinra about it and we'll head right over." She patted Rikku's shoulder and gave her an 'you-better-tell-me-what-that-was-about-later' look and she and Tidus left.
Gippal stood and moved over to the foot of the bed where he took his seat. Before he could ask her about how she was, she shook her head and held up an hand.
"I'm fine. I just want to know what that was about." She looked over to the stairs where Yuna and Tidus left and then back to Gippal. "That sphere was real, and recent. Something...something in me knows. He's alive, not dead or unsent, but alive, and he's in danger."
"But what about the trip to the farplane?" Gippal asked.
"I think that's where he is. I don't know how I know this, but I do." With a long sigh, she flopped down on the bed and sniffed gently, tears building back up. "Guess I looked like a spaz back there, huh?"
Gippal frowned as he looked down at her. "You know that's not true. We were all worried about you." He placed a hand on hers and gave her a half-smile. "But I think they want to know what's up, you weren't very subtle about it."
He made her laugh before she nodded. "I should." Sighing, she stood up and felt the celsius shake from under her. "I guess they are taking my suggestion."
Tidus, Yuna, and Paine came up to the loft and confirmed they were heading to the Farplane and when Yuna gave that look to Rikku again, the girl Al Bhed spilled the beans. She apologized for not telling anyone sooner because of what they would think, but Yuna simply smiled and told her she had nothing to worry about.
"Ooooh, you had a crush on Auron?" Tidus smiled wide and laughed. Rikku threw a pillow at his head, which connected. "So, what if he's not in the Farplane?"
"I think he might be." Rikku looked at them all and slightly blushed. "I don't know how I know, but... I think he's hidden somewhere and something really bad is going on."
It was Yuna's turn to get worried as she sat opposite of Gippal on the bed at Rikku's feet. "You...you don't think he's dead, do you." It wasn't a question, but Rikku nodded anyway. "To be honest, I don't think he is either. And that sphere was never there before. I wonder if someone left it for us?"
Rikku shrugged. "I don't know."
"What if it's a trap?" Paine spoke up from behind the four around the bed.
"It's not. It's a real sphere." A muffled voice made them all turn to the stairs and seen Shinra standing at the landing. "I went over it many times and it's as real as can be. I also think it was made in the Farplane."
"Beat you to that." Rikku made a smug kind of smile just as the ship came to a stop. "Looks like we are at Guadosalam." Rikku sat up from the bed and swung her feet to the floor.
"You alright?" Gippal stood with her and tilted his head to the side.
"You betcha!" She raised a hand in the air and brought it down into a fist. "And I'm ready to find out what's going on, too!"
"That's my girl." Gippal chuckled and nodded his head as everyone headed down and out of the ship.
"Hello, loves!" Upon heading into Guadosalam, the five friends ran into LeBlanc and Nooj who were emerging from her house. "What do we owe the pleasure?"
"Heading into the Farplane." Gippal explained and nodded tword Nooj. "Hey Nooj."
Nooj did the same kind of half-nod. "Gippal."
Rikku stepped forward, breaking up the meeting of the Crimson Squad boys. "Has anything weird been happening around the Farplane entrance?" She asked LeBlanc who looked confused for a minute.
"The... Hm." The tall blonde woman put a finger to her chin and thought. "Now that you mention it, one of the guards said they seen some weird lights coming from inside a few nights ago."
"No one came in or out?" It was Yuna's turn for a question and LeBlanc turned her head to her.
"Nope. I have people watching it day and night." She waved her hand as if that settled the matter. Rikku moved back behind Tidus and Paine and began to look around. Yuna noted what she was up to and kept LeBlanc's attention diverted. "Well, I'm sure you have things pretty tight around here. Tell us about the lights?"
"They just said... Ahem. What's this about anyway?" LeBlanc crossed her arms under her half-exposed chest and gave them all a suspicious look.
Gippal looked to Nooj for some help, but the machina-fused man looked as interested as his girlfriend. "Erm, well. It's kinda hard to say..." One of his hands reached behind his head and rubbed at the stands of blonde.
Rikku appeared behind Gippal and waved to LeBlanc. "Hey, don't worry about it! Anyway, we are just going to see a few people, you guys have fun. Come on." She hissed at the group as they began to head up the ramp that lead to the Farplane. They passed two guards who waved to them, as they headed up the stairs.
"What did you find out?" Yuna turned to Rikku who had a had a devilish smirk on her lips.
"Turns out LeBlanc only thinks people guard it all the time. When she turns in, most of the guards fall asleep on watch or go off to do something else. The guard I talked to, of course, said he never did this but others have."
"So someone could have came out to deliver the sphere..." Tidus wondered out loud as the team made their way up the stairs.
"What about the holes Vegnagun made?" Paine looked to Yuna who stopped in her tracks causing Tidus to nearly crash into her.
"I didn't think about them." She admitted.
"I don't know about the one in Bevelle, but I know the others are being filled up as we speak." Gippal stood in front of them all and turned around. "You know Baralai and Bevelle. Still all secretes. He said he'd have his own team work on filling up the one beneath there. I have some Machine Faction members working on the others. And they aren't running off at night and making sure no one would come in and out of them."
Rikku placed her hands on her head and shook it. "Ahhh! Let's just see if he's in there first." She pointed to the Farplane, but no one moved. "What?"
"Maybe you should go alone?" Yuna suggested, her one shoulder shrugging.
The color left Rikku's face. "But... I..." She stuttered and turned to look at the entrance. "Oh, come on!" She pouted and looked around at the serious faces. "What if something happens to me?"
"She's right, let's go." That was all Gippal needed to hear and was closing in on the entrance, the others close by.
As the five of them stepped into the floating platform, millions of pyreflies dance around, causing the place to light up in a brilliant illuminance. Rikku shivered a bit, but her curiosity overrode her fear. She stepped close to the side and closed her eyes, thinking about Auron. When she opened them, "Nothing."
Tidus walked up next to her with a frown. "Hm." Closing his own eyes, Rikku looked around but didn't see anyone. "Hey... What's going on?"
"Who were you thinking about?" Rikku timidly asked, looking around still.
"My old man." Tidus turned to Yuna. "Try thinking about your parents."
Yuna walked over to the two and shook her head. "I tried, and I got nothing."
Scoffing out, Tidus waved his hands between the sea of floating pyreflies. "What, are they broken or something?"
"Something is obviously going on." Gippal walked over to them, hands on his hips. "Not that I know much about the Farplane or anything, being an Al Bhed, but I do know that they don't break."
Paine finally joined the others, her face set in determination. "We have to go inside."
"The Farplane?" Rikku squeaked, clasping her hands together in front of her chest. "Are you sure?"
Sighing loudly, Paine marched right up to Rikku. "Listen, if you care so much about Auron, you wouldn't be worried about this. You'd do everything you can to help him. You aren't a child, Rikku." Placing her gloved hands on Rikku's bare shoulders, the Al Bhed stood up to full height.
"You're right!" Turning around she glared into the sea of floating lights and frowned. "And nothing is going to stop me!"
"Seems we have some problems."
"Who, them? Don't make me laugh."
"Don't be so cocky. They are strong. They could ruin our plans."
"We will stop them. We were weak before."
"This is true. But you must understand we can't take them lightly."
"I understand."
"Where are you going?"
"To make plans, of course! We are having company after all."