IndigoFaery: Thanks! You are correct by the way, with your guess.

me.: I don't know who Emma is, but the guess you stuck with is correct. Thank you for the review!

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Silence greeted Gippal as the young machina-savvy man awoke in his bed. His room was located in the D'jose temple, since most of his Machine Faction work was at the temple. He had started to miss the atmosphere of Bikanel desert, but at least it wasn't as hot along the D'jose Highroad.

Gippal still slept with his shirt off though. But there was already sweat rolling down his face and chest. He was worried for Rikku.

Only a night ago had they been getting close. Ever since Rikku had started doing daily visits to the temple, things had started to get nice. Gippal knew it would take a lot to get Rikku when all she did was get mad at him for teasing her. But the young Machine Faction leader was attracted to Cid's girl, and he hoped that she had the same feelings for him.

Gippal exited his room and walked past the statues of the D'jose temple, making his way to the outside.

It was little cooler since it was still morning, and it helped Gippal cool off. But what he wanted to do was search. Ever since Rikku had left so urgently, her absence had failed to leave his mind. He wanted to go see Yuna. Maybe she would know why Rikku had left so uneasily.
So it's off to Besaid then. I always have preferred that tropical atmosphere to this one. Gippal sighed and stretched, flexing his muscles. The area in front of him was pretty empty. Only a few machina and workers were around, so Gippal decided to take his leave early. With the transportation he had, he'd be at Besaid in know time. He just hoped that there would be some answers.

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By noon, the dirty blonde leader was standing on the soft sand of Besaid Island. Have decided to stick to less since it was always hot on the island, Gippal wore a loose, pale gray muscle shirt with large sleeve holes, and black trousers. His tanned skin glinted off the sunlight, as he started toward the village.

Gippal moved along the path, crossing over the bridge next to the waterfall. Then he reached the high hill with different paths. He took a downward path, and found himself standing at the center of the village.

Not much had change in the Besaid village, but then again, last time Gippal had trekked through the island had been almost two years ago.

A few people were moving about, but Gippal recognized none of them. He knew Yuna, and could recognize the Zanarkand blitzer who was so fond of Yuna. Rikku had also mentioned the woman in black, Lulu, and the ex- captain of the Besaid Aurochs, Wakka. Everyone else he did not know.

After a few minutes, Gippal began to notice how tired or anxious everyone looked. It was like something bad had happened.

Finally, an orangish redhead man came into view. Judging by the outfit, Gippal recognized Wakka.

"Hey, Wakka!" Gippal called, unsure what exactly to talk to him about. He'd only spoken to the new father, but he at least knew him from blitzball. Wakka turned to see who had called, and by his expression, Gippal was relived that the ex-captain recognized him.

"Hey, you that Machine Faction leader! Gippal, ya?" He asked with his heavy accent.

"Right, that's me. I came looking for Yuna. Do you know where she is? I wanted to ask her something about Rikku." Gippal stopped when he noticed Wakka's distressed look.

"Yuna's gone. Kidnapped! That's what Tidus said. He said they were attacked. And Lulu's gone too. I wale up on day, ya, and she's gone. No word. Five days ago she disappeared." Wakka stated sadly.

"When was Yuna kidnapped?" Gippal asked curiously.

"Last night, ya? Tidus is still recovering from the attack." The ex-captain answered. A connection suddenly became apparent to Gippal.

"Rikku ran off last night, too! That's why I wanted to talk to Yuna. Rikku just left without explanation, and I'm worried about her." Gippal watched as Wakka became worried to.

"This must be a connection. I say we wait for Tidus to get back on his feet and then start lookin' for da girls." Wakka suggested quickly, making his way back to a tent.

Gippal waited outside, contemplating whether or not to call Paine and see if she had heard from Rikku. Maybe she could even get Baralai or Nooj to help too. Although Gippal didn't expect Rikku had told anyone before she had left where she was going. But at least with a bigger search party, it'd better chances of finding, Rikku, Yuna, and Lulu. Things were starting to come together, so Gippal decided to contact Paine. There was defiantly a connection between all these events.

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Ten minutes later, Tidus came out with Wakka right behind him. The two men nodded at Gippal, as Wakka had already briefed Tidus on the situation. Gippal noticed that Tidus' usual battle outfit had changed. Instead of the yellow-white-black assorted blitzball uniform, Tidus had a black sleeveless jacket that was left open. Beneath that he had a pale blue, tight tank top. He also wore dark gray shorts with lots of pockets and a length that reached down to his shins. The boots were the same, the gloves were the same, and he also had the chain necklace that he was so fond of. It hung on the bare part of his tanned chest and tucked into his tank top slightly.

Wakka also had something a different battle uniform, other than his blitzball outfit. He had a tight white tank top beneath a brown jacket with short sleeves that hung open but had four buckles going across his chest. The blitzer also had baggy brown pants and boots. A twirling blitzball rested on his finger although instead of the traditional white with blue, the blitzball was black with yellow.

The blitzball suddenly stopped twirling, and Wakka's gaze shifted past Gippal. Gippal turned around and faced a blue furred Ronso that stood tall and held a spear. But from what he could remember, Gippal considered this Ronso short compared to the other ones.

"Kimahri, what're you doing here?" Came Tidus' voice from behind Gippal.

"Kimahri know of trouble at hand. Ronso tribe uneasy, especially Garik. Kimahri find out that Garik is working for bad. Kimahri also saw Rikku on Mt. Gagazet." The giant fighter stated.

"Rikku, what was she doing at Mt. Gagazet?!" Gippal asked urgently. Kimahri looked down at him awkwardly, but answered anyways.

"Kimahri not know why Rikku trekking along sacred mountain. Kimahri saw her only short while ago. Rikku speak to Kimahri, but did not say what she was doing."

Gippal, Wakka, and Tidus nodded.

"Kimahri, will you help us find Rikku. See, Yuna has been kidnapped, and Lulu disappeared. We think maybe Rikku might be a connection." Tidus replied to the Ronso man. The Ronso growled angrily at the bad news, but he nodded in agreement quickly.

Gippal was glad that the Ronso was going to help, but if Rikku was connected, then that only made Gippal more worried, and more determined to find her, as well as figure out this mystery.

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A/N: Well, there it goes. This is just the start to a team forming, and another adventure beginning. Please review this chapter, tell me what you think. The more reviews I get the quicker I'll try to update. But I hope you enjoyed this chapter.