Hello everybody! I apologize for the long time it took me to update but I've been really busy with exams and stuff for school. But now since my concert is over and school's out, I'll have more time to update!! If Aeris doesn't hog the computer for printing out pictures of Cloud again... Okay before I start the fic, you guys just...rock! Thank you sooo much for the lovely reviews I knew I wouldn't be here without them. Thank you so much!

Aromatherapy

You got the message! Good I'm glad when people get what I'm trying to do. Keep reading!

Kate Willows

Thanks aroma! Tee hee! Yay! Someone else likes this couple too! I'm glad because I've decided to make a little twist in couples that will make a lot of people hate my guts.

Kate Willows

Gippal/Rikku so far is my most popular couple! == Don't worry Yushin will come...

SpHeRe HuNtEr RiKkU

Rikku. You are far too good at guessing things. Do you know that? It was obvious though so I don't blame you at all for thinking that. No I do not want to see Nooj when he's angry...heheh...

Yu Yu: I'll beat 'im to a pulp if he touches Shuyin or me!

Charmed Amber

Don't we all? The problem is this thing I call writers block.

Rinoa21

Rinoa is great! Okay so thank you very much for the kind comment.

shadowneko003

I appreciate your support! And here's the next chapter!

Okay so here's the part where everyone throws tomatoes at me for my stupid idea that I got from my stupid friend Milly. Sorry Mills, you were being too Ichigo-ish.

Anyhow, she said that I should make this fic more of a triangle one than before. She gave me a ton of couples that I really thought was...strange and in the end I picked the ones that were semi-normal. The show will go on! Oh and yes I know this chapter is...short. VERY short. I did it to tick you off. Not.


,,,,,,,,

Yuna/Tidus

Yuna/Shuyin

Shuyin/Lenne

Lenne/Tidus

Gippal/Rikku

Baralai/Paine

(See what I mean? hides from the tomatoes)

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Eternal Rhapsody

Chapter Four: Discovery One, Two, Three. Check!

::::::::::::::::::::::::

Perplexed blue optics followed the timorous woman outside the tent, not withdrawing it's sturdy gaze until she wound her up the mountain path.

Heaving a solicitous sigh, Tidus' subconsciously ran his fingers along the asymmetrical bedding with no intention of confiding in the two men before him. A thick and unnerving silence fell over the unpretentious hut welcoming the awkward moment with open arms. Disturbed by the uneasy radiation each was creating, Baralai was the first to break the unuttered calm.

"She'll be fine." The white haired praetor spoke, nodding in assurance. "She just needs time, I am not sure what actually happened to her after all."

Generating a solacing smile that he had been known to create for years, the kinder half of the tag team whittled Tidus' shoulder. I guess you could say Baralai was delighted that the High Summoner had found a petitioner like Tidus. He was a respectable young man in the twenty one year olds eyes and could surely be trusted with even the most antecedent secret. It was hard to find qualities like so in people nowadays, for society had become nodular and insufficient.

Shaking his head clear of the irrelevant thoughts that had begun to linger within his mind, the praetor chuckled at his moment and stood from his perch on the cot.

"She's a strange one, but she isn't completely warped." Nooj murmured, hobbling rhythmically out of the housing.

Tidus chuckled. "Thanks! I think..." In the year he had been back in Spira, his home, he had come to find that Nooj and Baralai were among the most confusing people he had ever met in his life. Often their inscrutable conversations would catch him off guard, so while the remainder of the group was laughing over something exceedingly funny he was sitting there with a confused expression.

"He means well." Baralai assured, bowing before Tidus in a Yevonite fashion before exiting.

"I need a vacation." Tidus muttered coldly.

Flopping down inattentively, Tidus' thought returned to wondering the endless plains of his memories that were somewhat foggy now. Considerably, rest wasn't an unreasonable option nor was going out after Yuna. But she could be trusted; she wasn't a little girl anymore. Yuna wasn't the selfless summoner who led a life of solitary existence; she was still selfless but not completely without help. After all, instead of getting kidnapped by Al Bhed this time around she'd be arranging a meeting with her pistol for them.

His assiduous and extremely restless nature was beginning to surface as he pulled himself back into an upright position with a sliver of light dancing within his eyes. Their clouded gaze drifted mindlessly to a pile of packages that were boarded up by the western wall of the hut.

Allowing a malignant smirk to play across his features, the blond lowered himself off the bed and crawled over to the accumulation.

"Rikku's presents, eh?" he pondered, lifting one of the boxes up and shaking it. "Heheheh...blondie's gonna have to wait for these."

Just as Tidus was about jam them into the crappy mess that was Yuna and his bed, the underside anyway, a startling squeak broke him from his 'concentration'.

Jumping approximately five feet in the air because of sudden surprise, his head whipped around so fast whiplash seemed reasonable. His muscles relaxed when he came to find the abrupt beeping was nothing more than Yuna's communicator. Furrowing his brow, interest crawled over him therefore leading to the investigation of the device.

Poking it to make sure it was all right, he snatched it off the side-table and pressed the small button on the side. A shrill metallic sound was the response he got, as a flame appeared visible on the miniature sphere screen. The image changed to the face of a familiar Al Bhed with a frazzled look upon his face.

"Uh..." Tidus uttered, blinking with confusion. "Brother...?"

Brother wrinkled his nose in unadulterated disgust at the sight of the Blitzball player.

"Fryd dra ramm?! Frana ec Oihy? Fryd ryja oui tuha fedr ran oui pycdy -" [ What the hell?! Where is Yuna? What have you done with her you basta-]

Before the infuriated Al Bhed could finish his insult, an Al Bhed with glasses came up behind him and forcefully sunk his fist into his skull, sending Brother plummeting to the ground.

Shaking his head in dismay, the goggle bearing Al Bhed managed to slip in a grin. "Buddy to the rescue," he said hotly. "Sorry about that bud."

"Uh..." Tidus murmured again, not quite sure what had happened. "What?"

"Never mind. Didn't call to chat anyway. Where's Yuna?"

Tidus paused and thought about it for minute. Should he tell them about Yuna's sudden impulses, or would she rather him keep it a secret.

{ I suggest you keep this a secret young man. There will be consequences if this gets out. }

He froze.

Who was that? Was he talking to himself, or was it all in his mind. Whatever it was hadn't shaken him too much; he had convinced himself that it was an illusion and no more. Still, the hoarse and almost strained female voice racked throughout his mind in a repetitive manner that refused to stop. Grunting out of annoyance, he grabbed the communicator and flopped stomach-down on the bed with it.

"She's out. Why you askin'?" he inquired, quirking a suspicious eyebrow.

"We've been getting some off frequency waves from all over Spira. The center spots being Zanarkand, Guadosalam, Besaid, and Bevelle."

Rolling his eyes, Tidus looked back down at the screen and shrugged. Was it humanly possible for them to get a month's worth of piece without being bothered about things such as disturbances and robberies? They had done enough for Spira, yet the world still asked more of them. Sometimes he wondered how they put up with all the stress of having the burden of Spira on their shoulders. Rikku, Paine, Baralai, Gippal, and Nooj along with Yuna had all done their fare share for this world.

Yuna would be upset about his careless decision, but something told him to listen to the voice and not say anymore. Though in the end it was more of his stubborn person that got the best of him and told him not to stay on the subject for much longer.

"So what? I'll tell Yuna when she gets back, nothin' to worry about. Right?"

"Well actually there's one more thing I forgot to tell you..."

"Right! That's what I thought, later!"

"No Tidus wait! I forgot to tell you the S-"

beep

Nodding with approval at his decision, he tossed the communicator in the air and caught it with no effort at all. As he was about to set it back down on the desk, he caught wind of something beeping on the lower half of the screen.

Over-looking it quickly he made a face and re-read it out loud. It had been in ancient Spirian, a class she had taken in his years as a high school student in Zanarkand. Luckily, he still remembered how to read it. "Eastern Hallway. Front Panel. Fifth tower from the right? What the...?"

It sounded familiar, but he couldn't place why or how. Perhaps it was just a glitch, the message was hardly visible anyway because it was weaved in with the excess static.

"It's from Bevelle," He pointed out to no one in particular, looking briefly at the returning address. Shrugging it off, he clicked the small piece of machina so it flashed off and retreated to sleep. "I need more than a vacation now..."

{ Good night, sleep tight. Don't let my Pyreflies bite...}

::::::::

Hoping various rocks to get to Rikku, Gippal swerved his way along the tedious shoreline of the island. With his clothing damp from the water and the darkened clouds looming overhead, a chilling sensation ripped through his body. Shivering, he approached the blond who seemed to be in a state of mild shock.

"What's up Cid's girl?" he asked cheerfully, jumping up behind her.

She didn't reply.

Rikku's blond tendrils of hair whipped her face violently as an approaching storm reared its wind upwards ready to strike, her multiple braids clinking wildly against each other. But she didn't move.

Gippal edged towards her, carefully as if not to disturb a gentle slumber. His swirled green gaze drifted cautiously in the direction that the female Al Bhed had been starring into. His revealed orb widened in surprise at the sight that lay before him.

A darkened cave that tucked itself under the overhead cliff lay in front of them, vines intertwined along the rocky outside with overgrown flowers. Within the cave the faintest speck of light could be traced from the luminescent Pyreflies that littered the floor, dancing about the gaping whole that dug its way into the ground. A low growling sound emitted from the gorge, reaching its dangerous claws out like a hungry shadow.

"What is that?" Gippal uttered, now in the same state of wonder as Rikku with the same expressionless look.

"I'm not sure..." Rikku replied in a dull monotone, shifting her balance way out of character so that she was more calm than normal.

Stepping into the cave, Rikku apprehensively advanced towards the mysterious bowl in he ground. Gippal stumbled after her, losing his balance on an 'invisible' rock and tearing his way into a boulder. Rikku ignored Gippal's fall and peered over the side of the racked up dirt and down into the abyss.

"Gippy come here quick!" Rikku cried, her energy resumed it's flowing through her veins as she jumped up into the air and waved her hands.

"Ugh Cid's girl..." he started, but Rikku stamped her foot and scowled. "Fine, fine, fine."

"Shut up Gippal and look at that!"

He followed her orders and reluctantly looked downwards to see absolutely nothing. Pyreflies stretched themselves across the space into an endless oblivion, dancing softly then disappearing into nothingness. Gippal furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as to what had the Al Bhed so excited, even though it wasRikku he was still a bit puzzled.

"What? There's nothing there genius,"he snapped coldly, even impatience within his voice.

"Exactly!" Rikku exclaimed, jumping up again and bursting into a fit of giggles.

"Look Rikku," he started, clenching his fists. There were times when he wanted her so badly, and times where she could be dangerously annoying. "Unless you can see more than I because of this patch, you're insane!"

"Oh Gippy you only wear that because it makes you look cool. You could use the other one if you wanted to. And that's not what I'm talking about! There is nothing there! Don't you get it?"

Gippal blinked. "No."

"Remember that hole in Bevelle that Vegnagun made, and the ones Yunie's Aeons made after we defeated them?"

"Yeah, what's you're point?" The leader of the machine faction grumbled, folding his arms across his chest. "Seriously Cid's girl you're usually not this blind..."

"GIPPAL! I'm serious! This hole looks just like those ones, don't they? The large holey, the scary Pyreflies, and it just does!" she exclaimed, clapping her gloved hands. "But what is it doing here...?"

Gippal rolled his eye as her halcyon optics gained their dilated thinking look, following up with Rikku putting a finger to her chin. "Cid's girl this is insane! How could this hole be like the others? They lead to the Farplane, this doesn't."

"Or does it..." Rikku trailed off, looking up at the rocky cave ceiling. "Wanna check it out? It'll be fun, I'll even go get Yunie!"

"No, no, Rikku listen." As he spoke her name she looked up, her arms dangling lazily at her sides again with her innocent appearance. Her disappointment was evident within her pouty pink lips and the way she twisted her hands nervously gave it away. Gippal felt the emotion dam within him break as he gave in to her secret yearning. "It'll be safer if we drop a commsphere in and watch it from the ship."

"Yippee!" she cried, dancing around in a semi-circle. "Thankies Gippal!" She danced over to the dumfounded Al Bhed and abruptly threw her arms around his neck in an awkward hug.

After digging in her side-pack for a few moments, she retreated and went back to the hole. Pulling a small blue device from her miscellaneous rummage, she held it up and grinned.

"Shinra's new model of the commsphere! Lighter, smaller, and so much easier to install." She giggled in a tone worthy of a Lucan salesperson, shouting their way into getting customers.

Standing on the tips of her boot clad toes, she carelessly tossed the machina into the void and listened for the 'clank' of it's landing. When she heard none her smile brightened and her movement became more rapid as she scuttled out past Gippal and back towards the airship.

"What a freak." Was all Gippal could say.

::::

The metallic sound of machina releasing its inner heat ranked through Rikku's mind after she slid her cardkey into the crevasse between two security padlocks. The blinding lights that shone down from the interior of the massive ship, Celsius, cast their fluent light upon both Al Bhed standing on the metal ramp.

Beaming, Rikku sprinted up the ramp and down the lengthy hallway into the elevator with Gippal in slow pursuit. Tapping the login panel with haste configured impatience arising within her carefree spirit; her temperamental side grew stronger.

"Hurry up dumbass!" she demanded, banging her foot against the steel walls of the elevator as Gippal trudged half-heartedly towards her.

"Coming bitch." He retorted with his own turn at profanity. Beneath his rough features was a blush that he couldn't risk letting out. Rikku chuckled in false mockery at his pathetic attempt of an insult, slamming her fist on the glowing symbol for bridge as he entered.

Skipping into the chilled area that the sphere chasing syndicate operated their main commands, Rikku darted over to Shinra's chair that he had forbid anyone else to sit upon. Breaking the child's satirical rule, she climbed into the cushioned seat and furiously began typing away at the computer.

The airship had been deserted since Shinra, Buddy, and Brother had just recently gone on a mission of their own: piloting a mini-pod and flying to Zanarkand-their search for the spot of the disordered frequency waves. Even so Rikku's delirium increased and she soon began to look hesitantly around the area as if hidden shadows were waiting to strike the young woman.

"Cid's girl, breath. It'll help." Gippal advised with annoyance, rubbing his temples slowly. "Are you sure this will work, it is a new invention after all."

Rikku was silent for a few moments as she continued scanning her thin fingers across decumbent keys, punching in different codes to install the commsphere. Suddenly her urgent typing subsided and the bridge became silent.

"What happened? Don't tell me you actually listened to my advice and opened your mouth for air. At least you didn't open it to talk..." Gippal ran on, placing his hands on the railing of the stairs.

"No. I'm not that insane." She murmured without looking up from the luminescent blue screen. "But I think you better come look at this too, and faster this time."

Gippal quirked a delicate eyebrow with interest and straddled over to her, leaning on the chair's back he quickly ran his gaze over the screen and looked over what they were both viewing. Finally after about a minute, the blond was able to speak about this new discovery that was greater than that of the hole in the cave.

"Oh my bloody Yevon."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Well that was a short chapter that kind of focused on the two Al Bhed that everyone loves. huggles Rikku plushie Hope you liked it even though the length wasn't very satisfying, the next update WILL be longer I can assure you. Please read and review!!

Songstress/Lady Yuna