On the rare occasion that they got some rest, the world famous sphere hunters, the Gullwings, would enjoy a brief hiatus, and separate for some much needed R&R. On one occasion, in particular, a most remarkable thing happened. Usually, Yuna and Rikku traveled together, but this time, while the gang was settling high above Djose temple, Rikku asked to go out by herself. As soon as they had landed, Paine had disappeared,, Buddy had announced his intentions to stay on the ship, and Brother had left to see Nhadala. He went to see her a lot these days, but though Rikku loved few things more than speculating on other people's business, she just didn't feel up to it today. Yuna had commented on Rikku's...well, 'un-perky-ness' but had tried to not pry. Still, Rikku could tell, Yuna was intensely curious.
Rikku was very fond of Djose. It was close to the Bikanel Desert that reminded her of Home. And it was nice to see other Al Bhed. The Machine Faction still had a strong following here, despite the fact that (what Shinra called) the 'Gang Wars' were over.
Some things had changed since the last time she and the others had been here. There were some new shops and houses. More people walked the broken road and not all were Al Bhed.
Randomly choosing one of the new buildings, Rikku walked briskly in and searched her new surroundings. It seemed to be an eating establishment. People were quietly (or at least what passes for quiet for an Al Bhed) talking and eating (obviously not at the same time, although some individuals were making the attempt). Rikku didn't see anyone she knew but that didn't really surprise her. Moving through the crowd, making sure not to bump into tables or bodies, Rikku eventually made it to the bar. The man behind it was a dirty man, mustached, with a toothpick hanging out of his mouth. He reminded Rikku of her father, Cid. She screwed her face up a little, but decided that just because he looked like her Pop, didn't mean he was going to act like him...she hoped.
"What can I do for you?" the Barkeep asked, his voice gravelly but friendly.
"Um-"Rikku tried to do some quick calculations of what she wanted and how much gil she had, but she was interrupted when a body came up behind her and a familiar voice said:
"Hey! Cid's girl, right?"
Rikku spun around. It was Gippal. The leader of the Machine Faction stood there, looking as cocky and self-confident as ever. Having played this game before Rikku moaned, "Oh! I have a name, you know!" Gippal laughed. Rikku took a swipe at him, only half kidding. He just laughed some more.
"What are you doing here?" Rikku asked, starting to feel more than a little annoyed. Gippal caught his breath, but instead of answering, he moved past her and said to the Barkeep (who had watched this scene with some interest): "A drink for me and my friend here."
In record time, the Barkeep had prepared their drinks, and soon they were drinking from at least partially clean mugs. Rikku was for once at a loss for words, she honestly didn't know what to say. Luckily, Gippal wasn't the type to let most people get a word in edgewise. After he had finished this long speech (most of which Rikku spent staring at his hair) about the machinations (excuse the pun) of the Machine Faction, he finally got around to including her in the conversation.
"So, how are you and the others doing?" he asked, before taking another swig of his ale.
"Oh, their fine. Yuna is on the Celsius, I think she's recording a sphere. And I don't even know where Paine is." Rikku didn't want to talk about the others, especially Paine. Nothing against them, but-all right, admit it, she thought, you just don't want him interested in them.
"Did you really teach Paine Al Bhed?" she asked, trying to ignore the wheedling voice in her head.
"Sure," Gippal shrugged, "She was a pretty fast learner. Didn't take long for her to master it. Of, course," he suddenly became serious, "That was before the Accident."
Rikku knew what he was talking about. When Shuyin had taken control of Nooj, who in turn had shot his companions, including Paine. But even though that had been taken care of, the memory was obviously still tender with Gippal. Rikku shuddered involuntarily, remembering that short time Shuyin had possessed her, the horrible feeling of hate and despair. An uncomfortable silence followed. Rikku was going to excuse herself, when all of a sudden, a scream was heard outside the restaurant. Rikku glanced at Gippal, and with his silent affirmation, ran outside, him close behind her.
The victim (the girl screaming) was a young Al Bhed child, completely covered from head to foot in a sand colored outfit. She was bouncing up and down, pointing at something hidden in the shadows.
It was a fiend. Several fiends actually.
"Wha-what?" Rikku stammered. Gippal was already putting his giant gun together. Rikku didn't have fond memories of that weapon, but she was thankful he always kept it, at least in pieces, with him all the time. And she was glad she had brought her twin daggers with her.
"You ready for this?" Gippal asked.
"We're gonna wack you good!" Rikku yelled to the fiends in answer. The world shattered. Rikku and Gippal took turns causing damage, him shooting a powerful blast, which Rikku immediately followed up with two slashes of her daggers. They were completely surrounded, and these weren't your garden variety fiends. Two giant Flan Blancos, three killer hounds, a peregrine and three vespas. Rikku had no idea why there were so many fiends in Djose, but she wasn't feeling inclined to ask them. The Flan Blancos went down easily, despite their size they didn't take physical damage well. As the second one fell backwards, a wave of pyreflies rising from its now lifeless body, Rikku was already working on one of the hounds. But while she hit one, a second one jumped up behind her, and took a bite at her neck. She gasped in pain and felt like going berserk, but she could see Gippal was in worse condition. He had been shooting at the peregrine, since he could get to easier than she could, when one of the vespas had struck him with one of their poison needles. Rikku could almost swear she could see green bubbles floating around his head. Taking a final slash at the hound she had been parrying with, Rikku ran to her fallen...um, comrade-and pulled out an antidote (don't ask where it came from). Immediately, Gippal was back on his feet, and with a passion, Rikku hadn't expected, but probably should have, he dispatched all three vespas and the peregrine with a wicked combination shot. That just left two killer hounds. Working together, the two Al Bhed warriors (and I use the term loosely) provided a string of chain attacks, and when the last hound gave up the pyreflies, Rikku and Gippal were none the worse for wear. Actually, Rikku felt great. Sometimes, it seemed like she contributed the least the Gullwings, she was always getting knocked out, and so to know that she had taken on a whole bunch of fiends, without Yuna or Paine, albeit with help from Gippal (but they didn't need to know that, did they?), was exhilarating.
When the world went back to normal, Rikku plopped down on the ground, while she and Gippal tried to catch their breath. Then he started laughing. Rikku thought he was laughing at her, and she racked her brain, trying to think if she did something wrong.
"Not bad, little girl," Gippal said, the teasing note back in his voice. Rikku playfully punched him on the arm.
"Not too bad yourself, old man." Rikku felt better than she had in days.
They talked a little longer, comparing battle scars and war stories, while the sun sank low into the sky (although truth be told, it always looked dark in Djose). They laughed and joked, constantly berating each other, their sentences salted with Al Bhed. Finally, there was nothing left to say. Rikku knew, or at least figured, that Paine and Yuna were probably back by now, and might be worrying about her, but she didn't care. Gippal glanced at the evening sky.
"I gotta be going," he said, standing up from the rock they were resting on. Rikku tried to think of some way to stall him, but her mind was totally blank. That's what you get for being an airhead, she muttered inside her head.
"Maybe, I'll see you around," she said, helplessly. Gippal gave her a smile, a real smile, not just a cocky grin.
"Yeah, maybe," he agreed, and started to walk away. Rikku just stood there for a while, watching his retreating back, ready to move on herself, when suddenly he turned around and said:
"See you around...Rikku."
Rikku walked back tot he Celsius in a daze. He said my name...he said my name....the mantra went through her head, over and over. When she finally reached the airship, the first person she encountered was Brother.
"Rikku, where have you been?" he asked in Al Bhed. Rikku didn't even bother answering him. Yuna and Paine came out on the bridge at the same time.
"Rikku, where were you?" Yuna demanded, concern coating her voice. "We were so worried."
Paine was getting sick of the oblivious grin on Rikku's face. Walking up to her blonde friend, Paine looked down on her and tried to stare her down. But Rikku apparently didn't see her, despite the fact she was only inches away. Paine tapped her on the head...not very gently. Rikku snapped out of her fog.
"Hey, what was that for?" she cried, rubbing her throbbing cheek.
"I'm going to speak very slowly, so that you can understand. Where...were...you?"
"Oh...just-somewhere," Rikku answered vaguely. Then she walked up the stairs and off the bridge, still saying:
"He said my name...he said my name..."