Author's Note: Hello once again! For me, school's August 16th, so I'm going to try and get out at least another chapter before it starts...that's not too hard, actually. Thanks to my reviewers!

Royce – I'm glad you liked the ceremony. I like Baralai...but I can't get your shrine to open up sighs

Punkygal() – Jealousy will happen lots in this fic...the non-alcohol thing was Rikku's choice, I guess...besides, Leblanc's wedding reception will be a lot like Rikku's party, so I had to save some things or later...

Song of the update: Anna issho datta no ni – Gundam SEED – Seesaw

Disclaimer: Sure, I own Rikku, and Gippal, and Baralai, and everyone else in Spira. Spira is mine. MINE!!! Bwahahah! Um, hi Mr. Policeman...I was kidding. KIDDING! Heheheh...Mr. Nomura owns Spira, not me :D On to the fic!

When Paine woke up early the next morning, Rikku was already at her worktable, creating a machina. "What are you doing this early in the morning?" Paine asked. Rikku shrugged. "Couldn't sleep, so I started working on this machina." Paine walked around Yuna, and sat at an empty chair at the worktable. "Just started?" Paine asked as she examined the machina. It was in partly put-together pieces all over the table. Rikku shook her head. "No, I had it put together, but there was a major flaw, so now, I'm putting it back together.

"Ouch. Sounds annoying."

"Not really. I actually think it's kinda fun. It's like a big, complicated logic problem. I'll have it up and goin' by the time Yunie gets up!" She kept tinkering, wincing whenever sparks flew. Pretty soon, the machina had developed into something recognizable – a bird of some sort. Its eyes were camera lenses, and its wings were fixed so they actually flapped. Inside the wings themselves were a bunch of tiny Commspheres. The feet's specially placed toes could grab them and place them wherever they felt like putting them. Inside the body, above all of the circuitry, was a bunch of tiny compartments, full of tiny potions, ethers, and other restorative items. Paine looked at Rikku curiously. "Why are they so small?" Rikku looked down at it, then back up at Paine.

"There's a mini-beam in its beak...it shrinks items so they can fit inside the compartments. There're also some Alchemist items in there, but it's impossible to put 99 of each item in there. The sphere that the camera uses is in the head, and the tail acts as a rudder. The body has a screen that can replay the sphere, and watch the cameras." Paine was impressed. "Wow. That's really impressive." Rikku smiled at her praise. "Thanks. Also, it's voice-activated, and responds to people. It keeps track of who you are, and whether you're a friend of mine, or a fiend." Paine's eyes widened. "That's pretty sophisticated machina there." Rikku nodded. "I'm gonna go get it covered in a casing now, you can come with me if you want." She left the room, Paine and the bird flapping after her.

Gippal was walking by when he noticed Rikku with a machina bird flying behind her. "Whatcha got there, Cid's Girl?" Rikku glared at him playfully, then commanded the bird, "Land." It swooped down and landed in her arms. "COIBA – Camera Operation Itemfinder Mini-beam Avian. I built it this morning." Gippal stared at it. "Lemme take a look at that." Rikku nodded, telling the bird, "See Gippal." The bird hopped over to his outstretched hand, and he looked at it, analyzing it for five minutes.

Rikku smiled. "So, what do you think?" Gippal shook his head. "Flawed."

"Huh?"

"Well, you see, it's pretty sophisticated, but not necessarily without problems. For example, how in Spira are you going to get the sphere out of the bird? It's not going to last forever, you know. Same reason for the storage compartments. There's no way to get inside and remove them. What I'd say to do is put two sensors in that little bag you got yesterday – one for items, the other for empty spheres. That way, whenever they run out, the sensors will supply the bird with more, while switching out the old items. I can do that real quick, if you'd like." He was leaning against the wall, nonchalantly watching her. Rikku sighed. "All right...how long's it gonna take?"

"About five minutes. Wait here, and I'll upgrade it." He walked, off bird chirping in his arms. Rikku looked over at Paine. "Upgrade? He said he was going to fix it." Paine shrugged. "A different choice of words...probably meant nothing." Rikku sighed and leaned against the wall, arms crossed as she waited. Finally, five minutes later, Gippal reappeared. "Well?" Rikku asked as the bird hopped back into her hands. "Hello, Rikku." The bird said, in Gippal's voice. Rikku looked up at Gippal, uncomprehending. "What did you do?"

Gippal shrugged nonchalantly. "Your problem's fixed, and I took the liberty to add a few things. Now it has blaster guns in the wings, and can now shrink things twice as small. You can fit even more inside. Also, not only can you talk to the bird, it talks back." He looked very proud of himself. Rikku looked at him. "So I noticed...but I didn't ask you to upgrade it...I asked you to fix it for me. There's a difference, you know."

Paine looked at her, confused. "But it's better than it was. Isn't that a good thing?" Rikku shrugged. "I guess so." Gippal looked at her, a mocking smile on his face. "Oh, thanks, Gippal! It's so much better now!" Gippal said in a high-pitched voice, sounding like Rikku. He then went back to his normal voice. "Any time, Rikku. You're welcome." Rikku sighed, begrudgingly. "Thanks, Gippal." He ruffled her hair. "Now, if you had just said that the first time, you could have made everything so much easier, Cid's girl." Rikku growled, and walked off, her pet flapping after her.

Paine stayed behind with Gippal, who was watching Rikku with a faint smile on his face. "You know, she actually is grateful...just annoyed that you didn't do exactly what you said you would." Paine said, and Gippal nodded. "I know that. Actually, that's only half of the upgrades I gave it. It's a lot faster now, and smarter, and the overall performance is smoother." Paine smirked. "Rikku is going to kill you when she finds out you tampered with it that much." Gippal shrugged. "The she'll kill me again when she realizes I put my trademark on it." Paine laughed. "I think I'll get as far away from here as possible...it's not safe here any more." Gippal laughed as Paine went to go catch up to Rikku. "See ya, Dr. P." Paine waved as she kept walking.

Rikku was annoyed as she stalked down the hall. Gippal had messed with her machina! Sure it was better, but that didn't matter! Suddenly, she turned, and noticed that the bird stayed up with her easily. It was supposed to be slower...even if she was walking. Suddenly, she looked over at it. "Coiba?"

"Yes, Rikku?" Gippal's voice sounded through the bird again, and Rikku clenched her teeth. Now she would have to hear his voice every single day.

"What all did Gippal upgrade in your system?"

The bird began ticking off the list with his feathers, like a human. "Speed upgrade, blaster weapons, voiceover, overall program improved." It looked very proud of itself

Rikku could barely contain her scream of frustration. Gippal had almost completely reprogrammed her machina! He had done that ever since she was a little girl, and she hated him for it! It made her feel like she couldn't do anything without his help. "He's so dead." Rikku said as she kept walking. Paine was right behind her, and tapped her on the shoulder. "Why are you so bent out of shape? It's just a few upgrades, and he made it better anyway."

Rikku sighed. "You don't get it."

Paine shrugged. "Apparently, I don't. I don't get why you're mad at him for improving it."

"It's because he's done this ever since I was little!"

"He's just trying to help you out...I'm going to go get Yuna up, now...I'll meet you at the front of Home." Paine left Rikku standing in front of the Machina Shop, where she would get the metal casing done. She walked through the door.

The Al Bhed at the front desk waved at her with a big smile. "Re, Rikku! Ruf yna oui tuehk? Ec dryd dra sylrehy oui bid dukadran? Oui tet ed vycdan dryh hunsym!" (Hi, Rikku! How are you doing? Is that the machina you put together? You did it faster than normal!) Rikku smiled, and put the Machina in front of him. "Oab! E luimth'd cmaab, cu E syta drec ehcdayt. Fryd tu oui drehg? Ed'c lymmat COIBA." (Yep! I couldn't sleep, so I made this instead. What do you think? It's called COIBA.) The man nodded as he looked it over. "Jano hela, jano hela. Ed muugc mega oui fungat rynt uh ed. Lenehta luimth'd ryja tuha silr paddan dryh dryd." (Very nice, very nice. It looks like you worked hard on it. Lenehta couldn't have done much better than that.) Rikku flushed at the compliment. "Dryhgc." The Al Bhed looked down at the Machina, then back at her. "Fryd lumunc fuimt oui mega dra lycehk du pa?" (What colors would you like the casing to be?) He brought out a large plastic plate with bits of colored metal around it.

Rikku thought for a minute, then chose two colors: a shimmery silver, and an icy, clear blue. "E tuh'd lyna ruf oui tu dra lycehk, zicd ryja dra syeh lumun pa cemjan, yht syga dra payg yht vaad sateis pmia. Syga dra lysany mahcac mekrd pmia." (I don't care how you do the casing, just have the main color be silver, and make the beak and feet medium blue. Make the camera lenses light blue.) The Al Bhed nodded as he wrote it all down on a notepad. "Tu oui ryja y dnytasyng cospum un yhodrehk? E hudelat Gippal'c uh rana...tet ra ramb oui?" (Do you have a trademark symbol or anything? I noticed Gippal's on here...did he help you?) Rikku nodded half-heartedly. "Oac...rana'c so cospum." (Yes...here's my symbol.) It was the outline of a sun, with a feather and a lightning bolt crossed inside. The Al Bhed nodded again. "E's hud cina ruf muhk drec femm dyga. Ed ymm tabahtc uh fru crufc ib vun fung dutyo. Ed femm landyehmo pa tuha po dusunnuf hekrd yd dra mydacd. Lralg po mydan, druikr, ed syo pa tuha." (I'm not sure how long this will take. It all depends on who shows up for work today. It will certainly be done by tomorrow night at the latest. Check by later, though, it may be done.) Rikku smiled, and left the room.

Rikku was about to reach the front door when Shrina called her name. "I analyzed the Pure Mage sphere...it's ready. However, I'm still testing it for safety...so you'll be able to use it in a week or two. I also analyzed your new grid and accessory. Dragon's Wings, your garment grid, has Auto-wall, and allows you to use Black and White magic, as well as Arcana, and breaks hit point and damage limits. Each gateway has a different effect. Red doubles your strength and defense, Yellow triples your magic points, Green triples your hit points, and Blue doubles your magic and magic defense." Rikku nodded in awe. "Your Siren's crystal is like several accessories in one. It adds to all of your stats, like the Iron Duke.(A/N: In case you didn't know, here are the stat increases: Attack, defense, evasion, accuracy, magic and magic defense go up by 100, luck by fifty, agility by ten, mp and hp double)) It also allows you to get more encounters, no encounters, or the regular amount. It's the most useful accessory I've seen." Rikku nodded, and smiled. "That's great! Thanks, Shinra!" He handed her the three objects, and she skipped off to the front doors, where Yuna and Paine were waiting.

Yuna smiled when Rikku left Home. "What took you so long? I thought you'd gone back to bed or something." Rikku laughed. "Nope. Just got my Machina turned in, and Shinra analyzed some of the new stuff I got." Paine looked over at her. "Um, where are we going?" Rikku thought for a moment, then replied, "We're going to the Calm Lands to check on Aykma, then on to Bevelle to get my 'debriefing', whatever that is." Yuna nodded. "How're we going to get there?" Rikku grinned. "On my new speeder, of course!" Paine stared at her dubiously. "Do you honestly think that it can hold all of us?" Rikku nodded. "Yup yup! That is, as long as none of you have gained a lot of weight!" Rikku giggled, and Yuna laughed as Rikku wove through the throngs of people in Bikanel. Finally reaching her bike, Rikku smiled.

"Okay, everybody get on!" She got in front, Yuna behind her, holding on to her waist, and Paine sitting behind them. "You sure this is safe?" Yuna asked as Rikku revved up the engine. Rikku laughed. "Of course! I've been using these to get to digging sites forever, and I can drive the Celsius! This is a piece of cake!" They sped up, and left a huge cloud of dust behind them as they went.

After riding across countless dunes, Yuna managed to make herself heard over the humming engine. "Rikku, where are we going?" Rikku yells, not being able to turn her head. "There's a ferry that'll take us to the Calm Lands. If you're wondering if we're lost, we're not! I know exactly where I'm going!" Paine began to cough as yet another blast of sand got into her lungs. "Slow down, Rikku!" Rikku shook her head. "No! At this rate, we'll be just in time for the next ferry! They only run every hour, so we've gotta catch this one." Paine finally gave up, and spherechanged into a White Mage. It was hot, but it kept the sand away from her.

In five minutes, Rikku had finally reached the ferry. The ticket master gave her a ticket as she handed him a small bag of gil. She drove aboard the ferry quickly, and parked as soon as the ferry rumbled off of the pier. Rikku sighed as she sat down on a small wooden bench. "We're here...the Calm Lands will show up in about ten minutes." Paine leaned against the edge of a boat. "Couldn't we just have flown?" Rikku shook her head. "No, thanks. I wanted to test this thing out! You just happened to be along for the ride."

"Hey there, ladies. Fancy seeing you here." Rikku, thinking it was her bird, looked around but then remembered that COIBA was still in Bikanel. Looking behind her, she realized it was none other than Gippal himself. Yuna waved. "Hi, Gippal." He nodded in her general direction. Paine looked up to acknowledge him, but Rikku didn't bother to look up. Gippal walked over to her, lifting her chin and staring at her. "What, still upset about me fixing your machina?"

Rikku sighed. "Fixing wasn't the problem. You completely upgraded it!"

"Relax, Rikku. I was only trying to help..."

"Stop helping!"

"Look, Rikku, I made it better. Are you not understanding that? If you are, and are just too prideful that you won't accept my help, then you can just get over it. Hate to ruin your perfect day, there, but it needed fixing...the programming was choppy."

Rikku sighed in annoyance as she brushed his hand away from her face. "Just leave me alone." Gippal shrugged, and did, turning to Paine and Yuna. "So, what brings you ladies here to the desert?" Yuna looked at him strangely. "Um...Rikku's party, remember? We finally stayed so late it was safer to stay here for the night."

"Why did you take the ferry instead of airships home?"

Paine answered this time. "Because Rikku wanted to test her little bike out...so we're stuck on here."

Rikku was annoyed. "Hey! I didn't say you had to come with me! You just did! I'm only going to Bevelle and the Calm Lands, anyway."

"Why Bevelle?" Gippal asked curiously.

"Baralai asked me to come...for a debriefing...I start work in a few days."

Gippal nodded. "Gotcha. I was headed there myself for the same reason...I'll head with you to the Calm Lands."

"You got hired, too? Amazing. Why do you want to go to the Calm Lands, anyway?"

Gippal rolled his eyes. "Because I want to see all of those wonderful chocobos." Rikku giggled as he smirked. "Nah. I just want to make it easier on Baralai...he's probably busy enough, and doesn't need people coming in all of the time. If we go at the same time, less work for him." He scratched the back of his head. "Just helping out my fellow man."

Paine stared at him dubiously. "Right. How nice of you. Didn't know you had it in you." Gippal looked hurt. "Hey. I have a heart, you know." Paine rolled her eyes as a Hypello walked up to her. "Mish Yoona, Mish Paine, Mish Rikku, and Mishter Gippal, the Calm lands ish our next shtop. Pleashe be careful, and have a nice day?" Rikku smiled and nodded. "Thanks!" The Hypello walked off, and Rikku mounted her speeder bike. As the ferry neared the shore, part of the ferry's wall slid away, allowing Rikku to ride through the gap and onto the grassy field that was the Calm Lands.

Rikku didn't know why, but she loved the Calm Lands. It was always so peaceful, until Open Air and Argent set up their companies, and Rin opened up the Travel Agency. Now, it was full of activity. Children were all over the place, spending their hard-earned credits on exciting and fun games. Adults were acting like children, betting on Lupine Races and winning prizes. Rikku liked hanging out there to relax and while away spare time. Paine and Yuna followed Rikku onto the large field, and Rikku allowed them to board. She sped off towards the Travel Agency, Gippal getting farther and farther behind.

As Rikku reached the Travel Agency, she waved at Sharra, the girl sitting at the desk of the Travel Agency. Sharra waved back. "Hey, Rikku! Whatcha doing here?" Rikku smiled. "Oh, just dropping by to check on my chocobo. Clasko's taking care of it for me." Sharra nodded. "Anything you need?"

"Nah. Just wanted to stop by and say hi." Sharra nodded.

"Well, if that's all you need, then you can head on to Clasko's. However, you need to head there on foot. He has chocobos running wild over there, and hovers scare them off. I'll take care of your hover for you." Rikku nodded with a smile. "Thanks! I'll be back in under an hour." Sharra nodded, and the three girls got off the hover, heading out on foot.

Two Coeurls sauntered up to block their way. Rikku smiled as she drew her small Thief daggers. "All right...let's get some fiend!" Two quick cuts with her blades, and one was history. Paine had slashed one with her sword, and soon they were walking again, headed to the chocobo ranch. Rikku sighed. "Y'know, I kinda miss when it took a while to beat them. It's not as fun any more!" Paine nodded. "I agree. Now, it's just annoying, having to waste time to kill the fiends in one round."

Entering the old Monster Arena, Rikku smiled as she heard the squeaks of the Chocobos in residence. Clasko wasn't wandering the room he normally was in, but Rikku found the small squeaky chocobo toy in the middle of the floor. Squeaking it a few times, she heard Clasko. "Coming! Coming!" He jogged up to them. "Oh, hello Lady Yuna, Rikku, Paine." Yuna cleared her throat. "Just Yuna." Clasko nodded. "Right, La- I mean, Yuna." He looked over at Rikku. "Here to see Aykma? She's right back here." He led them up the ramp, to where the Amazing Chocobo and Chocobo Runners resided. The amazing Chocobo was missing, and in its place was Aykma. It cheeped with joy as Rikku walked up, and waved at it.

"She's taller than I remembered." Rikku said as she looked at Aykma, who came up to her knees. Sitting cross-legged in the stall, Rikku began petting the chocob, who was almost purring with contentment. Clasko smiled as he looked down at her chocobo. "She grows fast, like all of the chocobos do. In about two weeks, she'll be fully grown." Rikku nodded, then looked up at Clasko. "So, um...can you show me what to do to take care of her?" Clasko looked embarrassed. "Of course. Aykma is very well behaved, and can stay anywhere you do, provided she gets half an hour of exercise every day. She likes Mimett Greens the best, and strawberries, if you can find them. For a while, she'll nap most of the day. One or two Greens in the morning and night ought to keep her happy for the day."

Rikku looked up at Clasko. "But I don't have any greens, or any bedding for her, or anything like that!" Clasko smiled. "Don't worry about it – I have plenty of things...you can have some. All she needs is a large pillow to sleep on, Greens or fresh fruit, water, and a bit of exercise." Rikku nodded as Clasko left the stall. "Follow me." She did, and Clasko led her to a small closet. Getting out a leash, a plastic bin, and a large pillow, Clasko gave them to her. "The leash is when you want to walk her around. Fill the bin with Greens from the big baskets over there, and you should be good to go!" Rikku nodded. "Thanks, Clasko! Oh, is the Chocobo dungeon full of fiends?" Clasko shook his head. "Nope. Thanks to you, there aren't any more fiends to scare the chocobos!" After filling the plastic bin, Rikku put most of it in her bag. Tying the leash around Aykma, she led her out of the stall.

"Thanks for the help, Clasko! I'll go ahead and take Akyma with me!" Clasko nodded. "That's fine. I'll see you later!" Rikku waved goodbye as she left the old Monster Arena, headed to the Travel Agency. Aykma kept up, though she occasionally wandered off to chase butterflies.

When she arrived, Gippal was there, flirting with Sharra, who was giggling. Rikku sighed in exasperation. Gippal looked over at her. "Finished?" Rikku nodded. "Yep, we're done." Sharra went to go get Rikku's speeder as Aykma stepped towards Gippal, sniffing the air. He held out his hand for the small chocobo. She poked it suspiciously, then chirped happily. He began scratching the top of her head as Aykma sat down. "I guess she likes me." Gippal said as he stood back up. Aykma looked up at him, as if to ask why he'd stopped playing with her. She kicked him in the shins, and Gippal took a step backwards. "Ow! Hey!" Yuna laughed. "I guess you've got a new friend." Rikku soon came back, speeder in tow. "Ready to go?" Yuna and Paine nodded. Yuna and Paine got on, and Rikku did as well, the chocobo sitting in front of her. She sped off towards the Macalania entrance. "Where're we going?" Paine called. "To Macalania! You can go to Bevelle from there!" Rikku yelled back. Yuna looked behind her, and noticed that Gippal had a speeder pf his own, and was trying to overtake Rikku.

Rikku noticed Gippal behind her. "Hey, Cid's girl, I bet I'll get to Bevelle before you." Gippal yelled. Rikku grinned, and shook her head. "Not a chance! I'll get there first! You're on!" Speeding up even more, Rikku raced for the narrow opening that led to the Woods, Gippal on her tail. She raced through the opening first, towards the misty remains of Macalania. Gippal swerved off the path, and Yuna almost started laughing. He was going completely off course! Rikku didn't slow down, though. She kept going, finally reaching the turn for Bevelle. As they raced through, Rikku cheered. They had won!

Reaching the Highbridge, Rikku was shocked to find that Gippal was in front of them, speeder parked, arms crossed, a self-satisfied smirk on his face. "You lose, Cid's girl." Rikku glared angrily, then started laughing. Gippal looked confused. "What?" Rikku kept laughing, and soon Paine and Yuna both realized what she was talking about. Gippal was getting angry. "What is it?" Rikku finally managed to gasp out two words. "Nice hair." Gippal then put a hand to his head, and felt his hair. All of it was sticking straight up, several inches in the air. ((A/N: Think Vash the stampede's hair)) Gippal grimaced. "That was a little unexpected." Attempting to smooth it down, Gippal tried to flatten it, but it just popped back up. Rikku just kept on laughing. Gippal sighed in defeat.

"C'mon, let's go. The praetor's waiting." He strode towards the temple, the three girls following. When they reached the gate, the guard looked at them curiously. "Who are you, and what business do you seek with the praetor?" Gippal motioned to Rikku and himself. "Baralai hired us to clear out Via Infinito." The guard nodded. "You may enter, but the other two ladies must wait outside." Paine and Yuna went to sit down, and Rikku and Gippal followed the guard into the temple.

When they entered, the priests bowed, Yevon-style. Rikku bowed back, and Gippal looked lost. One of the priests motioned them over to the main lift. "The Praetor is waiting." He said as Rikku and Gippal stepped aboard. The lift went up to the second story, and they stepped onto the sunlit balconey, waiting for the praetor.

Okay! Finished with chapter 4! Review please! Tell me what you think of this so far!