Author's Note: Hey! Yay – I got two reviews for this chapter! Please review my fic! I've worked hard on it...if you read, just leave a message! It's not that hard to do. Anyway, I just got a new computer, so yay for that! School has officially started, and I doubt my updates will be as often as they used to be...sorry about that! I'm taking Japanese, which is a lot of fun! I'm also in choir and pre-ap classes, so these updates will take a while! Thank goodness for breaks like labor day! I've been in scholl for six weeks now, but I will try to update faster next time!

Song of the update: Shuo Ai Ni – Jolin Tsai

Royce – It works! Thanks so much! I like it a lot!

Cute-kitty2 – I know! I want her chocobo, too!

On to the fic!

Baralai strode down the narrow walkway, and noticed Gippal and Rikku waiting for him, her chocobo cheeping happily. "Sorry you had to wait." He said, panting. "The meeting ran late."

Gippal yawned. "Right. So that's why you kept us waiting for three hours."

Baralai looked surprised. "Three hours?!"

Rikku giggled. "He's kidding, silly. We've only been up here about ten minutes, don't worry about it."

Baralai let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Right. Why don't you both follow me to my quarters, so we can have some more privacy." Rikku nodded, and he escorted the two of them, and Aykma, onto his personal hover. It rose to a small building on top of the temple. There were three others nearby.

"What are those for?" Rikku asked quietly as they stepped off of the lift, pointing to the other three buildings. Baralai said nothing as he kept walking. "You'll know soon enough, now come on." He led them to the back right building. A keypad was on the door. Entering an eight-digit code, the door swung wide, and led to the praetor's living room.

Rikku stepped inside, feeling the softness of the carpet. It was navy blue, and the walls were wooden panels. Gippal whistled. "Nice place you've got here, Baralai. If I knew that a praetor had this for a perk, I'd gladly take your job." Baralai laughed. "It is pretty nice, but we're not here to admire my living room." Rikku sat down in a recliner, sinking into it, Aykma settling down on the floor. She relaxed as Baralai and Gippal both found chairs, and Baralai began to talk.

"I assume you came here for the debriefing, to find out exactly what you will be doing while working here in Bevelle." Rikku nodded. "I hired you both, but for different jobs. Gippal will be overseeing the entire project, and he will report directly to me."

Rikku sighed. "Lemme guess. I'm his assistant?" Baralai shook his head. "No. You will be one of the workers in the dungeon itself. You work for Gippal."

For a long moment, nobody said anything. Then, Gippal began laughing. "Oh, that's great. Rikku, working for me?" He kept laughing. Rikku simply glared at him. What else was she to do? She sighed. "What exactly does 'working for Gippal' involve? Like, how often do I have to talk to him?"

Baralai looked annoyed, probably at the fact that Rikku and Gippal were less than pleased with his choice. "Just report to him daily how much you have cleared out. He, in turn, will tell me."

"Rikku, my secretary should be waiting for you just outside. I have a few things to...discuss...with Gippal." Rikku took that as her invitation to leave. "Okay! I guess this is bye for now, then!" Bouncing to the door, Aykma behind her, she let herself out. Baralai's secretary, the same Guado from before, was standing on the roof, smiling.

As soon as Rikku left the room, Baralai shut the door behind her, and looked back at Gippal. Gippal reclined in his chair, looking back at the praetor. "So, what's the deal?" Baralai shrugged. "Nothing much."

"Then why'd you bring me here?"

"Mercredi wanted to talk to Rikku."

"Oh, a girl thing. Right." Gippal shrugged. "Whatever. So, are we living in the temple, or what?"

Baralai nodded. "Oh, that. Yes, you're living up here, right this way." Baralai stood up and left the room, Gippal following him. Baralai walked to the next building, over on the right. Gippal walked after him, noticing that Baralai's cute assistant was leading Rikku to the building in front of the one Baralai was currently unlocking, with an old-looking key. Baralai swung open the door, and waited for Gippal to walk in.

Gippal didn't budge an inch. "Ladies first." Baralai chuckled as he reluctantly stepped over the threshold. Gippal walked in, and shut the door behind him. "Nice." The walls were stone, the floor wood, the furniture and carpet crimson red. There was a large black sphere player with a huge screen, and a solid, dark wood coffee table sat between some red armchairs. There was a dark stone fireplace, and a small amount of cabinets and countertops where a stove and other kitchen items were located, and a small wooden table with chairs. Gippal looked around, obviously searching for a flaw of some sort. He smirked in triumph when he found it.

"Baralai, one of the wooden panels is messed up. It's loose." Baralai just smiled as Gippal pushed it inward, and the wall slid away. Gippal was off balance from pressing the door, and fell down the stairwell leading from the doorway. Baralai walked to the top of the staircase to see Gippal sprawled at the bottom, looking annoyed. "Could've warned me about this." Baralai shrugged. "I knew you'd find it by yourself." Gippal got to his feet as Baralai got to the bottom of the stairs.

"Where is this, anyway?" Gippal wanted to know.

Baralai shrugged. "Somewhere in the upper levels of the temple. I don't know where we are specifically." Gippal nodded, and pushed the first door open. Inside was a bathroom. The other side of the hallway had a study with a space for working with machina, and a smaller desk for paperwork and things. Gippal's bedroom was at the end of the hall, with a large bed and down comforter. There was a small door leading to an outdoor balcony that looked over Bevelle, and the remains of the woods beyond. Gippal sat on the bed. "Hm, pretty nice. I like it." Baralai nodded. "Thought you would. I think Miss Rikku and Mercredi should be a while."

Gippal shrugged. "Eh, some tv will do ya some good." Going back up the steps, Gippal turned on the sphere player, that doubled as a television, and switched to the sports channel. A Blitzball game was beginning, between the Besaid Aurochs and the Al Bhed Psyches. The sportscaster was interviewing Tidus about his change of teams from Zanarkand to Besaid. He was talking about the High Summoner Yuna, and how he was in love with her. Gippal rolled his eyes. "You see the High Summoner everywhere. Can't get rid of her." Baralai shrugged, then looked back at Gippal, a glint in his eyes. "I bet you 10,000 gil that Besaid will win." Gippal smirked. "I'm rootin' for my buddies, the Psyches. You're on."

"Hi there, Rikku!" Rikku grinned back to the Guado. "Um, I didn't catch your name earlier..."

"Mercredi. Now, if you'll follow me, I can take you to your quarters." Rikku followed the young Guado, who led her away from Baralai's home, and towards the front right building. Instead of a keypad, there was an old-fashioned-looking doorknob and keyhold. Mercredi reached into a pocket, and pulled out a large, old-fashioned key with the symbol of Bevelle on it (a/n: Not sure what that is, exactly...the winged-eye thing from Bevelle?) Unlocking the door with a creak, it swung wide. Rikku walked in, expecting to see a stuffy, dusty room with only the bare essentials inside.

Instead, Rikku saw the opposite. "It's so pretty!" The floor was marble tile, and the walls wooden paneling, but Rikku's quarters looked personalized, and cozy. There was a small living room area with a funky light purple rug. Lavender plush chairs encircled a glass and silver coffee table. A large sphere player was in the center of the room, bright silver with an enormous screen. There was a cozy-looking beige stone fireplace in the living room, and a small kitchen area next to it. A few wooden cabinets lined the walls, and the countertop was small, but functional, including a sink, stove, and oven. There was a small pantry, and a round glass table with silver chairs.

Rikku relaxed in one of the chairs and sighed. "Wow, this is neat!" Mercredi laughed, sitting down in another chair. "Glad you liked it. Of course, that isn't all of it." Rikku looked surprised. "It isn't?"

The Guado laughed again. "Of course not. Try pressing that wall panel over there." Rikku looked around, and noticed a wooden panel with a discolored tile in the center. Pressing it, she stepped back in shock as the wall slid back, leading to a spiral staircase. Rikku walked down the wooden stairs, noticing the rounded shelves that lined the walls of the stairs. Reaching the bottom, she flicked on a light. The stairs creaked as Mercredi followed after her.

Downstairs, there was a small carpeted hallway with pale stone walls. There were three doors, one on each side, and one at the end of the hallway. Through the left door, Rikku discovered a study. It had a few small shelves, and two desks. One was a nice wooden one, with plenty of drawers and a nice chair in front of it. Against another wall was the opposite: a utilitarian gray stone desk. It had no drawers, but two cabinets to either side were full of drawers. Mercredi piped up from the entrance of the room. "The stone desk is for you to work on machina at, if you wish to. The drawers are for storage, and there is plenty of room for everything you need. The wooden desk is for whatever you want."

Rikku nodded, then left the study, and went into the right room. Inside was a bathroom. It was equipped with the normal sink, toilet, and shower, but also had a large cabinet, vanity mirror, and huge bathtub. Rikku stepped inside, looking around. As with the other rooms, the walls and floor was plain, but the decorations were personal, bright, and cheery.

Leaving the bathroom, Rikku walked down the hall, and opened the door. Inside was her bedroom. Marcredi laughed at her surprise. "What, did you think you were going to sleep on the couch?" Rikku laughed as she looked around. In the center was a large, tall four-poster bed with a large down comforter and tons of pillows. There was a small closet and a chest of drawers for clothes, and a large window with a window seat that was full of pillows, as well. There was a small fireplace by the bed, when winter came, and Rikku thought it looked so cozy she felt sleepy. She yawned, and Mercredi laughed.

Rikku looked up. "Have you met the guy I'll be working with?" Mercredi nodded with a grin. "Yep. His name's Clay. Quiet in large groups, but he's quite the gentleman. Very friendly and polite, with good looks to boot." Rikku smiled. "Good! How is he battle-wise?"

"Eh, pretty good, actually. Baralai was impressed, which is why he got hired. He lived in the Calm Lands for a while, a gambler. He was good at winning gil. I hear that his payment is nothing compared to his winnings from all of that gambling. Right now, he lives in Luca, selling movie and music spheres." She leaned in conspiratorially. "He can't wait to meet you." Rikku smiled. "Great! I guess I'll see him in a few days!"

Mercredi looked down at Rikku's feet, where Aykma was snoozing. "That's such an adorable chocobo! Wow, it's white!"

Rikku grinned. "Yup. Clasko was experimenting with chocobos, and I got the first white chocobo as a birthday present!"

The Guado sat down at the windowseat. Reaching inside a small purse, she pulled out a rolled-up paper. "Now, to discuss your wages." Rikku nodded, and sat down beside her. Mercredi looked around the room, then back at Rikku. Adjusting her round glasses, she began reading. "You will receive payment not only for each level you clear, but also for the fiends you defeat. The more difficult the levels and fiends get, the more gil you receive. You will get your payment weekly, as well as 10,000 gil for various other expenses, including food and any supplies you may wish to purchase."

Rikku looked a little lost. "Do I have to clear a certain number of cloisters every week?" Mercredi shook her head. "Of course not. Some levels are harder than others. You may be able to clear out three in one day, then spend the rest of the week on another level. You don't have any deadlines, either. Just get the job done." Rikku nodded. "Anything else I need to know?"

Mercredi shook her head. "Nah. Just be ready for work in three days." Rikku grinned. "I'll be there! Thanks for helping out on this!" The Guado nodded. "All right, see ya there!" She stood up to leave, as did Rikku. Rikku left her bedroom, and was about to head up the stairs when the Guado's voice stopped her. "You're a lot easier to talk to than the other Gullwings." Rikku looked behind her. "Why's that?"

The Guado shrugged. "I'm...not too sure. Brother is just plain insane, and Shinra can't last five minutes without bragging about his latest inventions. Buddy doesn't seem to talk much, to me, anyway. Paine's aloof, and didn't talk to much of anyone. And Yuna, I mean, what can I say? She saved Spira, twice!" At Rikku's look, she corrected herself. "Sorry, helped save Spira, twice. She's the high summoner, for crying out loud! It's hard to imagine that she's just a normal Spiran like the rest of us, that she's, well, normal.

"But you're really easy to talk to. You remind me of a friend I used to have, she had your bubbly personality and positive outlook. I like talking to you, because you're very down to earth, and normal, unlike most other 'celebrities' who act like everyone is beneath them." Rikku smiled. "Thanks!" Mercredi grinned. "So, I'll see ya around?"

Rikku grinned back. "Of course!" She grabbed the key from Mercredi's open hands, headed up the stairs two at a time, and rushed through the door. Mercredi followed, at a slightly less breakneck pace. Rikku let Mercredi through the door before locking it, putting the key in her bag.

Leaving the roof, Rikku noticed that Gippal and Baralai were already waiting outside. Baralai was looking very cheerful, holding a bag of gil, while Gippal looked disgusted, leaning against a pillar. He muttered, "Stupid Psyches." Baralai smiled even wider, then looked at Rikku. "Do you like it?" Rikku grinned, and nodded. "Yup yup! Thanks!" She stepped on the lift along with Gippal, and rode it downward. Baralai bowed, Yevon-style, before being out of view. Rikku waved back, but Gippal simply nodded. Reaching the narrow walkway, Rikku got off the hover first, and simply jumped off. It wasn't that high, compared to most machina, and Rikku managed it with ease. Aykma jumped off with her, her small wings helping her float down.

When Gippal got off of the hover, and sent it back up for Baralai, he realized that he didn't know where Rikku was. "Gippal! Down here!" Gippal looked down, and saw Rikku standing on the ground, close to the Highbridge. He looked confused. "How'd you get down there so fast?" Rikku shrugged. "I jumped. C'mon, it's easy!" Gippal sighed. "No thanks...I'd like to stay intact, thanks. I'll do the long way around." Rikku rolled her eyes. "Fine, then. Don't expect me to wait on you!" She skipped off as Gippal headed to the temple.

Rikku walked back to Yuna and Paine, waving. Yuna smiled. "Where'd Gippal go?" Rikku rolled her eyes. "He decided to take the long way."

Paine looked curious. "The long way?"

"Going through the temple as opposed to jumping off of the walkway." Rikku then noticed Kogoro at Yuna's side. She was wearing her Trainer Dressphere, and Paine was in her Dark Knight. Rikku was confused. "Why are you wearing different dresspheres than normal?" Paine shrugged. "You were taking forever, and we were bored, so we thought we'd have a little battle, for fun." She smirked. "I won, as usual." Yuna was leaning against a column for support.

"Rikku, can we get home soon? I'm pretty sore..." Rikku nodded to Yuna, who sighed in relief. While they had been talking, Gippal was able to catch up. "Slowpoke." Rikku giggled as she headed back to her bike, Yuna and Paine following her. Gippal rolled his eyes as he headed back to his own. Rikku got on quickly, settling Aykma in front of her, as did Yuna and Paine, and they were off, Gippal somewhere behind them. Racing around the trees, Rikku reached the edge of Macalania Woods in record time. An enormous airship was just about to leave, and Rikku hailed it down, and got on board. Giving the Guado at the door some gil, rode her bike inside, laying it down beside her in a seat. Yuna, Paine, and Gippal joined her, and they were soon headed home. Paine got off at Luca, Yuna at Besaid, Gippal at Djose, and finally, Rikku in Bikanel.

Rikku thanked the driver as she hopped off with her chocobo and speederbike. She wondered why in Spira Gippal was in Djose. After all, only two or three Al Bhed still lived there after Vegnagun. Shrugging slightly, Rikku continued walking. Probably a machina problem, Rikku was sure of it. That didn't worry her too much. After all, the Temple's machina was notoriously finicky. The door of Home came quickly into view, and Rikku grinned. She felt like taking a nice shower, then relaxing for the rest of the day.

Seeing the door for the repair center, Rikku pushed open the door. A new person was at the desk, a woman. She smiled. "Rammu, Rikku. Ouin machina ec nayto." (Hello, Rikku. Your machina is ready.) Rikku smiled, and went to the back, where 2 heavy-set Al Bhed men were tinkering with some speederbikes. On some metal shelves were small machina. Rikku found her COIBA, and spoke to it. "Coiba, wake up." It awoke, and flew to her shoulder. Rikku grinned as she noticed its metal plating. It looked very nice, and she thanked the men who worked on it. Leaving the room with a, "Ryja y hela tyo!" (Have a nice day!), Rikku went up the spiral staircase to her room, Aykma behind her.

Reaching her room, she realized how comfortable her bed looked. Setting up Aykma's food bowl, Rikku allowed her chocobo to eat. Running the water of her shower, Rikku undressed, and stepped in. The semi-warm water felt good, and made her tired. She only ran the water for a few minutes, so nobody could complain about her "overusing" the water, then stepped back out. Getting dressed, she heard the dinner siren. If she didn't go in five minutes, she'd be late. Grabbing her thief dressphere and tossing it over her shoulder, she harnessed up Aykma, taking her food bowl with her, and left the room.

Okay! Review now, please! I'm sooooo sorry this silly chapter took forever to type...and it's pretty boring as far as chapters go...next one will be good, though, so stay tuned!