Disclaimer: FFX, FFX-2 – neither of them belong to me, I'm just a poor, starving fan : )

A/N: I'm SO sorry that once again you have had a horribly long wait for this chapter. Basically, I have had a lot of personal problems over the last few months, which has severely hampered my writing time. However, things are much better now so you should be able to expect the next post in a week or so!

509 reviews … what can I say? You guys are the greatest supports a writer could ask for and I truly don't believe I would still be writing this story if it weren't for your great reviews. So thank you to each and every person who has reviewed this story and long may it continue!

This chapter is dedicated to Moshi Moshi Mai as a welcome back to the story : ) Hope you enjoy it!

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Rikku's Story

By: JoeyStar

Timeframe: Set a month or so after the 'perfect' ending of FFX-2

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Chapter 15

The silence was deafening.

For the first time in as long as I could remember, even Elhandra had nothing to say. I would even go as far to say that she looked stricken … an expression that I knew marked my own face as well.

"There's nothing?" Lreav ventured finally, his voice slow and careful – measured even. He seemed to be hoping that I had made some kind of mistake. "Nothing at all?"

I stared hopelessly at the blank screen which had initially held so much promise and which now stared blankly back at me.

"Nothing," I murmured, "Ypcumidamo hudrehk ." (Absolutely nothing.)

Elhandra shook her head in a jerking motion which sent her cascade of tiny braids whipping through the air. "You must have missed something."

"I was careful."

"You could have made a mistake. There has to be something we can use."

"I've watched it – forwards, backwards, fast, slow – there's nothing there!"

"Then I'll have a look at it," she snapped, eyes flashing. "I'm sure I can find something."

"Elhandra, there's nothing there! Not on the sphere, not in the CommSphere network history – nowhere!" I shouted, my own frustration at the situation giving fuel to my anger. I rose to my feet and ripped the nearby sphere from the pedestal. "Do you what you want with it but you won't find anything, you know? The tysh (damn) thing doesn't have a shred of evidence on it!"

It was an irrational and possibly even stupid thing to do, but at that moment, I wasn't thinking clearly. All I could focus on was the disappointment that the tiny blue orb I held had caused me, and the smirking face of the woman opposite – the woman who had been dogging my steps since our meeting. Together with the fury that was rising with in me – driven by my complete lack of ability to find anything that would help to prove Gippal's innocence – I easily pushed past the common sense that had been previously restraining me, and I hurled the sphere directly at Elhandra's face.

She gave a strangled gasp of surprise and sprang out of her chair. Not a moment too soon because in the next instant, the sphere passed through the space that she had just occupied and shattered against the metal headrest of the chair. A shower of tiny blue sphere-fragments scattered across the upholstery and Lreav flinched when a handful of them struck him.

There were a few tense seconds in which I tried to comprehend what I had just done and then Elhandra was upon me. "What in Spira's name are you doing?" she yelled, grabbing me by the shoulders and shaking me with an uncharacteristic loss of composure. "Not only could you have just scarred me for life – but you've destroyed all our evidence as well!"

"What evidence?" I shot back. "The sphere was as useless as the history!"

Her eyes narrowed. "We only have your word for that."

My word. My word. For some reason, Elhandra's accusation came as a complete surprise. It had never occurred to me that she and Lreav considered me to be under suspicion in the bombings. I mean, it was completely ridiculous, you know? I was the last person who would want to hurt Gippal. We were … we were in the verge of something more than friendship. Why in Spira's name would I then turn around and frame him for a bombing that I had no reason to commit? It made no sense!

And yet … during our journey hadn't I thought exactly the same thing of both Lreav and Elhandra? Hadn't I judged them as they were now judging me?

As soon as that thought passed through me mind, I fought to dismiss it. No – my fears had been well founded. I knew next to nothing about Lreav and Elhandra and I knew even less about their history with Gippal. What if there was something there – something I didn't know about? Surely this lack of knowledge as enough to justify my distrust?

That thought works both ways, the irritating voice of my conscience reminded me. Just because you're name is famous does not mean you are immediately trustworthy.

Shut up! I urged the voice waspishly, not wanting to be reminded of the flaws in my arguments. No, I wanted to cultivate my righteous anger at Elhandra's comment, not agree with her words.

I drew myself up. "Are you accusing me of lying about the history?" I demanded.

Elhandra lifted her chin as well but I didn't give her the chance to reply. "Spira Elhandra, if you're so concerned about my trustworthiness then you're welcome to sit and watch hour after hour of Guadosalam footage. Not that you'll find anything because there's nothing there!"

"So you say!"

I wondered then if Elhandra actually believed her own words. Did she truly think I had something to do with Gippal's current difficulties? Or was this simply another part of her game – the one that she had been playing with me since we had met?

Apparently, I wasn't the only one who felt her words were unfounded. Lreav – who up until this point had been watching the argument with concern, but hadn't contributed – rose to his feet and stepped between us. His hands were held out in a placating manner and he looked from his sister to me and back again. "Lhan, Rikku … stop this. Please."

"Stay out of this Lreav," Elhandra told him shortly, barely sparing her brother a glance.

His look sharpened. "No. This doesn't just affect you two. It concerns me too."

It was the first time I had ever heard Lreav contradict or argue with his sister in public and it caught me by surprise. Evidently it surprised Elhandra as well because she took a step backwards and a frown creased her brow.

I was glad of his intervention though. Arguing with Elhandra was something I had taken a certain amount of delight in at the beginning but was now becoming predictably boring. And besides, it drew my attention away from the real problem at hand: how to get Gippal out of jail, you know?

However, there was one thing I wanted to know before I would let the argument go. "Do you suspect me?" I asked Lreav directly, looking searchingly into his eyes.

Lreav licked his lips and appeared to consider his answer carefully. "From what I know – and what I have seen – of you and Gippal, I would have thought that you are the last person who would want to hurt him."

Elhandra snorted at his words and I stared piercingly at her, my eyebrows raised. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"I have a problem with a lot of things. The largest of which is the fact that every piece of evidence you touch seems to break." Her look of distrust firmly in place, Elhandra turned on her heel and stalked towards the gangway which led away from the bridge. On the room's threshold, she paused and glanced back. "Anyone would think that you didn't want Gippal to be freed, you know?"

She slapped the door panel and I found myself staring at the dull silver metal of the door as it slid closed.

I heard Lreav sigh and a moment later his hand touched my shoulder. "I'm sorry about Lhan. She's just … frustrated. And disappointed. She won't admit it, but Gippal means a lot to her."

I don't think he had intended them to, but the words stung. "Gippal means a lot to me too," I found myself saying defensively. My eyes drifted across to where the pile of blue sphere-sharps twinkled in the Melatha's lights and I swallowed guiltily. "And I'm frustrated," I muttered lamely, feeling Lreav's eyes on me.

His hand tightened around my shoulder. "I know. And I know – I know that you care about Gippal. I know this is hurting you and I … I hate to see you so upset."

It was the closest Lreav had come to acknowledging his feelings for me – since that fateful kiss of course. His words reminded me instantly of the previous difficulties between us but for some reason, I found that it didn't bother me anymore. There were more important things for us to be focusing on, you know? The fact that Lreav liked me was … well it was something we could deal with later.

Gippal came first.

And besides, I missed being able to confide in Lreav. I certainly wasn't going to talk to Elhandra about my inner feelings, was I? Letting go my anger and discomfort at Lreav allowed me to open up again. I grabbed the opportunity before it slipped away and ignored the urge to shrug his hand off my shoulder.

"I just wish there was something I could do," I found myself telling him, hating the dejected tone even as it left my mouth. I hated sounding so weak. "Something that will actually help Gippal, I mean."

"But you have been helping him," Lreav argued gently. "Otherwise, why are we here in Guadosalam?"

I sighed moodily and wandered across to gaze out of one of the large windows that spanned the front of the Melatha's bridge. "I'm beginning to wonder," I murmured.

Because it was growing dark outside, I could see Lreav's reflection in the window and I watched as he folded his arms across his chest. His eyes drifted across to the remains of the sphere as he spoke. "We knew things were never going to be easy, Rikku. Whoever's doing this … they've covered every angle. And there are only three of us."

He was right; there were only three of us. Not for the first time I felt a sharp pang of loneliness. What was I doing here, alone with two strangers on an unfamiliar ship? I was sick of feeling so helpless. If Lulu, Wakka, Paine, Tidus, Yunie – heck even Leblanc were with me then surely things would be better. Why in Spira's name hadn't I waited for my friends to recover from the initial bomb-blast kind?

I knew the answer to that before I had even mentally phrased the question. No matter how hard I fought against it, my life had changed since Vegnagun's defeat. And the others who had fought with me – their lives had changed as well. They no longer had the luxury of being able to drop everything to run off on another crazy adventure. I could get away with it because I was still young and 'impressionable'. And I didn't have the constraint of rank to worry about. I alone was able to do this … and I was making a huge mess of the whole thing.

"It's hopeless. This whole situation – it's hopeless. What were we thinking Lreav? What was I thinking?" I rested my forehead against the cool glass of the window. "I can't do this."

"Rikku –"

"I've just made everything worse! I haven't helped Gippal at all. Elhandra's right – I break everything I touch."

"Since when have you listened to Elhandra?" he asked jokingly, but even Lreav's good humour couldn't raise a smile from me.

"Since she started being right," I whispered brokenly.

Footsteps announced Lreav's approach and so I wasn't surprised when he joined me by the window. He didn't touch me but he was standing close another that I could hear his voice, even though he spoke softly.

"Don't ever let Lhan hear you saying that or it'll be the end of you."

Despite myself, my lips twitched.

"I made that mistake when I was twelve. She's never listened to me since then." He cocked his head to one side. "Not that she ever really listened to me before that," he added thoughtfully.

"Stop changing the subject," I grumbled.

"Just trying to lighten the mood."

I sighed. "I know, I'm sorry. It's just … oh Lreav, what are we going to do?"

There was a pause. "Shall I tell you what I think?" Lreav said finally.

At that point I was willing to listen to any suggestion, no matter how ridiculous, and so I nodded.

Lreav leaned forward, resting his elbows on the metal rail that protected crewmembers from falling out of the windows in the case of an accident. "I think we need Gippal."

I laughed bitterly. "In case you hadn't noticed, that's what all this has been about since the beginning."

"No – just let me explain." He turned so that he was facing me, forcing me to raise my eyes from where they had become lodged upon my feet.

"We need Gippal. And I mean in the literal sense. We need his help to uncover who's behind these attacks, so …" he swallowed nervously, "I think we should get him out of jail."

"What do you think we've been trying to do?"

"Um – by 'get him out', I really mean … break him out."

I stared at him in dumb amazement. When I finally found my tongue again, my words weren't flattering.

"You're crazy," I told him flatly, angered by his stupid suggestion. "What you're suggesting – it's not just impossible but it's insane. We'd get arrested. How will we help Gippal then? It'll just make his case worse."

Lreav bit his lip. "Not if we don't get arrested."

I shot him a look of scorn. How could he be that naïve? "Lreav, even though Baralai and Nooj don't believe for one moment that Gippal did this, they won't have skimped on the guards. Getting into Gippal's room will be harder than fighting Sin and Vegnagun at the same time!"

"But we're Al Bhed! Being sneaky is what we do –"

"No!" I cut him off with a sharp wave of my hand. "I don't want to hear it! What you're proposing is suicide. I'm not going to do anything that will hurt Gippal!" I glared at him, my chest heaving.

Instead of backing off as I might have expected, he pursued his suggestion and took me by the arm.

"Rikku … I haven't told you everything."

I froze in the act of pulling away. "What do you mean?"

Lreav looked uncomfortable. "There's – well it's just that –"

"Is it something about Gippal?" He didn't answer. "Lreav, just tell me!"

"Ugyo." (Okay.) He braced himself against the rail and gazed off into the darkness of the night. I watched him, wondering what the great secret could be.

"Earlier today … I went down to Guadosalam."

"I know," I informed him.

"You do?"

I nodded. "Elhandra told me."

He seemed surprised. "Do you know why?" he asked in a curiously guarded tone.

"She didn't tell me," I admitted. Not that I haven't wondered about it.

He seemed relieved and after a moments further pause he continued his story. "Well, the reason I went down to Guadosalam was because I wanted to talk to someone in charge. I ended up talking to Praetor Baralai."

"You saw Baralai?" I exclaimed.

Lreav nodded, a smile on his face. "I was as surprised as you. I never thought I get to meet Praetor Baralai himself."

"What did he say?" I asked eagerly, liking the direction that the conversation had taken.

"Well, when he realised I was one of your companions he was a lot more candid. We discussed the state of things in Guadosalam and I asked him how Gippal was."

His words seemed to be leading somewhere and I followed them eagerly. "What did he say? Is Gippal alright?"

" 'As well as he can be under the circumstances.' Or so the Praetor said."

When Lreav didn't continue, I began to get impatient. "Is this story going anywhere? What did Baralai say?"

Lreav rubbed his hand over his forehead, brushing back his hair as he did so. He seemed strangely reluctant to speak now that his tale was underway. "He … well I suggested – I told him my idea and he … he didn't exactly reject it."

I stared at him. "What are you saying Lreav?"

"In fact, he almost indicated that he would support such a suggestion," Lreav finished in a rush.

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. Had I been right? Had Lreav gone completely insane? "You're telling me that Baralai will support us in an attempt to break Gippal out of prison?" I asked slowly, making sure that every word was carefully enunciated, so that there could be no mistaking my meaning.

Lreav opened his mouth to reply, but then closed it again. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and then, finally, he nodded.

"What? That's ridiculous!" I exclaimed, turning away from the window so fast that my braids swung out and clacked loudly against the glass. Determined not to be distracted, I pushed them back behind my headscarf and faced Lreav squarely. "You must have misunderstood."

"He was quite clear."

"No," I took a step backwards, shaking my head. "No – you must be wrong!"

It was completely mad and yet, some small part of me was desperate to believe him, you know? Could this be it? Could this be the break that we had been waiting for? The break that would help to save Gippal?

"Rikku, I promise you, I'm telling the truth," Lreav beseeched me, sincerity shining in his eyes. "I was as sceptical as you at first. But that's what Praetor Baralai said!"

I met his gaze and held it, searching for some sign that he was lying – or even that he had been mistaken and wasn't entirely sure. It only took me a couple of seconds to discover that there was none. He was completely convinced by his own argument and suddenly the idea began to look a lot saner in my mind as well.

Maybe, just maybe, this crazy idea could actually work!

"So Baralai will support our attempt to break Gippal out of prison …" I worked through the idea aloud and Lreav's face relaxed as he realised I was beginning to accept his words. I walked away from the window and back towards the centre of the bridge, where a group of comfortable pilot chairs were situated. Lreav followed me and we both took seats around the low table that was firmly fixed the floor in amongst the chairs. "You know, as crazy as this sounds, it might actually work – you know?"

Lreav smiled at my sudden enthusiasm. I think he was slowly getting used to how I could change my opinion of a situation in the blink of an eye.

"And it's not like we didn't do crazy things when we were trying to kick Sin's butt. Or Vegnagun's for that matter." I pursed my lips thoughtfully. "We went up against the might of Yevon for Spira's sake!"

I was afire with Lreav's news; I felt like I had some direction again and for some strange reason, I wanted to thank him. Instead, I settled on grinning back at him across the tabletop.

"Let's do this!"

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I felt like I was back on Yunie's pilgrimage again.

The thrill of excitement; the thrill of danger and the sense that what we were doing might just end up saving the world … this was what I had been missing in the long, weary months since Vegnagun had been defeated. I'm not saying I welcome the moments in time when Spira is in danger, because I don't. I just mean that when you're charged with saving humanity every now and then, it can become quite monotonous in the times of peace. Especially when you know that someone somewhere is eventually going to come along and mess everything up again. After all, it's the way of the world, you know?

Sneaking into Bevelle was going to be a challenge, but it wasn't like I hadn't faced something similar before. Granted, my previous visits to Bevelle had been rather more direct but after all the time we had spent there recently, I had pretty good idea of the general layout of the city. And I had a clear idea of just how we could get form Highbridge to the location that Gippal was being held at. They don't call me the Queen of Subterfuge for nothing.

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"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Elhandra asked for the ninth time as I led her and Lreav along yet another twisting path that had no apparent end. I suppose her question was a valid one; it was difficult to tell if we were travelling in the right direction, but I'd answered it several times already and so this time, I just ignored her and continued down the path.

We were slowly working our way through the dying woods of Macalania, heading towards Bevelle. In fact, we were tracing a path back from Lake Macalania – the same path that I had travelled with Yunie, so many years ago when the woods had still been healthy and beautiful.

"I hope the ship's secure," Lreav murmured from behind us, oblivious to our conversation.

The Melatha we had left behind, hidden in the icy canyons that flanked Lake Macalania. I had thought it the best place for the vessel; not only was the silvery Melatha perfectly camouflaged against the snowy area, but the area was practically deserted. It was very unlikely that someone would find the ship while we were busy in Bevelle.

"Watch your step here," I warned, jumping over a knotted root that stuck out unevenly from the floor below.

I heard Elhandra muttered something about incompetence but I forced myself to ignore her. If we were to have any hope of saving Gippal then I needed all my wits about me, you know?

"You know, I'm really not sure that I secured the ship probably," Lreav worried as he came up alongside me. "Do you think I should go back and check?"

"Lreav, I'm sure it's fine."

"But what if someone steals it? Then what will we tell Gippal?"

"Lreav –"

"Do you know how much money that ship is worth?"

"Why don't you two speak more loudly," Elhandra snapped acidly. "I'm sure there are some people in Zanarkand that aren't listening to this conversation!"

I stopped and turned back to look at my companions. Lreav wore a concerned expression on his face and Elhandra – as usual – was looking surly.

"Look," I kept my voice down with difficulty. "This isn't going to work if you're going to talk all the time. We need to be quiet and you need to listen to what I have to say. You made me the leader, now let me lead."

Elhandra rolled her eyes but kept whatever she was thinking to herself. Lreav was still frowning. I stared pointedly at him. "Lreav?"

There was no reply. I sighed and rubbed my weary eyes, praying to the Faith for patience. "Can you please try and focus?"

"Why don't you just send him back to ship?" Elhandra drawled when my question went unanswered. As I watched Lreav, who was still busy worrying about the Melatha, I was forced to conclude that she might be right.

"Lreav?" I took him by the shoulders, startling him out of his reverie. "Why don't you go back and guard the Melatha? Elhandra and I can get Gippal out." I hated having to say those words. The last thing I wanted to do was journey on alone, with only Elhandra for company.

He looked so relieved. "Are you sure? It's just – I don't want it to get stolen. I mean, you could get Gippal all the way out here and then, if the ship wasn't there –"

"I know and I understand." I released his shoulders and gave him a friendly pat. "Do you know the way back?"

"I think so. I'll go and get the Melatha ready for launch." He pulled Elhandra into a rough hug, which brought a brief smile to the girl's lips. Then he turned back to me and hesitated.

"Kuut Milg," (Good luck.) I told him gravely, and then flung my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

"Look after yourself," he whispered as I went to break the embrace. "If anything were to happen to you …"

His comment sounded a little too personal but I blamed it on the heat of the moment. Fixing a smile on my face, I pulled away. He held my gaze from a few seconds longer and then he turned and was gone, disappearing back into the forest.

Leaving me alone with Elhandra.

"Can we go now?"

This is for Gippal, I told myself sternly. You're doing this for Gippal. Killing Elhandra is really not going to help you.

"Follow me," I told her through clenched teeth, continuing down the path without waiting for a response.

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Apologies, but once again I simply don't have the time to reply personally to every review I receive. However, if you have any pressing issues, please email me or keep writing about them in your reviews and I'll try and answer them for you!

As always, read, review and enjoy : ) : ) : )

P.S: Look forward to the return of our favourite male character in the next chapter!