Part Nine

197S9.9.11

I am so mad that I almost typed a whole line of gibberish. However, I think if the others saw me pounding on the keyboard, they'd think I'd finally lost my mind.

The fact is this: we're on Bikanel, I know it, and now we've decided to move at night. AFTER I just got used to having a daytime schedule and sleeping during the night. Agh. And now, I have to readjust all over again. I suppose this time it'll be easier, since I'm going back to what's natural.

But still! It pisses me off! I really shouldn't get so mad about this, but I haven't slept properly since we started this nonsense and now, when I need it the most, everything's gonna get screwed up again.

Right now, though, we're in what some guys I knew once called the dneisjened. I remember them talking about it, though they never disclosed the actual location. It's basically three caves hooked together by narrow passages… the first is where the underground spring bubbles up, and then you follow this little rock-enclosed hallway to get to a medium sized empty opening, and then there's a crack in the wall that you can squeeze through to get out into the desert. It's really quite convenient, and I know those guys had a base for surveying out here. Apparently somewhere in this area there are old machina ruins, leftover from centuries ago. They were searching for those, under the sand, and this place made a great sleeping place because of the water.

I wonder if they ever found anything. I'll have to get in touch with them when this is all over. I think they took Nhadala with them… yeah, she'll know something. That'd be really cool if we found, like, old gigantic robots under here or something.

Maybe I can find some while we're out here. That'll make for something interesting when the others are getting bored from looking at the scenery. I guess some people just don't find the desert beautiful.

For the first time in way too long, I feel at home.

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Note to self: do not, under any circumstances, try anything that's sitting around in Baralai's little 'lab' out there, no matter how much it looks like chocolate.

Ew.

I think it took almost an hour for Baralai to administer something that worked to, err, un-green my face. Boy did he laugh. Hah hah, little pnyd. I'll get him later.

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Apparently, they want out names recorded on film. That's what Dr. P said, anyway. I don't really know why. They're just trying to have us killed anyway. Name and identifying phrase, so they say. An identifying phrase? Well, I'll have to come up with something interesting…

Heh. It would be really funny if I identified myself as 'Corruptor of Yevon' or something. I think Lai'd turn seven and a half shades of red. Maybe that'd be worth it.

Maybe I should say 'your worst nightmare' or something. That'd really get their hackles up, if it's really the Maesters watching. I think it'd be the Maesters. Heh. I hate them. Or maybe Dr. P just wants to have a personal record of all these guys she ran around with in the desert for a while. I know I would, if I were her.

I'm starting to get this sort of… weird feeling about Nooj. I don't know what it is, exactly, but there's something off about him. I think it's the machina… I think it does something to him. I mean, we talked earlier today while Baralai was making the antechamber stink… mostly, I tried to be polite and respectful but I kinda wanted to know how the machina was doing, you know? And then we got to talking and I asked him how he manages to control it mentally… because if I know that, maybe I can think of a way to make it all work better, you know?

Or maybe I'm just morbidly curious.

Either way, I can't really say he seemed depressed, because it wasn't like that. It was just like he was almost pissed off about being attached to the machina. I can't understand it, but I guess for him it'd suck. I mean… I've dreamt about that kind of thing, you know? Being able to understand how a machina works and thinks and feels, being part of it myself. I've dreamt about designing a machina eye for myself—

No, that's not possible. I know that. Cdub ed, Gippal.

Anyway, I don't know. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, or maybe it's the lack of sleep. Or maybe it's whatever that… green skin chocolate stuff I ate earlier was. It's turning me into a paranoid freak.

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Gippal, dra baylasygan, or the mechanic.

Heh.

I wonder if anybody will ever bother to get that.

Anyway, I almost slept. Only because Baralai cast something on me, I think. Sneaky little chyga. Lida chyga. Heh. Nhadala'd vomit on me – she hates snakes, and if she heard me call one 'cute', she'd probably have all kinds of bodily reflexes. Waste of water.

I keep thinking about her. You know, I never really did anything with Nhadala, which is a shame. I should have. We really got along well, and best of all, we worked together and she wasn't a complete idiot like Rikku.

Heh, Rikku. Haven't thought about her in a long time, either. Cid's girl, yeah, how could I forget? The Al Bhed Princess would probably kick me in the shin if she heard I'd forgotten about her. I think I was supposed to be writing her letters or something. Uh, well, I don't even know where she is, and I can't send letters anyway.

A likely story. Maybe I'll look Nhad up when I get back. If she really was out with that surveying expedition, maybe she'll have some interesting information.

Definitely won't look Rikku up, though. Maybe she'll think I died. Wouldn't that be convenient?

We're about to head out to make the next crossing of the sand. It's time for me to show exactly what I'm made of. Al Bhed fight best at night in the desert with firearms. I've gotta keep these sand foreigners safe from the creepy things that come out of the sinkholes at night.

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…I should never jinx myself like that. A sandworm, of all things, and a really big one. The kind with the teeth. Ugh. Creepy. And it brought all its little friends, too, those lizard things that some people wrongly call Sandragora. Well, that's the family, but I couldn't recognize what exact species they were. All I know is that they're poisonous.

The sand worm ran away real quick, leaving the lizards to do its dirty work. Just like always. Just once, I'd like to catch a sandworm and ride it. I wonder if there's a way to ride one… they're so big. Maybe if you spread its segments apart, then it wouldn't want to dive under the sand because it'd irritate the flesh underneath.

That's enough fantasy for now. I'm still a little sore. The last lizard I killed managed to reach around and get me in the side after I thought I'd killed it. Careless. That's how I lost my eye. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I'm lucky Lai was here with his healing powers. This time, those powders of his really helped… and didn't turn my skin green. I need to rest it, and Noojster seems in favor since this was our first major night battle. I'm glad. I don't want to be hurting if we come across another group of those pycdyntc.

The sun's almost to the horizon. Time for a nap in this little overhang we found. It's not ideal, but it gives enough shade for all of us if we cluster together.