Wow, after like 3 months, my triumphant return. Sorry it took so long guys. School has been a serious pain recently. Also, I was losing inspiration, but here goes. Anyway, I'm actaully gunna finish this story, in case you thought I gave up. Here's the next Chapter.

Tales of an Al Bhed Princess

Chapter 8: Open

'Where am I going?' Gippal thought to himself as he climbed higher and higher up the mountain. He was getting seriously tired. Carrying Rikku, walking up hill, and being totally lost is never a good combination on your nerves… He had decided that after this, he was never walking again. Ever.

"WHERE AM I GOING?" he verbalized his thoughts in frustration.

There were at least ten fiends on his trail by now, and he was seriously hating this situation. Gippal never knew he could run so fast, even carrying something heavy like a person. 'Poochies, ghosties, and eyes, oh my!' he thought sarcastically, taking a sliding turn around a corner. 'How many fiends, how much farther?' He was too busy keeping speed to feel the panic of nearly falling over. Just then the path ahead disappeared into nothing but sky.

"Are you serious? What did I do to deserve this?" Gippal called in anger. He glared at Rikku, who was completely unaware of the situation. "I blame you for this, Cid's Girl. I think that you are my unlucky charm…"

'Calm down…' Gippal's voice of reasoning commanded. 'If you freak, both you and the girl die.' Gippal scowled to himself. He was glad for the help, but why did that voice have to be so damned smart? It was taking most of what was left of his hope. 'Think of your options now, argue with yourself later. Who knows? Maybe that will make Rikku laugh, and you know you miss that sound. Even her laughing at you would be better than not hearing it at—'

'—Shut-up' He was getting seriously mad now, we're talking near hysteria, and that little voice was seriously no help at all. 'If I live through this, I'm gonna need therapy. Hours and hours of therapy…' Gippal tried to look at his surroundings and find out what to do, but his main focus was on the fact that he was royally screwed.

Gippal noticed a small ledge about two meters above where he stood. This sparked a few ideas in Gippal's mind. 'Well, it's not like I have to hurry to find out…' he thought to himself. At that moment the hungry howls of Killer Hounds and blood-thirsty Wraiths filled the air. 'Or not…' How many times had he made a bad choice today? 'Well, first off, I didn't bring a weapon to the party… actually, my first mistake was going to that party. Note to self: Gullwing shindigs are very bad news.'

This was so not the time for this. Gippal once again took in his surroundings and tried to come up with a plan. He came up with the following list:

1) Get a running start and try to jump to the ledge while carrying Rikku.

2) Jump off the edge of the cliff and end his misery.

3) Leave Rikku behind and save himself.

4) Try to fight off however many fiends there were.

5) Actually attempt to throw Rikku, and then jump after her.

6) Let the fiends eat them both.

7) Pee his pants.

Only two of those options seemed reasonable, in this case meaning not ending in someone's death or wetting themselves. Seriously, it was a wonder Gippal actually considered that a plan. Of those two, the second seemed far more probable.

He began to swing the Al-Bhed girl back and forth in his arms, gradually gaining momentum. "Hey, listen Cid's Girl, I'm gonna throw you. Now, if you fall thousands of feet to your death, just know that it's not really my fault, and that I was trying to save you from becoming puppy chow. Or… whatever else chow, for that matter. So, if you end up on the Farplane anytime soon, know that I'm sorry, and don't try to plot revenge against me."

Feeling satisfied both with the amount of force he'd gained as well as his apology (if you could call it that), Gippal tossed Rikku over the wide gap in front of them. She land in a skidding roll and nearly fell over the far edge. One of her arms hung over the side and swayed slightly. 'Lucky you…' he thought with both sarcasm and relief. He started to back up to get a running start---

---and was suddenly aware that he could here running footsteps kicking up snow. Instinctively, he ran toward the rock wall formed by a higher cliff. He spun around just in time to see a wolf-like creature turn toward him and growl. He kept his back pressed to the wall and began to inch away. Suddenly a searing pain flowed through Gippal's arm. He let out a wordless cry of discomfort and clutched his newly found cuts. A Wraith hovered over him grinning cruelly, blood dripping from its skeletal claws. The creature swung for him again, but Gippal ducked under it and tried to tackle the thing. For a moment all he felt was fog, then he was struggling to a stop mere inches from the edge off the cliff. He'd gone right through it!

'I'm far enough back,' he thought restlessly as he charged toward the ledge. A powerful force hit him as he ran forward. Gippal fell flat on his back, momentarily losing his breath. His head cracked against the rock under the snow. His vision blurred, but he was still able to see that the Killer Hound had tackled him and was now attempting to eat his face.

Just as the beast was about to dig its teeth into Gippal's throat, he tensed his arms and kept the thing as far away as he could. He struggled against the dog's weight until it hit him that he could just throw the thing off. 'Duh,' he managed to scold through his panic. He kicked it as hard as he could in the chest. It yelped and flew backward off of him. He sprang to his feet and sprinted to his escape.

He new seconds later the thing was following him. He dove to the ground and rolled left, then watched as the Hound tensed itself to stop, instead plummeted to its death howling in despair.

'For a second there I thought I wasn't gonna make it past eighteen.' Gippal thought emotionlessly. Then he remembered he still wasn't alone. He whipped his head around as he scrambled to his feet. Nothing. Confused but satisfied, Gippal took a few deep breaths and turned. His eyes widened as he saw the Wraith floating above Rikku, reaching out toward her fragile neck. Gippal sprinted forward and leaped as far as he could, hit the ground in an ungraceful roll seconds later. 'Come on Cid's Girl, wake up and help me here!' he thought desperately as he prepared himself for whatever was going to happen next…

"You guys are supposed to be professionals, and you can't even capture one bratty teenage GIRL? Who do you think you are, taking my Gil and not delivering?"

The seven assassins in the room looked away from there Machina, spheres, and video screens and stared at the tall man in the high-backed leather chair. He glared at them with his crystal blue eyes from behind his dark sunglasses. He had no idea why he insisted on calling the Princess a bratty teenager, since he was only nineteen himself, but it seemed to irritate his pawns, which was just what he wanted.

He smiled to himself as the assassins gave him dirty looks and returned to their work. 'That's all you are, pawns. Once you bring me what my employer wants, I'll be free to dispose of you all. No more overly muscled men, no more expert shooters, no more beautiful science expert, no more covert ops team, nothing. You'll all be dead in seconds.' The thought pleased him deeply. He imagined the look on all there stupid faces when they realized it was over. His smile grew.

"I think I found her, sir," the girl said. She pushed her stark-black hair out of her face and tapped the screen in front of her. The man pushed himself out of his chair and looked at the screen over her shoulder. According to this, the Princess was somewhere on Mount Gagazet. There was someone with her, he saw, and they were moving. Fast.

"Good job, Ukani," he said in his rich, deep tone. "You three," he snapped loudly, pointing at the buff, dark skinned warrior, the skinny, wild-eyed gun expert, and the self-assured leader, "go with Ukani here and bring me back that woman."

"What about her little friend there?" asked the thin one.

"I think that one might be open for discussion…" said the leader sarcastically. The man rolled his eyes.

"Kill him."

The thin man smiled and pulled out his weapon. "You got it," he said roughly. The four of them left the room with an air of arrogance that made the man impatient of the day that they would die. The only thing he regretted was that when he destroyed the idiots, he would also have to destroy Ukani, who was smart, beautiful, and deadly.

'What a shame…' he thought as he sat back down. 'What a shame indeed.'

After barely escaping the encounter with Evil Wraith the Unfriendly Ghost, jumping several more gorges and ditches, and finally allowing himself to have an emotional breakdown (complete with floor pounding hysterics), Gippal found the hot springs. All together his little adventure had taken about three hours. Not bad, in his mind, since he knew his way around the bottom of the ocean better than he knew his way around here.

He had laid Rikku down in front of him, unwilling to put her in the water. He did NOT want to strip her down, but he also didn't want to put her in there with her clothes either, because then they'd be wet, and when he took her out she would freeze. He just stared at her for a while, then sighed, completely unsure of what to do.

Right then an almost silent cry escaped her lips. Gippal looked at her with concern as she screeched again, louder this time. "Cid's Girl…?" he asked cautiously. Rikku twitched suddenly, turning onto her right side. "Cid's Girl?" Gippal asked again, sounding firmer this time. He knelt down beside her just as she opened her mouth and screamed.

"Forget everything about me. I can't exist anymore. I'm sorry, I can't explain why, but you have to…"

Rikku was crying, the rain hitting her face and adding to the moisture there. Her emerald eyes danced, but not with excitement like normal, they danced with sadness. "Please…no…" was all she could manage to say.

"Come on, don't cry over me. I'm not worth that." Rikku stared at the sand, tears blurring her vision. She heard more thunder crash as blue lightning flickered and brightened the night. She could feel his arms around her now, trying to comfort her,

"…I love you though… I love you…"

"I know, but trust me; you'd be in too much danger if I stayed."

"I'm not afraid of danger. Please, don't leave again."

"Last time you left too…" he protested, still holding her. "This is serious though. I've gotta leave. If I'm lucky, I'll see you again."

Suddenly Rikku could feel heaviness in her body, like she had just been grounded. She heard herself screaming. She felt a horrible pain just below her ribs. Her screaming grew louder. Tears streamed down her face. Her eyes shot open and she sat up quickly. She ended up staring straight at the confused expression of a tan teenager with short, spiky blonde hair a single gleaming green eye. 'Gippal'

"Um, you okay there Cid's Girl?" he asked. Suddenly he was smiling, and in just seconds, he was laughing. Feeling incredible anger where just seconds ago was great joy, Rikku kicked Gippal in the shin.

"You're a total jerk, you know that?" she asked, incredulous.

"That's just special for you," he replied. He was still smiling despite the fact that a bruise was already forming on his leg. "Look, we need some potions, badly. Especially you, since you got shot."

"What are you…" she thought about the pain she felt, all of the bruises and the wound- 'bullet wound' she reminded herself- and she realized that this was because of those men on the Celsius. "Yevon!" she screamed suddenly. It was a miracle they weren't dead. "Where are the others?"

"How should I know?" Gippal asked, crossing his arms behind his head and laying down. She was about to punch him in the gut this time, but he caught her hand before the hit connected. "Listen, I just dragged you all the way up here, through fiends, fatigue, and craving to eat, and I don't think it would be right for you to hit me."

Rikku glared hard at him and realized something different. "Where's your freckin' shirt? Geez, Gippal, no one wants to see that!"

"I gave it to you, since your dumb ass was in the snow in a bikini!" he snapped back. "And, just to let you know, your total whacko fruit-loop if you DON'T want to see this," he said, motioning at his chest.

Rikku turned her head and tried like mad not to blush. She took off his shirt and handed it to him without a word.

Gippal sighed. "Look, I brought you up here so you could get warmed up—" he was cut off by Rikku's bewildered look. "—not like that!" Gippal exclaimed, waving his hands. "Wow, you have a sick mind… I meant in the hot springs."

"You were gonna strip me down?" she asked, still in complete shock.

"NO! I, well, I don't know what I was gonna do, but it was NOT going to be that! Man, You've been hanging out with your brother too much."

Rikku kept her focus on a rock so that she wouldn't look at Gippal. She felt heat in her cheeks, and she wanted it to stop.

"You don't secretly want me to strip you down, do you?" Gippal asked, raising his eyebrows.

"HELL NO!" she shouted, kicking him again.

"Ow… You obviously missed the sarcasm there…"

"Whatever. I'm gonna get in the springs now. And don't you dare look, or it'll be you r other eye, you hear me!"

"Loud and clear, Cid's Girl." Gippal said, relaxing more in his position.

Rikku got up slowly and walked toward the springs. 'That Gippal…' she thought hopelessly. She grinned; this was the most open she'd felt in the past few months, and it was with someone she could hardly stand. 'Just a typical day in the life of Rikku…' she thought, wondering if her life would ever be normal.

Presto! One more down, many (MANY!) more to go. Hope you can bare woth me that long. -

Duckie: I'm glad you liked it (if your still out there!) Sorry it took so freckin' long, again.

IceWolf9: So glad I continue to please! Yes, Gippal gets pretty engulfed in complaining to himself, but now he has someone else to complain to... let's see where this leads. Also, thanx for the concern. Everything's pretty much normal now, so I should update somewhat more often. Also, I'm glad you stuck with me. Thanx again!

doodle:I DID keep it up...eventually. Thanx for being a fan!

Kingleby: It's good to know I'm loved and not left all alone! Now he can't talk to unconsious Rikku, but she'll argue back. This'll be fun... evil laughterAnyway, I wanna thank you for stickin' with me. You're the best!

If you guys have any ideas for an argument you want to see, or anything like that, let me know, and I'll see what I can do!