A/N-Alright! Thanks to my reviewers; it's nice to know you guys got a laugh out of the ending of the last chapter. grin I'm sorry it took so long to upload this chapter-school comes first and I have a bunch of things to do. I'll try updating sooner, but I can't guarantee anything. Let's get started!

♫Caprice♫

Chapter Three: Syncopation

"I was stained, with a role, in a day not my own

But as you walked into my life you showed what needed to be shown

And I always knew, what was right I just didn't know that I might

Peel away and choose to see with such a different sight."

A lone figure clad in black robes sat silently in the dark room. His eyes were hidden under the hood of the robe, but his lips were curved upward in a menacing smirk. He crossed his arms and his smirk widened more. Throwing back his head, he cackled evilly. His haunting voice echoed throughout the room, ringing in the air still after he stopped. Deciding he liked that laugh, he threw back his brown head and cackled again. Ominous music filled the air, adding to the terrifying laugh.

"Could you stop that?" The lights of the room flipped on and Yuna entered the room, an amused smile on her face. The cloaked figure winced and shielded his hidden eyes, frowning playfully.

"What? I was just trying out my evil psycho laugh. I have to be convincing, don't I?" Asher pulled back the hood of his robes to reveal his grey eyes and unruly brown hair, smiling sheepishly. Yuna rolled her eyes and entered the room.

"Yeah, but maybe it should be less evil villain and more obsessive killer…" Yuna spoke thoughtfully, rubbing her chin. "And what's with this music, anyway?" She walked over to the stereo and turned it off, abruptly cutting off the climax of the melody. Asher rolled his eyes and gave her a dry look.

"It gets me into the mood of the character…Alright, fine! How about this?" A crazed smile appeared on his face and he began to chuckle deeply. If Yuna didn't know any better, she would've actually believed he was a murderer.

"That's much better! It actually sent chills down my spine!" She clapped her hands together to applaud his work and he offered her a satisfied smile.

As promised, the two partners-in-crime had met in front of Besaid Temple bright and early. Yuna had been slightly surprised to see that Asher had already chosen his serial killer costume, which was a plain black robe and a hood that covered his eyes. Black combat boots with heavy chains attached added to the "evil" effect, and his hands were covered in black leather gloves as well. In case someone would see their little rendezvous, Yuna had led "A. Ness" into the Celsius and into one of the guest cabins. The ex-summoner knew that keeping Asher onboard the Celsius inconspicuously wasn't the best idea, but they needed a place to meet up and discuss; plus it'd be nice to be on the move in case something went wrong.

"So," Asher spoke up, sitting down on the bed and smoothing out his black robes, "who knows that I'm here?" Yuna closed the door after poking her brown head out into the hallway and crossed her arms.

"Just three people. Obviously me, Tidus, and my friend, Paine," the gunner concluded, naming the people with her fingers. Asher nodded in understanding.

"Paine. That's the woman with the creepy red eyes and upswept hair, right?" Yuna smiled and nodded.

"That's right! We'll be leaving soon to head to Djose as planned. I made everyone believe that Tidus wanted to visit the temple, so we'll be leaving in about half an hour. I suggest you get ready to stealthily follow us."

"Right. So after you guys get off the Celsius, I'll jump from the emergency exit hatch and follow tree-to-tree. Then I'll wait for you to give me the signal to shoot when we get to the temple." The gunner nodded to clarify, a silly expression forming on her face. She clapped her hands excitedly together, resembling a cheerleader.

"Oh, this is going to be so much fun!" With that, Yuna turned on her heel and left the room to rejoin her friends on the bridge.

Asher watched her leave and let out a sigh. Attacking someone, especially Rikku, with a gun…he didn't know if he was up to it. What if he missed?

…Wait, that wouldn't be a BAD thing, man.

But what if he chickened out for Lady Yuna and aborted the mission? That would be bad. Why had he agreed to this again? Oh, right, it's because I have nothing better to do. He shook his head pitifully.

…

"Hey, is everyone set to go?" Yuna stepped over the threshold as the automatic door slid open, placing her hands smoothly on her hips. The brunette eyed the room casually. Brother was dozing off in the pilot's chair, Shinra, who decided to stay, was typing away with Paine by his side, his helmet practically glued to the screen, and Buddy was just standing there with his arms crossed, tapping the floor with his boot.

"Where's Rikku? And…Tidus?"

As if on cue, the door behind the ex-summoner opened and the two missing blondes popped out, breathless.

"Sorry, Yunie! I kinda slept in…ehehe," the Al Bhed girl apologized, clapping her hands together.

"Yeah and I got…lost," Tidus admitted, scratching his blonde spikes in embarrassment.

"Loser," Shinra coughed quietly from his computer screen, earning a glare from Tidus. The young Al Bhed was promptly rewarded with a thwack to the head by Paine. "Hey! What was that for?"

The red-eyed swordswoman opted not to waste her voice replying and crossed her arms instead, ignoring the protesting boy. "So when are we leaving?" she drawled, in bored-face mode.

"Right now!" Rikku chirped, skipping over to the dozing Brother. "Brotherrrrr…." she whispered, poking him gently in the side. The tattooed man snorted in his sleep and ignored the prodding, mumbling something in their tongue. Rikku sighed and then inhaled, screaming loudly for the entire world to hear.

"Brother, look! Yunie's walking around in nothing but a towel and she wants you to give her a massage!"

In an instant the pilot was up on his feet, a psychotically ecstatic look on his face as he searched the room for his crush. Rikku rolled her eyes as his grin faded into a look of one who is betrayed when he saw Yuna fully dressed and embarrassed at Rikku's outburst.

"Rikk! You lied to me!" he whined. He was promptly rewarded with a painful hit to the head and he wailed, rubbing his wounded head.

"Enough with the crying, you drama queen! C'mon! Tidus wants to see Djose Temple! Rub uh ed!" (Hop on it!)

Still nursing his wounded head, Brother sniffed and started up the Celsius. The engines started rumbling and soon they were above the ground, the blue seas passing quickly below them. Tidus walked up next to the pilot, taking in the dizzying scenery through the transparent floor.

"How neat," Tidus commented, ever ready to make lame speeches. Brother chose to ignore the blonde ex-blitzball player, well aware of the fact that he had taken Yuna away from him. "I bet it's pretty cool to fly around on the Celsius," the blonde tried again, glancing furtively at Brother. Still no response, except for the beginnings of an unhappy scowl blossoming on the Al Bhed man's face. "I like those tattoos—"

"I'm piloting here," Brother hissed at him in a thick accent. Tidus threw his hands up in the air in surrender and backed away, deciding to wander off somewhere else.

…

Three hours later found the Celsius landing on the barren ground leading to Mushroom Rock Road. A strong gust of wind scattered bits and pieces of rocky debris as the giant ship came to a stop on the surface. All was quiet save for nature's natural melody. The wind hummed contentedly among the branches of the trees, birds tweeting in harmony. The sun shone from its heavenly atmosphere, illuminating the earth below in the late afternoon.

This peace was broken by the opening of the hatch on the Celsius as Tidus and Rikku walked out, one stumbling, and the other skipping along the slanted steps. They were arguing about strategies and tactics in Sphere Break, which Rikku had introduced to him during the ride. Tidus had grown affection for the game quite rapidly.

After the duo came Paine, who had a gloved hand clutched over her forehead, her wine red eyes rolled skyward in a grimace. Yuna followed quickly after, turning around to quickly say goodbye to the crew of the Celsius as she hopped off the steps.

"Let's get going, you guys!" the ex-summoner exclaimed, breaking the heated argument between the two blondes.

"I agree," Paine spoke in her usual monotone, removing her hand from her head as the racket ceased. Tidus walked over to Yuna as they started to move forward. She had a knowing smile on her face as he turned to look at the brunette.

"So…what's the signal?"

"Can't say." Tidus gave her The Look and she simply smiled at him secretively. He didn't understand why she wouldn't tell him what it was. It was just a simple gesture of some sort so "A. Ness" would know when to fire at Rikku. He sighed in defeat. He knew he wasn't going to get the information out of her. It didn't really matter, anyway. He'd find out once they reached Djose.

As the group proceeded down the path, they failed to notice a figure cloaked in black silently leave through the emergency hatch, a silver pistol clenched tightly in their leather-clad hands as they jumped off.

Asher landed none too gracefully onto the hard ground, wincing as his face kissed the ground. He quickly stood up as the Celsius started to ascend once again, narrowly avoiding getting clipped in the behind as he rolled away from the bright red ship. He hid between the trees, waiting until the air ship had flown up a good twenty feet before looking ahead of him, finding Yuna's group not too far ahead form his position. Nodding to himself, he started prancing from tree to tree, feeling his excitement build up. He pushed away the nagging conscience screaming "What are you doing? This is some crazy stuff going on down here, oh yes it is!" in bright neon lights, absently fingering the trigger on the pistol.

The ground crackled beneath him and he lost his footing momentarily, resulting in his fingers clenching, resulting in the pull of the trigger. A loud bang echoed across the expanse of land, and the traveling group ahead of him came to a stop, all of them whirling around to stare in his general direction. All thought processes in Asher's mind came to an abrupt halt as his mouth formed an 'o', his face twisted in absolute horror.

"Oh. My. GOD! I just shot myself! I'm dying! I've literally shot Lady Yuna's plans to hell! Oh, cruel world!" his conscience cried as the brown-haired man slumped to the ground, shaking violently. It was then that he realized he didn't feel any pain whatsoever. He paused in his angst and checked himself. No blood. Nada. Then he saw the dead bird lying next to him and winced.

Oops…

The realization that his life was still intact relieved him, but now there was still the current predicament at hand. His mind screamed a string of colorful curses, already over its dramatization. What would happen now? He looked at the group and saw Tidus randomly waving his arms in the air to distract the group.

"Uh…uh…oh! It must be hunting season now!" the blonde exclaimed loudly. Yuna caught on and jumped into the conversation, nodding energetically.

"Yeah! Hunting those fiends for coats and such has become a really huge trend after sphere-hunting ended," the brunette added on, pointing an index finger into the air for an added effect. Rikku glanced at Paine who merely shrugged, absently swinging her sword. "It's probably nothing. We should continue on," Yuna said after a brief silence, nervously playing with the long braid in her hair.

"I guess so. But if there's another gunshot, I think we should go investigate!" Rikku protested, her cheery demeanor temporarily replaced by a rare show of seriousness. Her swirled eyes wore a worried look, not for herself, but for the wellbeing of her friends. Yuna offered a weak smile and nodded reassuringly.

As the group continued onward, the brunette looked back and found Asher in the bushes. They made eye contact and the "serial killer" gave her a sheepish shrug and she returned it with a dry smile that clearly stated for him to be more careful. Then she turned around and jogged slightly to stand next to Tidus who breathed out deeply, quite proud of himself for the save.

"Nice cover," Yuna whispered to him, patting him fondly on the back. He flashed her a charming smile in return.

…

Djose Temple was now in plain sight, the temple rising high above the worn ground, the view and smell coming from it reeking of oil, grease, and machina. Rikku felt a smile make its way onto her face as they approached. She hadn't been around machina for quite a while, and she felt closer to her people whenever she visited. She would never admit it, but she was glad Tidus wanted to come see the temple, even though she'd have to put up with a certain head of the Machine Faction.

Speaking of the devil, Gippal was marching around outside the temple doors, his gun slung nonchalantly across his shoulder, his fingerless gloves waving about conversationally to a potential digger. His appearance hadn't changed one bit since she last saw him at the celebration. His blonde hair was still as spiky as ever, and she could tell by his posture that he still carried his cocky persona around.

"I spy Djose Temple!" Tidus remarked excitedly as they started crossing the stone bridge, earning an eye roll from Paine. At the sound of Tidus's voice, Gippal looked away from the digger, his good eye widening slightly in surprise before his gaze landed on Rikku. Then it turned into a smirk. Once both sides were within normal speaking range, Gippal lazily placed a hand on his hip and nodded his head.

"What brings you guys here?"

"Oh, I was telling Tidus about the places we'd visited during our journey and he wanted to come here first," Yuna explained offhandedly, her two-toned eyes not meeting Gippal's. They were shifting side to side, as if searching for something. Gippal raised a dark brow, feeling suspicious despite the harmless explanation.

"Is that so? Well, this is Djose Temple. Fascinating, ain't it?" he remarked dryly, gesturing toward the large building with flourish. Rikku couldn't help but roll her eyes. She lightly smacked Gippal on the arm, trying to hide a smile when he winced and pouted.

"Geez, Cid's girl. Ouin bihlrac yna cu syhmo." (Your punches are so manly.) Rikku huffed in annoyance and he gently slugged her on the arm in greeting. "It's been a while! I've missed you," he crooned, delighted by the dark shade of red that blossomed on her pretty face.

Tidus grinned. He'd never seen the Al Bhed girl so flustered up before. She so had it bad for this Gippal guy. Yuna, meanwhile, had finally spotted Asher who was crouched on the ground to the side, waiting for "the signal". Yuna, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, raised an arm above her head and sniffed her armpit, just in time for Tidus to look at her and send her an incredulous look, as if to say "That's the signal?"

The ex-blitzball player didn't have time to say anything as in the next moment, the crack of a bullet released from its prison echoed in the air, flying straight towards Rikku with a deadly precision. Gippal reacted immediately, lifting his gun into the air and deflecting the bullet which would have hit Rikku straight-on in the face. His good eye narrowed to near slits. He felt a cold fury mounting inside of him and a heart-wrenching fear as he realized if he hadn't moved in time, Rikku might not have been standing where she was.

The people that were meandering about the grounds were frozen in place. Silence hung in the air, the tension so thick it could be cut by a knife. A young child clung to his mother's clothes, his eyes wide and full of fear. Some diggers had dropped their shovels and were on the ground, their hands covering their heads, shaking noticeably.

Rikku had a shocked expression on her face as the sound of the bullet continued to ring in her ears, the blood pounding loudly in her head. That had been close. Way too close for comfort. Gippal slowly lowered his gun and started to walk forward in the direction where the bullet had come from, leaving a shaking Rikku. Yuna, great actress that she was, enveloped her cousin in a tight embrace, sharing a smirk with Paine and Tidus. Granted, the shot had been pretty damn close, but that made it all the more perfect that "A. Ness" really was a serial killer.

The brunette frowned as she rolled the name inside her head. Maybe I should contact him later and ask if he wants to change it. She absently ran a hand through Rikku's hair, calming the trembling girl down. Her cousin's hands were clenched tightly around Yuna's arms, deathly cold.

Gippal returned a few minutes later after inspecting the area, a menacing scowl on his face. "There's no trace of anyone being there," he muttered in frustration, clicking the safety lock on his gun. The three conspirators inwardly gave a sigh of relief. That Asher guy was good. The head of the Machine Faction approached Rikku, concern on his face. "You ok?"

The shocked expression on Rikku's face slowly crumbled and she breathed in deeply, managing a small smile. "Yeah, I'm good. Thanks for…saving my life." Gippal shook his head and playfully ran a hand through her braided hair, messing up the braids quite effectively. "H-Hey!"

"Don't worry about it. Let's get inside, you guys."

A/N – I hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter! The lyrics are from the song Twilight by Vanessa Carlton. Anyway, again, I apologize for the late update. I've kind of strayed away from the FFX-2 world. No worries, though. The muses haven't disappeared, so you can rest assured that I'll be updating again.

-Moshi Moshi Mai