punkygal- thanks! I hope you like this one too although it was supposed to be longer. Sorry.
kingleby- yeah I know. Although there are many guys like that. My brothers are classic examples
Master Thief- I know, I know. But if it didn't have problems then it would be a bit pointless. They will end up together at the end I promise. Probly before then actually. But yeah I feel your pain. I adore this couple and I made them fight. Bad author, bad
Gippal nd Rikku x3- ah! I was wondering who would bring this up. Yes the infamous mystery. Who dun it? Well actually you haven't met him/her yet. Sorry. Although I think I introduce some potential baddies. Mwah-ha-ha you shall never know! (well, at least not yet)(heck, I haven't even decided who's bad yet although I have an idea)
Jaime- depressing? That makes me very sad. Now I'm depressed. whimpers and hides under desk me no likey
Ed Black-oooo O-o good review. I feel powerful now. (I have very jumpy moods I go from sad to happy like that and vice versa although I do hold grudges very long) sorry tmi hahaha! I am so dumb. Back to the review. Oh yeah! Love taps and tact! Absolutely! You read me like a book. I am big fan of fluff and Rikku might have to enforce a bit of it. Woo-hoo! -
dragonmaster- oh, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to hit so close to home. But at least that means it's believable. Oh and thanks for da praise. You can have huggles!
Sweet Angel Taisha- of course they have to be together! It's fate! I don't think Gippal knows what a jerk he was quite yet. He seems to realize he's done something wrong at least. Thankies!
Letselina- well...actually I wasn't gonna explain that yet but oh well, it's kinda like what makes it run. Your computer has memory and if it didn't you couldn't have your OS (operating system-windows, apple, etc.) or any other programs(solitaire, word, internet, etc). Your computer would be a giant paperweight. (I know a bit about computers. I've been taking a class that consists only of fixing computers ever since 8th grade. I'm starting 12th. Yet I know very little. Hmm...fixing computers is obviously not my forte) The memory in the ancient machina also has a record of what it was used for, but you don't know that yet. (well, I guess you do now). Don't worry about it too much. Everything will unfold and make sense in due time.
dragonmaster- I'm so so so so sorry! Please forgive me. I bring offering of a new chappie! It's just I dunno I was planning on writing more in this chapter. Now I'm kinda sad. I really want to write more but I know if I do, it'll take like another week at least. (I start senior year in high school this Wednesday and I will be very busy with school work. I took hard classes. Stupid me.)
Disclaimer-(i almost forgot) I don't own much. Pretty much I own Tuik and Cyht and Jarne. All the OCs but pretty much nothing else. That belongs to someone else. Hmm... anyone care to guess? (I'm not really that stupid. i'm just being sarcastic)
Chapter 6: Problems
Gippal walked towards the entrance to the ancient machina's enclosure and spotted two Al Bheds standing guard in front of the door. He decided to interview them first as the inspection may take longer than their shift and he didn't want to have to find them later.
"What happened?" Gippal growled, angrily glaring at the two.
"Well, sir," the shorter of the two said nervously. "As it was around dinner time, three of the four guards went to the mess hall to get food. They were going to bring it back." To Gippal it sounded as if he were making excuses for the other guards. Gippal looked at the ground annoyed and noticed the guard had his hands clenched, wearing blue gloves with three white stars on the back. When the guard realized what Gippal was looking at, he shoved his hands in his pockets and continued. "Apparently, while they were gone, someone came, shot the left-behind guard, and vandalized the ancient machina." His tone sounded urgent but rehearsed.
'It's like he thought what to say before I came,' Gippal thought. 'Well, I guess I am pretty intimidating. I mean, I wouldn't want to come across me in a situation like this unprepared.' He paused in his thoughts. 'Maybe I'm just paranoid.'
Gippal shook his head slightly trying to knock himself back to reality but also trying to look disappointed. He thought back on what he had just heard. Gippal cocked an eyebrow, "What do you mean 'vandalized'?"
"Well, sir," the second guard said as Gippal turned to him. "We're not exactly sure. Apparently, when the other guards came back and saw his bloodied body, one went to get the medic, one went to get you, and the other went inside. Sadly, however, the culprit wasn't finished doing whatever he was doing. He shot the guard and ran. We think he was trying to steal the machina but didn't have enough time." This guard seemed somewhat more genuine. He was babbling and stuttering and seemed completely flipped-out.
"How are the two who got shot?" Gippal asked concernedly, peering at the bloodstained doorway.
"Both are critical. But from what I've heard, the medic is almost positive that they'll pull through," the first guard said off-handedly.
"Good. What're your names?" Gippal asked. "In case Nhadala makes me file a report, I need to know who I got the information from," he explained.
"I'm Tuik," the first guard said and nodding to the other, he added, "That's Cyht."
(A/N: Pronounced too-ick and sight. I don't know how it's actually pronounced, but this is how I say it. )
"Okay. Has anyone been in the, since?" Gippal asked nodding towards the entrance to the shelter.
"Only the medic, sir," Cyht said.
"Good. Are you on duty now?" he asked, and after seeing the two nod, he continued. "Don't let anyone else in. If they absolutely must talk to me, knock first and I'll come out here." Gippal turned to walk into the building but paused and turned back to Cyht and Tuik. "Do you know who came to get me?"
"That was Knyo," Cyht said.
"Thanks," Gippal said turning and striding into the building. "I'll have to talk to him later."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
In Rikku's Room
Rikku sat on her bed clutching a chocobo plushie. Her tears had finally stopped after about twenty minutes of sobbing. She didn't know why his words hurt so much, but right then she didn't care why. The fact was Gippal had hurt her again. All throughout the tears her mind had been running in circles.
'I didn't mean I had to talk to him right that minute. He didn't have to get so mad. But what he said...that hurt. I understand that the Machine Faction is important to him but...oh I dunno. Maybe I thought I...should be more important. I mean if he loved me before, doesn't that mean he's beginning to love me again? Shouldn't love be more important than work? But, if he loved me before, why'd he cheat on me? Stupid pictures! Why'd I have to find them? That's what started this whole thing."
After a bit of dwelling, Rikku drifted into an uneasy sleep. Her dreams were plagued with visions of Gippal and, even while asleep, she cried. Hours later, Rikku woke sobbing and gasping for breath. The last dream had been of Gippal, face down in the sand. His gun was feet from him and a patch of blood on his back was expanding as life slipped away from him. She had run to him and doused him in Phoenix Down's and Hi-Potions. But he continued to die. Right before she had felt the last bit of life slip from him, she had woken up.
After catching her breath and wiping the tears from her face, Rikku glanced around the room. Her eyes were drawn to the clock as her stomach growled loudly. It was almost midnight. And, as much as Rikku didn't want to leave her room, she knew that she must eat. Crying so much really wears one down and she needed food to keep up her strength. So, Rikku got out of bed, wiped her eyes, checked her reflection, and headed to the mess hall.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Back with Gippal in the Ancient Machina's Shelter
As Gippal walked into the room, two things immediately caught his eye. One was the pool of blood on the floor about ten feet inside the doorway. The second was the machina itself. The panels covering it's chest had been taken off. Gippal was astonished.
'Either Shinra, Cid, or Rikku did this, or someone else figured out how to get them damn things off,' Gippal thought perplexedly. 'I'm guessing it's the latter.'
After climbing onto a lift of sorts and settling it in front of the chest, Gippal began to examine the machina. An hour later Gippal was getting annoyed. Going over the wiring inch by inch and not finding anything was making him crazy. But this is what he did for a living. He was about to give up, when he ran across something different then the mess of wires and circuit boards.
A vine of wires was cut and behind it was a blank spot about six inches wide two inches deep and ten inches tall. As everything else was within an inch of the thing next to it, this looked odd to Gippal. As Gippal pushed back the wires to look closer, he spotted a piece of folded paper. It seemed to be a diagram of the machina. It was immensely complex and tiny. Also, it was written in a language that was neither Al Bhed nor Spiran.
(A/N: What is the other language called? Sorry, pointless interruption. Please continue )
Gippal sat down and studied the paper harshly. It was tiny and what Gippal really needed was a magnifying glass.
'Too bad I lost mine,' he thought. 'I'm sure it's in my office somewhere but I don't have time to look for it. I could get Rikku to...not that she would. I guess she's really mad at me this time. But I can't think about that right now. I need to concentrate.'
But Gippal couldn't get back on track. Once Rikku had entered his mind, everything else had flown out. His mind dwelled on her for about ten minutes before he decided that continuing was pointless for the time being.
Gippal stood up, folding the diagram and stuffing it into his back pocket. He got off the lift and walked to the foot of the machina, wondering how to put the plate back on. Instead of trying he left and walked to his office, not noticing the diggers who greeted him in the hallway. He was thinking about how to get Rikku back on speaking terms with him. He needed her to teach him how to put the covers back on.
Gippal sat at his desk, throwing the diagram on top of the piles of paper covering the top of his desk. He leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees and settling his face in his hands and sighed.
'Today is not going well,' he thought sourly. Gippal's stomach growled loudly and he pulled one arm up in front of his face, squinting at his watch. I was already past midnight and he hadn't eaten since the night before. Gippal sighed, stood and stretched, and walked out the door towards the mess hall.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The Mess Hall
There were only three other people in the mess hall when Rikku walked in, and they all looked dirty and sleepy. Dinner had ended hours ago but the kitchen was open all night due to the fact that Gippal understood how it felt to get wrapped up in something, miss dinner, and not be able to get food. It sucked. Rikku grabbed a plum and a piece of chocolate-chip cake from the snack bar and sat at a table in the corner of the room facing the wall. Her face was still a bit puffy and she didn't want anyone to see her.
Gippal walked into the mess hall about ten minutes after Rikku. He strode over to the night-cook. Although there was a snack bar with small stuff like fruits, veggies, and cookies, one could also get the night cook to make something if they were really hungry.
"Hey Jarne," he greeted the cook, nodding at him. "Can you get me some dinner?"
"Working late again Gippal?" the cook asked, chuckling. "Anything in particular?"
"Are you asking about food or work?"
"Both," Jarne answered jovially.
"Ancient machina and I don't care, so long as I get some food," Gippal answered sounding slightly sleepy and very surly.
"Sure thing. Have a seat, I'll bring it to ya," Jarne said recognizing the weariness in his young leader's eyes that even Gippal didn't realize.
"Thanks Jarne," Gippal said turning away to see if there was anyone he wanted to sit with. He recognized two young workers he had recently hired, an old guard, and a certain blonde princess. Gippal sighed wondering if it was worth the risk to sit by her. He had really wanted to talk to her in private. He didn't want to make a scene but he did want to talk to her.
As Gippal was fighting his inner battle, Rikku stood up and turned around to head for the trashcan. But as soon as she saw Gippal, Rikku stopped short. Her eyes widened and she backed into a chair. The impact seemed to knock her back to reality. Rikku turned on her heels and hurried to the nearest exit.
Gippal was about to head after her when Jarne walked out of the kitchen carrying a plate of eggs and pancakes.
"Gippal! Foods done."
"Oh," Gippal said reluctantly turning away from the doorway to look at Jarne. "Thanks."
Gippal turned to the nearest table and sat down. Jarne joined him and he ate while informing Jarne off the theft. He asked Jarne to keep an ear out but not to spread the word.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
(A/N: Sorry, but I must vent and tell you what's taking me so long. Here we go. (If you want to skip this part, it's okay I won't know! - I just like to think people hear me.) Alrighty so I usually take a one-day break before I begin writing the next chappie. I wrote everything above in about two sittings. I write on loose-leaf paper so I can write while lying on my nice comfy waterbed. I write the bare bones of the script and it's very messy. Bare bones means main point of the story only. Like Ex. The first paragraph was originally: "Gippal walked up to a couple of guards outside the building the ancient machina was in." I also usually leave out all thoughts unless important and things are much less complex. Ex. Rikku's dream was originally "Gippal had left her for Crimson Squad but this time he didn't come back." Much different. Anyway, that wasn't what I wanted to talk about. I wanted to tell you why it's taking me so long. Well, I have problems writing the next part. In fact, I'm still not done. Usually I write the complete chapter then type it. (then I add thankies and disclaimer). But I figured, since I'm having such a hard time writing the next part, maybe I'd type out and fill the part I already have written and maybe that'll make me inspired. It's kinda working and by the time you read this, I will hopefully be happy with what I got from this. )
- Sorry!
O-o I wrote a lot! I hope you didn't suffer through all that!
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Rikku sat outside Djose on a stone bench carved with flowers and gears.
'Such a strange combination,' Rikku thought running her fingers over the portable commsphere she was holding. You couldn't see the person you were talking to with the portable commsphere but it was useful for talking, and that's what Rikku needed. To talk to someone other than Gippal. That was why she was outside. She didn't figure Gippal would look for her outside the temple.
Rikku dialed and waited. After around ten seconds, she heard a familiar, comforting voice.
"Hello, Yuna speaking," her calm voice rang out.
"Hey Yunie!" Rikku squealed. "Betcha know who I am!"
"Do I?" Yuna teased. "Hmm, voice doesn't ring a bell." Rikku growled her disapproval of the joke and Yuna giggled. "I'm just teasing! Of course I know you, Rikku. You're my cuzzie!"
"Good! Anyway Yunie. So...how have you and Tidus been?" Rikku asked off-handedly.
"Rikku, skip the small talk and just tell me what's wrong," Yuna said bluntly.
"WHAT!?" Rikku said surprised and a bit put-off. She pouted.
"Yuna that was a bit harsh," she heard a voice in the background say.
"Sorry," Yuna mumbled.
"Is that Tidus?" Rikku asked excitedly. "Tell him I say hi."
"Rikku," Yuna said more gently. "You're getting off the subject. Now, what's wrong?"
"Fine," Rikku said giving in. "Here goes."
So Rikku explained everything. From dancing to kissing, from the hotel and talking to his room and the pictures, and finally culminating in the machina that seemed more important that Rikku. Through all of it, Yuna listened intently adding a "Mm-hm" or "Yeah" every once in a while.
A/N: (I seem to have a lot of these this chapter) Sorry for the cop-out but I figured you all should already know what happened and you don't want to listen to it again. I mean, you're very welcome to read it again if you've forgotten any of it. It's all still there. -
Rikku finally ended her long-winded explanation with, "So I dunno what to do now Yunie. Can you help me?" In response, Yuna sat silently for a bit, Rikku waiting quietly but impatiently.
"Well, first off you have to try and understand Gippal. What he did, cheating on you, is in the far past. There's nothing he or you can do about it. As for him getting so mad at you, well...I, um," Yuna cut off thinking.
Rikku continued for her. "I guess the Machine Faction is his life. I mean it's not like he's ever had a serious girlfriend before. He's probably so used to putting work first, that he doesn't know any other way," Rikku said sadly.
"Wow, Rikku," Yuna said amazed. "See, you don't need my help. You know how to figure out your own problems now.
"Yeah, I guess," Rikku replied without conviction. "Thanks Yunie. I'll try to understand him. Bye."
"Bye!" And with that they both hung up.
A/N: Time for a break from typing. I have to go write the rest but considering it's like 2am I might not be able to get much done tonight so you have at least one more day to wait. Sorry! - Or I guess I could end it here. It's four pages in 10pt font. That's okay although there's like a whole nother page in chapter five. Oh well, you all wanted more. Here you go.
I've decided this is the end. Sorry it took so long. I don't particularly like what this chapter gets done, which is nothing. Nothing is resolved, not much really happens except you find out a little bit more about the robbery. Oh well, as I've said many times already, I actually planned to make this longer. I HATE that I'm being lazy! GRRR!!!! Oh well, at least this means I can go to sleep. (I feel zombie-ish. Largo would shoot me down in a second. Sorry. I've been reading Mega Tokyo. If you haven't read it, I strongly recommend it. www. megatokyo .com
Oh, and before I forget, I have a couple questions. do any of you cosplay? and what's your favorite part or chappie so far?
My fav part is the song. I guess it's a little angsty but isn't all great love? I mean in the 'greatest love story ever written' (Romeo and Juliet) both lovers die. Besides I loved writing it. I like the fluffy kiss but whenever I go back and read it, I blush and think 'oh my gosh how did I write that?' It's just totally not me.
Thanks. I'm sleepy! Bye!