A/N: Special thanks to Lttlwings for the only review for chapter three. You rule. :)

Chapter Four

A busted Energy Coil in the engine had delayed their trip to Luca. About half an hour since their departure from the Calm Lands, suddenly a light came on warning them that there was some sort of malfunction in the engine. Upon seeing this, Elsion had immediately set the ship down in an empty field just north of Macalania woods where, luckily, there was a small settlement. The two of them set to work to fix their transport.

Rikku had been around machina her entire life. She knew instinctively which parts to use, which were damaged, what to put together, and so forth. And though there were many Al Bhed who were far superior to her in skill with machina, Rikku could proudly and with no arrogance whatsoever count herself amongst the best. So when she very expertly and quickly assessed what the problem was, she found Elsion staring at her in awe.

"Didn't know you were so good with these ol' things," he commented as he rubbed the back of his neck. They were crouched in front of an anti-gravity generator that had its protective covering unscrewed and lying discarded off to the side. As Rikku had suspected, one of the main components, a metal coil that converted energy to the generator to supply support to the ship, had been burnt out.

Rikku grinned. "I'm an Al Bhed. We live for machina."

Elsion smiled and stood, now frowning pensively at the mess that had been the generator coil. "I see. Well, it looks like we know what the problem is. Now how do we fix it?"

The hatch to the ship was open. They walked down the ramp side by side and peered out to the massive barren field that was spread out before them on all sides. Strangely, the earth here was a fair, pale color and the farther the distance, the whiter the ground seemed to be. Rikku shaded her eyes and squinted to get a better look at the tiny dot that didn't blend in with the rest of the ash white field a good distance away from them.

"There's a little village near here. See it? There!" Rikku pointed the tiny speck in the horizon out to Elsion. "Tell you what, I'll go see if I can scrounge up what we need. Someone there should have something if the place is so far out of everyone's way. Why don't you run a quick diagnostic on the rest of the airship to make sure everything else is okay?"

"Yes ma'am," Elsion said, smiling gently at her slightly authoritative tone.

Rikku gave him a confident smirk. "We'll be out of here in no time. Leave it to me!"

And she was off. Running across a field twice in a single day. Too bad there wasn't a friendly Chocobo willing to swing by and give her a ride here!

Not that she minded. Rikku was a bit excited to be entering a new place. It was one of the things that made her journey throughout Spira worthwhile. She got to see all sorts of places and meet all sorts of people that she would have never met if she'd been content with staying still in one location. Spira had changed so much in the last two years that Rikku wanted to explore every bit of it to see it as it grew brighter and brighter with each day.

Wow...She reflected at that thought.

Two years. Had it really been two whole years since everything had happened? It was hard to believe that only two years ago the Gullwings had descended deep into the heart of Spira to battle the monstrous Vegnagun and to watch the touching reunion of Shuyin and Lenne. Much had happened since then with the Gullwings, now scattered living their own lives.

Yuna was living in Besaid with Tidus beside Lulu and Wakka. The two of them had rarely been seen apart once they'd been reunited after so long. Naturally, the couple needed a lot of alone time so Rikku did her best to give it to them even if she found herself missing hanging out with them. Paine had started talking to Baralai, Nooj, and Gippal again. After all the drama the four of them had gone through during the Crimson Squad training, Den of Woe, and the Vegnagun fiasco, they finally decided that it was time to let bygones be bygones. They were healing the breach between their friendship.

And Rikku...well, she had felt...out of place. It didn't bother her at first. She had not had anything specific planned for herself but whatever her next adventure with the Gullwings would be. But seeing as the Gullwings had wandered off in their own directions, Rikku found herself adrift until a heated argument with her idiot brother Brother sparked an idea for her to travel Spira by herself, not for any purpose other than to enjoy it. Privately, the idea had come out of a need to prove to the others that she was capable of taking care of herself without any help. She needed to prove it to herself even if it wasn't going to be easy.

However, Rikku found that she did enjoy the freedom of answering to no one and not having to meet anyone's expectations but her own. In the first months it had been hard. Rikku had not been used to being on her own for prolonged periods of time; she'd always had Yuna, Paine, or someone with her or nearby. Soon, though, Rikku began to grow used to watching her own back. She had to learn a few things the hard way. That had not been fun but Rikku knew those experiences had made her a stronger person. In her own eyes if not anyone else's.

"The lone Gullwing spreads her wings," Amira had quite accurately summed it up when Rikku had told her all about it once. Rikku smiled. Yes, that was a perfect description.

"Wintervella," Rikku read when she saw the cheerful green sign, snapping out of her reverie. So the village was called Wintervella. Appropriate play on words as the place looked as if a blanket of snow covered the ground.

The most impressive thing about the village was the unusual architecture. Most of Spira preferred the simple dome shaped homes as they did in Besaid or the huts in Kilika. In Wintervella, each dwelling was a mess of interesting geometric shapes: pyramids, cubes, cylinders. No two buildings looked alike. The people of the village obviously thought nothing of the lovely structures as they just went about their lives with neither a thought nor second glance at them. Rikku, on the other hand, found herself staring in awe.

"I see you enjoy our architecture, miss," a gravelly voice suddenly said.

Rikku turned. She found a short, elderly man standing a little distance behind her, smiling gently as he leaned against his cane. "It's very...different."

The man smiled again, an odd twinkle in his bright blue eyes. "Oh yes. The artisans of Wintervella were not shy with their creativity when they first built this place."

Her eyes traced the shape angles of the various shapes making up the buildings. "It's incredible. I've never seen anything like it!"

The elderly man smiled. "I wouldn't doubt that. The artisans that designed these magnificent homes before you came here hoping to find a place where their artistic nature could be appreciated more thoroughly. The rest of Spira simply did not seem ready for their art yet."

"That's too bad," Rikku said honestly. She noticed a particularly large building that was not designed like the rest. In fact, it looked similar to the how the temples were designed.

"Is that...a temple?"

"It was supposed to have been. The priests of Yevon wanted to make that a temple where the Summoners could stop by and pray to the Fayth and receive an Aeon. But it seems that was meant not to be."

"Why not?"

"It is said that that temple is...cursed. You see, it was built many, many years ago, even before Wintervella became what you see today. The priests of Yevon did not even discover of its existence until the system of temples had already been arranged throughout Spira. When they did find it out here in the middle of nowhere, they decided to renovate it into a temple. But..."

"What happened?"

"There were many unfortunate and unexplained accidents while it was under construction. The Cloister of Trials in particular is the site of many grisly deaths. There were so many people dying and getting hurt that they decided to abandon the project all together. Now it is simply a relic from our past that has become apart of Wintervella's myths."

She shivered as she stared at the temple. She was a bit creeped out by his story. When she felt the man's eyes on her she turned hesitantly to find him staring. "I apologize if it is rude, but I must ask. Are you an Al Bhed?"

"Yes..." Rikku answered and instinctively braced herself for words of condemnation. Though most on Spira accepted Al Bhed, there were those still who did not.

Fortunately, the man smiled. "I thought so. No need to worry, miss. You won't get any discrimination against you here. All is welcome to Wintervella. I just simply had to know seeing as I've never seen a set of eyes more beautiful than yours. Al Bhed eyes are the most unique and yours are simply astonishing."

Rikku blushed at the unexpected compliment. "Oh...I...um...th-thank you, Sir." She paused. "My name is Rikku."

He gave her another patient, wizened smile. "I am called many things but here, I am known as Kai so I'll have to ask you to call me by such. An honor to meet you, Rikku."

His introduction was kind of odd but Rikku didn't think much of it. It seemed Wintervella wasn't much of a normal village either. Kai shuffled forward a few steps, supporting himself with the simply, roughly carved cane in his grasp. "So what brings you to our little village, Rikku?"

"Well, my friend and I are in a bit of a rut," Rikku answered. "Our airship broke down so I was hoping to find a shop that may have some parts we need. Does Wintervella have a shop with some machina parts?"

She fervently hoped so. Wintervella was so out of place and isolated that it wouldn't surprise her if they hadn't even heard of machina. But she was surprised.

"You're in luck, then. There's a Junk Shop that just opened recently by a pair of Al Bhed brothers. It's right over there. They should have the parts you need," Kai motioned with his unused hand towards a small building concocted of navy and teal blocks that were creatively arranged in a lovely pattern that ran along all sides. On the archway of the entrance was a sign that read: Machineheads: Machina Parts and Supplies.

"Ooh! That's perfect! Thanks a lot, Kai!" Rikku exclaimed.

Kai gave her another of his thin-lipped smiles. "You're very welcome, my dear. Enjoy your stay in Wintervella. We love visitors."

She smiled at him and walked away. She made a mental note to herself to stop by Wintervella again the next time she was in the area. There was no time now but this was definitely a place she wanted to explore some more. It seemed like an interesting village.

A bell chimed pleasantly as Rikku entered the Junk Shop. She paused at the doorway and looked around. It wasn't a very big shop. There was an abundance of machina, though. Along the left wall were a line of incomplete machina drones and bins filled with parts to repair them. Shelves filled with more bins of screws and drone parts lined the walls on both sides. There was even a little yellow and blue machina perched on the counter, staring at Rikku with round bright green circular eyes.

"Greetings, Customer Number 1037. Welcome to Machineheads. I am Greeting Machina designated model TS-12," it announced in a dull monotone.

Rikku was surprised. It talked! She hadn't come across a machina that talked yet even though she known it was possible to give them the capability. Whoever owned this shop had obviously taken advantage of that.

"Hi, uh, Greeting Machina," she answered while walking towards the counter.

"You may call me 'Blabbermouth' as it is the name specified by 'Sir' and 'Master'."

"Sounds like some nice guys if they name you 'Blabbermouth'," Rikku wryly said, smiling despite herself.

The blue door that was to the right of the counter slid open suddenly. A man emerged, dressed in a light tan body suit and black dark boots and gloves. A pair of worn goggles was precariously tucked on his sandy reddish hair and his skin was bronzed, most likely from an abundance of sunlight. Rikku knew him. It was Rahga, a comical, yet tough man that worked for her father. He'd even worked with Rikku before when they'd been combing Bikanel together for machina parts and been tracking Summoners on their pilgrimages years ago.

"—zicd dyga ed ayco, ugyo? Syh, oui'na mega y pek pypo. E DUMT oui hud du ayd dryd..." Rahga was saying to someone in the back room. He trailed off when he turned and noticed her. He started. "Fruy! Rikku? Ec dryd oui?" [--just take it easy, will ya'? Man, you're like a big baby. I TOLD you not to eat that...] [Whoa! Rikku? Is that you?]

Rikku smiled. "Rao Rahga. Ed'c paah y frema." [Hey Rahga. It's been a while.]

Rahga laughed and seized her in a jovial hug. "Hell yeah, it's been! Come here!"

He swung her around like he'd always done when she was a little girl and then placed her down, looking her over. "You've done grown up, girl! Look at you!"

"Master, your command of Customer Number 1037 us illogical as it is impossible. Customer Number 1037 cannot look upon herself as her human eyes can only look at a certain portion of her body. She would need a mirror, and you and Sir do not have any mirrors currently--"

"Blabbermouth, can it before I deactivate you again," Rahga growled at the little robot.

"That is the fifty seventh time you have threatened to deactivate me this week since the last time you did so."

"Blabbermouth--"

"Luckily, Sir recently installed the file 'Fear' into my program. Therefore I shall cease to converse until the time is appropriate."

Rahga was glaring vehemently at the little drone. "Stupid Orric. He just HAD to put a personality chip into the damn little bugger..."

Rikku giggled. Rahga was just as she remembered him. "It's good to see you again, Rahga. I didn't know you and Orric were into the retailing business."

He shrugged. "Well with the Eternal Calm and everything, we figured why not? We found this cozy little place and they encouraged us to open the Junk Shop. The people here don't know much about machina but they love to learn so we have a pretty steady clientele."

"That's good to hear."

"So what brings you here? Shouldn't you be in Luca for your cousin's wedding?"

Rikku nodded. "I was on my way, actually. But my friend's airship broke down a little outside of Wintervella so I came looking for parts." She smiled. "And I found you guys!"

Rahga smiled. "And what is it that you need exactly? Cables? Accelerator crystals?"

"An Energy Coil for a J-type SF-Falcon 24."

He looked surprised. "An old model airship, huh? We have some of those here somewhere..."

The older Al Bhed walked past her and to a large bin near another deactivated machina drone. He rummaged through it, making pieces clank and thump against one another. "You know, funny that you should show up here."

"Why's that?"

"Because Orric and I were going to head to Luca to see YOU. Well, your old man actually but you'd probably be more interested in what we had to say."

"For what? Did you guys find something out on the dig?" Rikku knew the two of them had been under orders from Cid to search for anything that they could use to repair Home, which was still going on with slow progress. The brothers were two the biggest supporters in Cid's decision rebuild the old Al Bhed settlement. They'd even drawn up some of the design plans to fix it.

"Yeah. But it has nothing to do with Home," Rahga said and then stood again. In his hand was a new Energy Coil, glinting a metallic blue in the sunlight filtering through the window. "Here you are, kiddo. An Energy Coil as good as new."

Rikku took the part. "Thanks. How much?"

"Well, since you're the favorite of all my Al Bhed girls, I'll give you a huge discount," he answered and led her back to the counter where the silent Blabbermouth was watching them. Rahga was good on his word and charged her a measly three hundred gil for a part that would have easily cost over two thousand gil elsewhere.

"Thanks, Rahga. You're awesome," Rikku said as she handed over the money.

"No problem, kiddo. You know I love you."

She smiled. "So what did you find? Would you like for me to take it to Pop and save you the trip?"

"Like I said, you'd probably be more interested in it since it's a sphere."

Caught off guard, Rikku blinked. "A sphere?"

"Yeah. It's really old too. You're still sphere hunting, right?"

"Sort of. I'm kind of travelling for the heck of it now."

"Oh...well, would you like it anyway? We don't have a use for it."

Rikku nodded. "Sure...why not?"

"Okay then. Wait here, I'll go get it. I think Orric left it back in the storage room somewhere. Go back and say hi to Orric if you want," Rahga's lips thinned into a displeased line. "He's sick. That's why we ended up going back here instead of straight to Luca. The idiot ate a sandwich that was lying out in the sun all day when I TOLD him it was bad!"

The last part had been intentionally spoken in a louder voice so Orric could hear. Rikku giggled when an indignant reply came from the back room, "You could have TOLD ME before I ate it!"

"I did!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Rikku laughed outright. They reminded her of herself and Brother. Rahga disappeared into the storage room and she walked to the back and chatted with a pale Orric who was curled up on a bed, holding his stomach. Rahga tapped her on the shoulder when he returned.

"Here you are," He said depositing a green sphere into her hand. She gave it a quick appraisal. He hadn't been kidding. This was a really old sphere, far older than any of the ones she had found with Yuna and Paine. It was probably once a luminous glowing green but now it barely gave off anything more than a dull green shine and there were tiny webs of cracks all over it. In its center, Rikku could barely make out a strange symbol that showed that someone had owned it once many years ago.

"Have you watched it yet?" Rikku held it up to the light to see if she could decipher the symbol out more.

Rahga nodded. "Yup. Can't make heads or tails of it, though. It's pretty banged up so the message isn't clear. We didn't know what it was. Probably some old diary or something the guy kept." He frowned. "He said sure said some strange things on it though. Ah well, it's yours now."

"Thanks. I'll take a look at it later," Rikku have Rahga a hug and punched Orric lightly on the shoulder. "Take care, guys! And thanks again!"

"Bye kiddo! Say hi to old Ciddy-boy for us. Tell him we'll get back to work as soon as the idiot gets better," Rahga called after her when she was leaving, items secured in her arms.

"I told you it wasn't my fault!" Rikku heard Orric protest as she swiftly made her way out of the Junk Shop.

On her way out of the village, she spotted Kai standing beside the gate where he had been when they met. He gave her a toothy grin and raised a hand to wave. She waved back. She recalled their conversation and craned her head around to see the ominous temple looming over Wintervella one more time.

A chill came running down her spine. She tried reassuring herself. Probably just a story they tell outsiders and gullible tourists. There's probably nothing in there. Besides, it's not like they have to worry about people going in there now that Sin's gone. Hurry it up, Rikku! You have to get to Yunie's wedding!

She pushed the thought of the temple to the back of her mind and focused on her main objective at the present. She had to get back to Elsion and the airship fast. She couldn't miss Yuna's wedding rehearsal when she was one of her cousin's bride's maids!