A/N: Sorry it took so long to update! It's been a weird month.

Chapter Nine

Leaving the wedding turned out to be far less fun than getting there. Of all the things Gippal had expected when leaving, the last thing he would have expected was being escorted by a dozen armed men and women of the elite Bevelle Royal Guard. Imagine his surprise when just that had happened right after the reception. Once the enchanting dance with Rikku had ended, he'd quickly grown bored, a bit off-kilter by the experience he'd just had with his long time friend. So, he went in search of his friends.

He had found Baralai and Paine sitting at one of the tables clustered along the walls around the dance floor. Baralai grinned when he saw him, "Hey there, Gippal. Back so soon? You seemed like you were enjoying yourself."

Gippal frowned. "Huh?"

"Yes, you looked like you were on top of the world," Paine added with a smirk.

"Where IS Rikku anyway? You didn't abandon her for another girl, did you? That's not very gentlemanly of you, Gippal," chided Baralai in that soft teasing tone of his.

Before he could reply, Paine sighed dramatically, "Oh Gippal, Gippal, Gippal…don't we always tell you that that's NOT the way to impress girls?"

"Whoa, whoa!" Gippal interceded with his hands up. "What are the two of you babbling on about? That was just Cid's brat! I just thought I'd be a pal and dance with an old friend."

They looked at him dubiously and he stared back. Finally, Paine said in a dull voice that clearly indicated that she didn't believe him, "Right. Of course you were."

"I was!"

"Oh, we believe you…but you know, Gippal…denial is not healthy," Baralai still put in, smiling. He looked from the smiling Praetor to Paine's little grin and pouted.

"Okay, enough with the teasing, all ready," He said and then gave them a wicked grin of his own. "Besides, I want to hear about YOU TWO. Forget Cid's girl and me! You two were looking pretty cozy out there…arms around each other, staring into each other's eyes, bodies barely centimeters apart…"

He was rewarded with Paine's indignant growl of canning it and saw her cheeks turn pink before she turned away. Baralai's face was beat red as well. Gippal crossed his arms and sat back, satisfied. He raised an eyebrow at them like a parent would to their child as they inquired about a date, "Well? Come on. Let's hear it! You got to watch ME out there but I didn't get to watch the two of you!"

Baralai laughed and held up his hand to concede defeat; Paine was obviously growing agitated. "Okay, okay. Fair enough. You win. We'll stop pestering you."

"Thank you," Gippal glanced around at the couples still on the dance floor. "Where's Nooj? Did Leblanc drag him off to some dark corner and make a man of him or should I be worried?"

Both Baralai and Paine seemed to shudder at the thought. Paine said, "…Something like that. I don't know. They left earlier. Nooj didn't look very thrilled but I guess if it comes to keeping her happy…" She shrugged.

Gippal grinned. "The things we do for the ones we love…"

"Let's never let him hear you say that," Baralai remarked with a smile. He was about to take a sip of the cup he was nursing when something past Gippal's shoulder made him pause mid-action. His smile faded somewhat and the amber eyes narrowed slightly in moderate concern.

Curious, Gippal glanced over his shoulder to see what it was that had caught Baralai's attention. Across the vast room, the doors were swung open. The music of the last song continued and the dancing resumed without missing a beat but now a figure was swiftly weaving a path through, right towards their table. It was Mako. And she looked worried.

"Baralai," She said in a suspiciously relieved tone when she approached. "Thank goodness you're safe."

Baralai blinked at that. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Mako's body language screamed tension and even as she spoke, her eyes skirted around the room warily, "Praetor, I'm afraid that we need to get going. We must leave as soon as possible."

Gippal exchanged looks with Baralai. "What? But why?"

She didn't give Gippal the cold shoulder like she normally did or flat out ignore him. He didn't take that as a good sign. Her eyes darted quickly around the room again, specifically towards the windows, and then to him, "There's been an…incident. We really should get going."

"What kind of incident?" Paine demanded standing up.

The corners of Mako's eyes tightened. She was starting to grow annoyed with their lack of cooperation. "The kind that would require the immediate evacuation of Spira's figureheads. Praetor, please!"

She said 'Spira's figureheads.' Gippal realized with a start. "Huh? You mean me too?"

Now there was that familiar glare that suggested her opinion of him being a complete idiot, "Of course."

By now Baralai had started to understand that Mako's distress was genuine, judging by how anxious she was to get them to leave and by how her eyes couldn't seem to stay focused long on them before they quickly flitted suspiciously to their surroundings. He glanced back at his friends before nodded to his sister. "Lead the way."

She nodded tersely and motioned for them to follow her. Gippal fell in step behind Baralai. As he followed them out, he found himself unconsciously looking around, vouching for anything even remotely suspicious though he had no idea what it was exactly that he was looking for.

"Where is Meyvan Nooj?" Mako asked quietly, eyes still forward.

"He left earlier with his…date," Baralai answered. "Don't worry. He's in safe hands."

She merely nodded and led them on. Outside they were greeted by their escorts: eight men and four women dressed in identical uniforms of red and silver, the emblem of the Bevelle Royal Guard stitched directly on the center of the chest area. They were armed.

"Uh…hey there…" Gippal said with a look around the semicircle confronting them.

"How did…where did they come from, Mako?" Baralai asked incredulously.

"I will explain everything later, Praetor. For now, we need to get you out of here," she answered and nodded to the group. They dispersed from their positions in fluid unison like a group of machina drones and flocked around the three of them, Mako striding purposefully to the front to lead. "We will not, I'm afraid, be leaving on the Celsius. But no matter. Another transport has been arranged and all of your things have been taken there all ready."

After much pressure on Baralai's part, Mako caved and explained to them the situation on their way away from the Hotel. Several airships had been broken into. A man had died. They'd caught only one of the culprits. And they'd caught him on the Celsius only seconds before he was going to kill Brother. The Celsius that the three major leaders of Spira were using, which is what alarmed Mako.

"So that's what all of this commotion is about," Paine remarked as they passed by groups of curious onlookers making their way towards the docks.

Mako nodded grimly. "This way, please."

She'd led them through an alternate path that Gippal didn't even know existed. It was a lowered walkway that ran separate of the main walkways of Luca and snaked around under the docking platforms, discreetly linking to each dock to the next. As they passed the crime scene, Gippal saw the line of airships that had been broken into being searched not only by the green-uniformed Luca Security but also by the Bevelle Royal Guards as well.

"What are they going to do with the guy you caught?" Gippal asked.

Mako threw him a sidelong glance. "They?"

"Luca Security. I mean, this is their jurisdiction," He answered.

Her face grew dark for a split second and then smoothed into the usual inscrutable mask she was so fond of. "On the contrary. Because the Celsius was involved, it has become OUR jurisdiction. The prisoner will be handed over to us and we will handle the matter of finding out who was behind this incident." There was a dangerous gleam in her eyes and she smirked a bit. "Besides, Luca Security has little experience in these matters."

She just wants to tear into that captive. Gippal thought. It was a chilling thought but not something he'd put past a woman like her. He'd heard disturbing rumors of how anyone posing an immediate threat to Bevelle's leader was treated deep down in the dungeons of Via Infinito, the place where one's cry could not be heard by surface dwellers.

They were taken to a sleek airship called the Raiden. It was about the same size as the Celsius but a completely different model. It was painted a bleak steel blue with patterns of black and green flames splayed along the sides. The hull was long and curved down into a sharp point where the bridge of the ship was situated. The wings sported double turbines each and Gippal saw a back up set in the rear of the airship under the tail. 'Raiden' was written in italicized calligraphic text along the tail fin.

"Ah, Praetor Baralai! It warms my heart to see you safe!" a stark voice said when they appeared at the private port where the Raiden was docked. An older, middle aged man dressed in the same uniform as the other Guards came up to them, his blue eyes sparkling. He smiled politely and then looked at Mako. "No problems, milady?"

Mako shook her head, "None. Meyvan Nooj has all ready left so don't worry about him." She looked back at the three of them. "I will not be going with you. This is Dakaris, my second-in-command. He will be accompanying you in my stead."

"And where will you be?" Paine asked.

Gippal wasn't sure if it was the flash of cruel amusement that flickered through Mako's eyes or the humorless smile on her lips that made his stomach clench. "Interrogating the prisoner. And overseeing the investigation, of course." She bowed her head to Baralai. "I will see you later in Bevelle, Praetor. Safe journey to all of you." With that, she had turned and left.

Now, nearly an hour later, Gippal found himself standing to the side on the bridge of the Raiden watching its crew at work. The difference of this crew to the one of the Celsius' was like night and day. For one thing, the Raiden's crew was larger. Each station was occupied and every few minutes or so, other crewman would come bustling in to give a status report to Dakaris. While the air of the Gullwings was relaxing, fun, and somewhat bumbling, the Bevelle Royal Guards were nothing short than stiff and efficient. It was boring, really.

Sighing, Gippal pushed himself off of the wall from where he stood in the shadows. "Damnit, I can't take much more of this. I need a drink."

The door slid open and he walked down a narrow hall that branched off into several different areas and then the elevator at the end. Paine easily kept up with him to answer, "Oh stop your complaining. None of us asked to be whisked away like this, you know."

"They're not even sure if it was a prank or an actual attempt on Baralai's life," Gippal huffed. They took the elevator down to the living quarters level. Across from the actual sleeping area was a small restaurant, equipped with its own bar. He remembered it from the few times he'd been on the Raiden.

"Hmph," Paine simply grunted as she slid into a seat beside him. Then, "They're trying to be cautious. I think they're still paranoid from the last time something like this happened at the conference."

"Yeah," Gippal ordered a drink, "Baralai really dodged the bullet that time."

"No, he didn't. And that's not funny," She said.

Gippal looked at her seriously. "I know. I'm not laughing."

They fell silent. The thought of their friend's life being in danger again made Paine as nervous as it did him, he knew. Even now, a full year after the first assassination attempt, Gippal could remember the helplessness he'd felt as the healers had rushed Baralai to safety. He could remember the choking fear of not knowing whether or not Baralai's injuries were fatal and struggled with the fact that there really wasn't anything he could do to help. He, Nooj, and Paine had been the ones to nervously occupy the waiting room of the Bevelle hospital, all thoughts of duty and obligation ignored until Baralai's status was known. It had been a few of the longest hours in Gippal's life, a few that he had no desire to repeat.

The man behind the bar set their drinks down in front of them and walked off. After a moment, Paine continued quietly, "Let's hope it was a false alarm and that Mako was just overreacting."

"I second that," Gippal answered. They clinked their drinks together before taking sips of them.

The rest of the flight for Gippal did not allow him to see Baralai at all. He'd been whisked away by Dakaris the moment they'd boarded and apparently, even on the airship security was still tight. As he and Paine exchanged good byes, she informed him that she'd be returning with Baralai to Bevelle…just because she didn't want him to be alone and worry himself over the incident, she'd added hastily. But Gippal was no fool. He could see the look of concern adorning her features.

"Take care of him," He'd murmured into her ear as he impulsively pulled her into a quick hug and then departed down the ramp to return to his life in Djose Temple.

It didn't help his already burdened mind to see the throngs of people filling the small space where the Temple was nestled among the mountainside. He took the sight of the crowded walkway leading up to the Temple and sighed. It was back to work. Back to endless interviews with treasure seekers and people looking for a fast way to earn some gil. Back to more and more responsibilities slowly weighing down on his shoulders. Back to leading a faction that gobbled up his free time like a hungry fiend.

"Gippal!" From the entrance of Djose Temple, his frazzled-looking assistant Lialle came running up to him, eyes wide with a mixture of panic and relief. "Dryhg kuuthacc oui'na pylg!" ((Thank goodness you're back!))

A small, square electronic data pad was shoved into Gippal's hands. As Lialle began rambling on and on about how he was slated to interview a massive number of people as interest in excavating Bikanel was suddenly increasing, how a new line of Machine prototypes needed his inspection, how he needed to start organizing a team to expand the back of the temple to make more workspace, how…it was endless really. Gippal took a deep breath and felt the weight settle across his shoulders once more, resigned to the life he'd chosen and what came with it. Back to work. The break was nice while it lasted, I guess…