Disclaimer: uh... yeah... does it look like I own FF?

sorry bout the late update guys, I've been really stressed out lately and I haven't had any time...

Enjoy


Change of plans and mad Rikku Behemoths

The next chapter of my life begins with me standing at the Djose crossroads, on my way to visit two of my friends. Friends… Not everybody knows what friendship is, that or they do not understand the true meaning of friendship. Back then I made a promise to myself, and I intend to keep that promise, no matter the consequences. Enough of that for now, please continue…

I stood at the Djose crossroads, looking up the path that I had just walked through, the path that leads to the Moonflow. I shook my head and turned towards the road that led to the Djose temple. My feet began walking of their own accord until they reached the entrance of the huge building. I rapped my knuckles swiftly on the door and waited for somebody to open up. After standing outside for a good ten minutes, I knocked again several times, crossed my arms across my chest and started tapping my foot impatiently as I waited for someone to let me in. Ten more minutes passed before a scraggly looking al'bhed opened the door.

"Oac?"

"It's about time somebody opened the door, I've been waiting for almost twenty minutes now!" I snapped at the worker.

"Sorry but not everyone is an early riser such as yourself" the worker said, turning around to go back inside as he muttered "Baubma cruimt hud pa pynkehk ehdu dra Sylreha Vyldeuh yd rymv veja eh dra sunhehk"

"Famm ed'c hud ajanotyo oui lusa du jeced y vneaht yht kad famlusat po cusa nita dra fungan dryd upjeuicmo haatc y mufan byo lralg" I shot back in al'bhed.

The person in front of me turned around again looking startled and embarrassed.

"Uh…cunno… I didn't know you spoke al'bhed"

"Whatever, now tell me, are either Gippal or Rikku awake?"

"Mr. Gippal is away on important business and Miss Rikku will be down in a minute, please come in" the worker had noticed my sword and I think he had decided not to get me angry. Good decision in my opinion.

I walked past the still startled and slightly scared Al'bhed and stood in the centre of the room as I waited for Rikku to appear. The worker shuffled off and left me alone in the big room with only my thoughts for company.

I think I'll tell Rikku to work on the education of the employees or maybe just that one.

I gazed at the high ceiling of the room, marvelling at the intricate carvings and delicate drawings that covered it. My mind was starting to wonder how on Spira they managed to get up there to decorate said ceiling when I heard a very high pitched squeal.

"Paaaaaaaaaaaaaaaine!!" I turned around and saw a hyper-active al'bhed girl sprinting towards me, her hair flying, making it even messier than it already was from just getting out of bed.

"Hey Rikku" my lips twitched up into a small smile.

"OhmyYevon!WhatareyoudoinghereImissedyousomuch!" Rikku let out in one breath as she pulled me into a bear hug that nearly cracked my ribs. I don't know where she gets all that strength form, considering her petite form.

"Geeze, breathe okay? And could you please stop bruising my ribcage?"

Rikku let me go suddenly and I nearly toppled over. Luckily I maintained my balance and straightened out my top before turning to Rikku.

"Sorry…" Rikku grinned sheepishly as she scratched the back of her neck. My memories jolted at that gesture, where had I seen it before? Oh yeah… something Gippal picked up from him when we were in the Crimson Squad. "So…what brings you here to visit my excellent persona?"

I rolled my eyes, hooray for modesty…

"Gippal's bad influence is rubbing off on you."

"Uh-huh, whatever, don't change the subject" she replied, just a tad touchy.

"Just pointing it out, anyway can I use your commsphere?"

"Uh… sure…" Rikku looked a little unnerved. "But haven't you like, got loads in Bevelle?"

"Yeah, but I was on my way to Luca and I thought I'd drop by."

"Awww, you actually came to visit me!" Rikku squealed again.

"Whatever" I replied, rolling my eyes at the young girl's enthusiasm but inside I was smiling. Even though it didn't look like it, I really had missed Rikku… more than I would ever admit. I watched as she did a little dance out of happiness, chuckling lightly at the sight before me.

"Rikku…" Rikku stopped in the middle of a twirl on one foot and was left in a very awkward position. The leg she was standing on trembled and she fell on the floor with an undignified squeak. She stood up huffily and glared at the curious workers that had gathered round the room while she was dancing. They looked away quickly and scurried off to find bits of machina to tinker with. When they had all disappeared Rikku turned around to smile brightly at me.

"C'mon, the commsphere's over here" she said as she started walking towards one of the antechambers. I followed her and when I passed through the door I saw a plaque that said 'Gippal's office' hanging on the front. Then I remembered.

"Hey Rikku, the worker that opened the door told me that Gippal's away on urgent business."

"Uh-huh" Rikku nodded energetically. "He got a call from Clasko saying that there's some kind of crazy machina on rampage. Gippal has gone to check it out. Kimarhi has been warned just in case the machina decides to go hiking" she sighed and added "I'm a little worried ya know? Clasko described it as humongous and it was on the other side of the plain. I know Gippal's a big boy and he can take care of machina… but it's not everyday that somebody sees some kind of huge, out of control thing on rampage…"

I put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"Don't worry 'kay? Gippal survived the Crimson Squad, he'll be alright."

"Yeah, I know…" Rikku sighed and switched back to hyper-active mode. "Anyways, the commsphere is over there."

I looked towards the place where Rikku was pointing and effectively on the desk sat the blue commsphere. I walked over to it and pressed the option that said Besaid. If I remembered correctly the commsphere in Besaid was in the village right outside Wakka and Lulu's hut. As I waited for the connection to complete itself I thought about what I was going to say to Yuna.

"Hey Yuna, long time no see! Can I stay at your place a few days?" Nah…too pushy and direct.

"Hi Yuna, listen I was thinking of dropping by and I was wondering if you could lend me a place to sleep?" Erm…not my style…

"Oh my gawd Yuna!! I've missed you so much! Hey I'm gonna come over okay?" Uh…

"Good morning Lady Yuna, I am seeking comfort for my broken heart which I have left in Bevelle with the Praetor." Oh come on…

I laughed at myself in my head. Any of those requests would seriously worry Yuna. Just be yourself.

Finally the connection was completed and the peaceful village of Besaid came into view.

In the distance a man wearing the Besaid Aurochs uniform was bouncing a blitzball on his head near the temple. Slowly he walked towards the exit of the village, concentrating so that the blitzball kept bouncing on his head. As he passed the commsphere he turned and saw a pair of crimson eyes watching him with a slightly amused expression in them. The poor blitzer jumped with fright and sent the blitzball flying into the undergrowth surrounding the huts.

"Oh man…Captain Tidus and coach Wakka are gonna have my head for that…" he muttered to himself, gazing into the bushes in the futile search of the blue and white ball.

"Excuse me" I interrumpted the man's monologue. He jumped again and turned towards the commsphere. "Do you know where Yuna is?"

"Lady Yuna I believe is in the temple teaching white magic" answered the blitzer.

"Could you fetch her please?"

"Sorry ma'am but I'm already late for practice and Cap'n Tidus is gonna kill me, not to mention that Wakka is gonna want a new blitzball."

"Very well, then can you deliver a message to Wakka or Tidus?"

"Sure…"

"Tell them that Paine is calling and wants to talk with Yuna."

"Okay."

I watched the young man as he trotted off towards the beach. I waited for about fifteen minutes until she heard footsteps. I turned the angle of the commsphere but I couldn't see anything. The thumping footsteps came closer and I realized that somebody was jumping down the hill. Suddenly a pair of black and yellow boots stomped down in front of the commsphere's vision. I recognized the boots immediately.

"Tidus!" I exclaimed. "Do you really have to be so loud?"

"Nah, I just came jumping down the slope and simply my final jump was in front of you!" He said as he plopped down in front of me. I rolled my eyes at him and wondered where he got all his energy from.

"So…Keepa told me that you wanted to talk to Yuna."

"Yeah…"

"Okay, I'll go fetch her" he got up swiftly. "I'm doing it just for you, I even left the team to train with Wakka" he grinned at me. I looked closely and indeed his mop of blonde hair was dripping slightly.

"Thanks but flattery won't get you anywhere" I replied

"Oh well, it was worth a shot"

Tidus winked, got up and ran off towards the temple. A few minutes later he came running out again. Well, not really running, more a kind of combined skip and jump and he was swerving off to one side, mostly because he had Yuna over his shoulder. When he reached the commsphere he gave a little jump and put a very red faced Yuna down.

"What's the meaning of this Tidus?! You can't just interrupt my class shouting 'emergency'!" Yuna yelled. Tidus just grinned sheepishly. I raised an eyebrow at the couple with a smirk tugging the edges of my mouth while Tidus just shrugged his shoulders at me.

"Well? Where's the emergency huh?" Yuna asked, hands on hips, still looking angry. Tidus nodded towards the commsphere and Yuna turned around slowly to where my face was displayed in the blue screen. Yuna's mouth formed a small 'o' in surprise.

"Paine?" she exclaimed.

"The one and only" I smirked, Yuna clapped her hands together, excited.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. "Well not here, I mean why are you calling?" Yuna grinned sheepishly, just like Tidus had a few moments ago.

Wonderful, which one of my phoney excuses am I going to use?

"Well… I was wondering…" I sighed and then blurted out "can I came and see you for a couple of days?" Yuna looked surprised.

"Of course you can! You know you're always welcome here!"

"Thanks Yuna."

The ex-High Summoner gave her fellow Gullwing a strange look which I answered with a raised eyebrow. Yuna gave a small shrug as if to say 'I'm going to find out what's wrong anyway'.

"When are you coming?"

"Well, I'm in Djose Temple right now. When I cut this call I'm going to bed, then I'm going to get up at the break of dawn, get to Luca, catch the S.S.Winno and the S.S.Likki and arrive in Besaid" I explained to my friend as Yuna's eyes grew wide.

"So…from Djose Temple you are going to travel down the Mushroom Rock Road and the Mi'ihen Highroad and get to Luca in time to catch the first ferry to Kilika?!"

"Yeah" I replied with indifference.

"Paine, that's a maximum of three hours if you leave at dawn! The first ferry is at eight o'clock!" I shrugged

"I'm a fast traveller."

"Okay then…"

There was a small uncomfortable pause. Then Yuna opened her mouth to say something

"You said you're in Djose right?" I nodded. "Can you say hi to Rikku and Gippal for me?"

"Sure, but Gippal's away on business, Rikku's just here…" I looked around and saw Rikku sitting in a corner, staring out of the small window, being unusually still and quiet.

"Hang on a sec" I mumbled in to Yuna, who nodded politely. I walked over to where Rikku was sitting and placed a hand on her shoulder. Rikku jumped at the touch and turned to face me.

"Rikku…" I said softly. "What is it?"

"I…" Rikku turned her head away abruptly but I had already seen the tears in her eyes.

"You're worried about Gippal, right?" Rikku didn't say anything, she just nodded. The I did something I hardly ever did, I stepped forward and hugged my al'bhed friend. Rikku tried to hold back her tears but after a few moments her shoulders shook lightly and they began to flow. I didn't know what to do. I decided to stroke her hair softly and tell her not to worry. Slowly Rikku began to calm down.

"Paine?" Yuna's voice called from the commsphere on the table, a hint of worry in it.

"C'mon Rikku, Yuna wats to say hi" I led her over to where the commsphere was sitting. Yuna's furrowed brow turned into a bright smile when her best friend and her cousin walked into view.

"Rikku! How are you?"

"Hey Yunie…" she answered softly.

"Wha…?" I cleared my throat to cut Yuna off and gave her a meaningful look. Yuna opened her mouth but then shut it, nodding in understanding. She watched as a pair of crimson eyes then lit up with an idea. I looked at the still sniffling Rikku, then to a curious and worried Yuna, back to Rikku and then back to Yuna. Yuna seemed to understand what I was thinking because she said:

"Uh… Rikku?" Rikku turned slightly at the sound of her name. "Do you want to come and stay with me in Besaid for a couple of days? Paine's coming" she nodded in my direction. "Well? What do you say?"

Rikku's face seemed to light up with a happiness that didn't quite reach her emerald eyes.

"I'd love that Yunie but…" I squeezed Rikku's arm reassuringly.

"In a couple of days, after I've talked to Yuna about a few things, we'll call Brother and head towards the Calm Lands 'kay?" Rikku was practically beaming now.

"E muja oui kioc" she squealed and threw her arms around me, giving me a quick squeeze. I chuckled.

"Oui'mm hajan lryhka Rikku…"

"C'mon Dr.P we've gotta go and pack!" Rikku said, leaping towards the door, her boundless energy once again released. When she was gone, I turned to Yuna.

"Thanks" I said.

"No problem" she replied. "I'm guessing that it's something to do with a certain Machine Faction leader."

"Yeah… Gippal went to check out some kind of rampaging machina in the…"

"…Calm Lands, yeah, I thought so."

"Well, I'll go and see to Rikku, I don't want to carry around half a temple of machina parts" I said, looking over my shoulder towards the door through which Rikku had disappeared. Yuna just laughed.

"Okay then, I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Bye"

"See ya Paine!" Tidus chimed in from the background.

I chuckled and leaned forward to cut the connection. An image of Rikku running around like a mad Behemoth came to my mind. Still laughing to myself, I got up and went after Rikku.