Even though we're near the Highroad, I can hear the party as soon as I step off the airship. A few people are out on the bridge, but most of the noise is coming from the temple. Loudest is the music, weird and familiar enough that it's impossible not to recognize. I grin and nudge at Brother. "Heyy. Sounds like our Macalania friends are here!"
"Oac," he agrees, looking excitedly past the bridge. "If they're here, this is Tobli's party."
"Ohh. Definitely!" Since Yunie's concert a year and a half ago, Tobli's been untouchable. His shows don't seem that fun to me, but the rest of Spira seems to disagree. They run to the Moonflow the second they get word of a Tobli event. Luca's even hired him to help with Sphere Break tournaments. Cid never does anything halfway, so he must have hired the little bird-man to put together the shindig.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Calli calls from the airship steps. With a grin, she's down and running. Buddy and Shinra are already rushing after Calli, but Brother gives me a meaningful sort of look and sets off at a slow place. I match my steps to his.
"Okay, I'm not the only one worried about Cid, right?" he asks as soon as we've got enough distance from the others.
"It does seem like a really big party just for some new machina," I agree. "I thought maybe he was gonna try something, but as for what I've got nothin'. Then again, I wouldn't even have nightmares about half the stuff he's tried to pull."
He makes a grumbling noise, his brows drawing together. "Let's just—keep an eye on him, yeah?"
"Yeah," I agree. "Maybe if we figure out what he's trying to do, we can stop it before it even starts!"
"Maybe." He frowns. "Maybe it really is just a party?"
"And maybe I'm half-chocobo," I retort. "Now, come on! We may as well enjoy ourselves while we can."
He scowls at me, but I'm off after the rest of our group before he can even answer. A muttered Al Bhed curse and he's right behind me.
The rocks above the temple are floating as usual, but they seem higher, and the arcs of electricity that connect them look brighter. Maybe it's just the atmosphere. People mill about outside the ex-temple, and through the open doors still more can be seen within the main room.
Isaaru is the first familiar face I spot, lounging in his heavy summoner's robes with Maroda at his side. I catch his eye and wave wildly. He returns the wave with a small smile. Of course he'd be here, now that I think about it. When Cid was on his mission to destroy the sanctity of Zanarkand, Isaaru was his right-hand man.
"You don't think Isaaru being here has anything to do with his next scheme, do you?" I ask Brother suspiciously. Actually, I ask the air where Brother was a moment before. His mohawk darts through the crowd, towards a group of Al Bhed men I recognize as a few of his old friends. Of course.
Everyone else has abandoned me, too. Buddy's managed to find and strike up a conversation with Rin. Calli's trailed her way over to the Al Bhed girls that pilot the hovers. And Shinra is…somewhere. I lost sight of the kid as soon as I got off the airship.
I take up the rest of the Gullwings' cues, glancing around for someone to catch up with. It must be my lucky day, because as soon as I begin my search a familiar brown bob floats its way through the crowd, followed closely by a head of spiky blonde hair. Yunie!
"Yuna! Yunieee!" I run my way through the crowd until I can stand in front of her, hurtling into her arms. "Look at you! You look so good! Has it really been six months?"
She laughs, that gentle sound that's calmed almost every Spiran in existence at one time or another, and pulls away to look at me. "It really has been. You look good, too, Rikku! I like your hair. And your dress. Is it a dressphere?"
"Uhh-huh. It's a rogue. Shinra brought it to me. Is yours a dressphere? It's pretty!" She's got a flowy, blue dress that grazes the tops of her knee-high boots.
"No, just a dress." She releases my hands to pull at the skirt, letting it flow. "I don't have much use for dresspheres anymore with Besaid so calm."
"Domesticated Yunie," I chirp, trying not to sound nervous. The last time we talked about it, I told her she was going soft, and she told me I was jealous. I'd put it aside by the end of our mission, but it'd still hurt me. Lately, I've been wondering if maybe she was right. If I had a place to belong, people to belong to, would I be happy? Would I find that purpose I've been missing?
Yuna's voice drags me out of those thoughts. What did she say? You bet "You really should come and visit the island soon, Rikku. Wakka misses you. And Vidina's getting big so fast! He's trying to crawl, now."
"Awww, how cute!" Vidina has a special place in my heart, and not just because he's the child of my fellow ex-guardians. The Wakka that names his baby an Al Bhed word is such a big step from the Wakka I first met. "I'll stop in and see them soon."
As Yuna describes Vidina's antics, my eyes go to Tidus, standing behind Yuna with his hands resting on her shoulders. When I ran into Paine in Bevelle a couple of months ago, she told me that since he came back, they're always touching each other in some way—hands resting on waists and shoulders, legs overlapping, fingers locked together. It's like they're scared that if they're not touching, they'll lose each other again, she'd said, her face unusually soft.
Tidus meets my gaze as Yuna finishes her story, giving me a nod. "How ya doin', Rikku?" he asks cheerily, saving me from a response to a story I hadn't even heard.
"I'm good! Still traveling the world. We're collecting spheres for the history of Spira, now. We turn them into Bevelle, where they get analyzed by Nooj and Baralai."
"Really?" Yuna asks, brows raised. "I thought their search for the history of Spira was just an excuse to hide secrets."
"It was at first. But when the groups came together, they decided that they really wanted to know what the Spira before Sin was like. I dunno why they're so interested in those machina cities."
"I think I do," Tidus says. "Sin's really gone, you guys took down that machina, and now there aren't even any groups to fight. There's finally peace. There hasn't been peace in a thousand years. I don't think anyone even knows what to do with it."
"Ohh. Y'know, I think you're right," I say. "Oh, hey! You came from peace. Your Zanarkand was like a big party, yeah? Why don't you talk to them? Y'know, give 'em some suggestions?"
"Yeah, right," he laughs. "Like they'd believe me."
"Nooj and Baralai have lived through strange things," Yuna says. "They also trust me. I'm sure they'd believe you, really." There's a note in her voice that I recognize all too well. It's the same determination that got us all wrapped up with Vegnagun. If Yuna can help change the world, she will, and she'll definitely drag her lover right along with it. Then again, he looks thoughtful enough that maybe it won't take much dragging at all.
"It sounds like a good way to fill your quiet time," I tease.
"Maybe it is," Yuna replies. Her voice laughs, but her face is too serious to be teasing.
"Oh, hey, speaking of Nooj and Baralai, are they here? And what about Paine?"
"I saw them with Gippal before we came out," Yuna says.
"Gippal?" Am I squeaking? I think I'm squeaking. "Of course. They've all been working really hard to bring all the groups together. I bet they're all close again."
"It seems so." She tilts her head to the side, and the statement is almost a question. I definitely squeaked.
"Anyway, I should go say hi to them. Especially Paine—I've gotta know how her story's coming along. And besides, look at all those Yunie-hungry people jealous of the celebrity time I'm taking away from them." I can totally get away with what I'm saying because technically, none of it is a lie. I really should say hi to everyone, right? And I'm really eager to know more about Paine's story. The last part isn't even a half-truth. It feels like most of Spira is glaring at me right now.
Yuna gives a short laugh and reaches forward to squeeze my hands. "This is a great opportunity to catch up with friends of all sorts. I'm glad you're not wasting it."
Not even her laughter can put me at ease after that phrasing. She's definitely onto me. "I'll find you again before this ends, 'kay?" This seems like the safest response. I miss whatever she says, drop her hands and give my best smile-and-wave.
I make my way to the temple, keeping with my story. There's a pretty low chance that the group is anywhere close to the front. For once, being short feels like a good thing. It's really good for crowd blending.
"Rikku!"
I guess it's not that good. At least the loud voice belongs to Pop. Keeping an eye on him is a good distraction. I wave an arm at him as he makes his way towards me.
"How ya been, girl? Been awhile since ya came to see yer ol' man."
He throws an arm around me, and I wrinkle my nose at him. "I didn't even know where you were, Pop," I protest. "Kinda hard to visit a guy that's been hiding out at the Machine Faction headquarters without telling his own kids."
He releases me only to point a finger with the same arm. "Hey, now. Watch yerself. I was doin' somethin' important, see?"
"I see." I spread my own arms towards the giant party. "What kinda thing was that?"
"Ah, ah, ah." I duck to avoid the hand that comes to pat at my head. "No spoilin' the surprise. Ye'll find out when Gippal makes the announcement, just like the rest of 'em."
"Awww. What's the use in being your daughter if I don't even get any secrets?"
"Well, ya got some good genes out of it."
"Yeah, whatever."
"Hey! Don't sass me, girl. 'Sides, ya should be proud of me. I've been doin' good things."
"All good things?" I narrow my eyes suspiciously at him.
"An' what's that s'posed to mean?"
"Oh, nothing," I trill. "So when do we get to find out about this big-deal machina?"
Cid snorts. "Couldn' tell ya if I wanted to. Ya know Gippal. Works on his own time."
"That's Gippal, all right," I mutter. Can't I go one conversation today without him popping up? Just one eensy little talk?
"Huh." The noise is enormous. He looks down at me, his face way too serious, and then shakes his head. "Ya got a bone to pick with Gippal?"
"What?" I laugh, hoping it doesn't come off as a squeak. I'm good at squeaking today. "No way. How could we have a problem? I haven't even talked him in—I don't even know how long." I do know how long. Nine months and seventeen days, right when he decided to pretend I'd dropped off of Spira.
His squint says he doesn't believe a word I'm saying. "Damn kids," he mutters under his breath, before reaching over to chuck my chin. "I gotta run, kid. Make my rounds. Haven't seen Brother yet, even. You guys find me before ya leave, all right?"
Another person to hunt down for goodbyes. Great. "Sure thing, Pop," I chirp. At least he's letting it go.
I watch his dirty yellow overalls until they disappear into the crowd and then check out my surroundings. There are a few familiar faces: Dona, looking haughty as ever with Barthello on her arm; Nhadala, waving a glass in the air as she addresses a large group; Elma and Lucil chatting with Clasko. No one threatening, but not really anyone I wanna talk to. Maybe I should find some food. Food never lets me down.
It's then, while I'm searching for a banquet table, that I find what I don't want to look for: a flash of purple-pink and then a turned blonde head. I swear his eye meets mine for a second. Cred. Is he moving forward? Is he coming towards me? No way. He's too busy ignoring me to talk to me—right?
I decide I don't want to find out. Weaving through the crowd is easy. I pick a random pattern, circling a bit so it's harder to follow me. Where do I go now? Outside? No. Way too open. My eyes find the entrance to what used to be the trials. People are lounging on the steps, and behind them the door is open. Perfect.
"Good luck finding me in the cloister, pycdynt."