When I hit the main room of the cloister and the Machine Faction workers give me apologetic smiles, I'm still dazed. When I hit the crowded outer temple, reality begins to return to me. By the time I'm outside of the temple, I'm furious. A few people call my name in greeting, but I storm past them, seeking the less-crowded bridge. I can't even think about the masked guys right now. My focus is entirely on Gippal.
What's his angle, anyway? He ignored me for months. Months! And now he shows up and grabs my arm. He shows up and asks me about the hole like he's seeking old times. He mutters something private and then watches with me to see the bottom. And then he—he grabs me and gets angry! Angry at me? He's the one who almost killed me! And then that cool dismissal. He's been distant with me before—less than a year ago, in fact—but not like this. He seemed…oh, what's the word I've heard Paine use before? Contemptuous. He seemed totally contemptuous.
I move to the rail of the bridge, gripping the base of a spire. None of it makes sense. Gippal doesn't make sense, and those bad-news guys definitely don't. Is something new going on in Spira? Maybe I should ask around about it. I've learned to be pretty good at getting information from people that don't want to talk. Ramm, maybe the innkeeper has some new data on it. I've got tons of gil to spare. That's maybe the biggest bonus right now to being a spherehunter. There's nothing I can't afford, including information.
"Rikku." I tense, turning on my heel, but it's only Paine. Her brows raise in suspicion. "The look on your face. Did you take me for a fiend?"
"Of course not." I laugh nervously, moving forward. My hands are in the air to hug her, but I stop myself. Paine isn't much for hugging, usually. "How have you been, Paine? You look great!"
"Same as ever, you mean. You've changed, though. Your hair. And that dress." She looks it over carefully, turning me by the shoulder to check out the back. "It's a dressphere, isn't it? I've never used it."
"Uh-huh. It's a rogue. Pretty useful." That's an understatement. "How's your book coming along?"
"There's a lot of editing left to do. I've been occupied." She puts a hand to her temple and shakes her head. "Nooj and Baralai convinced me to work on the spheres you found. Damn boring stuff."
"No kidding! What're they looking for, anyway?"
"Not sure. They have me record details of the spheres on paper. Then they spend hours in the Mushroom Rock Road headquarters, poring over them."
"Tidus thinks they're looking for peace," I offer.
"Peace." She tilts her head, considering. "There's a novelty."
"He thinks we're really bad at it. And he'd know, wouldn't he? He lived in a time of peace. I've heard him tell the stories. Great big machina cities where the lights never go out and no one ever sleeps! Can you imagine?"
"I've been looking at them for months."
"Oh. Right." I drag my toe against the stone of the bridge when she doesn't say anything else. Paine's not much for talking. It's weird she even came this far to find me. "So, uhhh." I look up at her cautiously. "Everyone's been coming together, yeah? And Gippal's been busy with that, hasn't he?"
"He comes when things get out of hand. Why?"
Guess I'm not so good at being casual. "Oh, I was just wondering," I say, abandoning the toe-dragging to rock from foot to foot. "I guess it's just. He acted really weird when I saw him earlier."
"Hmm. Nooj may have said something about trouble with his new project."
"The one he's gonna announce tonight?" I ask brightly. "Do you know anything about it? C'mon, spill!"
She frowns. "Gippal only mentioned that it's important. He came to Bevelle one day and asked us if we'd been in the Chamber recently. Of course we hadn't." She pauses, considering. "He seemed concerned."
"Ooo, that's bad news. It takes a lot of any kinda emotion for Gippal to show it." Like shouting at me inside the chamber. My cheeks are suddenly hot.
"I know." The suspicious look is back on her face. "Is there something going on, Rikku?"
"What? Nope. Nothing at all is going on. Unless you count the party. That's going on preeetty strongly."
"Don't concern yourself with Gippal, Rikku. We both know how he is."
We do? "Wait, wait, wait, what? Did you guys have something going on in the Crimson Squad?"
Paine snorts. "Gippal? No. He flirted. He flirts with everyone. Why?"
Her tone is teasing. Paine is teasing. Red alert! "Because—because you said he—we both know how he works," I say weakly.
"I did. You grew up with him, and we spent time together in the war. We both know him well." She arches a brow at me, stepping forward. "What did you think that I meant?"
I take a step back to match hers, pressing against the bridge. "Well, uh, I—y'see, uhm—I didn't really mean—"
"Were you thinking romantically?" She smirks. I feel like a trapped fiend. "You asked if I had something 'going on' with him. That implies that you have had something 'going on' with him. But you said that nothing happened, didn't you?"
"Nothing happened!" I squeak. I can't even be mad at myself this time. She's got me cornered! "I just meant—I mean—we've never dated!" This, at least, is the truth. I'd thought that maybe…but no.
"Have you ever—kissed?" She leans forward to blow the word into my face.
"No way!"
"But you've thought about it." This isn't even a question.
"I haven't—okay, maybe a little, but I've thought about kissing other people, too!" Tidus, years ago, before I knew Yunie was perfect for him. And there's been…no, that's about it. Just Tidus. And I can't even imagine kissing him now without guilt and disgust. Tidus was just a cute face and a fast crush.
She stays in my face, forcing me to look her right in the eye. Her expression is totally neutral, which only makes me more nervous. Finally, after what seems like forever, she leans back. "Right." She turns to walk away and then stops, glancing over her shoulder. "Rikku?"
"Yeah?"
"Be careful."
I offer a little salute. "That's me! Careful is my middle name."
She offers a doubtful look and then turns back to make her way down the bridge. "Careful is the opposite of you."
"Heyy!" I'm pretty sure she laughs as she moves back into the crowd.
Is Paine giving me relationship advice? Not that I have much of a need for it, but wow, that's almost weirder than those guys in the cloister that I totally could have asked Paine about. I could've asked her something important to, like, I dunno, the world. And what do I go for? Gippal. I really need to sort out my priorities.
Well, there's definitely no point in moping around. I toss my braid behind me and make my way back to the crowd. Even with all the weird stuff going down, I'm still surrounded by all of my friends, and it's an opportunity that I'm not about to pass up.
Tidus and Yuna are where I left them, surrounded by a sizable crowd. Tidus is a natural. He grins at everyone, and every time he speaks there's a roar of laughter. Yunie is more subdued, all soft words and hand touches, but it definitely works. I watch from the outskirts for just a moment and then slide my way over next to Tidus. It's shocking even now to see how people act in a group. Before, they were tense, cut-off from the world and especially from Al Bhed like me. They stand more casually, now. They laugh more. They don't glance over their shoulders every few seconds. I have a lot of time to observe everyone because I'm just not as interesting as Yuna and her love. People do come up just for me, though: Al Bhed filled with gossip about what projects are going on, who's falling in love with whom, and any babies sprouting up. The hours pass easily with all of the commotion. I only think about what happened in the cloister once, when conversation pauses to watch a few Hypello drag out a traveling stage. My distraction thankfully returns soon after.
" 'TENTION, EVERYONE!" I jump at the unbelievably loud voice. It's Cid, and he's got a microphone: anyone's worst nightmare. "GIPPAL'S ABOUT TE MAKE THE ANNOUNCEMENT, SO IF YA WANT TO SEE WHAT YA CAME FOR THEN MAKE YER WAY RIGHT OUTSIDE THE TEMPLE!"
"About time!" a woman shouts. Murmurs of agreement ripple through the crowd. Is it really getting late? I glance to the sky. Daylight's turned to dusk. Huh. When did that happen?
A firm hand on my elbow tugs at me. I look up at Tidus, prepared to complain. "We need to get there before the crowd fills in," he says in response, offering a grin. I let the protest die on my lips and move forward according to his tugging.
We move into a space that is quickly becoming the middle of the second row. People are pouring in, now: out of the temple, the bridge, the small rest area. "Looks like you were right," I chirp to Tidus.
"Yeah, I'm pretty good with crowds." He says it like it's the rarest and most important skill in the world. Yunie and I exchange eye rolls.
"Hey. Move. No, I don't care. Hey!" The shout is in my ear. I turn as Paine squeezes in next to me, tossing a glare over her shoulder. "Idiots."
"Oh, hey, you made it," I say dryly.
"These people are like animals," she mutters.
"Hello, Paine!" Yuna chirps. Paine nods.
"WEEEELL LOOKIE HERE!" Cid is shrieking into the microphone again. Gippal's clambered up beside him during Paine's appearance. He offers the crowd the ol' wince-and-shrug. "HAVEN' SEEN A CROWD THIS BIG SINCE YUNA'S CONCERT!" I nudge at Yunie, and she ducks her face into Tidus' shoulder. "ANYWAY, HERE'S GIPPAL. GUESS I'LL JUST LET 'IM TAKE ON OVER."
The loud cheers are probably more of a response to Cid not having the microphone than Gippal speaking. He basks in the attention anyway, bowing at the waist. Once the cheering dies down, he grips the microphone and scans his audience. "Wow. Quite the crowd, huh? Now, I know you all didn't come just for this little invention, right? Spira loves its gatherings. I hope everyone had the opportunity to catch up with old friends. And how 'bout that food, yeah?"
The crowd cheers appreciatively. "I forgot there was food," I moan, a hand going to my stomach. "I've hardly eaten all day!"
"Maybe you can find something on the way out," Yuna suggests, frowning sympathetically. Tidus and Paine laugh, not so sympathetic.
"'Aanyway, now it's time to see what you guys really came for. Sorta." He clears his throat. "Since the Calm came, we've been workin' more with machina. I think this might be the coolest, 'n' it's definitely the most useful. I can't just show you, though—it'd be kiiinda creepy, really, and you wouldn't understand anyway." There's a collection of confused murmurs and bored sighs. "I'm sure Nooj is a pretty familiar name to all of you?" The cheers that answer rival the opening ones. "Ha, I figured. Well, our fearless co-leader is gonna come on up here and demonstrate our newest revolution for you. Just wait: betcha he'll say it's life-changing."
There's a shuffle and a clamber, and then Nooj is onstage. The place is dead silent, now, charged with energy. It can't be Nooj, right? The guy up there has Nooj's face, his long brown hair, and his glasses. He wears the same red armor. But there's no cane. And more importantly, there's no machina.
"Hu fyo!" The shout rings out, breaking the silence. It's only when I feel everyone's eyes on me that I recognize that I did the shouting.
"No way, huh?" Gippal asks, grinning right at me. Grinning. After he'd turned me away like that. This is a dream. Today has to be a dream. I must have gotten my nap after all.
"Yes way," Nooj says, although he doesn't sound so sure, himself. He clears his throat and then steps towards the microphone. His footing is unsure, maybe, but not limping. Gippal steps back for him with a sweeping gesture, and the man clears his throat and leans in to the microphone. "Believe it or not—and I'm sure you'll have some difficulty believing—this is not a trick. This." He spreads his arms wide, showing how they match. "This is what you all came here, for. I can't tell you how this works, or why. I don't have that kind of knowledge. I only know that for the first time in so long, I feel entirely human. However, don't fret. I'm sure Gippal can and will explain far better than I ever could."
Gippal steps forward, giving an enthusiastic nod. "Right! This here—" He grabs Nooj's arm and holds it aloft—"this is a bnucdradel. We combined pyreflies and machines to create these limbs. The machina looks like metal bones before being attached to its owner." There's an alarmed murmur that he catches onto quickly. "Ah, sorry, the machine. The machine looks like metal bones. The infused pyreflies bond the metal to skin, creating a limb that looks, feels, and most importantly acts like any other limb." He releases Nooj's arm. His voice grows solemn as he continues. "Many of you fought valiantly to defeat Sin and suffered for your efforts. Still more have suffered accidents." His hand moves halfway to his face before falling to the microphone. "There've even been cases of people born without function. I know a whole lot of you aren't here because you like to stick to the shadows. Well, not anymore. Please, take this gift that we have worked hard for you on. Please, allow us to help you. Spira needs to heal in more ways than one."
He steps back, eyes bright as they scan the crowd. I've never seen them more intense There's silence for a long moment, and then a single cheer. A hesitant, "Gippal!" When the voice raises again, it's met by others, and still more the next time, until the entire crowd is chanting his name.
"Thank you." Gippal leans forward to speak his appreciation into the microphone, but between the crowd and the way his voice cracks, it's doubtful that anyone notices.
Spira is proud and happy—for now. I'm amazed, myself, but I know how this world works. After the excitement dies down, there will be questions. With the questions will come suspicions. I know this as well as I know my own name, and I'm sure that somewhere under the emotion Gippal does, too.
The way his eyes are shining, though….and the look of astonishment on Nooj's face as he moves across the makeshift stage. These are what make me, in spite of all doubt, cup my hands to my mouth and shout his name.
His eyes snap to mine as if he somehow hears my voice through the crowd, and the look in them is enough to make me believe, just for a moment.