Chapter 38 – Shadows Behind the Curtain


Rikku's eyes twitched in the early afternoon sunlight beaming down on the small boat she rested on. Not quite asleep but not quite awake, her mind hung between the two states. A loud creak from the boat thrust her mind into a conscious state. Peeking her right eye open, she blurrily examined her surroundings. A larger sailboat passed by them, manned by a small crew of adventurous middle-aged men and women. She noticed a dock just a little farther out into the distance surrounded by a range of ships from tiny fishing rafts to large freighters carrying goods destined for greater parts of Spira. Kilika existed in a more robust state than it did just two years ago.

"Hey kid, you finally awake?" Gippal asked.

Rikku turned to look at him while rubbing her sleepy eyes. "Huh? Yeah, I am."

He chuckled. "You really can sleep anywhere. You better hurry and wake up. Nooj will be waiting for us, impatiently as always."

Rikku glanced toward the incoming docks and spotted a man wearing an oversized set of dingy goggles in the distance, standing with arms folded and tapping his foot. She couldn't miss his stern yet cool expression, although she wondered about the effectiveness of his haphazard Al Bhed disguise.

"Is that Nooj? What's with the funky getup?" she asked Gippal, who also donned a mask.

"Simple kid, we have to remain anonymous," he replied in a muffled voice.

Content to remain confused by all the theatrics, Rikku laughed to herself. Perhaps now that Nooj would join them, she could get some straight answers. At least to her question as to what they needed her for. Roaming in the back of her head lingered the potential future between Gippal and herself. The last they met, she ended up locking lips with him, followed by a mutual confession of love. Then he vanished from the camp at Djose, and she hadn't seen him since until last night. For that stretch of time, she wondered what could become of the two.

Even though Rikku had ample time, while on the boat in private no less, she embarrassedly remembered fading off to sleep shortly after sneaking away. She figured things would fall into place when they would. At least, she surmised in her head, they would be close together for the time being.

The day quickly turned dank with the sky clouding up not long after the docks came into view. The grey skyline did little to put a romantic spin on their mission or Rikku's mood. She always felt uneasy about these ominous days. The threat of rain, along with a bleak horizon, spiked her anxiety. It reminded her too much of Yuna's last day.

"Hey, over here man!" shouted Gippal in the general direction of the docks.

Nooj caught his call and nodded. He followed them over to a pier on the left side of the docks, away from a cluster of workers milling about. Gippal hopped off first and helped Rikku exit the boat. She gratefully held his hand as he helped her up. She flashed a goofy grin at his coy wink. Gippal quickly put on his serious face as Nooj neared. Limping over with haste, he bore an expression as concise and grim as to be expected from him.

"I see you've found somebody who can help us," Nooj spoke approvingly.

"Yeah, well, I grabbed her in the middle of the night. Nobody noticed us, so we're good to go." Gippal pumped his fist.

Nooj cracked a grin. "Good. That last thing we need is more trouble, even if that's a near-impossible task to do with you around."

"Hey, I didn't goof this time," replied Gippal, rubbing the back of his head.

Rikku waved her hand in the air. "Hey! Can someone please explain to me what's going on now?"

"You mean Gippal didn't tell you anything yet?"

Gippal shifted his weight onto his other leg. "Uh, well, she fell asleep right after we ran out. I can't help that. The kid could pass out in the middle of a sandstorm."

"Well, no matter." Nooj shrugged, looking disapprovingly at Gippal. "I'll explain everything to you, Rikku. How we handle this situation is vital to Spira's future."

Nooj led them through town to a small building in Kilika's north end. To keep their privacy, the three went inside a private room on the top floor. The two men took off their masks. Gippal knelt by a chest and took out a drink. Nooj carefully sat down, resting his silver cane against the chair, and cleared his throat.

"A lot is happening behind the scenes," he said as cheerlessly as he looked. "A lot more than just the chaos which recently transpired."

Rikku sat in a chair opposite him, listening intently to his explanation. "Gotcha. Don't hold out on me, what is it?"

Nooj sighed, sitting back in his chair to stare out the window. "Where to begin? As you know, Kinoc just tried to take over Spira."

Rikku nodded. "Yeah, but we stopped him."

Nooj adjusted his glasses. "Right, but there is more to it than just that . . ."

Kinoc had been brooding in the basement of Bevelle's temple for some time, or rather his unsent spirit did. He was stuck down there until Shuyin showed up. I don't know how much you know about him, but Shuyin was the lover of a summoner from Zanarkand. A thousand years ago, she went to battle against Bevelle during the Machina War. Because he loved her so much, he risked his life to infiltrate the city.

It was there he planned to capture their secret weapon: Vegnagun. Unlike most conventional weapons, Vegnagun was built to annihilate entire armies. Such mass destruction scared those even in Bevelle. Not even the Al Bhed dared to create a monstrosity such as Vegnagun. Yet this was to be their equalizer, as the fear felt in Bevelle was immense. What they did not realize was this weapon could not tell friends from foes. In Shuyin's attempt to commandeer the weapon, he and his lover were killed by Bevelle soldiers.

Of course, the two were never sent. The temple imprisoned Shuyin's soul near Djose on Mushroom Rock Road. A place Gippal and I know all too well. Over the millennium, his shadow conjured the impulse to exact revenge on Spira. Scornful of how he was eternally separated from his lover, his hatred led him to again desire Vegnagun.

He's been using the dark side of people's hearts for years now to get what he wants. The madness his memories have created seeps into the souls of the living and weaves for them a waking hell. For a long time, he possessed my body and mind. That's why I shot at my friends. Now he is in Baralai. That's why Baralai betrayed us.

Her mouth hanging open, Rikku stared with a dumbfounded expression at Nooj. She could hardly believe what he articulated to her. So unreal were his words that she stumbled to react to his story. If she didn't already know what he said was true, she wouldn't have believed him.

"So, tell me something," she quivered to ask. "What happened to the summoner, Lenne?"

"Lenne you say? Who is that?" questioned Gippal perplexedly.

Nooj peered with narrowing eyes at Rikku. "Is that the woman Shuyin loved? How do you know her name?"

Rikku pondered to herself for a moment. "Well, not too far from here, we went to a tiny island. Ya know, for sphere hunting. The sphere we found had something about a man shouting the name Lenne. As we found out over time, the woman in the sphere was this Lenne. It has to be the same Lenne who was Shuyin's lover. You ought to listen to Maechen sometime. He knows the most about them."

"How about that, Cid's kid is a walking font of knowledge." Gippal laughed, ruffling Rikku's hair.

Nooj rubbed his hair as well, although not with the same enthusiasm as Gippal. "Maybe speaking with the old man would do us some good. We've been away from the general populous of Spira for so long. Perhaps we should discuss this with Yuna as well."

Rikku's face turned pale white from his remark. She looked down, and glossy tears formed around her eyes. She closed her eyes for a moment, believing they mustn't have heard of Yuna's passing. Even with a swell of pain building up inside of her, she knew had to explain to them the horrible truth.

"You must have been away from everything for a long time, huh?" she asked solemnly.

Gippal raised his brow, caught by Rikku's instantaneous change of mood. "Hey, what's the matter?"

"Yuna's dead," Rikku replied candidly. "She died a couple of weeks ago."

"What?" the men yelled in tandem.

"How? When? I can't believe this!" Gippal exclaimed, completely dumbfounded by Rikku's statement.

"Well, Yunie had a difficult end to her pilgrimage. More recently, there had been a lot of stress going on in her life. Plus the fact that Kinoc was trying to maul us around every corner," explained Rikku, dipping her head. "Um, with all that added together she . . . she killed herself."

Nooj slumped back into his chair. Even for his usual sulky expression, his state of horror mixed with surprise bore a foreign look across his face. He removed his glasses and rubbed his face. Gippal's jaw dropped, and he couldn't even find words to describe his thoughts from her dire news. He let out a long, tormented sigh.

After a tense pause, he softly said, "Man, I remember the last time we saw her."

"I told her to take care of things topside." Nooj sighed, rubbing his eyes rigidly.

"We needed Yuna and the Gullwings to hold off Kinoc," explained Gippal, with a tone of apology embedded within his words. "We were chasing Shuyin through the Farplane. I never imagined Yuna of all people . . . I'm sorry, Rikku."

Rikku nodded. "I know it sucks. But we can't let it eat us up."

"Those are some strong words, Rikku," spoke Nooj approvingly.

Rikku hinted with a sad smile. "Yeah. Without her around, I have to be strong on my own."

Nooj nodded, cracking a tiny smile of his own. Gippal looked at her, awestruck by her newfound strength. He then smiled and winked at her, while patting her on the back. Casting aside dwelling on the recent tragedy, the three resumed their discussion on matters about Shuyin and Vegnagun.

"For everyone's sake, we must defeat Shuyin," stated Nooj firmly.

Gippal finished off his drink. "He's liable to strike anytime soon."

"What's he waiting for?" pondered Rikku out loud.

Gippal shrugged his shoulders. "That's the same question we've asked ourselves."

Nooj continued, "In the beginning, he had to work his way to Bevelle and hijack Baralai. We then learned that Vegnagun required some repairs to function as a weapon again."

"So we have to wreck him before he finishes all that," growled Rikku, smacking her fist onto the table.

"Whoa girl," Gippal said hesitantly. "That was a while ago. Remember we have been gone a bit. For all we know, he's done all that."

Nooj placed his glasses back onto his face. "We are surprised he hasn't attacked yet. There must be something else he's waiting for. We just don't know what."

Rikku shook her head. "But why drag me in, and not talk to all the Gullwings about all this?"

"Oh yeah, that matter." Gippal laughed while massaging the back of his neck. "We are trying to keep our cover. You've seen the problems dividing Spira."

"You better believe I have! The Youth League and New Yevon are practically at each other's throats. Why haven't you tried to fix them? You're their leaders!" she shouted angrily, glaring at both men in front of her.

Gippal opened his mouth to answer, but Nooj raised his hand. "Spira has to figure things out for itself. Leaders can't solve the differences between people—only the people can do that themselves."

Rikku looked shockingly at Nooj, while Gippal snickered at her appearance. "Yeah, Nooj surprised me the first time he said that, too. I have to say, he's right."

Nooj closed his eyes behind his tinted glasses. "The larger concern for Spira is Vegnagun. We as leaders can do Spira a greater service by protecting it from those that wish to cause all its people harm, or in this case, total destruction."

"So, am I to be your pack mule then?" brazenly huffed Rikku.

Nooj shook his head. "No, not a pack mule, but a pack man, or pack woman rather."

Anticipating Rikku's confusion, Gippal defined her role more thoroughly. "You're gonna act as a peddler. We have a connection to give us the last sphere in Bevelle."

"Last sphere? What are you talking about?"

"Let me explain this before you further confuse her," grumbled Nooj to his partner.

Nooj continued to tell Rikku about the Crimson Spheres. Those were the keys needed to unlock what he called the Den of Woe—the place the Crimson Squad was massacred at by Shuyin's insanity incarnate. Nooj believed there would be clues hiding there to show them how to stop Shuyin. Surely, he thought, after a thousand years of captivity, there would be something of use to discover.

The reason they needed someone from the Gullwings came down to who they were dealing with. It was the Gullwing's old friend, LeBlanc. Rikku tried to explain that the words "friends" and "LeBlanc" were a little strong to use together, but the two men differed in opinion. LeBlanc agreed to give them the final Crimson Sphere she found, but only to someone she could trust if it couldn't be Nooj. Business was business to her. From her incessant rantings about the Gullwings, Nooj concluded that they were reputable enough for her.

They planned to disguise Rikku as a common street peddler. She would make the trade with LeBlanc in Bevelle. Although Rikku didn't mind the theatrics, she didn't understand the need to be so discreet. Nooj answered her by revealing the other reason they kept themselves lowkey. Bevelle had sent out several task forces to investigate the missing Vegnagun, as well as the misplacement of their leader, Baralai.

These soldiers wanted Nooj and Gippal in a bad way. Neither of the men had trusted Yevon before and weren't about to try their luck with their new incarnation, especially without their friend at the helm. The New Yevonites had been tracking them throughout Spira. They finally ditched them in Luca before sailing off to Besaid. If they were going to successfully travel to Bevelle to make this transaction, they would have to go in hidden from sight.

The next morning they would set off for Bevelle. With no airship to hoist them away, they would have to journey on foot. The trek reminded Rikku of her pilgrimage with Yuna. It would be a good way to see the progress and regress of Spira in all of its different places.

Before the three set off on their excursion, Rikku and Gippal walked alongside the docks of Kilika together. The moon loomed high in the midnight sky, and all the lights in Kilika were unlit because of the late hour. With only the gentle waves breaking across peaceful waters as their witness, the two held hands.

"You've changed since I last saw you," complemented Gippal, his smile partially lit by the moonlight. "It seems like forever ago, even though it hasn't."

Rikku sighed, closing her eyes. "I suppose in some ways I have changed. Faster than I could have imagined."

"You and Yuna were that close, huh?"

She looked up at him, her spiral pupils glistening. "Yeah, we were. I looked up to her ever since I joined her pilgrimage. And it's just . . . I've been trying to push them aside, but memories of her and me just keep popping into my head all the time."

"Don't worry about it so much, kid. All this just walloped you over the head not too long ago. Mourning takes time. More time than we'd like to offer it. It's best for you to just go one day at a time with it," he comforted, glimmering his gorgeous green eye at Rikku.

Surprised at how much more mature Gippal had become, Rikku's eyes twinkled in awe at the man Gippal had become. Back at Home years ago, she could remember his carefree and reckless attitude. The man holding her hand now, while still retaining much of that lightheartedness, had grown more thoughtful and mature. She could only hope that Brother would someday grow up to be like him.

"I guess we've both had our fair share of eye-openers on our adventures," she said after laughing meekly.

He agreed in a muddled tone, "Yeah, we have. Going around Spira and seeing all that exists behind the curtain. Some days, I realize how crazy it all is, and Nooj and I haven't been through half of what you and the Gullwings have."

"But we can't let that hold us in a cage. I promised myself that I wouldn't falter during the hard times. I do that for Yunie," she stated, her voice rising in strength.

"You got that right," he agreed.

She elbowed him gently on the arm. "You stand pretty tall yourself nowadays."

Stopping at the end of a pier, Gippal chuckled to himself. "Well, I was told once that only a jackass can change the world. Over time I realized I fit that pretty well."

Rikku tilted her head, glaring at Gippal with a raised eyebrow. "Huh?"

Without warning, Gippal picked her up and plopped her atop one of the pier's wooden pillars. She found herself looking straight up into his eyes. Mesmerized by his yearning expression, Rikku felt her face burn red hot. He leaned in slowly, keeping his eyes locked with hers. Feeling the resistance in her muscles melt away, she clamped her eyes shut. His warm breath brushed against her cheeks. Soon their lips locked, and the two shared a passionate kiss.

Rikku enjoyed the soft touch of his hand caressing her face. Although the stubble on his face rubbed against her skin with a coarse texture, the mere fact that they were skin-to-skin filled her longstanding desire at last. For the long gap between their meetings, she yearned for even this simple touch. With Yuna gone, an unfilled hole in her heart agonized to be sealed.

Gippal's other hand gently caressed the back of her head, pushing her lips ever tighter against his. Their tongues swirled gracefully around each other. Rikku felt her heart racing in her chest. Fumbling around with her hands, she grabbed what she could of his sleeves, drawing him in closer. Gippal's chest rose and fell sharply in rapid succession. Rikku could hardly sneak a breath in between their heated kisses.

Heavy footsteps abruptly interrupted their rendezvous. Gippal quickly darted to Rikku's side and threw his arms behind his head in an attempt to act unassuming. She sighed, still sitting up on the pillar. An elderly man holding a half-empty bottle stumbled by, oblivious to their presence.

Gippal chuckled after the man passed. "Lousy bum getting' in the way of our fun."

Rikku only stared at Gippal and stayed silent. Her lips tingled from their interaction. She could still feel his fingers carefully mingling in amongst her hair. Her heart still pounded in her chest, desperately wanting to break free and unleash all her pent-up passion. She wanted more.

"Time for bed kid. We gotta go early tomorrow," said Gippal with a wink.

While flustered and flooded with disappointment inside, she didn't object. Hopping off the pillar, the two walked back together to their hideaway. She immediately clung to his arm and smiled wildly at him. For once, she saw a slight blush on his cheeks under the moonlight. While it was ephemeral, it was this kind of affection that made her feel better inside. With a little bit of medicine each day, Rikku thought, she might just be healed.