20. The Gippal Express (1/2)

"s-sir auron?" yuna clambered onto his knees, clutching at his belt. "are you going to make the lady go away?"

wakka made a strangled sound, shooting a panicked glance at rikku.

for once, rikku's inventiveness had exhausted itself. all she could manage was a strained, "c'mon, yunie, he's a stranger. he's not gonna understand."

auron said nothing, contemplating the small, tear-stricken face before him. her mismatched eyes were a haunting reminder of her namesake and the fate that had claimed her. how often had he tried to push against the spiral of death?

"she wants you to," yuna said softly. "she feels sick inside. can't somebody fix her?"

"yuna," auron said, choosing his gruff words with care. "can anyone but the lady change the weather?"

"um..." the girl pondered, then shook her head, curls flopping around her ears. "no, 'cause she's the lady!"

"then how can we change her? the lady is stronger than the weather," auron said. "but if she leaves, she will give you a gift."

"um, auron," rikku said, edging towards her daughter.

"really?" yuna said

eathlessly.

"yes," auron said, stroking the girl's nose with a finger. "if you wish it, you'll find a way to grow gardens in the desert."

"oooh!" yuna said. "garden magic? that sounds fun."

"yunie, it's past bedtime," rikku said. "say goodnight to everyone, okay? i'll sing you a lullaby, but only if you come right now."

yuna set her hands against auron's coat, raising herself up to kiss the scar on his cheek. "tell the lady i said hi." then she scrambled down and took her mother's hand, waving shyly to the other guests. "night-night."

monitoring them until they disappeared around the corner, wakka turned to auron with a grudging nod. "we're cool, man," he said. "for now."

"but who is the lady?" maroda said. "my

other thinks—"

"i think that we, also, must rest," isaaru said, rising to his feet and bowing. "sir wakka, thank you again for your hospitality. if there is anything you're willing to tell us about the lady, we would be grateful. but we shall not impose."

"uh," wakka said, accent thickening, "i donno what to tell you. yuna got a bad case o' the toxin, and it's been messin' with her dreams ever since. that's about it. so, anyway...sleep well, ya? we'll make another sweep for your

udda in the morning."

dawn found rikku dozing on the couch in the living room, which auron had finally vacated. as the light grew, a groggy wakka emerged from the hallway, shuffling over to her. he lowered himself to the floor next to the couch, folding his arms on the edge of the cushions and resting his head. eventually she stirred, rolled over to check the sphere, and bumped into him.

"hey," he said, nosing her tummy above her pajama shorts. "you could take that thing back to the bedroom, ya know."

"didn't want to keep waking you," she mumbled, rolling towards him for a sleepy kiss.

"you okay?"

"mmm. yeah. i just hate waiting!" she rested her cheek on his arm, stroking his ridiculous crest of red hair. "are you okay?"

"ya." he exhaled. "so far, so good. but how long we gotta keep 'em here for, eh?"

"pops wants me to

ing auron to him once things calm down."

a faint buzzing noise outside the house grew swiftly to a roar that rattled the windows. a loud rumble shook the walls and floor, then faded to a whine, then silence.

"what the—?" wakka peered towards the front door, hopping to his feet. "don't tell me sir auron crashed the hover."

"that's not our hover," rikku said, suddenly wide awake.

"i'll go see," wakka said. he jogged across the room, scooped up a blitzball at the base of the coat rack, and reached for the door handle. his face relaxed into a goofy grin as the door swung open. "heee-eeey! who's this bum at the door, eh?"

gippal set his hands on his hips and leaned back, striking a pose. "someone you still owe two hundred gil. heya, taboo, sunshine, how've you been? how's the cactuar patch?"

"doing great," rikku said, peering past wakka's elbow at the craft parked outside. it was a sled-like vehicle with stubby wings, turbine rotors on the rear and bottom, and a guardrail surrounding four seats clustered in a u-shape behind a windshield. a layer of sand had blown into their home's entryway, coating outer surfaces in a fine spray. "keep your voice down; you may not have woken all of them. gippal, do you have any idea what time it is?"

he spread his hands. "sure do. do you have any idea that sin just flew past your house? damn thing moves faster than i thought. can i come in?"

"oh, why not," said wakka, dropping the ball and kicking it back into place. "though we've kinda got a full house right now. but come on. i'll get you a drink."

"thanks, but none of that tea crap. battery acid, please." gippal sauntered in and threw himself down on a chair, pushing back his goggles. "seriously. you guys have no idea how glad i was to see your lights on when i flew over. i was afraid i might find a big smoking hole in the ground."

"you flew over us in that thing?" wakka said. "we're lucky we aren't a hole in the ground. what'd you do to your old ship?"

"landed four miles away. that's my new flyer. like a hover, only it goes up, not just sideways. pretty spiff, eh?"

"great," rikku said, distracted. "you mean sin's backtracking? gippal, what's happened to home?"

"i was just getting to that," gippal said. "half flooded, no power, but it's not as bad as it could've been. sin trashed the old guado temple, but left most of the new construction intact.

other and buddy are babysitting the evacuees on nulg island. elder cid's assessing the damage to home with shinra's salvage team. we had a major cid-plosion when my scanners showed sin headed back your way. he ordered me to get you guys to safety, only sin outran me." gippal took the glass wakka set at his elbow. "thanks."

"aww, you were worried about us," rikku said.

"damn straight. two hundred gil ain't chocobo chips." he tossed back the amber liquid and beamed, eyes watering. "and that ain't tea."

"knock it off with the gil, man," wakka said, dropping onto the sofa and curling an arm behind rikku. "you been takin' cheatin' lessons from rin. speakin' o' which, i thought you were supposed to be on the mainland fleecin' the yevonites. you decide to come home an' start makin' an honest living?"

"oh, things were getting a little hot back in yevonville. sin's stirred up, and i figured it was time to clear out of the calm lands before summoners start showing up for the big dance."

wakka shook his head. "cid told everybody to clear out eight months ago, gip."

"yeah, well, the crusaders have been stocking up on weapons ever since sin came out of hiding. rin and i made a bundle."

"same old gippal." rikku said. "by the way, did pops say anything about our...guest?"