Oh wow….I haven't updated this one in a while. ^^ It makes me happy that I spontaneously decided to update again (And I really hope it makes you happy too…) Sorry for the long wait…I haven't had much free time lately (I know, I know, screw the excuses and get on with chapter four.) I'm praying that I'll get more of an urge to write in this one once it's been updated. ^^ Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, and thanks to everyone who reviewed. I take your comments to the heart. 3 Thanks again, and please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I still don't own any characters from Final Fantasy. *sad face*

Chapter Four—Veahtc

Veahtc. Fiends. I knew the word so well. The notion of enemy fiends just outside the old temple made my blood boil and my fingers twitch with excitement. I had always been that way, since I was raised in the time of Sin. I never knew when I might need to defend myself. After the Eternal Calm came upon us, I found the ache of bloodlust almost constantly present. I couldn't unwind. I still couldn't. I felt the familiar excitement tingling in my limbs, and a wide grin captured my lips.

"Gullwings!" Yunie looked between Paine and me, and I knew exactly what she was thinking. We were all thinking it: time to get down to business! It was time to prove that I was a Gullwing, not one of Gippal's lackeys (since he seemed to be under the impression that I worked for him…)

We ran out of the temple, the sound of Paine and Yunie's heels on the stone pavement joining the loud thunders from al bhed guns. I reached for my double daggers as we exited into the blistering sun. I squinted, glancing eagerly around. I saw al bhed everywhere; their guns were aimed toward the fiends piling in from the road. Other people, visitors and volunteers signing up to dig in Bikanel, ducked into the temple or bent down along the side of the road.

"What are all these fiends doing here?" Yunie murmured as she held up her shiny gun. Her breathing was even, but she looked worried. I knew what she was thinking; last time monsters were around the temples, we had to fight an aeon and a crazy guy tried to blow up Spira… I doubted the circumstances were as serious this time. Gippal probably attracted the veahtc, knowing him.

"Think about that later. We have bigger problems," Paine reasonably pointed out as she nodded toward a swarm of bite bugs following a herd of garm toward the temple.

"Good point…" Yunie swallowed her concern and took a shot at one of the blue bugs, nailing it right in the wing. It sputtered toward the ground, and its brethren kept going without it. Being a fiend must suck.

"Way to go, Dr. P! Get Yunie back on track!" I spun, swinging back my right dagger right into a garm's face. It growled at me in pain, lashing out at me with one of its large paws. The unsheathed claws were already covered in blood, and I wondered which one of my fellow al bhed had fallen to this fiend. I smoothly dodged the talons and raised my dagger for the killing blow. Before I could land the attack, though, Cruubiv dashed out of nowhere and began to kick the crap out of the poor garm.

Okay then. The machina did have a purpose, other than beating up Gippal. Protecting my bum!

There was a downfall, though…Every fiend I tried to attack, Cruubiv beat me to it. I was beginning to feel a little let down. Why didn't it go protect Yunie? Everyone wanted to protect Yunie!

"They're beginning to let up," Yunie breathed as she paused beside me. We both scanned the area, finding only a couple of garm and one or two basilisks, but al bhed were already taking care of them. I wiped my daggers on a small tuft of weed and checked for any injured. A couple al bhed were unmoving on the ground; others were breathing heavy, leaning up against the layered mountainside surrounding Djose. I thought I heard a crying kid, and I cringed.

"Why did they even attack…?" I wondered aloud, not really expecting anyone to give me an answer. After all, which one of us knew the answer? We only remembered the chaos that caused crazy fiend attacks like these, and I hoped Shuyin hadn't made a spontaneous comeback.

"I hope my new airship is okay…" Shinra was pacing in front of the temple. I jumped, having forgotten that he was even there. He had offered to fix Gippal's commsphere while the repairs were being done to the new airship. Now, he was probably regretting that. "If the fiends hurt it too much, we might have to use the Celsius again while I make my necessary repairs…"

"The airship!" I gasped. Gippal and the crew were working on the airship, weren't they? If the fiends made it as far as the temple, then certainly they passed by Gippal… What if…

No, Rikku! Don't be an idiot! Gippal can take care of himself! I could only imagine the taunting grin he would give me if he found out I was worried about him.

"What's the matter, Cid's Girl? Afraid I'll get hurt? I never knew you cared so much…"

Ugh! Get the idea out of your head! Gippal is probably fine! He's a big boy! He can take care of himself…

Paine, either somehow guessing my inner panic attack or truly concerned, frowned and faced Yunie. "Gippal and the others might have encountered some trouble. We should go make sure they didn't get injured. Those were a lot of angry fiends… Gippal might know what upset them so much."

"Right," Yunie agreed eagerly. "Buddy and Brother are out there, too. They might need our help!" Leave it up to Yunie to worry about everyone. Leave it up to me to only worry about Gippal.

"You don't think something could have happened, right?" I followed alongside Paine and Yunie as they headed toward the bridge leading away from the temple. I stepped around a garm carcass and stepped into beat beside them. "Right? Gippal's tough. He would shoot any fiend in the face before it could lay a claw on him!"

"You seem awfully worried about someone you don't like," Paine commented calmly, raising an eyebrow at me. I hated those knowing, wine red eyes of hers. She was too smart.

I flapped my hands anxiously and gave a nervous laugh. "No, no, no…I'm only concerned about the airship. If anything happened to it, we could get stuck here with that stuck-up pretty boy longer than I want to be! Come to think of it, I should give the airship a name… How about…Lrulupu!" I liked it well enough.

Paine offered a faint chuckle. "Chocobo? I don't think so."

"Suukma?"

"Suukma? What's that?" Yunie asked curiously.

"Moogle," Paine answered. "It's Shinra's airship. Shouldn't he be the one to name it?"

"Nonsense! He'll give it some lame name like he did the Celsius! I would rather ride a shoopuf!" I proclaimed importantly. We had stepped onto the road now, and the trees shielded us from the cruel rays of the sun. I stayed on alert for fiends, a little hopeful that we encountered some. I didn't get to fight enough, thanks to Cruubiv.

"Is that a promise?" Paine muttered and walked ahead, a small smile on her lips. What a bully she was! I glared at her back before dashing off after her, Yunie in hot pursuit.

I was glad for the small talk. It distracted me from the notion that Gippal could have gotten hurt in the fiend attack. One wrong move could have ended him, and I didn't want to think about that yet. I wanted to think about naming the airship and fiends and shoopufs, not Gippal or his welfare. Until I had to think about him, I could ignore his very existence.

I also tried to ignore the gentle thunder of Crubbiv's mechanical feet as he followed behind us.

Okayyy that's it for now…I promise to update soon (because I haven't said that before, right?) Reviews will help with that, by the way… I would really like to hear your opinion. ^^ Anyway, thank you for reading again! - 3 TBB