A blond haired Al Bhed man rolled over on the bed, loose sand fell onto the sheets. He was asleep but evidence of him waking soon was obvious.

When he opened his eyes, Gippal didn't know what to make of what he saw. He sat up slowly and initially all he could see was white. A room with white walls and a white ceiling, but the carpet was a deep red and the air was cool in the room. The sun was shining brightly through the two windows and the only doors that were opened. The doors were made of glass and had white curtains swaying in the breeze, the scent of the ocean came pouring in and flooded Gippal's nose.

'Well, least that is familiar…though the room is not from anywhere I have stayed before…' he thought before a surprise yawn took him over. His outfit was his Al Bhed mechanic gear which he normally wore when hanging out at Djose Temple though he had taken off the eye-patch which had served no other purpose than to make him look cool. It had been partially covered in sand and most of it was falling off onto the bed.

He continued to look around the room for any sort of sign where he was. At first he thought it was one of Rin's travel agency rooms but after seeing how big it was and how luxurious the room was designed he threw that theory out the window. Besides, there was a distinct lack of furniture in the room for it to be a travel agency room. Besides the bed he was sitting on there was a small circular wooden table in the center of the room with two wooden chairs. Whatever this place was though, Gippal knew he was in trouble.

Still he shrugged his shoulders and yawned again before falling back onto the soft and quite comfortable mattress. "Wonder what will happen next…"

He closed his eyes and rolled onto his side. When he opened his eyes again, he didn't to see what he saw.

Separated only by a few inches, Gippal saw a pair of green, beautiful yet very frightened Al Bhed eyes staring back at him. Widened with shock of fear, maybe even both, the young woman who stared back at Gippal was someone he knew and knew very well.

Cid's little girl and veteran sphere hunter, Rikku.

While he was happy to see her Gippal immediately felt the tension in the air suddenly reach a boiling point. Rikku's face, which was usually cute and bubbly and full of energy, was now a mix of expressions ranging from fear to supreme anger, and her cheeks turned a shade of red Gippal had only seen once in his life.

And that look was not particularly good for him.

"…hey," was all he could say.

Fuse blown, Rikku pounced on him like a wild cat, and she even screeched like one when she tackled him and started to claw at his face.

The two were interlocked, Gippal tried to break free while Rikku wanted to strangle him, and they rolled off the bed. Though Gippal landed on his back with a hard thud the struggle continued.

"Calm down, Rikku!"

With Gippal on his back, Rikku mounted him like a brawler and tried to smack the hell out of him in a near uncontrollable rage.

Her rage echoed with each word she spoke, and with each word she smacked him repeatedly, "You stupid son of a shoopuff! Where are we?! What have you been doing to me!?"

Poor Gippal could only raise his arms to try and protect his face and hopefully not give him a legitimate reason to wear an eyepatch. "I-I don't know! Dammit, Rikku calm down!"

In a bid to defend himself and to stop the crazy girl's rampage, Gippal forced his bodyweight to turn on her. Rikku rolled to her side and then to her back. The momentum she had when she rolled went with her and Rikku's head collided with a small desk that was against the wall.

"Owwie…" It wasn't a tap either but a thud, and Rikku's cry of pain meant she hit it hard. Hard enough for her to halt her assault and put both her hands to her head.

Seeing his chance to take control of the situation, Gippal grabbed both Rikku's hands and held them above her head on the floor. Still she struggled but with Gippal's strength she could only do that. She wasn't going anywhere.

"Let me go!"

Gippal shook his head and tried to get his breath back. His face was covered in little red marks and he even had a few scratches that drew blood. The little girl always had fight in her. "Not until you calm down and let me explain."

Seeing as she couldn't refuse now, Rikku did as Gippal suggested.

Gippal didn't take any chances. Even after he felt Rikku's body relax he only slightly loosened his grip on her hands.

"Alright…I don't know where we are or how we got here. I only woke up a minute or so before you did, and I didn't even know you were right next to me in the bed. Now, you can try and tear me limb from limb and waste your energy or you can help me try and figure out what the hell is going on. You choose."

Taking a deep breath, Rikku nodded once. Her options were limited as it were but now with her mind clear the choice was obvious. "Fine…"

Gippal let her hands go, though he remained hovering over her as she lay beneath him. Though a trace of her rage remained, he couldn't help but notice how cute she looked. It certainly looked familiar to him and he grinned.

Rikku noticed his smirk, "What are you thinking?"

"Déjà vu, you know from when we were an item?"

This time Rikku's cheeks turned red from embarrassment, and her response was to drive her knee into Gippal's groin.

The attack made Gippal's eyes go wide in pain and he groaned before Rikku pushed him off her. She got up and stomped off towards a door that led into a bathroom and slammed the door shut behind her.

Gippal was in pain but got over it quickly enough, though he was going to feel it for a while. He sat on the floor and only then did he notice a silver cart near the wooden table, and a little furry creature with a red pom-pom on its head looking at him.

",,,breakfast is served, kupo…" said the creature.

Gippal would have laughed had he not felt pain, and only managed a smile.

Just where in the world did he and Rikku end up?