Decisions

Paine felt her eyes open to a dark room and a pounding headache.

"Ah…" she groaned. She had hangovers before, but what she was feeling then gave new meaning to the term "head-splitting." It felt like she had been using her forehead as a hammer, though she suspected that wouldn't have been as bad. She groaned again. Her life just wasn't giving her any breaks was it.

A few moments passed and gradually the pain waned to a tolerable level, enough to at least let her relax. She looked around the room. Despite the darkness it was clear she was in the Celsius. Where else would she be? She vaguely remembered someone carrying her aboard and laying her down, not who. But whoever it was, was also kind enough to remove some her garments so she could sleep more comfortably, and she groaned at the thought that it might have been Rikku. She felt a bit glad she was unconscious at the time.

She groped around to find a small clock that was usually kept by the bed, somewhat curious to find out how long she had out, only to find nothing. Someone moved it. She groaned again.

"I hate my life." She said half seriously to herself. Not that she was suicidal, but if things continued as they were she was definitely going to ditch the garment grid. It would be a loss. She fought just as well without it before, long before in fact. But she would miss the power it gave her. Her typical magics were much more potent using the grid. But she would have another…whatever in her mind. No matter how powerful it was.

"Power…"

The images of the twin blades that intercepted those missiles came to mind, and the energy that destroyed that large mecha. This thing, this source was definitely one of a kind, something never seen before in Spira, and maybe never seen again?

Could she learn to use it?

Paine's heart skipped a beat at the thought. She always wanted to be strong. To have power, not for the sake of it in itself but to project herself and friends from fiends, from Sin, and from Shuyin…she wouldn't mind having that.

But then the thought of Shuyin came to mind, a ghost who in his grief and anger became so engrossed in the power of a machine that he tried to destroy the world. Would she become like him…or…?

This was too much to think about that late of night.

She laid her head black, pulling the comforter on top of her close to keep warm, and closed her eyes.

These things were, after all, better left in the light of day.

Paine awoke the next day late, very late. She groped again for the clock didn't find. "

"Oh right." Someone had moved it.

From the brightness of the Sun she could tell it was at least noon. She wasn't the only one sleeping in though. Rikku also was still snoozing in her bed on other side of the balcony of the cabin on which the beds were situated.

"Ha." The missing clock was also there.

When she was a little bit younger she had made the habit of sleeping till noon, but that habit ended a long time before she joined the Gullwings, for the most part at least. She hated wasting the morning, especially it was the only time of day she could a little bit of peace to herself on the crowded Celsius. But this time she had good reasons to be sleeping in, other company's notwithstanding.

Paine decided to just let the girl sleep. Besides, she needed to talk to Shinra; she needed to know more about this sphere.

The ship seemed surprisingly empty. The Barkeep wasn't on duty, and Paine never knew what else he did on the ship when he wasn't tending to the food and drinks. There was no sign of Yuna or her new significant other, though that didn't surprise her. She arrived on the bridge to find it just as quiet as the cabin. Brother wasn't around to hound her about anything, nor was Shinra busy at work in his station.

Paine allowed a sigh. She wasn't in the mood to chasing after people, but what could she do?

"Good morning," the pleasant voice of Buddy came from behind her.

She turned around and he walked passed her down to his usual navigating station

"Morning," she responded.

"You were out for awhile. Rikku was panicking. She practically stayed up all night checking on you."

"Yeah…well I kind of have an excuse."

"No kidding."

"Where is Shinra?"

"Where do you think? He spent the entire night combing over that machina you guys blew up yesterday. 'Fascinating' he says."

Paine allowed herself a small laugh. It was good to have some things you could rely upon. "Thanks."

"So how you feeling?"

"I'm fine." She said tersely.

Buddy just shrugged his shoulders. "Okay…"

A tinge of regret came over her. She didn't mean to be so austere and aloof. She just never liked to talk about those things casually.

Paine turned to leave the bridge, when right as she did she was immediately seized by some blond creature.

"Paine!" Rikku exclaimed.

"Rikku let…"

"Painie! I was so worried. I mean you were fine then you just passed out and didn't wake up for hours and hours! I thought you might die…"

"I didn't die Rikku," she said finally a able to rescue herself from the grip of the smaller girl. "I was just tired."

"Well yeah. I would be too after blowing up a big-metal-spider-machina. You should have seen yourself. All this red light goes about you and then things just come out of nowhere. And boom! Dr. P saves the day! It was so cool! But pretty scary at the same time."

"Uh…Yeah," Paine suddenly remembered why she didn't to talk to Shinra.

"No joke Paine," Buddy chimed in. "With that thing, you could go toe-to-toe with an aeon if you wanted."

"I doubt that's gonna happen anytime soon."

"Still…"

"Yeah you're like a super-hero now!" Rikku commented. "A super-Gullwing! Other sphere hunters beware!" Rikku made some odd bird flapping jestures.

"S…stop that. I need to talk to Shinra." Paine said trying to push passed Rikku.

"Well you can right now. They all just got back to the ship," Buddy said.

"Ahhh." What could Paine do? She had little choice but to surrender.

The door opened and in bounded Shinra hauling some odd black device, followed closely by Tidus and Yuna.

"Hey!" Tidus said, "Look who's back from the dead."

"I didn't die."

"Well I'm glad you're okay. Rikku was really worried about you," Yuna spoke.

"Yeah I noticed." All the attention was beginning to get on her nerves. But she just had to roll with it. "Shinra."

"Wait a minute," the young Al-bed replied. His attention was transfixed on the black…thing he had brought in.

"I need to ask you to…"

"Just a second."

Paine bit her lip. She had been waiting to ask him a question and now he was being sheepish.

Paine turned back to Yuna. "What is that thing?'

"Shinra took it out of that machina. He said it was some sort of data recorder," Yuna responded.

"Like a sphere?"

"Not really," Shinra chimed in. "It doesn't store the same sort of information."

"What does it store then?"

"Hold on…"

"Ah," Paine groaned. He never was very cooperative.

"Paine you should go a good look at that machina," Tidus remarked.

"I got a good at it yesterday," Paine replied, thinking of the corpses that were inside the thing.

"No I'm serious. This is the toughest machine I've ever seen. I mean you put a grenade in the front of that thing but it still barely made a dent. We even got some of the stuff inside to work again. It's also really old, pre-Sin pre-Zanarkand, pre-everything."

Yuna spoke up. "We think its related to the spheres you found."

"Related?"

"Most definitely," Shinra shot up and said before going back to his work.

Yuna continued, "We going to watch the rest of that sphere. Shinra says he thinks he's decoded it."

"You should watch it with us," Tidus suggested.

Paine allowed another sigh. There was some curiosity lingering in her mind about those spheres and the mammoth machina from the other day, and Shinra didn't seem like he was going to be pulled away from his new toy anytime soon. So might as well…

They pulled out the strange sphere and pick up where they left off.

More mystery awaits…

-Stonehenge