Mari: How are the reviews?
Toey: Read 'em yourself, you lazy bum!
Mari: I'LL FEED YOU TO THE EVIL POPTART YOU BLASPHEMER!
Toey: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
When Paine woke up, she found herself covered in bandages. The wound in her chest no longer hurt, and her head didn't feel like it was going to explode anymore. A quick brush through her hair revealed that the singed parts had been artfully cut off, but the hair itself was still smoky gray.
"Good morning!" an Al Bhed man said as he came into the room. "It is good to see you are finally awake. My name is Rin. I own this Travel Agency and several others."
"Sorry I can't pay," Paine remarked, gesturing at her tattered clothes.
Rin waved her off. "Quite alright. I understand."
"Thanks."
"May I ask," Rin inquired, "what happened?"
Paine considered telling the Al Bhed merchant everything. About Mi'ihen and Sin and her brothers. He seemed trustworthy enough. No. She couldn't. Everyone seems trustworthy until they stab you in the back. "I fell out of a tree, and landed on an ice patch," she fibbed.
If Rin knew that she was lying, he didn't say anything. He simply bowed and wished her well as he left the room.
Paine sighed. What could she do now? No family to return to, no friends. She had to go somewhere.
"Well I suppose I'll start by getting up," she muttered, and stood. Remarkably, nothing hurt anymore. The mirror on the other side of the room proved that all her scratches and bruises had disappeared. The wound in her chest had also fully healed.
Sadly her old clothes had not fared as well as her body. They were scuffed and torn and tattered everywhere. She tossed them aside and put on the garb that the Al Bhed girl had left her. "Just a temporary fix," she said to her reflection.
She pushed what remained of her hair into an awkward position. "I could get used to it." (A/N This is the hair that Paine has in FF X-2...now.)
The Al Bhed girl ran into her room. "Master Rin told me that you woke up! How are you feeling? Do the clothes fit? Are you hungry? Do you need anything."
Paine blinked. "Um...good, yes, no, no."
"Oh, thank Yevon! You've been out for two days! We actually had to ask a passing summoner to heal you! It's amazing you're alive!"
Paine stopped her and shook her head, "Whoa! Wait a minute! A summoner healed me?"
"Most true!"
"Crew would have loved to see that," she whispered. She plopped down on the edge of the bed.
"Are you alright?" the girl asked.
"Fine," she said bitterly, "Listen, I need to leave. Do you know of any places that sell clothes?"
The girl looked hurt, but Paine no longer regretted her words. After receiving directions, she gathered her clothes to be thrown out. Something clattered out of the torn pocket of her pants. She bent down to pick it up.
It was a silver medallion in the shape of a tassel. Corin had found it on top of some ruins. He gave it to her as a birthday present. The corners of her lips turned upward as she buckled it around her neck. She would go back to what was left Mi'ihen.
But first to find some clothes. She followed the Al Bhed girl's instructions and reached a small shop not too far from Macalania Temple.
Half an hour later, she emerged bearing her new look. A black leather shirt (A/N I don't know what to call it! It's a frickin' leather strap! Why am I even describing it if you only read this if you know about FF X-2?) and shorts attached to each other with belts. Tall boots, black leather stockings and black gloves completed the ensemble.
The new outfit gave her a cold appearance. She actually enjoyed watching people recoil away from her. Hide their children as she passed. The gruesome skull on her belt buckle didn't really help with her popularity.
On her way to the entrance of the forest, she came across Bayra once more. "It relieves me to see you are well again," he said, strumming the harp. "Thank you, Bayra." Her voice was all formality. None of it's former softness remained. She turned around and continued towards the entrance.
"Wait," he said, "I found this in the forest, perhaps lost by a passing warrior. I would like to give it to you as a farewell gift, should our paths not cross again." He handed her a long blade that was engraved with a skull where the hilt and metal met.
She accepted it with a slight bow. Bayra nodded in return, and then disappeared in a flash of white light.
After blinking for a moment, Paine shouldered the sword and approached the darkness before her.
Claps of thunder met her ears. It was a gigantic plain that sparked with lightning and the skies constantly rained.
CRASH! She jumped aside and a thin tendril of lightning struck the spot where she had been the second before.
"Better keep moving," she said out loud and bolted.
She dodged from tower to tower, never stopping for breath. After what seemed like forever, a green glow appeared before her. It was a tunnel encrusted with vines.
With the lightning going crazy around her, Paine decided it was better not to think about what was in the cave until she got there. She sprinted towards the entrance, slicing any fiends in her way.
One final leap off the back of a Dual Horn propelled her into the mouth of the tunnel. She painfully collided with the cobblestone floor. "Owww . . ." she groaned, lifting her head. Three tall figures dressed in green ceremonial robes looked down on her.
Paine stumbled to her feet and bowed, her hands held in front of her as if she was holding a sphere. It was the standard prayer of Yevon. She had to show respect for Yevon in this place, Guadosalam, home of one of Yevon's Maesters. The Guado were a race of fair-skinned, usually green-haired people. They were the protectors of the Farplane, a place where the living could see their memories of the dead.
Her family was probably already there.
The three Guado returned the prayer, and the oldest stepped forward.
"I am Tromell," he said slowly, gesturing his long hands around him, "Welcome to Guadosalam, home of the great Lord Jyscal."
"I'm just passing through," she said, pushing by them.
"You wish to see the Farplane, do you not? I can see it in your eyes."
Paine stopped dead. "So what if I am?" she replied testily.
Tromell shook his head. "Very well, but remember this; the past cannot help you any longer. It is done and cannot be remade anew."
"Thanks, old man, but I already know that." And taking long, quick strides, she ran past the entrance to her memories.
A rush of humid air blew into her face as she exited Guadosalam. A swampy river of pyreflies rippled before her.
"It's the Moonflow," she murmured as she looked into her reflection in the water. Her scratches and bruises had all healed over.
"Ride ze shoopuf?" The speaker was a blue-skinned hypello. He gestured over to a large, elephant-like creature with a carriage on its back.
Paine had seen a shoopuf once before at mushroom rock road. She still couldn't get over how huge these creatures were. "Sure. Beats walking."
"All aboards?" he said. Paine got onto the lift and into the carriage, bracing herself for the rocking of the shoopuf's slow, lumbering walk.
She let out a forlorn sigh and stared out at the pyreflies. How many of these people had she known?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Toey: Why can't I get a shoopuf?
Mari: Because they're not real, idiot!
Toey: Oh . . .
Mari: Shut up! You knew that already!
Toey: *Glances around* Of course.
Mari: R&R, people!
Toey: Read 'em yourself, you lazy bum!
Mari: I'LL FEED YOU TO THE EVIL POPTART YOU BLASPHEMER!
Toey: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
When Paine woke up, she found herself covered in bandages. The wound in her chest no longer hurt, and her head didn't feel like it was going to explode anymore. A quick brush through her hair revealed that the singed parts had been artfully cut off, but the hair itself was still smoky gray.
"Good morning!" an Al Bhed man said as he came into the room. "It is good to see you are finally awake. My name is Rin. I own this Travel Agency and several others."
"Sorry I can't pay," Paine remarked, gesturing at her tattered clothes.
Rin waved her off. "Quite alright. I understand."
"Thanks."
"May I ask," Rin inquired, "what happened?"
Paine considered telling the Al Bhed merchant everything. About Mi'ihen and Sin and her brothers. He seemed trustworthy enough. No. She couldn't. Everyone seems trustworthy until they stab you in the back. "I fell out of a tree, and landed on an ice patch," she fibbed.
If Rin knew that she was lying, he didn't say anything. He simply bowed and wished her well as he left the room.
Paine sighed. What could she do now? No family to return to, no friends. She had to go somewhere.
"Well I suppose I'll start by getting up," she muttered, and stood. Remarkably, nothing hurt anymore. The mirror on the other side of the room proved that all her scratches and bruises had disappeared. The wound in her chest had also fully healed.
Sadly her old clothes had not fared as well as her body. They were scuffed and torn and tattered everywhere. She tossed them aside and put on the garb that the Al Bhed girl had left her. "Just a temporary fix," she said to her reflection.
She pushed what remained of her hair into an awkward position. "I could get used to it." (A/N This is the hair that Paine has in FF X-2...now.)
The Al Bhed girl ran into her room. "Master Rin told me that you woke up! How are you feeling? Do the clothes fit? Are you hungry? Do you need anything."
Paine blinked. "Um...good, yes, no, no."
"Oh, thank Yevon! You've been out for two days! We actually had to ask a passing summoner to heal you! It's amazing you're alive!"
Paine stopped her and shook her head, "Whoa! Wait a minute! A summoner healed me?"
"Most true!"
"Crew would have loved to see that," she whispered. She plopped down on the edge of the bed.
"Are you alright?" the girl asked.
"Fine," she said bitterly, "Listen, I need to leave. Do you know of any places that sell clothes?"
The girl looked hurt, but Paine no longer regretted her words. After receiving directions, she gathered her clothes to be thrown out. Something clattered out of the torn pocket of her pants. She bent down to pick it up.
It was a silver medallion in the shape of a tassel. Corin had found it on top of some ruins. He gave it to her as a birthday present. The corners of her lips turned upward as she buckled it around her neck. She would go back to what was left Mi'ihen.
But first to find some clothes. She followed the Al Bhed girl's instructions and reached a small shop not too far from Macalania Temple.
Half an hour later, she emerged bearing her new look. A black leather shirt (A/N I don't know what to call it! It's a frickin' leather strap! Why am I even describing it if you only read this if you know about FF X-2?) and shorts attached to each other with belts. Tall boots, black leather stockings and black gloves completed the ensemble.
The new outfit gave her a cold appearance. She actually enjoyed watching people recoil away from her. Hide their children as she passed. The gruesome skull on her belt buckle didn't really help with her popularity.
On her way to the entrance of the forest, she came across Bayra once more. "It relieves me to see you are well again," he said, strumming the harp. "Thank you, Bayra." Her voice was all formality. None of it's former softness remained. She turned around and continued towards the entrance.
"Wait," he said, "I found this in the forest, perhaps lost by a passing warrior. I would like to give it to you as a farewell gift, should our paths not cross again." He handed her a long blade that was engraved with a skull where the hilt and metal met.
She accepted it with a slight bow. Bayra nodded in return, and then disappeared in a flash of white light.
After blinking for a moment, Paine shouldered the sword and approached the darkness before her.
Claps of thunder met her ears. It was a gigantic plain that sparked with lightning and the skies constantly rained.
CRASH! She jumped aside and a thin tendril of lightning struck the spot where she had been the second before.
"Better keep moving," she said out loud and bolted.
She dodged from tower to tower, never stopping for breath. After what seemed like forever, a green glow appeared before her. It was a tunnel encrusted with vines.
With the lightning going crazy around her, Paine decided it was better not to think about what was in the cave until she got there. She sprinted towards the entrance, slicing any fiends in her way.
One final leap off the back of a Dual Horn propelled her into the mouth of the tunnel. She painfully collided with the cobblestone floor. "Owww . . ." she groaned, lifting her head. Three tall figures dressed in green ceremonial robes looked down on her.
Paine stumbled to her feet and bowed, her hands held in front of her as if she was holding a sphere. It was the standard prayer of Yevon. She had to show respect for Yevon in this place, Guadosalam, home of one of Yevon's Maesters. The Guado were a race of fair-skinned, usually green-haired people. They were the protectors of the Farplane, a place where the living could see their memories of the dead.
Her family was probably already there.
The three Guado returned the prayer, and the oldest stepped forward.
"I am Tromell," he said slowly, gesturing his long hands around him, "Welcome to Guadosalam, home of the great Lord Jyscal."
"I'm just passing through," she said, pushing by them.
"You wish to see the Farplane, do you not? I can see it in your eyes."
Paine stopped dead. "So what if I am?" she replied testily.
Tromell shook his head. "Very well, but remember this; the past cannot help you any longer. It is done and cannot be remade anew."
"Thanks, old man, but I already know that." And taking long, quick strides, she ran past the entrance to her memories.
A rush of humid air blew into her face as she exited Guadosalam. A swampy river of pyreflies rippled before her.
"It's the Moonflow," she murmured as she looked into her reflection in the water. Her scratches and bruises had all healed over.
"Ride ze shoopuf?" The speaker was a blue-skinned hypello. He gestured over to a large, elephant-like creature with a carriage on its back.
Paine had seen a shoopuf once before at mushroom rock road. She still couldn't get over how huge these creatures were. "Sure. Beats walking."
"All aboards?" he said. Paine got onto the lift and into the carriage, bracing herself for the rocking of the shoopuf's slow, lumbering walk.
She let out a forlorn sigh and stared out at the pyreflies. How many of these people had she known?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Toey: Why can't I get a shoopuf?
Mari: Because they're not real, idiot!
Toey: Oh . . .
Mari: Shut up! You knew that already!
Toey: *Glances around* Of course.
Mari: R&R, people!