Disclaimer: Not mine.
Hey, everyone! Thanks for the reviews! They really brightened my day! I got the third chappie here for you! Before we get to it, though, I would like to take the time for some question answering for the reviewers.
Sorry that the update took so long, but I got inspiration to write yet another Paine-centric story, and it's been taking all my focus. Plus, I have summer school and marching band, other real life things like that. I will try to update quickly for next chapter!
sdreamz – Thanks! That ending line was one of those ones that just pop into your head and they fit perfectly into the story.
Paine3 – I'm really glad you like the story.
blue eyes – Well, I'm not sure at this moment. There will obviously be Yuna/Tidus going on, but other than that, I think any other relationships will be purely friendship. You will be seeing a bit of Baralai in future chapters though.
Thanks again to everyone who reviewed! And now, onto the chapter!
May She Rest in Peace – Chapter Three – Machina Engines
The lens of the sphere camera focused on three people on a ship. Nooj stood near the edge of the boat, his back facing the camera. Paine leaned against the cabin, her arms crossed in her usual stance. Baralai stood on the opposite end, facing Gippal, who was the cameraman. The camera suddenly shifted and faced the leather-clad woman.
"Whaddaya got in mind for fun? Any ideas, Dr. P?" Gippal asked Paine, who seemed unaffected by the nickname the Al Bhed gave her. Paine didn't change her stance, but simply moved her head so she was looking at the camera.
"Me? A ship that glides through the air. That thing you mentioned before. If it's for real, I wanna fly it," answered Paine as she moved a few steps closer to the center of the boat. Baralai shifted his stance and he started to walk toward Paine. The camera focused on the white-haired man.
"You get to be pilot, then. And maybe I'll try my hand at navigation," stated Baralai cheerfully, a small grin escaping from his lips. The camera bobbed up and down as Gippal walked toward the rest of the group.
"Then I'll be the engineer!" He declared proudly. Baralai and Paine looked at Gippal for a few seconds, then a silence settled over the group as they glanced at Nooj, who still hadn't moved from his spot. Baralai was the one to break the silence.
"Nooj?" He asked simply, looking from Paine to Gippal.
Paine walked up to Nooj and looked at him for a moment, her arms still crossed. "Captain."
Baralai nodded. "Ah, that's perfect," he said as he walked closer to Nooj as well. Nooj turned around to face the rest of the group, his hands leaning against the side of the boat.
"You'd let an amateur be captain?" He asked seriously, glancing at each member of his group.
Gippal once again moved the camera so it focused on Nooj. "Chill out, Noojster. All you gotta do is shut up and look important and you'll fit the part," the Al Bhed explained.
Paine nodded. "Like a glove."
Several seconds of silence settled over the group once again. Then Nooj spoke up.
"I'll work you like dogs," He said.
At this, everyone started laughing, the sound echoing in the sphere recording until it faded away, leaving only a red glow of the sphere.
Their laughter still echoes in my mind, even now. I don't think I'll ever forget what happened to change us so much, but sometimes I don't think I want to forget, either. I lightly traced the glowing sphere with my gloved fingers, the heat radiating through the leather. It was one of the few times when there was a smile on my lips, and perhaps the only time lately when I would do something against what most people expected.
Of course, those people don't know the real me. They just know the fabricated version: The one who saved Spira along with the only living High Summoner and an Al Bhed. I suppose we were a pretty ragtag group as far as sphere hunters go. We were all in it for the same reasons (personal ones), but still different reasons. Yuna wanted to find Tidus; I wanted to find answers about the Crimson Squad, and Rikku…
Rikku is still an enigma to me. I think that she was just along for the ride, but I can't be so sure.
"Paine? Are you in here?" A voice echoed into the bridge of the Celsius. I quickly switched off Shinra's console, and I glanced at the doorway to confirm whose voice it was that interrupted me this time. I knew it was Yuna, but I just wanted to make sure. It's always easy to know it's her from her voice. She always has an air of uncertainty whenever she speaks; it's like she's questioning herself all the time. I wonder if maybe she actually is. She speaks so carefully, choosing her words like a diplomat would. I suppose she is considered a diplomat, since she is a High Summoner, not to mention the only one that lives to tell the tale of her victory over Sin.
I carefully tucked the glowing, blood-red sphere back into the small cabinet used for storing the fragile records. There were a myriad of different spheres: blue, green, orange… The red ones always seemed to grab my attention the most, though. It was probably because of their insight into my past. I recorded nearly all of the red spheres neatly lined up across the shelf. I know extra details about the recordings that were edited out by Kinoc and his group of censors. I know things that even the rest of my squad didn't notice. And this knowledge made me yearn for my past, despite how disturbing the truth of it was.
I could compare it easily with any other addiction. I regained pieces of my identity whenever I watched the spheres. I remembered the girl I used to be, before all of this. And remembering how I used to act has changed how I respond to certain situations now. I blinked quickly, making sure my eyes were adjusted to the darkness before I made my trek to turn on the bridge's lights.
Yuna still hadn't seen me yet, and she didn't spot me until I had turned the lights on, the sudden brightness making me see spots as I squinted to make out Yuna's form, which was standing at the top of the stairs, hands clutched on the railing. Once my eyesight was cleared, I made the assumption that Yuna had been sleeping. She navigated down the steps leading to the heart of the bridge, her hair in a state of disarray and a stuffed moogle dangling from her hand. She looked like an overgrown toddler who had just had a bad dream.
"I thought I heard some noise in here," Yuna said as she tucked her stuffed moogle under her arm.
I looked quizzically at Yuna. How could she hear noise a floor above her? I'm sure I wasn't making that much noise. She apparently guessed that I didn't believe her excuse, because after a few seconds, Yuna smiled in defeat and continued making her way toward me.
"Alright, I couldn't sleep, and I wanted to get some fresh air," she said, glancing out at the night sky through the glass of the airship's windshield. I simply held the same expression on my face.
"So you came to the Bridge? Usually when someone needs fresh air, they go outside," I pointed out, a small grin appearing on my face.
Yuna stood silent for a moment, her eyes shifting to the moogle in her hand. She played with the artificial fur for a moment.
"Well…I noticed that you weren't in the Cabin, and I thought that you might want some company. I was going to head out to the deck, but it's really windy outside, and I knew you weren't out there at this time of night," she finished timidly.
I nodded knowingly as I sat down on the stairs near the entrance, and then patted the spot next to me for her to sit down. She complied and stretched her legs out in front of her once she was seated. I leaned my elbows against the stair above me.
"So, Yuna, how does it feel, now that Vegnagun and Sin are things of the past?" I asked, trying to steer the conversation away from anything having to do with what happened this morning in Bikanel.
Yuna's eyes suddenly brightened, the sleepiness gone. She hugged the moogle to her chest.
"I feel very relieved. It's like a big stress has been lifted from my shoulders, you know?" she answered, sighing deeply as she smiled. Two seconds later, her eyes had dimmed and her fingers had gone back to playing with the fur of her stuffed animal. I continued watching her, my own fingers tugging on my leather gloves.
"But…?" I began, knowing that otherwise, she would remain silent. Yuna looked at me; sadly smiling again as she remembered how well I had come to understand her since I started traveling with the Gullwings.
"I guess…I miss it," she added.
I knew what she was talking about, but I still pursued her answer further.
"Miss what?"
Yuna closed her eyes and shook her head for a moment.
"No…It's silly, really…" She started, trying to shake it off. She opened her eyes again, knowing that I wasn't going to be satisfied with the answer she had given so far. So she continued.
"It's almost like…I want something bad to happen to Spira again, so we can go traveling and defeat fiends and save the world like we used to," she admitted, shaking her head again.
I chuckled lightly.
"Yuna, it's only been a couple months since we defeated Vegnagun," I reminded.
Yuna buried her face in her hands in frustration.
"I know! It's just that it seems like I haven't traveled in years!" She mumbled.
I lightly patted her back.
"You know, Yuna. You don't have to be saving the world to travel around with your friends. After this adventure, if you ever want to just go for a trip around Spira, all of this is just one sphere communicator away," I said, gesturing to the airship.
Yuna turned her head so her face was visible again.
"Yeah, but I don't want to interfere with your lives," she explained.
I shook my head at her comment.
"You wouldn't be interfering with our lives, Yuna. At least, not mine. If anything, you would be giving me a break from all the jobs I have to do at the Youth League base in Kilika. Nooj has me running errands at all hours of the day," I finished.
"But what if they need you there?"
I laughed at this.
"Yuna, virtually the entire population of Kilika is now made up of members of the Youth League and their families. Unless some sort of catastrophic event befalls the town, I'm sure I will be able to spare a couple days to visit with some friends."
Yuna, now fully sitting up, smiled at me and nodded.
"Okay. Thanks, Paine."
I smiled at her as well, but my expression was blocked by a sudden yawn. My exhaustion was finally catching up to me now, it seemed. A mixture of dehydration and nostalgia together with unyielding heat and adhesive leather isn't exactly my idea of a relaxing day.
Though I had cleared up one of her worries, she seemed to have another one. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at me again, this time with a calculating glance.
"What's on your mind now?" I asked, starting to get unnerved by her staring. I heard her sigh softly, and, as if by reflex, I felt myself tense up. I knew that the questioning was coming. I shouldn't have asked her what she was thinking about. Curse these reflexes. I've gotten so used to listening to people that I talk without considering the consequences of my words first.
"I've just been wondering about what happened at the desert. You seemed troubled by that picture," she began, and took a pausing breath. I sat up and leaned my elbows on my legs now, my face leaning on my fists as I waited for Yuna to continue. 'Troubled' is an understatement. "I…Well…I suppose it made me…curious. Curious about you. About your past. I don't really know much about the you right now, let alone the you from several years ago. If that picture is you, that is." She added the last sentence hastily, as if there was a possibility that the person in the picture was a relative of mine. In reply to her question, I let a knowing look escape and I gazed up at the clear windshield of the airship.
"Well…" I began, but I trailed off when I realized I didn't know what to say to her next. The steady hum of the machina engine made the awkward silence even more deafening. It's an odd concept; the silence itself is so loud one can't think straight. It's almost as bad as trying to think up a strategy for a battle with Rikku and Brother arguing in the background.
Almost.
Yuna looked at me expectantly through drooped eyelids. She looked like she was about ready to drift off right in the middle of the stairs. I got out of my seat and held out my hand to help Yuna up. As she took it and got to her feet, she smiled faintly. I grinned in return. She really looked tired, and I didn't like the idea of Brother finding her in the morning if she did fall asleep here...
"I guess…I should probably be getting to bed." Yuna said reluctantly. I nodded in agreement and crossed my arms as she walked away. Her already sluggish steps slowed until she stopped at the top of the stairs. She briefly turned around, her eyes already beginning to droop.
"Goodnight, Paine," she said, before turning back around. I took a few steps toward her, and she stopped momentarily when she heard my boots clicking on the floor. Her hand reached back and leaned on the railing.
"Goodnight, Yuna." I said. She glanced back and smiled before starting to walk to the elevator. I took another step forward.
"Oh. And Yuna?" I asked, causing Yuna to completely turn around and look at me. I took a deep breath. I have a feeling I'm going to regret this. "I'll tell you once I'm ready for you to know." I explained, my statement sounding rather cryptic, but Yuna understood it all the same. The High Summoner looked at me thoughtfully, the slowly nodded and finally exited the area.
Once I was positive Yuna wouldn't come back, I returned to Shinra's console. I'm going to thank him one of these days for teaching me how to use this. I carefully leaned over the console and reached into a small pouch hidden on the back of it. I pulled out the contents: another red sphere, one I haven't viewed yet. I was waiting until I had gotten settled from our last adventure before examining this. I have a feeling that this is about as settled as I'm going to get for a while. But now, as I look at the sphere, I think it would be better to see it when I'm more awake, and when I don't have to hide it from anyone anymore. I reluctantly placed it back into the pouch, knowing that it would be something to look forward to later on.
Yes, it would be something to save for a rainy day; a day when I won't be under the constant scrutiny of my friends. As easy as it would be to simply make up a few clever lies to explain the picture away, I felt that my friends deserved the truth, no matter how odd and outrageous it may seem. I don't even know where I would start now. They generally know about my immediate past, but everything before that…even that part is hazy to me, and I was the one who had to live my childhood.
I know that the picture is of me. It's obvious. What I don't know is why the lettering is in Al Bhed, or why the picture was in the ruins of Home, still intact after at least two years of it sitting in the machina civilization, gathering dust.
Gippal did say that I had learned Al Bhed much more quickly than he had taught it, but I had assumed that the reason was because I was always around his friends when we traveled to different parts of Spira for Crimson Squad training. Maybe it's a completely different reason.
I was definitely going to have to look into this when I get some more free time.
A small yawn escaped my lips. It's then that I'm brought back to the present long enough to see that it is two in the morning, and that the Gullwings are going to be deliberating on where we should head next, now that we have made the latest discovery about my past. I think that I might remain on the Celsius and take a trip to Mushroom Rock Road so I can talk to Gippal and Nooj about some things that happened during the Crimson Squad, but we're going to have to see about what Rikku and Yuna are going to do. I'm sure that Yuna wants to return to Besaid because she's been away from there for a while, and Cid probably needs Rikku to help rebuild Home.
I leisurely stretched my arms and headed over to the control for the bridge lights. As I turned them down, I waited for my eyes to adjust before walking over to the front of the room, my eyes glancing out at the many stars dotting the skies. I don't think I'll ever get tired of this airship. A small smile played on my lips as I headed back to the steps and headed out of the area and to the lift. My boots rhythmically clicked against the floor as I stepped, the sound echoing loudly in the stillness of the darkened airship.
The lift smoothly moved down to the Cabin level, and I yawned as I made my way into the bar. For some reason, Barkeep was still awake, cleaning up the lower area of the cabin in the dark. I wonder if Hypellos have night-vision, because he looked straight at me and waved cheerfully despite the fact that I am clad in black clothing and the only light coming into the cabin was from the moon outside.
"Mish Paine, it ish late?" He said sluggishly, pointing to the clock near the bar, which I clearly couldn't read in this level of darkness. I nodded and started up the stairs.
"I know. I'm heading to bed now. Goodnight, Barkeep."
"Shleep tight," he chorused, and then continued with whatever cleaning he was doing.
Another yawn came from my mouth as I pulled out my pajamas and quickly changed into them. I wasn't worried about anyone seeing me half-naked because it was too dark, and the guys all slept in the Engine Room. After maneuvering myself out of my usual outfit, I pulled on a plain black T-shirt and some grey shorts and then threw everything on the floor next to my bed. I climbed into it and sighed as the mattress yielded to my weight, and the soft sheets hit my bare legs.
So much has happened today, and I'm so glad that I won't have to worry about it until well after everyone has woken up tomorrow morning. With a sleepy smile, I rolled onto my side and adjusted my pillow before closing my eyes, the perpetual hum of the machina engine slowly lulling me to sleep.
There you go! Tell me what you think!
CC
