Redemption for a Weary Soldier

Disclaimer: I don't own FFX-2 nor any of the characters.

Chapter 5

It sensed the presence of the three humans long before they reached the canyon's bottom. At first there were two, but then, just as magic, another appeared as if they had fallen off the edge of the cliff overhead.

Perhaps that is exactly what happened, the thought penetrated Its groggy mind. And It knew that if the binding spell used hundreds of years ago to anchor the stolen fayth to its new location was still active (which it obviously was because It was still stuck in stasis), then the being who had fallen, who was currently be drawing closer to Its location, would not perish from the plunge.

It was not fully awake quite yet. Five hundred years of sleep was hard to pull one's self out of. But the sparkling souls moving ever so tantalizing nearer were enough incentive to rouse It. Because they were moving with as much ease as they were, It presumed the binding spell must be waning. A simple push from these fleshy humans could bring down the whole spell completely.

And then It would be free to exact Its revenge.

All It had to do was wait patiently. As I've done for five hundred years, It thought. In truth, five hundred was truly an estimated guess of how many years It had been trapped in that canyon. Once every month, waters from the nearby ocean would get caught in a massive tide that would drag the water level up high enough so it could cross the dam created by a cliff, which jutted at an angle congruent to the canyon. The water's gentle lapping put a rift in Its sleep and every time It woke from this occurrence, It had tallied the months, and then the years. Three hundred years came and went before It became so tired that It only woke every six months. After the five hundredth year, It didn't wake again.

Until now.

They stopped right in front of Its location. Had It the ability, It could easily touch the minds of one of them and be free of this accursed place. They remained just before Its location for a long while. At one point two of the beings were actually within the wall of the canyon itself. And then, suddenly the very foundations of the walls were shaking horribly before they simply cracked. That was all it took to take down the binding spell. It spilled through the air with no direction, just relishing the feeling of movement.

But It didn't have time to enjoy Its freedom, not while there was information to be had and convenient suppliers to be perused.

It drifted languorously to the closest person. It entered their mind with effortless ease. Digging through a human mind was a complex undertaking. It kept get lost in the labyrinth of memories and trails of knowledge. But It was patient and It knew exactly what It was searching for.

Yevon.

The image of a man with a platinum mane and searing hazel eyes was drawn from the keyword. It was satisfied. Praetor Baralai of New Yevon. Had It a body with which to do so, It would have scoffed. Old or new, Yevon was Yevon. Traitorous, backstabbing, robbing, murderous…

Suddenly It didn't feel right.

As It dwelt on the very essence of Its being, It was becoming incorporated into Its human host. It felt Itself melting into the memories of the human. It was becoming one with the human. All the years of waiting would be lost if It was integrated into the mind of the human: It would just be a memory lost among thousands of other memories.

And so It disengaged from Its human prey, taking the bit of information needed with it. It floated into the direction calling to It: the Farplane. It wasn't traveling terribly fast, but what was a couple of weeks compared to the years It had spent in slumber?

Besides, soon Praetor Baralai would die, and Yevon along with it.

When the blade was inches away from ending Rikku's life, the invading force suddenly ceased its searching and hastily withdrew from Paine's mind. The hatred welling into her was quenched and Paine fairly threw her sword away from her body. She was shaking uncontrollably as she sank to her knees.

The pyreflies drifted out of her body and faded into the darkness above her head. As they parted, Paine's mind was filled with the strange image of a young girl with large blue-gray eyes. She was smiling happily at the warrior.

Finally sensing her presence, Rikku turned and looked at the trembling Paine warily. "What happened? Are you okay?" Rikku asked and reached out a comforting hand to place on her friend's shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" Paine shouted as she jumped up and stumbled backwards a few feet.

"Hey, what's going on?" Gippal poked his head back out from the machina when he heard Paine's outburst.

"I…" Paine tried to speak and found that she couldn't. She looked down at her hands; hands that had come so close to killing her friend. She looked back up at the pair with a horrified expression. Without another word, she exploded in a brilliant flash of light, slipping into her Full Throttle dress sphere once again. She launched herself mightily into the air and took off, offering no kind of explanation.

"Paine! Wait, where are you going!" Rikku's cries were fruitless as a retreating Paine paid them no heed.

"Any idea what's up with her?" Gippal asked after several moments of silence extended between the two.

"Something just happened to Paine, I don't know what it was, but we should probably get out of here as soon as possible so that we can try to find out," Rikku reasoned and redoubled her efforts at figuring out the machina before her.

Another ten minutes of toying with the control panel revealed that the craft could transform into a small hovering unit. Rikku climbed into the pilot's seat with Gippal and after a few not very reliable experiments, they ascended out of the canyon. Gippal found the boost panel, which caused their travel time to be cut in half.

Two and a half hours later, daylight blinded the pair. All through the trip they had mostly remained silent. Rikku alternated between worrying about Paine and blushing because she had to be seated in Gippal's lap seeing as how there was only one chair.

When the Al-Bhed emerged, one very angry Cid stormed over to meet them, "Damnit Gippal! I told both of you to just climb down that Yevon forsaken hole and then climb your asses right back up! What the hell were you two doing down there for so long, huh? And what the hell is this ton of steel shit doing up here with you? I specifically told ya'll to…" Rikku tugged on a very pale Gippal hardly fazed herself by her father's angry outburst.

"Just ignore him," she whispered into the younger man's ear. Looking back over her shoulder, she rolled her eyes and said, "Give it a rest, will ya Pops?"

Gippal cringed when Cid exploded in another fit of fury behind them. He lowered his head as he followed Rikku onboard the airship. Great, now I'm sure to get kicked off the mission, he sighed.

When they reached the bridge, Rikku headed straight for the map area. "Paine?" She searched the map-reader's station, but the warrior was nowhere to be found.

"Your friend is not here," Brother clarified giving her a sideways look. "She jumped into the canyon right after we detected your flare in that crazy bird costume."

"But…didn't she come back here?" Rikku asked hesitantly.

"We haven't seen her since she left," Buddy joined in on the conversation.

"Where could she have gone…?" Rikku murmured under her breath as she looked into the horizon beyond the sea.

"What happened to you two down there anyway?" Buddy asked, arms crossed as he regarded Gippal who had slumped down into Paine's normal seat.

"You better not have touched my little sister," Brother whispered threateningly over Gippal's shoulder.

"Shut up!" Rikku stamped her foot and put on a very indignant expression although her cheeks turned a flaming red and thoughts of being perched in Gippal's lap ran circles through her mind. "It wasn't like that," she insisted shaking her head clear of the unwanted thoughts. "We were climbing, and then we fell…right into this force field…thing…which made us float through the air…and then we found this machina…and Paine just disappeared and…heh heh, why are all of you looking at me so funny?" Rikku asked scratching the side of her cheek with a sheepish look on her face.

"So what you're saying is…" Buddy scratched his own head in confusion.

"I don't get it," Brother declared and turned himself right back around in his seat so that he was facing outside.

Gippal now had his head placed squarely in between his knees and his arms hung loosely at his sides. Poor guy, Rikku thought studying his sulking frame. She understood how the wrath of Cid could affect people although she had grown used to his antics a long time ago.

"It's quite simple really," another voice suddenly piped up from the tucked away bottommost corner of the bridge. Shinra had turned himself around in his seat. "Hundreds, maybe even thousands of years ago when the fayth that was placed in the Cave of the Stolen Fayth was brought here to the Calm Lands, it needed to have a binding spell cast onto it to anchor it to its new home, otherwise it would have just disappeared and reappeared in its original temple. Obviously Rikku and Gippal were caught in the remnants of that spell. You guys are just lucky that the spell was so old, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to blink an eye. And the fact that you were able to fly that machina out of the canyon is evidence that the spell probably even dissipated somehow."

Everyone stared at Shinra in shocked silence. Finally Rikku snapped out of it. "How do you know all that?" she asked in amazement.

Shinra cocked his head to the side and tapped his fingers against his helmet. "I don't remember," he answered at last. When everyone groaned at his comments he just shrugged and turned back around using his, "Hey, I'm just a kid," excuse to push the attention away from him.

The wind drove itself into Paine's eyes as she surged through the air. Her heartbeat still hadn't steadied from the shock it had received not too long ago. I almost killed her, the thought kept repeating in her mind like some kind of terrible mantra.

The Calm Lands sprawled beneath her. She wasn't really heading anywhere specifically, she was just trying to outrun the terrible realization of her almost acts. In the fading sunlight, the grass below had taken on a bluish tinge as the shadow from Mount Gagazet loomed over the land. In the distance, fiery orange and pink lights trailed the tranquil surface of the nearby ocean.

The scene of peace didn't fit Paine's tumultuous mood. She looked longingly toward the peaks of Mount Gagazet—one lone fortress standing on its own foundation against a cruel world. Nooj's words drifted lazily through her mind as she fixated on the mountain's jagged peaks. She was so entranced, she didn't even notice how the finer details of the mountain: a jutting peak here or a particular snowdrift there, suddenly became focused. It seemed as if the currents of air she was presently riding were urging her toward the solitary stronghold.

As she drew closer to the mountaintop, her breath began to exhale in steamy puffs. Her arms and legs lost their feeling as the cold seeped deep within her bones. Snowflakes from the eternal pile of clouds overhead gently caressed her cheeks and eyelids leaving frozen kisses along her skin. The icy environment slowed down her thought process, in fact, it felt as though time itself were giving pause just for this one weary soldier who needed a break from the hardships of reality.

She settled lightly into a pile of snow. The cold no longer reached her body, which had frozen in feeling as well as emotion, and so, to protect herself, instinct overtook and she transformed from the bulky mass of Full Throttle to the warmer outfit of her berserker dress sphere. Moments later, all coherent thought completely left her mind and she faded into unconsciousness.

When Paine awoke, she didn't want to move. Comforting warmth blanketed her body and heat washed over her exposed face. She stirred and settled more deeply into the folds of the cloth swaddling her. She turned her face toward the heat, her eyelids were so heavy, and she tottered back onto the edge of sleep and wakefulness.

Until she remembered that in her haste to get away from Rikku, she had certainly not stopped at the airship to retrieve a bedroll like the one she was currently in. And the mountain she had perched her happy hide on was a wintry snow covered land all year long; where was that heat coming from?

She groaned and pried her heavy eyes open. Firelight danced before her blurry vision and she moaned again as she rubbed her eyes with her palms vigorously. She gingerly sat up and looked about the mini campsite. Her eyes fell on a very concerned looking Baralai who scrutinized her condition. Before she could think another thought, the former praetor had risen from his seat across from the fire and was at her side holding a steadying hand at her back as she struggled to stay upright. Turning her back slightly, she moved away from his touch. "I'm fine," she croaked and delicately fingered her temple where a throbbing headache was pounding on the inside of her skull.

Baralai ignored her assertion and helped her stay in her upright position until she was awake enough to do so on her own. He handed her a flask of water, which she greedily consumed. After minutes of awkward silence, Baralai said, "It appears we are always unexpectedly running into each other."

Finished with the water, Paine wiped her lip with the paw of her berserker outfit soaking up the dribble of water running down her chin. "What are you doing here?" she asked blatantly.

"I could be asking you the same question," Baralai responded with a grin. "But I won't."

Paine said nothing as she nursed the water. Baralai leaned back and settled on his elbows. "I'm traveling back from Zanarkand," he confided studying the star spangled night sky. "I decided that perhaps I could be of some use there. Before I left Bevelle, I spoke with Isaaru who mentioned that he had been protecting the holy grounds for Yuna. I thought maybe I could lend a hand to the cause." A ghost of a smile traced his tanned skin.

"Why did you come back?" Paine asked regarding him curiously.

"Honestly, I got lonely," Baralai responded and grinned sheepishly at the warrior. "Besides, those monkeys were guarding the temple well enough. I could hardly take a step without squishing them. And I'm pretty sure that I don't have one gil left to my name." Paine chuckled as she reminisced that episode. Rikku sure had a blast with that little mission, except for the fact that the monkeys kept biting her fingers.

The thought of Rikku sobered her effectively. Baralai noticed her tense mood and gave her a sideways look, but said nothing. As she studied the melting snow around the base of the fire, she felt a tremendous urge to confide in her Crimson Squad companion of years past. She swallowed the urge and tried to remain silent, but found herself opening her mouth to speak anyway. Well, he did admit that he was lonely, Paine reasoned knowing full well what a toll that confession had made on his ego. He was a man after all. (AN: Don't kill me, Brandon, I just couldn't resist! )

"Something…happened to me in the canyon at the base of the Cave of the Stolen Fayth," Paine began.

"Yes, didn't you go with Gippal and the others to excavate the Calm Lands?" Baralai asked.

"How did you…never mind," she shook her head. The was Baralai she was speaking to anyway. The I-could-charm-myself-into-right-out-of-the-gates-of-hell Baralai. No doubt he had extracted the information from some drunken sop at the party in Bevelle. "Anyway," she continued, "This swarm of pyreflies came out of the canyon wall and went inside of me, and I made a mistake." She placed her chin on her knees. "A mistake that nearly cost a friend their life."

Baralai was silent once again. Silent and thoughtful. When he looked back up at her, his eyes had a haunted expression to them. "Was it like…Shuyin?" The hesitancy in his voice gave away his fear.

"No," Baralai visibly relaxed, "This was not like another soul was invading my body. It was more like…some emotion just completely took over my senses." She looked across the firelight at Baralai. "Hatred."

Another silence passed between the pair as they both contemplated the significance behind Paine's experience. Baralai looked back up at Paine. "So your friend nearly died and you ran," he clarified.

"I nearly killed Rikku and I removed myself from the situation," Paine corrected Baralai coolly.

"But the near death of Rikku frightened you enough to make you feel you had to distance yourself," Baralai pondered. Certainly he knew that he was pushing her buttons.

"The fact that me, myself, I almost killed someone whom I consider myself fairly close to. That is what caused me to leave. When there is a threat, you try to remove the danger before its causes harm," Paine reasoned between gritted teeth. What about the situation was so hard for Baralai to understand?

"But you said that you didn't kill Rikku," Baralai interjected. He had precariously tucked his arms behind his head and was now sprawled out on the ground. His indifferent position added fuel to Paine's glowing embers of frustration.

"Whatever was inside of me pulled out at the last second," she admitted.

"Yet instead of staying and trying to sort through what had just happened, you took off," Baralai said. There was no smugness, no jabbing at her bravery; he was simply pointing out facts.

Unfortunately, Paine's judgment was clouded with her aggravation. "I did not take off, I was trying to protect my friends." Her self-restraint was amazing. Considering the circumstances, a person of normal self-discipline would have smacked the nonchalant praetor right in his noggin by this point.

Sighing, Baralai rolled over on his side. He smiled and placed his hands palm-up in front of his chest. "All I'm trying to do is point out your inability to deal with death," he said.

Paine snorted at that comment. "Considering the legions of fiends and scores of certain New Yevon and Youth League followers that I have felled, that assertion is hardly valid," she replied.

Baralai grinned again with a boyish twinkle in his eyes. "I'm not talking about the death of those who cross you, I am talking about death that comes to those who are close to you," he said. When she just gave him a puzzled look, he rolled back onto his back and spoke as if he were speaking to a child. "I remember how distanced you were from everyone back in Bevelle. You were disconcerted because friends were parting company. I bet subconsciously this parting of ways was a symbolic death in itself. After all, if they aren't right before you they are dead in a way, am I wrong?" Paine didn't respond; she was probably trying to ignore him.

He pressed on nevertheless. "I suspect every time you say goodbye, you are actually preparing yourself to never see that person again."

"I've already discussed this with Nooj," Paine primly interjected. "He suggested that perhaps I just didn't know how to say goodbye. We already resolved that issue."

"Obviously the issue is not resolved if you are still running," Baralai pressed. Paine opened her mouth angrily to respond but then clamped it shut again. Instead she glared evenly at the pompous praetor. Baralai lifted his hand to his chin and stroked the glowing stubble as he continued with his musings. "The root of your problem is deeper than just not knowing how to say goodbye. Goodbyes for you are symbolic deaths, so when you avert goodbyes, you are simultaneously averting death."

"Can you name for me one person who'd jump up at the opportunity to face death?" Paine asked dryly.

Baralai just shook his head, brushing aside her wry humor at the same time. "Your natural aversion is more aggressive than the average person," Baralai declared. He suddenly sat up from his position on the ground and examined Paine squarely in the eyes. "Something happened to you; something that made you afraid of the thought of death and everything associated with it." His expression softened as he held Paine's gaze. "What happened, Paine?" he asked in a gentle tone.

Paine tilted her head to the side in thought. "I honestly can't think of anything that would support the kind of emotional trauma you accuse me of carrying," Paine replied. "My mother died when I was young and my father left for reasons he carries with him wherever he may be now, but that hardly affected me. I've always been independent."

Baralai held her gaze a beat longer as he weighed her answer. Finally he stood brushing traces of snow from his pants. He stepped over to where Paine sat and extended his hand. "Whatever the case may be, let me help you Paine," he said with a tenderness that sent ripples of surprise coursing through her body.

Her natural, tough girl attitude wanted to tell him where he could stuff his theories about her and his "help," but a smaller, much neglected part of Paine jumped at the chance to let someone else share the load for a while. It really was becoming quite a burden and she felt that her back was beginning to fracture from the weight.

So instead of giving Baralai some kind of smart-ass reply, she bit her tongue and took his hand as her way of answering him.

AN: HOORAY! Finally, Baralai has been properly included in this story! Sorry it took so long, I had a hard time shoving into the plotline…

Anyway…I'd like to dedicate this chapter to someone very dear to my heart, my boyfriend! That sweetie took the time to read my story and even left me a review! He said he went through and wrote down everything that he really liked about my story and then wrote this long-ass review without realizing that there is a limit to the amount of space you can use for a review. But maybe this was for the better because he didn't realize that the reviews are an open forum where everyone in the world can read them, and I guess he kinda included some personal stuff in the original review…

So here's to you Shazi! I love you honey!