Others because you did not keep
That deep-sworn vow have been friends of mine;
Yet always when i look death in the face,
When i clamber to the heights of sleep,
Or when i grow excited with wine,
SuddenlyI meet your face. W.B. Yeats (Deep Sworn Vow)

A/N: okay so this chappie is pretty damn exciting and confusing, etc. next time we definately need to focus on more Paine/Baralai. Dontcha think?

"Do you think we'll ever be able to get out of here?" A soft voice floated through the darkness, hanging damp between them… waiting.

He could tell from her emotionless, yet hesitant pitch that she was looking for comfort even if she'd never have admitted it. Her whisper screamed the need for reassurance.

"Nope." He said casually, timidly he reached out and put a hand over the iridescent lime colored slime that covered rocks, moist and slick like mucus stretched over granite, examining the fluorescent green tinge that was left on his gloved hand with a carefree expression. He never had been the type to indulge in the needs of others. The slime… he'd seen it before… he thought. Oh, right, the girl. "Or… not until whoever got us in decides it wants us out anyway."

There was dead silence on the other side of the chamber and then soft scuffling.

"Hey." She said softly, her voice mild but louder. She was directly behind him.

"What?" He asked, turning. He was only taken by a slight surprise when her boot shattered into his shin. He could have sworn he felt a crack.

"How dare you!" She screeched, her voice echoing loudly. "I'm trying to keep myself calm!" She screamed, coming at him angrily. "And you knew it! How can you expect me to stay sane if you don't stop saying things like 'nope! We're never getting out here! Why don't you just commit damn suicide now so we don't have to eat each other!' " Her hand flew downward towards his face.

"Whoa, there." He said emotionlessly in his deep salty, desert voice, smirking as he deftly caught her wrist out of the air, his single green eye regarding her with a cruel amusement. "Calm down, now." He said, his warm breath in her face as he held the girl's stare, shorter than him by at least four inches. "Don't want to hurt yourself…" His voice was deep and hot, as if he were daring her to try to hit him again.

Selphi twisted her face up in disgust and yanked her hand away, causing him to move forward a little. But it didn't get rid of the self-satisfied look on his face. If anything his smirk only grew bigger and more arrogant. She turned around in a huff, pretending not to know that the only reason she had been able to pull away was because he had let her. "You're a real pig." She spat coldly.

And he laughed.

Because he was just infuriating like that.

"It's nothing I haven't heard before, Princess." He said, a warm laugh still lodged inside his throat.

"What?" She turned around in the dark and squinted at him. "What did – did you just call me a princess?"

There was thick silence, and for the first time in their entire month of being stuck together, she realized that he had been unsettled by something. Unsettled enough to be shut up. And that, now that was scary as hell. Scarier even, than the thought of never being able to get out of this place for the rest of their lives… wherever 'this place' was.

"Hey." She said, and she realized that she seemed to have pulled him out of a reverie from the way he looked up so fast.

His expression softened a little, and that stupid, arrogant half-smile returned to his face. But this time it was a little different… there was something swirling deep inside that one eye… something that she'd never seen there before, even in the dim light of the cave. And it wasn't good. Was he… upset?

"It's nothing." He said, turning around and regarding the wall again. "Just a little slip…" he said, as if he were talking to himself. "…That's all."

She pursed her lips in annoyance, feeling as if she were being left out of some inner conversation he was having with himself out loud, and put her weight on one hip, her head falling to one side. "You're not telling me something, dessert boy." She said. "And I know it's important."

At that he let out one of his classical, light-hearted laughs. And it echoed through the entire cave. She couldn't see through it, or hear any difference, but she still knew that it was hollow.

They stood there in awkward silence as the sound of his façade rang around them, over and over… until it finally faded out.

She waited for an explanation. But for once he didn't say anything.

Then again, Gippal had never been that much of a sharer. At least… not about anything that mattered… and especially not with her.

"So… Selphie." She noticed the empty tone he took on when he said her name, and she stared hard at his back. "Know any good mind games?"

"What?"

"Okay then I'll pick one. I'm thinking of a living being…"

"What?"

"And you've got 20 yes-or-no-questions to figure out what it is I'm thinking of…"

She stared incredulously at the back of his head. "Are you serious?" She asked, really hoping that he wasn't.

He turned around and gave her that arrogant smirk again. She was so tempted to slap it off his face. "Yes. And you've only got 19 questions left now."

Oh… she didn't know if she'd be able to stand this.

The blonde man stood as a bright yellow and black spot on an acrylic red hood, his hand holding the edge of the symbol welded onto the steel floor. The breeze spread through his hair, making him close his ocean bright eyes. He breathed deeply, the ocean cent was clean and invigoratingly fresh. "Wow…" he sighed out and then turned around grinning. "I love this!"

Yuna and Rikku grinned while Paine stared dully as if she were baby sitting a five-year old. Maybe a hint of a smile painted on her apple red lips… or was that an expression of distain… would he ever be able to tell?

"I'm glad you like it." Yuna said while Rikku giggled.

"Are you kidding me? This thing is awesome." Tidus spreaded his arms wide, pretending that he could fly. A carefree grin spread over his face.

Yuna's smile grew hollow. A needle threading back and forth along her throat. "No."

He was spreading his arms wide, as if he could fly… just falling… away.

'No. No. No.' "Tidus…" She choked out, her voice unnoticed as the wind whisked it away.

He couldn't hear her over the engine or the wind, he smiled.

He's dying…

'Stop it!'

Carelessly he grinned, happier than she had seen him in a long time.

'No… no. Stop it! Please!" "Stop it!"

Her scream finally ripped through the seam that had been sewed in her throat, and Tidus jerked and turned around looking at her, his golden hair windblown into his eyes.

On either side of her Rikku and Paine grew very still.

And she felt the pinkness bleed over her cheeks. "Uh… sorry." She said, looking at the ground and turning. "You can uh… sorry. Keep messing around, guys, I'll be right back!" 'Just... promise me you won't. And don't… don't make me watch it again….'

She brushed past a concerned Rikku, purposely pretending to ignore her cousin's worried expression. "Yunie?" Yuna kept walking towards the door, leaving Rikku behind.

Paine very quietly and discreetly caught Yuna's wrist as the girl tried to walk by her.

She felt her body tense like a tightened rubber band.

Paine looked at her with those intensely crimson eyes. "Yuna." She said, staring her down.

"I'm gonna go check on the flight plan! Have fun guys! See ya!" She said, smiling blindingly at Paine, reclaiming her wrist and then dive bombing down the stairs as fast as she could go without tripping.

"Um, is it my imagination, or hasn't she already checked on the flight plan like… five times already?" Rikku asked.

Paine's expression turned to stone. And both girls, as if on cue, turned together to stare at Tidus.

Tidus sent them a distracted glance, shook his head and then stared at the door that Yuna had disappeared through. "Hey, I'm lost too." He admitted, taking a step forward and then hesitating.

T:

She'd been… off lately. Acting strangely. And I was starting to get a little worried. About her… because when it was Yuna you could never tell whether it was a simple little quirk like a hangnail or an extra hour of sleep… or something like the end of the world.

…

The pilot room was filled with a thick hazy smoke that made Yuna cough when she entered the room. "What?" Her eyes watered and her breath bucked against her throat. "What's going on?" She wheezed, putting her hand on the wall and coughing into her palm.

"Lady Yuna. So nice to see you again." Came a deep voice from behind her.

Yuna turned, blinking at the sound of the familiar voice that didn't quite belong on the ship. "Oh… Baralai."

The Praetor of New Yevon smiled politely, as he always did, and put his hands straight at his sides "Lady Summoner, Yuna." He said, dipping his head a little in respect.

She felt the blush that she'd just banish creep back into her face. "Baralai please don't." She said. "I'm not a Summoner anymore."

Baralai smiled. "Well you would be. If we still had a need for them."

She smiled. "Well then, Mr. Praetor of New Yevon, how does the new law?"

He grinned and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well… it could be better. There's slight disagreement existing between-"

"Hey now. I'm not gonna have none of that on this ship." Two big gloved hands came out of nowhere and Buddy's face emerged out of the unclear haze. "You two are not going to be talking politics here. We just finished with all that."

Yuna grinned. "A little over your head, Buddy?" She teased.

Buddy smiled and ruffled her hair. "You wish." He said. "And none of that bowing stuff." He said, turning his head to Baralai, "I don't know how things are done in New Yevon, but here on this ship, we're family, and we don't bow. Got that?"

Baralai adopted a strange expression before he laughed a little and tilted his head jokingly to Buddy. "Yes'sir." But it didn't do anything to melt away his stiff and somewhat formal air.

But she saw the flicker move across Baralai's face, and as far as she was concerned… it was a start. She had seen the spheres of him – a younger him with less responsibility and experience – in the crimson spheres and she'd seen how much of a carefree, curious youth person he'd been at heart… sure that Baralai was a little different then than the man who was in front of now, but she still thought that after a time he could learn to become a part of the Gullwings family. Her family…

She felt a little pang of guilt inside her gut… because you didn't try to run away from family. Not the people you love… real families don't break up like that… you don't abandon them. So… why hadn't she wanted to do this again?

Was it the people…? She looked at Buddy as he strode to the pilot seat again and started guiding the control sticks, Buddy who was lounging in his chair, half awake and Shinra...

'No… it's not them… I love them.' She shook her head and put her hand on the railing of the bridge, running her fingers over the cold metal. 'It's this… something about this. I don't want it.'

"Are you okay?" Baralai asked suddenly, putting his hand on her shoulder.

She looked up at him, startled. "Yeah I'm fine. I just- uh!" A sharp pain blossomed behind her eye and she gasped, falling forward, unable to control herself. She felt so … helpless. If Baralai hadn't been able to catch her she would have hit the ground in a tangled mess. She closed her eyes against the dizziness and her head swam… she felt as if she were being suspended upside down and shaken violently… it was nauseating.

"Yuna?" Baralai's voice finally penetrated into the world of dizzying blackness, now he was more than a little concerned.

She forced her mismatched eyes open and looked at him, his image was a little fuzzy… but she was able to shake herself a little till her vision cleared.

"I'm sorry." She said, instinctively. "I didn't mean to." She started to push away from his chest.

"Hey I don't know if you should try to move yet." He said, holding her down to his chest. Gratefully she put her temple against the hollow between his chest and shoulder, trying to keep the world from spinning.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Baralai asked, this time his voice skeptical.

She smiled lightly and nodded. "Yeah, I think its just the smoke." She said, fanning her hand in front of her nose. "Do you know where it's coming from?" She asked.

"Do you mind?"

Yuna must have jumped a foot in the air and hit the ceiling when the low, rough voice entered her ear.

"What?" She turned and jerked her head up to look at Baralai, coming face to face instead, with Gippal. He stared her down, hard, a cigarette between the fingers, of his other hand the source of that dizzying smoke?

"Gippal?" She asked breathlessly. Hadn't that just been Baralai?

"Do – you – mind?" He asked, getting closer to her face, saying his words slowly his glittering green eye piercing through her.

"What?" She asked, her mind racing for an explanation. She came up with nothing. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm not here, I'm somewhere. Somewhere out there!" Gippal shouted, pushing her roughly away from him. She stumbled backwards, still dizzy and hit the ground. She sat up slowly, her arms incredibly weak and that smoke was making her so sick…

"Thanks for trying so hard to find me." Gippal said, his voice dripping in sarcasm. "Glad to see the Summoner isn't bias when it comes to helping people."

Yuna could only bring herself to stare. Why was he yelling at her? What made him so mad?

"You worked so hard find Tidus, didn't you? Don't I deserve to be found too! What about Rikku! What about your family?"

Yuna sat there dumbly staring, scrambling to say something, to just react even a little to this… but she couldn't even bring herself to take a breath. 'Gippal? Is this real?'

"You're just selfish." The Al Bhed spat, taking a deep drag of his cigarette and flicking the ashes onto her leg, they burned. "Your just a selfish, stupid little girl. Summoner, or not, I knew we couldn't depend on you! I mean, you didn't even defeat the Sin did you? Don't I recall the practice of the Summoner dying for her people?" Gippal asked. "What' the matter Yuna, too good to die for us?"

"Stop it." She said. "I was ready for it."

Gippal's face became distorted. "You were supposed to make a sacrifice for us! Where were you when the rest of the summoners died! You were our key to safety and you spat in our faces."

"Stop it. I gave! I gave so much!"

"You gave so much?" Gippal echoed. "You? And Tidus? What did he give? Oh, right, his life."

"Stop it!"

Gippal smiled cruelly, his voice lowering. "Not that it was something he treasured that much." Gippal said, smiling cruelly. "I mean… he left pretty effortlessly. I didn't see him putting up a fight… did you? I sure don't see anything worth staying for when I look at you." Gippal said, his eyes full of contempt as he roughly grabbed her chin. "And what about this time, lady summoner? You're going to do it all over again?"

"No."

"Well… I saw him 'flying' out there. He looks pretty damn happy to be back."

"Stop it!" She shouted, finally pushing him back, roughly connecting with his chest.

"Yuna!"

"That's right little girl! Keep struggling!" Gippal said, coming back and catching her wrists in his hands. Oh God… no. "No one's going to come to help you this time. They all died for Sin!"

"Stop! It!" She started to kick at him, desperately. But the Al Bhed crushed her down into the floor with his body. He was so … heavy.

"Fight me little girl." Gippal taunted, his face full of raw hatred and contempt. "Scream at me until your throat bleeds! I'm not coming back, and I'm never leaving!"

"Yuna!"

Slap!

She'd broken her wrist free. And she'd slapped Tidus in the face. His shockingly ocean blue eyes stared down at her, full of worry and concern.

"Yuna." He breathed, looking down at her, sweat on his face, his body, not Gippal's, holding her down, his hands, the ones she knew so well, tightly corded around her wrists. "Are you okay?" He breathed heavily.

'What…?' She stared at him blankly, unable to think. "What?"

Tidus suddenly looked tired and exhausted. With a shuddering breath he flopped down to pillow next to her face, his chin on her shoulder, his body dead weight on hers. She stared blankly, her body still tightened with fear at the ceiling that had taken Tidus's place in her line of vision. She was on a bed.

'Where am I?' She asked herself, turning her head to look to her other side. "My room?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah…" Tidus said from beside her, his breathing slow and thick. "We brought you here just after...when – Yuna, when did you learn to hit that hard?" he asked, moving his jaw around, his skin brushing against her shoulder. She saw the ugly red mark that she'd branded onto his skin with the slap.

"I'm sorry." She said.

He shook his head and tiredly pushed himself up, rolling over to the other side of the bed. Slowly, she also pushed herself up to sit, her arms were a little weak, but she felt normal. When she sat up she was only a little light headed feeling.

"What happened?" Tidus asked her. She looked at him and smiled faintly.

"I was about to ask you."

He sifted his hand through his hair and then looked at her. "You just… passed out. Buddy came up and told us that you'd fallen when you were talking with Baralai. When we came down you seemed fine, so we put you in your room to see if a little rest was going to help you. And then… you started screaming."

"Screaming?" Yuna asked.

He looked at her. "Do you remember… what you were dreaming?"

She bit her lip. If she told him… "No. Not really." She would probably be thought of as insane. Besides… he didn't need to know. It was probably some freak, one time event. And those things that Gippal had said to her… he didn't need to hear those.

Because for the most part, they were true.

"Well, I'm going to get some water." Tidus said. "You want something?"

"Water." She said.

He shifted off the bed quietly, opened the door to their room and slipped into the hallway. After he was gone Yuna fell back into bed and stared at the ceiling.

"You can scream until your throat bleeds! I'm not coming back! And I'm never leaving!"

She pulled the covers over her head and sighed. "What… is this?" She asked herself quietly. She lay there until the sliding door opened again. Tidus set the glass down next to her on the nightstand and she pretended to be asleep while he lay down next to her in bed and put his arms around her.

He knew she was pretending. And she knew that he knew it too. But she could couldn't bring herself to open her eyes and look at him, because she didn't want to see the look on his face.

Something was wrong…

G&R

"How did you even get in here?" Gippal asked, studying her critically. "And what are you doing here?"

She stuck out her lip and shifted her weight to one hip. "Looking for you, you big lunk-head." She said, blue eyes pouting. "And how do you manage get yourself stuck in a place like this?" She asked, glaring at him.

He smiled and tilted his head. "What you don't like it? I think the mold gives it the nice homey touch."

Slap.

He hadn't even seen that one coming.

"Should I ask what that was for?" He asked.

"For that. Ew. The mold is gross." She said. "And also for leaving me behind."

"Oh for-"

"You didn't tell me you were leaving." She said, turning around and crossing her arms. "I got… worried." She admitted. He took a moment to smile, dare he say it: affectionately at her figure, her back turned to him, her blonde hair thrown over one shoulder, arms crossed, hips tilted, delicate shoulders.

He smiled. He'd missed her.

"Rikku come on." He said, coming up behind her and putting his hands on her waist, his chin at her hear as he pressed a kiss into her upper temple. "Don't be so mad."

Her body relaxed in his arms and he felt relief as she turned around as put her face in his chest, her arms wrapping around his neck and teasing his spiked hair. "I'm not mad." She said. "Just scared."

He smirked at her. "Well now you'd better be. I don't know how to get out of here. Only in."

Her head snapped up and she look at him with widening blue eyes. "What?" Her arms tightened around him and she pushed him away from her.

He laughed as he watched her begin to freak out, pacing back and forth, her hands moving in erratic motions as she started rambling to him about starving and cannibalism and something of the sort. That sounded strangely familiar… but he didn't care.

"Hey." He caught her body and pressed it against his. She blinked and looked at him, absolutely clueless. "Stay here with me." He said, pressing a kiss down on her lips.

It was like he was complete again… Oh… his arms tightened around her body and it felt so good to have her that close to him… he had missed her.

She gently tugged away after his tongue delved into her mouth. And smiled at him, "Well… I guess for now I don't have much of a choice do I?" She asked.

He laughed and pulled her to him again, sifting his hands through her hair. For a second they parted for air.

"Gippal," She said, her voice a little breathless now. "What are you doing?" She whispered and he could taste her hot breath on his lips.

"Kissing you." He said roughly, smiling at her innocence. "Now shut up, Princess." He said, tasting the inside of her soft mouth again.

…

Selphie lay there, confused as Gippal's arms tightened around her, her brown eyes were wide as she felt his tongue slip into her mouth.

They had been sleeping on opposite sides of the cave just a few minutes ago, then the next thing she knew he calling her by some unfamiliar name and then kissing her… And it felt so good but…

"Gippal," she said when he finally let her breathe for a moment. "What are you doing?"

She stared at him, his body laid down beside hers, some foggy part of her mind wondering what the hell was going on.

"Kissing you." He said roughly, smiling a little at her, though his eye was only half open… or was it even open at all? She couldn't tell in the dim light. "Now shut up, Princess." He said, pulling her to him and kissing her again…

Okay… whatever.

A/N: Bum bum bummmmm! cliche i know. but hey, can't blame a girl for trying.

Disclaimer: Any recognizable material does not belong to me.