The Reason
by freakochicko
CHAPTER THREE: Abstract Reverie
The clean, cool air of early morning filled her lungs as she took in a deep breath, savouring the peace and quiet of solitude. Driving her fingers through her hair once, she stretched and then sat down, legs dangling over the edge of the small cliff overlooking the crystal waters below. She was ready to admit that Besaid Island was indeed the most beautiful and scenic place when dawn was just breaking.
Eyeing the two seagulls passing overhead, she replayed the scene that occurred those few hours ago. A scene that kept playing over and over in her mind.
--
"I HATE THE FARPLANE!"
Rikku had successfully awoken almost everyone at the village. Even a bleary-eyed Baralai and a sceptical Nooj came over, almost as though concerned, to check up on the golden-haired Al Bhed. In no time at all, the Al Bhed was bombarded with questions.
"Are you alright, Rikku?" Tidus.
"We were awfully worried!" Yuna.
"What seriously happened?" Lulu.
"Tell us, ya!" Wakka.
"Were you really attacked?" Baralai.
"WHO DID IT?" Gippal.
"I'm fine! And I'm sorry I woke everyone up! I didn't mean it! Honest! And, no I don't know what happened. Well, I do. Well... I don't know! I remembered chasing after this guy who ran faster than an insane Chocobo. I chased him all the way to that waterfall place with the bridge. And then next thing I knew, I was unconscious!"
"What did he do?" the one called Tidus had demanded.
Rikku looked around the room, "Uhh... This is gonna' sound soooo embarrassing. Umm... I got knocked unconscious by a Blizzaga spell."
Paine raised an eyebrow. 'Must've been one hell of a high level spell caster to even manage to hinder Rikku. This assassin must be powerful...'
"What did he, or she, look like?" Baralai asked.
"He. And he had super-long legs! And red hair. Like really, really, REALLY red hair."
And then Cid appeared and demanded that everyone leave her alone or he'll kill them all. Or something like that.
"Vydran!" Rikku whined, "I'm fine! Let them stay! I need the company!"
"No way. I don't want you to pass out again! Get some rest!"
Rikku pouted, "At least let ONE PERSON stay with me."
Paine herself had already started walking out of the tent. 'I need some time alone. To think.'
--
The silent warrior sighed, snapping out of her reverie for a second. Maybe dwelling on what happened last night wasn't such a good thing to do. She picked up a stray rock on the ground and dropped it into the clear water below, causing a pool of ripples to appear. So many things happened in the span of just a few hours.
--
She walked away from the commotion around her. As long as Rikku was okay, she didn't need to stick around with the others to know anything else. What Rikku had said however, that was something new. Red hair. Long legs. Hmm... Paine continued her steady walk out of the village entrance, doubting very much that the killer would still be anywhere on the island.
Yuna was targeted by this strange man. And Rikku was living proof that he had no problem in disposing off any others that stood in his way. Damn him!
Paine slowed down as she neared the statue on the top of the hill overlooking the village. Things were looking so good on this island. That was before someone decided that it would be fun to assassinate the High Summoner. Now why would anyone in their right mind decide to do that? Paine crossed her arms silently, eyes looking over the village below where she could see a fire crackling merrily at the heart of the circle of tents. She eyed the people gathered around the fire, no doubt all discussing Rikku.
He must have a motive. But what? Why? WHO? Paine's frown deepened. And then, she saw it. Something glowing in the sand just partly hidden behind the monument. "A sphere?" She bent down to pick it up. What's a sphere doing here of all places? We would have noticed it before. Unless...
Crack.
Paine, sword at the ready, whirled around at the sound of someone approaching from the back, only to find a familiar figure walking up to her.
"I told you never to sneak up on me," Paine said, annoyed, as she quietly slipped the sphere into her pocket, "I could've killed you."
"Sorry," Baralai apologised, recalling an incident that happened years ago while in the Crimson Squad, "I forgot."
"Well, yeah. Don't forget."
The praetor nodded. Paine turned back to look down at the village again. The silence between them grew thicker as the seconds ticked by.
"Well..." Baralai said hesitantly, "I've-"
"Why have you come up here, Baralai?" Paine asked, not turning to look at him.
"Actually, I saw you come up here and thought maybe you might want some company. But I also wanted to get away to think. About what Rikku said back there. About her attacker."
Paine was a little surprised, after all that was the exact same reason why she was there. But she didn't show her surprise, "What about her attacker?" she asked.
"Paine. Don't you think it's a little well, strange?"
"Strange." Paine echoed.
Baralai nodded, "Indeed. Someone's out there with a grudge against Yuna. And Rikku's description of the man..."
Paine turned to look him in the eye.
"You think it's him then," she said flatly, getting straight to the point.
If he was surprised, he sure hid it well. "You catch on pretty quick."
Paine shrugged, "You know it can't be him."
"Well, I thought maybe..."
"He's dead, Baralai. Dead," Paine said softly, "We saw it happen. You know that. And dead people don't come back to life."
"I know... but..."
Silence.
"... unsent?"
"Maybe..."
--
Baralai... Paine sighed again, drawing something out of her pocket. The sphere. She contemplated watching it, but after much thought decided against it, not sure if she was ready to watch it. Only the Fayth knows what's been recorded on this. It can wait. Standing, she placed the sphere back in her pocket and tried to forget about it, driving the thought of it to the back of her mind. And then she set off for the village again.
The sun had finally fully risen, the orange orb casting a warm glow over the island.
"Paine! Where have you been?" an anxious Yuna came running up to the warrior.
"Up this early, Yuna?"
"Couldn't sleep," Yuna smiled wryly, "what with assassins trying to plot my death and my friends getting hurt, it's kinda' hard to. Sometimes, I can't help but think it's all my fault."
"What? That your friends get injured because of you?"
Yuna gave a small nod. Paine resisted the urge to roll her eyes. What's with Yuna always trying to find a way to blame herself for things that were clearly not her fault? Instead, she just shrugged and turned, to see Nooj and Baralai walking towards them.
"We'll be setting sail soon," Nooj informed them abruptly.
Yuna nodded.
"Gippal?" Paine inquired.
"He's staying," Nooj said, waving a hand nonchalantly, "I've gotta' get back to the Youth League Headquarters," he shared a knowing look with Yuna, "Don't worry, we'll take care of everything. I'll be dispatching mercenaries from the League to try and get some info on your assassin, Yuna."
"And I'll make sure people don't get talking. The last thing we need is this affair to get on the news," Baralai said solemnly.
"I can just see the headlines," Paine said sardonically, "High Summoner and her Cousin Targeted by Manic Killer. That'll be it."
Yuna laughed. It was one that tried to lighten the mood, but everyone knew there wasn't any humour in the laugh.
"Well, listen guys, we gotta' leave soon," Baralai said, looking at Nooj, "we should go get ready."
And with that, he and Nooj walked off to get their gear ready.
"Anyone else awake yet?" Paine asked, wondering about Rikku and if she would still be her ever-perky self after last night.
"Buddy and Shinra have been, ah, left behind. Cid and Brother took off early this morning. Said they wanted to round up some Al Bhed and get even with the 'guy who tried to kill Rikku' or something," Yuna informed her, "We tried to stop them. We really did!"
Paine raised an eyebrow.
"We didn't want them to cause any more complications,"Yuna explained.
"You should've seen the fight this morning. It was... loud," Wakka said, walking up to them from behind, "woke me and Lu and Vidina up, ya," and he initiated a pose like Brother and whined in what he thought was a Brother-like voice, "we have to keel heem! Father, we leave NOW!"
"Hmph, Cid and Brother both have one thing in common. Their hot-temperedness. And here I thought they'd never be able to work with each other for a common purpose," Paine mused.
"Well, when their only other family member is in trouble, you can count on them to make things right," Yuna explained.
Wakka nodded wistfully, "Wish I had a family like theirs. Don't even need to be a loving one. But ya, a family would do..."
Yuna smiled sympathetically at Wakka, knowing just what it felt like to not have parents anymore.
"Where's Rikku?" Paine asked, changing the subject. Deep down, she knew she had a sob story about her family, but the Fayth knew she never wanted to talk about it if she could help it.
"Eh. She, Tidus and Gippal are still asleep. I think anyway. C'mon, Lu made us some breakfast! Let's go eat!"
--
Noon.
Both Baralai and Nooj had already left Besaid with good intentions. Everyone else was up and about, even Tidus, who felt perfectly healthy when he woke up. Well everyone, except Rikku and Gippal.
"Hey, Yuna! Should we check if they're still breathing?" Tidus asked half seriously, talking about the two sleeping Al Bhed.
"I don't know," the summoner asked with an absolutely straight face, "should we?"
And they both couldn't help it, bursting out with laughter. They made their way to Rikku's tent and poked their heads through the doorway.
Rikku was sleeping soundly and clearly sucking her thumb in a cute, babyish way. What surprised them though, was that Gippal was fast asleep next to her, on the floor sitting against the bed.
"Aww... Look at that...!" Yuna said softly, nodding at the two. She looked so vulnerable and he looked so protective! They looked so adorable together that she wondered if they were ever more than just friends in the past.
Tidus grinned, "the perfect couple," he mouthed to Yuna.
Yuna pinched him playfully, "I thought we were the perfect couple?"
Tidus just shook his head with a smile and returned his gaze to Rikku. "Hey Yuna? I think she's having another dream."
Yuna glanced at Rikku and sure enough, the girl looked pretty restless in her sleep.
"Farplane?" Tidus whispered, earning a shrug from Yuna.
--
Rikku found herself running. Running from what, she didn't know. All around her, loud explosions and gunfire everywhere. Fiends were pouring out of doorways and the machina had gone haywire.
Where am I?
She ran, everything was going blurry and she realised that she was crying. Tears fell down her cheeks and she wiped them away. She saw them, the fiends, the Guado, her friends being killed mercilessly, friends that she never saw again, and then she realised where she was. She screamed and saw herself run through her beloved Home, "HU! Home ec ihtan yddylg. Fa'na ymm kuhhy' tea! FA'NA YMM KUHHY' TEA!" Running, running, not looking back. All around her, fire, explosions.
And then she stopped dead in front of him. HIM.
No. You can't be here!
He walked up to her, unfazed by the death and destruction all around them.
You can't!
Rikku desperately tried to avoid his gaze as he approached her.
"Show me your face."
"Huh?" she found herself saying.
"Look at me."
And Rikku looked up, eyes closed.
"Open your eyes."
No.
She didn't want to. Didn't want to look into the face of a dead man. But she did. She opened one tear-stained eye. One eye was all it took.
"As I thought." His expression changed.
Sir Auron...
"You Al Bhed don't belong here." His voice was cold.
And out of nowhere, Seymour Guado appeared, blood on his hands, "That's right, you Al Bhed DON'T BELONG HERE."
There was a flash of light and Rikku found herself face-first on sandy ground.
"Hey, you gonna' stay there forever?"
Rikku jumped up wildly, still aware that there were tears in her eyes, and came face to face with a young Gippal.
"Uh..."
"L'suh! Fa kuddy' ku naclia Summoner Yuna!" (C'mon! We gotta' go rescue Summoner Yuna!)
Huh?
"Fryd? Oui tuh'd fyhd du ramb ran?" (What? You don't want to help her?) he sounded angry, "E ghuf. Oui tuh'd lyna ev cra teac, tu oui? OUI TUH'D!" (I know. You don't care if she dies, do you? YOU DON'T!) And he took off running into the boundless desert, disappearing right before her very eyes.
WAIT!
Another flash of light. There was a figure on the ground. Yuna, in a white wedding dress, dead.
"YUNIE!"
Tidus walked out of the shadows, looking very much like Shuyin. Maybe he WAS Shuyin. Rikku couldn't tell. And then she heard it. Someone singing. A hymn. One she hadn't heard in a long time. The Hymn of the Fayth.
"You killed her," Tidus/Shuyin accused.
"I didn't!"
He grabbed her by the wrists and she saw pyreflies swirling out of his body.
"Let go of me!" she screamed.
"Stop struggling!" he said angrily, "Stop it, Rikku!"
Rikku tried to break free and managed to hit Tidus/Shuyin in the eye.
"OW! Damnit Rikku! WAKE UP!"
Rikku snapped wide awake and the first thing she noticed was Gippal, hands over his good eye.
"You trying to take my other eye out?" Gippal exclaimed.
"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry! I-I...!" Rikku stuttered, "I thought you were Shuyin!" she finally blurted.
"Wha-?"
"It was a nightmare!" Rikku explained.
"I figured..." Gippal muttered. "What were you doing dreaming about that Shuyin guy anyway?"
Rikku rolled her eyes, "Listen, I'm really sorry about your eye. I'll make it up to you!"
"Nah, that's okay. As long as you're alright from yesterday..." Gippal said, waving her apology aside.
Rikku looked away, deep in thought about her nightmare. And then she realised something. Why was Gippal in her tent?
"What are you doing here anyway?"
Gippal tried to hide his embarrassment, "Hey, you need to be looked after y'know. After last night and everything, I was really worried about you."
Rikku glanced at Gippal and looked away again. Flashes of things that happened in the past between them came to her mind and she didn't want them to come back. She didn't want old memories to return; they were too upsetting to think about. And then she remembered her dream. He was in it. It was a terrible dream.
"What's wrong?" Gippal asked with a frown when he noticed she wasn't her usual cheerful self.
"I had the worst nightmare. It was horrible." She shuddered as mixed scenes of dead people and pyreflies made their way into her thoughts.
Gippal's frown deepened at Rikku's hushed voice. She sounded scared. What did she dream about? "You never ever had nightmares, Cid's Girl... What gives?"
Rikku shook her head slowly and said nothing.
"That bad huh?"
Rikku stayed silent for awhile. And then she spoke up in a whisper.
"I dreamt of Home, Gippal. Home. People were dying. Fiends were everywhere, Guado were everywhere, we Al Bhed were running. And I was crying... Terrible things were happening... I-I thought I would have gotten over it. It's already happened and I can't turn back time. So why think about, y'know? But..." Rikku sighed, "I can't help it. They're gone. Home's gone..."
Gippal was taken aback. Rikku never spoke openly about Home to anyone after that incident. He knew it was a sensitive subject for her. Hell, it was a sensitive thing to talk about for any other Al Bhed. But, that's what they both were - Al Bhed. And they both lost something precious at the same time that very day: Home. And all the past memories that perished with it.
"Rikku..." Gippal said softly, taking her hand in his, "just don't think about it. I know you can't help it, but try. I'll be here to help. After all, I'm Al Bhed too, if you haven't noticed," he smiled at her, "I've lost just about as much as what you did when Home was destroyed."
Rikku managed a small smile. "Thanks. I guess..."
-xxxxx-
-(A/N)-: Umm... I actually planned this chapter to be MUCH different than what it turned out to be; to have a more romantic scene between Paine and Baralai as well as Rikku and Gippal. But I guess it can wait... LOL. Don't wanna' rush things, ya?
And sorry for the late update. My computer kinda' died on me. First a virus killed it, then my screen sorta' exploded? Yeah... Talk about bad luck, ya? Oh man, I should really stop speaking like Wakka.