Chapter 2

Paine stirred and reached out only to grasp cold stone. Sitting up in a panic, she looked but saw that Yuna was nowhere to be found. "Yuna?" She called out softly, fear ebbing into her voice. When she got no response she jumped to her feet and frantically looked around. "Yuna? Yuna?! Yuna!"

The only sound was the echo of her voice off the cavern walls. Paine frantically began running one way then another, completely panicked at the thought of losing Yuna. Fear crushed down on her as the walls seemed to almost be closing in. As she ran down the hall at full speed she failed to notice a break ahead of her. "Yuna! Yuna! Yunaaaaa!"

The last scream trailed off as she stepped off into the blackness and fell into the gaping chasm.

Yuna awoke to the sound of Paine whimpering and shifting beside her. The cavern was dark but the holes that seemed to be spread throughout the corridor along the ceiling allowed for some of the moonlight to offer some illumination. Looking over at her companion, her jaw dropped. Beside her, the usually stoic and cold warrior she had grown to know was in a state she never thought possible; tears streamed down Paine's face and her mouth trembled as she whispered something over and over.

Leaning forward, Yuna brought her hand up to her mouth as she heard what Paine was mumbling; it was her name. Kneeling beside her friend, she brushed the hair from Paine's face that had become matted down with sweat and tears. 'Why is Paine so upset and why is she calling out for me? Is this some terrible nightmare?' As she mulled it over she absently stroked the warrior's hair back in an effort to calm the distraught, yet still sleeping, girl.

Her touch had the desired effect and in moments Paine had calmed her trembling but continued to mumble incoherently. Suddenly, Paine's eyes snapped open and she sat upright in a rush, knocking Yuna back onto her bottom. Tears still lingered in her ruby eyes as she frantically scanned the area until her eyes fell upon Yuna and her face betrayed the relief she felt.

"Yuna…" It was as though someone had hit an off-switch. The trembling ceased, the tears halted and her breathing was regular.

Leaning forward to her friend, Yuna placed a hand on Paine's cheek to wipe away the remaining tears. Her breath caught as Paine, rather than pulling away like she expected, actually leaned into her hand. "I'm here Paine. Are you alright? You were crying out for me in your sleep."

Immediately, Paine pulled away and sat up straight, making an effort to adjust her hair and outfit to avoid eye contact while turning a deep crimson. 'She heard me? I must have sounded so pathetic. Why did she have to hear me?' After she regained her composure, Paine shrugged and tried to play it off. "It was just a dream."

Yuna frowned, really wishing to know what sort of dream made Paine so distraught. Leaning close and tilting her head to the side she tried to catch Paine's eyes. "Paine…"

Feeling her face heat up again, Paine jumped to her feet suddenly. "I think I found a way out! Come on!" Then, without warning, she rushed off down the passageway and Yuna followed quickly after her.

'Someday I'll crack through that secretive shell you are so encased in Paine.' Yuna thought to herself.

Rikku sighed and flopped onto the grass, staring at the sky. "I'm so bored! Where are Yuni and Paine? More importantly, where am I? What a weird place."

The night sky had an uncountable amount of stars and Rikku found herself fascinated by them. She had made her way out of the cavern hours ago. Simply following the sounds of the wind she had managed to make her way out to open skies where she promptly collapsed on the grass and slept.

Unable to relax, Rikku jumped to her feet and began pacing, trying to come up with a plan but finding her mind still addled from… 'What happened before all of this? The last thing I remember was being on the Celsius and then…' She wrinkled her nose in thought while tapping her chin with her index finger before grumbling aloud. "And then I woke up in this stinky cavern!"

Looking around she was disappointed in her lack of knowledge of her current location. Trees lined the perimeter in all directions and the brush was dense. There was no way this was neither a traveled area nor a place near any kind of city or large town. It was serene in its own way but at the same time creepy; there were no forest sounds. All Rikku heard was silence and that was the most maddening thing of all. After wandering for a bit she made note of a few significant findings but the majority of the immediate area was thick pine trees with weeds that passed her thighs.

Rikku sighed and plopped back onto the ground, sitting cross-legged. "If Yuni is with Paine she will be okay. I know Paine would never let anything happen to Yuni. Ever since they had that talk on the bridge, Paine has been…" Tilting her head to the side she smiled. "Different. She actually opened up a little more and oh I wish I could have been up there to see it!"

A sound from behind her startled her into grabbing her daggers and leaping to her feet. The sound came from within the cavern and it was getting closer. Thinking that surprise was always the best advantage to any good thief, Rikku climbed alongside the entrance of the cavern and crouched at the top, ready to pounce down on whoever or whatever came out.

"No way am I letting one of those creepy critters catch me off-guard, no way!"

Seeing light at the end of the tunnel relieved both Yuna and Paine, especially with the sun making its presence known at the horizon. Paine's makeshift dressing had soaked through with blood by now but she refused to allow it to show; her face showed only determination. She had to get Yuna out of this horrible cavern and away from them.

Yuna gripped Paine's hand tightly as they ran towards the entrance, the thought of being outside of the cavern far outweighing the thoughts of what could be in store for them next. She worried for Paine, knowing that her wound had continued to bleed but knew the warrior would brush off any attempts and for now arguing would do no good.

As they neared the exit Paine stopped Yuna with an arm across the chest. "Let me go first, we don't know what's out there."

Before Yuna could make an argument Paine had already run ahead so she simply mumbled to herself. "But I still have my pistols…"

The sound of a scuffle brought Yuna back to reality in an instant and she sprinted for the exit. As she burst out of the cavern, pistols drawn and level she skidded to a stop and did her best not to giggle at the situation.

There, atop a squirming Rikku, was an irate Paine.

Rikku had jumped down from the ledge only to be thrown by Paine upon contact. In an instant, the nimble thief had launched herself on the attack again and they had rolled into their current position. As Paine held the smaller girl's wrists above her head, Rikku let out a giggle and tried to lean her face closer to Paine's.

"Well Paine, I never knew!"

Paine growled and released the girl's wrists and rolled to her uninjured side to rest on her knees beside Rikku. "You foolish girl! I could have killed you!"

With a frown Rikku got up on her hands and knees and leaned close to Paine. "You would not kill me Paine! Besides, I knew it was you before you even came out of the cavern."

Pushing the impish girl away, Paine scowled. "If you knew it was me, why did you attack me?"

Rikku shrugged. "I thought it would be fun! And it was." Looking up she finally saw Yuna and she scrambled to her feet and threw herself at Yuna in a full body hug. "Yuni! I knew you would be okay if Paine was with you."

Hugging her cousin in return, Yuna squirmed free and felt her ears redden. "What do you mean?"

Bouncing from foot to foot Rikku leaned in and whispered to Yuna. "Ever since you had your private chat on the Celsius with her, outside, she seems to be a lot more protective of you."

Feeling the blush creep across the rest of her face, Yuna looked away. That day up on the Celsius had been an interesting one indeed. "J… Ju… Just a coincidence." She managed to stutter out. 'Why am I stuttering? What is there to be nervous about?'

Rikku grinned and nodded. "Oh, riiiight." She still wasn't quite sure what had happened up there between them but it had certainly changed Yuna and Paine both significantly. It had even affected Rikku though she was not directly involved. Ever since Paine opened herself up even a little bit, she had been fascinated by her. She was openly in awe with Paine's physical prowess and often instigated scuffles simply to see her in action. Without realizing it, a slight blush had worked its way up her neck into her cheeks.

"Rikku, are you alright?" Yuna looked at her cousin with mild concern. "You're all flushed; do you need to lie down?"

Giggling and turning away to survey the trees in the distance Rikku shook her head. "No Yuni, I am A-OK! As it stands I really am glad we got out of that icky cavern but I don't like being so exposed."

"Then stop… dressing… like an escort…" came a breathless retort from Paine.

Rikku stuck her nose up indignantly. "I'll have you know, that my sense of style is impeccable and practical! It is great for mobility and the heat of even the hottest desert!"

Yuna looked over at Paine, her brow furrowed in concern. "Paine, are you okay? You sound-"

Putting a hand up to interrupt her, Paine nodded. "I'm… fine." She coughed, covering her mouth with her arm only to see red splatter on her pearly skin as she pulled it away. Before she could turn to hide it Yuna saw it and ran over to her side.

"Dammit Paine!" Both Rikku and Paine stared at Yuna with wide eyes; swearing was not like her in the least. "You need to cut this tough act and admit you're hurt!" Tears formed in her eyes causing Paine to feel a strange, unwelcome pain in her chest. "I don't know what I'd do if you died."

Red faced both from embarrassment and shame, Paine looked down at the ground. "I assure you Yuna, I will be fine. I just have had too much exertion. I need to rest is all. Would you and Rikku-"

Rikku had made her way over to inspect the injured warrior and felt a sudden wave of guilt. "Oh Paine I'm so sorry! I didn't know you were injured!"

Groaning, Paine lay back on the grass and looked up at the brightening sky. "We need shelter of some kind and the cavern is no good. You two should find something for us to stay in for a little while. Even if it's a hollowed out tree."

Before Yuna could answer, Rikku pointed to the south. "There's a good natural shelter over there. I scouted it out a while ago and found it to be big enough for the three of us, barely."

Yuna bent down and placed an arm under Paine's shoulder as Rikku did the same and they helped their injured companion up. Paine felt humiliated that such a small wound was causing so much distress but also found it concerning that it had not shown any signs of the bleeding slowing, and the pain had actually increased constantly. 'What in the world is wrong with this place?'