Chapter 43 – Two Souls Meet
Running over the ocean on course for Bikanel Island, Paine watched out the window from her bed in the cabin the bright blue ocean waves blur to a golden hue in the distance. While enraptured by its beauty, she knew that appearances could be deceiving. After the many stops across Spira Yuna made her suffer through, she could never forget how miserably hot Bikanel burned. From a bird's eye perspective, the ground glistened with a warm, blond glow. Paine snickered at the beaming yellowness of the desert sand. It paralleled the vibrant yellow hair of the Al Bhed.
The calming sight outside gave her a satisfying backdrop upon which to think. She tried to keep her mind off the silence throughout the ship. Three beds occupied the room, but only one of them had an owner left to inhabit. With Yuna and Rikku gone, Paine yearned for the noisy, sometimes chaotic, chatter of her friends. She admired both of them for their strength, courage, and determination.
Right up until Yuna's death, she increasingly enjoyed herself when they talked, even if near the end the words were smattered with hurt. While she acted callous towards Rikku, she had grown fond of her. Feeling compelled to fill Yuna's place, Paine wanted to shelter Rikku and be a big sister to her. With her abrupt disappearance, that possibility went up in smoke.
Slumping her back onto the soft bed, she stared at the ceiling, wondering what kind of adventure Rikku got herself mixed up in. It had been almost three weeks since she ran away in the middle of the night leaving only a message which gave no clues as to where she went, or with who she traveled.
Don't wait for me Gullwings. I'll be gone for a little bit, but don't think I'm abandoning you. Sorry to leave so fast, but I had to. I'll explain when I come back, Rikku's words spoke, yet gave nothing as to why she suddenly vanished. She took comfort in knowing how tough Rikku could be in the face of danger, but it still bothered Paine immensely. Paine felt the two of them should be sticking close together after Yuna's death.
Quaintly she kept busy with Lulu, Wakka, and the guys. Paine thought to herself, some sort of adventure would unfold. She believed she was too young yet to settle down in any one particular place. Then she began to wonder what Nhadala of all people needed from the Gullwings. They were talented hunters of spheres, but the problem she confronted might be a little out of their league. Paine didn't know much about the inner workings of spheres, especially ancient ones. Rikku would be the best Gullwing to determine why a sphere might be unfunctional.
Peering outside the window again, she watched the rippling ocean give way to land. Countless dunes of sand passed underneath the ship. Some of the updrafts of air blew the sparkling sand against the windows. Soon the excavation camp came into view. Like little ants, the workers busily scuttled in and out of the camp. The Celsius touched down, becoming covered with the whipping sand from underneath it. Brother opened the hatch, and Paine walked out to greet Nhadala, who eagerly awaited the Gullwings' arrival.
"Thank you for coming," greeted Nhadala with an inviting smile.
Paine nodded and shook her hand. "Of course."
Buddy and Brother popped out of the ship and gave a cheer. Even Shinra scampered out gleefully. They were intercepted by some of the other diggers, showing them papers filled with schematics and analysis data. Nhadala looked around as if missing someone.
"Um, wasn't there more of you last time?" she questioned, glaring at Paine with a bewildered expression.
"Well, there was," Paine began apprehensively. "Rikku left us a little while ago, and Yuna . . ."
Nhadala waved her hand. "Say no more. We're just hoping that you can solve this very strange mystery with the spheres we have."
"We'll try the best we can. So, what is this problem?"
Gesturing with her hand, Nhdala directed Paine toward the mess tent. "You don't have to worry about it right at this moment. I'll explain everything over some grub."
Nhadala led Paine to a large tent, where she could smell food cooking. Many workers had already started eating their meals. Amazed at how adept they were at living with goggles and masks on all the time, even when dining, Paine gazed on at the hungry workforce ingesting sustenance while they conversed with each other. As strange as she knew the Al Bhed could be, mostly from Rikku, Paine saw the logic in it. She had walked off the Celsius only five minutes ago, and already sand filled her hair.
Nhadala led her to the end of an uninhabited table. Two Al Bhed men pranced up behind her, one tall and stocky and the other short and talkative. They, too, sat down beside their boss. The shorter one glanced up and down at Paine. He shot a sharp and seducing glance, which Paine returned with a confused sidelong glance.
"Behave, Keppel," roared Nhadala from behind, smacking him upside the head. "This is our guests!"
He stuck out his tongue. "Geez battle-axe, I didn't mean no harm."
His friend reared his head back in laughter. "Yeah, he never means any harm. The ladies never feel that way though."
Paine cracked up at their exchange. She forgot how quirky the Al Bhed's humor could be.
"My name is Nomma. Nice to meet you," he greeted and tipped his head.
"Paine," she replied. "Nice to meet you, too."
After a short interlude of introductory conversation, Paine found herself both intrigued and impressed with Nomma. While he seemed timid at first, she discovered him to be intelligent, as well as level-headed. The same could not be said for his friend, who was the complete opposite. Keppel acted like a brash, smooth-talking womanizer. While she figured he wasn't nearly as bad as his terrible manners would make him out to be, she didn't want to be alone anywhere near him. Over her meal, she told them some about her life as a sphere hunter, and about the Gullwings. They were particularly interested in the adventurous stories she shared of the Gullwings' escapades across Spira.
"So, what is it exactly that you Gullwings do anyway?" asked Keppel with a twinkle in his eye.
Paine replied, "We started as purely sphere hunters, although we've provided a lot of other services besides that. I guess you could say we're just a bunch of adventurers."
"That certainly sounds fun," conveyed Nomma.
"It sure made my life a lot more interesting," said Paine.
"Man, why couldn't we have gotten a cool gig like that?" Keppel complained.
The four of them laughed at Keppel's comment. Paine couldn't imagine having someone like him around all the time. A handful herself, Rikku may have acted crassly at times, but she wasn't nearly as brazen as Keppel. Maybe all the Al Bhed acted that crazy. Except, she realized, for Nhadala, who growled at Keppel again.
"Okay, that's enough small talk. Time to get down to business."
Nhadala pulled out one of the ancient spheres she mentioned on the CommSphere. Smaller than the usual spheres Paine was accustomed to rummaging out of Spira, its turquoise color had a dull sheen to its shell. It still conveyed a faded glint of the past it contained. Its mystery drew Paine's attention. As Nhadala explained, her expedition uncovered many more spheres like this one. Becoming engrossed, Paine searched all over it, wondering what lay within.
"I'm sure Shinra can figure something out. He's our resident genius," she energetically stated, hoping he could figure something out.
Nhadala's lips curled into a big smile. "Excellent! I'll have Lenne send over the rest of them for Shinra to examine."
Paine's blinked in rapid succession. "Wait, who?"
"Lenne. She's the camp's good luck charm," replied Nhadala, not noticing Paine's awestruck expression.
Still taken aghast, Paine set back in her chair. What were the odds that somebody, here in the middle of a barren wasteland of all places, would have that name? She pondered if this person had anything to do with Shuyin. Then she shook her head, remembering that Lenne died over a thousand years ago. In the back of her mind lingered the fragile connection Yuna made with the name of that woman.
"So, is she knowledgeable with old spheres?" Pained questioned.
Nhadala shook her head. "Unfortunately not. Though she is full of surprises, as I've found out these past few weeks."
She wiped off her mouth and set down her napkin. With her meal finished, Nhadala wasted no time in leading Paine to the rest of the spheres. Nagging in the back of her brain the entire walk to the headquarters, Paine wondered who this Lenne woman could be. As opposed to the flimsy tents and shanties that were scattered around the camp, the headquarters stood as an actual, constructed structure. In a cramped, dim room the spheres sat piled at the bottom of a large chest.
There were fourteen of them in all. Each copied the lusterless presence of the last. Their worn-over turquoise color didn't fill Paine with any hope of unlocking their inner mysteries. She had faith in Shinra, knowing he was a miracle worker with hard-to-do puzzles like this. While Paine studied over the heap of spheres, another person stepped in behind them.
"Ah, there you are Lenne," Nhadala waved, extending her hand out towards Paine. "This is Paine. She and her friends will be helping us solve the sphere mystery."
"Please to meet you," she politely greeted, reaching out to shake Paine's hand.
The woman stood slightly shorter than Paine. Masked by a pair of pale yellow goggles that covered her entire face, Paine couldn't make out any facial features. It also muffled her voice, giving it a dampened, raspy sound. A baggy Al Bhed worker's suit and a dark blue cloak hid the rest of her body, except for her gloveless hands. The hand which Paine shook was lithe and fragile, and her grip equally as meager.
Nhadala barked, "Alright, Lenne. Take Paine through what we've found so far. Tomorrow you can take her out to the dig site."
Lenne nodded and turned to face Paine. "What would you like to know first?"
Paine thought for a moment, rubbing her hand against her chin. "Well, that is a good question. First off, how the hell did you find these old things way out here?"
Lenne giggled slightly under her mask, but her tone had a nervous resonance to it. "It was thanks to Rin. He accidentally uncovered it on his last journey here. We only dug it up a few weeks ago."
"Huh? No kidding," Paine quaintly replied in surprise.
She still wasn't sure of how to approach Lenne. Although it seemed strange for her to be so apprehensive about meeting a stranger, she remained uneasy in Lenne's presence. She couldn't place her finger on it, but something felt amiss about Lenne. Perhaps Paine dwelled too long on Yuna's connection with the Lenne of the distant past, but anyone she came across named Lenne would immediately trigger her suspicions. Shaking her head, she tried to rid herself of such an illogical emotion.
Lenne cleared her throat, finally breaking the precarious silence. "Why don't we go outside to continue discussing the spheres."
Paine snapped out of her retreat into deep thought and followed her outside. She squinted her eyes at the sudden sunlight shining down from above. A low whirl of sand twisted up into the air near them, giving Paine an eerie parallel to how she felt inside.
"Where do you live?" asked Lenne.
"Me? Oh, well, I don't really live in one place. Being a sphere hunter, we travel all over the place."
"Are you the leader of, what do you call yourselves? The Gullwings?"
Paine began to relax some. "Well, not really. I think officially Brother is supposed to run things. It is his ship after all. But he's such a dolt we'd all be dead by now if he called the shots."
Responding with a lightened laugh, Lenne folded her hands behind her back. Paine explained that Brother, as well as Buddy and Shinra, were all Al Bhed. Lenne reacted with surprise but didn't find it overly peculiar. Plenty of the Al Bhed she knew at this camp had their fair share of achievements and quirks. She then explained that she wasn't Al Bhed, much to Paine's astonishment. She assumed all the people working in the encampment were Al Bhed. It also caused her again to wonder about who Lenne might be under the mask and bulky clothing.
"I came here to get away," Lenne suddenly blurted, in an almost confessional manner. "There was just too much weighing on me. You know, kind of like these spheres."
"What do you mean by that?" questioned Paine, giving her an odd look.
For a moment, Lenne paused in thought, then answered, "See, these spheres contain the far past. They are burdened by time and people to carry on memories from so many years ago. Such ancient relics eventually corrode and break underneath the stress. That's why I believe they don't work."
To Paine, these words held a deep regard for the weight of time on top of a sense of sadness. Almost tragic, Lenne's words carried much weight. Even though Paine couldn't see beyond her mask, she imagined Lenne bore a crestfallen expression. Once she contemplated Lenne's words, she found herself understanding this woman's reasons for removing herself from society at large. Paine realized that she, too, joined the Gullwings originally to dodge the grievances she battled with in her life. While that was no longer the reason she remained a sphere hunter, she couldn't deny the truth.
"Maybe your right," she murmured under her breath.
Lenne clasped her hands together in front of her chest. "No matter though. I'm sure you can figure out a way to unlock these old spheres."
"I certainly hope so. Your boss doesn't seem who likes disappointment."
The two women laughed at her joke in tandem, both sharing some relief from uptightness. Paine still held her curiosity about Lenne. She yearned to know more about her, hoping to have more time tomorrow to pry when they were set to go to the excavation site.
The sun sunk below the mounds of sand, and the twilight sky held a plethora of sparkling constellations. The air held still, the prickly heat of the day no longer a torment to Paine. She sat outside of the Celsius, silently staring up at the midnight blue of the sky. Crossing amongst the moon and the stars floated a trail of deep grey clouds. For the first time in her life, Paine felt a positive sentiment while being in the desert. She had time to relax before tomorrow.
The Al Bhed diggers of the desert were a handful for her to handle. Each one of them, it seemed, had some nutty flavor about them—each different than the next. Putting her head down, she couldn't help but chuckle to herself. It was an adventure she sought, and she knew it was an adventure she would get.
Then that woman came into her mind. Looking up again to the heavens, Paine shuffled through everything she could recall about Lenne from her conversation earlier. Although Paine didn't see much, some of her personality had shown through the rough and leathery exterior of her appearance. Unsure of herself, but humbly filled with subtle wisdom, Lenne implied her complexity and depth through her sorrowful words. Pained remembered Yuna mentioning that name again and again: Lenne. She was the lover of Shuyin, the spirit who set Kinoc free, setting off a chain of events that ended with Yuna's death.
Standing up, she brushed off the sand from her clothing. The leather appeared more grey than black with all the sand that stuck to it. Onto the Celsius' boarding ramp she strolled, stretching her arms out while she yawned. Her tired red eyes weighed heavy and were more than ready for sleep. Too much to think about, she grumbled to herself before she went inside the airship. She hoped tomorrow would contain more action.