Chapter 63 – Rekindling
Light from the morning sun shined through the windows of the Celsius, casting across Yuna's face. She scrunched her eyelids together before rubbing her eyes. Peeking open her blue eye, she looked around at her surroundings. Above her, the familiar arc of the ceiling greeted her for the first time in years. The clouds higher in the air streaked by.
After stretching her arms and legs, she sat up on the edge of the bed. She ran her hand gently across the familiar bedsheets like caressing the cheek of a long-lost friend. Her gaze turned to the bountiful blue sky out the windows. Standing up, she walked over to the window panel next to her bed and placed her hands against it. The coolness of the glass comforted her. Resting her forehead against the window, she watched a lone bird in the distance soaring in the sky. Yuna stared at it, wondering if its destination would be the same as the Celsius.
The bird soon veered onto a different course and disappeared into a collection of marshmallow clouds. She cracked a smile and silently wished the bird a safe journey. Twirling herself around, she examined the other two beds. Like always, Paine had neatly tidied up her sheets, while Rikku's bed looked like a disheveled mess. All the ordinary sights of the cabin—from the bookcase and plants to the tacky pictures on the walls—filled her with a tantalizing mix of familiarity and exuberance.
She skipped down the steps to the lower level. Barkeep stood at his usual post behind the bar, cleaning and arranging his assortment of glassware. The hazy whirlwind of the previous day still failed to register with her, but she knew she hadn't had the chance to sit and talk with her old Hypello companion.
"Good morning," Yuna greeted.
Barkeep turned around with a beaming grin on his face. "Oh, Mish Yoona, hello! How are yoo feeling tooday?"
"Wonderful, truly wonderful," she answered while sitting down. "But I'll be honest, it's all been a bit surreal. I feel like I should be pinching myself."
"Did yoo not expect too be a sphere hunter ever again?"
"No, certainly not. I thought those days were behind me," Yuna said before pausing. "But it's more than that I guess."
Barkeep glared at her with curiosity. "What elsh ish bothering yoo?"
"If I'm being honest, I never expected to be back on the Celsius with all of you again."
Without reacting to her words, Barkeep began preparing breakfast for Yuna. He poured her a glass of juice before turning around to cut up some fruit. With her face propped up against her hand, she ran a finger around the rim of the glass. Every few seconds, she looked up at Barkeep, who continued to cut the fruit with his back turned to her. Her stomach knotted in reaction to the uncomfortable silence.
"Don't think I'm not grateful to be here," she continued. "I really am. I've missed you all so much. Though I, um . . . feel guilty for being so distant."
Barkeep gave her a sidelong glance. "I ashumed you had other thingsh you had to deal with. The way thingsh ended before, it sheemed imposhibibble for you to want to continue adventuring."
"You're not wrong, as usual. I thought I just needed time away. Time to process everything that happened. The problem was, I didn't really process anything. I only pushed it away."
"You just got a little losht for a while. Yesh, we've all gone through it," he said while placing a plate of fruit in front of her.
Yuna sighed. "What I've come to realize is that I've been lost for almost my entire life. First with blindly following the teachings of Yevon, then sphere hunting in search of something that could never be found. And the last two years, I've just been existing with no purpose at all."
"You've lived a life of purpose for two lifetimesh! Maybe that ish enough?"
She chuckled. "I hear that a lot. Perhaps you're right. Maybe I don't need some kind of grand purpose to drive where I go in life anymore."
"That's the shpirit!" he cheered.
"Thanks, Barkeep. Don't worry, I'll keep my head up this time around. I feel so lucky to have a second chance with everyone. I'm not going to squander it."
Her head turned when the door to the lift opened. Emerging from the hallway, Rikku trotted into the cabin. With her signature grin on her face, she waved at Yuna and Barkeep.
"Hiya, Yunie!"
Yuna closed her eyes and smiled. "Good morning, Rikku!"
"Good morning?" Rikku shook her head. "Don't you realize it's like past noon?"
"Wait? Is it the afternoon already? Did I really sleep in that long?" She looked at Barkeep.
Barkeep shrugged his shoulders. "Yesh, but I washn't going to shay anything."
Rikkku giggled. "It's no biggie. Paine sent me down to make sure you were still alive."
Yuna noticed Rikku eyeing the cuts and bruises on her arms. Memories of the battle yesterday returned to her mind. The overwhelming cocktail of emotions from her reunion with the Gullwings made her forget about the aches and pains of the fight. Still lurking in the recesses, Shuyin crept back into her consciousness before she could dismiss worrying about him.
"Thanks, I'm okay," she said. "I'll heal."
"Yeah, of course. That's why I'm here with fresh new bandages."
Pulling out a kit of gauze and bandages, Rikku placed it on the bar and began removing the old bandages she administered to Yuna the day prior. She didn't hesitate to rip off the old bandages, regardless of how much it caused Yuna to squirm.
"Oh, stop being a baby," grumbled Rikku.
"I appreciate what you're doing," Yuna said before letting out a yelp. "But could you maybe be a little gentler?"
Rikku stuck out her tongue. "Where's the fun in that?"
Enduring her teasing for another few minutes, Yuna beamed on the inside. Only now that she reunited with her cousin did she truly realize how much she missed Rikku's goofy banter. Thoughts of Shuyin tried to intrude on her happiness, but she kept brushing them aside.
"Now that we're all back together, what are we going to do?" Yuna asked.
Rikku rubbed her chin. "Good question! I think we need to figure that out."
"Maybe we should all talk about it together."
"Sure, makes sense," commented Rikku. "Why don't you come up to the bridge?"
Flashing Rikku a smile, Yuna finished her breakfast and hopped off the barstool. She followed her cousin up to the bridge. The sunny day outside shined through the windows, brightening up the entire room. She stopped on the raised outcropping at the back of the bridge. Holding on to the handrailing, she looked over everything from Shinra typing away at his computer to the pink and purple glow of the Sphere Oscillo-finder down in front of her. Both Brother and Buddy were busy piloting and navigating the ship.
The familiar scene warmed her heart. Yuna's eyes welled with tiny tears; she felt more at home than she had in the past two years. She loved Lulu, Wakka, and all those who lived in Besaid, but the Celsius and The Gullwings gave her purpose—which she had been sorely lacking for so long.
With her hands behind her back, Yuna slowly traipsed down the stairs. Alerted to her footsteps, Paine, who stood with her arms crossed behind Buddy, turned around. She cracked a smile at Yuna.
"Hey, stranger. How are you?"
Yuna gave a tiny bow. "Very good, thanks. How is everyone doing today?"
Brother spun his head around so fast, it banged against the controls. "Uf! Cdibet drehk . . . uh, Yuna, I am well. Are you still hurting?"
She shook her head. "Nope. I feel . . . wonderful."
"I'm glad to hear that!" Brother exclaimed.
Shinra spun his chair around. "The sphere you found is most intriguing. A true puzzle box mystery. Who knows what Shuyin's new plans are."
"Oh," Yuna said abruptly, the subject of Shuyin and the past catching her by surprise. "Have you uncovered anything?"
"Not yet. This is going to require a lot of research."
Rikku threw up her arms behind her head. "You'd think he would. He was up all night poking around that thing."
Shinra shrugged. "Hey, I'm just a kid."
Yuna giggled. "I had a feeling it would be tricky. As much as I want to stop Shuyin, it does us no good if we don't understand more about what he is after."
"I have some good news about that," Shinra said, gesturing to the Sphere Oscillo-finder. "I was able to add your mystery sphere to track the signature of the sphere in Shuyin's possession as you did at Leblanc's. So far, nothing has shown up."
"Does that mean he disappeared?" Paine asked.
"I wouldn't say disappeared," explained Shuyin. "Though he might be in the Farplane. That would explain why I'm not tracking him."
"Don't worry, Yuna. We'll find that evil spirit!" Brother chimed in.
She nodded at him. "I appreciate it. Having all of you back together, it's more than I could have ever asked for."
Looking around the bridge at all her friends, they responded with warm smiles on all their faces. Though she still felt the holes in her heart left from the past, at least some of the wounds might finally be healed.
She added.,"But you all were doing something different just a few days ago. What should we do now?"
Everyone stared at each other in silence. Tension grew in the air. Yuna could feel the perspiration dampening her palms as nobody continued to announce a thought. Unable to let the question linger, she answered it herself.
"Why don't we just see where things take us?"
Brother nodded. "Yes, that sounds like a good idea. Let Spira be our guide!"
Everyone agreed with Brother's sentiment, and the tension in the room dropped immediately. Yuna let out a curt sigh. Wetting her lips, she wondered if even though they all were still friends, it might take some time for everyone to get back to how things were before the Gullwings broke up. Guilt still pricked at her like a slender needle for taking everyone away from their lives.
"In the meantime, where are you driving us to, Brother," said Buddy.
He babbled in reply, trying to formulate his words. "Um, well, you see . . . I'm just flying us around to nowhere really."
Rikku scoffed. "Yep, you're still an idiot."
Everyone laughed at Brother's expense, a ritual that Yuna deeply missed. Although she felt bad that Brother took the brunt of so many jokes, he always let them roll off him. With the group chat over, Yuna approached him. Brother watched out the windows while steering the airship with an intense focus in his eyes.
"Hey Brother, I have a question for you," she asked.
He slowly turned his head to look at her. "Ask away, Yuna."
"I was wondering what you have been up to the last two years."
His eyebrows rose quickly. "Oh, what I did? Well, so many things. Lots of things!"
"Wow, that sounds exciting! I'd like to hear some of your stories."
"You do? Uh, well, we went searching for more lost relics under the ocean," he replied.
Yuna leaned against the seat beside him. "Don't hold back! What did you find."
"It was supposed to be a sunken machina full of mystery from a long time ago. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a pile of scrap metal instead," groaned Brother.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Yuna further expressed her disappointment with a frown.
Brother rubbed his nose. "I'll be honest, the last two years have not been exciting. Mostly it was spent running errands for Pops."
Watching Brother devolve into a sunken state, Yuna stammered to come up with soothing words but found herself unable to help. Seeing how talk of the past dejected him, she decided it best to end their conversation and let him fly in peace. Her cousin quickly grabbed her by the arm and took her off to chat with Shinra. While Yuna enjoyed the company, she found it difficult to stay engaged with Rikku's rapid-fire ramblings.
After what felt like an eternity, Rikku got distracted and let Yuna disengage. She blew out a long sigh, closing her eyes to release some of the weight from all her social interactions. While she loved her friends, she needed time to get used to having them close by again. The constant conversations remained a concept she had been unaccustomed to in Besaid. She often would excuse herself from gatherings to walk along the beach by herself.
Taking the lift up to the deck, Yuna took a few steps out from the elevator shaft. A swift wind coursed over her, ruffling her hair in all directions. Judging by the coolness of the wind, she thought they might be flying somewhere over the Calm Lands, although she didn't care enough to try to garner a peek at the land below.
Sitting down on the deck, she wrapped her arms around her knees and watched the clouds soar by in the sky. The vibrations of the airship's engines tickled her body. Closing her eyes, she let them course through her, immersing herself in the familiar sensation. The seclusion felt nice, if only for herself to get on top of the whirlwind the past two days had been.
Going from one of Leblanc's goons to a Gullwing in such short order still eluded her ability to process. She couldn't help but wonder if this would last. The possibility that her reunion with her friends could fade away like two years ago scared her. Yuna hugged herself tighter.
She watched the sky turn into a beautiful gradient of colors as the sun set. Blue melted into yellow which melted into orange. The once lustrous white clouds dimmed to a somber grey. The lift behind her opened, startling her out of her thoughts. Turning her head around, she watched Paine emerge.
"Hey, mind if I join you?" Paine asked.
Yuna smiled. "No, not at all."
Sitting beside her, Paine brushed the whipping hair off her face. "You actually find it calming out here with all this?"
"You get used to the wind. The sky is so beautiful right now."
Paine looked around. "Yeah, you're right."
The two women sat together in silence, each gazing at a different part of the sky. Yuna wondered why Paine came up to the deck. Was she worried about her? Glancing over at her friend, Yuna saw tranquility in her red eyes.
"So, what was it like?" asked Paine, still looking out at the sky.
The out-of-the-blue questions took Yuna by surprise. "What was what like?"
"Being part of Leblanc's group."
"Oh! It was interesting. She runs a tight ship, believe it or not."
Paine chuckled. "Really? I always figured those idiots just ran amok."
"No, not at all," Yuna replied. "She seems full of herself, but she is very kind. Leblanc thought enough of me to help get me going again."
"Right. She did encourage you to hunt for spheres again."
"Yeah, even though I had no urge to do it. I guess it was just her belief in me being more than just a regular person that motivated me to try. I'm glad she did."
Paine nodded. "Me too. When we heard from her that you ran off chasing Shuyin to Zanarkand, I couldn't believe it. Last I knew, you were happy living in Besaid."
"After our little adventure at Iutycyr Tower, I thought I had enough of adventuring and running all around Spira," Yuna said. "Little did I know how wrong I was."
"It all worked out in the end."
Yuna paused for a long while, letting silence loom between them. Though she felt like she had so much to ask her friend, and so much to share with her, she wasn't sure how to begin expressing herself. Biting her lip, she rubbed her arms.
She turned her head to look at Paine. "You know, I read your book. Most of it anyway."
"Really?" Paine's eyebrow raised.
"Yeah. I got it from Marlinda. Oh, she's the one who runs the theater in Luca. I worked for her for a little bit."
Paine folded her hands together. "Well, what did you think?"
A smile crept on Yuna's face. "I liked it. You have a way with words."
"Oh, you think so?" Paine blushed.
"I truly do! To be honest, I had forgotten about a few of our side missions that you wrote about."
Relaxing her posture, Paine chuckled. "Which ones did you not remember?"
"I completely forgot we helped Clasko clean out the old monster arena so he could raise chocobos!"
Paine brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face. "He sure is a fidgety guy, but he loves those chocobo."
They both shared a chuckle—Yuna pictured the pens of chocobo Clasko proudly kept in the Calm Lands. Glancing over at her friend, she watched Paine sit in silence staring up at the evening sky. The sun had mostly set, leaving a darkening blue sky in its wake. The first faint stars twinkled in amongst the clouds.
She tapped her finger against the ship. "It wasn't just the old memories I appreciated. Thank you for the discretion you showed."
Paine looked over and nodded. "The world didn't need to know about all the struggles we faced."
"I know they were just as hard on you and Rikku as they were on me. I wouldn't have blamed you if you needed a way to process it all."
"Maybe my traveling was a way for me to process," said Paine. "But that's not why I wrote. What we did was amazing, and I wanted to write it down. I felt it should be shared."
Yuna felt her cheeks warm. "I'm glad you did. You're right, what we did made for a story worth telling."
"Thanks," replied Paine before pausing. "It's nice to hear that from you."
"I'm sorry I didn't encourage you more when you first told us you were writing. It wasn't that documenting our adventures wasn't something I thought was a good idea. But back then, I just . . . my head wasn't in a place for it."
Paine shifted herself closer to Yuna. "Hey, it's okay. With what you went through, not many people would've come out on top. You had two sets of feelings all tangled up inside you."
She nuzzled her head on Paine's shoulder. "I didn't survive it alone. It was thanks to my friends."
Paine didn't utter a reply but remained gazing up at the sky while Yuna kept her head against Paine's shoulder. For the first time since she could remember, Yuna's mind faded off uninhibited by anxiety or dread. No worry weighed on her consciousness. The feeling of calm embraced itself around her. Closing her eyes, Yuna relished in the security.
All the light of the day faded away, giving way to a star-filled night sky. Aside from the rushing wind, nothing disturbed her quiet time with Paine until a buzzing sound sprang from her CommSphere.
"Yuna, Paine, can you please come to the bridge?" the static-filled voice of Buddy asked.
Yuna perked up. "Oh, I wonder what he wants?"
"Must be important. Well, we better not keep him waiting," Paine answered.
Leaving the deck, Yuna followed Paine inside and to the bridge. Huddled next to Buddy, Rikku yammered in his ear. She noticed Paine and Yuna approaching.
"Hey guys, come here! I think you'll be interested to hear this!" she called.
Yuna asked, "What is it?"
Buddy pointed to his console. "I heard on the Sphere broadcasts that the Youth League is having some real trouble on Mushroom Road."
Paine perked up. "What kind of trouble?"
"Seems like friends are overrunning their old headquarters and they're shorthanded. It might be dangerous, but we could offer to help."
"For a price!" bellowed Brother, marching up from behind. "The newly reformed Friendly Neighboring Gullwings don't work for free!"
"I'm sure they have some gil handy," said Rikku with a grin.
Buddy looked at Yuna. "So, what do you think?"
Yuna hesitated for a moment before a surge of resolve bubbled up in her. "If Nooj and the Youth League are having that much trouble, I say we help."
Brother hopped into the air. "That is the spirit! To Mushroom Rock!"
Buddy smiled ear-to-ear. "My pleasure—setting course! Better rest up. It's our first mission in a while and we can't look like slouches."
The chorus of cheers from the rest of the Gullwings sang like music in Yuna's ears. No matter what they might face in Mushroom Rock Road, she was ready.
