Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ A New Threat To Spira ❯ A Moment of Calm ( Chapter 6 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Neon Ronin 
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Action / Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 09.01.2004 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.6K | Visits: 303 | Status: Completed
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Action / Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 09.01.2004 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.6K | Visits: 303 | Status: Completed
[A/N: The characters and places in this fanfic are property of Square Enix. 'Nuff said. Time for a slower pace in this part.]
6: A Moment of Calm
As the sun began to set over Kilika, it became apparent the Celsius was not going anywhere soon. The great airship had been ingloriously parked near the shores just next to the port town, and all its engines had fallen silent. The villagers were comforted, in a way; if another fiend swarm came during the night, there would be someone right there to help them. As it was, the people of Kilika set about repairing the damage done to their village, and gradually their worries subsided as time passed.
Onboard the Celsius, things were a bit more frantic.
"Drec ec y lydycdnubra!! So payidevim yencreb, yd dra sanlo uv y runnahtuic ihvunacaah secryb!!" Brother shouted from deep within the engine room. Oil and grease covered him from head to foot, giving him the appearance of a large ungainly crow.
[Translation: This is a catastrophe!! My beautiful airship, at the mercy of a horrendous unforeseen mishap!!]
"Hey, you're the one who was slacking off on regular engine maintenance!!" retorted Rikku from the other end of the room. "All that gunk building up in the system, it's no wonder the valves bound up; you're just lucky the primary engine block didn't crack wide open!!" she grumbled, throwing a wrench to the floor and wiping the grease from her forehead.
"I did not slack off!!" Brother replied in a defensive tone. "There were... many things that required attention! As Captain, I am forever busy!"
"Busy being a nuisance," Rikku muttered under her breath as she opened a valve access panel. She winced as she got a clear view of the damage in the system. "GEEZ! Talk about a disrespect for machina!"
"Hey Rikku, we've got a call in from Bevelle," Buddy hollered from the top of the engine room. "I can take over for you in here if you want."
"Thanks, Buddy," Rikku hollered back. She grabbed a relatively clean rag and dashed off to the elevator, wiping her hands and face.
"RIKKU! Do not leave me just when we are in the midst of repair!!" Brother shouted, flapping his arms wildly.
"Oh, just leave her be. She's got worse things to worry about than a busted airship," Buddy said as he picked up a screwdriver and dove into the repairs. "I guess we pushed the throttle on this baby a little too hard today," he added with what sounded like a chuckle.
"So that's the story, guys," Rikku was saying. "If everything we've heard so far is true, we could expect more incidents like what happened today, maybe even worse ones." To her right, Shinra nodded in silent agreement as he toiled away at his workbench/junk pile. The Water Crystal, still set in its fingerless silver glove, sat beneath a plethora of instrumentation and scanners that Shinra had adapted or designed himself. He had descended on it the moment the Gullwings had returned to the ship, and was determined to find out as much as he could about it.
"This isn't good," said Nooj. "If this gets out of hand in a hurry, it's going to make dealing with Shuyin seem like a walk in the park. Is there any way to verify where the other crystals might be?"
"I'm already working on it," Shinra piped up. "So far, I'm picking up waves from the crystal that are very similar to Sphere waves, but these have a very distinct frequency unlike any I've seen before. If I can patch the frequency through our detection equipment, we might be able to scan for matches just like when we go on Sphere hunts."
"So I guess once we get a lock on something, we'll get moving and try to get to the crystals before this Malar jerk does," Rikku added. "That's about the best we can do at the moment; we'd be able to get a jump on things if the Celsius wasn't stalled out."
"Well, well, so even Cid's little girl has to deal with the occasional rusty bolt now and again, huh?" Gippal drawled. Rikku sighed and rolled her eyes. I should've known Gippal couldn't stay serious for long, even in a crisis.
"It's been a long day, Gippal, so I'm going to forget you said that," Rikku said in a sweet-laced-with-danger voice. "We wouldn't even be stalled out if Brother had paid more attention to ship's maintenance."
"Hey, I understand. Believe me, I've been up to my hair in breakdowns out in Bikanel lately," Gippal replied. "Nhadala's been sending reports about jammed servos and intake valves every other day, so I know how irritated you must be right now."
"Well, you have to cope with sandstorms, Gippal."
"And you have to cope with Brother," he quipped with a smirk on his face. The comment caught Rikku off guard and she started giggling.
"Hey, watch it!" she said, trying to look serious but not succeeding.
"The important thing is, now we have an idea of what may be going on and a possible means to deal with it," Nooj interrupted. "Plus, we've started to get reports in from the troops we sent out that they can't get into the Thunder Plains; something or someone appears to have walled off the entire area. The captain in charge says there's a translucent purple haze between the Plains and the edge of Macalania Woods, and no one has been able to get through it."
"A force field?" Rikku asked, the smile fading on her face.
"Something like that," Nooj replied. "However, they also report very little fiend activity around this field, no attacks or anything. They're setting up a garrison to keep watch on the Plains, just to make sure nothing goes awry. It could be that this Malar person is planning something big, or it could be a fortification issue; either way, as long as we can't get in there's not much we can do."
"I guess not... " Rikku muttered, twiddling her thumbs. "I'll talk to the others, see if we can't get this ship fixed and in the skies by morning. Keep us posted, okay?"
"You got it, kiddo," Gippal said with a wave. "Hey, is Baralai there? I wanted to talk to him."
"Ummmmm... I'm not really sure where he is right now. I think Yunie and Tidus said they wanted to spend the night in the village, but I'm not sure about Baralai." Rikku paused. "Come to think of it, I don't know where Paine is either... "
"Well, it wasn't that important," Gippal shrugged. "You've pretty much told us what we need to know, anyway. We'll keep a lookout for anything strange on this end; you just do what you gotta do."
"You got it," said Rikku as she rose from the comm desk.
"Oh, and hey, Rikku..."
She turned around. "Yeah?" Gippal ran a hand through his hair, started to say something and stopped, then looked up at her with the hint of a smile.
"Be careful."
The moon rose high over Kilika that night. Lights shone in the windows of some of the huts as a few families shored up patched walls and doors. Down by Dona and Barthello's hut, a single lamp illuminated a small guest cottage Dona had had built several months ago. There wasn't much inside save a table and a bed that also served as a sofa, but it was comfortable, with a long window facing out onto the ocean. Two figures stood at the window arm in arm, gazing out at the moonlight on the water.
"I'd almost forgotten how beautiful Kilika is at night."
Yuna looked up and smiled. "You're right, it is magnificent. And so peaceful..." She put her arm around Tidus' back and rested her head on his shoulder. "You'd never even know what was going on just a few hours ago."
"I'm still amazed at how quickly things started getting repaired after the attack," Tidus said, slipping an arm around her waist. "I didn't think the villagers could rebound so soon."
"They might have Dona to thank for that," Yuna replied with a bit of mirth in her voice. "Maybe some of that tough-as-nails demeanor is rubbing off on them."
"She hasn't changed a bit since I first met her;" Tidus chuckled. "I still wish she would've come to the ceremony, though."
Yuna shrugged a bit. "She probably had her reasons for staying away- like Barthello. Or maybe something she figured 'only she could do'..." She trailed off, looking at the ripples that played across the ocean surface. The events of a few short hours ago played through her head; involuntarily she glanced down at her right hand. Even though she had removed the glove so Shinra could examine it, the crystal's coolness still lingered on the back of her hand. A reminder of what they had to look forward to. She flexed her fingers and bit her lower lip nervously.
"Yuna... you're trembling." He drew her closer to him and gently brushed a few hairs away from her eyes.
"I... I think it's finally sinking in," she said in a low voice. "What Naia told us... what we're going to have to do... I keep telling myself it'll be all right, I've faced worse... but now I'm not so sure anymore. Every time it seems like the Calm is going to last, something comes up and messes everything up again..."
Tidus nodded. "I don't think any of us was expecting this to crop up out of the blue. And I wish I could say it'll be a piece of cake, but I can't do that. I know it's going to be hard, and I know that whatever it takes, I'll be fighting every step of the way with you."
"But why is it always me? This is the third time I've gotten caught up in something that threatened so many. Sin, Vegnagun, now Malar... am I going to be doing this until I'm fifty??" She collapsed onto his chest, tears starting to flow from her eyes. "I'm turning into a danger magnet, Tidus..." she said in a choking voice.
"Yuna, don't say that," he said softly as the two sat down on the cottage's bed. "You're not a danger magnet, this could have happened to anyone. One of the League troops could've found the crystal, or Dona. It just happened that we were there at the time." With his right hand he gently wiped her tears away.
"It's not your fault, you shouldn't ever blame yourself for things beyond your control. Sometimes things just happen that way, and I'm not saying it's fair, but it's also not something you should worry about."
Yuna looked up and sniffed a bit. "I just don't want to keep doing this for the rest of my life..."
Tidus took her left hand in his right, lacing their fingers together. "I don't think you'll have to, Yuna. But a wise man told me you can't worry about the future years and years down the line. No one knows what's going to happen that far away, and it does you more harm than good to worry about it. But bad or good, one thing I can promise you... I'll be here. Always."
Yuna smiled a bit. "Even if something big does come up, like it is now?"
"Even then. Like I told you a few months ago, in Zanarkand after I came back. The two of us- we've got to stick together."
The smile on her face broadened as she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling close to him. He hugged her, gently caressing the small of her back.
"Don't worry about tomorrow, Yuna. Or anything after that. We'll see it through," Tidus whispered gently.
"I know. I won't worry," she replied, pulling away just enough to look into his eyes. "There's only one thing I want to think about right now," she added with a smile.
"What's that?"
"You and me..." she whispered as she leaned towards him. Their lips touched, gently at first, then more passionately. She wrapped her right arm around his head, pulling him closer as they lay down together, seeking each other out.
No spoken words passed between them, for none were needed. Entwined together, their hearts, minds and bodies moved as one. The pain and worries in their minds melted away, and for a moment, the world stood still. There was nothing else- no fiends, no crises, nothing. Just the two of them locked in a newlyweds' embrace.
Only three words did pass their lips, whispered to each other as the moon rose higher in the sky.
"I love you."
Watching that very same moon, Paine stood on the outer deck of the Celsius, arms folded and leaning against the seagull mounted at the front of the ship. So once again, the world is in crisis and it's up to us to save it, is that it? she thought to herself. Come to think of it, I'm not really surprised. Things just seemed to be going too well for it to last very long. Then again... She paused and looked up at the stars. Maybe I've grown accustomed to things like this. It's like if I'm not fighting, I'm not really proving my existence... But is that really all there is?
A sharp twinge passed across her forehead. She pinched her eyes shut and rubbed a spot just next to her left eye. Must've been pushing myself too hard earlier, she thought as she massaged her temples.
"Headache?"
Paine glanced up and saw Baralai walking towards her. "You could get hurt, sneaking up on a girl like that," she said with a barely perceptible smirk on her face. "When did you come up here?"
"I was sitting towards the back of the ship when you came out. You looked like something was on your mind, so I didn't want to bother you at first."
Paine nodded. "Just had to get some air and get away from Rikku for a bit," she said, this time laughing a bit. "What about you?"
"About the same. Just pondering stuff." Baralai reached up and adjusted his blue headband. For a few moments there was silence between the two.
"Baralai..."
"Hm?"
"I didn't mean to snap at you earlier, during the fight. But you practically scared me to death, jumping in the way of those fiends like you did." Paine let her arms fall to her side. "The way they dug into you... I thought... well, I thought I was going to lose one of the best friends I've ever had."
"That's... kinda what was running through my mind when I saw them closing in on you," said Baralai. "For a moment there, I saw the chance they might kill you... And then my body acted on its own."
The two of them just stood there for a long moment, not saying anything. They just looked at each other, unspoken words passing from her eyes to his, and back again.
"You know... I guess I never did thank you properly for helping me out." Paine stepped forward, hesitated a moment, then leaned in and kissed Baralai on the cheek. "You always were the one in the Crimson Squad I could relate to best. I don't think I ever told you that..."
"You didn't have to. I knew," Baralai responded. "You know something? I don't think I ever properly thanked you, now that I think about it."
"Thank me? For what?"
"The Vegnagun incident... When I was possessed by Shuyin. You found a way to get me and the others back in one piece... and for that, I never thanked you properly." Baralai stepped forward and put his arms around her, drawing her into a gentle hug.
"Baralai... Yuna was the one who freed you from Shuyin's control. I was just... there."
"That's just it. You were there. Yuna may have been able to draw him out, but my mind was almost entirely sealed by his presence. I needed something familiar, something I recognized, to nudge me awake again. And you were there. You helped me to wake up." Paine didn't say anything, but put her arms around Baralai's waist and returned the hug. She leaned her head against his shoulder and the two just stood there, holding on to each other and not wanting to let go.
"GULLWIIIINGS!! To the bridge!!"
The call reverberated through the corridors of the airship with that familiar ring the others had grown to loathe. The repairs complete, Brother had spent the morning scrambling around, finding everyone and getting them back on board the Celsius. Shinra had succeeded in rigging up a Crystal scanner in conjunction with the Sphere scanner, but so far nothing had registered.
"Any idea why we haven't picked anything up on that scanner yet?" asked Buddy as he gave the ship an extra kick of power.
Shinra shrugged. "I'm just a kid. Maybe it needs time to warm up."
Baralai made it to the bridge first, followed by Paine and Rikku. "We should be getting close to Bevelle very soon," Brother declared. "Once we drop off the Praetor, the Gullwings will move out to begin Operation: Crystal Chase!!!"
"Does he always come up with corny names like that?" Baralai asked. Rikku said nothing.
"Good luck dealing with the faithful, Baralai," said Paine, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"I think I'd rather be facing the fiends with all of you," he responded light-heartedly, eliciting a smile from Paine.
"I know, but you can't avoid your duties to the Council. Don't worry; we'll be all right."
"You promise?" Baralai asked, knitting his brow. Paine nodded. "I promise."
"All set to go, Brother?" Yuna called out as she and Tidus entered the bridge.
"Rogerrrrrr!!!" Brother responded, jumping into the control seat. Paine glanced over at Rikku and noticed that not only hadn't she said much that morning, she looked pretty embarrassed. Curiosity was not one of Paine's strong suits, but this was too odd for her.
"Hey Rikku, what's with the silent act?" she asked in a low voice as she approached. "This isn't really like you."
Rikku turned around, her face rather red. "Well... Um... It's not that big a deal, Paine, really. Not even worth talking about!" She laughed nervously, then sighed as she realized Paine wasn't going to fall for it. "Ooooohhhh... Look, promise me you won't tell anyone, ok?" she whispered.
"What's wrong?"
"Well... Brother had me go down to the village to get Yunie and Tidus this morning... and... well..."
Paine sighed and a smirk emerged on her face. "You caught them in the midst of something, didn't you."
Rikku's face went even redder. "I feel like such an idiot!!!" she said as quietly as possible. "I mean, I got out of the hut before they realized I'd come in, but I hadn't even thought twice beforehand!" She started slapping herself on the forehead. "Tisso, tisso, tisso!!" she muttered quietly.
[Translation: Dummy, dummy, dummy!!]
"Well, just so long as you don't make the same mistake twice," Paine said. "Now get with it and let's focus on the mission at hand, okay?" Rikku looked up and nodded. "Good, because if you don't keep your mind on things today, especially if we're in a combat scenario, I might not keep my mind on not telling Yuna." She flashed a now wide-eyed Rikku a grin and headed to the other side of the bridge.
"Ohhh, you... Oui pek sayhea!" Rikku muttered, sticking her tongue out at Paine.
[Translation: You big meanie!]
Be Continued.
[A/N: This chapter was sort of a fluff chapter, I'll admit, but I can't write combat scenes for every single chapter. Plus, I challenge you to find an FF game that doesn't have scenes like these in the game. ^_^ I tried to keep things tasteful and hope I succeeded; I don't write lemon fanfics. I leave the vague details up to everyone else's demented imaginations. ^_^ Stay tuned for the next installment; the Gullwings pick up the trail of another Crystal!]
6: A Moment of Calm
As the sun began to set over Kilika, it became apparent the Celsius was not going anywhere soon. The great airship had been ingloriously parked near the shores just next to the port town, and all its engines had fallen silent. The villagers were comforted, in a way; if another fiend swarm came during the night, there would be someone right there to help them. As it was, the people of Kilika set about repairing the damage done to their village, and gradually their worries subsided as time passed.
Onboard the Celsius, things were a bit more frantic.
"Drec ec y lydycdnubra!! So payidevim yencreb, yd dra sanlo uv y runnahtuic ihvunacaah secryb!!" Brother shouted from deep within the engine room. Oil and grease covered him from head to foot, giving him the appearance of a large ungainly crow.
[Translation: This is a catastrophe!! My beautiful airship, at the mercy of a horrendous unforeseen mishap!!]
"Hey, you're the one who was slacking off on regular engine maintenance!!" retorted Rikku from the other end of the room. "All that gunk building up in the system, it's no wonder the valves bound up; you're just lucky the primary engine block didn't crack wide open!!" she grumbled, throwing a wrench to the floor and wiping the grease from her forehead.
"I did not slack off!!" Brother replied in a defensive tone. "There were... many things that required attention! As Captain, I am forever busy!"
"Busy being a nuisance," Rikku muttered under her breath as she opened a valve access panel. She winced as she got a clear view of the damage in the system. "GEEZ! Talk about a disrespect for machina!"
"Hey Rikku, we've got a call in from Bevelle," Buddy hollered from the top of the engine room. "I can take over for you in here if you want."
"Thanks, Buddy," Rikku hollered back. She grabbed a relatively clean rag and dashed off to the elevator, wiping her hands and face.
"RIKKU! Do not leave me just when we are in the midst of repair!!" Brother shouted, flapping his arms wildly.
"Oh, just leave her be. She's got worse things to worry about than a busted airship," Buddy said as he picked up a screwdriver and dove into the repairs. "I guess we pushed the throttle on this baby a little too hard today," he added with what sounded like a chuckle.
"So that's the story, guys," Rikku was saying. "If everything we've heard so far is true, we could expect more incidents like what happened today, maybe even worse ones." To her right, Shinra nodded in silent agreement as he toiled away at his workbench/junk pile. The Water Crystal, still set in its fingerless silver glove, sat beneath a plethora of instrumentation and scanners that Shinra had adapted or designed himself. He had descended on it the moment the Gullwings had returned to the ship, and was determined to find out as much as he could about it.
"This isn't good," said Nooj. "If this gets out of hand in a hurry, it's going to make dealing with Shuyin seem like a walk in the park. Is there any way to verify where the other crystals might be?"
"I'm already working on it," Shinra piped up. "So far, I'm picking up waves from the crystal that are very similar to Sphere waves, but these have a very distinct frequency unlike any I've seen before. If I can patch the frequency through our detection equipment, we might be able to scan for matches just like when we go on Sphere hunts."
"So I guess once we get a lock on something, we'll get moving and try to get to the crystals before this Malar jerk does," Rikku added. "That's about the best we can do at the moment; we'd be able to get a jump on things if the Celsius wasn't stalled out."
"Well, well, so even Cid's little girl has to deal with the occasional rusty bolt now and again, huh?" Gippal drawled. Rikku sighed and rolled her eyes. I should've known Gippal couldn't stay serious for long, even in a crisis.
"It's been a long day, Gippal, so I'm going to forget you said that," Rikku said in a sweet-laced-with-danger voice. "We wouldn't even be stalled out if Brother had paid more attention to ship's maintenance."
"Hey, I understand. Believe me, I've been up to my hair in breakdowns out in Bikanel lately," Gippal replied. "Nhadala's been sending reports about jammed servos and intake valves every other day, so I know how irritated you must be right now."
"Well, you have to cope with sandstorms, Gippal."
"And you have to cope with Brother," he quipped with a smirk on his face. The comment caught Rikku off guard and she started giggling.
"Hey, watch it!" she said, trying to look serious but not succeeding.
"The important thing is, now we have an idea of what may be going on and a possible means to deal with it," Nooj interrupted. "Plus, we've started to get reports in from the troops we sent out that they can't get into the Thunder Plains; something or someone appears to have walled off the entire area. The captain in charge says there's a translucent purple haze between the Plains and the edge of Macalania Woods, and no one has been able to get through it."
"A force field?" Rikku asked, the smile fading on her face.
"Something like that," Nooj replied. "However, they also report very little fiend activity around this field, no attacks or anything. They're setting up a garrison to keep watch on the Plains, just to make sure nothing goes awry. It could be that this Malar person is planning something big, or it could be a fortification issue; either way, as long as we can't get in there's not much we can do."
"I guess not... " Rikku muttered, twiddling her thumbs. "I'll talk to the others, see if we can't get this ship fixed and in the skies by morning. Keep us posted, okay?"
"You got it, kiddo," Gippal said with a wave. "Hey, is Baralai there? I wanted to talk to him."
"Ummmmm... I'm not really sure where he is right now. I think Yunie and Tidus said they wanted to spend the night in the village, but I'm not sure about Baralai." Rikku paused. "Come to think of it, I don't know where Paine is either... "
"Well, it wasn't that important," Gippal shrugged. "You've pretty much told us what we need to know, anyway. We'll keep a lookout for anything strange on this end; you just do what you gotta do."
"You got it," said Rikku as she rose from the comm desk.
"Oh, and hey, Rikku..."
She turned around. "Yeah?" Gippal ran a hand through his hair, started to say something and stopped, then looked up at her with the hint of a smile.
"Be careful."
The moon rose high over Kilika that night. Lights shone in the windows of some of the huts as a few families shored up patched walls and doors. Down by Dona and Barthello's hut, a single lamp illuminated a small guest cottage Dona had had built several months ago. There wasn't much inside save a table and a bed that also served as a sofa, but it was comfortable, with a long window facing out onto the ocean. Two figures stood at the window arm in arm, gazing out at the moonlight on the water.
"I'd almost forgotten how beautiful Kilika is at night."
Yuna looked up and smiled. "You're right, it is magnificent. And so peaceful..." She put her arm around Tidus' back and rested her head on his shoulder. "You'd never even know what was going on just a few hours ago."
"I'm still amazed at how quickly things started getting repaired after the attack," Tidus said, slipping an arm around her waist. "I didn't think the villagers could rebound so soon."
"They might have Dona to thank for that," Yuna replied with a bit of mirth in her voice. "Maybe some of that tough-as-nails demeanor is rubbing off on them."
"She hasn't changed a bit since I first met her;" Tidus chuckled. "I still wish she would've come to the ceremony, though."
Yuna shrugged a bit. "She probably had her reasons for staying away- like Barthello. Or maybe something she figured 'only she could do'..." She trailed off, looking at the ripples that played across the ocean surface. The events of a few short hours ago played through her head; involuntarily she glanced down at her right hand. Even though she had removed the glove so Shinra could examine it, the crystal's coolness still lingered on the back of her hand. A reminder of what they had to look forward to. She flexed her fingers and bit her lower lip nervously.
"Yuna... you're trembling." He drew her closer to him and gently brushed a few hairs away from her eyes.
"I... I think it's finally sinking in," she said in a low voice. "What Naia told us... what we're going to have to do... I keep telling myself it'll be all right, I've faced worse... but now I'm not so sure anymore. Every time it seems like the Calm is going to last, something comes up and messes everything up again..."
Tidus nodded. "I don't think any of us was expecting this to crop up out of the blue. And I wish I could say it'll be a piece of cake, but I can't do that. I know it's going to be hard, and I know that whatever it takes, I'll be fighting every step of the way with you."
"But why is it always me? This is the third time I've gotten caught up in something that threatened so many. Sin, Vegnagun, now Malar... am I going to be doing this until I'm fifty??" She collapsed onto his chest, tears starting to flow from her eyes. "I'm turning into a danger magnet, Tidus..." she said in a choking voice.
"Yuna, don't say that," he said softly as the two sat down on the cottage's bed. "You're not a danger magnet, this could have happened to anyone. One of the League troops could've found the crystal, or Dona. It just happened that we were there at the time." With his right hand he gently wiped her tears away.
"It's not your fault, you shouldn't ever blame yourself for things beyond your control. Sometimes things just happen that way, and I'm not saying it's fair, but it's also not something you should worry about."
Yuna looked up and sniffed a bit. "I just don't want to keep doing this for the rest of my life..."
Tidus took her left hand in his right, lacing their fingers together. "I don't think you'll have to, Yuna. But a wise man told me you can't worry about the future years and years down the line. No one knows what's going to happen that far away, and it does you more harm than good to worry about it. But bad or good, one thing I can promise you... I'll be here. Always."
Yuna smiled a bit. "Even if something big does come up, like it is now?"
"Even then. Like I told you a few months ago, in Zanarkand after I came back. The two of us- we've got to stick together."
The smile on her face broadened as she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling close to him. He hugged her, gently caressing the small of her back.
"Don't worry about tomorrow, Yuna. Or anything after that. We'll see it through," Tidus whispered gently.
"I know. I won't worry," she replied, pulling away just enough to look into his eyes. "There's only one thing I want to think about right now," she added with a smile.
"What's that?"
"You and me..." she whispered as she leaned towards him. Their lips touched, gently at first, then more passionately. She wrapped her right arm around his head, pulling him closer as they lay down together, seeking each other out.
No spoken words passed between them, for none were needed. Entwined together, their hearts, minds and bodies moved as one. The pain and worries in their minds melted away, and for a moment, the world stood still. There was nothing else- no fiends, no crises, nothing. Just the two of them locked in a newlyweds' embrace.
Only three words did pass their lips, whispered to each other as the moon rose higher in the sky.
"I love you."
Watching that very same moon, Paine stood on the outer deck of the Celsius, arms folded and leaning against the seagull mounted at the front of the ship. So once again, the world is in crisis and it's up to us to save it, is that it? she thought to herself. Come to think of it, I'm not really surprised. Things just seemed to be going too well for it to last very long. Then again... She paused and looked up at the stars. Maybe I've grown accustomed to things like this. It's like if I'm not fighting, I'm not really proving my existence... But is that really all there is?
A sharp twinge passed across her forehead. She pinched her eyes shut and rubbed a spot just next to her left eye. Must've been pushing myself too hard earlier, she thought as she massaged her temples.
"Headache?"
Paine glanced up and saw Baralai walking towards her. "You could get hurt, sneaking up on a girl like that," she said with a barely perceptible smirk on her face. "When did you come up here?"
"I was sitting towards the back of the ship when you came out. You looked like something was on your mind, so I didn't want to bother you at first."
Paine nodded. "Just had to get some air and get away from Rikku for a bit," she said, this time laughing a bit. "What about you?"
"About the same. Just pondering stuff." Baralai reached up and adjusted his blue headband. For a few moments there was silence between the two.
"Baralai..."
"Hm?"
"I didn't mean to snap at you earlier, during the fight. But you practically scared me to death, jumping in the way of those fiends like you did." Paine let her arms fall to her side. "The way they dug into you... I thought... well, I thought I was going to lose one of the best friends I've ever had."
"That's... kinda what was running through my mind when I saw them closing in on you," said Baralai. "For a moment there, I saw the chance they might kill you... And then my body acted on its own."
The two of them just stood there for a long moment, not saying anything. They just looked at each other, unspoken words passing from her eyes to his, and back again.
"You know... I guess I never did thank you properly for helping me out." Paine stepped forward, hesitated a moment, then leaned in and kissed Baralai on the cheek. "You always were the one in the Crimson Squad I could relate to best. I don't think I ever told you that..."
"You didn't have to. I knew," Baralai responded. "You know something? I don't think I ever properly thanked you, now that I think about it."
"Thank me? For what?"
"The Vegnagun incident... When I was possessed by Shuyin. You found a way to get me and the others back in one piece... and for that, I never thanked you properly." Baralai stepped forward and put his arms around her, drawing her into a gentle hug.
"Baralai... Yuna was the one who freed you from Shuyin's control. I was just... there."
"That's just it. You were there. Yuna may have been able to draw him out, but my mind was almost entirely sealed by his presence. I needed something familiar, something I recognized, to nudge me awake again. And you were there. You helped me to wake up." Paine didn't say anything, but put her arms around Baralai's waist and returned the hug. She leaned her head against his shoulder and the two just stood there, holding on to each other and not wanting to let go.
"GULLWIIIINGS!! To the bridge!!"
The call reverberated through the corridors of the airship with that familiar ring the others had grown to loathe. The repairs complete, Brother had spent the morning scrambling around, finding everyone and getting them back on board the Celsius. Shinra had succeeded in rigging up a Crystal scanner in conjunction with the Sphere scanner, but so far nothing had registered.
"Any idea why we haven't picked anything up on that scanner yet?" asked Buddy as he gave the ship an extra kick of power.
Shinra shrugged. "I'm just a kid. Maybe it needs time to warm up."
Baralai made it to the bridge first, followed by Paine and Rikku. "We should be getting close to Bevelle very soon," Brother declared. "Once we drop off the Praetor, the Gullwings will move out to begin Operation: Crystal Chase!!!"
"Does he always come up with corny names like that?" Baralai asked. Rikku said nothing.
"Good luck dealing with the faithful, Baralai," said Paine, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"I think I'd rather be facing the fiends with all of you," he responded light-heartedly, eliciting a smile from Paine.
"I know, but you can't avoid your duties to the Council. Don't worry; we'll be all right."
"You promise?" Baralai asked, knitting his brow. Paine nodded. "I promise."
"All set to go, Brother?" Yuna called out as she and Tidus entered the bridge.
"Rogerrrrrr!!!" Brother responded, jumping into the control seat. Paine glanced over at Rikku and noticed that not only hadn't she said much that morning, she looked pretty embarrassed. Curiosity was not one of Paine's strong suits, but this was too odd for her.
"Hey Rikku, what's with the silent act?" she asked in a low voice as she approached. "This isn't really like you."
Rikku turned around, her face rather red. "Well... Um... It's not that big a deal, Paine, really. Not even worth talking about!" She laughed nervously, then sighed as she realized Paine wasn't going to fall for it. "Ooooohhhh... Look, promise me you won't tell anyone, ok?" she whispered.
"What's wrong?"
"Well... Brother had me go down to the village to get Yunie and Tidus this morning... and... well..."
Paine sighed and a smirk emerged on her face. "You caught them in the midst of something, didn't you."
Rikku's face went even redder. "I feel like such an idiot!!!" she said as quietly as possible. "I mean, I got out of the hut before they realized I'd come in, but I hadn't even thought twice beforehand!" She started slapping herself on the forehead. "Tisso, tisso, tisso!!" she muttered quietly.
[Translation: Dummy, dummy, dummy!!]
"Well, just so long as you don't make the same mistake twice," Paine said. "Now get with it and let's focus on the mission at hand, okay?" Rikku looked up and nodded. "Good, because if you don't keep your mind on things today, especially if we're in a combat scenario, I might not keep my mind on not telling Yuna." She flashed a now wide-eyed Rikku a grin and headed to the other side of the bridge.
"Ohhh, you... Oui pek sayhea!" Rikku muttered, sticking her tongue out at Paine.
[Translation: You big meanie!]
Be Continued.
[A/N: This chapter was sort of a fluff chapter, I'll admit, but I can't write combat scenes for every single chapter. Plus, I challenge you to find an FF game that doesn't have scenes like these in the game. ^_^ I tried to keep things tasteful and hope I succeeded; I don't write lemon fanfics. I leave the vague details up to everyone else's demented imaginations. ^_^ Stay tuned for the next installment; the Gullwings pick up the trail of another Crystal!]