Chapter 2 – Surrounded by Secrets
Note (3/23/05): I'm going back and rereading my previous chapters, making the occasional error fix or story tweak.
The Gullwings made their way down the plank and off the Celsius. Kilika's docks were vibrant with business. Workers were unloading boxes of building supplies for the new Youth League base. Others were loading crates of goods bound for various parts of Spira. Beyond the docks, the three enjoyed the sight of children playing amongst the homes along the river.
"So how long is it going to take us to get to this here island?" Rikku inquired.
"Don't be antsy Rikku! It'll take you a few minutes to row there by boat, right Buddy." Brother contrived.
"Uh, well, it might take a lot longer if they row." Shinra corrected, shaking his head.
"Oh...well you better get going and..."
"How about this – we'll rent an air boat they have over there. That should make the trip fairly short." Buddy interjected.
Paine nodded in agreement, "I'm not rowing all the way to that island."
Brother snorted and began to sulk away, "Alright, alright. I'll go find us a lodge to stay for the night. You'll suck us dry of gil..."
"Hey, I got a question," Buddy put his hand on his hips, his voice turning stern, "why are we paying for a room when the Celsius is right here?"
"Because, " Yuna calmly explained, "it's more fun."
"Yeah! Who wants to be couped up on the Celsius when we can stay in a cool room here in Kilika." Rikku added.
"Oh give it up. You lost this argument the first time. What makes you think you can win it now?" Paine smugly said, poking fun at Buddy.
"Yeah, Yeah...but remember I'm not made out of gil." he grumbled.
Buddy led the three over to a air boat salesman, and rented an air boat for the day. Something like "I'm not a gillionaire" was heard muttering his lips in Al Bhed. Rikku immediately hopped on the boat and gave it a rev. Then Buddy was heard yelling something to the effect of "that's not insured" in Al Bhed while jumping up and down. The three laughed and waved goodbye to Buddy, who was sulking away in Brother-like fashion.
"Poor Buddy, we'll gonna drive him to drink." Rikku giggled.
Yuna complied with a chuckle of her own, "Ok guys, it's time to focus on our mission."
"That's the first serious thing I've heard all morning." Paine replied mutedly.
"So, what kind of cool things do you think are on this island?" Rikku asked while doing a little Rikku strut.
"I don't know. No one has really explored this island. We're probably the first people to come here in decades." Yuna answered.
"Great, just what I love – surprises." grumbled Paine, sighing to some higher power.
The air boat roared across the waves, leaving a bright trail of white film behind them. A strong wind whipped across their faces. Yuna enjoyed herself, it was a stigmatic reminder that she was still alive. She inhaled the cool wind into her lungs, and exhaled with tranquility. She pushed aside the hair in her eyes, and watched as seagulls flew away into the distance.
After about twenty minutes or so, the Gullwings reached the beachhead of the mystery island. The sand reached for a few yards, then blurred into grass and trees. There wasn't any paths or roads – civilization hadn't been here for ages. Paine, coming well-prepared, got out her large machete. Cutting the tall grass in their way, they wandered into the forest.
"Hey, did Shinra tell us where the sphere signal was coming from." Rikku asked in puzzlement.
Paine and Yuna looked at each other and shrugged. Then they both let out a burly grunt of frustration. It appeared as he forgot a valuable piece of information.
"Great, so where are we supposed to look. I don't want to saunter aimlessly around all day." Paine bellyached, and got out her Commsphere.
Unfortunately for her, all she received was the sound of her own voice. She mumbled something foul and put away the Commsphere.
"Ugh, I guess they aren't back yet." she concluded angrily.
"It's ok Paine. Let's see if we can find it first ourselves, then we'll give Brother a call." Yuna said, putting her hand on Paine's shoulder.
Paine sighed and went along with Yuna, who led the three around the island. For a while, they came upon nothing exciting. There was a lot of thick brush, with tall green stalks protruding out of the ground. So much plant life there was, it made Rikku sneeze herself senseless. Yuna and Paine laughed at their friend's sniffing and snorting.
"Hey! Don't make fun of an Al Bhed's sensitive nose!" she yelled in her defense.
"You always have to make a lot of noise...one way or another." Paine poked, patting Rikku on the head.
Rikku pouted, and blew her nose once again, and threw the handkerchief in Paine's direction. Paine swayed her head, barely dodging Rikku's lovely booger-green snot rag. Paine grabbed for her machete and began chasing Rikku around some trees.
"Hey, I'm sorry Paine! I was just kidding around." Rikku pleaded.
"Yeah well, I'm not. I'm gonna cut you down like a weed!"
"Hey!"
Rikku ran behind Yuna, using her as a human shield. Yuna winked at Paine, and she smiled a devious smile. In one swift motion, Yuna pranced behind Rikku and held her by the arms.
"Come get her Paine! You know the spot!" she yelled in a laugh.
Paine grinned evilly, and put away here big knife. With fire in her eyes and hands, she began tickling Rikku's stomach mercilessly. Rikku began laughing hysterically. Luckily the island was uninhabited, as her convulsions could be heard from miles away. By the time Paine was finished, Rikku was gasping for breath, green snot pouring down her nose. Paine and Yuna began laughing uncontrollably at the sight.
"Hey Yunie, that was mean!" Rikku said, wiping snot from her face.
"Sorry Rikku, it was just too good an opportunity to pass up." Yuna giggled.
"Aww...we're sorry snot face. That's so disgusting, wipe that on a leaf or something..." Paine snickered, patting Rikku on the head.
Paine, while never saying outright, always enjoyed Rikku's vibrant personality. Although she was annoying to be around at times, her "idiotcracy" easily made up for that. Rikku pouted a tremendous pout and finished blowing her brains out onto another handkerchief. Yuna and Paine laughed again at the sight of this.
Suddenly, a buzzing sound burst out from Paine's Commsphere. The grumbling sound of Brother's voice could be heard emanating from the static.
"Yuna, how are things going on the island?"
Yuna paused for a moment, and winked at Rikku and Paine. Then she proceeded to shout, "Ahh! Help us, we're dying!"
"Whaaat! Hold on Yuna, I'm coming to save you!" he bellowed over the Commsphere.
He then was confused by the sound of intense laughter, not screaming, that came across from the Commsphere.
"Yuna! Yuna! What is happening?"
"It's ok Brother, I was just kidding." she chuckled.
"Wha! Vun dra muja uv Home (For the love of Home) don't scare me like that Yuna. I could have had a heart attack!"
"Serves you right, " Rikku interrupted, "you didn't tell us where to go."
The Commsphere buzzed a few odd pulses, and the sound of Shinra's voice came forth.
"Sorry about that guys, I remembered after you left that I didn't give you coordinates. I apologize for the error. Anyway, the ruins and the sphere you'll looking for are in the center of the island. If you haven't been wandering too much, it shouldn't be far away."
"Alright Shinra, thanks. I think we can handle things from here." Yuna replied.
"Err...give me that, " Brother's voice rumbled, "are you sure Yuna?"
"Yes, I am quite sure."
"Roger that. Over and out!"
Yuna looked over at the other girls, who were shaking their heads. Yuna smiled and signaled for the girls to follow her. The three trekked once again into the brush. Sounds of birds fluttering above them echoed throughout. In a few minutes, then came across their first ruin – a small statue of a Tonberry. The girls stood for a moment, looking peculiarly at the stone turtle-like thing. Shrugging it off, they went on to see more.
After clearing a line of trees, they came upon what looked like a large shrine. Rikku suggested they should explore inside. Of course, Paine thought that was a bad idea. Rikku argued that the sphere might be in there. Not to be caught in conflict, Yuna went inside the shrine, leaving Rikku and Paine to catch up. Inside, they were presented by a large room, much like that of a temple. There were three rooms apparent – one to the left, one to the right, and one in the middle, raised above ground level. In the middle of the room was a circlet of five more Tonberry statues. However, these Tonberrys were giant size, maybe three times as big as the Gullwings.
"Well girls, let's try door number one." Rikku said, pointing to the door on the left.
Yuna walked up to the old wooden door. A line of symbols ran across the top of the door, just a bit above eye level. None of them knew what these symbols meant, and Rikku determined that none of them looked scary, so they pushed open the door. Beyond lied the remains of hundreds of broken lanterns, or, at least that is what they determined them to be. In the opposite side of the room was a large pile of robes. Rikku picked one up.
"Huh? These things are so small, and they smell kinda funny." she said, throwing the robe down abruptly.
"These are some real odd things to be finding in a temple, wouldn't you say Yuna?" Paine commented, looking bewilderedly at the mess.
Yuna thought for a moment, examining everything for herself. She tapped her finger to her mouth. Then she spotted a small glass orb sitting on a shelf in the back of the room. Nimbly walking around the broken lanterns, she approached the orb. At first glance, it appeared to be a sphere. But in actuality, it looked more like a key.
"What do you think this is for?" she asked.
"Who knows," answered Rikku, "maybe there really is secret treasure here."
Paine sighed, "Rikku, where are a bunch of Tonberrys going to get treasure at."
"Well – you never know."
Yuna interjected, "How about we go look into the other rooms."
Rikku, excited to leave the stinky robes, grabbed Paine by the arm and jerked her out of the room. Rikku led her over to the other room on the right. Once again, the musty door had a line of symbols carved into it.
"These don't look scary either," Rikku babbled, "so it's safe to go in."
"So you say..." teased Paine.
Rikku stuck her tongue out and ripped open the door. In a painful jolt, she fell on her butt. Yuna laughed and helped her to her feet.
"Stupid door! Fryd y beala uv... (What a piece of...)"
"It's alright Rikku. Don't stir up the dust or you'll liable to start sneezing again." Paine growled, smacking Rikku in the back of the head for being stupid.
"Hey!" Rikku snapped back.
"Children, children! Can't we all get along?" Yuna said, rolling her eyes at the two, "Let's just locate the sphere."
The second room was just as musty as the first, but much smaller. In it, an old fireplace-like structure was built in the left side. Along the right and back walls appeared to be books – very old books. However, most were moldy and nearly destroyed by centuries of deterioration. Rikku picked up one that had a lot of pictures in it. Thinking it was a cute Tonberry kids book, she flipped through the pages.
On the first page was a picture of a weird turtle thingy, or at least that's what Rikku came up with. The second page showed it next to two tiny Tonberrys, so the turtle must be huge. The third page had the big turtle again, but this time it was colored silver, and had streaks of yellow coming out of it. On the next page was the two tiny Tonberrys, each throwing a ball at the big turtle thing. And the next page...was missing. Upset by the fact that the rest of her book had disintegrated eons ago, she crabbed some Al Bhed slurs and threw the book down. Beside where she had just thrown the book lied a round ball. She blew some dust off it, thinking it was a sphere. But alas, it wasn't.
"Oh well," she thought to herself, "at least I have a souvenir."
"Well, there isn't much here Yuna." sighed Paine, getting tired of standing in the damp, mucky room.
"I guess your right," Yuna nodded, "I suppose there's nothing left to do but go through door number three."
"Please don't put it like that." Paine said uncomfortably.
The third door was at the top of a rather lofty granite staircase. Paine made Rikku go first, just in case something bad happened because she was expendable. Rikku pouted, but was ultimately forced to comply by Paine's machete. Due to Rikku's distractedness, she missed the large turtle-like entity carved on the stone double-doors. Gripping the knobs on the doors, Rikku pushed her way into what appeared to be an endless corridor.
"Well, since we're here, we might as well take a look." said Rikku, although she was less than enthused.
Yuna and Paine agreed, and somehow Rikku was still made to go first. Down and down they went, inhaling what seemed like thousand year old air. About halfway down, they found themselves in almost complete darkness. However, Yuna saw a small hole in the wall, with the symbol of a torch etched beside it.
"I wonder if that's what this sphere is for..." she murmured, placing the sphere into the hole.
As if by magic, two rows of torches lit up on either sides of the corridor, lighting a path for the Gullwings to follow.
"Go Yunie! Now we're in business." Rikku cheered.
With their new-found light, the three continued down the path, which eventually opened up to a wider corridor. Numerous carvings of Tonberrys decorated the walls. It was one of the most impressive sites Yuna had ever seen. Tonberrys were always regarded as solemn, mysterious creatures. To see a temple built by them astounded her. Nearing the end of the wider corridor revealed a gigantic room, lit by what seemed like a thousand torches.
"Wow! These Tonberrys sure know how to build a temple." Rikku complemented, doing a little prance.
"I hope the sphere we'll looking for is in here." Yuna pronounced, not wanting to go home empty-handed.
She walked up to the gigantic statue in the middle of the room. It was an enormous turtle, but she knew it wasn't exactly a turtle. For some odd reason, the statue looked constructed, rather than crafted. It felt smooth to the touch, as if it was metallic, not stone. Surrounding the statue stood three sphere holders, similarly recognizable to those from the pedestals she was so familiar with. They were placed in the shape of a triangle. The two in the back, were without a sphere. However, much to Yuna's pleasure, the one in the front contained a sphere.
"Hey guys! I think I found the sphere!" she exclaimed happily.
"Cool, you're on a roll today!" belted Rikku, already celebrating.
"How about we see if it isn't a dud first." suggested Paine, as she was tired of finding busted spheres.
"Good idea," acknowledged Yuna, "I'll just pull it out..."
As soon as the sphere left its snug placement in the pedestal, the room began to shake violently. Scared half to death that she set off a trap, Yuna quickly jammed the sphere back into place. However, it did nothing to quell the earthquake that was raging on. Without warning, the statue that had been majestically resting in front of them began moving. Sparks flew off of it, and it became fully animated.
"Oh no!" shrieked Rikku, "It can't be!"
"What is it!" yelled Paine.
"There's no way...but I think that's a machina!"
Next Chapter: What have the Gullwings got themselves into? From doing a little exploring in a thousand year old Tonberry temple to awakening an ancient machina, the girls have once again gotten themselves eyeball high in trouble. But can the resourceful Gullwings figure out the secret of taming the beast?
