The guard turned around and looked at the door. He signalled to the other guards and they went to check outside.
"What is going on?" Symble asked.
"Someone has been spying on us." Seymour said with anger. Symble got up from her chair and went to the door. She caught a glimpse of the spy and ran after them.
Symble chased the spy all the way outside but it was too late. The spy, who she recognised as Yuna, was already taking off on the aeon Valfore.
Symble was furious. Seymour came just in time to see Yuna go off on Valfore's back.
"What a waste!" Symble said. "It's a good thing we have Isaaru and Dona. We don't need her anymore. Let's let her go."
"Her purpose is not to be drained." Seymour said. Symble looked at him, puzzled.
"I thought were only keeping her as another power up." Symble said.
"The reason why I wanted her to stay wilfully was to stop her friends from ruining our plan before it is complete." Seymour replied. Symble shrugged.
"So what if they get in the way? We could use a few test subjects for our new power." Symble said casually as she walked back into the temple.
*o*o*o*
Yuna went all the way to the lake in Macalania Woods where Lulu, Wakka, Kimari and Auron were waiting for her. They had made a plan to escape after Yuna spoke to Auron who was hiding in the guardian rooms.
Lulu, Wakka and Kimari had used Bevelle's main entrance when they first arrived while Auron used another way. The three waited at the front of the temple for Yuna to arrive so that they could talk to her and convince her and Seymour that it was just the three of them that came. While that was happening, Auron snuck into the temple and hid in the room that the three were going to stay at.
Lulu had to convince Yuna to follow her and the others the the guardian rooms. Luckily for her, Yuna already wanted to go with them. It was only when they reached the guardian rooms that Yuna met with Auron who told her that they came to rescue her.
Auron told her about Symble and her power. He said that Kinoc had told him about her ten years ago. When he suggested that they leave, Yuna told him that she wanted to go to the temple first. It was around that time that Symble came to make peace with her and tell her not to go to the temple in the evening.
In the evening, Yuna saw Symble roaming around and decided to follow her, without telling her guardians, and found that she was going into the temple. Yuna was careful to stay hidden as she followed her all the way to a secret room. That was when Yuna heard the conversations of the meeting which brought her to run away and flee to their meeting point in the woods.
Yuna arrived at the woods later than they expected. She dismounted the aeon and dismissed it.
"Did you go to the temple?" Lulu asked.
"Yes, and I saw Symble go into the temple." Yuna replied.
"That's odd." Lulu said. "If there really was an event then she also wouldn't be allowed in there."
"I followed her into the temple." Yuna said. Yuna told them what happened in temple and how she escaped. She also told them about Dona's death. It only confirmed that Yuna really was in danger.
"We need to get Yuna away from here immediately." Auron said in a serious tone.
"But Sir Auron, where are we gonna go to? They are gonna find us!" Wakka said in state of panic. His complaining came to an end when Kimari gave him a cold stare.
"I knew this was a bad idea." Wakka mumbled with folded arms.
"Enough, Wakka!" Lulu scolded. "We should go back to the Inn at the Thunder Plains."
"They will be looking for us here. We have to leave now." Auron said.
"Let's just go already." Wakka mumbled as he began to leave. Auron looked at Yuna and shrugged. The whole group walked behind Wakka who walked a distance from the group, talking to himself.
"I can't imagine what would become of you if Sir Auron hadn't told us that you were in danger." Lulu said as she walked beside Yuna."Wakka trusted Seymour with you and now he is feeling guilty for what Seymour could have done to you."
"It's not his fault. I made my own choice." Yuna said and thought of Tidus. In Yuna's mind, a secret to the world, she blamed herself for Tidus' betrayal in Besaid. She sometimes wondered what she would do if she saw Rikku and him again. Yuna didn't hate Rikku because she saw her just as a distraction to Tidus but she had different feelings towards him. Yuna had never known what it was like to hate until the Besaid betrayal. She wanted to punish Tidus.
"Did you really love him?" Lulu asked, clashing with her thoughts of Tidus. "Did you really love Seymour?"
All the time she spent with him played over in her head like a movie. She thought of his carefree attitude, his simple smiles and bright blue eyes. Yuna stopped walking.
"I don't know. Maybe I got carried away trying to replace someone... Someone..." Yuna said with shaky lips as she tried to fight back her tears. Lulu hugged her and stroked her hair, just like she used to whenever Yuna was sad. The guys stopped and watched Lulu and Yuna in silence. Thoughts of Seymour came to Wakka's mind and made him punch a tree. The icy leaves fell and a rumbling noise came from the tree.
Auron looked up and placed his hand on his sword. Kimari went by Yuna and Lulu to defend them. They all looked at the tree where Wakka was and were surprised to see a slender, blond-haired figure fall out from the top of the tree and land on their behind.
"Rikku?" They all yelled in astonishment at the same time, except for Kimari who never got surprised by anything.
"Owwi!" Rikku said as she rubbed her bottom and stood up. Wakka had a blitzball ready to through at her.
"You! What are you doing here?" Wakka asked as he tossed a blitzball up and down with one hand.
"I was looking for Yunie in Bevelle but when I heard some guard talking about her running away, I came here." Rikku said.
"Why would you go look for Yuna at this time of the night?" Wakka asked.
"There's something I want to give her." Rikku said. No one said anything for a long time.
"Well? What do you wanna give her?" Wakka asked.
"A wedding present. I just wanted to say I'm sorry." Rikku said.
"You can keep your little present because there isn't gonna be a wedding! We're leaving!" Wakka said.
"Seymour isn't what he appears to be. That's all I can tell you." Lulu said. "Rikku, I think it's time you left us."
"No," Yuna said. "Don't go. There are some things I want to ask you."
"We can talk in my airship." Rikku said in her most friendliest voice.
"Airship?" Wakka yelled.
"A big ship that flies in the air." Rikku said and demonstrated with her arms.
"I bet it's some kind of forbidden Al Bhed contraption." Wakka said. Auron went to Rikku.
"Can you get us out of here?" Auron asked.
"Whenever you're ready." Rikku replied.
"Then let's go." Auron said. Wakka slammed his blitzball into the ground.
"No way!" Wakka protested. Kimari, Lulu and Yuna went to Rikku.
"You can stay here if you want." Auron said.
*o*o*o*
"We can't fly around forever." Kinah complained. "I'm landing at Mushroom Rock Road whether you like it or not."
Tidus was standing behind the commander's seat, preventing Kinah from getting to it.
"Do we really have to land there? That place gives me the creeps!" Tidus said with folded arms. He had a smirk on his face that made Kinah blush. She pushed away all thoughts of him and continued her argument.
"Mushroom rock is the Al Bheds' home away from Home. Are you afraid of a few lupines?" Kinah asked. Tidus burst into laughter. Kinah front flipped over him while he was still laughing and landed right in the commander's seat.
"Hey!" Tidus yelled.
"Sit down or you'll fall over!" Kinah said with a laugh. Tidus took a seat beside her and stared at her. She felt his gaze upon her and felt awkward. Her face reddened up.
"I'm not going to change my mind. Stop staring at me." Kinah said eventually.
"I can't help it." Tidus teased. Kinah looked at him in the corner of her eye and then looked forward quickly. She landed the airship by some other Al Bhed ships. They both got out and stepped onto the hard and moist floor of Mushroom Rock Road.
"Don't the Al Bhed like grass?" Tidus asked.
"It ruins the landscape." Kinah said. Some other Al Bhed were there fixing airships and other machina. Others were testing weapons by fighting captured fiends.
Tidus and Kinah went to the coast. The weather was warm and the sea seemed calm despite the uneasy sea creatures. Tidus noticed a dark figure in the horizon that seemed to expand.
"Does that usually happen?" Tidus asked as he pointed to it. Kinah looked at it for a long time. She began to tremble.
"Kinah?" Tidus called. Kinah's lips were trembling as she whispered the name: Sin.
