So here it is. The most exciting chapter so far. I will give nothing else away. But it's awesome. Get ready for stuff.

I disclaim that which I don't own.

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Chapter 13

Faulty

There was no sound but that of long, nervous breathing. There was darkness all around the small group. Kijo looked up and could barely see the speck of light that used to be the main hall above them. Wherever they were going, it was deep beneath the city. Kijo gently laid a hand on the hilt of his sword.

There was a tug at his wrist. He felt someone lean in close, Roy. "The ground is visible, sir," he whispered softly. Kijo nodded and moved to the edge of the slowly descending platform. Peering over the edge, he could make out the hazy image of the floor below. He dug in his pocket for a moment before removing a gil. Holding it out over the edge, it dropped.

Clink

"Huh?"

A voice echoed up through the elevator shaft. Kijo looked back at Brahv, who was already watching him for the signal. They were perhaps thirty feet over the ground floor.

"What was that?"

"Someone probably just dropping stuff over the ledge." A second voice reached their ears, bouncing off the dark walls. "Check it out anyway." Faint sounds of footsteps filled shaft. Kijo strained his ears, trying to hear past the echoes and false perceptions of the sound.

"Hey, a gil."

Kijo raised a finger and Brahv nodded, turning and dropping something else over the ledge. It fell down toward a Bevelle soldier who entered Kijo's line of sight and bent over to pick up the fallen gil.

"Guess it's my lucky da-"

The grenade Brahv had dropped hit the floor and exploded with a deafening roar. The soldier beneath was obliterated in an instant. Kijo lifted his hand and made a gesture. They were only twelve feet or so from the landing now. They jumped down. Four sets of feet landed in a small pool of blood. Concealed by the smoke from the blast, Kijo dashed forward.

"Holy shit!"

Kijo emerged from the smoke, unsheathing his sword and lashing out at a surprised guard, slitting his throat. The guard's eyes rolled back into his head as he sputtered, blood frothing in his mouth before he fell to the ground, dead.

"Let's go!" Kijo stepped past the guard, dashing down the hall and sheathing his sword. He pulled the machina gun that he had been carrying from its holster and looked back for a moment. The three other members of the cell were already doing excellently. They were in formation and moving just as quickly as he was.

The group sprinted down the dimly lit corridor. Far down the hall, there was a bend, just like Solene had explained in her map. From beyond it, Kijo could hear voices.

"Did you hear that? Was that an explosion?"

Feet rounded the corner before they reached it. Kijo spun and flattened himself against the wall, taking aim with his gun and firing. The bullet found its mark and another guard fell bleeding from a hole in his skull.

"Oh shit! Ready your weapons! Now!"

The small group reached the turn in the hall. Kijo dove around the corner, aiming fast with his gun. There were four soldiers waiting for him. Kijo fired a shot, hit the ground, rolled to his feet and dashed forward. More gunfire exploded from behind him. When he looked up, all four of the guards were dead. He didn't have to look back to know that it had been the other men of his unit.

They hurried onwards, moving quickly and taking the guards by surprise. Kijo knew it wouldn't last long, however. Some way or another, word would spread and they wouldn't have that element in their favor. After running for some time, they came to a larger room. Kijo thought back to the map and understood that it was the checkpoint Solene had spoken about. He didn't have much time to think back on the map however, because the room was full of soldiers.

"Intruders!"

In moments, the checkpoint was ablaze with gunfire. Kijo managed to pick off two of them from the start with well placed shots. There were roughly fifteen of them left, all taking shelter behind overturned stone tables that littered the checkpoint.

"Roy, take them out! Brahv and I will cover! We don't have time to waste here!" Kijo shouted as he scrambled to avoid a hail of gunfire. Roy lowered his gun, letting go of it as it fell against his side, suspended only by the leather strap. Kijo lowered his own gun and unsheathed his sword again, dashing over to the mage and taking his place in front of him.

Roy closed his eyes and for a moment, Kijo could not help but envy the man's concentration. Brahv stepped in front of them, firing wildly at the tables where the enemy sat. A shot was fired and a bullet whizzed toward Roy. Kijo leaned back and struck out with his sword, deflecting the bullet off in a wild direction.

"FIRAGA!"

Roy's eyes opened and he pointed at the enemy's cover. In an instant, the area behind the tables was engulfed in flames. Screams filled the air and were soon joined by loud popping noises as the soldiers' ammo caught and exploded. When the screams stopped, Kijo nodded at Roy.

"Watera," he said and water formed in the air over the raging flames, falling and putting out a section long enough for the group to pass.

From that point on it became increasingly difficult to pass through. The Bevelle soldiers grew more and more prepared but even as they became aware of the intruders, Kijo knew that their very presence frightened them. How far could these intruders possibly get? How many were there? Doubt would spread through the enemy like wildfire.

As Kijo ran his blade through the chest of an enemy soldier, he thought back on the map given to him by Solene. Past this turn in the corridors, they would reach the Gaol room. He didn't like the idea of being in there. Not only was it wide open and could fit many enemy soldiers, but it would lower the morale of the troops to see their comrades trapped in those cages.

Nevertheless, they had to press on. Kijo raised a single finger, ordering them to move slowly now. Brahv quietly removed several grenades from his pouch and cradled them close to him. Roy silently let his MP drain into a more useable form, preparing the spell early. Shuyin reloaded his gun.

They stopped at the corner. Beyond, they could hear loud clanking noises, as though a great machina were moving with a slow, relentless consistency. They knew what it was. Kijo reached back with one hand and Brahv supplied him with a grenade. Taking a deep breath, Kijo whirled around the corner, raising his gun and firing wildly. There were a good twenty-five enemy soldiers within the room.

His assault was met with a carefully prepared line of fire. The bullets whizzed by, narrowly missing him. Kijo stumbled forward, searching desperately for cover. With a shout, he pulled the pin on the grenade and sent it flying toward a collected group of soldiers. This motion was met with a shout as the Bevellians tried to scramble away from the bomb.

It exploded in a burst of fire and smoke. Kijo couldn't tell how many had gotten caught in the blast. The chaos on its own was enough for him. He rushed forward, firing the last bullets in his clip into the mess of scrambling soldiers and then dropping it and unsheathing his sword.

He heard gunfire from behind him and saw a soldier drop to the ground off to his left. The Bevelle soldiers were confused now. Unsure where to shoot. Kijo moved quickly, taking advantage of the confusion and gutting a soldier. He whirled around, pulling his blade from his victim and sheathing it inside another panicking guard.

There was a short scream. A voice he recognized, but Kijo could not turn to look. His blade found its way into another man's throat before the room fell silent. There was only the loud monstrous clangs of the Gaol. The thing loomed above the bloodied floor like a giant metal spider, menacingly reaching out to the bodies that littered the floor. Kijo watched it spin and stop. The cages were not empty, just devoid of life. He recognized some faces as members of the other cells. The guards must have killed all of them when they heard intruders were coming. It made him sick to look at.

"Roy's been hit!"

Kijo was struck from his reverie. He turned to look back to where they had come in. Brahv was leaning over Roy. The mage was lying still on the ground. His face was pale and even from a distance, Kijo could see that he was already dead. He walked over to his fallen comrade and stood over him, looking down.

"He's…dead…" Brahv said, his voice fluctuating strangely.

"Yeah."

Kijo looked down at him for a few more moments and then sighed. He hadn't expected for them to come out of this alive…but…it was still hard to see the first one go. He shook his head and watched a pool of red begin to form under his comrade.

"Let's go. We don't have time to waste here."

Shuyin's voice cut through the silence. Kijo looked at the blond haired soldier. He was right…but he sounded almost annoyed by the loss. That was unacceptable. "Corporal. Roy was our comrade and he just died. Why don't you show some respect?"

"Because…" Shuyin turned to face Kijo. "We don't have the time for it." Kijo felt his insides run cold. Shuyin's eyes were wilder than ever. He felt almost rooted in place, unable to move from where he sat. He was generally frightened. Something about Shuyin's eyes was making him genuinely fearful for his own wellbeing. "We can grieve as we go. You don't want to get caught here do you? What would Roy have died for then?"

He turned away and Kijo felt some warmth return to his body. Turning slowly, he offered one last glance at the mage. Silently, he bowed to him. "If we win this war. I'll personally bring a summoner in here to send the crap out of this place." He smiled a sad smile. "So don't you become a fiend until then alright, soldier?"

Brahv stood and the three of them began moving again. The rest of the way was empty of troops. Kijo surmised that they might have all moved forward to gather in the Gaol room. Nevertheless…there were likely to be a final few guards in the room with Vegnagun. The three men hurried through the dim corridors until they reached a large arch.

Upon stepping through the arch, they were met with an enormous dome. It reminded Kijo of the Blitzball stadiums back in Zanarkand, only ten times as large. The walls were lined with glowing blue glyphs that faded in and out of view. A single walkway without a railing stretched forth over the empty space and met with a large door in the face of another metallic sphere inside the room. The walkway was lined with soft blue light and their footsteps echoed loudly against the walls of the chamber.

Beyond the walkway, past the door in the secondary sphere, Kijo could clearly hear the sound of something moving. It sounded like heavy breathing of some enormous creature…like a Behemoth…only a hundred times larger. The sounds had something metallic to them. Were these the sounds that a machina would make? Kijo could feel himself growing nervous.

To his surprise there were not any guards stationed along the path and they walked slowly forward, drawing nearer to the great doors that led into the central sphere. He heard Brahv swallow loudly. When they finally reached the door, Kijo stopped, taking a deep breath and trying to calm himself. It was only a machina, right? Nothing more than that.

With another step forward, the doors threw themselves open automatically. Kijo closed his eyes on instinct but after a second, let them open.

"Holy hell…"

In front of him, a monstrous amalgam of metal stared down at him. The thing had a face. Enormous metallic teeth gleamed back at him in a terrible unearthly grin. Depressions that looked all too much like eye sockets glared at him and caused his knees to become weak. It took all he had just to convince himself that this was in fact a machina and not a fiend.

"Is it…breathing?" Brahv's voice was shaky and frightened.

It was breathing.

Kijo shook himself and took a step forward. He had an unexplainable feeling that the machina was sleeping. Not taking his eyes off of the machina, he whispered to Brahv, unsure of why he felt the need to be quiet.

"Do you have enough equipment to finish this thing?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Kijo could see Brahv nod slowly. "Enough to make it a bitch to fix."

Kijo felt surer than ever before that it was a bad idea to approach the machina, to even think about trying to harm it. The thing was alive…much more so than anything made of metal had a right to be. Would it wake if they touched it? Was it even sleeping now? Kijo cleared his throat and smiled nervously.

"Good enough I guess. Let's get to work then."

BANG

Blood. That was the most noticeable thing. Kijo watched as an arc of red liquid spewed out from the edge of his vision. He turned in time to see Brahv's mouth drop open and watch his eyes roll back up in the direction of the bloody hole in his forehead. Time slowed for a moment as Brahv remained standing for a second and then buckled under his own dead weight. He hit the ground and spasmed for a moment before lying still in a slowly widening puddle of his own blood.

Kijo was a blur of motion. He unsheathed his sword in a second and whirled around. The bullet had come from behind. Had they been caught up to? Was it a trap laid for them? Who had shot?

"Wha…?"

Shuyin stared down the barrel of his rifle at his commander. Kijo froze, caught in the dead gaze of the young corporal. He eyed the barrel of the machina weapon in Shuyin's hands. He saw his finger twitch ever so slightly. He saw the hammer release and fly forward, striking the flint. He watched as something small and round appeared inside the dark tunnel of the barrel and slowly advance down the path toward him. He saw the bullet leave the muzzle and cross the space between Shuyin and himself. He felt himself recoil from the bullet, hands rising to stop the oncoming shard of flying metal. He felt the deafening impact of the bullet as it crashed against his upraised sword. He felt the bullet pierce his skin, digging into his chest and burrowing deep in his flesh.

He fell, the world becoming hazy as he went. He hit the ground with a thud that he found difficult to hear. Somehow, he was finding it difficult to breathe. He reached out with a hand, any hand. Was it even his? He reached out, groping for some desperate hope that might bring the air into his lungs. On the edge of his vision, he saw something glint brightly in the blue glow of the glyphs. A ring. It was white.

Kijo smiled. "I guess…" he whispered softly. "I guess these rings don't work after all…Majo."

Kijo's eyes closed. He could hear footsteps. They were loud, as though they were passing him.

"You know…"

It was a deep voice. One that he recognized. Shuyin's voice.

"You're the only one I can count on to save Lenne."

He stopped hearing then. He couldn't hear anymore. It was tiring to hear anything. Some rest would do him some good. Then he would go back to Zanarkand…and make fun of Majo…for buying…faulty…rings…