Chapter 14 – Depths of a Ruined City

Note (3/28/05): I'm going back and rereading my previous chapters, making the occasional error fix or story tweak.

"Too bad that guy isn't still around," teased Paine, "or you could have gotten his autograph."

"Yeah, whatever...you're just jealous. I betcha he was a real hunk!" Rikku struck back.

Yuna chuckled lightly, "It is a shame – I could have gotten him to sign my ball as well."

Paine shook her head in dismay, "Yuna, are you still carrying that dirty old blitzball around?"

"Hmph! I like it," Yuna snubbed defiantly, "besides, for all you know, this could have been a game-winning ball."

Paine and Rikku looked at each other and laughed. Yuna's face turned red; she yelled scornfully at them for what was so funny. Rikku told Yuna it was alright, they understood. Reminded by Paine, they promptly got back to their original goal for coming to Zanarkand. Yuna radioed back to the Celsius to see if Shinra had a more precise location of the sphere.

"I know it's close," began Shinra, "however, there is still a lot of electromagnetic interference in the area. I can't get a good read."

"Ah man Shinra...you mean with all your gadgets you can't tell us anything more?" complained Rikku into Yuna's Commsphere.

The grumbling voice of an annoyed Shinra barked out of the Comm, causing Rikku to jump back, "Well I could if there wasn't something interfering with my signals!"

Paine put her fingers to her chin, "You mean there's something in Zanarkand causing the electromagnetic interference?"

"Precisely," replied Shinra, "and I believe it's coming from the northern part of Zanarkand."

"Hey, that's where we are." added Yuna.

"So, what kind of thing makes electromagnetic interference like that?" asked Paine.

"Anything that uses a lot of electricity," interrupted Rikku, "a machina, large power source...really anything that gives of a lot of static."

Paine rolled her eyes, "Way to be specific there Rikku."

"Ah, whatever." she growled, sticking out her tongue.

"If anybody is still listening," continued Shinra before he was so rudely interrupted by the peanut gallery, "if you disable the source, I can locate the sphere for you."

"Don't worry," replied Yuna, starring darkly at the wrestling Paine and Rikku, "we'll disable it."

Continuing on, the girls further explored the gigantic arena. Row upon row of old seats encircled the stage beautifully. Nevertheless, the presence of sad emptiness mystified what should have been a gorgeous sight. Each one of the thousands of seats was cluttered with dust and cobwebs. Only the imagination could describe how exquisite this stadium must have appeared during Lenne's concert. But, that was history, made all too apparent by the darkness that overcast the arena.

Once satisfied that nothing was to be found in the arena, the Gullwings continued onwards to the doors exiting the other side. Once again, they found another hallway filled with many doors. This hallway was longer than the first, as it made a L-shaped turn to the right. As in the other side, each door was marked by a letter-number combination. Rikku peeked her head into a room, but only found old blitzball equipment.

Down the hall they walked, not finding any kind of clue. They quickly became discouraged, wishing Shinra could have been more useful. Rikku whined about how nothing in Zanarkand could give off enough static shock to interfere with Shinra's toys, at least nothing that might still function. Yuna said they still needed to find it, while opening another door. Inside, she found what looked like a makeshift dressing room. A long table was set up next to a suspended mirror. Moving closer to it, she discovered a broken makeup container, a small blue comb, a crumbled yellowish paper, and an upside down picture frame.

Carefully, she picked up the frame – broken glass falling out of it. In the frame was a wrinkled picture, scarred from the aging of time. She saw an image of a tall, handsome young man holding a blitzball. His smile glimmered forthright into Yuna's eyes with vigor, regardless of how decayed the picture actually was. Strangely, he looked very similar to Tidus. The appearance wasn't exact, but close enough to make her think twice about it. For a moment she returned his flashy smile with a sentimental one of her own, hoping his was resting in peace somewhere with his love.

Gently, she placed the picture back onto the table. She then went to the letter, tenderly picking it up. She felt its bitter texture rub against her skin. It was hand written, as she could tell by the faded ink it was inscribed with. In fear of destroying it, she all but held her breath while reading its emotional words.

Dear Lenne,

I gaze into the gallant sunrise today, wishing you not to leave for Bevelle. You have far too much talent to waste on such a worthless war. I know you don't agree, but I can't but help to write what I feel. The people of Spira have gone mad with their own lust for power. Forget them, all of them. It isn't your responsibility to save them. For them it's too late. But it isn't too late for us Lenne. No matter what, I love you. Don't sing for them, but for me, and only me. Leave Zanarkand tonight with me. We can run away to some distant corner of Spira, where we can leave happily alone together. I couldn't bear to live without you. Please, reconsider your decision.

With love unending,

Shuyin

If the blitzball Yuna held tightly wasn't enough to choke up Yuna, this letter was. Drops of tears flooded from her reddened cheeks. Such words would move any person who could feel. To Yuna, these words held such truth that it overwhelmed her. It was words such as these that Tidus tried to convey to her two years ago. She, just as Shuyin, wanted nothing more then to run away to the most distant realm of Spira. To live peacefully for the rest of her life with Tidus – that was, and still remained, all she wanted.

She closed her eyes, softly chocking back her tears. With a heavy breath, she regained control of her emotions. Instead of replacing the letter back upon the table, she picked it up along with her blitzball and walked out of the room. Paine and Rikku were in the other room, searching in some rubble. She approached them, opening her mouth to explain what she just read. Yet, as if a force inside her whispered for her to stop, she remained silent. Standing there for a few moments, Yuna starred blankly at the ground until Rikku noticed she was behind her.

"Hey, there you are Yunie." she chirped, giving Yuna a little wave.

Yuna replied with a half-hearted smile, "Um...did you guys find anything?"

"Yeah right," grumbled Paine, turning around as well, "there isn't an electrical thing in this whole place. I have no idea what Shinra could be thinking is causing his malfunction."

"Well, all we can do is keep searching."

Paine released an irritated sigh as she threw some junk on the ground. The girls left that room, and found a series of more rooms filled with rubble. However, at the end of the long hall, Rikku swore she saw a flickering of light. Paine shrugged, and paced towards where Rikku was pointing. Stopping a couple of steps before the door, she stretched out her head, putting her hand to her ear. Listening carefully, she perceived what she thought was the sound of sparks. The crackled lasted only a second, and then only silence for a while, followed by another ephemeral crackle.

"Hey, whatcha hear?" asked Rikku, clawing on Paine's arm.

Paine pushed her back, "Quiet! I'm listening!"

Rikku, impatient and unappreciative of Paine's rudeness, decided to find out herself what was in the room. In her impulsive nature, she stepped beside Paine and gripped the doorknob, swinging the door open. Paine nearly had a coronary, yelling for Rikku to get back. She didn't listen, and barged right into the room. She screamed and jumped back out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her. Paine asked her what she saw.

"It-it was a...a b-big fiend..." she muttered between her heavy breaths.

"A fiend!" bellowed Yuna, "what kind of fiend?"

Rikku turned to Yuna, grabbing her by the shoulder and jerking her, "A big, sparking one!"

Just then, an array of deafening crackles shot from the door. The girls backed away just in time, as the door was smashed open. Long tentacles, flaring with electric sparks, darted at them. Paine rolled away, smacking into the wall beside her. Yuna pulled out one of her guns, firing a few shots frantically in its general direction. It had no effect, as more electrified tentacles wrapped themselves along the walls. Finally, the body of the fiend broke through the doorway. Sparks jumped off its body. It almost seemed to be a ball of electricity by the glow that surrounded it.

"I'd say now is a good time to retreat!" yelled Rikku, hauling tail the other way.

Paine and Yuna were already ahead of her, sprinting as fast as they could back up the corridor and into the arena. Rikku caught up to them hiding behind a row of seats. The trio struggled to catch their breath.

"Man...I don't think I...ever ran that fast...in my life..." panted Yuna, leaning her head up against a seat.

Paine angrily smacked Rikku on the head, "Don't you ever do something like that again, or I'll be the one you're running from."

Sounds of crackling rapidly approached where they were. A bright glow entered the arena; the fiend started whipping at the rows of seats madly. The girls ran to the other end of the arena. Shooting its tentacles at the girls, they managed to dodge its relentless attacks. With the girls, the fiend followed in hot pursuit. Its fiery glow made it very easy to track. Not that it mattered, as the girls had no plan to defeat it.

Leaping behind some rubble, Rikku fiddle with the contents in her pouches. Hastily she began mixing various liquids into one of her grenades. She gave it a quick shake.

"Now is not the time to be making cocktails Rikku!" barked Paine from a couple of rows back.

"I'm not! Can you distract that thing for a couple of seconds...I think I can make something to kill it!"

Paine pointed for Yuna to run up on stage, firing her guns at the electrical beast. Meanwhile, Paine began throwing whatever debris she could pick up at it. With a ferocious roar, it began whipping at the girls with its tentacles. Paine gracefully swerved out of the way. Yuna pumped rounds at its head, again attracting its attention. To lead it further away from Rikku, she began running in the opposite direction, continuing to shoot at it.

The beast became infuriated, and suddenly launched itself at Yuna in a darting leap. Unleashing its tentacles, it whipped her in the back of the head, sending her flying into some old stage equipment.

"Yuna!" screamed Paine, watching her comrade get launched viciously into the air, "dammit Rikku aren't you done yet!"

"Hold on," she yelled back, her hand jittering frantically, "I'm almost finished."

Paine grunted and threw another piece of rubble at the fiend. She ran over to the unconscious and bleeding Yuna. She was still breathing, but she sustained a nasty head wound. She picked up one of Yuna's guns, and began firing shots off, screaming in a fit of rage. Rikku popped her head up, spotting the fiend, as well as Paine and Yuna.

"Get back, this explosion might be big!" she ordered, hopping over the row of seats.

Paine clamped the gun in her mouth, and drug Yuna away from the beast. Rikku began yelling at the fiend, distracting its attention.

"Hey you! Why don't you eat this and die!" she shouted, throwing her grenade at the beast.

It bounced off of the fiends head, and exploded massively. The large blast was followed by a burst of magic-like water attack. It howled intensely, as the water reacted with its electricity. The beast jutted profusely, flailing around in gruesome pain. Finally, its sparks went dark, and it fell over dead. The smell of charred flesh stained the air. Rikku approached it slowly, seeing if it was truly dead. She could tell it was definitely dead, as its skin and face were half melted, and smelled disgusting. Once convinced, she hurried over to where Paine was tending to Yuna.

She knelt down, almost crying at the sight of so much blood, "Hey...is Yunie gonna be alright?"

"We have to stop her bleeding. Do you have any bandages?"

Rikku shook her head, then scrambled around, searching for some cloth or fabric. The only thing she could find was a tattered banner. She ripped a long piece from it, and rush back over to Paine. With speed, she wrapped the cloth over Yuna's forehead, still pressing hard over the wound.

She let out a sigh of relief, "She ought to be ok now. I've stopped the bleeding...luckily her wound wasn't as bad as I thought."

"You could have fooled me." muttered Rikku, eying the small pool of blood where Yuna had just been.

Yuna released a faint groan, and began to move her eyes. Rikku smiled, seeing her cousin begin to move her limbs.

"Hey Yunie, are you awake now? Are you alright?"

Yuna put her hand to her head, wincing at the stinging pain emanating from her forehead. She opened her eyes, only to see two blurry figures knelt down in front of her.

"Hey guys," she whispered, "is that you?"

Paine finally smiled, "Yeah, it's us."

"Oh...what happened...the fiend!" she shouted, sitting up in a snap.

"Whoa, whoa...calm down Yuna. It's dead." comforted Paine, lying her back down.

She let out a heavy breath, "Oh, good...hmm, for some reason, I can't see straight."

"Huh," said Rikku with puzzlement, "what do you mean?"

"Well, it's just that everything is blurry. I can kind of only make out figures...must be because I hit my head."

Paine helped Yuna to her feet, crutching her with her body, "You'll be alright Yuna. First, we got to get you out of here."

Rikku nodded exuberantly, and helped carry Yuna by her other shoulder. They walked by the dead fiend, still wrenching with the stench of crisped flesh. Down the hallway again they left, this time without incident. However, at the end of the hall was a staircase descending into the ground.

"Eh...when was there stairs here?" asked Rikku, whom was now very, very confused.

Paine gave her a dirty look, "If you hadn't barged into here, maybe you might have noticed it!"

Yuna smiled, patting Rikku's head. She wasn't angry, perhaps disoriented, but not angry. They carefully moved down the stairwell, and entered another long corridor. The door shut behind them, nearly scaring each one of them to death.

"Oh man, I hate when that happens!" cried Rikku.

Another buzzing sound rang out suddenly, but this time it was from Yuna's Commsphere.

"Whatever you guys did," cheered Shinra over the Commsphere, "really worked. I have a location for the sphere."

"Sorry Shinra, we'll have to delay that for later," sighed Paine, "Yuna got hurt."

"Shh...don't let Brother hear that. Is she alright?"

"Yeah, we're carrying her out of the stadium complex."

The tapping of Shinra's fingers could be heard thumping over the Commsphere, "Where are you guys at now?"

"Well, we're in some hall beneath the arena. We just walked down some stairs. Where's the way out?"

"Hmm, well it isn't that way. You want to be on the surface to get out."

"Argh!" yelled Paine in frustration.

Shinra attempted to calm her down, "Umm...the good news is, you're getting close to the sphere."

"I don't care..." Paine began to bark.

However, Yuna interrupted her, "Don't worry about me Paine, my sight is getting better. Shinra, do you have an exact location."

"I sure do – just keep going forward. It's at the end of that corridor."

Yuna nodded, and turned her head to Paine, "I say we get the sphere...we're so close, we might as well."

"Are you sure you're up for this?"

A loud clanging came from behind, "I don't think we have much of a choice. This door isn't opening." shouted Rikku, pushing hard on the door.

"Why are you in such a hurry, my dear..." came a voice form the shadows, "your test has just begun."

"Uh oh..." shuttered Rikku.

Paine yelled down the corridor, "Who's there? Show yourself!"

A low, chuckled began receding from the darkness, making visible a tall silhouette of a man, "Let us not be hasty. You are not in a position to be making demands...not if you want that precious sphere."

In Yuna's eyes, she could now discern the figure better as he drew nearer. He was a lavishly armored man, with the insignia of Bevelle on his chest plate. In his golden hilt, rest a large-handled sword. She noticed pyreflies twirling behind him – he must be unsent.

"I am a warrior of a lost time," he began with a deep, broad voice, "a thousand years ago, I came to Zanarkand...to infiltrate the city, gather intelligence, and assassinate its leaders."

"Hmph! Enough of the history lessons...who are you..and why are you here?" interrupted Paine in anger.

The man only laughed, then walked up to Yuna. Her sight had become almost clear; she saw his crystalline blue eyes. They seemed to refract a thousand rays of light. She remember, her father once told her, if only briefly, of a man he met who had eyes of crystal.

"Tell me," she said softly, unhinging herself from Paine's aid, "what is your name?"

He smiled, "I am Cassius, and old and tired warrior from Bevelle."

Yuna's eyes widened in awe. This was the man she remembered hearing about as a child. He once had met her father. They had fought intensely one time, for something invaluable to her father. It must have been that sphere. But, her father lost. He said the man's crystalline eyes glowed red in the heat of battle – he was a markedly different beast.

"Then I know who you are," she once again replied, in a soft manner, "you fought with my father once. Perhaps over the very sphere we've come to take."

He nodded, "Is that true. Tell me child, who is your father?"

"Lord Braska."

Now it was his eyes that widened in spectacular surprise. Then, he regained his posture, and cracked another smile. He took another few steps further, getting a vicious reaction from Paine, who drew her sword. Yuna raised her arm to stop her. Paine relaxed her battle-ready stance, not sure what to make of Yuna's sudden confidence.

"Is he so your father? Well then, that makes you quite a special girl. And if I am correct, you are then Lady Yuna, the grand summoner who defeated Sin." he conversed.

Yuna stood silent, still peering into Cassius's reflective eyes. He once again neared Yuna, coming right up to her this time. He stood in excess of two feet taller than Yuna, dwarfing her with his large, steel armor plates.

Placing his arms upon her shoulders, he said, "Then it will be you who will try to capture the sphere I've been guarding for so long. Can you do what your father could not. Can you obtain the sphere of Spira's horrid past. Or rather, do you want to know of Spira's horrid past?"

He then backed away from Yuna, motioning her to follow him. Paine and Rikku also followed.

"No, this task is not for the two of you. Only Yuna is worthy to defeat me!"

"We won't let you!" bellowed Rikku.

"Oh, but you will...or you will die." he spoke with stark indignation.

Yuna turned to face them, shaking her head, "No, do not interfere. I must do this myself...please."

Paine and Rikku stood there, expressions of nervous anxiety plastered all of their faces. Rikku reached out her arm, still wanting to follow. But the look in Yuna's eyes calmed her, and she froze in place, bowing her head.

"Come, Lady Yuna," commanded Cassius, opening a massive iron door behind them, "come see if you are stronger than your father was."

Next chapter: Such a strong and horrifying secret awaits in an ancient sphere far below the ruins of Zanarkand. Who is the unsent warrior Cassius, and what connection did he have with Yuna's father? Can she defeat him in order to regain Spira's dark secrets?