Chapter 25 – Plunge into the Depths

6/14/05: The usual proofreading stuff...

The trees wavered gently with the breeze. For a forest, the atmosphere was desolate. Only a low, solemn chirping emanated from the wilderness. Because the temple had sunken far beneath the water, Macalania was dying. Slowly and painfully the foliage faded away. It used to be a majestic sight to walk from the deafening thunder into the pleasant life of the woods. Now, only a few residents remained. Since leaving Guadosalam, the Guado had been living in Macalania. These refugees sought some sort of peace in the forest, but found only company to wither away with.

Yuna pulled down her goggles to cover her eyes. The girls were about to take their dive into the lake, hoping to discover what sphere could possibly still be residing in the temple. They were surprised that the temple itself was intact, as it was buried at the bottom of the lake. Nonetheless, the sphere was definitely something worth investigating.

However, Yuna couldn't help but feel uneasy about the whole operation. Then again, she had been in a state of unending mood swings for the past two weeks. She glanced over at her cousin – her face marred with deterioration. Yuna had put everyone through hell since they left Gagazet. She turned to Paine, who replied with a half-angry look. There was still a great deal of tension between them. Adjusting her breathing mask, she initiated her oxygen. The water was calm – only a few, smooth ripples tattered the lake's top. Underneath, though, could have lurked anything. Yuna realized this, which led to her anxiety – her recent best friend. Thinking back, she'd been spreading it like the plague...

"Come on Yunie, you gotta eat sometime." whimpered Rikku desperately.

"I don't want to!" yelled back Yuna, throwing her bowl at the wall.

"Argh! Yuna, what the hell is wrong with you? As skinny as you are, you can't afford not to eat!" Paine roared, shoving Yuna back into her seat.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with me! Let me tell you – I'm going crazy!" she screamed.

"Yuna, control yourself! Just sit down and we'll talk." pleaded Buddy.

"Talking won't bring back Garik or the priest!"

"Yuna, those weren't your fault."

Yuna's eyes were bloodshot and swollen. Her cheeks were bright red, and snot ran out of her nose. Her appearance was as unsightly as any human could possibly be. Her anger erupted in random fits; any word could have agitated her at any moment. Paine all but had her in a headlock as she tried to keep her still. Rikku tried to force feed Yuna a spoonful of food. She gripped her mouth tightly. Yuna was tossing and turning madly. It was as if a wild beast inhabited her body. Rikku shoved the spoon into Yuna's mouth, almost gagging her with it. She tossed herself around, refusing to swallow.

"Swallow Yunie, swallow!" Rikku ordered, herself becoming upset.

Instead, she got hot food spit back into her face. She yelped, quickly wiping it off herself. She began to cry. Not from the spit food, but from her cousin's uncontrollable state. Brother walked over to her and rubbed her head. She planted her face in his chest, sobbing even greater from Yuna's distress. Yuna just starred at her, breathing heavily from her outburst. Her anger subsiding, she calmed – now turning back to tears with which to outlet her emotions. She coughed, and wiped the stringy band of snot from around her mouth.

"See...t-this is w-what...I always do..." she sobbed.

The Gullwings were silent. Brother took Rikku out of the room. Yuna fell to her knees, her faced buried in her hands crying. Paine knelt down to comfort her. Instead, she was pushed away by Yuna. Bewildered, Paine didn't know how to react. Buddy and Shinra could see it on her face – the total surprise of her rejection.

"Go away!" Yuna shrieked, "Just leave me alone!"

Paine stood up, herself now flooding with tears. She covered her choking, then rushed out of the room. Then was the first time any of them had seen Paine cry. Yuna, realizing what she had done, curled up into a ball, murmuring randomly to herself. Buddy and Shinra looked at each other, neither knowing what to do or say. They stood for a while, silent and saddened, until they realized they were powerless.

Yuna's maddened emotional state had slowly been tearing the Gullwings apart. No longer was there fun and games, nor was there the excitement of sphere hunting. Instead, it was replaced with anger, sadness, and an anxious feeling of torment. The water splashed as the girls dove into the lake. It was cold and dark – something the girls were reminiscent of. A few fish swam past them. Rikku turned on the light attached to her goggles. It was a long way to the bottom, and the trek was abysmal. Two years ago Yuna and Rikku ventured to the Macalania Temple. At the time, Rikku was perplexed as to how she could save Yuna from dying defeating Sin. Presently, she could care less about her cousin. It was a guilty feeling that kept her up at night for the past week...

She laid in her bed, looking woefully up at the ceiling. Brother had just tucked her in. He had consoled her during the past hour. For the first time in ages he comforted her as a brother should. While this pleased her, it paled in comparison to the heartache she felt from Yuna's predicament. She didn't know if she should be sad or angry. Yuna had always been there to aid her, comfort her – the picture of Yuna spiting food back into her face tortured her. She followed the shapes of the shadows projected on the ceiling. They moved with such fluidity; Rikku wished her cousin could be free like that.

Never had she remembered Yuna being such a torrent. Times before were terribly hard. Seymour had kidnapped her, she was to lose her life defeating Sin, not to mention that she lost the love of her life when it was all said and done. While she had conquered some of these hardships, losing Tidus had to hurt more than anything could upheave. She thought back to the days after Tidus and Auron disappeared, how Yuna was a wreck. Even then, she was stronger than now. Her chaotic actions, Rikku believed, must have stemmed from something else – something deeper. But Yuna refused to talk about it. All they could do was comfort her as best as possible.

She growled, and punched her pillow a couple of times. Thinking of Yuna's despair made Rikku angry. Her cousin knew that she wasn't alone. But to act so outrageously, and to pull the Gullwings into it, aggravated Rikku hideously.

"Why are you being so stupid Yuna!"

Bubbles flew past Paine's sight. The view was becoming darker as they plunged deeper into the lake. Only a few, peculiar species of fish lived this far beneath the surface. Luckily it was nothing dangerous. It seemed fiends didn't take to the freezing stark waters that far down. Paine would have preferred the warm, tropical seas of Besaid over this, however. She was tired of everything dark and cold...

On top of the Celsius Paine sat. Her arms were folded tightly, and her cheeks were flush. As tough as she thought she was, Yuna's rejection hurt more than any war wound. It was so sudden, it barely registered in her mind. Paine wasn't ever one for comforting and giggling, but being around Yuna and Rikku was changing that. She could only have imagined what it would have been like if she knew them before. Sighing heavily, she sat down, gazing into the sunset.

The pictures of Yuna's tormented expressions haunted her. They had been now every time she closed her eyes. Never had she felt so powerless as to do something. She worried that Yuna was fighting a battle she was sorely losing. Her poor friend was wasting away right before her eyes. She wondered if Yuna should stop sphere hunting, and settle down somewhere. Then again, it wasn't the job hurting Yuna – it was herself.

Nearing the bottom of the lake, the girls searched for the ancient temple. Flashing their lights around, Rikku spotted it far from where they believed it would be.

"There it is! All the way over there." she pointed, murmuring through the mask.

"I didn't think something that big could float this far." replied Paine in a muffled voice.

They proceeded over to where the temple resided. Amazingly, it was still mostly upright and intact. The sight of it impressed them, at least what they could see. Moving around to the opposite side, they found the entrance. Or, at least a large hole letting them in. Yuna crept up to the void in the wall, peering around with her mask's light. It shone nothing particularly spectacular. In her heart, she wished something would shine some light on her...

Her stomach gurgled as she sat, curled up on her bed. She hadn't eaten for three days. Another rumbled sounded as she scrunched herself tighter, hoping to make the terrible agitation go away. Food was merely a few feet down the stairs, as Barkeep would have been more than happy to prepare her a feast. But in her mind, she believed she didn't deserve to eat. Instead, her punishment would be to incapacitate herself, and waste away. Perhaps she'd be better in another place.

Maybe she would even be with him in another world. Somewhere they could be together happily and alone. No more problems, no more degradation, only peace and harmony – paradise. Those delightful thoughts quickly evaporated, and replaced with the miserable self-image of herself. She couldn't be with Tidus – not as what she became. He would be so ashamed to know what she had done. She rolled over, just wanting for some kind of peace to fill her soul.

"What do you see, Yuna?" asked Paine, swimming up behind Yuna.

"Nothing." she replied concisely, then moving forward into the temple.

They swam down a long stretching corridor, so very familiar to Yuna and Rikku. Fallen debris was everywhere, making for quite an obstacle course. Paine lifted up a broken pillar and shoved it out of their way. Rikku and Paine continued on, but Yuna paused.

"Come on Yuna, we're just getting started." commanded Paine, motioning for Yuna to follow.

"I-I don't know if this is a good idea..."

"Now's not the time for this!" growled Paine, yanking Yuna by the arm.

It wasn't the temple that she feared, it was what might be in it that did. The thought of another former aeon popped into her mind. The last thing she wanted was to fight another aeon. She tried to vocalized this, but Paine was too busy dragging her to pay attention.

Rikku didn't seem to listen either. Yuna quieted herself, realizing neither of them really cared what she had to say. Most disheartening to Yuna, was the fact that all her outrage had led to the pushing away her friends. While she knew she deserved it, it seemed unfair of them to condemn her. Their cold shoulder's hurt pierced far into her soul. Still, she remained silent, as it was the only thing that wouldn't cause them distress.

The water was dissipating the farther they swam down the corridor. By the time they reached its end, they were able to walk. Sludging through the water, they came to a fully intact door. Using all her strength, Paine jerked it open. On the other side it was clear of any flooding. The girls removed their masks. The air was slightly musty, but breathable. This area appeared quite differently then Yuna remembered it. It seemed all the ice had melted. Now it was void of the gigantic crystal structures that Yuna had to pass in order to reach the Chamber of the Fayth in Macalania.

She looked dauntingly around the chamber, a restless chill ran up her spine. Ignoring her shiver, she carefully walked over to where the entrance was supposed to be. Instead, she only found a doorway far above her head. Thinking to herself for a moment, she scratched her head. Perhaps she was going crazy, but she didn't believe her memory was being effected as well.

"What is it Yunie?" Rikku asked, noticing her perplexed look.

"Uh, hey...when was there a doorway up there?" she replied, pointing upward.

"I dunno. Maybe there was some ice bridge connecting to it?"

Yuna shrugged, and suggested they'd get something to climb with. A buzzing sound burst from Yuna's Comm. It was Shinra.

"How are you guys doing?"

"We're alright," she answered, still gazing up at the doorway, "we'll getting ready to climb up. I think the Chamber of the Fayth is after the doorway up there."

"Huh? Doorway up where?"

"Don't ask me, I don't remember it being up there."

"Funny, neither does my map..."

Rikku and Paine shrugged their shoulder at Yuna when she looked back at them. Truthfully, to them, it wasn't pertinent where the doorway was. They only needed to get to it. Paine, fortunately, had brought some rope for just such an occasion. She twirled the rope around like a lasso, and swung it up at the doorway. The hook on its end clanked when it snagged onto a rock. With a tug, she concluded it was firmly attached. She was the first to climb. Carefully she glanced over the ledge to peer into the doorway. When she saw nothing there, she finished her climb, and told Rikku and Yuna it was safe to come up. Rikku went next, although it took her a long time to stop sliding back down on the rope.

Yuna gave her a boost, and Rikku grunted as she slowly but surely made it to the top. Paine shook were head, making Rikku exert a tired little pout. Finally, Yuna climbed up, impressing the girls with how easy she made it look.

"Are you guys up there yet?" buzzed Shinra.

"Yeah, we're up. What's next?" asked Yuna, looking through the doorway.

"The sphere signal is coming from the Chamber of the Fayth as you guessed. Don't ask me where they were hiding it."

"Hmm...I just don't get it..." she whispered to herself, her nervous anxiety striking her again.

Regardless of her anxiousness, the girls proceeded further on, eventually reaching the their goal. Still, Yuna couldn't help but feel that something was amiss. Even Rikku thought things were different than she remembered.

"I really don't remember this section at all." she commented, glaring peculiarly around at the walls.

"Me too – none of this seems right."

"Are you sure you just don't remember?" Paine questioned, not understanding how they weren't be able to recall the temple's layout.

Finally, they came to a dead end, with only a single, stone door blocking their way. Yuna and Paine gripped hold of it. Grunting and groaning harshly, they managed to pull it open. Rikku stuck her head in. Searching around, the only thing she could see was darkness.

"What do you see in there?" whispered Paine to her.

She retracted her head, "Nothing. It's pitch black in there."

Yuna glanced in, seeing a gigantic expanse of black. The room was entirely without light. Paine got her mask back out, and turned on its light. She flashed it around the room, but found nothing significant. The only thing still there was some rubble and a few fallen pedestals. Taking a few brave steps in, Yuna guided herself by Paine's light. On a rock she stumbled, but gracefully kept control of her balance.

"I don't get why it's so dark..."

A thunderous roar echoed form the room, causing Yuna to fall down in shock. Suddenly, an array of blazing lights burst from the ceiling. A hideously familiar cackle belted from the other side. Kinoc stood, his heckling laughter infuriating Paine instantly.

"I see you've finally decided to come and investigate the sphere here."

"No way, it's Kinoc!" bellowed Rikku.

He chuckled, his face displaying his trademark smug attitude, "Very perceptive. I've been waiting for you three."

"N-no way! How did you get down here?" stammered Paine.

"I have my ways. But don't think this was some sort of side trip. No, I've been planning carefully for when you'd step into this rackety old temple beneath the lake."

"Argh!" shouted Paine irately, "Why don't you float away to where you belong!"

"That's no way to treat a man whose prepared for you such a grand party."

"What? A-a party?" Yuna stuttered, painful memories of Kilika seeping back into her thoughts.

"Oh, it's your going away party. Going far away – to the Farplane!" he declared, belting out another insane laugh.

"The only one going to the Farplane should be you. I think it's way past due for you to rot!" countered Rikku, her eyes blazing with anger.

"We'll see...but first, we must introduce your party guest."

A beam of light illuminated next to him, casting the light on what truly was one of Yuna's former friends – Shiva. The aeon blew her former summoner an icy kiss. Yuna stood in a metaphorically frozen state, although it felt all too real to her. Her heart sank into her gut, and her body began to feel cold and numb – once again she would have to fight another former aeon. One again, she knew the pain was unavoidable.

Next chapter: Things heat up, or rather, cool down at the bottom of Lake Macalania. As part of Kinoc's devilish plans, the girls face off against Yuna's aeon, Shiva. It's a battle to the death that may result in the Gullwings becoming human popsicles.