Chapter 7 – Operation: Infiltrate Bevelle (Part 2)
"You alright, Rikku?" asked Paine, giving her a concerned look.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm okay. I just really hate this place," she replied grimly. "I still think about that creeper Seymour every time we come here."
Yuna felt her stomach churn at the mention of Seymour's name. In some ways, her near marriage to Seymour traumatized her more than her battle with Sin. Separated from her guardians and plunged alone into the Via Purifico, the fear she felt during her hegira from deep underneath Bevelle still caused her heart to skip a beat.
The lift stopped abruptly, revealing the intertwining mazes that made up the temple's underbelly. Yuna led off, remembering the path to the end of the temple better than she wished was true. The neon glow of the paths, not to mention the sounds of functioning machina, made her blood boil. She thought of all the people Bevelle persecuted—in past and present, only for them to hypocritically use the same tools themselves. She thought to herself for a moment, is this the same hypocrisy Lenne faced long ago?
The Gullwings hopped over to another set of winding paths. To Yuna's surprise, no guards or priests walked the corridors underneath the city. No automated defenses scanned defended the path. She thought by now they'd have to fight their way passed a contingent of guards.
"This place is a breeze," chuckled Rikku. "Those idiot New Yevon people don't even have any defenses."
Out of nowhere, a pair of flying fiends swooped down at them. Each fiend shot an arcane blast at the girls out with their singular eye.
"What are fiends doing under Bevelle's temple?" bellowed Paine in complete shock.
Yuna thought she was witnessing a mirage. Before she had time to react, one of the fiends swooped down on her, knocking her off her feet. Rikku and Paine did a double roll to dodge blasts from the other hovering fiend.
"You alright, Yunie?" yelled Rikku.
Yuna rubbed her head. "Yeah, don't worry about me."
Paine wasted no time in counterattacking the fiends. With one jumping swing, she split both of them in half. Rikku went over to help Yuna to her feet.
"I don't know about you," began Paine. "But fiends in Bevelle can't be a good sign."
Yuna looked at Paine in confusion. "Why are they here? There's no way they've gone unnoticed. New Yevon must be doing something with them."
Paine extended her sword out towards a cluster of pyreflies floating from the slain fiend. "Do we really want to find out?"
Yuna paused for a moment. She didn't want to be here any more than Paine. The force driving her to find Tidus kicked in. If she want to discover this sphere, they would have to move forward.
"As much as I'm reluctant to, we should continue," she answered gravely.
Rikku and Paine nodded, and the three continued down the neon blue road. Numerous fiends littered their path underneath the temple, some alone and some in small packs. Slicing and shooting their way through the fiends, they only added annoyance to their trip through the Bevelle underground.
Reaching the end of the corridor, this was the last room Yuna recognized. Now an entrance to another place existed, even further underground than the level they stood at currently. Inhaled deeply, Yuna hesitated to discover what New Yevon could be hiding this deep under the surface. With a stern exhale, she opened the door and nearly passed out in astonishment.
What she expected to be another room ended up opening into a gigantic expanse. Before Yuna appeared the sight of the true Bevelle underground, a tremendous facility dwarfing any structure she visited in Spira. The sound of machina in motion could be heard echoing throughout the endless chamber.
Paine gasped. "What in Spira is all of this? I've never seen such a sight."
"It's incredible! So this is what Yevon's been hiding all these years," commented Rikku, her eyes bulging out of their sockets.
Yuna looked at both of her friends. "Well, this must be where the sphere is. Did anyone bring a rope?"
Yuna's joke quickly fizzled as a shadow emerged from the darkness surrounding the area where they stood. From behind the shadows cloaking the figure came a shrewdly dressed young man. His spiky blond hair and green eye easily made discernable he was Al-Bhed, even if his other eye had a patch covering it.
"Gippal?" stammered Yuna, barely getting his name out.
"Well, well . . ." he said, walking further into the light. "Miss High Summoner Lady Yuna—it's a pleasure to meet with you in, um, such an odd place."
"What the hell are you doing here?" Paine demanded, injecting herself between Yuna and Gippal.
"I should ask you the same thing. You know waltzing around the sewers of Bevelle isn't good for your health," he cackled, taking a fighting posture.
"What's it to you?" yelled back Paine, also taking a fighting stance.
Rikku snapped, "Fa'na rana du knyp y cbrana. Kad uid uv uin fyo!"
"Bevelle holds many secrets, some more dangerous than others," he retorted starkly, holding his stance.
"We understand risks, Gippal," answered Yuna. "But that's none of your concern."
He straightened himself, taking a less aggressive posture. "It is if all of Spira could be affected by what you're about to do."
Yuna narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"
"I already know why you girls are down in the basement of Bevelle: Vegnagun. But I know a lot more about this situation than you do."
"We know of Vegnagun, but it's a sphere we're here to claim," clamored Rikku, giving Gippal a sharp gaze.
"Look, Lady Yuna, don't make everything you've done in the past for naught," Gippal said in a calmer voice, facing directly at Yuna. "Things down here are far too unstable for you to mess with. Trust me, turn back and let me handle this."
Yuna looked directly into his eyes, staring with complete intent for an uncomfortable moment. In her mind flashed the machina weapon he spoke of. Its insect-like body, the black recesses of its eyes, and its colossal wingspan struck a familiar fear in her, even though she's never laid eyes on Vegnagun before. She blinked, and let out a shallow sigh.
"Alright Gippal, I believe you. C'mon, we're leaving."
Both Paine and Rikku instantly bore faces of complete shock. Rikku shot a look at her cousin of complete dismay.
"Are you sure, Yuna?" stammered Paine, still in disbelief of Yuna's sudden change of heart.
Yuna simply nodded and motioned for the girls to follow her. Her friends paused to look at each other's bewilderment, then nodded as well.
"Over there," said Gippal, pointing to an opening in the opposite area. "A lift to the surface is. Use it to leave. Call it a shortcut."
Without even acknowledging him, Yuna turned and paced towards the lift. Rikku and Paine followed suit. They entered the lift and left for the surface without a word spoken between them. They only caught a glimpse of Gippal, who jumped onto one of the large steel chains connected to the central complex and surfed down the chain towards it. Yuna looked palely at the floor the entire ride up. After a few awkward minutes of silence, the girls arrived at the surface. They exited into a back alley on the outskirts of Bevelle.
"Brother, we're done here. Come pick us up," voiced Yuna blandly into her CommSphere.
A muted buzzing sound replied, "That was quick. Did you find the sphere?"
Yuna growled, "No, we'll talk about it later."
"Oh, okay, we are coming now."
The Gullwings walked to the edge of the Macalania Forest, where they were met by the Celsius. Rikku and Paine, while upset at Yuna for turning tail so quickly, hadn't the heart to say anything. The girls all went their separate ways upon entering the Celsius, disappointed by their day's failure. Unsure of where to properly release her frustrations, Yuna stayed in the hallway leading to the elevator. She knew Vegnagun stirred somewhere in that enormous chamber. Leaning her head back against the wall, she closed her eyes, hoping she made the right decision to trust Gippal. Either way, she thought, she would have to return for Vegnagun someday.