Chapter 14 – Depths of a Ruined City
"Too bad that guy isn't still around," teased Paine. "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 huffed defiantly. "Besides, for all you know, this could have been a game-winning ball. It's a piece of history."
Paine and Rikku looked at each other and laughed. Yuna's face turned bright red; she growled scornfully at them for mocking her attachment. Rikku told Yuna it was alright, they understood. Not believing her sincerity, Yuna shook her fist at her cousin. Reminded by Paine, they promptly got back to their original goal. 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, continuing, "however, there is still a lot of electromagnetic interference in the area. I can't get a good read."
"You mean with all your fancy gadgets you can't tell us anything more?" complained Rikku into Yuna's CommSphere.
The grumbling voice of an annoyed Shinra barked in return, 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," stated Yuna.
"So, what kind of things makes electromagnetic interference like that?" asked Paine.
"Anything that uses a lot of electricity," interrupted Rikku. "A big machina, large power source, really anything that gives off 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 interrupted. "If you disable the source, I can locate the sphere for you."
"Don't worry," replied Yuna, staring darkly at Paine and Rikku wrestling with each other. "We'll find it."
Continuing into the arena proper, the girls further explored the enormous structure. Row upon row of metal seats encircled the stage. Each one of the thousands of seats, cluttered with dust and cobwebs, awaited another grand show that would never occur. Only the imagination could describe how exquisite this stadium must have appeared during Lenne's concert. How loud was the cheering from the crowd, Yuna wondered. Did the show dazzle with bright lights and fireworks?
She halted herself, standing in a wide aisle between the left and right seating sections. Following the aisle up, Yuna located the stage. Her eyes focused on the worn, decrepit state of the stage, or what remained of it. Unwittingly, she walked up to the edge, running her hand along it. From this vantage point, she noticed where stage lights would have hung—eight or nine by her count.
Pulling herself up onto the stage, she nearly lost her footing with the first step she took. A crack in the flooring caved in from the weight of her body. With a grunt, she pulled her boot out from the hole. Though rotten and decayed, with the smell of mothballs and spoiled litter hanging in the air, Yuna reveled in the majesty of the stage. Taking a dozen more well-placed steps she spun herself around. To her astonishment, she could see the endlessly wide expanse of seats all at once.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted an ancient microphone, still attached to a stand. Walking over to it, she carefully placed her fingertips onto the microphone. The windscreen had all but rusted away from the many years of exposure. Curling her fingers around the body, it felt intact enough to hold. Pulling it out of the stand, she stepped back to the center of the stage. Her emotions swelled within her; she felt so out-of-place yet so comfortable with the ocean of seats before her. Yuna was no songstress, but standing with the microphone just inches from her lips, filled her with feelings she couldn't understand.
Closing her eyes, she hummed into the microphone, a gleeful smile forming on her lips. She began to dance around the stage, her mind becoming blissfully unaware of her surroundings. Everything felt so right.
"I didn't know you were putting on a show tonight," heckled Paine, watching Yuna with her arms folded.
Yuna's eyes shot open, spotting her friend standing just down off the stage. She then looked down at the microphone in her hand. Her cheeks burned fire hot when she realized what she had been doing. Placing the microphone back into its antique resting spot, she hopped off the stage without a word, hoping the darkness hid her embarrassment.
"I'm sure you sing a good tune, Yuna," Paine said, patting her on the back. "But we have a sphere to find."
Keeping her back to Paine, Yuna nodded silently and resumed her search. 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 stretched longer than the first, as it made an L-shaped turn to the right. On 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. Paine 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 commented they still needed to find the source while opening another door. She found inside what looked like a makeshift dressing room. A long table was set up next to a suspended mirror missing two shards of its glass. Moving closer to it, she discovered a broken makeup container, a small blue comb, a crumbled yellowish paper, and an upside-down picture frame.
She picked up the frame cautiously. The broken glass protecting the picture fell out of it, clattering onto the table. In the frame rested a tattered 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. He looked remarkably 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 the unknown man rested in peace somewhere with his loved ones.
Gently, she placed the picture back onto the table. She then hovered her hand over the letter, tenderly picking it up. She felt its bitter, coarse texture rub against her skin. It was handwritten, 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 contents.
Dear Lenne,
I gazed 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 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
Her hand shuttered and drops of tears flooded from her reddened cheeks. These words held such truth that they overwhelmed her. Knowing that Shuyin could not convince Lenne to shirk her duties, the end result pierced a pain so deep into Yuna that her heart raced. It was words such as these that Tidus tried to convey to her two years ago. She, just like Shuyin, wanted nothing more than to run away to the most distant, remote fragment of Spira. To live peacefully for the rest of her life with Tidus—that remained her solemn wish.
She closed her eyes, softly choking back her tears. With a heavy breath, she regained control of her emotions. Instead of replacing the letter on 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 through some rubble from where part of the ceiling had collapsed. She approached them, opening her mouth to explain what she just read. Yet, as if a force inside her wrenched her back and whispered for her to stop, she remained silent. Standing there for many moments, Yuna stared 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 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."
Yuna shrugged. "Well, all we can do is keep searching."
Paine released an irritated sigh as she threw some junk on the ground. The girls left the room and found a series of more rooms filled with filth and rubble. At the end of the long hallway, Rikku swore she saw a flickering light. A crackling sound murmured for a second, and then only silence for a while, followed by another ephemeral crackle. Paine shrugged and paced towards where Rikku pointed. Stopping a couple of steps before the door, she stretched out her head, putting a hand to her ear. Holding her breath, she listened intently.
"Hey, whatcha hear?" asked Rikku, clawing on Paine's arm.
Paine pushed her back. "Quiet! I'm listening."
Swatting away Paine's arm with a grunt, Rikku decided to find out herself what resided behind the door. She stepped beside Paine and gripped the doorknob, swinging the door open. Paine's eyes bulged, 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.
"What are you doing, you idiot?" Paine barked. "What did you see?"
"It was a . . . a 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 blew open, erupting into sharp chunks of metal. 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 discernable effect, as more electrified tentacles wrapped themselves along the walls. The body of the fiend broke through the doorway. Yellow streaks jumped off it at will. The static shock electrified the air around them, causing their hairs to stand up on end.
"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.
"I don't think I . . . ever ran that fast . . . in my life!" panted Yuna, leaning her head up against a seat.
"How 'bout it, Yunie," stammered out Rikku, grinning. "And we fought dark aeons."
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 electricity approached where they hid. A bright glow entered the arena; the fiend started swiping 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 the fiend's relentless attacks. It followed them in hot pursuit. Leaping behind some rubble, Rikku fiddle with the contents of 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!" growled Paine from a couple of rows back.
Rikku waved the grenade over her head. "I'm not! Can you distract that thing for a couple of seconds? I think I can make something to kill it!"
Paine motioned for Yuna to run up on stage, firing her guns at the electrical beast. She began throwing whatever debris she could pick up at the electric fiend. With a ferocious roar, it began whipping at the girls with its electrified tentacles. Paine gracefully swerved out of the way. Yuna pumped bullet 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, infuriated from bullets ricocheting off its central mass of ball lightning, suddenly launched itself at Yuna in a darting leap. Unleashing its tentacles, it whipped her in the back, 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 hands 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 friend. Relieved to find Yuna still breathing, Paine noticed splotches of electrical burns dotting Yuna's back. Paine 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 field, as well as Paine and Yuna.
"Get back, this explosion might be big!" she ordered, hopping over a row of seats.
Paine clamped the gun in her mouth and dragged Yuna away from the beast. Rikku began yelling at the fiend while waving the grenade in the air, distracting its attention.
"Hey, you! Why don't you chew on this?" she shouted, throwing her grenade at the beast.
Bursts of lightning arced off the grenade's casing. Rikku watched as it spun towards the fiend's glowing mass. A mouth full of dagger-like teeth emerged from the bright light. Inside the red maw of the field, the grenade vanished from sight. A large blast followed by a burst of magic-like water exploded from inside the monster. It howled intensely, as the water reacted with its electricity. The beast jutted profusely, flailing around as its gruesome, blinding light dimmed, its sparks fizzled out, and it flopped to the ground. The smell of charred flesh stained the air. Rikku approached it slowly, seeing if it was truly dead. Its skin and face were half melted and smelled of burnt skin; the fiend's body dissolved into pyreflies.
Rikku rushed over to Paine, almost crying at the sight of Yuna's blistering burn marks, "Hey, is Yunie gonna be alright?"
Yuna released a faint groan and began to open her eyes. She grimaced in pain when she tried to rise out of Paine's grasp. Rikku'a face lit up from seeing her cousin begin to move her limbs.
"Hey Yunie, you're awake now! Are you okay?"
Yuna put her hand to her head, disoriented from her blurry double vision. Her back seared hot, shooting sharp pangs through her muscles every time she moved. She inhaled and blew out a steady stream of air, forcing herself not to be overwhelmed by the pain.
"Hey guys," she whispered. "Is that you?"
Paine finally smiled. "Yeah, it's us."
"What happened to the fiend!" she shouted suddenly, 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. 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, and I see two of you."
Paine helped Yuna to her feet, crutching Yuna with her own body. "You'll be alright, Yuna. First, we've got to get you out of here."
Rikku nodded exuberantly and helped carry Yuna by her other side. They walked by the remnants of the dead fiend, still wrenching with the stench of crisped flesh. Down the hallway again they left, this time without incident. At the end of the hall resided a staircase descending under the ground.
"When was there stairs here?" asked Rikku.
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, disoriented perhaps, but not angry. Her friends carefully moved her down the stairwell and entered another long corridor. The door slammed 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 to remove the interference worked. I have a location for the sphere," cheered Shinra over the Commsphere.
"Sorry Shinra, we'll have to delay that for later," said Paine. "Yuna got hurt."
"Shh, don't let Brother hear that. Is she alright?"
Paine answered, "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."
"Of course!" yelled Paine in frustration.
Shinra attempted to calm her down. "The good news is, you're getting very close to the sphere."
"I don't care—" Paine began to reply.
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," responded Shinra. "It's at the end of the corridor you're walking in."
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?" Paine looked at her with worry.
A loud clanging came from behind. "I don't think we have much of a choice. This door isn't opening," hollered Rikku, pushing hard on the door.
"Why are you in such a hurry, my dear?" spoke a disembodied voice from the shadows. "Your test has only just begun."
"Uh-oh," shuttered Rikku.
Paine yelled down the corridor. "Who's there? Show yourself!"
A dim light cut the void of darkness, making visible a tall silhouette of a man. "Let us not be hasty. You are not in a position to make demands, not if you want that precious sphere you seek."
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, rested a large-handled sword. She noticed pyreflies twirling behind him. She thought, is he an 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."
"Enough with the history lessons! Who are you and why are you here?" interrupted Paine in anger.
The man only laughed softly, closing his eyes for a moment. Then he walked closer to the girls, who still held onto Yuna tightly. Yuna's sight had become clear; she saw his sapphiric eyes when he opened them again. They seemed to refract a thousand rays of starlight. She remembered her father once told her, if only briefly, of a man he met who had eyes like constellations.
"Tell me," she said softly, unhinging herself from Paine and Rikku's aid. "What is your name?"
He smiled and bowed. "I am Cassius, an 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. Her mind wandered: could it have been the sphere nestled here? She recalled her father had lost their duel. He said the man's sapphire eyes glowed red in the heat of battle. He was a markedly different fighter than the average Yevon warrior monk.
"Then I know who you are," she once again spoke, 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?"
Yuna glared straight into his eyes. "Braska."
His eyes now widened in spectacular surprise, but for just a moment. He regained his composure and cracked another smile. He took another few steps closer, 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 woman. And if I am correct, you must be Lady Yuna, the high summoner who defeated Sin," he conversed.
Yuna stood silent, still peering into Cassius' reflective eyes. He once again neared Yuna, coming right up to her this time. He stood more than two feet taller than Yuna, dwarfing her with his large, steel armor plates.
Placing his hands upon her shoulders, he spoke, "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. She obliged and began walking behind the old warrior. Paine and Rikku followed a few steps behind them.
"No, this task is not for the two of you. Only Yuna is worthy of defeating me!"
"We won't let you make her fight you alone!" bellowed Rikku.
"Oh, but you will, or you will die," he expressed 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 in place, expressions of nervous anxiety plastered on both of their faces. Rikku reached out her arm, still wanting to follow. 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."
