Chapter 19 . . . and into the Frying Pan


Waves of searing heat swirled around Yuna, who was too utterly dumbfounded to register it. Shaking her head, she narrowed her eyes on Ifrit. She had been prepared to a degree to face another one of her former aeons. Searching around the room, she tried to spot Kinoc, but he wasn't anywhere in sight. All that stood before the girls were the snarling flames of Yuna's former summon.

"How is this even possible?" exasperated Rikku, her eyes bulging wide.

Paine paralleled her outburst. "Isn't that one of your aeons, Yuna?"

Yuna didn't reply but instead readied herself for a fight. She advanced into the Chamber without hesitation. No amount of preparation could make the sickening sense of disgust leave her stomach. The sentiment of killing her aeons shook her to her core. She knew Ifrit wouldn't back down, not in this sacrilegious form. Her aeon was no longer what he used to be.

The girls formed a triad: Paine in the front, Yuna to the left, and Rikku to the right. Thrusting in first, Paine pointed her large sword forward without fear. Yuna shot at the fiery beast from afar, while Rikku lobbed a grenade behind it. In a swift motion, Paine's sword sliced with tenacity, ripping up the flaming body of Ifrit. He roared in pain, slapping his enormous paws at her. Paine wouldn't be taken down easily, as she slid out of his arm's range.

Fluttering about only agitated the beast, as he shot his head to the ceiling, belting out a thunderous roar. Yuna covered her ears, tears forming in her eyes. She still hesitated to battle her former ally, the friend she gained in this very chamber. Rikku refused to entertain any such apprehension. She charged around to the right side of Ifrit, just behind his muscular leg. Her thin blades tore into his flesh, slashing shallow cuts into his skin. The aeon screeched, leaping to avoid more of Rikku's barrage.

A sudden, rumbling laugh echoed throughout the chamber. Yuna froze instantly, her throat constricting, knowing all too well who the villainous laughter belonged to. A shadowy image of Kinoc loomed above Ifrit; his maniacal eyes glared down at them with hysteria.

"Do you think it would be that easy, High Summoner?" he chuckled, gazing intently at Yuna.

"Kinoc? No way, you're supposed to be dead!" gasped Rikku

Again he rumbled with psychotic laughter. "Oh, I am very dead, but I am also far from being gone. Isn't that right Lady Yuna?"

Rikku and Paine turned to face Yuna. Pale white like that of a ghost, her lips quivered and her pupils dilated. She pressed her hand against her ever-tightening chest, her eyes solely focused on the shimmering image of Kinoc hovering over them. Her body refused to move and her lips refused to speak.

"Oh, not up for talking? Such a shame," he taunted in delight.

"Screw you!" shouted Paine, raising her sword to Kinoc. "I don't know much about you, but why don't you just send yourself to the Farplane and leave Spira alone?"

"Hmm, bold words. Maybe it should be you who leaves. There's nothing you can do to stop either of us."

Rikku stammered in confusion. "Either? Who else does he mean?"

"Nothing we can do?" yelled Paine, her eyes filled with anger. "I'll show you there's plenty we can do. Get down here and fight!"

Kinoc wagged his finger. "Now, now, let's not be hasty. You haven't finished your first battle. I'm sure Yuna wants to play some more with her former pet."

Yuna remained frozen for Kinoc's entire mocking. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind all at once. She continued to be reluctant to kill her former aeon. A surge of adrenaline rushed to her head, and she regained her sense of determination. She knew what devilish plans Kinoc endeavored to enact, and she would be damned if she would just stand by and watch it unfold. No more would she be helpless and let the world push her around.

Yuna pointed one of her pistols straight up at Kinoc. "Play? I don't play games anymore, Kinoc! You want Spira? You'll have to go through me first!"

She fired two bullets directly at his head. They went through him, and his image hovering above them disappeared. Kinoc's hysterical chortle echoed throughout the room before fading away. Ifrit snarled, and the Chamber began to quake violently. The wall behind Ifrit crackled and came down in a thunderous crash. Behind it, hung the body of an old Yevon priest dressed in pale green robes. He was suspended to another wall by chains. He quivered a little, as he looked to be only partially conscious.

"What is this?" choked Yuna in disbelief.

From the shadows, the voice of Kinoc spoke, "I thought we would make this battle a bit more interesting. A straight fight seemed too dry. But doesn't this raise the stakes?"

"You're nuts! He's just an innocent old man!" yelled Rikku.

Kinoc's evil laugh shot from all around them. "For now, he is. But if you don't make the right decisions, he'll become a dead old man!"

"Damn you, Kinoc!" raged Paine, beginning to sprint towards the old priest.

"Wait!" Yuna screamed, stopping Paine suddenly.

"Why? We have to— "

"No," Yuna interrupted, her eyes tearing with chaotic fear. "We can't risk getting him killed."

Once again, Kinoc's voice filled the room. "Indeed, very perceptive, Lady Yuna. It would be a shame to have a blade shoved betwixt his head and throat."

A flash of light beamed from one end of the Chamber to the other, shedding a hideous sight. A blade of curled steel surrounded the old priest's neck. Held in place by some sort of magical mechanism with glowing pyreflies surrounding it, the blade pressed against the priest's skin.

"You see, this man's life is squarely in your hands now. This blade is enchanted with the souls of the dead. Three to be exact—one for each of you. For each of you that falls in combat with Ifrit, one of these pyreflies will diminish. And if all three of you perish, then so does this man!"

"The only one dying today is you! Again if we have to!" bellowed Rikku, shouting in all directions.

"We shall see."

Ifrit became active again, snarling ferociously at the girls. He leaped over to Rikku, swiping out with his gigantic paw. She nimbly dodged and came in with some slices of her own. The aeon swatted away her curved blade with its massive hand.

"No, stay back! We can't risk getting too close to it!" Paine yelled over.

Rikku nodded, and immediately ran towards Ifrit's back, keeping a good distance away from him. The beast roared and shot magical fire at his new target, Paine. She blocked his blast with her sword. An icy explosion interrupted his casting, caused by Rikku's grenade. Ifrit's fiery mane flowed rapidly. The aeon became infuriated to the point of insanity.

Yuna added to Rikku's attack by firing a series of bullets in rapid succession. Cooling down the burning beast, Rikku pulled the pin off another grenade, chucking it at Ifrit's head. An explosion of ice and snow burst in front of his face. Ifrit countered by conjuring up more fire of his own, blasting fire behind itself at the unprepared Rikku. The blast knocked Rikku back into the wall, searing her arms and face. Yuna called out, dashing over to Rikku. Placing her hand on Rikku's chest, Yuna could feel her shallow breathing. With her eyes shut, Rikku didn't speak or move.

"The light dims," snickered Kinoc from the darkness, as some pyreflies evaporated from the mechanism.

"Is Rikku alright? We can't piss around with this thing!" jolted Paine, snapping Yuna out of her daze.

Yuna's words stumbled out of her mouth. "Yeah, she's hurt, but she's alive otherwise."

Paine ran by Ifrit's menacing paw swipe. She motioned for Yuna to take the other side and blast it with more bullets. Yuna complied and launched another rapid barrage of gunshots. Knocked off balance, Ifrit recentered himself between his two adversaries. A soft growl trickled out of his mouth. Paine took the opportunity to dive in and attack. She swooped, cutting off the tip of one of his horns. Then spun and jabbed the aeon in the side of his back. Using her lodged sword like a step, she jumped onto the aeon's back, prying her sword out of his flesh. Shrieking vilely, the beast bucked his body violently, flinging Paine off his back. She hit the ground hard, losing her grip on her weapon. Cursing at him, she attempted to get to her feet.

Ifrit left her no time, as he dove straight at her. She rolled out of the way to the far back wall. Cleverly he smashed the nearby wall, caving in part of it and the ceiling above. Large fragments of stone fell on Paine, trapping her beneath a pile of debris. A trail of blood trickled from the rubble, slowly filling the cracks on the floor like rippling streams.

"Paine! Ifrit, how could you?" Yuna choked, nearly fainting at the sight of her crushed friend.

Kinoc's voice raged with grotesque laughter. "Little Lady Yuna, all alone with her aeon. This is exactly how I wanted it to be!"

Yuna's eyes bulged wide. "Shut up! Just shut up!"

Again, more pyreflies disappeared from around the priest's neck. Sweat poured from Yuna's pores, from fear engulfing her entire body. The low growl of Ifrit redirected her attention. He readied to pounce on her. The room around it swelled with steaming heat. A sudden flurry of meteors fell from nowhere, rocking the ground where they crashed.

"That's it, Ifrit! Kill your former master!" erupted Kinoc insanely.

Yuna did all she could to race herself to safety. She lost her balance from the quaking ground; she crawled on her hands and knees, desperate to flee for her life. Red-hot boulders fell all around her. Another jarring impact knocked her sideways, slamming her into a stone pedestal. She belted out a bloodcurdling scream. Her vision blackened, and she emitted a feeble groan. Ifrit screeched in victory, having ended his former summoner. Kinoc roared in sadistic triumph, sneering diabolically from the darkness above.

"The last impediment to my plans is gone!" he declared with disgusting glee.

Ifrit moved over to Yuna's body, sniffing her a few times. Kinoc's image finally reappeared, hovering down from the ceiling. Examining the destruction, a hellish smile crept over his smug face. Then he looked over to the old priest, who still hung unharmed.

Kinoc's lips quivered. "I don't understand. I swore—"

"Don't think you've won just yet," rang out Yuna.

She threw herself up to one knee and raised both her pistols right up to Ifrit's head. Without hesitation, she fired both clips straight through his skull. Overwhelmed with fury, her bloodshot eyes raged with uncontrollable virulence. The beast fell backward and slopped over on his side. He let out a final, sad murmur of a roar. Pyreflies swarmed from his body. After a few sporadic twitches, Ifrit lay silent.

An entirely distraught expression burst from Kinoc's face. He clutched his hands into fists, a vein bulging from his wrinkly forehead. A maddened fire shot from his eyes at Yuna, she stared back at him with unfazed resolve. He then tried to recapture his composure, even letting out a little chuckle.

"You want to endure pain that badly? Well then, how about I make you feel real suffering!"

A shrill screech reverberated throughout the Chamber, followed by a sudden thump. Yuna screamed at the top of her lungs when she saw the head of the old priest rolling on the ground near Rikku. Squirts of blood still flickered from his beheaded corpse. A piece of his serrated spine stuck out from the bloody head. Then, the chains broke free, plopping the gurgling body to the ground. Blood bubbled as it oozed from the hole in his neck.

"And you thought I would let a worthlessly feeble old man like that live?" said Kinoc. "It would have been better if you just stopped playing the hero—remember that!"

His image faded from view, with his ghastly laugh echoing abound the crumbled chamber. Yuna fell to her knees, holding her hand tightly to her mouth. With the smell of blood pungent around her, Yuna couldn't hold back her tears of disgust. Some rubble to her right shifted on the ground. Paine lifted herself from it, stumbling around woozily. Looking over to Yuna choking, she hobbled over to her. Blood ran from the large gashes in each of her legs.

"Yuna? Yuna? What happened? Are you okay?" Paine asked.

She stepped back in alarm, seeing the look of pale horror in Yuna's billowing eyes. Still gagging, Yuna leaped into Paine's arms, crying and coughing uncontrollably. Upon spotting the freshly decapitated priest, Paine nearly vomited herself. Tightly she held Yuna, gently brushing her fingers through Yuna's hair.

"Damn you, Kinoc," Paine whispered under her breath, her eyes beaming with a vicious desire to kill.

A lonesome sobbing rose from the corner near the body. There sat Rikku, her blackened face filled with tears. She tried to brush them away, but she cried harder at the pain from touching her burns.

"Rikku? How hurt are you?" called out Paine, not knowing what to do.

Rikku stammered through her tears, "My face hurts, but the priest. I saw him . . ."

Paine, letting Yuna slump down to the ground again, ran over to comfort Rikku. "Shh, it's okay. Don't speak."

Rikku anchored firmly onto Paine. She held Rikku close to her chest, with tears swelling in her own eyes. Solemn footsteps paced over towards them as Yuna fell beside Rikku. She instinctively grabbed onto Rikku, huddling her cousin between herself and Paine. Yuna stopped crying herself, and instead nuzzled her cheek against Rikku's tearful face.

After a long time of huddling silently together, some New Yevon soldiers entered the Chamber. They gasped in absolute awe at the sight of it. Most of the Chamber lay in smoldering disrepair. Remnants of grand stone fixtures littered the floor. Blood soaked much of the ground. In the far corner were the three girls, crouched together.

One soldier approached Yuna, speaking in a low voice, "Barthello told us about you. Thank you for what you've done. Um, are you alright?"

Yuna said nothing, merely nodding slightly. The soldier understood and motioned for the others to leave. Paine raised Rikku, still holding her arm around her as they left the Chamber. Yuna followed, sullenly walking behind the still-sulking Rikku. For a moment, she paused and turned to face the room. Disbelief, anger, sorrow, disgust—all these emotions jarred dizzily in her head. She wiped away the final tear she could cry and walked away.

Mournfully to the few, silent pyreflies floating above her, she whispered, "I'm sorry."