Chapter 59 – Let the Hero Out Once More
"Are you alright? What happened to you?" Rin asked, his voice shaky.
"Yeah, I'll live," answered Leblanc in between her huffing and puffing. "I'm worried about my boys."
"What happened to them?" Yuna asked.
Leblanc trembled. "Down the Oldroad, Ormi's chocobo stumbled on a portal that leads to a hidden cave. We went through, blew up some big stone walls as we wandered our way through, then got ambushed by fiends!"
Yuna clutched her hand to her chest. "What happened to Ormi and Logos? Are they . . ."
Looking up at Yuna, her teary eyes widened. "I don't know. I got stunned by a fiend when I was knocked to the ground. By the time I came to, they were chased away. Their screams echoed around, but I couldn't find them. I didn't know what else to do but come for help."
"It's okay, we can help," said Yuna, trying her best to instill some relief into Leblanc.
Leblanc hinted at a smile. "Thank you. I'm glad you listened to me and came, love."
Yuna nodded and turned her attention to Rin. "I'll need to borrow a chocobo. I have to get to the portal as soon as possible if we want to save Ormi and Logos."
"I can't let you go—" Leblanc started to say as she tried to stand up but winced in pain.
"It's alright, Leblanc. You're in no condition to fight. Please stay here and take care of her, Rin."
He agreed and ordered his attendant to fetch a chocobo for Yuna to ride. Outside the travel agency, Yuna hopped up onto the yellow, feathery beast. It squawked in confusion, perhaps unsure of why its rider had such a disturbed look on her face. Leaning close to its ear, she whispered some encouraging words to the chocobo.
Feeling the creature adequately satisfied, Yuna strode through the Highroad and down Oldroad. From the description Leblanc provided her before she departed, she recognized the area where the portal resided. Rin's hover had crashed here two years prior. As described, she located the green portal. Before she entered, she pulled out her twin pistols, checking to make sure they were loaded.
She felt her palms perspire while gripping the guns. It had been more than two years since she wielded them with the concept of combat in her mind. Swallowing hard, she holstered her weapons and steeled herself to face down whatever might come across in the cave. Stepping into the portal, it whisked her away into a dim, bleak environment.
Before her, a corridor crafted of smooth, slate walls lined either side of Yuna. She reached over to the wall beside her, running her fingers against its surface. A wet grime stuck to her fingertips. Up ahead of her lay piles of tiny, splintered stones, and the remnants of a charred blast on the ground. The dank air sent the smell of mildew through her nose, weighing heavy in her lungs.
Holding her breath, she lingered near the entrance, extending her ear out to try to pick up any sound from Logos or Ormi. Only silence surrounded her, broken by the occasional dripping of water. Slowly walking forward, she came to an intersection. Ahead of her, an open chest rested in a dead-end. To her left, she spied another destroyed stone wall.
Following the trail of rubble and residual smoke, she meandered her way through the cave system until a long, straight stretch lay before her. The closer she approached, the louder Yuna swore she heard someone yelling. Then again, she thought the screeching could be from a fiend. She unholstered a pistol, treading carefully so as not to make unnecessary noise.
The shifting of dirt from the ceiling above her splashed against the top of her head, soon followed by two loud screeches. On either side of her, two mucky six-legged fiends leaped down. Their impacts shuttered the ground beneath Yuna's feet. She unholstered her second pistol and fired two shots at the fiend in front of her. Both bullets missed their mark, their impacts kicking up dirt from the ground beside the fiend.
She didn't have time to grumble at herself for her rusty aiming, as the fiend to her backside charged at her. Leaping into the air, it pounced on her, striking her with a forceful blow against her chest. She tumbled backward to the ground, yelping in pain. With the wind knocked out of her, her sight blurred, and she lost track of the second fiend. The fiend that just attacked her retreated a couple of steps. A crackling sound to her left garnered her attention.
While she picked herself off the ground, Yuna turned her head to see the first fiend charging up electricity. Yellow streaks shot around it—the hair on her head began to stand on end. She raised her pistol to shoot at the fiend, hoping to stop its magical attack. The second fiend swatted her arm with its pointy leg, sending her bullets high. Her eyes widened with fear, and Yuna crouched and wrapped her arms around herself.
The sound of stomping legs thumped into her ears. A thunderous shot of white-hot lightning clanging against metal nearly deafened her. She could feel the instantaneous spike in temperature around her. Through slits in her fingers, she opened her eyes and spied a stout figure looming over her.
"Ha! I won't let that stupid bug zap you!" roared the voice of Ormi.
With his shield firmly gripped in his hand, he stood steadfastly in a defensive position by Yuna. She saw scuff marks on his clothing, and bruises and cuts on his hands and face. Looking around the cave, his partner Logos was nowhere to be seen.
"You save me!" she cried. "Thank you!"
"Thank me after we beat these fiends!"
Before she could answer, Ormi darted up to the fiend, bashing it repeatedly with his freshly charred shield. Yuna followed up with a trio of bullets, all hitting their mark. It tumbled to the ground, emitting one final gurgle before it dissolved into pyreflies. The second fiend launched itself again at Yuna, who deftly dodged away from its pincers by pirouetting to the side. She aimed directly for its head, launching two shots into it.
The fiend roared, rearing back in retreat. Ormi dashed up behind it, with his shield in front of him, and propelled himself into the back of the fiend. Shoving it into the cave wall, it crumbled into a cloud of pyreflies. Using his shield as a prop, Ormi wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Whew! I hate these things," he growled.
Yuna walked over to him. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, just a bit dinged up. I can't find Logos or Leblanc anywhere in this place," he responded.
"Leblanc made it out. She ran back to the travel agency for help."
Ormi chuckled. "She swore up and down that you'd come to join us. Boy, I'm glad the boss was right!"
Yuna blushed. "She did?"
"Yup, she's always thought highly of you," Ormi said.
"Then I better not disappoint her. We must find Logos. Do you have any idea where he might be in here?"
Ormi shrugged his shoulders. "I thought I heard him here, but that was you. This stinkin' cave is like a maze."
Yuna tapped her finger against her lips. "Well, I know he's not behind us. I just came from that way. We need to keep moving forward."
"You mean deeper into the cave?" he asked with a shudder.
Yuna nodded. "He has to be here somewhere."
With her pistols still in hand, Yuna led Ormi down the long corridor until she came across another destroyed wall. Thinking he and Logos had been down that direction, Yuna followed his intuition. She followed the corridor until she took another right at a broken stone wall. This led her to yet another broken wall, with the smell of bomb smoke still hanging in the air.
A scream reverberated throughout the cave in this area, soon followed by what sounded like a fiery blast. Yuna and Ormi raced down the corridor, coming to a larger opening. A shot rang out, with a bullet nearly grazing the hulking fiend threatening before them.
"Logos!" Ormi cried.
Quivering in fear, Logos spotted his friend and quickly scampered over to him. He did a doubletake when he spotted Yuna standing behind Ormi.
"Yuna? How did you get here?"
She flashed him a nervous smile. "Long story, but I'm here to help."
"Thank goodness! Now would you please kill this oversized bug!" he yelled.
Pointing behind him, a gigantic mantis-looking fiend emerged from the shadows crawling on eight spiny legs. Tufts of fire burned from its limbs. A dark ichor seeped from the corners of its mouth. Yuna had never encountered such a gross-looking creature before. Not desiring to have the colossal fiend strike first, she instinctively barked orders to Logos and Ormi to fan out from each other in a triangular formation.
Giving no rebuke to her command, Ormi darted up in front of Yuna, while Logos shifted himself behind his accomplice and to the side of Yuna. He readied his revolvers; Ormi lifted his shield in front of himself. Yuna aimed her twin pistols at the fiend, her line of sight just above Ormi's head. The creature hissed, chattering its spiny legs against the ground, darting its eyes between each foe.
"Ormi, I need you to keep the fiend at bay while Logos and I shoot it from afar," she instructed.
Rearing his shield in closer to his face, Ormi replied, "Got it, boss, er, I mean Yuna!"
As requested, Ormi pranced in front of the colossal vermin, garnering its attention. The fiend leaped at him, smashing its legs against his shield three times. The concussion behind the strikes knocked Ormi backward, sending him falling to the ground. Through the cloud of dust kicked up, Logos fired a hail of bullets at the fiery spots on the fiend. It reeled back and launched a blast of arcane fire straight at Logos, blasting him on his back.
Yuna ran over to cover him. "Logos, are you okay?"
He rubbed his head as he got up on his knee. "I think so. This bug packs a punch!"
Ormi growled at the fiend while he rose. "What a jerk! Let me give you something to be pissed off about!"
Spinning himself around like a top, Ormi used his momentum to launch his shield at the fiend. The crash of the impact echoed throughout the cave. Screeching at Ormi, it flung one of its legs at him, swiping away his shield. A bright flash instantly followed a thunderous explosion that deafened Yuna's ears. She watched as bright orange fire engulfed her stout companion. Ormi toppled to the ground.
"Uh-oh, he's down for the count!" Logos cried.
Yuna's eyes darted between Ormi and the fiend. "I have an idea. Cover me!"
Darting toward where he just fell over, Logos let loose a barrage of bullets. The fiend stumbled back from the impacts, momentarily dazed. Yuna used this opportunity to slide next to Ormi, snatching his unwielded shield from the ground. The handle still felt warm from the previous magical blast Ormi endured. Logos squealed when both of his revolvers ran out of ammunition.
No longer being fired upon, the giant fiend turned its attention to Yuna, who continued her race toward it. Her eyes locked with the vermin, she saw a glint of fury build, and the hairs on her head started to stand up. It flung a blast of magical fire at her. Stopping immediately, she imposed the metal shield between herself and the arcane attack. The heat from the blast cascaded over her, but the shield absorbed the brunt of the attack.
She ran again, closing the distance between herself and the fiend. It hurled another blast of fire at her, though Yuna slid out of the way. Popping up, she tossed the shield at the fiend. Lining up her pistol with the shield, she fired, striking the shield directly in its center. The force of the bullet accelerated the shield's momentum, sending it flying directly in the face of the fiend. An earsplitting clang rang throughout the cave from the impact.
Wobbling from side to side, the monstrous fiend let out a dying screech. Its body melted into a cloud of pyreflies before it hit the ground. Yuna slumped over, attempting to regain her breath. She heard Logos sprinting over to check on his fallen comrade.
"Ormi, say something. Are you still alive?" Logos moaned, poking him with the end of his revolver.
Ormi didn't respond at first, before muttering, "Ow, my head . . ."
Kneeling next to Logos, Yuna examined him. Much of his clothing smelled charred, and dirt smudges covered his face, but Ormi started to regain consciousness. Opening his eyes, he struggled to smile at his counterpart. Logos blew out a sigh.
"You're going to be alright," said Yuna.
Logos chuckled. "And it's a good thing, too. The boss would never forgive me if she had to hire a replacement."
"Did we find the sphere?" asked Ormi while sitting up.
Yuna looked around the chasm. "This is the end of the cave, and there's nothing here."
Logos frowned. "All this heartache for nothing I guess."
Logos and Yuna helped Ormi stand up. They exited the cave through the portal and were greeted by Leblanc and Rin on the Oldroad. An expression of relief formed on Leblanc's face when she saw her two henchmen. She locked eyes with Yuna, who could read what ran through her mind and shook her head.
"No luck then?" spoke Rin.
"I'm afraid not," replied Yuna. "There was nothing inside the cave."
"Then we'll have to hope the sphere resides somewhere in the Omega Ruins."
Leblanc fluttered her fan. "And we'll go exploring there . . . in a little while."
"But—" started Rin.
Leblanc tapped him lightly on the shoulder with her fan. "I have some other business that I need to attend to first. I can't be in two places at once!"
Rin rested his hands on his hips. "Well, perhaps Lady Yuna could lead your associates in your stead. She was capable of rescuing them just now.
"Oh, I don't think—" Yuna began, before Leblanc put her arm around her.
"You know, love, Rin makes a good point. What do you two think?"
Nervously following Leblanc's eyes over to Logos and Ormi, she watched the two men shrug at each other.
"She has a knack for giving good directions," answered Logos first.
Ormi nodded. "Yeah, and she's super nice!"
"Well, there you go! Two votes of confidence. That's good enough for me to have you join the Syndicate," Leblanc said, flashing Yuna a pearly smile.
Yuna's mind went blank. The jaunt into the cave, and rescuing Logos and Ormi, had sparked a desire to seek adventure again. Though that desire for adventure indeed required the Gullwings to fulfill, she wondered if sphere hunting with Logos and Ormi would be close enough. As quirky as they were, neither man seemed intolerable.
"Let me think about it. If I do accept, I'll have to make some arrangements before I leave Luca," replied Yuna, still battling with herself.
Leblanc rested a hand on her hip. "Very well. If you do decide to join, you know where to find us."
Leading her two embattled henchmen away with her, Leblanc walked back up the Oldroad. Rin stood with Yuna, a look of curiosity and delight on his face.
"I can see a part of you is still restless," he commented. "That's not a bad thing."
Her voice cracked. "It's true. A piece of me still yearns to be a sphere hunter. While it wasn't all great, I loved the Gullwings."
Rin gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Perhaps this is an opportunity to indulge yourself. Think of it as an investment in yourself."
She smiled as she pondered his words. Perhaps she had been unfair to herself, suppressing her adventurous side for so long. Nobody could replace the Gullwings, but she liked Leblanc. She continued to consider the offer while she trekked back to her apartment in Luca.
Staring up at the twisted, woody visage of Château Leblanc before her, a flood of memories washed over Yuna. To her, it felt like an eternity ago that she first entered the red door leading into Seymour's mansion at the time. The daringness of agreeing to marry him in order to send him still sent tingles down her spine. As much as she and the rest of the Gullwings despised Leblanc at the time, entering her abode didn't hold the same gravity, which was fine to her. Yuna didn't need to be drawn into grave situations anymore.
Outside of Leblanc's goons, a handful of travelers, and a few resident merchants, Guadosalam had not changed at all in the past two years. With Seymour's death and the defeat of Sin, the Guado fled the underground city. Though the Ronso's crusade for revenge had subsided years ago, Yuna assumed they still roamed in Macalania Forest.
It pained her to admit she shared in a life of secluded wandering with the Guado. Perhaps this was what drove her to Guadosalam—a chance of regaining the advancement in her life she achieved while with the Gullwings. She expected to slowly piece that together in Luca, yet her chance encounter with Leblanc changed everything. Though sad to depart her fledgling life in Luca, the surprising vigor she felt standing in front of the Syndicate's headquarters gave her confidence in her decision.
She approached the entrance to Leblanc's keep. Two of her goons kept watch by the door, with one wasting no time in approaching Yuna. She cringed at the sight of her overwrought pink uniform and sweaty black head covering.
"Hey, just what're you doing here? This is private property," the fem-goon demanded.
Yuna rolled her eyes. "I'm here to see Leblanc. She's probably been expecting me."
The other fem-goon interjected, "I recognize her. She used to be part of the Dullwings!"
"Ah, the boss did mention you would be coming! Come on inside!"
The fem-goons led Yuna inside the château. She took some comfort in the fact that the inside of the manor still appeared exactly as it did two years ago. The hall still held the same light, woody smell to it. A trio of goons emerged from
"Hey, boss. Here is that lady you keep talking about," the fem-goon said, motioning to Yuna.
Turning around to face her, Leblanc's face lit up at the sight of Yuna. "Well, now aren't you a sight for sore eyes. I'm so glad you decided to come."
Yuna blushed. "I, um . . . thank you for the invitation. I'll be honest, I missed the thrill of adventuring more than I thought."
"Then welcome to the Syndicate," announced Leblanc. "I've made it a habit to take in all of Spira's misfits."
Yuna eyed the goons around the room. "Just tell me I won't have to wear one of those uniforms, please."
"Well, at least it wouldn't be stolen this time," Leblanc smirked.
"Yeah, sorry about that."
Leblanc laughed. "Enough of the past. Come on, love. Let's get you properly introduced!"
Standing with her hands together back, Yuna waited for Leblanc to collect the rest of her goons milling throughout Guadosalam. She thought Leblanc was kidding when she said she would introduce Yuna to everyone. After a few minutes, an unnerving crowd surrounded her. She could feel her pulse climb and her palms begin to sweat.
Leblanc returned inside her mansion, flanked by Logos and Ormi. Each of her two henchmen bore a beaming grin on their face. Flicking her fan out to open up fully, Leblanc took a moment to flutter it in front of her face before calling for the room's attention.
"We have a new member joining the Syndicate today," said Leblanc with bravado. "Everyone give a warm welcome to Yuna—Spira's favorite high summoner and sphere hunter!"
Yuna blushed from the applause she received. Never one to desire adulation for herself, nobody had cheered for her like this in years. Though she put on a happy face, her chest squeezed together tight enough to squish her insides. When Leblanc shooed her employees away after her moment of acclaim, Yuna let out a sigh of relief.
"Well now, wasn't that fun?" asked Leblanc, tapping Yuna on the shoulder with her fan.
Yuna replied with a nervous smile. "You're too much."
"And that's not even the half of it, especially if you can successfully complete your first mission!" exclaimed Leblanc with a wink.
"Just what is my first mission?" questioned Yuna.
Leblanc motioned for her to follow. "Finding that ancient sphere for Rin. Come, there's much to discuss."
Leading Yuna and her two henchmen to the underground section of the château, Leblanc opened the door to the room housing their Sphere Oscillo-finder. The same assortment of weapons and boxes lined the walls of the dimly lit room. Yuna held back a laugh when she spotted the tacky Leblanc-themed rug on the floor.
"I know we briefly discuss where we think the target is, but it seems you know a bit about it already," Leblanc said.
Yuna shuffled her feet. "Yeah, I've been to the Omega Ruins before once. During my pilgrimage."
Leblanc clapped her hands together. "Wonderful! So, you already know the place."
"I wouldn't say that," Yuna retorted. "We ended up getting chased out of there."
Ormi leaned forward. "Huh? What made you run away? Your guardians a bunch of scaredy cats?"
Yuna shifted her weight to her other leg while Ormi and Logos chuckled together. "No, there's an ancient and powerful fiend residing there."
"I was afraid you'd say that," scoffed Leblanc. "Shinra said something about an Omega Weapon or something."
"Yes, that's it!"
Leblanc rubbed her chin. "Just how strong is this fiend? Did you fight it?"
"We did or tried to, at least. It proved too powerful for us. It almost ate poor Wakka," reminisced Yuna, her eyes losing focus on her companions.
Logos took a step behind Ormi. "And you defeated Sin! Maybe this isn't the right place to look—"
"Stop being a coward!" yelled Leblanc, cutting off Logos. "Shinra was sure if it wasn't in Mi'ihen, it would be here."
Tapping the controls of the Sphere Oscillo-finder, a close-up view of the Omega Ruins phased into being. A single, red diamond symbol blinked near the center of the map. The various corridors on the ruins formed together like a cluster of worms. In her mind, Yuna could picture the dark, winding cave, filled with fiends of ill repute. It sent a shiver down her spine.
"Hey boss, we just have to get to the middle there and that's where the sphere is, right?" Ormi asked as he scratched his head.
Leblanc replied, "You got it. Just make sure you . . . avoid the Omega Weapon thingy and you'll be fine. How hard could it be?"
Yuna bit her lip. "If we're careful we should be okay."
"Good luck with this one. Careful isn't in his vocabulary," teased Logos, jabbing Ormi in the side.
"Bah! I'll be on my best behavior with you." Ormi saluted.
Leblanc wagged her finger at them. "You best be. Yuna is in charge of this expedition. Consider her orders the same as mine."
Yuna's eyes bulged. "I am?"
"Of course! Why do you think I've been trying to hire you? I have all the confidence in the world that you'll do a wonderful job, love."
For a fleeting moment, a cocktail of anxiety and doubt washed over Yuna. When she met Leblanc's eyes, the confidence in her expression caught Yuna off guard. She felt a release of negativity inside of her, replacing the uncertainty with a rush of conviction.
"You're right!" she exclaimed, pumping her fist in front of her. "We'll find this sphere and break through anything that stands in our way!"