Chapter 64 – Reactivation

"So, did we find out anything more about what's going on with the Youth League?" Rikku asked, tapping her cheek with her finger.

Paine shook her head. "Afraid not. Buddy tried to dig up some more intel, but Nooj didn't exactly give up many details."

"I wonder why not? Why does that guy always have to be so bleak?"

"He's not bleak!" Paine nudged Rikku in the ribs. "Nooj is a great leader. He just has his own style."

"Yeah, a bleak style."

Yuna stood just in front of her two friends, largely ignoring their banter. Clasping her hands together, she felt tension building up in her muscles. Pulsating like electricity, the anticipation of her first mission back with the Gullwings sent shocks of anxiety through her body. She took a deep breath in when the hatch began to open. The clunking of mechanical parts lowering the ramp did little to distract her.

A familiar face greeting her below provided her with a welcome diversion. She led her two teammates to greet Nooj, who stood leaning against his silver cane. He held himself with the same unassuming strength and stoic disposition as he had two years ago. Behind him, a trio of Youth League members milled about, a look of concern smeared over their faces.

He flashed a smirk taking a step closer to Yuna. "Look what the cat dragged in. You three are a sight for sore eyes."

Rikku waved. "Surprised to see us back in action?"

"It's been too long, Nooj," said Paine, her arms folded tight against herself.

Yuna bowed. "It's nice to see you again."

Nooj adjusted his glasses while taking a long look at Yuna. "Likewise. Circumstances are much different than when we met in Luca."

"Yes, they certainly are."

Paine gave a blank look at Yuna. "You two saw each other in Luca?"

Yuna smiled. "Yes, we ran into each other when he was on his way to the opening commencement for the blitzball tournament."

"Selling the book you wrote, Paine, I might add," said Nooj. "I won't lie when I say I was shocked to hear the Gullwings had reformed."

"It's been a crazy couple of days, but here we all are," Yuna expressed with a glint of jubilation in her eyes.

Rikku threw her hands behind her head. "Why are some fiends giving you so much trouble? I didn't think you guys even used this place that much anymore."

Nooj sighed. "We don't, but our old headquarters here still has its uses."

Do you need us to clear out some fiends along the way?" Paine questioned.

"It's not the fiends that are my greatest concern," answered Nooj while tapping his cane against the ground. "It's the circumstances surrounding their arrival."

"Did they teleport in?" Rikku giggled.

"That seems to be exactly the case."

"Uh, how is that possible?"

Nooj shrugged. "I wish I had an answer for you. A mysterious layer of fog descended on the road to the lift and hasn't disbursed since."

Yuna rubbed her chin. "When did the fog start?"

"It was two days ago now. The fog just spread itself out across the road during the night. And emerging from it, were what seems like an endless number of fiends," Nooj explained.

"And you couldn't find the source?"

Nooj frowned. "Not entirely. From what one of my men told me, he believed it started coming up from the area below the road to the lift."

Paine folded her arms together. "Were you able to get a closer look?"

"Perhaps if I wanted to indulge my old deathseeker ways, I'd have continued to venture through the fog. What few Youth League members are here with me are not a match for the challenge we're facing, and our remaining members at the headquarters are separated from the rest of us."

Yuna took a step closer to Nooj and looked him directly in the eyes. "Don't worry, we'll get to the bottom of this. Whatever is causing all these fiends and fog, we'll find it."

He closed his eyes, a slight smile creeping on his face. "I'm glad to hear a confident resolve back in your voice again."

"Thank you," said Yuna.

Without another word, Nooj led the Gullwings to the beginning of the road leading to the Youth League headquarters. Glancing up at the sky, Yuna saw nothing but a thick curtain of grey clouds hanging overhead, blotting out the sun. The occasional drop of rain fell on her head. After a short jaunt, the familiar road came into view—at least the start of it.

True to Nooj's description, a nearly impenetrable fog floated low off the ground, engulfing the entire area. She squinted to try to ascertain if anything lurked inside, but the wall of fog blocked her vision.

"I've never seen anything like this," Rikku commented.

Paine agreed, "You got that right. What in the world could be making fog like this? It looks—"

"Unnatural," said Nooj, completing her sentence. "I thought the same thing. This isn't normal."

"The only way to solve this mystery will be to go inside the fog and find its source," said Yuna, glancing at her two comrades.

"Will you be coming with us as well, Nooj?" Paine asked.

Nooj smirked while he adjusted his glasses. "I'll only slow you down. No, I'll be sitting this little adventure out. Unfortunately, I also have other business to attend to."

"You can count on us!" Yuna declared.

Parting ways with Nooj, the Gullwings ambled to the edge of the fog cloud. Yuna ran her hand through the ghostly mist. It felt cloud-soft to the touch and had enough substance to be parted by the movement of her hand.

"This isn't your typical morning fog," she noted.

Rikku played with the fog, tickling it with her fingers. "You got that right, Yunie. I've never seen fog this thick. It's like a gigantic marshmallow."

Paine put her hands on her hips, examining the fog intently. "Any idea what could be causing it?"

"I have my suspicions," Yuna said before pausing. "But I don't want to speculate."

"I can't see fiends causing this," Rikku said.

Shaking her head, Paine stuck her arm into the cloud. "No, I can't either."

"The only way we'll be able to know is to enter it."

Yuna looked at Paine. "She's right. We need to walk through the fog and try to find its source."

Letting out a sigh, Paine brushed back her hair. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Stepping into the fog first, Yuna led the way. Nagging in the back of her mind, the thought that Shuyin could be the root of this dilemma hung over her. The more she pondered on it, the more she wondered if it could be true. The timeframe matched up with when he fled Zanarkand, but Nooj never mentioned seeing Issaru.

Careful with each step, she held her arm out in front of her, using it to survey for obstructions. She could feel her heart beating in her chest, each thump corresponding with each step deeper into the unknown she walked. Much to her surprise, the farther into the fog cloud she trekked, the thinner the fog became. After piercing the initial veil, only a light mist surrounded her by the time she neared the path under the ravine.

"Strange how the fog isn't as dense as it was in the beginning," Paine commented.

"I was thinking the same thing," said Yuna, squinting at the path ahead. "It doesn't make any sense."

Paine glanced over at Rikku. "Hey, why are you trembling so much?"

"Because . . . I have some scary bad memories from here," Rikku replied, holding her hands up to her mouth.

"What bad memories?"

Rikku sighed. "You guys weren't with me then. When I was off with Nooj and Gippal two years ago, we went down there to the scary place."

"Scary place?" Yuna glared at Rikku in dismay.

"Yeah! There's a cave at the end of the path down here. Remember the one that needed the Crimson Spheres to unlock? We went in . . . and it was terrifying!"

Yuna recalled Rikku mentioning her endeavor with Gippal and Nooj while she secluded herself in Bikanel. Although Yuna wanted to press her cousin, she didn't linger on the topic of the two men resolving their past with the Crimson Squad. Every time Rikku recounted that part, her teeth chattered too much to finish.

"It would be helpful if you actually explain what was so frightening to you," grumbled Paine.

"Okay, okay. Well, you see, the whole place smelled like death and old cheese. Then we ran into a dead soldier who wanted to fight us. And in the end, it was Shuyin who—"

"Shuyin was in there?" interjected Yuna.

Rikku nodded profusely. "Yeah, that's when he took turns controlling Gippal and Nooj. Ugh, I hate that guy, no offense to your buddy, Lenne."

"I still can't believe that bastard is back," scoffed Paine. "You don't think he's responsible for this, do you?"

Yuna's expression turned rigid. "I wouldn't put it past him. It could be a coincidence, but I'm not willing to bet against it."

Paine put a hand on her sword. "If he is, maybe we can put an end to him once and for all. Are you up for that, Yuna?"

Realizing the undertones of her friend's question, Yuna dwelt on the matter. Even though her mission to bring Lenne's feelings to Shuyin had ultimately failed, a part of her still harbored that love and affection Lenne held so dearly for Shuyin. Even so, she knew she couldn't let him enact his plan for world destruction. With Lenne gone, nothing gave those old feelings any power.

"I am," Yuna replied. "We won't let him make a mess of Spira again."

Rikku grimaced. "Does that mean we have to go back into the dark, scary cave again?"

"Afraid so. Don't worry, we're here with you. I promise we'll be more capable than Gippal," teased Paine.

Rikku answered with a playful shove. "Hey! He was fine. It's hard when you get possessed you know."

With a chuckle, Yuna turned to lead her friends underneath the ravine when a rumbling started to shake the ground. A cacophony of footsteps swiftly neared her. Racing up from below, a pack of gnarling fiends covered in hard scales surrounded the girls.

"Yuna, watch out!" called Paine.

Before she could dodge out of the way, one of the dragon-looking fiends charged at her, walloping Yuna with its head. Rikku leaped in front of her cousin, slicing twice at the fiend. It reeled back in pain. Rikku helped Yuna off the ground.

"You okay, Yunie?"

Yuna pulled out her pistols. "I'll feel better once these fiends are gone."

Aiming a pistol at each of the two fiends flanking them, Yuna fired a barrage of bullets, each one finding its target. The scaly fiends winced and snarled in anguish. The fiend which knocked Yuna off her feet shot an icy blast of magic from its mouth at Paine. She tried her best to deflect the wintery force with her sword, but a layer of ice-cold arcane energy burned her skin.

Witnessing the frost covering her friend's skin like prickly, white moss, Yuna aimed while on one knee at the fiend, attacking it in kind. Her fingers pulled back repeatedly, emptying all her bullets in rapid succession into the fiend. It burst into a glittering array of pyreflies.

Following suit, Rikku pulled out a large, red bomb and chucked it at the two remaining fiends. After a tiny clunk, a ball of fire erupted out of the bomb, engulfing both in flames. The one fiend screeched as it dissolved into pyreflies, but the other lunged toward Yuna. Reeling back, she braced herself and shielded her body with her arms.

Clanging steel interjected itself onto the lunging fiend, and it squirmed for a few moments before it stopped moving. Soon after, a cloud of colorful pyreflies burst from its body until it faded from existence.

Yuna blew out a sigh of relief. "Thanks for saving me."

"Sure, no problem," replied Paine with a wink.

Rikku began rubbing the frost from Paine's arms. "Hey, are you okay? That stuff is freezing cold."

"Yeah, I'll live. Those fiends didn't look like much, but they packed a punch."

Rikku giggled. "Probably because none of us has done much fighting for a while. We're out of shape!"

"I think you're right there," Yuna said, patting her cousin on the head. "But that's no excuse for us not to keep pressing on."

"I'm just getting warmed up." Paine slung her sword over her shoulder. "And It does feel good to slay fiends again."

"Fighting fiends goes a lot better with you two around," remarked Yuna.

Rikku hopped into the air with her arm raised. "Everything is better with me around!"

Carefully stepping on the stones descending below the ravine, Yuna kept a sharp eye out for more fiends lurking in the mist. Navigating the shadowy dirt path, she found the soil had moistened into sticky mud. Picking her feet up higher so as not to get her boots stuck, Yuna reloaded her pistols ahead of any more combat. She silently laughed at Rikku's complaints about the muddy path behind her.

The path ended at the hidden cave. When Yuna last stood in front of it, a giant seal barred entry. Nothing blocked the cave entrance now. She felt a light breeze blow against her cheeks; the air moving out of the cave smelled desecrated and foul.

Slinking behind her, Rikku grabbed a hold of Yuna's shoulders, only peeking the top of her blond head out from behind.

"Ugh, I forgot just how creepy this place is," moaned Rikku.

Paine rolled her eyes. "What, afraid of the dark now?"

Rikku pointed into the black void. "You didn't have to face what's in there. A bunch of dead soldiers and freaky ghosts from the past."

Besides the wind, Yuna noticed pyreflies trickling out of the cave. "There must be thousands of pyreflies lingering in there."

Rikku removed a flashlight from her pouch. "Let's just get this over with."

"Here, let me," said Yuna while taking the flashlight from her cousin. "I'll go first so the monsters eat me instead of you."

Rikku hesitated to return Yuna's chuckle. Steeling herself, Yuna felt a sense of motherly protection wash over her. Judging by the ghastly expression plastered over Rikku's face, Yuna knew nothing but horrors awaited them inside the cave. She could tell Paine felt nearly as distraught by entering, even if she didn't show it. The stories Baralai, Gippal, and Nooj must have shared with her from their journey inside still clung to her psyche.

Swallowing hard, Yuna turned on the flashlight and entered the lightless cavern. Instantly upon passing through the façade, the temperature dropped. The cold air coursing over her skin sprouted patches of goosebumps. Her nose burned from the intense, icky-sour air she breathed in. She had to cover her mouth for fear of throwing up.

Flashing her light on the walls around her, the scars of battle were carved into the stone. Splotches of blood still stained the dirt of the ground. Continuing deeper into the cave, piles of crumbled bones and tattered garb lined their path. The moisture in the cave left the unattended swords rusted and brittle. The clusters of pyreflies thinned out the further from the entrance they walked.

"Stay close guys," whispered Paine, who had her sword in hand.

Rikku clutched onto Yuna's free arm. "You don't have to tell me twice!"

"What happened in here?" asked Yuna, still wrestling with nausea.

"The Crimson Squad was investigating in here," explained Paine, looking blankly around. "I was recording for the guys, and then everything went crazy. I still don't fully understand it."

"Nooj said Kinoc knew Operation Mi'ihen would fail," Rikku said. "Gippal wondered why he diverted you guys, and I think it was to find out about Vegnagun."

Paine's face scrunched up. "He sent so many to a senseless death all for his own power. I wished I thanked Trema for pulverizing him."

"I hope he's rotting somewhere in the Farplane right now," added Rikku.

"Hey, keep it down. I think I hear something," shushed Yuna.

She took a quick gasp of air and held her breath, listening intently to her surroundings. For a moment, only the soft dripping sound of trickling water and the coarse rushing of frigid air made any sound. Cutting through the background noise, a long, agitated moan announced itself.

Bursting from the floating pyreflies surrounding her, two Crimson Squad soldiers appeared. Yuna stepped back and gasped as they ran by her, both men letting out a bloodcurdling scream while racing from someone or something. Yuna wanted to scream from witnessing perhaps the last, horrifying moments of their lives eternally captured by the pyreflies. The soldiers disappeared from existence as quickly as they appeared, leaving the same cluster of pyreflies to roam again.

All three of the girls let out a sigh of relief simultaneously. The moans returned, and the sound of shuffling feet added to the noise. Emerging into the light from Yuna's flashlight, a pair of grotesque human-like figures shambled into view.

"Oh, no! Not these guys again!" yelled Rikku, pointing her finger at the remnants of the soldiers.

Paine's eyes shot open. "I remember them . . . they were my squad mates!"

"They're unsent!" Yuna declared.

The shadowy-skinned hands of the dead soldiers unholstered swords from their scabbards. The low groans mutated into snarls and hissing. They shambled closer until Yuna could smell the decay of their rotten flesh. What remained of their uniforms had been tattered and ripped apart years before.

"I don't suppose they'd remember you," Rikku said while drawing her twin blades.

Paine flung her sword in front of her. "I wish I could tell you it mattered."

Leaping forward, Paine swung her sword at the closer of the two unsent soldiers. Yuna caught a hint of tears in her eyes as she darted by her. The steel of her sword collided with her former comrade's blade, sending bright yellow sparks flying into the air.

Rikku rushed up to engage the second soldier, taking swipes at him with her twin blades. The clattering of metal impacting metal rang throughout the cave. Yuna tried to keep her flashlight on the battle while aiming her pistol, but the disorderly action gave her no precise openings.

An overhead swing by the dead soldier sliced at Rikku, who barely dodged its reach by backflipping away. With a path clear, Yuna took advantage and pulled the trigger twice on her pistol. Both bullets hit their mark, striking the soldier in the head. It toppled over, pyreflies pouring out of its fractured skull.

Deadlocked in combat, Paine and the undead soldier traded deflecting blows. Jumping on its back, Rikku distracted the unsent soldier by scrapping the gooey skin along the neck with her curved blade. Thrusting her sword forward, Paine cut through the tattered uniform and drove her sword into her dead comrade. A squirt of black ichor gushed from the wound until pyreflies replaced it.

"Ew, that's gross," said Rikku, shoving the dissolving body to the ground.

Paine closed her eyes. "I hope they can rest now."

Yuna put her hand on Paine's shoulder. "I'm sorry. This is awful."

"I appreciate it. The chaos when everybody went mad . . . I never realized how many of us died in here."

"I'm glad you weren't one of them," Rikku said with a smile.

"But there's still time!" a disembodied voice boomed, followed by a heinous cackling.

The faint chime of the pyreflies rang louder. Swinging her head around, a ghostly figure materialized just a few feet away from Yuna. Wearing his familiar clothes of red, yellow, and black, Shuyin snickered at the girls. Wagging his blue and black sword at Yuna, he peered at her with a maniacal look.

Without hesitation, Yuna aimed her pistol at him. "Shuyin? Stop this madness!"

She stepped forward to get closer to him, but he turned and started running further into the cave. With her friends behind her, Yuna ran to give pursuit. To her dismay, he vanished into thin air before she could fire off a shot.

In his stead, three more unsent Crimson Squad soldiers rounded the bend and charged her. The first soldier used the hilt of his sword to strike her in the head. Tumbling to the ground, Yuna clutched her panging forehead.

Paine dispatched the soldier by kicking him to the ground and driving down into his torso with her sword. A sharp, gurgling cry soon dissolved into a symphony of pyreflies. Rikku flung a bomb between the two soldiers behind him, launching them both into the cave walls. They slumped to the ground, leaving a streak of gooey ichor on the stone they slid down.

Another devilish cackle roiled throughout the cave. "And they thought they could cut me down! I'll find Vegnagun and destroy the world!"

Racing through the winding cave corridors, Shuyin continued to spout nonsense that Yuna couldn't comprehend. He continued to blather on about the past like they were events yet to happen. She came to a larger opening in the cave where Shuyin stood with his back to her, pyreflies spiraling around him. His body glistened in soft, white light.

"How long has it been, Lenne . . . a hundred years . . . a thousand perhaps?" Shuyin spoke, his voice lower and steadier than before.

Paine yelled, "Stay still so I can send you to the Farplane for good!"

Before the echo of her voice could disperse, the thousands of pyreflies in the chamber all flickered and flew at once. Yuna gasped in fear. Appearing before her, scenes of the Crimson Squad's massacre surrounded her. Men and women screamed in insanity as they butchered one another. Eventually, it ended with Baralai, Gippal, and Nooj dashing away.

Paine stood, her mouth partially hanging open, and her face as white as a ghost. "What was that?"

Rikku clutched her hands to her chest. "Are they . . . unsent. No, that can't be right."

"I've seen this before," explained Yuna. "There are places where pyreflies cling to people's memories and make them eternal."

"Those were just memories? More like nightmares," Paine said, still gazing around at the litany of pyreflies.

Yuna's brow lifted. "I wonder if he is also just a mem—"

"No!" cried Rikku when Shuyin's incorporeal form merged with her body in a flash of light.

"Something is wrong! What the hell is he doing?" Paine screamed.

She swung her sword in the air, slicing at any pyrefly that came close to her. Another demented cackle from Shuyin echoed in the chamber. The chiming of the pyreflies encircling Paine hurt Yuna's ears. She watched her friend yelp in pain and fall to her knees.

"Go away!" screamed Rikku.

Barely dodging the reckless slicing of Rikku's twin blades, Yuna spun around in time to see Paine lurking toward her, her sword pointed directly at Yuna. Just like Rikku, pyreflies circled her body. Stepping backward, Yuna tried to distance herself from her friends.

"What's going on?"

"You will see," said Shuyin.

From behind, his ghostly form embraced her. She felt a frigid cold touch her skin. Pyreflies engulfed her, and painfully familiar memories of the distant past overwhelmed her. This time, the deep-cutting anguish drilling into her soul came not from Lenne's perspective, but from Shuyin's. Images of his memories invaded her thoughts.

The towering form of Vegnagun loomed over her. The frightful melody Shuyin played on the organ filled her ears again. Flickering images of Lenne falling to the ground ravaged her sight. She choked on the intensity of the pain coursing through her mind and body.

Steam poured from Vegnagun as the machina rose from its slumber at the behest of Shuyin. Yuna felt his anticipation for when the cannon would be ready to unleash its destruction, soon followed by his alarm to see Lenne standing before him with arms outstretched.

Then the soldiers marched in, with rifles ready to fire. Unlike Lenne who had been mired in panic, nothing but malice and resentment seethed in Shuyin while the guns aimed at him.

Yuna gained enough control of herself to pull away from Shuyin's nightmare. She pointed her pistols at him, her hands trembling in staggering fear. The unwanted emotions he injected into her still held a grip over her. She could hardly breathe from the tightness in her throat.

"Stay back!" she yelled.

Shuyin's form flickered and faded for a second before disappearing. The pyreflies resumed their chaotic flight around the chamber, becoming more animated than before.

Shuyin's voice echoed. "You shouldn't have come looking for what you cannot understand foolish warriors. No one from Bevelle can withstand me!"

Yuna flinched when Rikku screamed at the top of her lungs, grasping the sides of her head. Neither she nor Paine had their normal light in their eyes. Yuna stepped back into the wall of the chamber.

"Guys, what's wrong? What are you doing?"

Neither of her friends spoke a word; they instead focused a deathly glare on Yuna. Rikku uncurled herself and faced Yuna. Gritting her teeth, Rikku readied herself to pounce.