Chapter 75 – Showdown in the Desert
Bedlam overtook the excavation camp. Black ash and glowing embers from the exploded building adjoining the headquarters floated in the searing air. A thick stream of black smoke soared into the night sky, blotting out the moon overhead. The smell of hot metal and charred wood hung heavy in the air. Yuna searched through the rubble surrounding the building, hoping there were no more survivors to find.
"Hey, I found someone!" Paine shouted.
Trampling over a pile of smoldering debris, Yuna made her way to her friend's position. She helped Paine push a fallen beam off a person covered in wreckage. To her shock, Nhadala lay lifeless underneath the charred fragments of metal and wood. In her haste to dig the camp leader out, Yuna burned her hand. She snapped back, waving her hand in the air. The skin on it turned bright red and pain roiled up and down her fingers.
A shovel crunched into the debris around Nhadala. Gippal grunted as he swung away a shovelful of hot fragments. Another Al Bhed woman came and did the same until Yuna and Paine could safely drag Nhadala's body free. Putting her ear up to her chest, Yuna heard a faint heartbeat and shallow breathing.
"She's still alive," she said.
Paine pointed to the Celsius. "Let's take her to the ship."
Inside the Celsius, Brother and Buddy treated Nhadala's injuries. She had multiple wounds on her arms and legs. A bruise had already formed on her forehead. She started to cough before wiggling her hands and feet. Much to Yuna's relief, the camp leader regained consciousness. Satisfied that she would live, Yuna returned outside to survey the situation. Smoke still billowed from the building, but some of the Al Bhed workers shot water on the fire to quell the blaze. She approached Gippal, who wore a menacing expression on his face.
"Is everyone alright?" she asked.
"Yeah, we only had one other person injured. Thankfully nobody was inside when the explosion happened," he said.
Yuna sighed. "I'm sorry to say I know who probably did this."
"Shuyin."
"Yeah," Yuna affirmed. "What was that machina inside?"
"That was our experiment."
Yuna folded her arms. "Wasn't that what the Machine Faction had built to stop Vegnagun?"
Gippal growled. "It is. Now that bastard has it."
Yuna had never seen Gippal this angry. "How dangerous is it still?"
"Dangerous enough. What is he going to do with it?"
Yuna replied, "He's going to the Cactuar Nation with it. He wants the sphere they have."
His angry expression quickly morphed into puzzlement. "Huh? How do you know that?"
She said, "I went there today with Benzo. He happened to be checking in with their leader. She told us about a stranger snooping around their territory."
"They won't stand a chance against that thing."
"It'll be worse if he gets that sphere!"
He took a moment to survey Yuna's frantic expression. "I've seen that look before. Alright, we need to stop him. I'll round up a few people and take the hovercrafts to the cactuar."
"We don't have time to drive there," Yuna said. "The Celsius will be faster."
"I can't argue with that."
"We need to bring Benzo along. He can talk with the cactuar and translate for us."
Gippal nodded. "Let me go find him, and I'll meet you there."
Using her CommSphere, Yuna informed Brother of the situation while she ran back toward the Celsius. On the bridge, Nhadala stood with the rest of the Gullwings. A white bandage covered the bruising on her head. Splotches of blood had soaked through both of her long, yellow sleeves. She glared grimly at Yuna as she entered the room.
Glad to see you're able to stand," said Yuna.
Nhadala flashed a grin. "So am I. Thanks for pulling me out."
"Of course! I'm happy to finally be able to return the favor," said Yuna.
"What favor?" she questioned.
"For saving me two years ago when I wandered into your camp."
The two women shared a silent acknowledgment and expression of gratitude. Gippal entered the bridge with Benzo in tow. With everyone assembled, Yuna walked over to Buddy. She gazed at the map of Bikanel he had displayed on the screen in front of him.
"Where exactly are we flying to?" he asked.
Yuna replied, "To the Village of the Cactuars."
"The what?"
She laughed. "I know it sounds crazy, but they have a community out in the desert."
Buddy's brows slowly rose. "And why exactly are we going there?"
"Shuyin is the one who caused the explosion. He stole the machina the Machine Faction built and ran off with it," she explained.
"What would he want with a bunch of cactuar?"
Her face turned stern. "The last of Iutycyr's spheres."
"Well, that would not be good," said Buddy with wide eyes. "I'll set course . . . as soon as you tell me where that village is."
Leaning forward, Yuna peered at the screen before pointing to the upper left corner. "It should be right around there."
Punching in the coordinates, Buddy nodded to Brother. He hopped into the driver's seat and revved the Celsius' engines. The ship launched into the night, leaving behind the black trail of smoke still smoldering in the camp. Standing with her arms folded tightly against her chest, Yuna stared out the window, blankly watching the clouds rush by.
Her stomach twisted into knots at the thought of Shuyin obtaining the third sphere. She asked herself how much destruction he would cause in his wake to get it. His insatiable lust to reclaim what he lost in the past drove him to madness, yet Yuna still pitied him. Worse than that, a part of her understood his drive. She entertained the thought of what she could change in the past that might save Tidus.
It seemed simple—meeting a different fayth or a scientist from the past could prevent Tidus from being just a dream. Shaking her head, she snapped herself out of her delusion. Danger lurked in the rabbit hole her mind spiraled down. She refused to let herself be swallowed by a selfish fantasy like Shuyin. She yelped when a sudden hand clasped her shoulder.
"Hey, are you okay?" asked Paine.
Yuna pressed her hand against her chest. "Oh, yeah. Sorry, I didn't realize I was deep in thought."
"It didn't look like good thoughts," Paine commented.
Yuna shook her head slightly. "No, I was just thinking about how much damage Shuyin could do if he gets that sphere."
"Well, that's only if Iutycyr's idea is even possible. Even if it is theoretically possible, how do we know he even got it to work?"
"Yeah, that's true. But some of those spheres I've watched make me think he did."
Paine rubbed her chin. "Time travel is really something I can't wrap my mind around."
"Me neither. Shuyin is banking on it being his solution. That makes it dangerous enough," said Yuna.
"Agreed."
Yuna looked away from Paine. "Hey . . . about last night. I—"
An excited shriek from Brother interrupted Yuna's sentence. Pointing out the window, he declared their arrival at the Cactuar Village. Lowering the Celsius closer to the ground, flashing lights and puffs of black smoke came into view. A giant, four-legged machine stalked its way across the village, firing on the helpless cactuar around it.
It paused for a moment, tilting its body skyward. From its wire-strewn torso, three rockets shot out. Taking evasive maneuvers, Brother pulled the ship into a hard right turn. Yuna stumbled to keep her balance along with the rest of the Gullwings. A pair of sparkling rockets sailed by just in front of the ship. The third rocket careened into its hull, sending a shockwave through the ship. Yuna fell to the floor. Alarms rang from the control panels. Brother yelled in dismay, pulling on his controls with all his might to control the Celsius. His attempted landing crashed the ship into the cold desert sand.
Still face down on the floor, Yuna looked around. Hazy white smoke started to fill the bridge. The hum of the alarms sang fuzzy in her ringing ears. To her left, she squinted to make out Gippal helping Rikku up to her feet. Nhadala used the nearby wall to prop herself up against it. A new trickle of blood coursed down her bandaged forehead.
A black boot stepped beside her. She looked up to see Paine extending out her hand. Wobbling for a moment, Yuna steadied herself with her friend's aid. Brother hopped up and down by the cockpit in a frantic fit of rage, cursing in Al Bhed.
"Is everyone alright?" Yuna finally sputtered out.
"Yeah, I think so," Rikku said while rubbing her head.
Buddy groaned. "Man, I'm glad everyone is okay. Not as sure about the Celsius."
"So buun creb ec rindehk!" yelled Brother.
"Who is brave enough to venture outside and see what mayhem is cooking?" Gippal asked.
Yuna replied, "We will! Shuyin must be stopped!"
Glancing over at Paine and Rikku, her friends responded with an affirmative nod. Making sure her pistols were fully loaded before exiting the ship, Yuna led them into the village. She gasped when she witnessed the blazing ring of fire surrounding where the seal had barred entry into the cave. To her surprise, the machina stood idle at the entrance.
"Can you ask Marnela what happened?" she requested from Benzo.
The boy navigated the field of prominent cactuar before coming to the matron. He spoke with the cactus for many minutes with animated gestures before reporting back to Yuna.
Nervousness tinted his voice. "She said the machina was piloted by the strange man who visited earlier. He used it to destroy the seal and enter the Cactuar Hollow. Now the machina stands watch."
"Oh great, we gotta get past that thing before we can stop Shuyin?" grumbled Rikku.
Paine glared at Gippal. "Just what were you planning on using that thing for?"
"Security for the camp. It was going to keep away the fiends!" Gippal threw his hands up in the air.
"Yeah, well, now it's Shuyin's personal bodyguard," growled Rikku.
Yuna said, "We can't let this thing get in our way. Shuyin must be stopped."
"What's your plan?" asked Paine.
Yuna looked over the silent sentry in front of the cave. "How formidable is this machina, Gippal? Can we defeat it quickly?
"Probably not," he replied with a cringe. "It was made with defeating Vegnagun in mind. It's built like a tank."
"Well, maybe we can slip past it."
"Not a bad idea. You can always distract it for us, Gippal," Paine said with a hint of a smirk.
Gippal winced. "What? Why do I have to be the bait?"
"Because this thing is your creation!" barked Rikku.
"Oh, now you remember I still exist," he teased.
"Since it's not attacking anyone now, Shuyin must have it set to blockade the entrance. I bet it will become docile again once we get by," said Yuna.
Paine nodded. "Worth a shot."
"Alright, let's do this!" cheered Rikku while she threw her arm into the air.
The Gullwings and Gippal spread out around the machine, keeping their distance between themselves and it, waiting for its reaction. The rusted behemoth stood still, seeming not to care about their approach. Patches of sand stuck to its metallic armor. Its dark exterior camouflaged the machine, blending it with the dark colors of the night.
Inching closer, Yuna gripped the handles of her pistols snuggly with her hands. Sticky sweat clung to her skin. She focused all her attention on the massive collection of disparate parts blocking her way into the cave. Each minute confronting this enemy gave Shuyin another minute to claim the last of Iutycyr's spheres—she couldn't wait to engage any longer.
Unholstering her pistols, she fired bullets at the docile machine, her face scrunched in an unhinged manner. Springing to life, its gears whirred into action. Rikku yelled something at her, but she didn't pay attention. Yuna continued to unload on the machina until her bullets ran out. Quickly she reloaded her pistols without taking her eyes off the mechanical guard.
With a grunt, Rikku lobbed a bomb at it, exploding near the shoulder joint of its right arm. Paine dashed in and swiped her sword in the same area. The impact of her blade shot sparks out from the friction it caused slicing against the metal hide of the experimental machine. Shuddering its body, it retaliated at Paine with a swipe of its own arm. She artfully deflected the blow with her sword, but the force still shoved her back.
From its back, the machine fired a barrage of rockets into the air. The Gullwings scattered. Concussive explosions dotted the ground from the rockets slamming into the sand. A wall of sand belched on top of Yuna, kicked up from a fiery blast impacting next to her. Her body struck the ground, knocking the wind out of her. Coarse sand covered her head and face. She felt a hand pull her up.
"Watch yourself, Yuna. This thing is more formidable than you anticipated," said Gippal with a hint of concern.
She dusted the sand from her face. "Yeah, sorry. But we can't wait."
He sighed. "Women are always so impatient."
Flashing her a wink, he steadied a strange-looking device on his right shoulder. He aimed its long shaft up at the machina, which continued to clatter and clunk. She watched him narrow his eye and hold his breath before firing a molten-orange sphere. It shined brightly against the black sky overhead, leaving an arcing trail of orange light in its path. It pummeled down directly on top of the machina's head, bursting into a ravenous blast of fire. The machine stumbled for a moment, giving a sliver of space between itself and the entrance to the cave.
Yuna immediately noticed this and sprinted toward the gap. The machina tried to stop her with its left arm, but she rolled under its swing. Sprinting into the cave, the little light from the burning remnants of the rockets vanished when the machine replaced itself back in front of the entrance.
"Wait, don't go ahead of us!" shouted Paine, her voice muffled by the body of the machina.
"Don't worry about me! Just follow me when you can!" Yuna called back.
Turning around, she ran deeper into the cave, only now realizing she had no idea where to go. She took a deep breath and resumed trekking further in. The winding, narrow corridor had torches lit on either side to light the way. She knelt down to brush her fingers across a vestige of a shoeprint left on the sandstone floor. Shuyin had traveled through here, she was sure.
Strange noises echoed faintly far down the corridor. Listening intently, she cupped a hand around her ear. She couldn't make out if voices murmured or something else entirely clattered. In case she faced the threat of fiends, she made sure her twin pistols were ready for action. Racing down what seemed like an endless, winding hallway, the stomping of her boots on the stone floor reverberated off the stone walls.
Intermittent vibrations shook the floor. She felt her legs tremble when her feet connected with the ground. The thin layer of sandy film jittered into the air from the rumbling. A musty smell started to fill the already stale air. The farther into the cave she traveled, the wetter and more decayed the stone walls appeared. She wondered if anyone had traversed this deep into the cave in the past thousand years.
Coming to the end of the corridor, Yuna gazed at the broken path ahead. Disconnected pillars dotted the way ahead. A thick layer of sand covered the stone floor. Looking up, she noticed trickles of sand spurting down from the ceiling periodically, matching the intermittent rumbles shooting through the cave. Jumping down onto the sand, she felt the rumbling stronger in this part of the Hollow. A streak of sand from the ceiling dripped onto her head, feeling like gritty rain splashing on her hair.
She repeated jumping on and off pillars then climbing up and down more pillars until all her muscles ached. What had been hardly more than a whisper in the distance now grew to a loud cacophony of deep, alien sounds.
Climbing up yet another tall, stone pillar, she finally reached the end of the sand-filled corridor. It terminated at the beginning of a rectangular room. On either side of a massive wooden double door, two grey stone carvings of cactuar were sculpted into the walls. Noticing the doors slightly ajar, they shook when the vibrations raced through the cave.
Before Yuna charged through the door, she paused. Looking behind her, she had hoped her friends would be not far away. Biting her lips, she waited to see if they would come. The only sound of activity in the cave came from the room in front of her. She paced around in a circle until she felt impatience consume her. With pistols drawn, she kicked open one of the towering wooden doors.
It flung backward, crashing into the wall inside the room. Its impact timed perfectly to coincide with another rumbling. Yuna gasped, her eyes bulging wide at the scene revealed to her. Three chittering worker machina surrounded a giant, stone cactuar statue. Its shadow loomed over her, covering her in a curtain of darkness. Embedded in the center part of the statue, an olive-colored sphere glowed.
With arms folded, Shuyin stood by the machina. Working together, the machines controlled a towering drilling apparatus. Driving it into the stone of the statue, the drill shook the ground with its penetrative power. After a few seconds, it ceased operation. Streams of hot smoke fluttered off its housing unit.
Shuyin did not notice Yuna's entrance until after the drilling stopped. When he spied her standing at the doorway, pistols in hand, he smirked at her. He took three steps toward her, halting only when she raised her weapons at him.
"Don't come any closer!" she shouted.
"I'm surprised to see you," he responded. "I had hoped that toy I commandeered would've slowed you down."
Yuna's eyes fixated on the sphere. "Stop this madness, Shuyin."
"No, I will not be stopped," he said. "Not when I'm this close to making it all right again."
"Do you have any idea what you're trying to do?"
He closed his eyes and smiled. "Thanks to you uncovering another one of Bevelle's secrets I do. Iutycyr got his invention to work, I know it! I will have to thank him when I see him."
"You mean it wasn't just a theory?" Yuna questioned.
He chuckled under his breath. "A theory he turned into reality. Think about it, what can be done by going back and fixing all the wrongs that Bevelle inflicted on the world? A thousand years of injustices can be wiped away."
Dwelling on the endless possibilities to drastically alter Spira and its history, the allure of writing Yevon and Sin out of existence intoxicated her. She wondered how much damage and how much pain could be washed away—erased from existence even before it could leave a horrid mark. Then the cascade of collateral damage crossed her mind. If not for the progression of hostilities between Bevelle and Zanarkand, which led to Yu Yevon creating Sin, there would be no Dream Zanarkand and no Tidus.
"You can't possibly know the changes you would make by trying to rewrite history," asserted Yuna.
He rested his hands on his hips. "You're right. But I have only one wrong to right. The rest is not my concern."
"This is not the way to love. You think Vegnagun will solve everything?" Yuna asked.
"It would have a thousand years ago. The difference between us is that my love was for someone real. Yours was just a dream."
His words cut deep into her heart. She opened her mouth to fire off a retort, but her words stuck in her throat. The truth was she couldn't fully bring herself to admit knelled in her ears. Jealous of the assuredness in his words, Yuna felt her heart pang. She didn't just feel her own heartache, but Lenne's as well. Unlike Shuyin, Lenne had wrestled with doubts about whether love had truly existed between herself and Shuyin all those years ago. The reality of Yuna's love proved true, just that who she loved no longer existed. Many mornings had started with her unsure whether Tidus was ever real.
Tears bubbled in the corners of her eyes. "Maybe it all was just a dream, but I wouldn't destroy the world to make him real again."
"Then you deny yourself," he retorted. "But you will not deny me."
The ground quaked again, with the thundering drill drowning out whatever else Shuyin spoke to her. Her attention focused again on the sphere. Shrouded by white smoke, the hazy glow of the sphere disappeared from the statue. A loud clank shook the ground again. When the smoke cleared, only a hole remained in the cactuar statue.
A worker machina picked up the sphere in its lanky claw, handing it to Shuyin. His face beamed as he stared at its olive glow. The horror of the situation overcame Yuna. She felt every muscle in her body tense up at the same time. Extending out both of her hands, she aimed her pistols at him.
"I won't let you leave here with that!" she declared.
He cackled. "You won't leave here at all."
Nodding to one of the other worker machina which had skittered away, it pulled down a lever on the nearby wall. The entire cave trembled, and sand began pouring down from the ceiling in streams. A chute formed directly above Yuna, dumping sand on top of her head. The momentary distraction allowed Shuyin to dart past her. She went to spin around to fire a shot at him, but the three machina engaged her first.
One of them zapped at her arm, while the second swiped at her with its pointy tool. Tripping over the pile of sand forming behind her, she tumbled to the ground. She fired a bullet at the arm of the one in front of her, striking it in the head. It sparked and sizzled for a moment before slumping down into a dormant heap of metal.
Before the remaining machines could attack her again, she sprinted out of the chamber and leaped to the adjoining pillar. Shuyin had just disappeared in the distance when she had emerged. Like waterfalls all around her, sand continued to flow from the ceiling. Glancing down, the little chasm between the pillars had already filled up halfway with sand. If she didn't escape the cave in time, she feared she would drown in it.
Running and jumping as fast as her legs would carry her, Yuna traversed the cave. The loose grains of sand spilling onto the pillars caused her to lose her balance. Her feet slipped and she tumbled off a pillar, falling headfirst into a newly formed pile of sand below. The impact dazed her. She fumbled around to get her bearings while sand continued to leak on top of her.
Her legs sunk into the mounds of sand, preventing her from using her lower body to gain any traction. A million granules of sand continued to pelt her face, clogging up her eyes and nose. Grasping onto the side of a pillar, she attempted to pull herself to the top, but another blast of sand pushed her back down. Yuna yelped in panic. She attempted to call out for help but knew nobody could hear her.
Over the sound of sand raining down from above, a chittering noise rattled above her. Looking up with her green eye, she spotted a little cactuar standing on top of the pillar.
"I wish you could help me," she said. "You better flee while you can."
The cactuar hopped up and down. Soon another cactuar joined it, then another. Within a few moments, a legion of tiny cactuars all gathered. All Yuna could do was stare at them in awe until they jumped away together. Her heart sank, resigning herself to her fate in the desert. A sudden flash of light snapped her out of her moment of self-pity.
Emerging from behind the pillar, a giant cactuar reached out and plucked Yuna out of the sand. Riding on its shoulder, the massive, prickly creature lumbered over the rising sand, squeezing itself and Yuna out of the cave entrance. Dark, molten holes littered the ground around the village. A horde of tiny cactuar frantically scampered around, tending to the mother cactuar, many of whom were injured.
Coughing from her left quickly pulled Yuna's attention. Her cousin, propped up against Gippal, wiped sand and soot from her face. Limping up behind her, Paine rooted her sword into a bank of sand, using it for a brace to lean on.
"Rikku, Paine, are you alright?" she asked, running over to them.
"Yeah, that was some fight," answered Rikku.
Paine spat on the ground. "That damn machina just wouldn't die."
"It's Gippal's fault," grumbled Rikku.
He shrugged. "Hey, it's not my fault my boys know how to put things together well."
"What happened to it?" asked Yuna.
"It ran off," said Paine.
Rikku continued, "Yeah, with Shuyin along with it."
Yuna gasped. "He got away? Oh, no!"
With her eyes opened wide, Paine's face lost some of its color. "Don't tell me he got the other sphere."
Yuna's head dropped. "Yes, I couldn't stop him."
Gippal groaned. "He ran out of the cave right next to me. I just missed grappling with that jackass."
"What're we going to do now?" Rikku asked.
Paine dusted some of the sand out of Yuna's hair. "Lick our wounds and figure out where he went."
Grateful for her friend brushing away the myriad of sandy clumps stuck throughout her hair, Yuna pondered on the subject. She racked her brain, wishing she still had possession of Iutycyr's book. The answer must lie within its pages, she thought. She cursed him for creating such a dangerous experiment and not hiding it from the world. Then a thought crossed her mind.
"I think I know where Shuyin is headed," she stated.
Rikku gawked at her. "Huh? Uh, where?"
"Somewhere we've already explored together."