Chapter 81 – To Zanarkand
Yuna's eyes popped open wide at the sight of Yojimbo placing a hand on the hilt of the sword resting at his hip. The way he slightly twisted his waist triggered memories in her mind. A towering protector, donned in wonderous purple and orange garb, elegantly swayed onto a battlefield littered with fiends. She wondered if he could be one of her aeons, even though he bore no resemblance to a fayth.
"Don't stand around and stare, c'mon!" he barked.
Yuna immediately stood up straight. "Right! Lead the way!"
"Are you sure about this, Lady Yuna?" asked Maechen with a look of anguish.
She nodded. "We'll be fine. It's only right to defend the place we're seeking refuge in."
Motioning for him to follow her, Yuna chased after Yojimbo, who raced toward the entranceway. He combined with a group of soldiers pouring out of the structure and spread across the maze of platforms. She noticed a group of summoners scampering down the path towards the city. A regiment of machina continued to push them closer with a constant volley of gunfire and explosions.
A platoon of chocobo riders blew on their horns, attempting to scare away the summoners. Their aeons charged undaunted, following the commands of their summoners without fear. Caught between Remiem and Bevelle, the remaining Zanarkand summoners formed a wall, using their aeons to shield them from both sides. Launching a barrage of glowing rockets, the Bevelle machina unleashed a torrent of firepower. Yuna held her breath, freezing in place while watching the bright trails of the rockets fly in the air. They seemingly drifted in slow motion until their deadly impact erupted into balls of bright orange fire. Fast fire consumed the summoners and their aeons.
The superheated air burned Yuna's face, forcing her to shield herself with her arms, which bore the brunt of the heat. Peeking out, she watched in horror at the litany of agonizing Zanarkand summoners. Their aeons dissolved into clouds of pyreflies, flying through the black curtain of smoke hanging above the ground.
The remaining machina from Bevelle sparked and shuttered through the smoke, examining the battlefield for survivors. A squadron of soldiers, most bloodied in some manner, slowly marched behind them. They all held their rifles in hand, not yet assured of the battle's completion. Two chocobo riders crept up towards the Bevelle contingent. Yojimbo marched into the remnants of the battle, sifting through the waves of smoke to follow the chocobo riders.
Yuna stepped forward to follow him but stopped when a hand touched her shoulder. She looked beside her and saw Maechen giving her a stern look while shaking her head. Biting her lip, she obeyed his silent command and stood in place. She watched on as Yojimbo caught up to the chocobo riders, who neared the soldiers. The haze of smoke blew back and forth, obscuring the interaction between the two forces. A hush had fallen over the battlefield, with only the wind sounding in Yuna's ear. She held her breath, hoping to observe a peaceful parting.
The wind blew the smoke back towards them, casting a long ebony cloak over the forces until a sudden choir of screams broke the silence. Steel shattering against steel rang through the air, and bullets whizzed overhead. Yuna rushed to where she last saw Yojimbo, only to have a chocobo nearly collide with her after it sprinted out of the curtain of smoke. Close behind it, Yojimbo ran, swiping away the smoke with his blade.
"Fall back, Yuna!" he commanded.
Her boots slipped on the choppy grass, nearly causing her to fall flat on her face. He lunged forward and caught her with swift grace. Their eyes connected for a split second, and she witnessed the rush of adrenaline soaring through his body embodied by his wild expression. Pulling out her pistol, she fired a shot at the line of Bevelle soldiers racing in pursuit. The gun proved unwieldy for her, and her errant blast zoomed well above their heads. The kickback from the shot caught her by surprise. She thought she had proficiency using a pistol, but now she doubted the truth in that recollection.
A squadron of Bevelle soldiers cut off Yojimbo and Yuna, having curled around through the cloak of smoke and cut them off. Yojimbo snapped himself around to retreat but stopped when another group of soldiers closed in behind them. Realizing they were surrounded, Yuna gasped and awkwardly spun herself around in the opposite direction as Yojimbo to flee from the impending soldiers. Her foot caught on something on the ground, and she fell.
She let out a loud grunt, feeling a sharp pang in her arms and chest as she slumped onto the hard ground. Shaking her head, she lifted her body and noticed the object which caused her to fall. A skinny, cylindrical staff of wood, painted a deep shade of purple, stuck to the earth underneath her. Getting onto her knees, she grasped the staff and lifted it off the ground. The silvery head of the staff jingled when she picked it up.
Something about holding the staff in her hand felt natural. Nothing in her mind could recall her being a summoner in her current time, yet a force impossibly deep inside her connected with this object. She rose to her feet, still employing the staff in her possession. Yojimbo scoffed, giving her a look like she had gone insane. Glaring around at her surroundings, she realized all the Bevelle soldiers had surrounded them in a circle, with rifles pointed directly at them. Flashes of her racing underneath the dark corridors of Bevelle erupted in Yuna's mind. Her nerves burned with a raging fire, and her pulse raced from an overwhelming sensation of doom.
Thrusting the staff into the air above her head, she closed her eyes and cried, "I call out for someone to come to my aid!"
Deafening silence followed. The soldiers surrounding her stared with their mouths hanging open, looks of panic all over their faces. Nothing but the sound of the breeze dared to stir the land around them. The soldiers then began to cackle and aimed their rifles at her once more. Yojimbo scoffed and raised his sword.
"You are no summoner! We're going to have to—"
Fiery explosions burst from the sky above, where the bright pink glow of an open portal manifested. Shooting out of its eternal darkness, an iron anchor slammed into the ground, embedding itself deep into the earth near Yuna. The anchor then retracted, pulling out a hideous aeon from the dark void it entered into. Her sharp claws were restrained by chains, binding the creature to the place it emerged from. A sepia-toned picture of a woman hung from her neck. The aeon roared at the soldiers surrounding her.
Yuna gasped. "It's you! You answered my call, Anima!"
So overwhelmed by joy at seeing an aeon come to her aid, Yuna hadn't noticed Yojimbo retract behind her, in fear of the monster she unleased from an unknown dimension. Anima wasted no time in defending her summoner, hurling a blast of fire magic into the ground at the soldiers in front of her. Setting their uniforms ablaze, the line scattered immediately. Some dropped to the ground, desperately trying to squelch the white-hot flames engulfing them. Others ran aimlessly away, their blood-curdling screams bouncing off the canyon walls.
The soldiers who remained steadfast fired a volley of bullets and ordered their machina to attack. Their shells bounced off the hardened exterior of Anima's torso. The aeon recoiled slightly before whispering a low growl and unleashing a blast of vicious arcana at the incoming machina. The steel exteriors of their construction split apart, sending a thunderous shower of sparks flying into the air. Thousands of tiny yellow bolts rained down before disappearing into the ground.
The soldiers still alive from the onslaught fled, leaving Anima to destroy the remainder of their machina. They cared only for their own lives in the face of the destroyer Yuna summoned. Still firmly grasped in her hands, she stared at the staff. Light gleamed off the silvery decoration at its top. She blew out a long sigh, finally able to let herself expel the torrent inside her.
Maechen walked up beside her. "You are full of surprises, Lady Yuna."
"You're not the only one surprised," she said while cracking a smile.
He looked up at Anima. "I've never seen an aeon like this before."
Yuna watched as Anima's body lost all color and form, looking like she transformed into water, before dissolving into a cloud of pyreflies. That cloud metamorphosed into a human form—a woman bearing a calm expression, appearing otherwise unassuming if not for the apparent pain lurking in her eyes. A pain familiar to Yuna for reasons she didn't understand.
"Thank you for coming to my aid," said Yuna while bowing.
The woman remained stoic. "You've helped me before, or rather, you will help me in the future. You will help all of Spira in time."
"I don't know what you mean."
"You don't remember me?" the woman asked.
Yuna shook her head. "There's a lot right now I don't remember that I feel I should. You look so familiar, but I just can't recall . . ."
"Perhaps you will remember my son, Seymour," his mother said.
Her consciousness retreated inward, pushing aside reality to recollect a buried memory. At Bevelle of another time, she walked down a long aisle. A filmy, white veil covered her face, matching the flowing beauty of the ivory gown she wore. In her hands, she held a bouquet of red and orange roses. She hated the submissive feeling weighing down on her. The man walking up to stand beside her gave her a moment of reprieve from those oppressive emotions.
Of course, she would marry her beloved Shuyin. They had always been lovers. She carefully turned her head to the right to catch a glimpse of her groom, but the man standing beside her terrified her. She gasped, witnessing the half-human, half-Guado man towering next to her holding a devilish smirk on his face. She remembered this man—Seymour.
Her consciousness returned to reality. "Yes, he was the one who wanted to control Sin. He lusted for power."
"An unfortunate flaw, and one of my creation," Anima said. "It seems you have been affected by the lust for power of another man."
Yuna sighed. "Yes."
"Then through your journey to rectify his wrongs, I will help you. I will share your pain with you."
Feeling a calm drape over her, Yuna nodded. "Thank you. I don't yet know how I'm going to fix this, but I will need all the strength I can find to do it."
Anima didn't respond to her words. The fayth closed her eyes and retreated from the world, melting away into pyreflies. Yuna watched her leave, leaving her again with both Maechen and Yojimbo staring at her in awe.
She turned to face them. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions for me."
Yojimbo folded his arms together. "Dare I ask them is the question."
"I will happily dare to ask mine," said Maechen. "But this isn't the time or place for it."
More people from Remiem walked onto the battlefield, picking through the remnants lying on the ground. Many of the machina and soldiers lay in heaps, their remains still smoldering. One of the chocobo riders had been killed, and others from the city started to carry the remains away. Yuna hated to see the aftermath of the senseless battle.
"We should continue on now," she stated coldly.
Yojimbo asked, "Where are you two headed?"
"Zanarkand," replied Maechen.
"Zanarkand? They would be happy to see another summoner there."
"We don't travel there to get involved with their war. We go there to stop something more dangerous," Yuna said, clasping her hands into fists.
Yojimbo rested a hand on the hilt of his sword. "What could be more dangerous than what just happened?"
Her eyes narrowed. "Vegnagun."
"What is that?"
"Well, if you'd be willing to help me, I'll tell you all about it," she said, flashing him a grin.
He chuckled. "If you desire my strength, you must pay my price."
She thought to herself for a moment. "I don't have gil to pay you with, but perhaps this will suffice."
Reaching into her pouch, she retrieved a necklace. A tiny sphere dangled from a thin, silvery chain. Hints of tarnish speckled the back of the sphere. Yojimbo peered curiously at the necklace, scanning it over multiple times. He grabbed it out of her hand. Holding it up closer to his face, he continued to glare at it with a raised eyebrow.
"This simple jewelry doesn't appear to possess any great value," he commented.
Yuna smiled. "It doesn't yet, but it will in time."
Yojimbo shrugged. "You are a mysterious woman. My curiosity is piqued enough that I'll guard you until we reach Zanarkand."
"Thank you for your service," said Maechen, eyeing the warrior with hesitancy. "If we want to venture forth, now is the time to leave."
Yuna nodded. "You're right. Let's go on from here."
The bright lights radiating from every building in the city blinded Yuna. She shielded her eyes with her hand, which felt awkward to do during the night. The sun had set over Zanarkand an hour ago, but the city lit up the world as if it were a star itself. The nebula of lights cascaded up and down the streets and flowed on for what seemed like forever. The celestial sea enamored Yuna's heart. She stood in the middle of the bustling street, staring distantly at her surroundings.
Like a dream, the cityscape reminded her of nowhere she had ever traveled before. Even in her state of scrambled memories, nothing took her breath away like what lay before her. Children and adults shuffled into homes and stores; their hands were full of food or toys. Though the city had semblances of machina, she quickly realized how much magic formed the backbone of the city's operations. She felt the tingling of its power course across her skin. Like blood flowing through her veins, magic gave Zanarkand life. Her heart fluttered with a delight she didn't realize she could feel.
Yojimbo cleared his throat. "Don't get too lost in the lights."
"Oh, sorry!" Yuna exclaimed.
"It's hard not to get caught up in the majesty of this wonderous city the first time you arrive," said Maechen with a slight smile.
Yuna nodded. "It feels like I'm in a dream."
"It must be hard to not find your current situation anything less than surreal."
"You're right, it doesn't feel real. Any of it," she whispered.
Yojimbo said, "I can't claim to understand how you're feeling, but I can help keep your attention on your goal."
She folded her arms and sighed. "Yes, thank you."
He continued, "Where would we find your, um, counterpart in the city?"
"I . . . wish I could answer that," she replied. "Everything is still fuzzy in my head."
Maechen put a hand on her shoulder. "Take your time, Lady Yuna. Focus on what you can remember and see what else might be discovered."
Yuna closed her eyes, delving deep into her memories. "I remember a time when there was a game, or maybe a sport. There was a lot of people cheering."
"That sounds like it could be a blitzball game," stated Yojimbo.
Yuna's eyes snapped open. "Yes, that's it! Shuyin is a blitzball player."
"Well, now that gives us a clue to go on," said Maechen.
"Where do they play in the city?" Yojimbo asked.
Maechen rubbed the stubble on his chin. "There are many places where games go on here. I believe the closest arena isn't too far ahead of us."
"Then let's check there!" Yuna started jogging ahead.
"Wait, do you know where you're going?"
She smiled. "Only if you hurry up and show me!"
A jolt of exuberance shot through her body, from the tips of her fingers to the tips of her toes. Skipping through the city made her heart flutter for reasons she couldn't understand. She felt it must have been buried memories she shared with Shuyin from living in the city. As a star blitzball player, he held the eye of women galore, but he belonged only to her.
She stopped walking suddenly when a strange thought seeped into her mind. Something about her relationship and Shuyin seemed amiss—like something rotten wore away at the edges of her memories. The blitzball champion she recalled looked so similar to Shuyin, but not like him at the same time.
Instead of sharp, focused eyes, her love bore a warm, inviting expression. He sought to save Spira from destruction, not bring about its end. A cascade of emotions washed over Yuna, shooting chills up and down her spine. She staggered from a bout of wooziness, unable to control the rush of untamed memories flooding back into her psyche. Yojimbo and Maechen took her by each arm, preventing her from collapsing.
"Are you feeling alright, Lady Yuna?" Maechen questioned.
Yuna groaned. "Sorry, I . . . don't know what's come over me."
"Your skin feels cold to the touch all of a sudden," commented Yojimbo.
She looked up at him. "All kinds of memories just hit me. I feel so overwhelmed."
"Perhaps the effects of your time travel," said Maechen. "Such an unprecedented feat will surely have adverse effects."
Yojimbo's mouth dropped. "Time travel?"
Yuna replied, "I know it sounds crazy, but I'm not from this time. Please don't freak out."
"Normally I would part ways after hearing something so outlandish," said Yojimbo. "But there's something I've felt about you since the moment we met."
"A feeling I share, even though I can't put my finger on it," added Maechen.
Yuna thought to answer the question of their feelings but held back the truth. "I'm just glad you have those feelings."
"Perhaps some rest and regrouping will do us good right now," Maechen suggested.
Yojimbo and Yuna both agreed, and they deviated from their trek to find Shuyin for the night. With her mind scrambled, she wished for a peaceful rest. She had to explore many dark recesses inside herself if she wished to uncover the truth of her future. Questions about her relationship with Shuyin nagged at her, eating away at her sanity. Was he truly the man she loved? Whether truth or fiction plagued her, her consciousness blurred, barely registering the remainder of the night before she succumbed to restless sleep.