Chapter 60 – Be Careful What You Seek
Note: The basis for this chapter stemmed from my original playthrough of FFX. Being unprepared for the challenges in the Omega Ruins, my poor party got, well . . . demolished. Taking that as inspiration, I built it into the canon of Yuna's prior experience with the Omega Ruins.
Bright sunlight peaked through the cluster of puffy white clouds above, illuminating the sea below. Yuna sat in the captain's chair of the borrowed airship, watching the endless ocean pass by through the cockpit windshield. She thought to herself that whatever information the sphere she hunted contained, it must be vital to Rin and Shinra's work—enough for Rin to let Leblanc borrow one of his airships for free.
Logos and Ormi sat at the pilot and navigation consoles. Though she worried about just how proficient either of Leblanc's henchmen was at piloting an airship, the fact that they still flew upright satisfied her enough with their skill. Her mind became fixated on their destination.
Her last jaunt to the Omega Ruins four years ago ended in near disaster. Much like the victims of Sin, a part of Yuna hoped to send the former Yevon traitor. She knew little of the ruin's history at the time. Lulu explained to her and her guardians about Omega's past and how his spirit transformed into a fiend. She and her party were not prepared for the onslaught of powerful fiends and the lesser weapon Omega's hatred spawned.
Her lack of preparation in the past pushed her to worry that she embarked on the same folly this time as well. She had a full contingent of capable guardians during her pilgrimage. Glaring down at the backs of Logos and Ormi, both currently bickering with each other, she felt no confidence that they were prepared to take on the fiends lurking in the shadows.
"We're just about there, boss—I mean Yuna," said Ormi, pointing to the skinny island out the cockpit window.
Instead of spying on the all too familiar island coming into view, Yuna fixated her gaze on the looming dark clouds in the sky. The welcoming sunlight that seeped through fluffy marshmallows just a few minutes before transformed into an obsidian curtain. Drops of rain began splattering against the airship, leaving liquid trails on the window.
Yuna grimaced at the sudden change in their environment. "Easy does it, Logos. We don't want a crash landing."
"I've got it under control," said Logos with his hands gripped tightly on the controls.
Logos lowered their altitude, driving the airship closer to the sliver of an island below. Leaning forward in her chair, Yuna squinted her eyes, searching for the entrance to the ruins she used in the past. She grumbled under her breath, frustrated by the hazy mist shrouding their approach. Finally, she located the entrance.
"There it is!" she exclaimed, pointing to a collapsed archway. "Logos, land us there."
Carefully directing the airship to a clearing beside the crumbling archway, Logos held his breath. The sporadic drips of rain grew into a torrential downpour. The airship tilted on its axis enough to throw Ormi out of his chair.
"Ow! Hey, who taught you how to fly?" Ormi barked while flubbing around on the floor.
Logos adjusted his controls, regaining control of the aircraft. He slowed during the final descent, and the airship lightly kissed the ground before coming to a complete stop. Yuna let out a long sigh.
"Nice work," she said, leaning her head back against the chair for a moment. "Let's get ready to bolt for the entrance."
"Shouldn't we wait for this rain to calm down?" asked Logos.
Yuna shook her head. "This could last for hours. I don't want to spend any more time here than we must."
Neither Logos nor Ormi put up an argument. The three readied their weapons and protection. Opening the hatch, a gust of wind immediately blew rain into Yuna's face. She instinctively shielded her eyes as best as she could with her arm and darted for the entrance to the ruins. She ran while hardly watching where she stepped. Her boots stuck to the sticky mud.
It took only a few seconds to reach the Omega Ruins from the airship, but the torrent drenched her clothing in that brief amount of time. Flicking water off her arms, she squeezed out her wet hair. The murky coolness caused her clothing to stick to her skin. She remembered another reason she hated this place so much.
"Alright, we made it," cheered Ormi. "Now what?"
"We just need to make it to the center of the ruins," explained Yuna. "Leblanc said the sphere is somewhere there."
"Do you know the way?" Logos questioned.
Yuna frowned. "Sort of. There are no maps of the ruins. I just have my memory to go by."
"Well, lead the way then."
Swallowing hard, Yuna peered around the dark entranceway of the ruins. The same creaks and crackles echoed in the distance—familiar sounds she wishes to purge from her memory. Glancing back at Logos and Ormi, who patiently waited for her direction, she felt her chest tighten. It had been a long time since she captained a group. She kept telling herself she could do it. She could lead.
"Follow me," she stammered, taking the first steps forward.
At the first juncture, she paused. Looking to the left, to the right, and then forward, she tried to recall which direction led farther to the center of the ruins. Something about the ominous purple light ahead dissuaded her from marching forward.
"Okay, I think we need to go right," she said with little confidence.
Heading to the right, she eventually came to a dead-end housing two closed chests. Tapping her foot while rubbing her chin, she closed her eyes to remember the course she took during her pilgrimage. Peeking behind her, Ormi spotted the chests.
"Hey, I bet the sphere could be in here," he declared, using his foot to pop open the chest.
"No wait—" cried Yuna.
Before she could finish her warning, the chest Ormi had opened burst into a fiery explosion. An animated pile of rocks and rubble replaced it, its core still burning magically. Down from the shadows of the ceiling joined a lizard-looking fiend.
"What did you do you idiot?" snapped Logos.
Ormi darted behind Yuna. "It wasn't me!"
"It's okay, we just have to kill them like any other fiend." Yuna unholstered her pistols.
Following suit, Logos and Ormi battled-readied themselves. Lunging at Logos, the lizard fiend jumped on top of him, digging into his skin with its sharp claws. He let out a yelp while trying to belt the fiend with the butt of his revolver.
Seeing his friend's distress, Ormi charged at the fiend, taking a swipe at it with his shield. With an echoing blow, he knocked the fiend off his comrade. Momentarily distracted, Yuna didn't notice the other fiend bowl into her, knocking her onto the ground. From her prone position, she fired a concussive shot in retaliation, sending the animated pile of rocks flying backward into the wall.
Glancing over her shoulder, she watched her two companions dispatch the lizard fiend, using more than enough firepower to evaporate it into a cluster of pyreflies. Noticing Yuna sitting on the ground, Ormi rushed over to help her to her feet.
"Sorry to leave you hangin'," Ormi apologized.
Logos fired a shot at the remaining fiend. "You were right about this place being dangerous."
She didn't have the heart to tell them this wasn't even a treacherous fight. Reloading her pistol, she fired another blast into the imposter chest, and its fiery core disbursed, with the orbiting rocks falling harmlessly to the ground.
"Sorry, this is the wrong way," said Yuna. "We need to go the other way at the junction."
Ormi flashed a smile. "Hey, don't sweat it!"
Smiling herself at his words of encouragement, she dusted off her clothing and led them back down the path. Continuing through the slight curvature of the road ahead, she looked at the lifeless, umber stone on either side of her. The only color protruding from this bleak environment emanated from the glowing purple stones held up on skinny pedestals.
"Hey, there's some more treasure chests in that alcove," said Ormi, pointing to a line of three chests.
Logos immediately swatted his hand. "Oh no, you're not going to anger any more chests with your fidgeting fingers."
Yuna nodded. "He's right. We're here for only one reason, and that's to find the sphere."
Pressing on, she led them by a line of damaged pillars blocking off a ledge down a ravine. Logos took a moment to peer down the endless expanse below, shivering to himself. Up ahead, Ormi spotted another crossroads.
"Alright guys, let me think for a minute," Yuna murmured. "I don't want to get us on the wrong path again."
While she contemplated which direction to take, a shadowy figure formed in the center of the juncture. At first, she didn't believe her eyes. Only when the figure emerged with more tangibility did she realize the reality of what she saw. A man, dressed in a flowing robe of dark purple satin in a style similar to that of Yevon, took a step toward Yuna. She could make out a crimson Ω sewn into the front of his robe. His visage remained hidden.
"Who are you?" she called.
Logos and Ormi turned their head in the direction Yuna faced, oblivious to the figure she discovered. They both readied their weapons, but Yuna held her arm out to prevent any attack. Taking no aggressive stance, Yuna walked closer to the man, who remained unmoving.
"I remember you," the figure said, his voice raspy and barely above a whisper. "Why have you returned here?"
His words immediately halted her approach. Yuna couldn't recall seeing this specter of a man in the ruins before. She wondered how he would remember her. Yuna could make out the appearance of this mysterious man's clothing, but his face and hands seemed perpetually cloaked in shadow as if all the color had been drained away.
"We're here seeking something lost. We have no business with you, nor wish to interfere with your own," she answered.
He laughed subtly. "You are naïve. What you seek here is precisely my business."
Clenching her hand into a fist, Yuna raised her voice. "Tell me who you are?"
The man paused, letting the echo of Yuna's words fade. "I am the one who wanted to set things right, summoner. I am the last good to come out of Yevon."
Yuna gasped. "You are Omega!"
A pearly, devilish smile broke the shadow across Omega's face. "So, you know my name."
"Not to interrupt, but just who is this guy?" whispered Logos.
"He was a Yevon priest who rebelled against the temple and was killed for it. His spirit became a fiend due to the hatred he still harbors."
Omega nodded. "An astute explanation. Yevon teachings are full of falsehoods. Lies fed to the people to keep them docile and oppressed."
"You're not wrong," said Yuna. "I also found that many of the beliefs I was taught proved to be untrue."
"So then, your eyes have been opened, young summoner."
"Yes, they were. But Sin is no more, and I am no longer a summoner."
Flinching slightly, Omega pondered her words. She watched as he folded his shadowy arms together across his chest. Wondering if he didn't know Sin had been destroyed four years ago, Yuna let him think in silence. Still at the ready, she hoped Omega would remain nonviolent.
He let out a sigh. "After a thousand years, you're claiming that Sin has been vanquished permanently?"
"Yes! My guardians and I rejected the Final Summoning and found a way to break the cycle of Sin's rebirth. Spira has a Calm that will never end now. And with it, Yevon's teachings have lost their merit and power."
The shadows hiding his face diminishing, Omega closed the distance between Yuna and himself. "You claim to be the greatest hero in Spira? The last time you were here, as I recall, you were the most sheepish summoner I'd ever seen."
Yuna swallowed hard. The scorn in his words cut through her, not because of the distrust behind them, but because of the truth they held. At the time, she had still been sheepish. Worse yet, she still harbored those same backward, unadventurous tendencies.
She straightened herself, not to be intimidated. "You . . . you are right. I was unsure of my place in the world, but I have grown since then. I do not lie about what I claim to have done."
Omega smiled, not devilishly this time, but benevolently. "I see in your eyes you are telling me the truth to me. Come then, since you have great courage, what are you here to find?"
"Um, we're here for an ancient sphere," she replied with apprehension washing over her. "It contains information on how to harness energy from the Farplane."
The confidence she had just a minute ago eroded. She averted looking directly into Omega's sunken eyes—his gaze seemed to pierce into her very soul. Feeling vulnerable, she unconsciously clasped her hands together behind her back.
"That is dangerous information crafted by a fool who didn't know what he meddled with. Still, you may be worthy of its possession," Omega said, stepping away from Yuna. "If you are strong enough to take it, then you may have it."
"What do you mean to take it?"
He chuckled. "It is in the possession of the spawn of my eternal hatred for Yevon. That which bested you and your guardians before."
"Wait, you don't mean—"
"I do." He cut her off, continuing, "Maybe this time, you and your companions possess the resolve to achieve victory here, young summoner."
Omega's shadowy form dissolved into the air, disappearing into the darkness of the ruins from which he came. Her chest tightening into knots, Yuna breathed heavily. Her heart raced, thumping hard enough to break out of her body.
"What the hell was all that about?" Ormi asked, his face plainly showing how perplexed he felt.
Logos simply looked down at him and shrugged. Collecting herself for a moment, Yuna regained control of her anxiety. She turned to face Ormi.
"While Omega is the strongest fiend here, his contempt for Yevon was so overwhelming that he spawned another fiend altogether," she explained. "It's that fiend that must possess the sphere we are looking for."
"Okay, so we just need to kill that fiend and it's a job well done," Logos said.
Ormi laughed. "When you put it like that, it's easy!"
"It won't be easy," scolded Yuna. "This fiend is just as awful as Omega. It almost killed one of my dearest friends. It's why we had to flee here four years ago."
"This might be a silly questioned, but how many guardians did you have on your pilgrimage?" Logos questioned.
"Six. Why?"
"Well, if you couldn't do it with twice as many before, how can we kill this fiend now? You could even summon big monsters to help you back then."
All the determination she entered the ruins with drained out of her. She loathed admitting to herself the truth in Logos' statement. Surrounded by her guardians, she watched all of them nearly massacred at the hands of the Ultima Weapon. Now she asked Leblanc's two bumbling henchmen to do better and defeat the power fiend. Was she insane, she asked herself.
Pushing aside her great apprehension, she said, "We can do this! We just need to be smart and work together. Both of you are stronger than you think."
Logos and Ormi looked at each other, unsure how to react to Yuna's positive words. Breaking the awkward stare, a giant grin formed on Ormi's face.
"I think that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to us," he commented with slight tears welling up in the corner of his eyes.
Logos put his hand on Yuna's shoulder. "If you believe in us that much, how can we lose?"
In a flash, her expression transformed from doubt to certainty. "That's right! Let's go get that sphere!"
Leading them deeper into the ruins, Yuna stopped at the mouth of an expansive cave chamber. Emerging from the shadows at the other end, a mountainous fiend stomped into view. Its grey and red body towered over her. At the height of its chest cavity shined a turquoise orb.
"Look at that glow—that must be the sphere!" Yuna shouted.
The fiend let out a blood-curdling scream. Ormi positioned himself in front of Yuna, holding his shield up to his chin. Logos unholstered both of his revolvers and shifted sideways to put distance between himself and Yuna. He fired the first shot, his bullet connecting with the front left leg of the fiend.
It retaliated by swiping its massive front claw down at Logos. Stepping into the path of the claw, Ormi deflected its strike with his shield. A loud clang echoed throughout the cavern.
"Good save, Ormi!" yelled Yuna. "Now charge for its legs!"
Hoisting his shield directly in front of him, Ormi charged at the titan before him. With all haste, he ran toward its legs. At the last moment, he dove ahead, springing directly into the fiend's right leg. The force of his impact staggered it back, allowing Yuna to quickly fire six bullets at the fiend unopposed.
With a thundering roar, the fiend extended the long tendrils on its back, standing them straight out to either side. A row of luminous balls of energy manifested on both tendrils before launching dozens of energy projectiles at its foes. The ground exploded in a dazzling array of bright explosions, launching Yuna and her comrades back onto the cavern floor.
Yuna's head ached from the immense sound of the explosion. Shaking her head, she pushed aside the haziness she felt. Rising to a knee, she looked around, surprised to find both Logos and Ormi already back in action. She grinned, watching them both coordinate attacks, keeping the fiend preoccupied.
Logos fired off two rounds before retreating closer to Yuna. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I think so," she replied.
Ormi hopped backward, placing himself in front of Yuna. "We got you covered! I knew a little fire wouldn't kill ya."
She stood up and reloaded her twin pistols. "Thanks! We can do this!"
The fiend charged at Ormi. He deflected its first claw swipe with his shield. It aimed its second swipe at Yuna, who rolled to her right barely evading its razor-sharp claw. Infuriated by the rejection of its attacks, the monster reared its head up to the sky and roared.
It dropped its claw straight into the ground in between Ormi and Yuna, sending Yuna tumbling in the opposite direction. From her prone position, she watched on as Logos struggled to divert its attention by firing all the bullets in his revolvers. As she picked herself off the ground again, a faint, magenta glow attracted her attention.
From a crack in the wall of the cavern, she spied a sphere resting in a hidden pedestal. She tried reaching her hand into the crack to grasp the sphere, but it wasn't wide enough. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Logos and Ormi had their adversary momentarily under control. She took the opportunity to try to reach for the sphere again, to no avail.
With a grunt, Yuna aimed her pistols at the crack and launched a stream of bullets into the stone. To her delight, the stone had fractured from the shots, and the crack had widened. She contorted her body to the side to be able to reach her whole arm through the crack. Feeling around with her fingertips, they brushed up against a glassy-smooth surface. Wrapping her fingers around the object, she pulled with all her strength until it dislodged from its housing.
In her hand, she wielded a brightly glowing sphere. For a moment, her eyes became lost in the mesmerizing magenta radiance emanating from it. Unlike any other sphere she held before, this one gave off a slight warmth. She wondered what secrets could be harbored within the sphere.
A sudden crash snapped her out of her thoughts. She quickly pocketed the sphere and ran over to Logos and Ormi. She fired a bullet at the fiend, which pummeled down on Ormi's shield with repeated blows. The projectile impacted just above its eye, sending the fiend into a furious rage.
Holding both of its claws in front of its face, glimmers of sparkling lights floated around its body, and the air turned hot, sucking all the moisture out of the cavern. Cries of shrieking rock filled the space above them. Yuna pointed to the pack of meteors raining down from the sky.
"Take cover!" she cried.
Though she ran instinctively in the opposite direction of the fiend, the range of the falling meteors proved too far. All around her, burning rocks collided with the ground, quaking the ruins. A blast impacted just behind her, sending her hurtling into the air.
With an excruciating shriek, she plunged into the ground and the world went dark.