Chapter 66 – Reflecting Back to Move Forward (Part 2)
The wind blustered over Yuna, blowing her hair in all directions much like the grassy fields of the Calm Lands. Large balls of puffy white clouds rushed with authority overhead, pursued by dark grey and black clouds trailing close behind. The occasional droplets of rain carried by the wind splashed off her skin.
"Couldn't have picked a nicer day to visit Clasko," Rikku said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Yuna closed her eyes and smiled. "At least we'll be sheltered when we get to his ranch."
"Not helping," grumbled Paine.
Walking along the sheer cliff wall, the stone dampening from the slender streaks of rain falling from the sky, Yuna ignored the brisk dampness trickling down her arms. She had a singular purpose, and that was to find the ancient sphere. Somewhere under Clasko's ranch, it dwelled, slumbering for who knows how many centuries. Cognizant that Shuyin already possessed one sphere, stealing this sphere from its underground resting place would ensure his plans could never be enacted.
The familiar entrance to the old Monster Arena still sent a shiver up Yuna's spine. Quickly she avoided staring at the wagging monster head and entered the chocobo ranch. Torches spilled their warm, golden-yellow light on the stone walls and floor, and the squawking of chocobos echoed down the corridors.
Scuttling out from around one of the other corridors, Clasko chased a loose chocobo. With arms outstretched, he desperately tried to wrestle it under control, but the animal refused to listen to his commands. Rikku shook her head while Paine put her hands on her hips.
"We should help him," said Yuna.
Paine extended her arm. "Be our guest."
Cracking a smile, Yuna ran in front of the charging chococo. It reared back, startled by her sudden presence. Yuna asked it to calm down and raised her hands in front of her in an unthreatening manner. The creature cocked its head, its eyes peeled on her before ruffling its feathers. She rubbed under its chin, brushing its soft, yellow feathers with her fingertips.
Clasko blew out a breath of relief. "Oh, thank you Lady Yuna! This chocobo has been in a tizzy today."
"I can see that. What has it in such a fuss?"
"The chocobo found a secret entrance in the back of the ranch," he explained.
Rikku and Paine glared at each other, folding their arms sternly against themselves Yuna tried her best to hide the jolt of worry she felt, knowing that an open path to the sphere existed.
"Oh, well, isn't that interesting," she said, her voice trembling. "Did you happen to see what's down there?"
Clasko chuckled. "No, I haven't gone down."
"Let me guess," murmured Paine. "Too wimpy to go see for yourself."
Clasko rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, that's exactly it. Thankfully I don't have to!"
"Oh? Why do you say that?" asked Yuna.
Clasko grinned. "Just before the chocobos found this hole, Issaru came to visit. Since he was here, he offered to go down and explore it for me. Isn't he a swell guy?"
Yuna's eyes bulged from their sockets. "Issaru?"
"This isn't good," mumbled Rikku.
Recomposing herself, Yuna put a smile back on her face. "That was very nice of him. You know, it might be a lot for just him to explore. We'll go down and help him."
"We will?" questioned Paine before catching a deathly look from Yuna. "Oh, right. Yeah, we'll help him out."
"That's great!" exclaimed Clasko. "I'm excited to hear about what you find down there."
Leading the girls to the back of his ranch, he stopped before a huge hole in the middle of the corridor. Attached to the wall, a rope hung freely leading down. From her vantage, Yuna could see a whole other corridor below. Torches on the walls had already been lit, flickering ominous light. She heard no sound from below.
"Could this be any more ominous," said Paine, standing with her hands on her hips.
Rikku peered down the hole. "At least there's nothing immediately dangerous."
"We've got nothing to worry about," stated Yuna. "We can handle anything."
"You're right, Yunie! So . . . who's going down first?"
Feeling the somber gazes of her two friends fall on her, Yuna volunteered to climb down. Lowering herself down the rope, she felt the rough fibers scrape against her hands as she gripped tightly onto it. A rush of adrenaline shot through her—could she face Shuyin again so soon? A bubble of anger, a remnant from the memories the pyreflies shared with her in Mushroom Rock, popped into the back of her mind.
With her descent complete, her feet clacked against the stone floor. The lower level appeared much the same as above. Precise stonework formed the passages around her, spottily lit by the fiery torches lining the walls. Dust hung in the cooler air, made visible by the torchlight. Yuna coughed, her throat agitated by the particles she breathed in.
The corridor she stood in contained no fiends, and nothing made a sound. Closing her eyes, her mind cut through the eerie silence, searching for Shuyin. She felt him lurking somewhere in the ruin, even if she couldn't see or hear him.
Rikku put her hand on Yuna's shoulder. "Are you meditating or something?"
Yuna nearly jumped out of her skin. "Rikku! Geez, you must stop scaring me like that."
"I'm not trying to! You gotta stop zoning out like that!"
"Hey, quiet down you two," said Paine as she let go of the rope. "You'll give away our position."
"Just where are we going down here anyway?" Rikku flung her arms into the air.
Yuna shrugged. "I doubt anyone has been down here in ages, so there won't be a map anywhere. Let's just explore and keep on our toes. We're bound to find Shuyin sooner or later."
"That means you need to be quiet for a change," teased Paine, tapping Rikku on the head.
She rolled her eyes in response, much to Paine's amusement. Pulling out a pistol, Yuna walked a dozen steps forward to a juncture in the corridor. Peeking part of her head out, she looked to the left, spying a short hallway caved in at the end. To her right, the hall extended until each reached another bend. A lit torch at the opposite end indicated Shuyin had traversed here recently.
"Following the torches will be our best bet to track down Shuyin," Yuna stated.
Without another word, she led her friends through the twists and turns of the ruins. Unlike other ruins she had explored in the past, the nonsensical layout confused her. If not for following the path of lit torches, she would have ventured down every dead-end in the entire underground complex.
Turning a corner, Yuna nearly ran into a fiend hovering just off the floor. It peered at her intently, although she couldn't make out its eyes housed in their sunken sockets. Human-like in shape, its long arms ended with sharp, dangly claws. Two horns curved above its head. Ghastly blue skin covered its form.
A second fiend of the same kind hissed and hurled a blast of arcane energy at her. Nimbly ducking her head, the blast smashed against the wall behind her. Paine charged in and swiped upward with her sword. Its blade connected with the first fiend, shooting it backward atop its cloud of mist with a pained hiss. Reaching out with its clawed hands, it pulled at her lifeforce and pulled out a ray of blueish light from her into itself.
Falling to a knee, Paine squinted with one eye open. "These things are going to be fun."
"Leave it to me!" Rikku yelled.
Darting from around the corner, she leaped into the air, spinning herself in a circle. Like the blades of a blender, she sliced across the fiend's pale skin before using her legs to kick off it. Quickly she rolled a red bomb underneath it. The explosion popped the fiend into the wall, disintegrating it into a cluster of pyreflies.
Not to be outdone, Yuna pulled out her second pistol and fired a barrage at the remaining fiend, which had partially retreated after witnessing her cousin's attack. Eight bullets all found their mark, ripping holes into the ghostly form of the fiend. It hissed and fired back by sucking a ray of life energy out of Yuna. She felt her entire body inflame for a second before slumping back, using the wall behind her as a brace.
Paine growled and took a running jump at the fiend. She jammed her sword straight into its chest, the impact echoing the sound of shattering glass throughout the corridor. It succumbed to the grievous wound. Letting out a choked cry, it burst into a crystalline array of pyreflies.
"Are you okay?" asked Rikku.
By now, Yuna had caught her balance. "Yes, I'm fine."
Rikku looked over at Paine. "How about you?"
She scoffed. "I'll live. But let's hope we don't run into a lot more fiends like that down here."
After dusting herself off, Yuna continued leading them down the hallway. At its terminus, two stone pillars dotted an expansive gap between the sides of the corridor. Rikku peered over the edge, backing away when she saw nothing but darkness below. Sizing up the gap between where she stood and the next pillar, Paine felt confident they could jump onto it.
"Piece of cake," said Rikku with a grin. "I'll hop over first."
Stepping backward a few feet, Rikku stretched her legs and readied herself. Pushing off her left foot, she dashed ahead, leaping into the air just before her foot crossed the edge of the stone corridor. Soaring into the air, she landed on the pillar, wobbling slightly before securing her balance.
Turning around, she gave her friends a thumbs up. "See, nothing to it."
Paine stifled a chuckle and looked at Yuna while rolling her eyes. Rikku continued to the next pillar. Bracing herself before running for the pillar, Paine narrowed her eyes. Stradling through the air, she came to rest directly on the top of the pillar. When Paine cleared the way by hopping to the next pillar, she motioned for Yuna to follow.
"You guys make it look so easy," Yuna remarked to herself.
Sliding back to give herself some runaway, Yuna took off running for the gap. She jumped high in the air, landing on the pillar. Tiny bits of stone and debris kicked up into the air. She stretched her arms out to keep her balance. Satisfied that she stopped herself from falling into the abyss, Yuna jumped to the second pillar just vacated by Paine.
When she landed, a chunk of stone broke off from her weight and crumbled beneath her. Yuna shrieked, feeling herself slipping off the pillar. Grasping for the ledge of the post she grabbed ahold of a stone fragmenting jutting out. Just enough to keep herself from falling, Yuna threw her other hand up to cling to it.
"Help!" she cried.
The slick oils of her skin against the smooth stone caused her grip to weaken. Her blue and green eyes widened as she felt her hands slipping off. She held her breath and closed her eyes. It can't end like this, ran through her mind. Her fingers gave way, and she lost her grasp, pulled away from the pillar's edge by gravity.
Before she could scream, a hand encased in a leathery black glove grabbed her arm. The sudden jolt burst her eyes back open. Above her, Paine's scrunched face looked down at her. Reaching out with her other hand, Paine grabbed onto Yuna's arm, squeezing tightly enough to cause pain. She pulled Yuna away from the black abyss below and back onto the pillar with all her might.
With her heart pounding wildly in her chest, Yuna hunched over, desperately trying to regain control of her breathing. She felt a hand pat her on the shoulder.
"That was . . . too close," said Paine, herself trying to catch her breath.
Yuna couldn't muster any gratitude, her mind still muddled from her near-death experience. When the haze cleared, she heard Rikku calling out to her from the other side of the gap. She tried her best to form a smile and tell her cousin she would be alright.
Even though her whole body still shook, Yuna pressed on. She jumped from the second pillar without further incident, overjoyed to touch her feet on solid stone.
Rikku wrapped her arms around her. "Oh, Yunie! I thought you were a goner. It's a good thing Paine leaped back so fast!"
Paine flashed a smile. "And it's a good thing you seem to have a knack for only almost dying."
"I wouldn't call it a knack," Yuna replied. "It's because I have good friends like you."
After taking a few more minutes to regain her composure, Yuna returned her focus to the mission at hand. A single flickering torch on the wall beside her made nearly dying worth it—Shuyin had been through this section.
The winding corridors slowly descended lower underneath the ranch. The temperature had dropped at least five or six degrees she surmised. Goosebumps formed on her forearms. She inhaled deeply, surprised by the sweetness of the air. On the tip of her tongue, she thought she tasted honey. It reminded her of her childhood days studying in the temple on Besaid.
Taking an offshoot path down a slender corridor, the architecture changed drastically. The carved stone bricks gave way to natural, unaltered stone. At the end of the narrow path, a cave-in blocked the way forward. Peeking through the small gaps between the rocks, Yuna squinted to see if anything was on the other side.
"Well, this is a bummer," said Rikku. "I hope we didn't go all this way for nothing."
Yuna examined the blockage closer. "I don't think so. This was made recently."
"Yeah, I think you're right. All these rocks are still unsettled," agreed Paine.
"Can we push our way through?"
Rikku giggled. "I can blast our way through!"
Yuna shook her head. "I don't want to tip off Shuyin that we're following him."
"Aw, you're no fun."
Paine took a moment to survey the rocky formation in front of her. Leaning her shoulder against the wall of rocks, Paine shoved her weight into it. A handful of grey stones at the top rolled off, clattering against the ground on the other side.
"Yeah, I can handle this," she declared.
Taking a step back, she pushed all her weight into her shoulder, slamming herself against the rocks. They shot back from the force, spreading across the stonework floor on the other side. Yuna gasped at the scene revealed.
The narrow stone pathway opened to a gigantic chamber. Intricate stonework formed arches along the walls leading up to a magnificent, vaulted ceiling towering impossibly high above. The chamber perfectly encircled a lime-colored domed structure in the center. Above it, a slender crystal jutted out from the center of the dome, nearly touching a longer crystal protruding down from the ceiling. Both crystals glowed bright orange, their light flickering like fire from a torch.
The dome had two entrances, each with a colossal bronze statue facing outward—one looking like the bust of a serpent, the other the bust of a horned beast. Walking into the sprawling chamber, Yuna could feel tiny sparks of electricity snip at her hair.
"What in the world is this place?" she asked, gazing around in awe.
"Whatever it is, it's gotta be old," replied Paine.
Rikku approached the massive bust of the serpent. "Look at this. These look like Yevon markings."
Yuna walked up beside her and focused her eyes on the worn markings on the base of the statue. Rubbing her fingertips against the cold metal of the statue, she scanned over the symbology. While she wasn't sure if this alien structure was ever a temple, the markings were indeed reminiscent of a temple of Yevon.
"This is . . . so strange," she murmured. "Why is something like this so far underground?"
Paine still looked around the chamber, keeping her eyes peeled. "This must have taken decades to build."
"It gives me the creeps!" cried Rikku.
"I want to know where Shuyin is. We haven't even sniffed him yet."
"He's here," Yuna stated. "Probably somewhere inside."
Rikku shivered when Yuna pointed to the entrance of the domed structure. A shadow over the arched doorway concealed whatever might lie inside. The closer she walked to the entrance, the more the tiny sparks of electricity in the air bit Yuna's skin. She stared at the warm glow of the crystals wondering about their purpose until they disappeared from her view.
Only the dim glow from a rectangular control panel shed any light inside the dome. Switching on her flashlight, Yuna shined it around the room. Lining the walls, she saw faded paintings of the six glyphs of Yevon. In the center, she spotted a platform containing a lift. She watched Rikku walk over to the control panel and poke at it, the panel's blue light reflecting off her face.
"Great, looks like we have to go down some more," said Rikku.
Paine looked at Yuna. "Any idea of what we should expect?"
"I wish I did," replied Yuna. "This place is unlike any Yevon temple if it ever was one."
"It kinda reminds me of the one in the desert," said Rikku.
Paine placed her hands on her hips. "Which means it's keeping nothing good."
Yuna nodded. "Probably not, especially since Shuyin already knows about it."
They gathered together on the lift platform and descended further underground. Encapsulated in darkness, Yuna focused on the humming of the machina operating the lift. She couldn't help but dwell on the past—not of two years ago, but longer. Yevon had many secrets, many of which had altered her perception of her faith and direction in life.
Though she had long shunned her former life as a Yevon devotee, it still held some reverence for her. Even if the basis of the religion had been filled with falsehoods and deceit, she knew many kind priests and acolytes who lived to serve others. With dangerous secrets kept hidden in the shadows for so long, she wondered if the Maesters of Yevon knew about the time-traveling spheres.
The thrumming machina wound down, and the platform jittered for a moment before coming to a complete stop. Double doors opened to an elongated hallway with a high ceiling. Two lines of large torches hung from the center of the ceiling. Only a sparse few were lit, providing little light on the elongated hallway below.
Metal walls and arched ceiling supports were tarnished by age, their viridian color dotted with splotches of orange rust. Towering brass pillars connected to the ceiling supports. At the top of the pillars, strange, masked faces with tongues sticking out watched over the hall.
As Yuna walked down the marble hallway, she examined the gilded artwork on either side of the walls. Beautiful pictures of various fiends from throughout Spira were inlaid with gold leaf. She brushed over a picture of a haizhe with her hand, and immediately the gold rubbed off onto her fingertips. She rubbed the gritty remnants of the gold leaf between her fingers until it disintegrated away.
"I wonder," she said. "If this has something to do with the old Monster Arena."
Paine shot her a confused look. "Monster Arena?"
"Where Clasko has his ranch used to be a place where the owner collected fiends. Somehow, he was able to create new fiends out of the captured ones."
Rikku nodded. "That's right, now I remember trying out a few of his concoctions."
"Yeah, they were pretty tough," said Yuna.
"Who used to own it?" Paine questioned.
Yuna replied, "I think his name was Trema."
Rikku's eyes opened wide. "Wait, Trema? No way . . . it can't be the same old guy we fought under Bevelle."
Paine folded her arms together. "How many other people named Trema are there in Spira?"
Yuna peered quizzically at her friends until they explained their battle with Trema in the depths of Bevelle, and how he was a puppet for Master Kinoc until Trema betrayed him. She thought hard for a few moments.
"That actually ties all this together, I think. Trema used the Monster Arena to train the Crusaders, although they had no use after the Calm. He started New Yevon in order to collect old spheres. This is where he must have created the new fiends, and where he kept some of the spheres he found over the years."
"And one of those spheres happens to be the sphere Shuyin needs," continued Paine.
Yuna smiled. "Correct."
Continuing down the hall, Yuna searched for doors or other pathways. She soon came across an unassuming door still slightly ajar. Peeking inside, she used her flashlight to illuminate the pitch-black space. Opened boxes and spheres littered the floor, leaving empty shelves against the walls.
"What a mess," commented Rikku.
"Someone has been here already," Paine said.
"Shuyin," Yuna said, her hand gripping the flashlight tighter. "He's been in here already."
Walking over to a pile of overturned boxes, she picked up a sphere resting in the mess. It glowed with a faint periwinkle light when she grasped it in her hand. Curious as to its contents hidden deep inside, she activated it.
With a click, it portrayed a blurry scene of a muscular warrior standing over the dead body of a fiend. His unkempt black hair blew in the wind. Still stuck into the carcass, he held the hilt of his giant sword firmly in his right hand. A proud smile spread across his face; he stuck a victory pose.
"Always the boisterous victor," said a woman's voice from behind the camera.
He laughed. "This was well earned."
"You're right about that!"
Cocking his head, he looked up at the sky. "With the dangers plaguing our world, the Crimson Blades need to be able to duplicate my efforts."
The woman murmured in agreement. "We are many, but not yet as strong as you. How do you plan on making us stronger?"
"Special training," he replied. "Maybe I'll start an arena just for such training."
The sphere clicked off, its light fading away again. Yuna stared at the sphere, recalling the tenacious man had to be Lord Mi'ihen. She gently placed it back on the shelf beside her. She continued to pick up and examine spheres from the floor. Though enamored by the little tales contained inside, none of them held secrets of time travel and therefore did nothing to help further her mission.
Her flashlight uncovered a murky, tangerine-colored sphere lodged in the corner of the room. From the cracked, worn texture of its form in her hand, Yuna could tell the sphere had been through much in its lifetime. She activated it, hoping it still functioned. She held her breath when silence followed until it clicked twice and began to project its contents.
A group of men and women sat around a campfire against a backdrop of a war-torn cityscape. Faint sounds of explosions sounded in the background. Stars twinkled in the night sky overhead.
Each person wore wrapped robes with long, flowing sleeves. Glimpses of glyphs and symbols sewn into their clothing peeked out from the shadows created by the campfire. Eventually, the camera panned to a woman sitting on a rock holding a piece of paper in her hand.
She had flowing, brown hair and wore bold, violet lipstick on her lips. Unlike the others, she wore a completely different set of clothing. Her white-ruffled blue top and black lace skirt fluttered in the breeze. Smudges of mud scuffed up her brown boots.
A young woman's voice asked, "Another love letter, Lenne?"
Lenne looked up, flashing a coy expression. "Maybe."
"Hey, don't withhold things from me."
Lenne belted out a laugh. "I'm sorry. I'm not trying to."
"Well, what did he write this time?"
"He misses me, of course. And he . . ."
The woman behind the camera hummed. "Go on."
"He understands why I fight, but he hates that I am. He wants me back home, not out on the front lines."
"I can understand his feelings," said the woman before sighing. "I thought you said he accepted your role as a summoner."
Lenne frowned. "He does, but part of the problem is with me. I don't write him enough, and I certainly don't see him enough."
"Well, once we're done with this mission, will you return to him?"
Lenne stood up from the rock. "Of course, I will! Maybe I'll write a song, just for him. He's always loved my performances."
"We all do," said the woman.
Lenne and the woman's laughter radiated from the sphere until the picture faded and it deactivated. Yuna stood in awe, her breath stuck in her throat. She wondered if Lenne had ever seen this sphere or recalled this moment from long ago. To think Trema buried it here for destruction baffled her. Placing it in her pouch, Yuna swore to preserve it—if only for some memory of Lenne to still exist in the world.
Concerned whispers from her friends redirected her attention. Careful not to trip over the piles of clutter on the floor, she walked over to Rikku and Paine, who were both peeking out the doorway.
"There he is," whispered Rikku, pointing down the hall. "We finally caught up to Shuyin."
Note: Since I'm traveling farther outside the bounds of the original game, I thought to use some concept artwork I found online as inspiration for some of the scenes in this chapter. It never made it into FFX, but it looked cool enough to use in the story. I can't get the links to work on this site for the pictures, but they can be found on the Final Fantasy X concept art page of the Final Fantasy Wiki under the early scenario section.