Chapter 69 – Night Moves

Dodging a young boy, no more than nine or ten, Yuna stuttered-stepped before darting around him. A whooshing breeze blew her hair in her face, momentarily blinding her. The wind parted the branches of the trees in the park. The same two old ladies from yesterday watched on as Yuna played blitzball with a group of schoolchildren. They were certainly judging her, but she didn't care.

"Over to me, lady!" yelled a stocky child with unkempt brown hair.

Yuna spotted him just ahead of two opposing defenders, twin teenage girls, trying to box the stocky boy out. He used one hand to pull up his baggy trousers while waving with his other. His eyes widened when he realized Yuna spotted him.

"Here it comes!" Yuna announced before throwing the mushy blitzball.

The boy leaped off the ground, snatching it out of the air. The twins both turned their heads in dismay. He charged at the goalie, the smallest kid on either team.

Crouching down, the little boy's eyes bulged when Yuna's young teammate tossed the ball high into the air. He spun himself around and flung his leg up to kick the ball, spectacularly missing it and crashing onto the ground. He groaned while watching the ball trickle over to the little boy, who grinned while he grabbed it off the dirt.

Yuna rested her hands on her hips, both disheartened and humored by the poor kid's tumble. She felt bad for the kid, who remained lying on the ground.

She walked over to him and crouched down. "Hey, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think so," he replied.

He groaned, wincing when he sat up. Yuna brushed away the dirt stuck to the back of his shirt. By now, the other children gathered around to make sure their friend wasn't hurt. With a goofy grin spread across his face, he rubbed the back of his head. He had sustained no injuries except to his pride.

"Man, I was so close this time," he said.

Yuna patted the boy on the head. "It takes a long time to learn how to be a blitzball player."

"How would you know?"

She gave him a look. "I just so happened to have a very close friend who was a star player for Zanarkand."

"Zanarkand? Um, lady, there's no blitzball team there."

Yuna sighed. "It's a complicated story. The point is, he spent all his time growing up practicing and getting better. Even as good as he was naturally, he still had to work hard."

"Sure, I guess so," said the boy before he stood up. "Anyway, thanks for playing, lady. See ya!"

He jogged off to catch up with his gaggle of friends. Yuna stood up and giggled to herself. Glancing up at the sky, she noticed the blue sky had turned pink. The afternoon had slipped by while getting caught up playing faux blitzball with the children in the park. She had enjoyed herself, but soon there would be work to be done.

She started walking out of the park when two silhouetted figures, both leaning against a tree, pointed at her. Yuna smirked and waved to her friends.

"You spent all day playing with the kids," said Rikku, wagging her finger.

Yuna closed her eyes and grinned. "Sorry, I was having fun."

"Yeah, but not having fun with us!"

Paine patted Yuna on the shoulder. "I hope you at least spent some time to dive into that book you found."

"I did," replied Yuna. "It has a lot of important pieces of information."

"Well, before we do this, I need food," whined Rikku.

Paine rolled her eyes. "Alright, let's get something to eat before Rikku wastes away."

"I'll explain what I found while we have dinner," Yuna said.

Leading her friends through the streets of Bevelle, Yuna looked around at all the bustle in the shops and restaurants. She stopped in the middle of the market, watching the little stalls surrounding the square closing for the night.

Her mind drifted to the past. She remembered how scared she felt as a child when the crowds swelled like they had now. Her father, Lord Braska, would squeeze her hand tightly. He could always instinctively tell when her anxiety bubbled up. She missed him.

A hand on her shoulder startled her out of her thoughts. "Hey, Yunie, where are we eating at?"

"Oh, sorry! Um, in the mood for some seafood?"

Rikku cocked her head and Paine shrugged. Satisfied with their meager confirmations, Yuna led them to a small restaurant with a glossy, bulging-eyed fish on the entrance sign. A mother with a pack of children squeezed by her to walk through the front door. They joyfully cried in unison when a person in a moogle costume greeted them at the door.

"This place looks . . . weird," said Paine.

Yuna explained, "It's a popular place with kids in Bevelle. My mother took me here often when I was little."

"Maybe they have fish sticks here for you, Rikku," teased Paine while flicking her on the head.

Rikku groaned. "Yeah, shut up. But . . . do they?"

Yuna smiled. "The best in the city!"

Over a platter of fish sticks, Yuna explained her findings from Iutycur's tome. Born and raised in Bevelle, the scientist's research touched on a plethora of topics, but he had a special interest in machina advancement in society—similar with respect to the Machine Faction's views. Bevelle's leadership enlisted his expertise when the Machina War broke out.

Like Shinra, Iutycyr hypothesized a method to harness energy from the Farplane to power machina and perhaps even cities. He ventured on two expeditions into the Farplane to test his theory, but as of the end of his first book, he found little success.

In an appendix, he teased the notion of time travel. On his second journey through the Farplane, he measured the levels of energy, astounded by just how much radiated through the mystical realm. He wondered if enough of it could be harnessed, could a person manipulate themselves through time.

"Unfortunately, that's where the book ends," finished Yuna.

Paine wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin. "So, you're thinking his second book has more information on his progress."

"Yes, it must. My hope is it contains the answers I need to put together all the pieces."

Rikku wiped some crumbs from her face. "Why do we have to go under the temple again?"

"Baralai's attendant told me it is probably in the underground," Yuna explained. "There's an archive somewhere down there."

"I wonder what's going on down there that Baralai feels the need to bar entry." Paine leaned back in her chair and folded her arms together.

Rikku tapped a fish stick to her lips. "You said you overheard some old people talk about fog and fiends, Yunie. That sounds eerily familiar."

Yuna nodded. "I know. I don't want to make assumptions, but it sounds like that has something to do with Shuyin."

"Are you sure you don't want to talk to Baralai about this first?" asked Paine.

Yuna slumped back in her chair. "Part of me does, but part of me doesn't."

"It's your call."

"Let's stick to the plan," said Yuna after a long pause. "We've been down there before."

Rikku peered outside. "It's basically nighttime now. We should be clear to sneak in soon."

"You're going to be too fat to sneak anywhere if you keep eating fish sticks," joked Paine.

Staring right at Paine, Rikku picked up a fish stick and flew it around in her hand, making noises like an airship until she landed it in her mouth. Giving her a dirty look, Paine scoffed when her friend chomped down on the breaded cylinder of fish in her mouth.

"Alright, what's our plan to get down there, anyway?" questioned Rikku after swallowing.

"I think we should use the lift," replied Yuna. "I doubt it will be difficult getting to it this late."

"Are we planning on searching through the entire underground?" Paine asked.

Yuna nodded. "Without knowing where the mist is coming from, I think we should."

Rikku shrugged. "Makes sense to me."

"I agree," said Paine. "I just wonder what kind of security we'll run into down there this time around."

"Eh, after all these trips down there, we can handle anything. Right, Yunie?"

Yuna smiled. "That's right!"

After paying for their meal, Yuna led her friends back to the old temple. Night had fallen, and the usual activity of the New Yevon headquarters had dwindled. Peering at the entrance, Yuna watched a New Yevon member conversing with a pair of guards by the door. The man, holding a tall stack of books in his hands, kept creeping his way closer to the doorway. After the guard stepped away, she rushed over to hold the door open for the man.

"That looks heavy. Let me hold the door for you," said Yuna.

He poked his head to the side of the stack of books. "Oh, thank you. I've nearly fallen three times trying to get this inside."

When the man entered the doorway, Yuna motioned for Rikku and Paine to come quickly. They scampered under the cover of night and slipped inside with Yuna. Nearly devoid of light save for a handful of lit candles, the normally chaotic entrance chamber had nobody inside. The man from before had left to take his stack of books upstairs. An eerie silence hung over the cavernous room.

Yuna squinted her eyes to see better in such lack of light, hardly making out of the familiar symbology of Yevon still left on the banners and glyphs. She felt a nudge in her back. Letting out a yelp, she turned around to find Rikku had bumped into her.

"Sorry, Yunie! Man, this place gives me the creeps at night," whispered Rikku.

Paine shook her head. "Just wait to we go down."

Yuna scanned the room again. "We should take the lift now while nobody is around."

The girls walked onto the lift. Rikku activated its controls and sent the platform descending into the void below. Clenching her hands on the railing of the lift, Yuna's muscles tensed. Nothing good had ever come from descending underneath the temple for her. She loathed what new terrible secrets she would dig up on his mission.

The lift rumbled to a stop at the beginning of the Cloister of Trials. Noise from the revving machina echoed around her. The azure walls perfectly complemented the neon lights of the mechanized pathways. The hypocrisy of the Yevon church using so-called forbidden machina still agitated Yuna deep inside.

Stepping out ahead of Yuna, Paine searched over the pathways. "Looks like there are no fiends here."

Rikku let out a sigh. "Well, that's better than last time."

"Do you think we'll be able to get down the same way as last time?" Paine asked, her eyes directed toward Yuna.

"I hope so. We'll figure out a way no matter what," she replied, her face stern.

Remaining silent during their march through the Cloister, Yuna wrestled with all the emotions pouring back into her. She had spent the last two years processing, or perhaps suppressing, how she felt about her adventures with the Gullwings, and her plight to reunite Lenne with Shuyin. Yet she hadn't truly broached the subject of Bevelle and Yevon with herself—not after Sin's defeat, and not after her failure in the Farplane.

Yevon's lies set up Spira to dwell in peril, even after Sin's destruction. The culmination of what she had learned over the last four years led her to despise the thousand years of Yevon's dominion over the world. Even now, after the temples and Sin had ceased to exist, the dangers buried within the old religion still lurked, hidden in the shadows.

"Here we are, the Chamber of the Fayth!" Rikku declared while pumping her fist.

Yuna snapped out of her thoughts. "Oh! What's that on top of it?"

"It's a covering where the hole used to be," explained Paine.

Rikku clanged her boot against the domed, steel covering. "Looks like Baralai didn't want anyone else falling down here."

"Makes sense. After we chased away Vegnagun, everything down here remained a liability."

Yuna shook her head. "Not a liability, but an archive. An archive of secrets."

"What makes you say that, Yunie?" Rikku asked.

She folded her arms together. "Think about it. Vegnagun was probably just one of who knows how many secrets Yevon kept over the years. We never looked before, but I bet there's a lot more down there."

"Isn't that what the attendant told you yesterday?"

"Right. She said the archives are below the temple and closed for now."

Kneeling on the back portion of the metal dome, Paine knocked on it with her knuckles. Its ring echoed in the chamber. She rubbed her hand across a large, riveted clasp attached to the floor.

"They may not be as closed as that lady thinks," said Paine.

Rikku cocked her head. "Huh? Whatcha mean?"

"Look," responded Paine, pointing to the clasp. "These clasps are meant to anchor the seal to the floor, but they're not locked in place."

Yuna bent down to examine. "You're right. Could it have been a mistake?"

"I don't think so. This looks like it has been messed with recently. Someone else needed to get down there."

"But who?"

Paine flashed her a grin. "Help me push this thing out of the way and let's find out."

Yuna stood in between her friends, putting all her weight into sliding the heavy metal seal off the hole. Her muscles burned from trying to move the immense mass. It creaked as it slid, scratching the floor beneath it. Finally, the Gullwings moved the seal enough to reveal the hole where the Fayth had once rested.

Far below, the underground complex loomed. Yuna looked up at her friends, an obvious tinge of nervousness in her eyes.

"We got this, Yunie," cheered Rikku. "It's nothing we haven't done before."

Yuna sighed. "I know. It's just . . . I still hate this place."

"I get it. Bad memories," said Paine.

"Yeah."

Rikku ran her hand through her hair. "We have seen a lot of weird stuff down here."

Standing up, Yuna curled her hands into fists. "Let's go."

Hopping down through the hole, she landed on the massive outer ledge of the restricted area. To her surprise, a thin, wispy mist lingered in the entire, enormous chamber. Squinting her eyes, she had trouble making out the center structure, save for the red and white glow of the lights on the platforms and towers.

Rikku plopped down behind her. "Whoa! Was it always like this?"

"I don't think so. Considering we're not anywhere close to being outside, this fog is completely unnatural," remarked Paine.

Yuna scanned the perimeter. "We can still use the chains to glide across like before."

Determination replaced the apprehension that swept over her just a few minutes ago. Fueled by anger from the past, a furious drive overtook her. Stepping onto the bulky metal chain connecting the perimeter to the central structure, she hardly checked her balance before sliding down its slick, oily surface.

Through the fog, she heard faint sounds of explosions and yelling. When she arrived at the center, the mist thickened. Bright, orange flashes reflected off the milky fog. She felt the floor vibrate; the pulses perfectly synchronized with the blasts.

Rikku and Paine slid down behind her. Startled by the noise and flashes, they both found a wall to dart behind. Yuna still stood exposed, intently focused on the nearby encounter. Rikku yanked her back behind the wall.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" she barked.

Yuna shook her head. "Sorry."

Paine poked her head out from behind the wall. "Just what the hell is going on here?"

"It sounds like a battle," answered Yuna.

"Yeah, you're right."

Rikku squeezed herself behind Yuna. "Geez, who would be fighting in this? I can't even see the end of my nose down here!"

"It must be fiends," Yuna said.

Paine wrapped her hand around the hilt of her sword. "If we're careful, maybe we can get a closer look."

She motioned for her friends to follow her. Yuna drew her twin pistols, keeping them at the ready—not that she could see to shoot. The fog thinned enough when they passed the second security tower to see a trio of machina engaged with a pack of six lizard-like fiends.

The fiends dodged the arcing blasts of the machina's twin cannons. Three of the fiends ganged up on one of the machina, ripping its armaments from its body. The remaining husk crashed to the ground in a sparking sizzle.

"I guess New Yevon keeps security active down here still," Rikku said.

"You're right, not that it's very effective" Paine added. "Do we do something?"

Yuna leaned forward as if to engage but stopped herself. "No, it does us no good to get tangled up in a fight right now."

Rikku nodded. "I agree with you there."

Staring at the spectacle, Yuna watched the fiends tear apart the two remaining machina. Satisfied that their prey had ceased to function, the fiends scampered their way down the platforms in the center opening of the platform. Occasional yellow and white sparks burst out of the metal husks littering the ground.

"I don't hear anything now," whispered Paine. "I think the coast is clear."

"So where do we go?" Rikku asked.

Yuna pointed to the center. "Follow the fiends. The archives must be farther down."

Galloping down the plates extending out, Yuna descended into the lower sanctum. The dark corridor she entered reeked of musty sulfur. Only a dim glow from lights embedded in the walls provided any illumination. The thickness of the fog waned, providing better visibility save for the darkness. Little clusters of pyreflies hovered in the air, their prismatic light cutting through the hazy curtain hanging in the corridors.

The chirming of fiends interjected the noisy sputtering of the gaol as Yuna walked by. She couldn't spot the fiends, but knew they lurked somewhere nearby.

Cascading inside her head, intrusive thoughts invaded her. The walls surrounding her contained nothing but reminders of hurt. Not just hers, but Shuyin's too. Even remnants of Lenne's feelings and memories that still lingered inside her joined in to haunt Yuna.

She pressed on, keeping her feet moving regardless of the dark thoughts trying to overtake her will. Coming to a juncture, Yuna tried to recall the path she took before.

"We've been through here enough to know where to go, right?" asked Rikku, scratching her cheek.

Yuna tapped her foot. "I wish I was sure."

"I think this way led to some lifts. Why don't we try that way," Paine said, pointing to the right.

Rikku shrugged. "That works for me."

"Me too," agreed Yuna. "Come on."

Slinking with her back against the wall, Yuna led her friends into uncharted territory. The mist continued to lighten the farther down the winding corridor she trekked. She eventually stopped in front of a steel door with a giant X painted in dark red on it. A rusted metal bar sealed the door closed, preventing entry.

"Okay, this is totally not ominous," said Rikku, taking a step back from the door.

Paine folded her arms. "Can they make it any more obvious?"

Yuna started to pull on the metal bar. "We don't know if this is the right room, but something important has to be inside."

"I just hope it's not an army of fiends," Rikku said with a huff.

"Only one way to find out!" Paine declared.

Grasping the other end of the metal bar, she helped Yuna lift it away from the door. It plunked to the ground with a thunderous thud. The impact shook the floor beneath Yuna's feet. She turned her gaze to the foreboding door before her. The blood-red X stood as a warning—a sign she chose to ignore. Pushing on the cold steel, it resisted her attempt to cross its barrier. Leaning harder into it, Yuna grunted.

The door creaked as it revealed a spacious sanctum shrouded with darkness. Yuna glanced back at her cousin, who motioned her to go in. After gulping, Yuna walked through the doorway. Once her feet entered the room, a glyph on the floor appeared, flashing a bright, milky green light. A line of torches on the walls activated their flames, providing some light in the room.

Clusters of wires and cables dangled from the ceiling. Machina parts littered many areas of the floor, long since rusted beyond usefulness. Near her foot, dripping water formed a small puddle of ground. The air smelled moldy with hints of spent oil. On the walls hung sets of tools. Paine walked over to pluck one of the tools from the wall. The handle crumbled in her hand.

"This stuff is beyond old," she commented.

Yuna nodded. "What do you think this place is?"

"From the looks of it, I'd say someone experimented with machina in here," observed Rikku.

Yuna watched her cousin poke around the corroded parts sprawling the floor. She bent down to pick up a piece of metal and glanced at it before chucking it away. Mesmerized by the mysterious scene, Yuna walked over to the shelving attached to the wall. She pulled a long roll of paper off one of the shelves, touching it carefully lest it disintegrate in her hands.

Kneeling on the floor, she unfurled it. Scanning over the paper, much of the drawing on it had been lost to time. Focusing on what ink remained, she made out parts of a schematic for some sort of enormous cannon. She frowned and rolled up the paper to examine the other contents of the shelves to no avail.

"Hey, come look at this!" Rikku shouted from the other side of the room.

Yuna walked over to her cousin. "What is this?"

Her eyes looked over a towering, machina torso suspended from the ceiling in a harness. Rikku prodded at a glowing control panel, a mischievous smile on her face. She pressed a button, and the head began spinning in a circle.

"Quit playing around, Rikku," grumbled Paine.

Rikku scoffed. "Oh, c'mon. This is kinda fun."

She pressed another button, and an array of gears inside the partially plated machine began to whirl. She then played with a tiny joystick, moving its sole attached arm up and down. Yuna couldn't help but laugh at her cousin's childish amusement.

Her attention quickly drew to an object resting underneath the torso. Waving her hand for Rikku to stop, Yuna crawled under the machine and reached for the square object. Slipping it out from underneath, she felt a slick liquid on a leathery surface.

To her surprise, a book lay hidden underneath. Its leather cover had been tattered and frayed all along the edges, and the title had worn off, but it appeared like the first volume of Iutycyr's book. She opened it up, greeted by the ancient scientist's thoughts on designing a prototype weapon that could sense emotion.

"This is it!" Yuna proclaimed, holding the book up. "We found it!"

Rikku froze, the joystick still cocked to spin the torso's arm endlessly around. "What? No way, Yunie!"

Paine patted Yuna on the back. "Good eye! Now we can get out of this dump."

A blaring rumble shook the room. Yuna spun around to see a mammoth machina activate and rise from its slumber in the back of the laboratory. Its mechanized body, haphazardly painted in an array of random colors, charged at her. Raising its massive fist in the air, it punched down at Yuna, who barely avoided the impact. Shards of scrap metal flung into the air, raining down on her.

She used her arms to shield her head. The shrapnel cut up her skin. She tucked the tome away and pulled out her pistols, firing successive blasts at the rogue machina. Like a wild animal, it smashed its fists into anything that crossed its path.

Paine ducked out of the way behind the shell of a half-built machine. Throwing a grenade at the towering machina, the explosion glanced off its reinforced body. Turning to face her, it shot its fist at her. With a terrified yelp, Rikku dove out of its trajectory. The fist collided with the wall behind her, sending metal and stone toppling onto her.

Yuna yelled for Paine to dig her cousin out while she engaged the ancient monster. She loaded a special bullet from her pouch. Aiming for the head of the machina, it impacted with a bright orange blast. A cloud of smoke followed. Yuna gasped when she realized the bullet had no effect on her adversary.

Lunging out of its catapulting fist, Yuna continued to fire on the machine. She grunted every time one of her bullets ricocheted off its heavily armored body. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Paine had Rikku almost uncovered from the rubble. Her cousin had a trickle of blood running down her forehead, but she was alert.

Her lack of attention on the towering machine gave it just enough time to dart toward her. It powered its metallic shoulder into her, driving her off her feet and careening into a pile of rusted parts. The sting of sharp steel pierced the skin on her back and legs. Pushing through the pain, she reached into her pouch and revealed another special bullet.

Lodging it into her pistol's chamber, she launched it directly at the machina's chest area. A greenish explosion surrounded by a bright, yellow halo erupted from its metallic plating. The mechanical beast stumbled backward with sparks spraying out of its midsection.

Yuna noticed Paine had gotten Rikku to safety. "Paine, attack its armor! We can weaken it!"

Gripping her sword, Paine rushed at its back. Swinging the sword over her head, the blade impacted its metal body. The blinding flash of light followed by the sound of shattering glass burst from the collision. Smoke poured out of its back, and it hunched over.

It momentarily ceased any movement before extending its left arm at Yuna. Firing its fist, the thrust knocked Paine away from itself. Not expecting to be attacked, Yuna could not completely avoid its strike, only sidestepping partially out of the fist's path. Knocked off her feet by its impact, she plummeted to the ground.

She rolled three times before the momentum of the strike ceased. Undeterred by the enemy, Yuna raised her pistol up to fire again but found Paine had driven her sword straight through the machina's head. The explosion blew its undersized head off its body. It crumbled to the ground with a rumbling collapse. Yuna let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked Paine, who had rushed over to Yuna.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she replied.

Paine helped her to her feet. "Glad to hear that. You took quite a shot."

Letting out another sigh, Yuna dusted herself off. "I forgot how much I dislike getting beat up on these missions."

"You're still pretty tough," joked Paine.

"How's Rikku?"

Glancing over to the entrance of the laboratory, Yuna spotted Rikku sitting against the wall, rubbing her forehead. She walked over and knelt to examine her cousin.

"Are you alright? How's your head?"

Rikku winced. "Well, it's been better. I won't croak yet, though."

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" Rikku asked.

"It's because of me and my foolish ambitions that you got hurt."

Rikku chuckled. "Eh, I've gotten myself hurt plenty on my own. I'd rather get hurt with you, Yunie."

Yuna teared up and rubbed Rikku's hair. She took a moment to further bandage her cousin's head. Scanning the room briefly, Paine concluded no more machina appeared active.

"We have the book—that's mission accomplished, right?" she questioned.

Yuna nodded. 'That's right. We have what we—"

She placed her hand where the book should have been but found emptiness in its place. She looked all around her body. Looking around the room, she noticed it had dropped back where the machina knocked her down with its fist.

Stepping over the metal debris scattered in clumps around the floor, she gasped when she saw the book begin to move on its own. When it entered a stream of light, she witnessed a tiny machina, its body a perfect orb with a singular eye and a single arm with a pincer attachment for a hand, had the book in its grasp. It scurried out from the shadows and darted for the door.

"Hey, don't let that thing escape!" bellowed Yuna, pointing to the machina.

Running too quickly for Paine and Rikku to react, they barely had time to locate the tiny machine before it zipped out of the laboratory. Yuna sprinted out of the room right behind it. She pulled out one of her pistols, trying to line up a shot while on the run. The little machine scampered in unpredictable zig-zag lines as it raced away from her, preventing her from getting a clear shot.

With her frustration boiling over, she fired a shot at the thief, striking the wall beside it. It hung a sharp right at the next junction, skittering into a small, circular room lined with green and gold trim on the walls. Weathered banners of Yevon still hung from the ceiling.

"Ha! I have you cornered," Yuna declared. "Give me back the book."

For a moment, the tiny machina paused, stuttering in place as if it tried to think of an escape plan. Her patience dissipated, and she stepped into the room. The machina stiffened its stubby legs straight up and turned to scamper onto a dormant glyph on the floor. A bright, teal glow shined as soon as it stepped on the glyph. In a flash of violet and lavender light, it disappeared.

Rikku and Paine rushed up from behind Yuna, who stood flabbergasted by the little machina's teleportation trick. She snapped her hands on her hips, and a harsh expression crossed her face.

"Hey, what happened to the book and the little machina thing?" asked Rikku.

Yuna sighed. "It's gone."

"Where did it go?" Paine questioned, her eyes darting around the room.

"I don't know," Yuna replied.

Rikku groaned, spotting the glyph on the floor. "But I have a feeling we're about to find out."