Chapter 82 – In the Bowels of a Nightmare
Lenne marched towards the tower, not waiting for Isaaru to keep pace. Unlike her, he possessed no prowess for combat. Not wanting him to get hurt, she decided to press on ahead if he felt reluctant to engage in combat. She sensed the presence of the sphere somewhere inside, even if she couldn't pinpoint the reason why. That feeling drove her forward.
Footsteps scampered up behind her. She stopped and waited for Isaaru to catch up. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Lenne, glaring at her with determined eyes. Though he didn't speak, she recognized the resolve in his expression. She nodded and flashed him a smile. Though never used to having help, she appreciated someone having her back—even if Isaaru was a stranger.
"So, what's the plan on infiltrating the tower?" asked Isaaru, pointing at the stomping machina circling the platform surrounding the tower.
Lenne crossed her arms. "We have to destroy the machina guarding the tower if we want any chance of entering."
"While on the surface that makes sense, do we really want to try to fight them?"
"Do you have a better idea?"
Isaaru shrugged. "I'm guessing that if you're like the rest of the Gullwings, you probably have some strong powers hidden up your sleeve. Unfortunately, I no longer have aeons to summon."
She looked around the tower for a second time. "Do you think we can sneak by them?"
"They appear formidable, but not particularly fast," he said. "If we can't sneak by them, we should be able to run away from them."
Lenne uncrossed her arms and rested her hands on her hips. "You have a point. This would be a whole lot easier if we had aeons to fight for us. Not that it saved me a thousand years ago."
"All the more reason not to run into danger and ruin your new lease on life."
She chuckled. "I can't argue with that logic."
He leaned from side to side, stretching his legs. "It's been a while since I've had a good run."
"Just stay nearby, and I'll keep you safe," she said.
Turning her attention to the hulking sentries plodding around the tower, Lenne carefully watched their movement. She tracked the cadence with which the machines encircled the platform. It took each machine nearly five minutes to complete a rotation. Each one took about two minutes to walk halfway around before stopping for about twenty seconds. Then they resumed walking until they completed a rotation and stood still for nearly thirty seconds.
She noticed each machina always kept an equal distance from the other. Neither of the sentries moved with the same fervor as they might have in the past. A millennium of wear had drained away much of their prowess. She believed that they could sneak past them without a confrontation. The lack of a visible entrance from her vantage point concerned her.
"Any ideas?" Isaaru whispered.
"These rusty buckets don't move like they used to. If we keep quiet, we can mirror their movements and sneak around to the other side," she answered.
He scratched at the top of his scalp. "Where are we trying to get to exactly?"
"Hopefully an entrance is on the other side."
"And if it's not?"
Lenne sighed. "Well, we'll have to make it up as we go then."
"Not the most confident plan," he commented. "But I've heard worse. Especially from Cid."
"Who?"
He chuckled. "Um, never mind. Just tell me when to move, and I'll follow your lead."
She nodded and focused again on the machina. The towering creation of stone lumbered closer to them, swinging its massive arms and stomping its mighty feet. Just as she anticipated, the machine paused right after it passed the point where the bridge connected with the platform. She nudged Isaaru on the arm and darted down the bridge.
She counted the seconds in her head, knowing she had precious little time to sneak into the shadow of the machine before its counterpart resumed moving. Lurching forward, she tiptoed up to the backside of the nearby sentry, holding her breath the entire time. It slowly rotated its torso from side to side, scanning the perimeter. She placed her back against the cold, steel wall of the tower. Her hands rubbed against the round bumps of the rivets holding its metal plating together.
Following close behind Lenne, Isaaru picked up his feet high off the ground with each step he took. He took care to put as little pressure on his steps as possible, muffling the noise of his shoes against the platform. He grimaced when the shadow of the giant machina loomed over them.
She motioned to slide with his back against the tower, matching the steps of the machina. It continued its march around the tower. To her relief, it seemed unaware of her proximity. The slow trek around the tower unnerved her. She kept looking out of the corners of her eyes, making sure to remain out of sight of the other sentry. The distraction prevented her from focusing on walking forward, and she tangled her feet with Isaaru's.
He lost his balance and tumbled to the ground. The thud of his impact alerted the machina in front of them. It swung its body around far more snappily than Lenne believed it could still maneuver. Spotting Isaaru lying face down on the floor, the machina raised its fist into the air. Lenne grabbed him and pulled him out of the way before its fist swung down onto the platform.
He yelped from the thunderous impact of stone against steel. Pulling him up to his feet, Lenne held on to his arm and dragged him away from the sentry, which bumbled after them. She felt the platform shutter with every step the machina took, shooting vibrations through her boots and up her legs. Glancing to her right as she rounded the tower, she noticed the other sentry alerted to their presence.
Instead of the entry door she hoped for, she came to a lift platform leading up the tower. Her eyes darted around, frantically searching for another way in. Isaaru followed suit but quickly dispelled that possibility.
"I don't see any way inside," he said, his attention diverted to the lumbering machina approaching on either side.
Lenne looked up. "It has to be up where the lift goes."
"Should we take it up then?"
Lenne huffed. "We don't have a choice at this point!"
"Okay, let me see how to activate this thing," Isaaru said.
"I'll buy you time." Lenne gripped her hands together.
Activating her Garment Grid, pyreflies swarmed around her and she transformed into the strangely dressed dressphere. Tiny bolts of electricity crackled from her fingers and hair. She hovered above the ground, eyeing the charging machina still in pursuit. Flying directly at it, she clashed with its huge, stony fist, meeting it with her own fist.
A flash of light lit up the dark chamber, quickly followed by a deafening blast of sound. The air smelled like burnt ozone around her. Heat radiated off her hand, but she felt no pain. She noticed a chunk of the machina's fist had been blown away where she impacted it. Bits of stone, still smoldering, littered the platform. The machine engaged with her again, undeterred by its damage.
She crossed her arms in front of her, taking the blunt force of its powerful punches directly against herself. What should have felt like unimaginable pain barely registered above a poke. Conjuring a ball of energy in her hands, she countered with a staggering blast. The machina reeled backwards. She fired a beam out of her visor at the sentry, flinging it onto its back. The entire tower shuttered from its earsplitting crash.
Blowing out a sigh of relief, Lenne kept her eyes on the fallen machina. Though lying stationary on its back, she could tell she hadn't destroyed it. Behind her, a crunching thud reverberated through the chamber. Twisting herself around in the air, she witnessed the second sentry punch the tower wall inches above Isaaru's head. He let out a desperate cry before sliding away from the mountainous enemy. It raised its first into the air again.
Zipping through the air, she interposed herself between the fist and Isaaru. She hadn't time to fully guard herself, and its fist pummeled into her body. The impact knocked her out of the air, thrusting her onto the platform. She felt her whole body seize in pain. Shaking her head, her vision blurred, and a sharp pain radiated around her head. A trickle of blood ran out of her nose.
Isaaru stumbled over to her. "Are you alright, Lenne?"
"I don't know," she murmured. "That really hurt."
He aided her in getting back onto her feet. "I can operate the lift now. Let's get away from these infernal machines!"
By now, both sentries had gathered to engage them. Lenne regained her senses and immediately recognized the danger they both faced. She gestured towards the elevator.
"You go on up while I distract the machina," she said.
"But you'll—"
Her expression sharpened. "Don't worry, they won't get another shot like that on me. I can get up there myself, you can't!"
She ran towards the sentries, her feet hovering just off the ground. Flying up to head level with the machina, she spun around in the air. A dazzling shimmer of light exploded out of her. She looked back to see Isaaru walking onto the lift. Facing the two machines, she landed on the ground and provoked them. With synchronous movement, both sentries hurdled their fists at her. Guarding her body with her arms, their impact did nothing against her this time.
The cold stone of their construction barely tickled her skin. She fired back with an explosion of energy. To her right, the machina launched its fist from its arm like a missile. It sped through the air, smashing against her with mighty force and sliding her back on the platform. For as strong as the collision felt against her, she suffered no injury from the attack.
By now, Isaaru had risen to the upper level of the tower. Lenne flashed a smirk at the two sentries before teleporting herself away. He had just arrived at the entry point into the tower when she blinked into existence beside him. He yelped, startled by her sudden appearance.
"You weren't kidding when you said you had a way up on your own," he said, still exasperated.
Lenne smiled at him and shrugged. "I guess I'm getting the hang of this thing."
Isaaru turned to face the steel door in front of him. "Here's the way in. Keep your guard up."
He leaned into the steel door, pressing with all his weight to force it open. The edges had rusted, creating a crusty orangish outline around the frame. Bits of oxidized metal crumbled off, floating like a noxious cloud around in the air. The door's creaking echoed around the voluminous chamber, quickly followed by Isaaru's coughing.
Milky yellow light poured through the doorway, revealing a spiraling fixture rising through the center of the tower. Unlike the outside, no lights were lit inside. Black shadows covered everything beyond the entranceway in impenetrable darkness. Lenne slowly moved her eyes across the room, scanning every bit of darkness for something dangerous hiding from her. Her ears picked up the faint sound of liquid dripping. Nothing alerted her senses that any threats lurked inside. Gliding inside, she used the glowing from her hands to light inside.
The air turned sour as soon as she entered—filling her nose with the pungent smell of sulfur and oxidation. She covered her mouth the best she could, reeling back from the sudden violation of her senses. Isaaru also covered his mouth and dry heaved a few times. The air underneath Bevelle revolted her enough, dredging up hellish memories of a past she longed to never revisit. The foul air inside the tower impacted her in a whole other way entirely.
"Just what is in here?" Isaaru barked out between coughs.
"I don't know," she replied, using the glow from her hands to light up the walls and ceiling. "But there's so much rust and water leaking down from above."
Isaaru looked up. "That's strange. There's not a lot of water trickling down. And this whole place is rusted."
"It doesn't have to be a lot after a thousand years."
"Right. So now what?"
Lenne pointed to the spiraling stairs. "We go up."
She led Isaaru up the stairs, careful to watch her footing. The moisture in the air had rusted out the staircase as much as the walls, weakening the supports. While she could float above them, Isaaru had to climb up normally. Each step caused the stairs to creak and wobble. She feared he would fall through.
The ascent felt like an eternity, but they reached the top. The air cleared by the time they reached a small platform leading to a wide, rectangular door. Not fully shut, enough space existed between the door and the frame for Lenne and Isaaru to squeeze themselves through. She pushed the broken remains of a machina away, revealing a dormant control panel by the door. She activated its lighting, illuminating the entire room in dim, white light.
In the center, a translucent statue stood surrounded by powdery blue crystal protruding out of the floor. Murky water surrounded the statue and crystal, forming a shallow pool around them. Cracks in the floor around the pool leaked water. She noticed two pumps built into the perimeter of the walls wrapped around to the backside of the room, eventually jutting out to provide water to the pool. The running water sounded like a mellow brook rolling out of the pipes.
Lenne's eye twitched at the perverseness of the wholesome sound in comparison to the backdrop of madness this chamber must have held when she last lived. She gulped, and carefully stepped forward, maneuvering over the array of dormant machina resting by the pool. Lines of cables hung down from the ceiling like vines from a jungle's canopy. Fat, round plugs of different colors dangled from their ends, stuck into the backs of the machina. She brushed them aside to remove their impediment from her path to the statue.
Arriving at the edge of the pool, the soft glow from the statue became more noticeable to her. She looked it over, trying to make out exactly what its purpose could be. It took the form of an androgynous human adorned with a long robe. Its sleeves reached down, melding into the cluster of crystals surrounding it. She leaned forward, hovering just over the pool of water to get a closer look. Inside of the translucent material composing the statue, tiny balls of light floated around.
She wondered if they could be pyreflies. Holding her breath, she listened for the recognizable chime all pyreflies emitted. At first, she could only hear her heartbeat echoing in her ears. She floated closer to the statue, extending her head just inches from the chest of the faceless figure. Shimmering lights danced their way across the chest and up towards the head, and the sound of muffled ringing followed.
A sudden thought burst into Lenne's mind—disturbing enough to send her unintentionally jolting backwards away from the statue. Could this statue truly be a fayth? She blinked rapidly and shook her head. It seemed preposterous but made more sense the longer she dwelt on the thought. Her eyes caught a glimpse of the statue's head, noticing strange piping protruding from it. She followed the pipes up as they lifted to the ceiling and spread out like a spider web. Each string of pipe eventually connected to one of the dangling cables hanging from the ceiling.
She turned around to locate Isaaru, who had his face buried deep in an open chest. Hovering over to him, an expression of bewilderment still on her face, she tapped him on the shoulder. He let out a startled squeal.
"Oh, you scared me!" he exclaimed.
"Sorry! I was coming to see what you were looking at."
He pulled out a round object from the chest. "I found this chest containing many spheres in it. Maybe we'll get lucky and find what we're looking for in here."
Lenne said, "Let's hope so. This place holds . . . dark secrets."
Isaaru's eyes slowly rose to meet Lenne. "What do you mean dark secrets?"
"I think that's a fayth," she replied while pointing to the statue.
"A fayth? What in the world would a fayth be doing here?"
Lenne shrugged. "Not sure, but I'm guessing it had to do with the experiments going on here in the past."
"Do you think it's the same scientist?"
"It probably was Iutycyr. My best guess is that he was trying to harness the fayth for something. With all the machina around, I bet it had something to do with them."
He sighed. "That poor thing. I have no idea if a fayth feels like we do or not, but it couldn't have been pleasant."
"Let's just find the sphere we need and get out of here," she said.
He continued to dig out spheres from the chest one by one. Most were various shades of blue, except the last sphere he pulled from the chest, which had an orangish glow to it. He grunted and slammed the lid of the chest shut. Lenne folded her arms together, snuffing out the glow of her hands while she pondered where the sphere could be hiding—if it hid anywhere in the tower at all.
She scanned across the chamber again. "All I see is piping and machina. Do you think it could be buried somewhere amongst them?"
"Worth a look," said Isaaru with a frown.
Hovering cautiously around the machina, it dawned on her that the dormant machines were not haphazardly discarded in the room like she's seen at other places underneath Bevelle. They formed three arcs surrounding the pool—the smallest machina sat in the inner segment and grew larger in stature the farther away they rested.
She made her way to the back wall. The water swishing out of the pipes drowned out the background clatter of the tower. It again injected her with a sense of calm, a welcome distraction from the anxiety brought forth by being trapped underneath the enemy city again. Her eyes spied a glimpse of something shiny on the back of the statue. Floating up to it, she noticed a purplish sphere embedded in the back of the statue's head where the piping connected. Her eyes shot open wide as she rushed towards it.
Violet light reflected off her visor. "Isaaru, I think I found it!"
"You did? Where?" he asked, yelling from across the chamber.
"It's attached to the statue. I'll pull it out!"
Isaaru waved his hands in front of him. "Wait, are you sure—"
His words fell on deaf ears. Lenne's heart skipped a beat as she reached out to grasp the sphere. The glow from her hand melted together with the strong light emanating from the sphere, creating a tantalizing swirl of washed-out purple. Her fingertips immediately registered its icy cold surface. With hope in her heart, she yanked the long-untouched sphere from its socket, sending a small cloud of dust and electrical sparks into the air.
A low hum murmured from the statue, intensifying into a loud crackling. The cables attached to the machina rattled and shook while the same crackling sound shot through them. Lenne gasped when she saw ghostly electricity sizzle and pop into the sleeping machines. Their bodies shuttered, with gears and servos whizzing back to life once more. The boom of an unintelligible voice bellowed out from the statue, sounding like an antagonized scream held for a thousand years.
Lenne yelled for Isaaru to flee. She shot psychic energy at the awakened machina beside her, blasting off one of its legs. The entire chamber shook from the stampede of recharged machines. She rushed towards the entrance, able to catch up with Isaaru, who tripped over a newly activated machina in front of him. She grabbed his arm to lift him up.
Together they fled out of the chamber, and Issaru slammed the door shut behind him. He leaned his back against the door, blowing out a loud sigh of relief until a stab against it from the other side punctured a hole through the steel. His eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets from the near strike to his back. Lenne screamed for them both to run for the lift. He happily complied with her order and raced behind her.
The door behind them crashed open, launched off its frame by a horde of untamed machina. Turning around to face them, she gathered a ball of telekinetic energy in her hands and unleashed it at the horde. Sparks flew everywhere, shattering the aged and worn chassis of the smaller, skittering machines. Larger machina emerged from the chamber. She turned back around to chase after Isaaru once more until something odd caught her attention.
An ethereal haze surrounded each of the machina regardless of size. Looking closer, a litany of pyreflies composed the haze, all of them spinning around the machines. The tallest machina behind them fired both of its cannons at her, blasting the walls on either side of her. Molten debris exploded into her face. She instinctively fled the opposite way, unable to clear her eyes well enough to see.
Calling out for Isaaru, he came back to Lenne and led her to the spiral stairs leading to the entrance of the tower and the lift outside. Even though she couldn't see, she could hear the army of machina marching in pursuit. The foul odor of ancient oil reheated after a thousand years filled the air in the tower. Lenne's helpless flight from danger parallelled the minutes before her execution a thousand years before too close for her mind not to succumb to panic.
She belted out a harrowing cry from the phantom vestiges of bullet wounds ripping through her flesh. Isaaru yelled at her, asking her what pained her. Unable to see his mouth moving or register the words he spoke, Lenne curled into a ball hovering just off the floor. Lifting her into his arms, he stumbled down the stairs. Another cannon shot crashed into the ceiling above them. The blast ripped apart the brittle metal supports attached to the ceiling. The staircase crumbled into pieces, giving no support to Isaaru.
He screamed as he inadvertently let go of Lenne and fell off the stairs. His desperate cry cut through the mental torment Lenne relived and snapped her back into reality. She opened her eyes enough to see him falling helplessly to certain doom. Zipping through the air, she reached out with her hand and grasped onto his, yanking him up and taking the full brunt of the collision with the floor below. Her telekinetic power absorbed most of the impact, but the loud crash shot fear into her more than actual pain.
Isaaru rolled off her and groaned. "That hurt . . . but could have been a lot worse."
Closing her eyes, Lenne took a deep breath in and let the waves of dismay finish washing over her. She let out her breath and sat up. Her ears still rang, but she felt able to stand. She looked up to see lights from a pack of rogue machina skittering along the edge where the stairs attached to the upper level. Flashes from electrical sparks momentarily lit up the dull, murky cloud of light encasing each of them.
"Let's get out of here before they figure out a way to get down," she said.
He nodded. "Hopefully those sentries will have gotten bored waiting for us."
She had almost forgotten about them. "The last thing we need is another fight."
Walking out to the elevator platform, she looked over the edge. She saw no massive machines present to her relief, although she heard the deep pounding from their footsteps in the distance. Isaaru activated the lift and lowered them to the platform below. He hesitated to even creep off the lift. Floating around the tower, Lenne spotted one of the sentries rounding the platform having returned to its normal duty.
She motioned for Isaaru to follow her, and quietly led him back across the bridge. He blew out a sharp sigh of relief before letting out a nervous chuckle. She noticed fear in his eyes and a guarded posture. Unlike herself, he seemed not to be overly acquainted with battle. Even though she felt herself full of jitters, she collected her resolve.
"We'll be alright now," she said in a strong voice. "Now we have to find a way back up and get out of the underground.
Isaaru slowly nodded. "Right, I think I recall where I climbed down from."
"Good! Then let's retrace our steps."
Although she had no idea where to guide him, she felt it best if she took the lead. Using the glow from her hands, she hovered back through the winding corridors. Shadows danced on the walls which had been almost entirely engulfed in darkness before. The cold air warmed slightly. Returning to the platform she had fallen on the day before, Lenne looked up and down. She hadn't fallen as far as she originally thought.
"There should be a long ladder nearby attached to a wall. I used it to climb down from another platform above," Isaaru explained.
Using her glowing hands for light, she ran them against the platform walls. Walking to the far end, the light revealed a skinny, metal ladder leading up. She smiled to herself, feeling a bit of hope restored within her. The coldness of the steps snapped at the skin of her hands when she grasped them. The feeling of wandering underneath a tomb—her tomb—antagonized her. She couldn't shake the faded memories of watching the life pour out of Shuyin before she died herself.
The higher she climbed, the more the dread retreated. Simmering anger replaced it. Many targets for that anger ran through her thoughts. She hated the Bevelle of old for waging war against her home, for the creation of a terrible weapon like Vegnagun, and for failing to protect the man she loved. Guilt crept in around the anger, further tightening her chest. Lenne knew the anger and pain she felt from failing to save Shuyin had once intertwined with Yuna's trauma from losing Tidus.
For too long had Lenne been a burden on her friend, though she never intended to. She wondered why Yuna held such loyalty to her. Lenne tried her best to save Yuna from spiraling. As one woman who lost her love to another, she tried her best to bolster Yuna's spirit. An attempt that ultimately failed, nearly costing Yuna her life. When she lost Lenne's sphere two years ago in the Farplane, Lenne became content to wander as a spirit. She couldn't harm anyone else lost in the world of spirits. Because of Yuna's boundless desire to help others, Lenne lived again while her friend was lost to time.
The dark backdrop of the underground gave no distraction to the intrusive thoughts chiseling away at her until she reached the top of the ladder. She paused for a few moments to catch her breath. Glancing down, she squinted to make out Isaaru below her, entrenched in shadows. Had she continued the entire way up without paying attention to him?
She used the time to examine her surroundings in more detail. Peeking over the platform at the top of the ladder, it led to a nondescript doorway. Raising her eyes over that, she noticed the restricted area above her. In her deep haze, she neglected to realize how high she had scaled. She finished climbing up onto the platform, feeling her muscles rejuvenated knowing she could soon escape Bevelle again.
Panting heavily, Isaaru neared the platform as well. She knelt, extending out her hand to help him up. Even though the air still held a chill, sweat glistened off his forehead and hair. He dusted himself off and let out a huff.
"We're close to where we need to be to get out of here," stated Lenne.
Isaaru looked around. "Yes, that seems correct. I'm glad. To be honest, I lost my bearing when I had ventured down."
"It's easy for that to happen in a nightmare like this place."
"Indeed," said Isaaru before pointing to the door. "We should be able to go through there to reach the top area."
She walked through the doors, keeping herself ready to attack any fiend or machina lurking behind it. To her relief, nothing but another empty, soulless corridor stood in front of her. She meandered her way through this part of the complex until she reached the exit. Lenne reached her hand out to activate it until a sound caught her attention. She perked up, leaning her ear against the door. It sounded like gunfire outside.
"What do you hear?" asked Isaaru.
Lenne scrunched her face together. "I think there's a fight going on."
"I wonder if that would be the Gullwings?"
Lenne's eyes burst open, and she gasped. "Then we need to help them!"
Before Isarru could give a word of warning, Lenne slammed the door's control panel and rushed out. Skipping up the metal plates acting as stairs, the sound of explosions loudened. She witnessed Paine and Rikku in the middle of attacking a pair of bat-like fiends. One of them shot a blast of energy out of its enormous, beady eye, striking Rikku and knocking her to the ground. Lenne curled her hands into fists and unleashed a bomb of telekinetic energy at both fiends, destroying them in a single blast.
Both of the remaining Gullwings dropped their mouths in shock and turned around to see where that blast came from. To both of their surprise, Lenne stood with a hand on her hip, flashing them a confident grin.
"Lenne! Oh man, are we glad to see you!" shouted Rikku while running up to hug her.
Paine sheathed her sword and smiled. "Looks like that dressphere you found has come in handy."
"More than you know," said Lenne. "For both of us."
Rikku pumped her fist. "Hey, you found Isaaru!"
He reluctantly waved. "Hello, it's good to see both of you. Thankfully under slightly better circumstances."
"I'm just glad to see you're in your right mind," Paine said.
He let out a sigh. "That makes two of us."
"I thought you were a goner," said Rikku with watery eyes. "I never would've forgiven myself if—"
Lenne put her hands on Rikku's shoulders. "It's alright. I'm okay."
"We searched everywhere down here we could find until Brother made us come back." Rikku crossed her arms tight against her.
"That's because you were about to collapse from exhaustion," Paine grumbled.
"Thank you for trying to find me. Especially in such a dangerous place," Lenne whispered.
Paine patted her on the arm. "Hey, it's what we do. Gotta have three of us to be the Gullwings."
Lenne smiled. "I'm a poor substitute, but I appreciate the sentiment."
A buzzing sound erupted from Rikku, followed by the voice of Brother. "Rikku, come in."
"Hey, what's up? We got good news!"
"What's that?"
Rikku replied, "We found Lenne and Isaaru!"
"Ah, that's wonderful! I wish my news was good." Brother's voice tapered off.
She scrunched her nose. "Uh, what do you mean?"
"There's all kinds of crazy chatter on the broadcast stations! You won't believe it when I tell you!"
Paine growled. "Just spill it already!"
"He's back somehow!"
"Who's back?"
Brother struggled to form coherent words for a moment. "Seymour."