Chapter 79 – Quantum Leap


Darkness engulfed Yuna while an invisible force pulled at her hair and skin, yanking her into an impossible void. A tiny white dot of light lit up in the center of her vision. From it, a straight bolt of yellow electricity shot into her chest. The speck of light continued to draw her closer, sucking her into a blinding ivory void. Her entire body shook, and her heart pounded in her chest. An unseen force catapulted her through the void, and she fell onto her hands and knees.

Gasping for air, she pushed against the squeezing tension pressing against her head. She squinted her green eye open, fearful of the imaginable abstract surroundings still around her. To her surprise, the world around her appeared normal. The static leaping in and out of her skin had dissipated. A slight breeze brushed her hair into her face and cooled her hot skin. The sky had an ominous grey tone to it, with a curtain of slate clouds blocking out the sun above. Her heartbeat slowed and her muscles relaxed.

Brave enough to open both eyes, she looked up at the towering machina in front of her. Sharp, triangular shards of shiny metal hung suspended in the air. Two bronze statues depicting bestial creatures stood watch over the machina on either side. A control pedestal resided next to her with unconnected cables strewn around it. The foreign surroundings made no sense to her. Footsteps clattered against the fresh stone platform from behind her.

A man's voice asked, "Yuna? Yuna, are you alright?"

"What? Oh, Shuyin!" she declared with a mix of confusion and relief.

"I'm glad you're safe," he said while lifting her to her feet.

She thanked him and then frowned. "Is everything kind of . . . fuzzy to you?"

He took a moment to look around before answering. "Yeah, it's like my memories were snatched away. My head feels like it's in a fog."

"Where are we?" Yuna asked.

Shuyin sharpened his gaze, resting his curled hand against his chin. "We must have done it. Yes, now I remember. We had to come back in time."

"Come back in time?" she questioned before a bout of dizziness overcame her.

She rocked back and forth before fainting in Shuyin's arms. Only for a few moments did she retract from consciousness before the world came back into focus. He had her lying on the ground, her torso propped up against him. The warmth of his embrace soothed her.

"You're okay," he whispered. "I think this is a side effect I read about."

"I hope it doesn't last long," she said.

He closed his eyes and rubbed his fingers against the bridge of his nose. "What was our purpose in doing this? Are we crazy?"

"I'm not sure," murmured Yuna.

"Wait, let me think. We did have a purpose," replied Shuyin. "It was . . . a means of reconciliation."

Images of the past, or perhaps the future, raced through Yuna's mind in a flash. Fleeing down a dark corridor, she ran hand in hand with Shuyin. A regiment of footsteps clattered behind her like a stampede. Unintelligible voices shouted above the noise in unison. The endless hallway gave way to a gigantic chamber, surrounded by bleak metal panels and tarnished machina. Looming in the center, a massive insect-like monstrosity cast its shadow over them. Yuna glared up at it in both awe and fear until the armed soldiers caught up to them with guns at the ready. Though they found what they sought, they were too late.

Shaking her head, Yuna returned to the present. "Vegnagun."

"How do you know of that abomination?" asked a husky voice.

Shuyin stepped in front of Yuna, blocking the owner of the voice from her view. He clenched his hands into fists, taking a stance to ready himself for a fight. She tilted her head to the side attempting to bypass Shuyin's blockade. Standing at a safe distance from them, she viewed a short, portly man with his hands in the pockets of his laboratory coat. He had a neatly trimmed grey beard, matching his slicked black hair. When he approached a few steps closer, she could make out stains and burn marks dotting various placed on his otherwise white coat.

Shuyin glared at the man. "Who are you?"

"I'm inclined to ask you the same thing. But for the sake of politeness, I'll introduce myself first. My name is Iutycyr."

"Iutycyr?" whispered Yuna.

After hearing his name, Shuyin relaxed his tense posture. "I think I know of you. You're a scientist I think."

"That's correct," Iutycyr replied. "How did you know that? I don't believe we've ever met before."

Shuyin fumbled around to give him an answer, but he couldn't spit out anything coherent. Rising to her feet, Yuna stepped out from behind Shuyin and took a longer glance at the man. He still stood with apparent hesitation, although she could tell his mind fluttered with hypotheses as to who they were. She then looked around, watching the soft, purple clouds of the dusk sky soar above her. The sun set, casting a smattering of orange and yellows across the skyline.

"We're here because of your experiment," she said.

"My experiment?" Iutycyr questioned.

She nodded. "Yes. Time travel—your tower works. Even in the future."

He gasped. "What? You mean, you're from—"

"We are. While we may be from Spira, we're not from this time."

Shuyin rubbed his chin. "Yeah, now I'm starting to remember. I was able to use the spheres to activate your creation."

Iutycyr rubbed a hand against his wrinkly forehead and rushed towards them. "Unbelievable! Please don't be lying to me!"

"We're not. Although so many details are fuzzy, and I still feel lightheaded," said Yuna.

"I am not completely surprised to hear that. It is one of the side effects of using my machina, or so I surmised," he said.

Shuyin groaned. "Will it go away?"

Iutycyr shrugged. "Only time will tell. I've never been able to test it out."

"You haven't?" Yuna asked.

He mumbled under his breath and folded his arms tightly together. "My ideas aren't always popular with the leadership of Bevelle unless they directly benefit the war."

Yuna gasped. "War?"

Shuyin nodded. "Yes, now I remember. That's why we came back. Because of the war."

"And you neither look nor sound like you are from Bevelle," said Iutycyr.

"What's that to you?" questioned Shuyin.

Iutycyr shook his head. "Very little. I have no qualms with either city. I've only wanted to research in peace."

"But I thought you were from Bevelle," Yuna said.

"You're correct. It is my home, but I am no zealot. Which is why I built this tower all the way out in the middle of nowhere."

Yuna watched Shuyin walk to the edge of the tower's top platform. He gazed around, turning his attention to the world below. He held a blank expression on his face until a hint of satisfaction crept in. He returned to stand next to her.

"Why the seclusion?" he asked.

Iutycyr replied, "To work in peace. Bevelle has no interest in my work here. I tire of devoting my time to creations of war."

"What do you know about Vegnagun?"

Before the scientist could answer, something in the sky caught his attention. He gasped and took a step backwards, throwing himself into a guarded stance. Yuna spun around and shot her attention upward, spotting an airship rapidly approaching the tower.

"They've found me," said Iutycyr.

"Who is that?" Yuna asked.

"It's Bevelle."

Shuyin growled. "We can't let them find us."

Gesturing with his hand, Iutycyr fled toward the door to enter inside the tower. "Follow me. I'll do my best to keep their attention from you. They don't know about you, so we have an advantage."

"See that it stays that way," said Shuyin while glaring at him.

A chill ran down Yuna's spine. She could consciously feel the tension between Shuyin and the scientist radiate between the two men. Scanning each of their expressions, she knew in her heart both men harbored suspicion towards the other. If not for the impending arrival of the Bevelle airship, she would have attempted to diffuse their mutual mistrust. She wracked her brain, trying to recall any knowledge buried inside about Iutycyr.

At first blush, he seemed harmless. Merely an eccentric older man too caught up in his experiments to be concerned with politics or war. Fear kept nagging at her, as the man could be adept at hiding his true loyalties. If he retained enough affinity for his home city, she felt certain he would turn them both over. Her mind remained too fuzzy to compute through the likelihood of each possibility. She chose to follow the immediate gratification of trusting Iutycyr.

Trailing behind Shuyin, she slipped inside before the airship flew close enough to spot her. The hum of its engines rattled the tower walls. She listened to it descend to the base of the tower until silence replaced the rumbling from the engines. A knot formed in the pit of her stomach from watching the scientist frantically scurry around the chamber. He eventually stopped at a door on the other side. Fumbling with the doorknob, he opened it up and waved at them.

"Here, hide inside here," Iutycyr said.

Without a word, Shuyin complied and marched into the small room. His eyes still focused on the scientist, whose forehead glistened with sweat. Yuna breathed in and trailed behind him. From the open doorway, she spied three crates piled next to a mop and bucket. She located no light source in the room.

"Is it safe for us to hide in here?" she asked.

Iutycyr's hand jittered while he held the door open. "It's just a supply closet. Nobody will look in here."

Although she couldn't trust his intentions, she had no other recourse. Sliding herself inside, she crammed her body next to Shuyin. The heat from his skin warmed against her, shooting both a jolt of anxiety and exhilaration through her body. She could hear the concern he held with each tense breath he took. Iutycyr placed his finger up against his lips and quickly shut the door, blotting out the light within the small room.

With her heart beating furiously in her chest, Yuna clamped her sweaty hands in front of her. Seconds felt like minutes when shuffling boots clattered against the floor outside the room. At first, the voices attached to those boots sounded muffled and far away. Holding her breath, she tried to hear the conversation transpiring to no avail. She nearly yelped when the murmurs grew closer to the closet door. Shuyin pressed his hand flat against her mouth, preventing her inadvertent squeal from bleeding out of the room.

"This is not negotiable, Iutycyr," spoke a man with a coarse voice. "High command has ordered for you to return to the city."

"What more could they want with me?" asked Iutycyr sharply.

Another man let out a sigh. "That's not for us to know. You know how the war has been going."

Iutycyr said, "I've given years of my life to Bevelle and their war. I was promised solitude to finish my project."

"There will be no solitude for anyone if Zanarkand continues to make strides against us," the first man retorted.

The second man continued, "Bevelle needs your ideas to generate more advanced weaponry."

"I gave them my best," Iutycyr said. "Why not unleash Vegnagun if things are so dire?"

"It's still not controllable. That's certainly something you could fix."

The conversation shifted, increasing its distance again from the supply closet. A soft but harsh growl out of Shuyin immediately drew Yuna's attention. She could hear the leather of his gloves crinkle when he balled his hands into fists.

"We can't let them leave with him," he whispered.

Yuna's lips quivered. "But why?"

"He made what we need from this time—Vegnagun. That's why we are here."

Images of the mammoth machine flashed momentarily in her mind. "Did you hear what he said? It can't be properly controlled."

"Maybe not by Bevelle, but that doesn't mean Iutycyr can't figure out a way."

"That's true . . ."

Shuyin placed his hand on her shoulder. Even though the cover of darkness shrouded his face, Yuna could make out the burning emotions swirling inside of him. Vague memories of him stirred up inside of her. Recalling the lengths he had gone to, either at this time or in the future, she knew what drove him.

Yuna whispered, "If we're going to take on these Bevelle soldiers, we need a plan."

"Agreed," he replied, much to her relief.

He cracked open the door, leaking a sliver of light into the closet. Yuna caught a glimpse of his face, expressing a mixture of alarm and concern. Looking past him, she watched the two soldiers still conversing with Iutycyr. The words they spoke sounded clearer now, even though all three men stood on the other side of the chamber. The scientist stood in between the two soldiers, who had closed in on him at an uncomfortable distance. He continued to argue and plead with them, even though they cared not for his position.

"If they make a move to take him, we need to strike," said Shuyin, motioning to the two soldiers with his fingers.

Yuna bit her lip. "But that's too risky. What happens if—"

"It's a risk we have to take," he interjected.

Shuyin's attention returned to the scientist. He stayed fixated on their conversation as it devolved into a circle of futile banter. Fed up with Iutycyr's resistance, the soldier closest to him gave him an ultimatum he couldn't refuse. He grasped Iutycyr's arm and started to compel him towards the exit. Forcefully removing the soldier's hand from him, the scientist shook his upper body and gave the soldier a shove.

Shuyin's eyes narrowed. "We can't hide in here anymore."

Before Yuna could voice her objection, he bolted out of the dark room, catching the soldiers by surprise. He sprinted at the soldier trying to recapture his hold on Iutycyr. He swung his fist and connected a blow to the soldier's jaw. The second soldier drew out a rifle and fired a shot at Shuyin, who deftly used his other arm to knock the barrel of the gun away from himself. The bullet impacted the ceiling, spraying bits of stucco into the air.

Yuna stood frozen in place, the hazy state of her thoughts still impeding her ability to process the bizarre situation she found herself in. She watched Shuyin claw and kick with the two soldiers while Iutycyr shuffled out of the way. When the soldier with the rifle struck Shuyin in the chest with the stock of his rifle, she instinctively reached to her belt to unholster something but felt nothing but air. She thought she should have pistols holstered on her, but she had no weapons on her.

By now, Shuyin had fallen to a knee after taking another punch from the soldier. A trickle of blood ran down his nose. Yuna rushed out from the closet, picking up the object closest to her, a glass beaker filled with a foamy blue liquid, and flung it at the soldiers. She threw it with enough power to shatter it against the wall behind them, splashing the liquid over their bodies. It immediately burned their skin, sending both men crumbling to the ground in a fit of immense pain.

Shuyin used the opportunity to grab Iutycyr and drag him out of the room. "Let's go! Now's our chance!"

She ran after Shuyin and the scientist, spiraling down the floors of the tower. Each one seemed vaguely familiar, yet drastically different than what her memories told her. She couldn't trust her memories, as everything seemed out of place. She panted heavily, hunching over by the time they reached the bottom. Shuyin peered out of the still-open entranceway. Resting nearby, the airship the two soldiers arrived with sat idle.

"I don't see anyone else," said Shuyin. "Let's take their airship."

"And go where?" asked Yuna.

Shuyin hesitated with his mouth open for a moment. "I need time to think. We can figure that out when we're out of here."

Iutycyr grunted. "If you steal their airship, they will send more soldiers after us."

"We don't have time to worry about that," barked Shuyin.

Like the soldiers from Bevelle, he grasped Iutycyr's arm tightly and forced him out of the tower towards the ship. Yuna voiced her concerns, but nothing would redirect Shuyin's desire to commandeer the airship. She let out a curt sigh and began walking to the airship until she felt a stinging tug on her arm. One of the soldiers, who had blisters over the skin on his neck, grabbed her and shoved her to the ground.

The second soldier emerged from the tower, taking a shot with his rifle at Shuyin. The bullet barely missed Shuyin, causing him to roll on the ground. He grasped onto Iutycyr again and fled with him to the ship. He called for Yuna to follow, but the soldier who sent her toppling to the ground had her pinned underneath his knee. She choked out a cry for help.

Shuyin turned around, pausing for a moment to show the horror on his face when he realized Yuna couldn't move. By now, he stood at the edge of the landing ramp into the airship. He shoved Iutycyr inside and turned to charge at the soldiers until another bullet ripped into the flesh on his right arm. Yelling out a blood-curdling scream, he rushed inside the ship. Another bullet ricocheted off the rising ramp.

"I'll come back for you!" he yelled. "I promise!"

Yuna could only watch on the ground as the airship's ramp retracted into place and the engines of the craft revved to life. The soldier fired his rifle again to no avail. A tear dropped from her green eye and rolled down her cheek.

"Dammit he's getting away!" the soldier with the rifle exclaimed.

"We need to report this to high command. They won't be pleased that some Zanarkand nut kidnapped Iutycyr," said the other soldier.

"What are we going to do with this Zanarkand agent?"

Yuna looked up at the soldier, who propped his rifle against the ground. She couldn't understand why he claimed she came from Zanarkand. Searching her memories, she recalled days of her youth in a vast city, but not the strange dream world he spoke of.

"I'm not from Zanarkand," she said. "I'm from Bevelle."