Shuyin sat at the strange keyboard of Vegnagun situated at the very top of the monstrosity, closed within a metallic cacoon. Its long thin keys were dull and resembled a dark dangerous organ to unleash the Machina. His gloved fingers hovered waveringly over the keys; the problem was that he had little idea of what he needed to play. He had fooled around on something similar to this instrument when he was younger, but that didn't really help at all; what song do you play to wake a beast? If gentle music soothed the soul of a monster, perhaps something upbeat and sinister should wake it?
Shuyin absent-mindedly pressed a key only for it to light-up a bright yellowy-white across the ridge of the key beyond to what looked like to be a screen. Not to his surprise, nothing showed up; Shuyin already knew he was playing it wrong. He was lost. What were the right chords? He was running out of time; what sounded like an alarm had already sounded which shook his soul to the very core. But he didn't flee; he was doing this for Lenne and that was enough reason to persist. He closed his eyes falteringly and breathed deep; he imagined himself with his lover, laughing as they usually did, but during that carefree time when war was a distant whisper. His anger flared when he commemorated the moment that Zanarkand believed Summoners were disposable; when they began to send them to the front-line.
Without knowing what he was doing, Shuyin forcefully pushed his fingers on the keys, letting his rage escape through his touch and fabricate into the music he was creating. Upon the transparent screen, bars of colour moved upwards in correspondence to the sound; strips of sapphire, to jade, to golden yellow, to amber, to ruby, to fuchsia. Shuyin allowed his fingers to flow, letting them feel the way into a tune which sounded menacing until he thought again of Lenne; the music became gentler, softer but still with an ominous edge.
After pausing for a second, letting the last notes echo through the shadowy dense air, he began to play faster in a sort of desperation. As if Vegnagun felt this, the dark walls – which had been sparsely flashing white emblems – lit up with thousands of ivory Yevon symbols for a split second before vanishing just as quickly. Something rumbled deep within the Machina's heart, mist escaping from the skulled face, its long tusks still curving threateningly as Shuyin continued to play. Suddenly, the skull-face began to split apart; the horns lifted up, the jaw split in two and pulled apart as did the top, and from its depths a circular cannon began to emerge. It was veined with cerulean blue which burned brightly with a large crimson bead at the top, bottom and sides, which all blurred to glow white as the young man commanding the Machina persisted to play.
Shuyin's soul was ablaze with desire and his heart pounded heavily in his chest; he felt strangely nauseous in that the next part of his plan was to destroy Bevelle – so many lives would be taken, so much destroyed in one swift movement, in one command. But the only one he saw imprinted upon his mind was his lover and while he played the sinister keyboard, she was all he thought about. His eyes were shut tight now, and despite his shaking hands and slight queasiness, he continued to hit the keys fiercely; his head nodding and shaking with the music as if recoiling from a misty conscience. It was all for her-
"You must stop!"
The voice appeared so suddenly; it was a command he expected, though from a person he did not anticipate, and then again it didn't sound like an order. He stopped playing at once, the light from the keys vanishing in an instant, and turned his head at the first sound and there, upon the circular platform bathed in light, stood Lenne. Shuyin's heart beat longingly and fearfully in his chest at the sight of her; she was stood with a wide base and her arms outstretched, stopping him and waiting to embrace him in one.
"That's enough!" she cried, fatigued, and took a step forward in desperation. Shuyin leant over the ledge of where he was, a low gasp escaping from his throat. Neither of them moved; Lenne held her arms out wide, looking up at him with a scared longing on her face, and Shuyin stood looking down at her, wondering how she had known he was here.
A sudden noise made Lenne turn and gasp though what she had heard, Shuyin didn't know. Yet. He began to make his way down to his love as quickly as he could; all ideas of Vegnagun were abandoned after she had told him to stop. Shuyin had independently searched for a solution to Lenne going to the front-line – he wanted the war to end quickly, he wanted her to stay with him – but her plea had been enough to erase the idea that was formulated in his mind.
They met on the platform; both ran to the other into a tight embrace which neither would release. Lenne's head lay on Shuyin's chest, his arms wrapped protectively around her torso, soothing her as he had always done before. Bright lights from either side suddenly flashed on with the sound of a gun-shot, causing the lovers to look up towards the chamber entrance. A dozen guards with Machina guns stopped a few feet away from the circular platform, raising their weapons while the first few knelt. Dressed in a black and red uniform, it was obvious Bevelle had disapproved of Shuyin's retaliation and sent more men than necessary to finish the job.
With the glowing cannon of Vegnagun visible behind the lovers, Shuyin turned towards the guards, a glare in his eyes, hatred for the enemy still strong. Lenne leant her head closer to him, gaining all the strength she could and what little protection he could provide. They would kill two unarmed people, especially one who was innocent, on someone's command without any thoughts of their own? Shuyin thought, angrily. They mindlessly follow the teachings of Yevon against their better judgement? Or did they not have consciences? It didn't matter much; both Shuyin and Lenne knew they were doomed to a very early pointless death. They both seemed to realise this at the same moment for they both turned back to the other, Lenne's gaze full of sadness, hopelessness, and Shuyin's softening at the sight of her. Lenne's hands lay on his chest, not wanting to let go, wanting him always near even after death, wanting them to fade together.
She looked into his pale sapphire eyes, but she faltered and glanced around away from his stare, looking apprehensive and worried. Shuyin's eyes widened slightly as if asking what troubled her, his lips parted a little in a query; he was afraid of Lenne hating him now that he had tried to kill innocent Bevelle citizens, and he felt his heart sink into his stomach. They were about to die and it was his fault. However, she glanced towards him before closing her eyes, smiling magnificently and opening them again, a crystal tear leaving its mark as it fell onto the metallic floor without a sound. She loved him with all her heart and soul; she knew what his intentions had really been. But the words wavered; for some reason, they cruelly stuck in Lenne's throat and the suffocating silence held its breath for the lovers.
Out of the blue, a dozen guns fired towards the lovers who held tightly to the other, bracing themselves for impact. Before the bullets could hit, both Shuyin and Lenne saw everything they had done in life in a quick flashback. Shuyin saw Vegnagun's monstrous keyboard, meeting Lenne, embracing her before he left to Bevelle and other memories too short to deem significant.
A searing piercing torture hit Shuyin dead in the chest, seeking out his heart and soul. The force was strong enough to throw the lovers apart, both grasping the thick murky air with delicate fingers for the other but to no avail. Shuyin felt sick as he was knocked hard and fell onto his front on the cold steely platform, his eyes dimmed from the pain.
Across the floor from him lay Lenne on her back, large emerald eyes pleading for Shuyin to be close, clutching her stomach in agony. Tears continued to stream down her cheeks for her love lying so close yet too far away. Shuyin feebly reached out a hand towards her, his strength leaving him quicker than he had anticipated. This was not the farewell he had wanted; this was too early, too messy, and too sad. He wished to hold her one last time, to comfort her if she was to die like this, but he too was dying in anguish. Lenne's fingers twitched in response and her lips moved slightly, trying to tell him something…but it was all she could do, and a moment later she fell still, her beautiful eyes glazed over.
Shuyin's heart broke. With one last look at the love of his life, Shuyin passed out from the emptiness in his chest.