Rikku sang mechanically, not really aware of her own body, enthralled by the scenes unfolding on Shinra's sphere screen. A long-haired woman in Yuna's dress, and an uncanny double for Tidus, fleeing Bevelle guards.

Nearing the end of the song, when guns fired onscreen, Rikku felt like she herself had been shot and pitched to her knees, clutching her microphone, struggling to keep singing. Tears sprang to her eyes. As the crowd cheered, she saw Yuna turn away, crying, and meet her eyes. Rikku dropped her microphone, heart aching unbearably, and ran to throw her arms around her cousin.

Rikku whispered soothing things as she, Paine, and Auron ushered Yuna back to the lift. Yuna trembled in her embrace. While Rikku and Auron helped Yuna to bed, Paine continued up to the bridge.

Sitting on a bunk with her, both crying, Rikku rocked Yuna in her arms. She stroked Yuna's face, kissed her cousin's sweaty brow. Her insides churned. She keenly, empathetically felt the aching pouring out of Yuna. Wordless. Overwhelming.

At last Yuna seemed to pull herself together. "I'm all right… I'm fine, really. It's passed now."

Paine topped the stairs and approached them. Auron stopped his pacing, still in the Singer dressphere, and came over.

"Shinra said her dressphere and the sphere screen reacted with each other, some kind of interference," said Paine. "The consciousness, or memories, burned into that dressphere were projected onto the screen. When I asked him why, all he said was, 'I'm only a kid.'"

"It's Lenne," said Yuna. "I was singing her feelings. During the song, I could feel them welling up inside until they just... burst."

"So the people we saw were Lenne… and Shuyin?" said Paine.

Rikku wiped her own sticky face and looked at Yuna, whose eyes were far away. "Yunie…"

Yuna glanced at her cousin.

"Come on," said Paine. "Everyone's waiting."

Rikku looked up. "Could you give us a minute?"

Paine exchanged a startled look with Auron. They left the cabin.

"Thank you, Rikku. I'm fine now, really." Yuna smiled, taking Rikku's hands. "I think I really needed that. I need to get out of these clothes though." She transformed back to Gunner, and Rikku took the time to swap out for Thief again.

"Hey, are you okay?" said Yuna. "You look like…"

"I felt it too," said Rikku. "It was really intense. When they got shot, it went right through me. I don't think Paine or Auron felt it, but I sure did."

Yuna nodded. "Why don't we go ask Shinra? Come on." She looped an arm around Rikku and they headed for the lift. Rikku sighed shakily, soothed by her touch.

The lift doors opened at the bridge level. Maechen waited for them.

"'Twas a magnificent melody, Lady Yuna," he said. "The onlookers were all quite enchanted."

"If it brings Spira together—even a little—then I'm glad," said Yuna.

"Indeed, I believe it shall," said Maechen. "As you sang, not a soul could help but realize the folly of their tiresome squabbling. Fist once raised in anger became welcoming hands offering solace to a tearful neighbor. I must admit that I, too, shed my share of tears the moment Lenne appeared."

Rikku jolted, her eyes narrowing at Maechen. "You knew Lenne?"

"Of course," said Maechen. "Would you like to hear…"

"Yes!" Yuna interrupted excitedly. "Tell us!"

"Where to begin?" Maechen mused, before settling into his singsong storytelling tones. "About a thousand years ago, Lenne was a popular songstress in Zanarkand. The talk of the town, you might say. In a more peaceful age, she might have lived out her years as a performer. But the times—and her talents—did not allow such a thing to be. You see, Lenne's gift for singing was matched by her genius in the summoner's arts. When then Machina War began, all summoners were sent to the front lines. Zanarkand was hopelessly outnumbered, and Lenne knew she would not return home alive. Nonetheless, she was prepared to lay down her life to protect her people. Yet there was one person who refused to let Lenne die. Yes, he would do anything to save her. He was… a young man, Lenne's lover."

"Shuyin," said Rikku. "The man we saw on the screen."

"I… don't know," said Maechen. "His name has been lost to history. Whatever his name, the youth endeavored to steal the enemy's machina weapon and save Lenne. However…"

"It didn't go well," said Yuna.

"They were both shot," said Rikku. "We saw them. And Shuyin's still after Vegnagun. I can kinda understand how he felt… trying so hard to save someone. Two years ago, I was the same." Her eyes shifted to Yuna. Maechen, seeming to sense his superfluity, departed.

Yuna hugged her cousin. "I know. I know how hard you and everyone worked to save me. Knowing that you were on my side… I'll always be grateful to you."

"I'd do it again. In a heartbeat. Oh, Yunie, Shuyin's still out there! I know it! He's not gonna stop until he gets Vegnagun. We've gotta go back down there and stop him. Those guys can't handle him, I just know it."

"Maybe… maybe Lenne can help," said Yuna. "I'm sure she felt the same way about him trying to save her as I do about you, and my friends, and… and Tidus. But she never got to tell Shuyin. All he sees is hatred, and anger. He's the one person—spirit, I guess—who really needed to hear that song, and he's trapped down underground. You're right, Rikku. We've got to go back."

"Yes!" Rikku punched the air, flooded with relief. "I'll go get Auron and Paine, and we'll head for… well, one of those holes!"

It felt oddly wrenching to leave Yuna there, but the thought of going back down underground, where all the danger was, pulled Rikku so strongly.

Until we stop that machine, I won't rest! she thought. Paine and Auron weren't in the cabin, so she rode back up to the deck. Celsius had taken off from the Thunder Plains after the concert, and the deck seemed a favorite spot for Paine and Auron to spar and train.

The doors opened, apparently unheard in the sheer winds. The sight that greeted her shocked through Rikku like a fresh round of gunfire. Her heart stuttered.

Paine, on tiptoes, arms around Auron's neck. Eyes closed. Head tilted. Auron's hands on Paine's hips. Their lips pressed together. Frozen in time as if under a petrification spell. No movement but the ruffling of buckles and hair and clothes in the wind.

Rikku found daggers in her hands, rage surging electrically through every inch of her. A yell crawled up from the depths of her belly and chest, swelling in her throat. Her body crouched, tensed, ready to spring. Her head filled with red. In another moment she'd fully unleash, pain and violence spiraling out of her, blood splashing the deck, unholy screams of pain.

She staggered backward, kicking out at the lift controls with her foot. Her body shook violently. She braced hard against the wall, feeling as if she was having to physically restrain herself from going back up on deck and murdering both Paine and Auron. Even the thought of either of them made her feel like a raging volcano on the brink of exploding.

Any tiny hint of calm or love she might have once felt had blown completely away. All she could think of was finding some fiends, pronto, and venting all this rage until it was gone. It felt bottomless, even more than the hole in Djose.

She staggered onto the bridge, shaking violently.

Yuna gasped and rushed to her side. "Rikku, what…?"

"I have to go!" said Rikku. "Please, I've got to get out of here! Don't come after me! I need to be alone!" She rushed to Buddy, and whispered, "Don't tell anyone where I've gone! Especially… anyone!"

"Rikku!" Yuna's voice rang in her ears.

Rikku squeezed her eyes shut.