Ranma looked down at the little sphere in his hands. Seconds ago, this had been a giant mechanical Esper that was supposed to be the guardian of Bevelle. Now, it was small enough to fit in his hand. It looked kinda mechanical and had Yevon's holy symbol on its surface.
"How do I use it?" he mumbled to himself, while he and Tidus raced through the corridors of Sub-Bevelle, in pursuit of Shuyin.
'There are two ways,' Alexander's mental voice told him. 'If summoner Ranma needs this unit's assistance in battle, summon me, as he would do normally. Then this sphere will turn back into my old form. But when you are in need of a personal power-up, the phrase 'Holy Armor Activate' is needed. This grants you a powerful battle form. Beware: Power consumption will be considerably high in this form. Alexander unit won't be able to fight for a considerable amount of time after using this form.'
"Okay, but perhaps we will need it if that maniac reaches that 'Vegnagun' he keeps prattling about. Prepare yourself for that case, okay?"
'Acknowledged!'
----
The warrior monks were taking Yuna and her guardians to the courtroom of Bevelle. Their trial would be held immediately.
Several war mechs had been sent down into Sub-Bevelle by Kinoc. He hoped those were enough to capture the escaped rogue summoner and the other guardian.
They entered a big room, with several high seats on different platforms before them. Kinoc was sitting to their right, Seymour to their left. Grand Maester Mika and an elder Ronso wearing robes were standing on the middle platform.
"The high court of Yevon is now in session," the Ronso said in a deep voice. "The sacred offices of this court seek nothing but absolute truth, in Yevon's name. To those on trial: Believe in Yevon, and speak only the truth."
"That's Maester Kelk Ronso," Wakka explained with a whisper.
"Summoner Yuna," Maester Kelk addressed the young summoner from Besaid, who had enough time to change back to her normal clothes. "You have sworn to protect the people of Spira, true?"
Yuna nodded.
"Then consider," Kelk continued. "You have inflicted dire injury on Maester Seymour Guado... conspired with the Al Bhed and joined in their insurrection. These are traitorous and unforgivable crimes that disturb the order of Yevon. Tell this court what possessed you to participate in such violence."
Yuna looked at the face of the maester with determination.
But in her heart, she didn't exactly feel too sure of herself.
'Hoo boy, this is going to be tough,' she thought.
----
Tidus and Ranma arrived in a cavern, more enormous than the room they found Alexander in. In here, there was also a catwalk leading over a deep chasm. Pyreflies were rising from down below.
In front of them, Vegnagun was rising.
Tidus gulped. "Well, it certainly is... big!"
Ranma looked down. "Looks like there is a connection to the farplane in here. That's where the pyreflies are coming from."
Tidus carefully looked at Vegnagun. It still didn't move, but then, he saw a small shape climbing on top of the metal colossus.
"Up there," he shouted. Ranma looked and nodded. "That must be him. Let's go!"
They quickly jumped and climbed up Vegnaguns metal limbs, until they reached a platform in front of the machina's head. It resembled a giant skull, with two protruding tusks, like those of a mammoth.
On top of the head, Shuyin was standing. He was approaching a big organ that was used to control Vegnagun.
"It's not active," Shuyin said to his two enemies. "Or it would have begun moving as soon as I entered this room, and would have attacked me. But now... I'm the one in control!"
He pushed down his fingers on the organ's keys, and a deep, hollow sound echoed from within Vegnagun. Shuyin was playing a creepy melody and seemed to become more corporeal by the second. Vegnagun's eyes lit up and seemed to glare at the two intruders.
"Let's get him away from there," Tidus shouted, but was then blasted by two red laser beams that came shooting out of the eyes. He fell down... and down... until he hardly hit the metal catwalk in front of Vegnagun's torso.
Shuyin laughed. "Come, and join your friend. He looks like he's uncomfortable down there."
He hit another key, and Vegnagun responded by shaking his body, and slowly, he descended into the farplane.
'I can't let him get there,' Ranma thought. 'From there, he will have an ideal base to attack all of Spira.'
He grasped Alexander's sphere while they were descending into the dark abyss together.
"Holy Armor Activate!"
----
"What is this?" Kelk Ronso shouted in surprise. "Maester Seymour, a patricide?"
"And you said he would already be dead," Mika chuckled. "Very interesting, indeed..."
"Well, it's the truth," Akane shouted who just couldn't control her temper anymore. "It's your job to send away the dead, right? So hurry up, send him already!"
Mika just continued chuckling. "My dear girl, if that were true... you should not only send him, but me, too." And pyreflies came out of his body.
"What?" numerous voices shouted out in surprise.
"He's also an unsent," Ukyo realized. "That little bastard... all these rules doesn't seem to have any meaning for himself..."
And really, of all the assembled maesters, only Kelk seemed to be slightly shocked when hearing about how Seymour's father died. The others just continued staring down at the accused.
"Maester Mika is a wise leader," Seymour explained. "Even in death, he is invaluable to Spira."
"But what of Sin?" Yuna asked in a distraught voice. "I am a summoner, my lord, like my father before me! I am on a pilgrimage to stop the death that Sin brings. Are you... Are you telling me that, too, is futile? Grand Maester Mika, I am not alone! All the people who have opposed Sin... Their battles, their sacrifices - were they all in vain?"
"Not in vain," Mika said. "No matter how many summoners give their lives, Sin cannot be truly defeated. The rebirth cannot be stopped. Yet the courage of those who fight gives the people hope. There is nothing futile in the life and death of a summoner."
"Never futile," Aura commented. "But never ending!"
"Indeed," Mika nodded. "That is the essence of Yevon. Those that questions these truths - they are traitors."
"Lord Mika!" Yuna yelled in desperation.
Kinoc waved, and the warrior monks were ready to take them away.
When suddenly, a heavy blow made the foundation of the palace itself shake.
----
While descending into the abyss, a bright light surrounded Ranma. It formed a more human-shaped version of Alexander's armor, complete with armguards, spires, turbines and everything. Ranma got encased in a small crevice on Alexanders' chest, while the holy Esper's helmet rose above him. Metal clamps fastened themselves around his arms, legs and chest. A helmet similarly shaped to the ones several crusaders were wearing was put on his head. When the whole armor was fastened around Ranma's body, he moved his fists around and smacked them together.
Alexander's fists copied his actions and slammed together with a deafening 'CLANG'.
By now, the two steel behemoths were floating in front of each other in the entrance to the farplane. Shuyin snarled in disbelief and hammered onto the organ. Vegnaguns limbs flailed about and his eyes were ready to blast its opponent into pieces.
But Ranma/Alexander grabbed Vegnaguns front torso with his massive hands and hold on tightly. He activated his back jets and they propelled himself and his enemy up into the air. They continued to fly until they reached Vegnagun's storage chamber, where Tidus was just regaining consciousness.
They continued flying up... and smashed through the ceiling!
----
The whole palace seemed to shake as something broke through the floors of the lower levels, and through the palace walls. The maesters hurried to a window and looked outside. The accused used that moment of confusion to break free from the guards and ran outside.
In that moment, two colossal metal shapes came crashing through the western wall of the palace and flew up into the sky, a trail of rubble raining down from them.
"What... what are those things?" Wakka gasped in shock. "Machinas...? Two giant machinas?"
"I can feel it," Yuna whispered. "One of them is actually an Esper. And... Ranma is up there. As well as the spirit from before."
"Shuyin?" Akane wondered. "But what is that other machina?"
Kasumi/Lenne looked up to where the two mighty opponents were circling each other.
"Vegnagun..." she whispered.
----
"Okay, Alexander," Ranma said. "What do ya have?"
'Main attack mode can be switched between following three modes: Physical attacks - Black Magic - Defensive Mode.'
"Care to explain them?" Ranma said while dodging a furious tail swipe of his opponent.
'Normal mode is physical mode. Concentrates all power into attacks with fist and other body parts. Allows use of 'Limit Break', but all other functions are deactivated.'
"Okay, until now, this mode is doing pretty good," Ranma exclaimed. He parried one swipe of Vegnagun and punched it back several hundred meters. "What about the other two?"
'Both Black Magic and Defensive Mode lower this unit's physical attack power, but also allow the use of magical abilities. Black magic allows the use of attack spells of all six standard elements: Fire, Ice, Lightning, Water, Earth and Wind, but also Light. Defensive mode unlocks spells used for healing and defending, also known as 'White Magic.' In both modes, 'Limit Break' will be available, although in Black Magic mode, its power will be raised a little.'
"Okay, then let's try this: Switch to Black Magic mode!"
'Affirmative!'
Ranma felt Alexanders powers being channeled into his head through the helmet. He grinned and flexed his hands. He stretched out his/Alexander's right arm and yelled: "THUNDAGA!"
The metal fist of the Esper transformed until it looked like a giant gun. It charged up electrical energy and fired it into Vegnagun's chest. "All right!"
----
Shuyin let out a growl when he saw his opponent transform. "Come, Vegnagun," he shouted. "Let us show this fool the meaning of pain!" He switched to another organ tune and channelled the powers into Vegnagun's legs. The nodes on the legs lit up one after another, until finally only the red one was gleaming.
----
Ranma's friends managed to escape into the outskirts of town, where nowhere was paying attention to them. They were amazed when Alexander's hand transformed, but also gasped when they saw Vegnagun counterattack with a powerful fire spell.
"Ranma's new Esper surely looks strong, but that other thing gives me the creeps," Rikku whined while fidgetting around.
"Vegnagun is more powerful," Aura said. "I only heard legends about it, but never thought they were true..."
Kasumi had been sitting silently in a corner of their little hideout, like she wasn't paying attention to their conversation, but now, her eyes opened with determination.
"Listen up!" she said. "I know someone that knows more about Vegnagun than we do. Maybe she can help us further."
"Huh? Really?" Wakka wondered. "Who?"
Akane smirked. "Lenne, right?"
Kasumi smiled. "That's right! Lenne..." And after those words, sparkles of light spread out from her songstress costume...
And formed the image of a beautiful woman, dressed in that same costume.
"My name is Lenne," she introduced herself. "I'm a songstress and summoner from ancient Zanarkand... and Shuyin's love. The reason he is obsessed with Vegnagun and revenge is... me!"
They all gasped at that, but Lenne continued: "When I was told I should serve Zanarkand in the war against Bevelle's machina, Shuyin got furious. He heard about their ultimate weapon, Vegnagun, and wanted to use it to end this war. I heard about his plans and ran after him. I caught up to him in Sub-Bevelle, right before he was standing before Vegnagun. I wanted to convince him to abandon his plan, but before he could say anything, Bevelle soldiers entered the room. They shot us both... and we fell down. I was fatally wounded... The last thing I saw before dying was Shuyins face... it was filled with anguish, sorrow and anger. I believe... his hatred towards the humans allowed his fury to take on the form of that spirit. He now plans to use Vegnagun to destroy all of Spira."
"Great," Ukyo sighed. "As if Sin wasn't bad enough..."
"What about his power?" Yuna asked. "He isn't unbeatable, right?"
Rikku intervened. "Can't be. He's a machina, right? That means someone built him. And THAT means... he can be taken apart."
"You're right," Lenne nodded. "But it won't be easy... In my times... Alexander was an Aeon used by our summoners. And by accident, he was merged with one of the enemy's machina. But still, he's not as powerful as Vegnagun."
"Oh my..." Kasumi whispered. "I hope Ranma-kun is going to be all right..."
"He will," Yuna said with determination. "I will help him."
She raised her rod. "Bahamut, Legendary King of Dragons, come! We are in dire need of your help!"
----
Ranma had to switch to defensive mode to protect himself from Vegnagun's increasingly violent attacks. Using the spell Shell, he constructed a giant knight's shield in his right hand that looked like it was a hologram.
"Damn," he cursed as another Firaga spell hit the shield. "If this continues, I won't be able to fight back properly. Alexander, how are things?"
'Status report: This unit's shields are down to 65 ! Probability of falling below 50 after next attack: About 85 !'
Vegnagun seemed to grin at Ranma with his skull face. The eye lasers once again lit up...
...only to be hit with four spheres of dark energy. Ranma looked to his right: A giant, black dragon was flying in the air, bigger than even Evrae, and with colorful wings.
"Leave this place," Bahamut commanded with a booming voice. "You do not belong here!"
Vegnagun responded by shooting his lasers at Bahamut.
They hit their target, but by now, their chances of victory were increased. Ranma used this moment of relief to heal Alexander's damage with a Vigra spell. Bahamut flew in front of his opponent and hit Vegnagun's face with a powerful uppercut. Then he returned to Ranma's side.
"How are things, Ranma, Alexander?" he asked.
'Alexander unit's shields have risen to 83 !' Alexander responded. 'Now switching to physical attack mode.'
"All right! Let's turn this guy into scrap metal," Ranma shouted. He powered up his Ki and channelled it through Alexander's hands.
"Holy Moko Takabisha: Ball of Light!" The light attack wasn't a spell, but it certainly did enough damage to shake Vegnagun around. Ranma was almost sure he could hear an angry yell from the ancient machina's head.
Now Vegnagun came rushing towards them with flailing tail, arms and legs. Ranma/Alexander and Bahamut welcomed him with flying fists.
"Watch out, Ranma," the dragon shouted. "He's powering up for a devastating attack!"
"Got it!" They both let go off their enemy and flew away from him.
By that moment, Vegnagun let loose with a powerful blast of red energy that surrounded his whole body.
Now the two battle comrades decided to attack from both sides. On Alexander's shoulders, two enormous metal blocks extended. They were blotched with what looked like missile launchers.
Bahamut landed on the roof of a big building, on all fours. The strange wheel levitating behind his back spun rapidly around and focussed his energy. It flowed towards his muzzle, where it was being concentrated in one single ball of destructive matter.
"Holy Judgement!" Ranma and Alexander shouted in a shared voice.
"Mega Flare!" Bahamut shouted one moment later.
From Alexander's launchers, dozens of light rays were being fired, up in the sky, then they changed their direction and homed in onto Vegnagun's location.
The ball of energy in front of Bahamut's muzzle exploded outwards, when he shot out an immensely powerful beam of non-elemental energy. Target: Vegnagun!
The attacks hit their target at the same time, which resulted in a most powerful explosion of light and energy.
When the dust cloud, which resulted in the combined attack, dissolved, any trace of their opponent was gone. Only a big hole into the ground was left.
"That coward Shuyin," Ranma growled. "He escaped!"
"Not exactly!" Bahamut flew closer and pointed to a small, transparent body floating between them. "Looks like our attack threw him off his weapon."
Shuyin whispered in a barely understandable voice: "Lenne... Vegnagun... must have... revenge..."
"Oh boy!" Ranma sighed and put his hands on his hips. It looked kinda comical, as Alexander copied this movement as well. "What a mess! What are we gonna do with him?"
Bahamut took a grasp of the swordsman's spirit. As an Aeon, he could do so effortlessly.
"I believe there is someone that has more the right to decide that then ourselves."
He took one last glance towards the giant hole that was situated directly next to the big capital of Spira.
"Although, I wonder what caused Vegnagun to escape all by itself..."
----
From the palace of Bevelle, Seymour and Mika had watched the battle of the behemoths. "This is a disaster," Mika shouted. "We have to hold a speech in front of the people. They have to understand that not us, but those infidels are to blame for this."
Seymour just stared to where Vegnagun had vanished. "This power, coming from a machina... I wonder... will it be a match even for Sin himself?"
While Bahamut and Ranma in Alexander's armor were descending towards the edge of town, Ranma murmured. "You know, I have the weird feeling I forgot something..."
Clinging to a spire that was jutting out of Alexander's armor was a certain young blitzballer from Zanarkand, his face a pale white.
"L-l-legs can't stop s-s-s-shaking..."
----
"I can't believe you nearly forgot me down there," Tidus grumbled after the whole party had escaped into the forest. "I had to jump onto your back to escape, or the guardian mechs would have gotten me."
Ranma sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Umm... sorry about that!"
The Tendo sisters were standing around the twitching form of Shuyin's spirit that was laying - or rather, floating - on the ground between them.
"Lenne... have to... fight for her..."
"That's really sad," Akane murmured. "He was separated from her all this time and could only hold onto his hatred..."
Kasumi smiled. "Let me do something about it, then..." She closed her eyes and let Lenne's image appear next to them.
The songstress kneeled down next to her beloved and softly touched his cheek. "Shuyin," she whispered. "Shuyin, wake up! It's me, Lenne..."
Shuyin slowly opened his eyes. "Le... Lenne... am I... hallucinating again? I saw you... die."
She smiled. "We both died. But, our love surpassed even death. Look, there's no reason to cling onto your thoughts of revenge and hatred - we're together again! Let go of your fury, and just be with me!"
She spread her arms wide open. Shuyin sighed and returned the hug with all his love.
Their light gleamed brightly from their incorporeal bodies, as their love returned Shuyin's senses to his spirit.
When they broke the hug, Shuyin was staring at her in confusion. "Lenne? What... what happened? What... have I done? Vegnagun..."
She smiled. "It's all right! It was stopped. All is fine now."
Nabiki had to grumble at that, but didn't say anything, to not spoil the moment.
Shuyin looked around at all the people surrounding him. His eyes rested on Kasumi. "I... know you. You were the one that... you had Lenne with you." Kasumi smiled and nodded.
His face turned to Tidus and Ranma. "And you two... helped me regain my senses, right? What... can I ever to to make up for all of this?"
"You don't have to," Akane assured him. "It must have been terrible for you to see Lenne die before your eyes... I guess that makes up for everything."
Shuyin didn't look too sure about that. Suddenly, Ranma grinned and said: "You know, you can do something to help our cause: Up to now, you had been hiding in the warrior dressphere, right? I guess that's what helped you avoid being sent to the farplane."
Shuyin looked down at his flickering image. "I guess so," he murmured. "Even now, I can feel my strength fading... If I don't get a fitting host, then I fear I have to leave this world for good..."
"No," Lenne cried and hugged him again. "Stay with me!"
"Don't worry," Ranma said. "You can just return to the dressphere, right? I mean, Lenne is helping Kasumi with our cause anyways... why don't you do the same?" He held out the dressphere in Shuyins direction.
The ancient swordsman looked at the sphere with wide eyes. "To atone for my sins..." he muttered. "Yes... yes, I accept! I'll help you on your quest, whatever it may be - and that way, I can be with Lenne."
The two lovers smiled at each other.
"Are you going to use that dressphere?" Tidus asked in a curious voice. Ranma shook his head. "Nope - you are going to use it."
That took Tidus by surprise. "M-me? But why? I can use a sword by myself, thank you very much!"
"I know that," Ranma nodded. "But this sphere provides you with additional armor, and I think both you and Shuyin can profit from learning from each other. What do you say? Try it out, okay?"
Tidus hesitated for a moment, then grasped the dressphere. "Okay, I'll do it. Who knows, perhaps this will make my job a little easier."
Shuyin stood up and looked at his counterpart with serious eyes. "I'll help you with all my power. I swear, I won't let you down in battle."
He closed his eyes and turned back into a trail of sparks that floated inside the sphere. Lenne smiled and vanished back into Kasumi's costume.
Tidus looked at the sphere in his hands... then he concentrated on activating its powers...
----
Seymour was standing in Vegnagun's chamber in Sub-Bevelle, all by himself. The guards couldn't find a single trace of either the intruders, or the guardian machina Alexander.
He didn't turn around when he heard footsteps behind him. "Maester Seymour," the voice of Goba Guado shouted. "There you are! What happened? Everyone in Bevelle is in a panic, and there's this giant hole in the palace wall... master?"
The Alpha Fiend that was standing next to Goba just tilted his head. "I guess he's thinking about something."
Seymour continued staring down into the dark abyss. Then he said: "Goba, you have failed me multiple times. You lost track of Lady Yuna's group, the Alpha Fiend turned out to be a failure..."
"Hey!" the fiend snapped in an annoyed tone of voice.
"And on top of that, you failed to eradicate the Al Bhed, the most annoying disruptive factor in my plans. With their plans of using machina and kidnapping summoners, everything I planned could have been for nothing."
Goba twitched nervously. "Lord Seymour, I assure you, it won't happen again! Give me just another chance, and I will..."
"NO!" The maester turned around. "I have been much too forgiving with you, Goba. Now... I will punish you for your failure!"
"Master, no..." But it was too late. Seymour raised his hand and murmured the words needed for one of the most destructive spells.
Flare.
But before the whole force of the blast could hit Goba, a four-legged shape pushed away the rotund Guado and took the full force of the spell.
Goba shook his head and looked over to where the Alpha Fiend was slowly dissolving. "What...? Why did you do that?"
The Alpha Fiend snickered quietly. "Because... you're my master. You gave me life... not him..." And then, his whole body turned into a cloud of pyreflies.
Seymour took out a small clay pot and sucked in the pyreflies of the fiend. He chuckled. "His power will be a great help to me, after all. Now, for you..." He approached the cowering Goba.
Goba quickly pulled out a small bottle of water and poured its contents over his head. When he finished turning into a winged teddy-bear, he smiled nervously. "I'm just an innocent little moogle, kupo..."
Seymour didn't even blink. "Nice try..." He just picked up Goba's little body... squeezed his head HARD... and threw him down into the abyss.
The maester threw one last glance after his former servant, then he left the room.
----
After falling for what seemed to be an eternity for him, the little moogle finally landed with a hard 'thud'.
'Lucky thing I have these wings or I would've never been able to slow down my fall like that,' he thought.
Then he looked around. Was he on the farplane? Was he dead? All around him, pyreflies were flying through the air.
But then his gaze fell to the metal floor below his little feet, and to the organ that was standing next to him.
And when the moogle recognized his current position, a sinister smile crept over his cute little face.
"You will pay dearly for this, Seymour... Oh yes, kupo, I will have my revenge... Bwahahahahahahaaaa..."
The pompom-headed maniac continued to cackle, as Vegnagun continued to float around the farplane...