Disclaimer: Square-Enix Incorporated owns all copyrighted material this fanfiction may include. All other materials, such as characters, events, dialogue, et cetera, all belong to Zeshin-kun.
Author's Note: Apologies for the tardiness, but after you read this, my hope is that you'll forgive me. This chapter leads right off from what we're all expecting to come from defeating a Dark Shuyin that used his favourite Aeon. Last chapter was very fun to write and I hope you enjoyed it, too, but aw, reviewless? Oh well, perhaps I can get some replies from this one.
Was the battle everything you were expecting? I hope so, but there were a few other bits I wanted to get in before the chapter ended. Did you guys notice? Well, the obvious one was Shuyin suddenly being able to summon Larea. If you remember, Larea said she was not going to be possessed again, but the good Shuyin managed to summon her anyway. What does that mean? Well, before you get to find that out, why don't we finally deal out one major problem. Time to bid farewell to Dark Shuyin!
Spira: The Eternal Discord
Chapter 34: Requiem to Shadow
Yuna
"Do you think you can trust him?"
Walking back into the Fahrenheit, I looked over the most recent events that had happened to us. Seymour, Dark Shuyin, and Areth had all taken their turns to divide us in their own way, but we were slowly prevailing. Even so, with the fall of Seymour and the many failures seemingly suffered by the shadow, neither he nor Areth seemed to be fazed and were still acting out their ploys accordingly. It made me wonder just how much of a victory we were really pulling out. With Dark Shuyin now at the brink, why were they still so diligent?
"Are we doing the right thing?" I asked myself, everyone else having returned to the bridge before me.
Once I got to the bridge, I went to seek out the only one who seemed to know. I found him stuck in front of the monitors again, reviewing documents and texts in the Fahrenheit's records as if he was looking for something, and it was something he was neglecting to mention to the rest of us. After telling us that Rikku brought him out of his old thinking, that he wasn't just here to pick up the pieces of Spira broken in the past, he said he was going to live his new life with us and started telling us a lot of his history. For a while, I honestly believed he was coming forth with the truth of his past, but even with everything he was willing to tell us, there was something missing.
"What are you looking at?" I asked him.
"The end is nearing, Yuna." He told me, his eyes never once leaving the console, "You heard my dark half: 'This is it'. What we do from here on out is going to have a direct effect over how the finale goes."
"The finale?"
"The darkness has been overtaken by light. Once we purify him, only Areth will be left. Without the unsent as a worthy adversary, I wonder what his point will be. He must have seen that by now. Perhaps that's why he came to my defense." Shuyin said, making a suspicious mistake in wording at the end.
"Your defense?" I asked, putting my worried hand on his shoulder.
"His." Was his simple correction before he went back to silently browsing the files.
One of the files open in the background, hidden somewhat by other overlapping files he perused had one name I was rather concerned about: Vegnagun. I couldn't make out the other files he had open, but the one he was looking at was also curious. He was looking over archaeological reportings on the Zanarkand Ruins. Normally, I wouldn't have taken it to mind; after all, it was his home; however, his persistence over a few of the photos and sphere recordings alarmed me. It was obvious he was searching for something, but was it a precaution that Dark Shuyin could have found something in the ruins to use against us, or was it something else?
Deciding to use distraction instead of confrontation, I asked, "Where do you think Dark Shuyin will go next?"
He breathed a grunt, saying, "Where all children flee when the perils of the world become too much to bare. It is safety and solace. Home, Shuyin's going home."
This confused me and again, it scared me what he was saying and how he was saying it, "What do you mean home? Wasn't that why we came to Zanarkand? He made his last stand here and you knocked him away. What…"
"Not my home. His home." He clarified, still maintaining his focus on the console files.
"The Den of Woe." Rikku's voice suddenly interjected.
"Rikku!" I gasped in surprise.
"Shuyin told me he was expecting that all along. The shadow's been luring Shuyin with each step. At first, it was just to remind him about the bad stuff he did in his past. After we beat Seymour, he started comparing Shuyin's capabilities to others like he was pulling him back into believing that the world is so useless and should be destroyed. I thought that the shadow was going to pull this stunt sooner or later, but Shuyin reminded me that it was going to be the most risky move for him so he would only go for it in the end." Rikku began explaining.
"What move?"
Rikku took a deep breath, "The shadow wants to possess Shuyin and absorb him."
"But that would give Shuyin the chance to overpower him and take control over him, wouldn't it?" I asked.
"Exactly, and that's why he saved it until now. He's out of options and wants me back now. There's only so much left that he can do, but it's going to be the worst of his capabilities." Shuyin said.
"Why?"
"Shuyin might have gotten better with us around, but that doesn't change what happened. Everything he's been through is going to be there in the Den of Woe. Those pyreflies that made us panic and feel sad and cold, what do you think they could do to Shuyin, Yunie?"
"So, it's going to show you those awful moments just like it showed me?" I asked him while clutching both his shoulders tightly, feeling so sorry for him.
"I imagine it'll be worse than that." He mumbled, "I showed you what I did because I wanted Lenne to reawaken and understand what I was trying to do, to tell her that I was repenting for my errors. That had nothing to do with piercing her conscience with guilt and despair. I didn't want to hurt her and, because of that, I wasn't going to hurt you. Even showing you the moment Lenne and I died, I didn't show you anything that led to it. I didn't want Lenne to see. My darkness isn't going to have the same benevolence toward me."
"But when it showed me that event in your past, it broke my heart."
"An unfortunate side-effect." He said, "I knew the memory was painful, but I needed her to understand. I needed forgiveness."
"I hope you realize now that you never needed it." I told him.
"For a long while now. Everybody's made that very clear to me."
The trip from Zanarkand to Mushroom Rock Road was a slow one as Nooj made us travel carefully the entire route in case the shadow wanted to see Shuyin alone. If what they were saying was right, all this time they were trying to separate us from him and leave him vulnerable to the temptation of reverting into his unsent persona. With us supporting him, that shouldn't happen so Nooj wanted to give us the best chance of making it to the Den of Woe together.
While Nooj, Paine, and Gippal deliberated on the next steps after defeating Dark Shuyin. Nooj had already decided he was needed to govern Spira with Gippal enlisted to aid us and Baralai on a quest to destroy all Shuyins, ours included. Paine reasoned that Nooj could propose the plan to allow a substitute Praetor to stabilize the masses seeking guidance with Spira's newest epidemic, but at the same time, she hoped Nooj could appoint trusted Youth League members to watch over Baralai, keeping him safe from actual harm considering Areth was still out there.
"It might be a good idea. He hasn't been thinking straight ever since hearing about our boy wonder over there." Gippal said.
"I'll have to see. Perhaps Lucil or Elma could help." Nooj replied, his fingers rubbing his chin in thought.
"Ask both of them just to be safe. Also, it isn't like the Youth League is up to this sort of thing. Keeping them occupied elsewhere might be best." Paine added.
"It's settled then. I'll arrange for Yaibal to find someone in New Yevon to fill in for Baralai as a sub-Praetor while he's gone. Lucil and Elma will accompany him on whatever his next moves are, but I'll have a couple of squads in the Youth League to keep him from getting into too much trouble. Maybe I could even get him to wait for Shuyin to go to him. That should keep him out of trouble."
When I heard Nooj's plan, an opening came into view. Shuyin was looking at the Vegnagun files. While I was sure he wasn't going to do anything foolish like that again, it made sense to me to be on the safe side. What harm could it be to have them guard it when Shuyin wasn't even thinking to go after it again? When we beat the shadow, there would be no one left to look for the machina except Areth and we weren't sure if he'd use it anyway. However, if he did, Baralai could help divert his attention while we were still in the Den of Woe. All in all, there wasn't much bad to my idea.
"Nooj, if you think about it, I'm sure Baralai would consider Shuyin returning to seek out Vegnagun. If you could convince him that that's what he's going to go after, we can keep Baralai at Bevelle Temple." I suggested.
"Yuna has a point." Paine added.
"The trouble will be convincing the guy to just wait for him to snatch up Vegnagun and not go all Great War against him first." Gippal noted.
"Still, the shadow managed to avoid him this long. Maybe you could point out that it could be leading Baralai away from the machina in order to claim it without hassle." I pointed out.
"M'lady is wise beyond her years. Then, it's settled." Nooj said, putting a hand on my shoulder.
"Yeah, but in the meantime, let's give him something to 'Praise be to Yevon' about." Gippal said, walking over to the navigation consoles.
"We'll be arriving shortly." Grumbled Shuyin nearby.
"How do you know?" Gippal asked him.
"I can feel him."
When we arrived at Mushroom Rock Road, the entire landscape was a testament to the despair that the shadow was able to create. Instead of the textured cliffs and gorges of the area was a dank pit, bleached in grays, the dirt burned black like ash. The surrounding boulders aligning the walls on both sides of the path to the Den of Woe crumbled at a touch, the residue left on our hands burning at our skin as if still bearing whatever acidic substance had withered them. Even the sky showed an eerie red and the clouds glared down at us, threatening to fill the land with their tears without a moment's notice. The ground we walked on rumbled, unstable and filling our hearts with an illogical sorrow.
"What is this?" I asked no one in particular.
"Don't pay attention. Keep moving." Shuyin said, moving on.
"I feel it." My love said, "I feel it like I did in the Al Bhed's Home."
"Feel what?"
"It's like I was then, when I just found out you were going to die at the end of the Pilgrimage. I was so hopeful and proud to guide you to Zanarkand, never thinking that anything was going to happen to you if we did. Then, they told me and I broke down."
"Is it regret? Fear? What do you suppose this is?" I asked him.
"I don't know, but if I'm feeling it, no doubt Shuyin's getting a much worse dose."
"Maybe you should stay near him. Since you're the dream of the faith in his image, you're probably the only one that can know what he's feeling." I suggested.
Nodding his agreement, he walked off and stationed himself next to the door with Nooj, the Mevyn waiting on Shuyin to have us proceed. I noticed him, off to the side in a small alcove with Rikku. He was just out of earshot and all I could make out was his back moving as if in speech. On the other hand, Rikku didn't seem to be comfortable with whatever he was saying to her. I chose to let them finish their conversation before confronting my cousin about it. If something was wrong, Shuyin still trusted Rikku more than any of us and that could be enough to tell Rikku any truths he might have eluded from us.
When he returned to the main group, I caught up to Rikku and asked, "Are you okay? What were you two talking about?"
However, Rikku ended up ignoring me, only taking the time to turn to me with a smile and hop off, entering the Den of Woe right after Shuyin and Paine. A stray tear escaped just before she could turn away, which told me something was going on, but she was unsure how to tell me. I only hoped that whatever Shuyin was hiding from us was for our sake and not information that could have been vital for us to know.
Inside the Den of Woe this time was chaos. Every step we made brought with it howling screams and wails from every corner of the severely darkened cavern. My love had spherechanged himself into a Black Mage to light our way with Fire, but even then, his flame came out a dreary blue and flickered about in a haunting light, reminding me of old tales of will o' wisps in my childhood. Further inside, the unintelligible screams began to focus on a few key words, though, since they were all wailing loudly at the same time, it was hard to pick them out.
"I know this feeling." Pain muttered, feeling the walls almost in a daze.
"I do, too." Both Nooj and Gippal made note.
"You would. This is the condition of the Den of Woe as you knew it from that day… more or less." Shuyin explained.
"You felt this horrible hurt before?" Rikku asked all of them.
Paine would be the only one to answer, "Yes, two years ago, when we came into the Den of Woe for the first time, all of the other members gave into this feeling and began killing each other. We were lucky enough to be stronger."
"You were lucky enough to be useful." Shuyin clarified, "Else, I would've broken your wills, too. Nooj intrigued me the most then. He kept thinking over the deaths I was causing and wanting to know why he wasn't taking part. I felt so curious about it that I let you four walk."
"This feeling…" My love muttered under his breath, the tone he used telling us how disturbed he was by it.
However, that feeling wasn't going to last very long, either. Eventually, one word began to superpose over the rest: Damu. As we walked on, we could feel heat and roars instead of screams, their fury penetrating through us. There was anger and hatred all around us and an unbearable din answered our pleas for a reason why this emotion was presented to us. It was the worst moment of Spira's history, the single event we were all taught to regret and a point in time Shuyin was all too familiar with…
"No! Damu… Please get out of there…" His voice prayed in the distance as the Shuyin in our company stayed himself, his back to us.
As the pyreflies mobilized, we found ourselves on a bloodied battlefield, countless bodies piled against broken weapons and banners of war. One lone warrior knelt at the center of twisted and burning debris, his eyes focused upward at a sky blackened by smoke. Further in the distance was an airship caught ablaze, its pilot guiding the massive craft into a large cannon machina and exploding upon impact, the flaming contraption pushing through several other machina before crashing into the ground.
"DAMU!" The younger Shuyin screamed, his form shifting all around us, echoing that one word again and again.
As we watched the scene playing before us, an unknown man in robes rushed forward, his staff casting Black Magic at an intercepting foe in his path. Next to him was a blonde-haired woman, petite and bearing twin daggers. As they reached the wreckage, the younger Shuyin also appeared nearby, each of them shocked at what had just occurred. The man collapsed to his knees first, pounding the ground with his embittered fist. Shuyin mouthed the word again, this time clearly noting it as the name of the fallen pilot.
However, it was the next name that caught us by surprise even more, "Keyakku…"
I turned to the girl standing between them, her eyes welling up with tears before she, too, collapsed in a heap, her yellow scarf draping the ground as she braids fell to shield her mournful visage from view. Instead of being the stranger we had been witnessing, though her likeness was unmistakable, my cousin was the one we now saw, seemingly affected by the pyreflies so much she began recalling events from her own past..
"Rikku!" I called to her, going to calm her in my embrace, "Why would she remember Keyakku at a time like this?"
Shuyin approached us, but his eyes fell upon his former self, "Because history repeats itself. Damusa was a dear friend to both Kirin and Jurama. It stands to reason that this Keyakku represents your time's Damusa in a similar fashion. But now isn't the time to suffer my darkness. We should keep moving."
"This… this is the Machina War, isn't it?" Paine gasped.
"Yes. In a manner of speaking." Shuyin replied, moving on.
As we made it into the next area of the cavern, Shuyin visibly tripped, though he caught himself before long and paused in thought. The angry roars and loud screams abruptly faded away, creating a sudden and uneasy silence. For a while, none of us moved, wondering why our guide had stopped only to realize that we were hearing something. Water was dripping all around even though none could be seen. There was the pitter patter of someone's footsteps, then a unexpected splash.
"So, you two are gone, also…" Shuyin's voice returned, this time creating a form appearing before a large and smoldering boulder.
At first, we couldn't be sure what he was talking about, though I tried guessing that it could have been a fayth. To that, our own Shuyin walked over, batting away the pyreflies with his sword and grumbled for us to keep moving. While the rest followed Paine and left, I couldn't help but linger a while longer, seeing the figment stand and depart. That was when it became clear. At the base of the boulder were the hands of two people, crushed underneath it. With a gasp, I quickly ran to catch up with the others.
The following series of tunnels would have even more phantoms in store for us. Many of them were just meaningless slaughter, what we all imagined had to be the casualties of the Machina War. The more painful ones showed innocent bystanders being gunned down along the streets of a great Machina City or an explosive charge leaving behind shattered bodies, some of them children. The armies of Bevelle marched and left death and destruction in their wake. However, as horrible as it was to be witnessing the war like this, they were mere background whispers to what else we were made to see.
"I want you to cut out her heart and squish it. Give the rest of her to me." A cold and sullen Rikku said, her arms holding that same man who was mourning the death of Damusa earlier.
Rather than our Rikku, this one didn't have the braids in her hair and was wearing much different clothing. Our Shuyin walked over slowly, looking down at the girl as she cried. We watched as she stroked the man's hair from his face, bowing her head close to his as she let out an anguished whimper.
"Don't worry, you can count on it…" Shuyin mouthed, his words seemingly echoes of what he had said then.
"I've never seen Kirin like this." Rikku said kneeling next to the so very similar-looking girl.
"No one was ever meant to." Shuyin replied, "It was supposed to be one of my worst memories, something no one should have ever seen. This was what I was afraid of, Rikku. That was why I didn't want you too close to the frontlines. Kirin suffered enough for both your lifetimes. I didn't want what happened to her to repeat despite all fate. But, even while I tried to keep you back, you wouldn't let me shelter you from it. You went out on your own to discover a solution for us. Just like Kirin was before, you're this team's spirit and unfaltering resilience… until this occurs."
"That's not going to happen this time!" She said in retort.
Shuyin took a moment, his eyes traveling back to the girl, Kirin, before nodding, "Let's keep going."
Just then, a second Shuyin appeared, "You're not going…"
"Shuyin, I have to go! I don't have any other choice." Another voice, Lenne's, resounded through the cavern as she appeared opposite.
"It doesn't matter! You're not going!"
"What is this?" I asked.
"It doesn't matter. Push on." Our Shuyin said, batting away the pyreflies blocking the path.
Unfortunately, just as he cleared one layer of them, another quickly grouped, forming another Lenne, "I thought you said to trust in Yu Yevon. What happened to that?"
Shuyin grunted, unsheathing his sword and slicing the image in two. The rest of us were surprised, the pyreflies having been in the form of his great love at the time. Still, moving right through her fading countenance, he made his way through the thinking cloud of the little creatures.
Off to the side, more phantasms of the couple manifested, continuing their conversation for us, "You're not leaving. That's it. I won't let you…"
Lenne's eyes lowered to the floor, but after taking a breath, she said, "You don't get to decide that…"
To this, the Shuyin figure growled, "So you'd rather let Yu Yevon determine whether you live or die?"
"I didn't say that!"
"Then what are you saying? You'd like to go out there and be killed by Bevelle? I won't allow it! I won't allow you to throw your life away like that!" The figure screamed, clenching his fists.
"Is this the day? Was this the day Lenne went off to the frontlines?" I asked.
"A month prior." Shuyin answered, "Yu Yevon called all the summoners to the frontlines in the Calm Lands. He called them there as Zanarkand's last stand. Sacrifices. They were going to be nothing more than sacrifices."
"Hey, we're past that, remember?" My love told him, going over to pat him on the back.
"Yea..."
"What do you want me to do?" The Lenne apparition asked, "Bevelle will attack us whether or not I go with the other summoners. Would you rather see our home destroyed?"
"No! I'll find a way! I'll find a way to take down Bevelle and keep Zanarkand safe. I won't lost any more of my friends!" Our Shuyin suddenly burst out, stepping in for his image.
"You can't have everything! Don't act like a child! If you want Zanarkand to be safe, you'll have to let me go. You can't have both at the same time!"
"She was right all along. I tried so hard to find a way to stop Bevelle, but in the end, not only did I not save it, I couldn't save Lenne either. However, you did, didn't you?" Shuyin said, turning to the dream of the fayth.
"What?"
"You saved this world and you did it without sacrificing your Lenne." He told him, patting him on the shoulder before pressing on.
Behind us, we could still here the shouting, the argument that led them to their fate, "Save Zanarkand? And for how long is that going to last? We've tried fighting Bevelle head on! Damusa lost his LIFE because we fought head on! Do you think I want the next body I find to be yours? We can't keep this war going the way it has been. Nothing'll ever change that way! All we'll be accomplishing is losing more and more lives and FOR WHAT?"
There was a sound of glass shattering and Lenne's gasp, but we decided to move on, knowing that nothing good was going to come from watching the shadow's machinations.
"Unfortunately, Lenne's image followed us, reappearing next to Shuyin almost as if to taunt him, "Shuyin, I know you don't want anybody else to die like we saw Damusa die. I know you don't want anybody else to feel all the pain that Areth is going through, but there's nothing you can do about it. Bevelle is overwhelming us and Yu Yevon is just trying to make sure that we hold them off for as long as we can."
"For all the good that it did. Traitors, schemes, a plan to be immortalized, that was the outcome of that train of thought." Shuyin growled, waving away the pyreflies.
"I… I've gotta go…" We heard his voice whisper amidst the walls.
"Shuyin…" Lenne's saddened voice whispered.
"Don't worry… I'll come back. If I'm gone too long, I'll… I'll write to you…"
"SHUYIN!"
Clutching my love tightly, we kept going into the caves, deeper and deeper with Shuyin leading us, Paine and Nooj by his side. It was strange seeing them like that. Two years ago, it had been Shuyin as a mad unsent who turned Paine into the stoic warrior she was and tormented Nooj until only a short while ago. Now, it would seem they were kindred spirits, each with a need to erase the shadow from their lives.
Further now inside, the even the light of Fire wasn't enough to keep the area lit. However, our group remained totally visible by some unnatural presence. The shadow wanted us all present and aware of each other's fright and discomfort. More so, it wanted its host to feel the pressure of guiding so many lives haunted by his past, more incentive to give in and let himself be consumed. The next area we entered was a large and long hall, only revealed to us at a glance when we first arrived, a horde of pyreflies lighting the walls straight to the end. They would create a barrier behind us, forcing us to move on in the dark, sounds of whimpers and desperate cries melding into the hum of the air. Finally, after a few minutes within the tunnel, light emanated from the side, the pyreflies forming a dilapidated balcony of some sort, water pooling at our feet and streaming along the floor of the cave. There was a man behind the rail of the balcony, sprawled against what looked like a ramp, its railing cradling the man's back as his vacant eyes stared upward.
"ROTHEL!"
Pyreflies rushed to the man's side, taking him up by the shoulders. As the Shuyin formed picked him up, blood spewed from the back of his head, staining the water a deep red. That Shuyin visibly paled and pulled the man to the side, shaking him gently at first in a futile attempt to wake him until he realized that wasn't going to work. He shouted and yelled at him, punching him as he did as if ignoring the reality of the situation.
"You can't die! Do you understand me? I said you are not dying!" He screamed, pounding away at the dead man's chest.
"This is…" My love began to say, stepping closer to the scene.
"Ignore." Our Shuyin simply said, walking on by himself.
"Is this it?" My love asked me instead, "Is this when his Zanarkand died?"
"I don't know. Look at all the rubble around them. What did he go through?" I uttered, feeling tears well up in my eyes.
"Like Shuyin said, we have to keep going. It's only going to get harder now and if we stop, we'll probably be taken just like the Crimson Squad. For Shuyin's sake, we can't let that happen." Rikku said, pulling at my arm.
Just before I could move, I saw the mirage Shuyin lift his friend by the collar, the sudden jerk forcing his eyes shut, which only prompted Shuyin to panic more, "No! Don't you dare close your eyes on me! WAKE UP!" But before long, he had to accept the truth of the matter that his friend was gone, crumbling down against his body in tears, "Please… please wake up…"
The rest of the tunnel showed us the blitz stadium of Zanarkand in shambled with Shuyin searching tirelessly for his friends, bodies of several victims littering our way. Eventually, the sheer number of pyreflies manipulated the terrain of the tunnel into the upper deck of the stadium, the illusory Shuyin traveling beside us on his search for his friends. This eventually led us to a large pit just outside of the tunnel where the pyreflies manifested it into a demolished area of the stadium's upper deck overlooking the Sphere Pool apparatus out in front of it, its mechanism damaged far beyond repair. Even as our Shuyin scanned for our next steps, the rest of us couldn't help but watch the illusion climb down haphazardly to the bottom, where the pyreflies began revealing more of the stadium's lowest foundations with each step he made. In the end, it took him to a large pool, the center of which lay a girl, what was left of her.
Just as we managed to see who it was, the pit suddenly came to us and we found ourselves right next to them, Shuyin himself eying the change in surrounding curiously. As I was closest to him, he pulled at my arm for me and the others to stop our marvels and gandering at a past we'd never understand, but as with the others, I felt compelled to participate.
The Shuyin created by the pyreflies knelt beside the girl, now clearly the broken body of Kirin, nearly torn to shreds by whatever it was that killed her. It was difficult to look at her, her face so closely resembling my cousin, but even then, I couldn't turn away.
"Ki... rin…" He said in such a weak and pitiful voice, looking at her, "What has Bevelle done to you…"
I could feel my heart breaking as I witnessed it. It was so unusual to see this man, who I had encountered in my nightmares, who had terrified me so much in my last journey in such a state. He sounded lost and weary, even fiber of his being telling him to give up as he knelt beside her, rocking her gently in his arms.
"You'll be okay, Kirin… Everything'll be fine… You're going to be with Ju and Damu and see a huge field of flowers…" He whispered to her, his voice cracking as his soul tried to justify all the events that he had been forced to endure.
While we shouldn't have been able to divulge so much from just watching this unfold before us, the pyreflies of the Den of Woe had long since penetrated us, filling us with every emotion that was experienced by these cavern walls. While Shuyin wept, we wept. The only one to be unaffected was the original himself, as he had already grown hard from it and was still ready to fight even as his younger self cowered at his fate.
Shaking, he gripped Kirin's body tightly, trying to hold back his grief to the best of his ability, but that eventually gave out. In an open display of anger and anguish, Shuyin loosed a sorrowful roar at the night sky above, the very sound of it striking a heavy blow on our hearts. Rikku took it the hardest, falling to her knees in a fit of sobs. Paine went to her side while Nooj looked away. Meanwhile, before I could end up on the floor beside my cousin, my loving support came to my side, shielding me from the scene with his embrace.
"Shuyin…" I said with a raspy voice.
"Ignore." Came his cold reply.
However, the vision only grew worse, "Get some rest now… I'll take you to where you wanted to go… Remember? When we were kids… You told me that you wanted to see all of Zanarkand when you leave for the Farplane…"
Before he could say anything else, the illusion's voice broke again with a whimper and a bitter gasp, "Bevelle's taken everything from me… Bevelle's taken you away… There's nothing left for me…"
"I've had enough of this!" Our Shuyin growled, taking his sword and stabbing it into the image to scatter the pyreflies, "We aren't here to wallow in grief. We're here to make sure this never happens again. If you don't get yourselves together, my past will be the least of your worries. The shadow will defeat us if we're lost in his mind games so get up or get…"
"… out of my way…" Another illusion finished his statement, now changing the cave into the open night sky of Zanarkand.
The air smelled of ash and there were so many machina destroying the city. Everywhere you could see, there were people fleeing, crawling, dying, and yet the machines kept on going, committed to their horrid acts of destruction. Meanwhile, the mirage Shuyin lost his patience with them, growling another order for them to clear from his path, but they didn't listen. Instead, they were alerted to his presence and launched an attack, something that only served to infuriate their adversary more.
"I remember this." My love said abruptly, gazing at the actions of his originator.
"You do?" I asked.
"Yea, this looks almost exactly like the night I was pulled out of my Zanarkand." He explained, turning to Shuyin, "Is this real?"
To this, he nodded, "This was my last night in Zanarkand, too."
"But you're alone. I had Auron. What…"
"My Auron died long ago. By this point in time, I was alone. All I had left to keep me going was…"
"Where is she? Tell me…" The illusion hissed, his tone dangerously volatile, "Tell me where the summoner is!"
"… Lenne." Shuyin finished.
"We didn't know. We thought it was only losing Lenne that made you into that apparition." I told him.
"Understandably. By the time I awoke as an unsent, Lenne was really all that was left. When I died, my last thought was that it was too soon, that I had left Lenne alone in Vegnagun's chamber. I felt I had to keep fighting, had to hold on and wait for her, but I died. Some part of me kept thinking that I needed to find her, that I needed to show her I was sorry for what I failed to do."
"Now you know you never failed anyone." Rikku said, wiping away her tears and clutching Shuyin's arm tight.
With a smile, Shuyin let out a sigh, "Of course. Only the shadow hasn't gotten past that yet, which was why I wanted you to ignore my past. He knows how painful it was and how hard it was for me to forget, but those memories are still fresh in his mind and they are strong, stronger than ever since he's nothing but the pyreflies I left behind. I was capable of holding back my despair with my conscious thought that allowed me to move on with my plans. The reason he hasn't gone off to destroy Spira like I did has to be because of that. He can't. All he can think about is the past and how much it hurts."
"So it's trapped in its hate and sadness with no way out, right?" Rikku chimed in.
"Right, which is why it needed to do this. It needed me to be reminded of it, falter, and in my own despair, seek it out and give it what it needs to be complete again."
Then, as if listening to our digressions, the illusion turned to us with his sword pointed at Shuyin. Our Shuyin noted that his fight would take him to Yu Yevon's headquarters, then to Gagazet, and finally, to Bevelle where he would end up here. However, as he said this, we all realized that there were no more screams, no more wails, no more daunting emotions creeping up on us. This Shuyin standing with his sword held out, we figured out just then, was no illusion.
"If I'm not mistaken, the trip down memory lane is over." Paine said, pulling out her sword.
"Alright, time to dish some of that pain out." Rikku added, getting into position.
"With interest!" Gippal said in compliment, readying Grinder.
"Good bye and good riddance." My love exclaimed, letting loose the Brotherhood.
"Hope you never write." Nooj continued off, loading his gun.
"Let's finish this." I noted, equipping my Twin Bees.
Shuyin walked up to the shadow, his neck almost touching the tip of its sword, "Time's up."
However, the apparition didn't even flinch as we surrounded him. After we had ensured a full perimeter around it, Shuyin scanned the area for any sign of a trap, eying the still shadow suspiciously and curiously as to its lack of reaction. After nodding to us to keep us at attention, ready for any possible traps, he chose to act. With his own sword, Shuyin knocked away the unsent's and sliced upward, bisecting its length. It was then that he understood what had happened. Even though it appeared as if this illusion of him was actually the shadow, Dark Shuyin was still elsewhere and we had been circling the wrong person. When the pyreflies of the illusion vanished, something smothered the Fire and the light keeping our persons lit also faded.
In the distance, echoing against the walls of the cave, the true Dark Shuyin spoke, "Yea, for you."
With that, the entire Den of Woe began to shake, the tremors causing debris to begin falling from the ceiling. Light returned to normal and allowed us to witness the crumbling cave as the true shadow appeared at our exit.
"Share my despair…" He said, destroying our way out.
"Now we've done it!" Rikku shouted, looking for another way out.
"We'll just have to make an exit!" My love cried out, rushing to where the entrance had been and slicing at the rocks.
"Well, isn't that a good plan." Paine added, but shook her head, heading over to help with Nooj and Gippal.
"Maybe we should find another exit?" Rikku asked us.
"There isn't going to be one. But we can make it out. It'll just take time. Provide the others with cover!" I said, spherechanging to Alchemist.
"Right!" My cousin acknowledged, going Gun Mage.
"He's still around. I can feel him." Shuyin noted, keeping his sword ready, "Keep your senses tuned. No need for surprises now."
Just as soon as he was done saying that, the light flickered again and a blue sword came down at me, deflected only by the quick draw of Rikku's Annihilator Blue Bullet. It directed itself at Shuyin next, but the warrior was ready to block it, holding it at bay while the shadow formed behind it.
"How much more do you intend to splinter yourself?" It asked him, pushing against his sword.
Shuyin only broke the hold and swiped at the unsent's legs, in turn allowing it to spread back into pyreflies. In the distance, growls were heard, followed by the appearance of a horde of fiends. My love took my place as an Alchemist and I quickly reverted to Gunner, firing Trigger Happy into as many as I could while Rikku loaded whatever rounds she could find, some of them pairing correctly with the type weaknesses of the fiends. Shuyin, on the other hand, took to using his Hit & Run and engaged the fiends directly. Eventually, the swarm was defeated, but we were all nearing our limits.
"This planet is crying. Can't you hear it anymore? Those pleas for mercy and an end ringing in my ears, have you deafened yourself to them?" The shadow enquired, its voice emanating from all corners.
"This world suffers, her cities crumble, her people die, so be it." Our Shuyin answered, much colder than I would have thought.
"How can you be so unsympathetic?"
"Because…" Shuyin began to say, walking a few steps forward before slamming his sword into the ground, revealing the shadow as it blocked the strike.
I rushed over with Rikku to capitalize, my guns aimed at its head as Rikku loaded another Blue Bullet. At my current angle, I could see that the unsent already attacked the others, my love kneeling down on one knee, his Alchemist's gun dismantled. Nooj and Gippal were both unconscious against the rock wall. Rikku launched Cry in the Night into our adversary, but like Shuyin was capable of in the past, it only absorbed the massive explosion into its sword. Before it could use the power in Force Rain, though, our Shuyin clashed swords with it and began absorbing the energy, the two of them fighting to keep a large enough amount of it for themselves. Eventually, the volatile energy erupted against both of them, sending Shuyin flying into the rocks with Nooj and Gippal while the unsent simply faded back into pyreflies, separating into two groupings before each of us, myself and Rikku. With Rikku, it took her weapon and forced her out of Gun Mage form. As for me, the shadow appeared just before me, pressing his palm against my chest and turning back into pyreflies. A moment later, I felt burning pain in my legs, the same as when we had fought the shadow last, and fell to my knees. When I put my hand to my leg, I felt the blood trickling from them and realized I had been shot, just like last time. I had fired two bullets at Shuyin only to have him deflect them back at me. Looking up, I found the shadow bearing down on me, its sword held firm to stab me through.
Before he reached, though, our Shuyin tackled him back into a pyrefly swarm, releasing his own sword to attack the apparition as it reappeared. He cartwheeled and flipped high, crashing his sword down into the unsent with Spin Cut, finally defeating it. Unable to mount any counterattacks, the unsent simply cowered beneath Shuyin's sword, mouthing one more question about his host's lack of pity.
"Your time has run its course. You've failed your mission countless times. To oblivion with you." Shuyin stated.
"My quest is not yet done."
"With your pitiful methods, it never will be."
"Why can't you understand? We have a debt to this world!" It screamed, its voice cracking.
"Why? Why does it fall on us to right the wrongs of this planet when all the rest live out their meaningless existence in blissful ignorance?" Our Shuyin responded, though his words were so very curious.
"Wasn't that what we felt before?"
"Look where that took us."
"That was our failure! We couldn't see the lies and mistakes. If we had been cleverer, divulged the secrets sooner…"
"It would've all ended the same."
"No! We would have found a way!" The shadow screamed, charging Shuyin and ramming its sword into him.
Shuyin only pushed back, sending the apparition into the ground again. He looked down at it almost as he had done with us in the Farplane, seeing the unsent as less that himself, as if an insect to a god. Rikku crawled close to me, checking my wounds as we both witnessed their final face-off. The apparition seethed with rage, but even so, Shuyin only looked at him. After a while, seeing as the unsent wasn't making a move, he turned his back and sheathed his sword, looking at his foe from the corner of his eye.
Unable to contain his anger any longer, the unsent rose up, intending to stab his host through. It was then that Shuyin said his final words to his darkness, "And it's over…"
From behind the shadow, Paine's blade penetrated through, pyreflies exploding from the wound and swirling around Shuyin. Lifting his hand to them, he absorbed each of them into himself, giving out a stifled snicker as he released them into the rocks and regained us our exit. Without waiting for us, he departed from the Den of Woe. Next to my side, I felt Rikku shiver and brought her close in my embrace. Paine spherechanged to Alchemist herself to cure us of our afflictions, helping my love up as Rikku helped me. Together we caught up with Shuyin outside. Once we were out, Shuyin called out more pyreflies from the cave, the creatures having been the only thing holding the Den of Woe. Without them, the former cavern collapsed into a grand chasm. Walking over to the new canyon, Shuyin took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
"Alas, I now possess these powers, the power to change the course of Spira's doomed existence once again." He said in a familiar tone.
The rest of us were taken aback by it, his voice resembling how he had been as an unsent, even stranger than the shadow had been. Had it succeeded after all? We hesitated to approach him, remembering that it was only Lenne that had been able to stop him before. If he had been possessed by the unsent, what could save him this time? Would he attempt to destroy Spira again?
"No…" Rikku suddenly said, her eyes looking downward as she stood next to me.
"Rikku?" Shuyin asked her, turning to face her.
"No… No!" She screamed, running toward Shuyin with haste.
Before he could react, Rikku thrust her daggers into his gut, pushing him off the edge and into the pit below. The rest of us were frozen in stunned awe as my cousin dropped to her knees in tears. Had he anticipated his failure? Was this how he chose to remedy it? And my poor cousin who had always supported him, how could he ask that of her? Now we were down a friend and couldn't even be sure it was worth the cost. Did we even defeat the shadow or did it possess Shuyin after all, completing itself in the process?
Author's Note: … *recalls* Time to bid farewell to Dark Shuyin. O.O;; Uh, guess not. What just happened? Can you tell? Has the shadow taken over Shuyin and gotten itself a body or was Shuyin really taken by the despair he felt? Well, there's always the third route: He might just have been leading the rest of the group on this entire time. What's the answer? Find out next time!