Chapter 36 – The Wrongs of a Lover

Lenne both blushed and cringed at his advance. It had been so long since a man made such a forward motion at her that she felt suspended. Her breath was heavy, and she wasn't sure how to respond. She glanced down to see her mask lying beside her feet. She wondered what he was conspiring to do. From her prior encounter with him in the Farplane, she knew he recaptured Vegnagun. His plan for the destruction of Spira, the one he proclaimed before, weighed deathly in his eyes. She realized, or rather, came to accept, the fact he may never relent it.

She lit up, and swirling rays of pyreflies flew from her glowing body. It was the same as the last time she entered the Farplane. She looked in dismay as they twirl around her luminescent body. Once again she was dressed as a songstress. Shuyin looked on in pleasure.

"To see you again my love...my heart races. I've long for so many years to be with you...and soon we can have that be true." he declared, still marching closer to Lenne.

Hesitantly she took a step backwards, still in cowardice to his words, "Sh-Shuyin...please, don't do this, f-for me..."

"Why not?" he asked, shaking her further with his immediate firmness, "Spira gave us no refuge. We were never allowed to harness our love because of the battling between Zanarkand and Bevelle. I want to cast all that misery to oblivion!"

"I...I know you do. But please, how can Vegnagun to that...f-for us? We...can still live together without destroying Spira."

"No we can't!" he snapped back, "The fighting continues – on and on in a never ending spiral. Has it not been a thousand years, and still do they fight?"

Lenne remained silent to his question, only the solemn echoing of the waterfalls sounded in the air. She knew the truth. The incessant bickering and bludgeoning between one sect of Spira against another was all too apparent. The Youth League and New Yevon fought the same way as Zanarkand and Bevelle did a thousand years ago. Still, she didn't want to admit that the similarity existed.

Her expression was grave, as she believed fully in his ability to destroy Spira with Vegnagun. Looking up at him, her eyes gazed with his. Her entire existence was tragic, and she always prayed that one day she could break free from it. Yet, even this long after death, the peoples of Spira still fought one another. In the back of her mind, she felt that her hopes had betrayed her.

"It has been countless generations, and if they cannot free themselves of their petty debts, then I will do it for them," he growled, his eyes burning with intensity, "I will march on their land, or raze it to ashes!"

Lenne solemnly shook her head, "No...that is no more right than what was done in the past. That...that is why I still continued my summonings all those years ago. It was to save Spira, not to destroy it."

"I...I know. That's why it has pained me to rot this past millennium, knowing how you've eternally longed to aid this sorrowed land. But no matter how hard you try, no good can come from helping this place."

"How can you say that? Why would you even try to save me if all you're going to do is annihilate the place I've protected. Please, you must see the madness in that!" she yelled, tears forming in her eyes.

"Madness? The madness is believing that Spira can be saved. It is they who bind themselves to the spiral of death. Sin was just a symbol of that. Surely you have not forgotten what the spiral did to us?" his voice roared with indignation.

Stepping closer to him, she whispered, "Yes, what happened to us was sad. But that doesn't give you the right to repeat it. Do you truly want this to happen to someone else?"

"Does this world even have someone else who cold possibly be so full of foolish love that they would devote themselves to saving Spira – even at the cost of their life?"

She moved yet another step closer to him, this time her face was cross with anger, "Yes...yes, there are many whom have the same love as I!"

He paused with silence briefly, pondering her remark, but then spoke, "This world has you so torn Lenne...not only can I see it in bondage to its own pitiful whims, but I see you in bondage to that suffering as well. You are so caught in its cage that you wallow away in sadness."

"I..." choked Lenne, but she was unable to respond.

The truth was, that the suffering had built up for so long, that his falsity had become true. It was true for centuries, and she never realized it until he put it into words. She collapsed to the ground in tears. She tried to hide her reddened face from him, but he moved away her hands. Finding herself in his embrace, she was unable to deny herself the comfort he provided.

He whispered into her ear, "You know now what I'm talking about. It may have been Sin for the first thousand years, but it will be me for the second."

She heard his words, but they didn't register in her chaotic mind. Becoming Sin or some other sort of tyrant was what she already expected – the words themselves mattered not. She instead simply flung herself into his chest and sobbed. She cried her heart out, for the first time in a long, long time. Not holding back, she remained in his arms for a time, with him only caressing her head softly. His gentle strokes eventually comforted her down to a stable state, and she was able to speak again.

"What will you do with Vegnagun?" she muttered feebly.

He smiled, "I will conqueror this world. With me at the top, there will be no more battling, only I will be the dominate force in Spira. This world will be ours Lenne, just for you and me. I couldn't protect you before, but I will now – now and forever."

She looked up at him, pyreflies beginning to fly around him. He stepped back from her, his smile still penetrating her soul. She got up to follow, as if she was a lost puppy with no direction to lead herself. He shook his head.

"No, don't follow me yet. Soon we will be together. As much as it pains me...that time is not now."

She wiped the remaining tears from her face, clearing up her sight. Yet her mind was still in a daze. Shuyin vanished away into the depths of the Farplane. Lenne wondered where he was hiding Vegnagun. But the Farplane was a vast and unknown place – he could have been anywhere. A few straggling pyreflies twisted their paths around her. Memories of the past flooded into her mind. Emotions of herself being torn between her love and her people, images of the soldiers firing upon them in Bevelle – the swell had reached its peak and could no longer be contained. If anything could rid her of that tormenting pain, it would have to be herself. She couldn't let him destroy the world she so dearly held on to.

But all there was to do for the time being was to find Nhadala; she was probably worried sick about her. Lenne put back on her mask, and noticed she had returned to her normal clothing. She walked back into the temple. With a shuttering crash, the glimmering void which led to the Farplane closed. A decrepit stony walled replaced its space. Searching around, she found a small doorway. Following the tunnel which was beyond, she came to a ladder. She climbed up, and poked her head above to see what was there. In the distance somewhere at the other end of a corridor, she spotted Nhadala wandering.

"Nhadala!" she screamed, her echo filling the temple, "Nhadala! I'm over here!"

Gawking around, Nhadala could not find the owner of the voice. Eventually Lenne climbed up fully and started waving her arms in the air, catching Nhadala's eye. She ran down the corridor to her, with a terrified look on her face.

"W-where have you been? I've been so worried about you!" she huffed out exasperatedly.

"I, uh...fell, and have just been able to climb back up." Lenne replied, making sure not to mention any reason for her to go down there.

She nodded, relief glimpsing back into her expression, "Good, good. Are you sure you're not hurt?"

Lenne shook her head to Nhadala's satisfaction. The two made their break to leave the temple. Before they left, Nhadala showed Lenne what she stumbled upon while searching for her. Through a broken wall she discovered an old pedestal holding a sphere in it. The sphere itself barely glowed, declaring its frail and ancient condition. Nhadala's eyes glowed much brighter, however, as the thought of sphere hunting crept into her mind.

"If there's one of these in this rickety old temple, there must be more." she stated, while carefully freeing the sphere from its hole.

She decided that they should make a permanent camp at the temple until it could be properly excavated. Lenne worried that she may discover the tear into the Farplane, but knew there was nothing she could do about it. She hoped they would never come across it – not at least until she could confront Shuyin and stop his madness. Her love, she prayed, would be able to overcome the vengeance which swelled mercilessly in his heart.

Outside, the sun had all but set. The air was frigid, and Rhala and Gadrock were shaking uncontrollable watching their breath dissipate into the air. They and Pilot were worried sick about their boss and Lenne. Even with the freezing cold, they all refused to give in and abandoned them. Finally they heard the sound of movement, easily discernible in the cold stillness of the night's desert. Lenne crawled out of the tiny hole first, and helped Nhadala climb out after her.

The men ran over to see if they were hurt. To their delight and relief, they were not. Lenne shivered at the cold air. Nhadala didn't bother to notice, she was still enthralled by the sphere she was carrying. Gadrock suggested they hurry up and head back before they all froze to death. Once aboard Sally, they left for camp. Nhadala was busy trying to play the sphere, but to no avail.

"I don't understand, why can't I get it to turn on?" she wondered.

Lenne took a closer look at the sphere, "Well...perhaps it's too old."

"I hope not," she sighed unpleasantly, "you can't make money off of broken spheres."

Rhala laughed, "I thought we were searching for treasure, not junk."

Nhadala sneered at his joke. Gadrock couldn't help but laugh as well. He took a peek at the sphere, and hadn't a clue as to how to work it even if it was brand new. Nhadala snatched it hastily back from him, worried that he would end up breaking it. Everyone chuckled at her overprotective nature over a little ball.

Over the next three weeks, Nhadala had a separate encampment setup next to the temple for a complete excavation. To Lenne's luck, nobody went deep enough to discover the tear into the Farplane. During the course of those weeks, they found many more spheres, yet none of them would function. Nhadala was beyond puzzled. She couldn't determine whether they were all too far gone because of age, or maybe it was something else which caused their dysfunction. She had all her so called local experts working on a solution – none of which uncovered one.

"I just don't get it," she mumbled in frustration to herself, "these things last a long time, shouldn't they?"

Lenne smiled under her mask, "Well, I suppose some do and some don't. But it's really odd that all these spheres no longer work."

Rhala cracked a laugh, "Ah well, it was a good waste of time. So what are we going to do now?"

"Don't count this over yet," snapped Nhadala, "I still have a few other people I need to take a look at these."

"Huh? Who are they?"

She smiled intently at him, "The Gullwings!"

Next chapter: It's high time we revisited our friends (no, I didn't forget about them). Certainly life has been just as interesting for them, if not more so. It's been a month since Yuna died, and they've hoped to have at least a quiet recuperation in Besaid. However, in the middle of night, Rikku gets a surprise visit from Gippal of all people. What plans does he have for her? And yes, she'll get some much deserved RikkuGippal action too!