Chapter 51 – To the End of the Road
Just to let you all know, I created a forum for my fic. You can find the address in my personal profile.
Paine peeked open her left eye. She was laying on her side, glancing her eye up at the sky. It remained the same as it was when she went asleep. It was hard to tell how long she slept, whether it was morning, afternoon, or night. Rolling over to her other side, she noticed Rikku and Yuna sleeping sound merely a foot away from her. This gave her the idea that she hadn't overslept. Knowing how much Rikku loved her sleep, if she was awake before her, she was alright.
The night before, or at least the nighttime to them, they had discovered a note left by Leblanc to them. Stuck in the ground, it told them that she and her goonies had already gone ahead, and they hoped to meet up with Gippal and Nooj before they found Vegnagun. They would be the calvary. A desolate cackling of Leblanc's voice echoed through their ears as they nervously read the letter. For them, at least, they had a night to think it over.
Sitting up, she outstretched her arms to the glimmering sky. The puffy clouds of silver still hovered over her head. Looking ahead, was the daunting risk to come. In fact, it had a physical form. At the far end of the floating rock they had been staying on, was a small, orangish swirl. Yuna, as she had also supposed, thought it was their portal to Vegnagun. She, just as Yuna, didn't know why she believed that – it was just a fact to them.
Rikku rolled over, draping her arm over Yuna's face. Feeling the light smack against her nose, her eyes began to twitch. Opening up her blue and green eyes, she, too, was greeted by the unchanging sky. Gently moving her cousin's arm, she got up.
"Good morning Paine," she whispered over.
"Heh," greeted Paine with a smile, "I can never understand how she sleeps so much."
The light giggling continued as Rikku slumped back over to her other side, mumbling something about lightning and Gippal. The girls thought it was cute how she sometimes would talk about Gippal in her sleep. They knew after her rendezvous with he and Nooj that she had a serious crush on him. Furthermore, they wondered just how far "she went" with him. Some of the lewd remarks made by Paine caused Yuna to blush. These were certainly things Brother should not be told, else they'd risk incurring the wrath of a psychotic Al Bhed.
After a little more time, the three of them were conscious and prepared for the unknown. They could only imagine what obstacles may lie ahead. Whatever it was, they were as ready for it as they could be. The time for pondering was over – it was time for action. As the girls approached the portal, it roared as it opened up. A human-sized whirling orange cloud appeared. In the middle of it was a slip of blackness. This was their ticket to Vegnagun.
As per their strategy, Paine was sent first. In Rikku's mind, if anything was their to eat them, Paine would be the tastiest. While not very appreciated, Paine elected to go first anyway, and stepped through the fissure. Rikku was next in line, however, and she was twitching like mad before the portal. Closing her eyes, she swallowed, and braved the void. Picking up her foot, she stepped in. With a flash, she was transported away, leaving only Yuna to make the leap.
She breathed in and let out a long burst of air. Before she was ready to step through, she head a sound. Caught by her ear, it was the faint call of a whistle. She searched around curiously as to where it emanated from. Again, she heard echoing throughout the Farplane, echoing of a familiar whistle. It was the same as before, the whistle she so desperately held in her fainest memories.
Spinning her body around, she sought to find where it was coming from. To the edges she ran, urgently looking for her love. She cared not his form, just that he was there. Turning back around, in front of her was Bahamut's Fayth. He looked up at her, his demeanor sulky and melancholy. She was startled by his sudden appearance.
"I'm glad to see you've made it this far Yuna."
She nodded to him, but the thought of Tidus still loomed in the back of her mind, "Yes..."
"I am sorry," he said abruptly, cutting off Yuna, "we, the Fayth, weren't able to stop the monsters lurking around us. Neither Kinoc, nor Shuyin. Instead, we became that which we feared most. Forgive us..."
She knelt down to him, "I do. But...please tell me one thing. What is Shuyin?"
"He is a mere shadow of himself. Although he may appear alive, he has been dead for a long time. His soul roams, filled with hate and vengeance. It became so strong, that it manifested into a shade...a shade that only seeks to rest."
"A shadow...I can defeat a shadow."
"Can you, Yuna?"
She nodded, very confident that she could heal the seething wounds of an ancient torment. If she could come to terms with Lenne's seemingly eternal pain, than she could do the same for Shuyin. Not only for her sake, and not only for the sake of Spira, but for the sake of Lenne. Through the trials, and the torment, she had come to love Lenne. She, as well as herself, deserved better than to live with a broken heart.
"Do you want to see him?" asked the Fayth out of the blue.
"W-what?"
"You've heard the whistle, haven't you?"
"Yes..." she whispered, her head nodding ever so slightly.
"Then we will try to bring him back."
"But...can that be done. I was told by another Fayth that it was impossible."
The Fayth shook his head profusely, "No...not impossible. He, unfortunately, was eaten by the darkness, and used as a pawn. I don't know...I don't know if we can do it, but we will try."
Yuna's face lit up brightly, "Thank you."
With those parting words, she went through the void. On the other side was a world even more puzzling and abstract than the Farplane she knew from seconds before. It looked like a gigantic trap, all laid out for their arrival. The girls worried if Nooj, Gippal, and Leblanc made it through safely. But, there was no way to know unless they ventured through it themselves.
The girls walked all at a time, side by side. They weren't afraid of anything. Still lodged in the back of Yuna's mind was the tiny, glimmering hope that she could have Tidus back. Regardless, she knew she would have to accomplish the task at hand first. Even if he didn't come back, it didn't matter. Her drive was set – set to reuniting Lenne with Shuyin.
However, in front of them was a triad of black, bubbly fiends hovering in the sky. Swirls of magical light surrounded them, revealing their obvious elemental properties. Still, these were different than the ones they would normally encounter. Rikku and Paine instantly choked on their breath. It was an elemental they fought in the depths of Bevelle. Paine cringed at the thought of fighting not one, but three of these tyrannical creatures.
Yuna, on the other hand, was not daunted at all by these fiends. She immediately pulled her pistols and began whaling at the one in the center. In little time, it disintegrated into pyreflies. Rikku and Paine, who had just reminded themselves of the terrible time they had with one, dropped their jaws at their friend's fearless display.
"What? Don't just stand there..."
Snapped out of their trance, they nodded with a sharp smile, and darted for the other two elementals. Perhaps it was their state of mind, or just the circumstances that had been under, but the battle went without a hitch. Only one managed to make an attack, and it was dodged cleanly by Rikku.
Dusting themselves off, the girls triumphantly continued, having defeated the elementals without hardly breaking a sweat. Then they came across a challenge of a different kind. On their level, Yuna glanced up, seeing the continuation of their path above them – high above them. At the edge of their road, they couldn't go ahead, so they would have to go up. Nonetheless, a number of small platforms dotted the air up to where they needed to go. In front of the edge was a mechanical device. On it, was displayed a staff of music notes. Underneath each note was a progression of pitches.
So, Mi, Re, Do, Ti, La, So, Fa, Mi, Fa, So, Do
Below that was a layout of those notes, much like that of a piano. When the screen was touched, the notes played out for them to hear. Paine rubbed her chin as she curiously gazed over the screen.
"This is different...anybody here play music? I'm just a drummer at heart."
Yuna laughed, "Heh, I know a little from singing."
"Aw...I got this!" belted Rikku, as she started playing some air guitar.
As she started to explain, the notes at the top must have something to do with getting up to the road above. A musical puzzle of sorts, the other smaller platforms must be the key, or keys rather. If they play them in the right order, than they should be able to proceed. Yuna and Paine looked at each other, and agreed, surprised to hear so many intelligent things come from Rikku's mouth at once.
"So what do we try first?" was the first question out of Paine's mouth.
"I dunno...let's start with that platform over there to the left."
She pointed to a little one hovering at the edge, close enough for them to step on. Paine shrugged, and stepped aboard. It floated up to a larger, stationary platform. There were two other ones beside it. Choosing one on a whim, Paine leaped over to the lower one. Standing there for a moment, nothing happened. Turning to look down at Rikku, she got a shrug in reply. Telling her to try the other one, Paine complied, and hopped over. This time, two notes played. Rikku, with her ear outstretched, gave her the thumbs up. The first notes lit up, a glowing "So, Mi" appeared.
"Come back down." said Yuna, waving to Paine.
"Ya know, I doubt we can stand here all day. But don't worry...I have this lil' tune memorized in my head." she smiled, pointing to her temple.
"A-are you sure Rikku?"
"No probs Yunie!"
Having almost complete faith in her cousin, Yuna and Rikku jumped to the other side of platforms. After a while of checking and rechecking, they completed almost all of the puzzle. Paine was panting from all the exercise she had gotten.
"Man...this sucks."
Yuna patted her on the back, "It's not that bad. This'll keep you in shape."
Cracking a smile, Paine asked Rikku what was left. Putting her finger to her lips, Rikku thought hard to remember the entire tune. Nodding to herself a few times, she eventually hammered out everything inside her head. They were almost done, just one more note to go.
Yuna made the last hop over to the platform hovering right below where they needed to go. On her tiptoes, she peered up over the edge. Looming a little beyond the path was a giant arch, glowing a pale teal light. She wondered what it was. Then she stepped in the center of the platform she was standing on, and the final note sounded.
"That should be it!" exclaimed Rikku.
Paine was a bit less celebratory, "That should?"
Needless to say, the girls went with caution to their destination. As Yuna saw previously, the metal arch was in front of them, still with a menacing dull glow. Yuna, still fearless as ever, stepped forward. As she brazenly crossed the arch, the pale light burst into brightness, and a flagrant sound rang around them. Immediately Yuna jumped backwards, along with Rikku and Paine. Forming in front of them was an enormous beast.
Bearing a stark resemblance to the Omega Weapon Yuna and Rikku fought in the Omega Ruins two years ago, the fiend snarled at them, as if it was guarding Vegnagun from them. The girls instantly gripped their weapons – no knockoff fiend would stop them.
With a screech, it reared its entire upper body back and catapulted a giant blast at the girls. Luckily, they had stayed far enough back to be able to avoid the blast. Staring at the charred ground, the girls starting thinking this wasn't any imitation.
But they had powers of their own. Yuna fired off a barrage of pin-point shots at the fiend's legs and arms. Even with a full clip, it appeared that it didn't penetrate the fiend's tough exterior very much. It was far from disabled, and went on the offensive. Lashing at Paine, its massive hand clenched her up from the ground. Squeezing tightly, she screeched as its compressed her insides.
Rikku fumbled to get over to her. Yuna, shaking to hurry and place in a new set of bullets, lodged two special, blue ones in the first two barrels. Clicking it back into place, she immediately aimed for the fiend's hand, firing her blue bullet. Striking precisely where she wanted it to, a pile steam and pyreflies blew out of the hole she put in its wrist. This made it let go of Paine. Plummeting to the ground, she was caught by a waiting Rikku. Angered to the point of a boil, she got out of her cradled catch and growled at the fiend.
"Hurt me? Heh, now I'm pissed. Time to eat it all back!"
Pointing her sword to the sky, she began to glow. The fiend, apprehensive about her overaggressive posture, went to swipe at her. Then a large, roaring sound hailed from above. Much like what Trema had called, a fleet of gigantic meteorites fell from above. One by one, they crushed the fiend, smashing it into oblivion. When the final rock hurdled to the ground, there was nothing left but pyreflies and craters.
Rikku did a diving hug on Paine, "Woo-hoo! Go Paine!"
"Um...how..." glared Yuna, her hand still shaking from the vibrations of the crash.
Pointing her sword at the craters, she replied, "That was me mad. Don't ever make me mad."
The girls laughed, although they got the message. With their obstacle out of the way, the only thing left was Vegnagun. While these little laughs were relieving, the prevalent task still loomed over them. This was it, the final stretch. In each of their eyes, they knew the end was at hand, and it wouldn't be easy. Yuna still hoped she could turn all the centuries of Shuyin's hatred and anguish. They would see just how determined of a beast Vegnagun could be.
Yuna led them ahead, not satisfied to stand around and dwell over it. Down a long, winding path they went. Some suspense built up in their guts. Rikku could feel the knot in her stomach tightened as they proceeded farther and farther down. Then, as they neared the end, it came into sight. Vegnagun, the monster they witnessed in Bevelle, and in the ancient images gathered by Shinra, rested against a towering spire.
It stood far taller than any building in Spira, even those in Bevelle. Rikku hid behind Yuna, as even from afar, the beast had a terrifying glare. Its massive arms and legs were intimidating. This truly was a super weapon. They could hardly imagine that this was made over a millennium go. In the far distance, approaching Vegnagun, was Leblanc. Spotted by Paine, she yelled out to them, but they were too far to hear.
"I don't know about you, but Leblanc cannot handle a weapon like this alone." she stated firmly, but truthfully.
Rikku shivered, "A-are you sure we can?"
Yuna, staring right into the unlit eyes of the tyrant, inhaled deeply. Blowing it back out, she gripped on to Rikku's hand. Then, looking directly into her eyes, she smiled – confident and assuring.
"We can...because we have to."
Next chapter: The final battle begins. After all this time, the girls come to fight the beast which seeks to destroy Spira. From the bottom, they must work their way up to Shuyin. But, of course, they won't have to do it alone.
