Unfinished Business
An attempt at a FF X-2 fanfic
Final Chapter
by Time Guardian

Later that night, Shuyin drifted in and out of sleep. He decided to take watch for the whole night but it was tough staying awake among the peacefulness and serenity of Macalania Woods.

Yawning, he got to his feet and stretched, planning on gathering wood for another campfire.

The men surrounding him in the darkness had other ideas.

Two of them lunged at Shuyin, tackling him to the ground. He struggled, managing to kick one of his captor's knees. The man howled in pain but managed to keep hold of Shuyin and both of them forced him to his feet. One of them came behind him, grabbing and twisting Shuyin's arm.

"Scum! You and your Summoner will pay the price for trying to invade Bevelle!"

Caught between anger and panic, Shuyin's eyes frantically searched around for signs of Lenne. She was no where to be seen. Snarling, he struggled against his captor's grasp. "If you hurt her, I'll-"

He heard one of them shout from the area where he had seen her sleeping. "Hey! I found where she was sleeping, but she's not here!"

Shuyin's head was rudely snapped back. "Where is your Summoner, guardian?"

Pain blinded his vision as he struggled to stay focused. Even if he did know where Lenne was, he couldn't tell them and-

It was then that Shuyin heard it: a low clear melody, serene and smooth as glass. The haunting song mesmerized him and would have put him to sleep, if he hadn't recognized the singer.

Lenne!

The men from Bevelle yawned and dropped to the ground in full slumber. Even the men holding him were stifling yawns and struggling to remain standing. Seeing his chance, Shuyin struck out with a sweeping kick that sent both of his captors sprawling. Once free, he broke into a full run. He had to find Lenne and get her out of danger.

"Lenne? Lenne? Where are you?"


Once Lenne ended her song, she knew that it would stop them for a while, but not for long. She hated leaving Shuyin behind but the mission needed to be completed for Spira's sake.

She dropped to the ground from one of the distant trees and ran quickly through the forest. Lenne cursed her lack of foresight in not studying her maps at the campsite but at this point, getting away from those men was top priority.

Lenne managed to find a path and took it until she got to a crossroads.

Great, now which way?

The thought was answered by the sound of angry men behind her.

She picked the left road and plunged on ahead.


Shuyin found fresh tracks on one of the pathways and followed them to a crossroads, where they ended in a jumble.

Great, now which way?

He wildly looked around to each path, finally deciding on the left road.

Shuyin started up the path, completely oblivious to the shadow trailing him.

A heavy object smashed against his skull, causing Shuyin to lose consciousness.


As Lenne progressed, the path she was on sloped sharply upward, slowing her pace. She looked down, and noticed that the path was curving up and around the pond where they had made camp.

That's a long way down-

"High Summoner Lenne!"

The voice stopped her in her tracks. Turning around, she saw two of the Bevelle men that had invaded the camp and one of them was holding the unconscious form of Shuyin.

One of the men sneered at her in contempt. "He is our prisoner. Give yourself up, and we will let him live."

Anger caused her hands to ball into fists. She couldn't give up now and she was sure that they could not be trusted. If only she could just summon one of the fayth...

Lenne quickly began to sing. In an instant, the familiar icy form of Shiva materialized before her.

The two men dropped Shuyin and backed slowly away.

Lenne continued to sing. "Shiva, please protect us from our enemies!"

Shiva nodded in reply and prepared to attack.

One of the men panicked but the other shouted. "Kill her now!"

A few yards behind Lenne, the cannons of the YAC-62 came to life.

Lenne had no chance to react. The double impact of the cannons slammed into her back and propelled her over the side of the path. With the control of the Summoner gone, Shiva howled and disappeared.

Screaming, Lenne closed her eyes as the pond rushed up to meet her.


The two men scrambled to the edge and looked over to see her still form facedown in the pond.

"Ya think she's dead?" one of them asked.

"She's not moving. I can tell that from here." he looked around at Shuyin's still form.

"We better take him with us."


Later, when Shuyin came to, he found himself surrounded by metal bars. The scenery behind them was moving swiftly, so he reasoned that he was on some type of transport.

He managed to get himself into a sitting position to get a better view. Looking over at the front area, he noticed two of the men that had ambushed the campsite were piloting the craft.

One of them turned around and looked at Shuyin. "Well, well, looks like our prisoner's awake," the man jeered as he stood and walked towards the cage, "You gave us a lot of trouble, but your mission to defeat Vegnagun has ended, and Bevelle will trimuph in this war."

Shuyin's anger threatened to boil over. "You're wrong," he snapped.

The man's reply was caustic. "You might want to rethink that. We have defeated your summoner with our machina. Last time we saw her, she was taking a dive."

Shuyin's heart plummeted. He had failed her. He swore an oath to her, and he had failed her. Anger mixed with a bittersweet sadness surged through him.

"I want to see her," he sobbed, "I want to say goodbye to her..."

"Can't you keep him quiet?" The other man yelled from the cockpit, "It's hard enough driving this thing alone as is."

"Will do."

The man standing by Shuyin's cage produced a syringe filled with liquid from his coat pocket.

"Time for a little shut eye!"

Shuyin backpedaled from the edge of the cage but he wasn't fast enough.

The man grabbed Shuyin's arm, jabbed the syringe in, and quickly pressed the plunger down. Shuyin struggled but after a few moments his vision blurred, then sank into familiar darkness once again.


Lenne woke up, surrounded by the water of the pond. Coughing and sputtering, she managed to get on her feet, despite her aching all over.

Groaning, she trudged out of the pond. That went well.

What a fool she had been, not being more open with how she felt about him and getting too wrapped up in the mission. Now Shuyin was in danger and it was all her fault.

She checked the packs of provisions that she and shuyin brought with them. Luckily, the guards had only tossed them around in their search for her but were otherwise untouched. She searched her pack for some dry clothes, until she came across the dress Shuyin gave her. Fingering the white ruffles on the front, she could remember Shuyin's bright smile as he gave it to her.

I want to see that smile again.

Her mind made up, Lenne quickly put on the dress, then packed as many provisions she could get her hands on. Hold on Shuyin, I'm coming.


Shuyin woke up with a splitting headache.

He was still in the cage but the craft he was in had finally come to a stop. The men that had brought him here were outside talking to what looked like a guard. He watched them for some moments until his head got the better of him and he closed his eyes.


"Shuyin? Shuyin wake up!"

Shuyin struggled to wake up, but something about the voice was familiar. I'm dreaming...that sounds like Lenne, but she can't be here. She's dead.

He opened his eyes, and encountered a vision of loveliness. One that was shaking him hard. I'm not dreaming!

Relief coursing through him, Shuyin scrambled into a sitting position and gave her a fierce hug. "Lenne? I thought you were dead."

He noticed her warily looking over her shoulder. "We will be, unless we move quickly. My sleepsong is due to wear off any time now."

Shuyin allowed her to help him stand up. He noticed the door to his cage was open and one of the guards was snoring peacefully in the corner of the lab.

They made it to the entrance of the lab.

"Let's go. I overheard one of the guards talking that they have Vegnagun stored one of the lower levels," Lenne said.

Shuyin nodded, and then smiled brightly, "You wore the dress."

Lenne hesitated a moment, enjoying his smile. She had missed him so much over the few days it took to infiltrate Bevelle. Now that he was here and alive, Lenne felt a surge of hope that they could pull off this mission and survive.

"Lenne?" Shuyin asked, breaking her train of thought.

Lenne composed herself quickly, then smiled at him.

"We better get moving."
They both ran quickly, exiting the the lab and following a curving path leading to the lower levels.


For precious minutes they followed the paths downward into the catacombs, until the path ended beside two lifts. Both of them looked like they would take them to the lower levels, but in different directions.

Shuyin stood straight, trying to stretch out the knot of tension forming in his neck. "Lenne, which way? Did the guard say anything about this?"

"I'm not sure... both paths look the same," Lenne muttered as she thought quickly, "Let's split up. we will be able to cover more ground and confuse anyone that might be following us."

Shuyin looked at her worriedly. "I don't want to lose you again."

Lenne saw the look of pain in his eyes. There would be so much she needed to say when all of this was over. She settled on reassuring him as best she could. "Shuyin, I'll be fine. Now go, we have got to finish our mission."

Something died in his eyes with that reply, but Lenne knew there wasn't time. She stepped onto one of the lifts, and Shuyin stepped onto the other.

They both went their separate ways down into the lower levels.


Taking the lift downward, Shuyin found himself on a winding path that would sometimes slope up and sometimes it was a straight shot downhill, but finally he found a long corridor that had a huge opening.

He passed through the opening into darkness. Shuyin had trouble seeing anything.

Finally reaching what felt like an opposite wall, he found a control panel After flicking a few switches, spotlights blazed to life, shining on the largest machina he had ever seen.

Staring at the massive head, Shuyin realized that he was looking at what Lenne and the Bevelle blitzball players had described. The massive head glinted of metal, and was twisted into what looked like a demons head and long pieces of pipe twisted around the face giving it the illusion of horns. He walked to the edge of the platform and peeked down and could see glints of light playing off of Vegnagun's metallic hide for miles downward.

He spotted a ladder near one side of the head and decided to check it out.

Shuyin fingered the controls of vegnagun carefully, thinking about the peace that he could impose with this machine. Then Lenne wouldn't have to fight anymore.
They could be happy together, and she can focus on being happy.

He took a seat in front of the keyboard and looked at the writing in front of him. It was a language that he did not recognize but from the few times he watched Lenne organize her music for her concerts, he thought he saw a pattern.

It was some sort of music. If only I could read it...


Lenne heard a melody begin to play.

In a panic, she followed the sound down the massive corridors. She jumped up steps and turned many bends until she found herself in a long corridor leading to a huge opening.

The music was also growing stronger.

Lenne made her way to the end of the corridor and took a tentative step inside.

She had already seen Vegnagun through the sphere recording but as she stepped in front of the massive machine, she felt small.

How am I supposed to defeat that?

The music she was hearing seemed to come from the top of the machina. Although it wasn't moving now, Lenne could have sworn that Vegnagun had a pulsing glow, and it seemed to be timed with the music. Could it be that music was the key to activating this massive beast?

Peering at the top of the unit, Lenne was shocked to find a familiar figure playing the music.

"Shuyin!"


Shuyin continued playing the keyboard with wild abandon, until he heard Lenne shout his name.

The familiar voice sounded tiny from his vantage point. He stood, leaning over the edge of the massive machina and saw her looking up at him in desperation.

"You must stop!" Lenne screamed up to him, her arms outstretched. "What are you thinking? With Vegnagun's power this world will be destroyed!"

Climbing down from Vegnagun, Shuyin ran to her. "Lenne, I-."

"Please, let's do what we came here to do," Lenne begged, "Let's destroy this monster. It isn't going to be safe here for long."

His eyes turned cold. "Wake up, Lenne," Shuyin replied harshly, "It will never be safe. No one is willing to stop the fighting, so I will stop it for them using their own weapon. You won't have to fight. Not anymore."

She could feel hot tears stinging her eyes. "Please, Shuyin, there would be nothing to go home to. Lives will be lost and you would be no better than the people who built this machina. I have seen what Vegnagun can do."

Shuyin was speechless. It was rare to see Lenne on the brink of tears. He reached up to touch her face, when he heard a noise from behind them.
Turning around, he saw a squadron of Bevelle soldiers running towards them with their weapons at the ready.

Lenne's heart ached and the small hope she had for a future died at the sight of the soldiers. She didn't want to see anyone else suffer, especially Shuyin. She gave him a look of regret. I'm sorry, my love.

She didn't even turn around when she heard the bullets coming.


Pain...Shuyin could feel his body go numb as the bullets ripped into his chest. He fell hard to the ground, quickly feeling a tugging of his spirit.

The Farplane was calling to him.

Shuyin felt a flash of bitterness.

Anger.

Betrayal.

This world had forced him apart from the only woman he had ever loved. He was charged with the task of protecting her and he couldn't even get that right.

He felt himself leaving his body. I can't go-not yet. These people must pay for what they have done to Lenne.

With all of his determination, Shuyin willed his spirit energy to go deep into Spira's core, and he waited. Lenne had told him stories of people who were still roaming Spira and refusing to go to the farplane because of love lost or unfinished business. He would make this world pay for their selfishness and for what happened to Lenne but he needed the perfect opportunity.

So he waited.


Lenne knew that a moment like this would come someday.

She felt the bullets tear through her, and she fell to the ground in pain. A roaring siren song filled her ears, a song that was calling her to the Farplane.

So this is what it feels like to die.

With an extremly painful effort, Lenne turned her head towards Shuyin. Before it was too late, she had to tell him that she loved him. However, she saw that his eyes were closed and his body deathly still.

Her mind screamed in frustration. It shouldn't be this way. There won't be a second chance-

And as a lonely tear slid down her cheek, Lenne's spirit reluctantly answered the call of the Farplane.


Zanarkand - 1,000 years later-

"Shinra! Are you sure the sphere waves came from this room? I can't see a thing!" Rikku complained, then coughed heavily as mounds of disrupted dust flew into the air.

Shinra's voice came over her comlink. "You are in the right place. All signs point to that exact spot. It's not my fault you aren't looking hard enough."

Muttering in Al Bhed, she switched off her Comlink in disgust. "Maybe he should come down here and look for himself. All I see are ruins, dirt, and more dirt!"

Hearing a rumbling noise, she turned around to find Yuna covered in dust and coughing. She clutched in her hands what looked like a sphere.

"Dirt is right," Yuna coughed, "I found this over in the next room before an old wall could collapse on it. Is this the one we picked up on the scanners?"

Paine was expressionless, grabbing the sphere from Yuna's hands. After a few moments of examination, she finally said, "This is what our scanners were picking up. Let's see the results of our find, shall we?"

She manipulated the sphere in her hands, activating the images within.

Images of a grand city appeared before them, then cut away to what looked looked like a musical concert. She could barely make out the musical act on the stage, but Yuna could see shots of the crowd clearly.

She gasped as she spotted a familiar form worked his way through the crowd. It can't be...

Yuna soon felt Rikku's hand on her shoulder. "You ok, Yunie?"

She stood, shaken at what she seen. "I-I'm fine. Think Shinra can help us use this as a dresssphere?"

Rikku looked thoughtful for a moment. "I dont see why not. That whiz kid has been jumping for a chance to use his equipment again."

Paine deactivated the spere and handed it to Yuna. "Come on. We better get to the teleport point before Brother begins to wonder about us."

As they made their way back to the teleport point, the sphere Yuna held glowed with a bright blue energy not all its own.

After all, there was unfinished business to take care of...


and of course, the rest of the story is contained in the game. I took a little artistic license with some of scenes vs. how they appeared in the game, otherwise, I have tried to be as faithful as possible.

-ducks trash thrown at her- and this also took me longer than I thought it would. Maybe I shouldn't have been so eager in trading in my copy of the game. Also, real life and job stress had their hands in beating me down too.

Hope you enjoyed it if you stuck around for the final part.

Till later,

Time Guardian