PART 5: Intuition
Everything was blurry. Yuna's head throbbed. Soon, everything came into focus. But Yuna's head still felt as if someone had stabbed her in the head with a sword. She slowly turned her head, and realized that she chained against a wall. The chains were tight against her wrists and legs. Everything had happened so suddenly! But, the one question in her mind was: Who had taken the Crystal? But, in the next few seconds, it didn't take her long to figure out why.
The locater still hadn't picked up Yuna. Nevertheless, Tidus didn't want to give up hope. So, he left and went to the back of the Airship. Lenne looked at Shuyin, "So, this is what it was like for you, then." Shuyin nodded. "Except, I had to wait a thousand years," he replied. Lenne frowned. "You don't think that Yuna's disappearance could be foul play, could it?" she asked. Shuyin shrugged. "It is possible, but no one could say for sure. Do you think it could have been someone that she knew that she had sent?" he replied. Lenne shrugged.
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Yuna stared back into the face intently. A face that she thought she'd never have to see again. Seymour Guado. So, it was Seymour that had taken the Crystal. She understood perfectly now. "Forgive me for doing this to you, Lady Yuna," he said, "But, I couldn't afford to let you get in my way." Yuna's fists clenched. "Why did you take the Crystal?" she asked. Seymour smirked. "You see, the Crystal not only provides the power to Spira, but also power to those who possess it," he said as he held out the crystal in his hand. She gasped. "Spira needs the Crystal! The Farplane is vanishing even as we speak!" she said. Seymour laughed evilly, "And when I get all four Crystals, Spira will vanish, as well!" Yuna was pissed. Her fists clenched so hard, that they were turning white. "With all four Crystals, I'll destroy Spira, and build my own world. And you, my dear Summoner, will not do a thing to stop me," he said. Yuna could have almost laughed at the mistake he had just made. But she only said, "that's Ex-Summoner, to you, Maester Seymour. Or should I say, Ex-Maester? Yevon's completely gone, even the New Yevon Praitor said so. There are no aeons, summons, or anything like that. Now everyone lives in peace, with nothing to fight about." Seymour's look of triumph lessened for a second, then came back. "Do you think that I would not destroy Spira just because of that? You must think I'm a fool, Lady Yuna. I do not just plan to destroy Spira, actually. I have a more intriguing idea, one that is in the works, you could say. And you will be the first to try it out." He motioned to one of his followers, they pressed a button on the side of the wall, and the wall opened up to reveal a big piece of machinery.
Meanwhile, the locater still hadn't found Yuna. Tidus had lost all hope, and was a wreck. And nothing anyone tried to do to comfort him helped. Suddenly, an alarm could be heard on the Airship. "It's the signal!" Rikku said, "Come on!" The group ran into the cockpit to see what was going on. Rikku turned on the machine to get the call. It was from Kimarhi. "Someone up on Sacred Ronso land. After sacred Ronso treasure." "We're on our way Kimarhi!" Rikku said, "See ya in a bit! Maybe we should put the search for Yunie on hold?" Lenne frowned, "But what if something bad has happened to Yuna? Couldn't we just find her first, then check out Mt. Gagazet?" Rikku groaned, "Maybe we should split up again… one group will go find Yunie, and the other will go check out Mt. Gagazet. How's that sound?" Everyone nodded. So, once again, they split up. Tidus led a search team from the Celsius, and Rikku led her team to the tiptop of Mt. Gagazet.
Rikku, Paine, and Gippal headed to Mt. Gagazet. Gippal and Paine waited while Rikku got some information from Kimarhi. "Kimarhi says that whoever it is has been up there before. Says they were looking for something. I think he called it the "Sacred Treasure"?" Gippal smiled, "So, could it be our Crystal?" Rikku shrugged. "Maybe we should get going then?" Paine replied. The three climbed up to the highest peak of Mt. Gagazet. But, before they could really get a look. "Watch out!" Paine yelled. The group dodged falling rocks, as they had made it to the top. "We almost became pancakes!" Rikku said, "We almost…Hey! There's the Crystal thief again!" No sooner that she spoke, the thief summoned monsters to attack them. But, the three were too strong for them. Finally they encountered the thief. "There's no getting away this time!" Rikku said. Gippal, Paine, and Rikku took the thief head on, and defeated him. Gippal took hold of the thief. "So, who is our thief?" Rikku asked. Gippal removed the hood of the thief, and Rikku gasped. It was a Guado, and he had the Crystal. "We'll take this," Paine said, as she snatched the Crystal from him. The man tried to get up to get away, but Rikku drew her daggers. "Don't even think about it," she said. He stopped immediately. "So, why were you taking the Crystals, and for whom?" Gippal asked. The Guado gulped, and then said, "I mustn't tell! You won't hear anything from me!" Paine drew out her sword, and pointed it at the Guado. "Are you sure about that?" she asked. The Guado gulped again, and looked at her to Rikku to Gippal, and Gippal pulled out his gun. Suddenly, the Guado broke down, "I was ordered to do it!" "By whom?" Paine asked. The Guado choked, "By my master! I've always been loyal to him, but I didn't expect to see him!" "Who?" Gippal asked. The Guado paused again for a few moments, and then Gippal cocked his gun. The Guado quickly spoke, "By Lord Seymour!" Rikku gasped, Gippal backed up, and Paine raised her eyebrows. "Who?" she asked. Rikku's mouth dropped, "You've never heard of him?" she asked. Paine shook her head. "Doesn't really ring a bell," she replied. Gippal looked shocked, "Wasn't he the guy that… you know…" Rikku replied, "Yeah, yeah…Complicated…" "What?" Paine asked. "It was a real mess," Rikku replied. "Yeah, that's what I heard, at least in letters…" Gippal said, "Did, you know, was it true, at Lake Macalania, I mean…" "Yep!" Rikku said. Paine looked from one to the other, "What are you two talking about?" she asked. "The love triangle of the High-Summoner!" Rikku replied. "I don't think I wanna know…" Paine said. "But you asked!" Rikku replied. "So, we're even, then," Paine replied.
The three headed back down the mountain, they were halfway. "It feels like the temperature's dropped," Paine said. "Yeah, it's starting to get a bit colder," Gippal added. Rikku giggled, "Yep, I'd say what I'm freezing off, but…Heh…Oh well…" Paine looked at her. Gippal laughed, "Mine's already half-frozen, but there's still some thawed. What about you, Dr. P?" Paine looked at him, and said, "This is the cold shoulder. See you later." The two giggled together as Paine walked down ahead of them. "Maybe she needs more then a warm scarf?" Rikku said. Gippal smiled, "Let's worry about other things right now, Rikku."
Shuyin, Baralai, Lenne, and Tidus led the search in the Celsius. Shuyin was operating the machina. "Complicated," he said. Tidus looked over his shoulder. "What's that?" he asked. "Machina," Shuyin replied., "Advanced Machina, judging upon the components. It should aid us in locating Yuna. But, as I have been dead for over 1000 years, it's hard to decipher what component does what." Tidus shrugged, "So, you've worked something like this thing before?" Shuyin nodded, "The Vegnagun, a powerful military weapon strong enough to eliminate Spira. It would have destroyed Spira…I would have destroyed Spira, but…" Tidus interrupted, "Yuna stopped you." "Exactly," Shuyin replied, "I'm wiring this thing to the point where it just won't search Spira anymore, it will search every place created and imaginable. Every dimension, planet, galaxy, anything your mind can come up with." Tidus gasped, "So, maybe, Yuna might be on another planet?" Shuyin nodded. "With aliens and stuff?" Tidus asked. Shuyin looked at him funny. "For someone who helped save Spira, you sure are a fool." Tidus laughed, "And for someone who tried to destroy Spira, you're all over the place!" Shuyin looked at him, and gave a look of disgust. Tidus groaned. "Ah," Shuyin said, "Here we are. It is finished! Now, we can locate Yuna properly!" Shuyin fooled with the machina a bit, until it came up in search mode. "Now, we put in for it to search everywhere, and we should find Yuna." It wasn't even twenty seconds, that it started beeping like crazy. "Ha! I am a success!" Shuyin exclaimed, "Now, where is she?" He pushed the button, and it came up on the locator with some coordinates and a dimension. "This must be new. There was never a dimension with this much power before…" he said. "Power?" Tidus asked. "Yes," Shuyin replied, "The locator is picking up some power sources in this dimension. And, a couple entrances to it are nearby. One is about two miles to be exact." "Ok, then, let's go!" Tidus exclaimed, as he grabbed his Longsword. "Hold it!" Shuyin said. Tidus stopped and turned. "Should we tell the others where we are going?" Shuyin asked. Tidus laughed, "You can tell them where I'm going. You can stay here, and watch the airship, OK?" Shuyin nodded, "I can't leave Lenne by herself, either. I would die if something would happen to her, again." Tidus walked away, smiling, "(Wouldn't we all…)" he whispered.
Just as Tidus left, Rikku, Paine, and Gippal made it back to the airship. "We found out what may have happened to Yunie!" Rikku exclaimed. Shuyin looked up, "Tidus left. He left to go get Yuna. He only walked about two miles, though. The entrance to where Yuna may be is about two miles or so. It's a new dimension or something. And…" he stopped, as he looked at the radar, "It is headed right towards us." "What?" Rikku exclaimed. "So, now what?" Paine asked, "Run or be swallowed up into another dimension?" Just, then Baralai and Lenne walked in. "What's going on, Shuyin?" Lenne asked. Shuyin paused for a moment. "The dimensions are slowly swallowing up Spira, just like the Farplane. There's no stopping it. We are running out of time. It's either…Find the Crystals, and save Spira, or…be sucked into another dimension…" Paine went up to the deck with Rikku. "This could be bad…" Rikku said, as she looked. In the sky was a humongous, black void, that was drawing in anything it came to. Plants, people, chocobos, and Spira. "There's no time!" Paine said, "We have to run!" Just, as she said that, Rikku gasped, "Fiends! Oh, poopy!" Paine rolled her eyes, "There's nothing we can't handle." "Oh really…well, take a look at that…" Rikku said, as she pointed to over a hundred fiends heading towards them. Suddenly, Gippal and the others burst out of the Celsius in a Hover Machina craft. "This is so exciting!" Lenne yelled, "Hey, there's Rikku and Paine! Hey, are you guys going to make it!" she yelled. Rikku nodded, and Paine began to get frustrated. "Let's go find a rock…" she said, but Rikku interrupted, "Maybe we'd better find a BIG rock…For all these fiends!"
The Hover Craft moved away from the void that was chasing them. Shuyin sat there, thinking. He had thought about this before, but felt that it shouldn't have been revisited. "Is being with Lenne what I really desire? No…I was going to destroy Spira…I was going to destroy it…All of it…Was that…What I wanted more then anything? To kill those who crossed me…To annihilate those…who I sought vengeance against….To kill…All of those people…All of Spira…ALL OF SPIRA…MUST BE DESTROYED…EVEN IF I HAVE TO GO THROUGH LENNE! I WILL DESTROY SPIRA! I WILL AID THIS SENSIBLE PERSON, AND DESTROY SPIRA! EVERY BIT OF IT!
"Shuyin? Shuyin? Shuyin!" Lenne yelled in his ear. He looked at her, suddenly, "Yes?" he asked. She smiled, "Shuyin, no matter what happens. I love-" "Lenne," he interrupted, "I am leaving you." The Machina Hover Craft stopped short in its tracks. Lenne was speechless, "Wha?" she began. "Lenne, I am sorry, but I need to go with what I had before. I am going to help destroy Spira! Farewell, and next time we meet, you will all die!" With an evil laugh, Shuyin fell backwards out into the open, and was swallod up by the void. "Shuyin!" Lenne yelled, "Shuyin! SHUYIN! ……. Forgive me…" Baralai looked at Lenne, "He made his decision. His decision to leave you, and to betray us, may just be…May just be his nature." Lenne looked with tears in her eyes, "I don't want to see anything happen to him. I love him." Gippal smiled, "That may be true, but…Does he really love you? Or is he just committed to his desire? More then you maybe…Was he committed more to his desire then, more than you?" Lenne began to cry. Gippal held her for a least a second…or more, until Baralai coughed.