PART 8: Betrayal
Shuyin had Paine down on the ground, and had a hold of her by the throat. "I thought….you were…" "On your side! Ha! I could not take it any more! You and those goody-goodies getting in the way, getting in my way! Well, now the tables have turned. The Crystal, if you may. Or should I strangle you right here and now?" She slowly gasped for air, as her hand found the Crystal in her pocket. Slowly, but reluctantly, she handed it to him. Shuyin smirked, "Lord Seymour will enjoy this. He will grateful towards me." Paine stood up, trying to catch her breath, "You…You…You traitor…What about Lenne! How will she feel? How-" But, before she could say anything else, Shuyin struck her once again in the stomach, this time, forcing her to lose her breath, and faint. Shuyin smiled, "Those who pretend strength are the weak ones, those who look weak, may have much more than imaginable." And, with that, he motioned for two Guado guards, "Tell Lord Seymour that I have the Crystal in my possession, that I took it from this…girl. Tell him that she may be of some use to him. She may have some valuable information about the remaining Crystals." The one guard spoke, "Should we take her?" Shuyin laughed, "Allow me to take both. Lead the way." The three headed for Seymour's tower, carrying the unconscious Paine, and the second Crystal.
Rikku stood before the void, as if waiting for something to come out. "I've gotta go tell the others! Paine may need our help!" With that, she ran, as fast as she could, to reach Lenne and the others. Rikku ran for miles, before she finally spotted them up ahead, sitting down. "Guys! Guys! Paine went on ahead! She may need help!" Gippal looked up, and ran to Rikku, "What?" "Paine…went…ahead…into the void! She's gonna need our help! She can't fight alone! We have to help her!" Gippal looked at Baralai, and before he could say anything, Baralai stood up, "I'll go on ahead. The three of you should stay." Lenne stood up, and looked at Baralai, "Please be careful. And…if you see Shuyin…Tell him to please come home." Baralai nodded, and walked past Rikku and Gippal. Rikku looked at him kind of funny, "Do you love Paine?" Baralai turned and looked back at Rikku, and began to walk again, "If I didn't, would I be going? Paine's my friend, and you help friends in time of need, right? If…If I don't come back, don't bother to look for me, okay?" Gippal looked on, as he watched his best friend walk away from them. Lenne choked slightly, "He's so brave…Yet, he's so quiet…" Rikku turned, and sat down, facing the sunset, Lenne approached her, "Are you alright?" Rikku, for once, began to sob, "We're never going see anyone again! We're all going to die, and we'll all become shadows, and kill people, and-" But, it wasn't Lenne who was next to Rikku anymore, it was Gippal. "Rikku, come on, it'll be alright. Just like before." She sobbed, and suddenly held on to him so, sobbing on him. Gippal ran his hand down her hair, and held her in his arms. She looked up at him, the guy who she had gone out with for over a couple months, she saw light in again. She leaned against his chest, as he held her in his arms. Lenne watched the two from a distance, and thought: "If there's one thing that can achieve happiness, they have it. They have love. Something Shuyin may have not been capable of having." She watched the pair, watching, as Rikku looked up slowly at Gippal, meeting his eyes, how he met her halfway… How they met in the center.
The force field had faded, and Tidus approached the tower cautiously. The tower was guarded intensely, and all the entrances were blocked. "Am I really gonna scale this huge place? Nah! I'm not that stupid…Here I go!" Tidus charged into the entrance, fighting guard after guard. They kept coming as Tidus sliced through them. Finally, he arrived inside the tower. "Yuna's gotta be here somewhere. It just looks like these stairs keep going up." Tidus climbed at least 6 floors before reaching a level with two separate ways. "Which way? Maybe right…or left…Right!" Tidus went to the right, and entered a room with mirrors everywhere. "Holy shit. This guy must love himself to death." He walked forward and bumped right into a mirror. "Ow! Stupid mirror." It took him a couple minutes to get through the maze, until he reached the end, and spotted another mirror. "Do I really look that messed up?' Tidus said with a laugh. The reflection answered back: "Do you always have to play the goody-two shoes?" Tidus looked as Shuyin stepped out in front of him. Tidus backed up, "Looks like you beat me here. Well, fair is fair, I guess," as he stuck his hand out to shake. Shuyin slapped it away.