Finally, my favorite scene in the entirety of X-2. As well as the beginning of the revealing of many things...and plot twists. But before it all begins...replies!
Dairokkan: Indeed.
XxCougarxX: Yeah. The Energizer Bunny is off in a corner somewhere, crying. Along with Sonic the Hedgehog.
Duderman: Oh yes, the storyline will have a little more to it than normal...
Iron Reaver: ...(sniffles)
desert-tiger: Dedication to the extreme. They should take up teaching skydiving.
KamiKaze no Kage: If you haven't seen hectic, you're not gonna see it. (smile)
Arsenel: Really...strange things go on in my mind all the time. And yes, though I do know about the pits, I decided to remain 'ignorant', to keep Yuna and the others from knowing that I know.
Fallenone: No, he couldn't bring back the Final Aeon. And I'll not spoil that detail just yet.
Okay, now that that's settled...concert time! (sits back to watch the show)
Chapter 25—Silent Voice
"We're over the Calm Lands now," Buddy says, glancing out the front window of the Celsius. "We ready to go?"
"Grab everyone you see!" Brother says. "We do not want anyone in Spira to miss this!"
"Leave it to ush," one of the Hypello says over the radio.
"Will they be all right?" Yuna asks, seemingly just as much to the Hypello in charge as Brother or Buddy.
"Be back in a jiffy, shishter," the Hypello says, before the comlink cuts off. From the window, we can see Hypello leaping off of the deck of the Celsius, and I stare for a moment. I'm a bit curious as to how they remain fine after leaping from the deck to the ground, but I decide to shrug it off. No use thinking about something I'll probably never find the answer to, anyhow.
"They've got guts," Rikku comments, and I nod.
"No kidding."
"All right, next stop!" Buddy says, the Celsius beginning to pick up speed again and head towards our next destination.
"What are you up to?" Yuna asks Shinra, who is typing away furiously on his computer, schematics for something being shown on the screen.
"A project," he replies, glancing at Yuna before pointing to his computer screen. "I'm engineering a giant sphere screen for the stage. That way, even people way in the back will be able to see you."
"Your invention?" she asks, causing Shinra to nod.
"Pretty nice," I say, stepping over and taking a look at the on-screen diagrams.
"I'll be in the cabin if anyone needs me," Yuna says, stepping out of the bridge.
"Yeah, I'm heading to my room for a bit. Looks like you guys have everything under control, anyway," I state, following Yuna out of the room. Quickly, I run down the hallway, managing to make it inside the elevator before the doors close.
"Something wrong?" she asks, and I shake my head.
"Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to tell you that you won't be alone in doing this concert," I say, deciding to voice my feelings.
"What do you mean?" she asks, before stopping. "You're going to sing, too?"
"Yeah," I reply, sighing.
"I thought you didn't like attention?"
"I don't, but...there's something inside me that's telling me to do this."
"But..." she begins, stopping for a moment as the elevator doors open, "I don't even know what I'm going to sing."
"You will," I say, stepping out and following her towards the cabin for a moment. "And when you do, you'll know why I want to do this." Yuna looks at me with a confused expression as I step back inside the elevator, letting the doors close once again. Slowly, the elevator ascends again, and I wait patiently until the doors open before stepping out into the hall. Silently, I step into my room and shut the door before sitting down on the bed.
"Yuna isn't the only one feeling things..." I mutter, rubbing my right eye absently. I can feel a steadily growing sense of sadness and regret, apparently remnants of Shuyin's lost feelings at his final moments.As I stare at the wall, looking at it with an empty gaze, I slowly begin to realize something.
"I don't want to be alone...not right now."
Quickly, I stand up from the bed and exit my room, stepping into the elevator. Pressing the button to descend, I wait as the elevator whirrs into motion, making its way back to the cabin. After a moment, the elevator comes to a stop, allowing me to exit into the hallway and walk towards the cabin. As I enter, the first thing that greets me is the sight of Yuna and Rikku dancing, both in the Songstress dressphere. Without making a sound, I move over and lean against the counter, simply continuing to watch.
'Funny how it took Shuyin's feelings to make me realize something I'd forgotten about my own.'
After a minute, the two girls stop dancing, Rikku stepping over to me and pulling me into a hug. Smiling, I return the gesture as Yuna begins to speak.
"It's almost time. Do you think people will show up?"
"You betcha!" Rikku replies, letting go of me and turning to her friend. "The Thunder Plains'll be packed! But what're you gonna sing?"
"Umm..."
Yuna seems to ponder this for a moment, before she slowly begins to hum. A soft melody begins to flow from her lips, and Rikku and I both listen for a moment, before Rikku speaks up again.
"Wow, did you write that?" she asks, and Yuna shakes her head.
"It's more like I felt it," she says. "I can hear it echoing inside me."
"Lenne?" Rikku questions, and Yuna nods.
"I think so. I don't know much about her, but I'm learning more and more. Bits and pieces of her memories keep pouring in. It's like...it's like I can feel what she was feeling!"
"Thus shall Lenne's scattered thoughts be woven into bittersweet song," Rikku says, dramatically, before turning back to Yuna with a grin on her face. "Something like that?"
"Hey, that was poetic," Yuna replies, giggling. Suddenly, a glimpse of recognition seems to cross Yuna's face, and she turns to the both of us.
"I know this song!"
"Say what?" Rikku asks, confused. Quickly, Yuna turns to me, excitement written on her face.
"You sang this song two years ago, didn't you?" she asks, and I stay silent for a moment, before nodding.
"Nice to see you remember. I did sing this, at Macalania. That's the reason I want to sing with you," I reply. "The melody...reminds me of things..." At that, I trail off, unable to finish my sentence. Before Yuna or Rikku can question me further, Paine steps into the cabin.
"We'll be arriving soon. After Buddy drops us off, he and the others will go pick up the spectators."
"So we won't be able to board for a while," Yuna remarks, to which Paine nods.
"You got it."
"Ready to go, then?" I ask, looking over the trio of girls. All three of them nod, and the four of us head for the elevator, ascending to the bridge quickly.
"We're over the Thunder Plains," Buddy says as we enter. "You ready to land?"
"Let's land," Yuna says, and Buddy nods, the Celsius beginning to set itself down. Without another word, the four of us begin to head for the exit.
"Funny. The last time I was here, you were scared to death. Now, you don't even flinch at it."
"Oh, be quiet!"
Chuckling, I watch as Yuna giggles at Rikku's reaction to my statement, and Paine even offers up a grin in amusement.
"You can't say this place doesn't scare you!" she retorts, and I smirk.
"Actually...I can."
As I finish my remark, a lightning bolt strikes the ground a short distance away, sending a near-deafening amount of sound over the area. Wincing, I rub my ears before turning back to Rikku.
"Though...the sound gets on my nerves."
Rikku just rolls her eyes, as a Hypello walks up to us.
"Hello, Gullwings. Good to shee yoo. Are yoo ready to shing your shong?"
"Yeah, more or less," Yuna replies. "You ready?"
"We've got a shticky shituation," the Hypello says, pointing to a small path between the cliffs in the distance. "Shum fiends have shown up to shnack on the shpectatators." In the distance, we can see a large, lizard-type fiend walking between the cliff faces, and we all look at each other.
"Pre-concert hurtfest time," Paine says, and I smirk.
"Indeed. Let's go bag ourselves a lizard," I say, beginning to jog off in the direction of the fiend with the three girls behind me.
It isn't long before we reach the path, and the cave at the end of it. Peering inside, I can see what appear to be chunks missing from the inside path of the cave, as well as a glimpse of red.
"Yep, it's in there. Let's do it," I say, stepping inside with my sword drawn. Paine and the others draw their weapons, and we begin to advance inside, keeping a close watch on our surroundings to prevent any surprises. Swiftly, the four of us leap over cracks and gaps in the path, making our way to a large platform on the other side of the cave.
The Zalamander fiend is waiting for us, and as we step onto its platform it turns to face us, roaring a challenge with a mouth dripping with saliva and fire.
(Play FFX theme Enemy Attack)
"Alright, you overgrown gecko...let's see what you've got," I say, my sword beginning to glow with a bluish-white tint. "Ice Brand!"
My slash hits the Zalamander in the face, a burst of ice slamming into it and making it close its gaping maw. The fiend suddenly jerks even more, and I turn to see Yuna shooting at me, the bullets passing me by inches and striking the fiends instead. Thank Yevon that Yuna is a good shot.
"Ice Brand!"
Another slash from Paine cuts a gash in the fiend's left front leg, and it growls, spinning to Paine and I before slapping us away with a clawed leg. As we stumble back, I can see Rikku run up to the fiend and jump into the air, slashing at one of its eyes. The fiend swipes at her, but misses, and she runs back to regroup with us as Yuna puts another barrage of bullets into the fiend.
"Demi Sword!"
My attack slashes the fiend in the underside of its chest, but does nothing besides a small cut in its skin.
"Immune to gravity. Gre..."
I don't get to finish my sentence, as the Zalamander suddenly spins, its powerful tail whipping around and knocking me off my feet to crash into the ground beside Yuna.
"Blizzara!"
Paine's spell smashes the fiend in the face, blinding it for a brief moment, but seemingly doing no damage. As I begin to stand up, I can feel a Cura spell heal my injuries some, and I nod my thanks to Rikku. Paine notices her attack's ineffectiveness, and switches back to Warrior, preparing another Ice Brand attack. Following her lead, I do the same, splitting off and flanking the creature.
"Take this!" I yell, as Paine and I slash down, one on either side of its head. That definitely gets the fiend's attention, and it tries to swipe at Paine with one claw, but only catches her sword as she twists out of the way. With the fiend's attention diverted, I see an opportunity, and stab my sword into the side of its head. Roaring in pain, the Zalamander writhes in agony and smashes its claw into me, knocking me back to the ground as well as pulling my sword out of the side of its face.
"Excalibur!"
Paine's next attack slices through the air at the fiend, drawing a deep gash across it as the holy attack burns into its body. With a screech of pain, the Zalamander crumples to the ground, dissipating into pyreflies that sparkle and float up to the ceiling of the cave before vanishing.
(End FFX theme Enemy Attack)
"Well, I believe that makes everything safe for the 'shpectatators'," I say, chuckling a little at the last word.
"Then let's get back to the plains!" Rikku says, excitedly.
"Right!" Yuna agrees, the four of us beginning to run back towards the concert grounds. Far away in the sky, I can see the Celsius approaching, so I turn my comlink on.
"Did you guys get everyone?" I ask, and there's a moment of silence before Buddy replies.
"Uh huh." The sound of Brother saying something can faintly be heard, and Buddy pauses. "Hold on a moment." The sound of scuffling can be heard as Buddy apparently steps out of his seat, before yelling can be heard. "We're landing! If we cram any more people on board, this thing is gonna fall out of the sky," he yells to Brother, causing me to laugh.
"Alright then. We'll be there soon," I say, before closing the link and running to catch up with Yuna and the others.
A few minutes later, the four of us stand on the bridge of the Celsius, having had to push our way through hordes of people simply to get back inside the ship. I'm not sure how many people they found, but it seems like the entire population of Luca and Bevelle combined could be here, if not more.
"Hey, we brought in people from New Yevon and the Youth League," Brother says, pointing out the window towards the plains. "They're all outside, on the concert grounds."
"Hey, uh, the crowd is acting kinda funny," Rikku says, looking out the window as well.
"Let me pull the video up," Shinra says, typing something on his computer. The four of us walk over and watch as the computer begins to show the events happening outside. People are arguing with each other, and everyone generally looks to be displeased at having the two groups so close together.
"Uh-oh. This could get messy," Rikku whines. I feel inclined to agree with her this time.
"No kidding," Buddy agrees. "The two groups have been bumping heads since they got on the airship. Looks like they're itchin' to start something."
"I'll pick up the audio," Shinra says, typing another series of commands into his computer. The audio soon fades in, revealing a lot of yelling and fighting going on.
"The Yevonites are here, too?" one Youth League member asks, looking insulted. "How am I supposed to enjoy the concert with them stinking up the air?"
"Hey! You Youth League dogs will never be worthy of hearin' the high summoner sing!" a New Yevon member protests.
"If the praetor were here, he'd never let these maggots walk around, spouting their nonsense," another chimes in, causing a multitude of angry stares in his direction.
"What I wanna know is, where'd Nooj go? It's his fault that Spira's falling apart! What kind of leader abandons his people when they need him most?" A chorus of agreements comes after the Youth League member's query, and Shinra cuts the video, the four of us all looking at each other.
"Don't they ever stop?" Yuna asks, sighing.
"Seriously," Rikku agrees.
"Well, Yuna? You're the one who wanted to do something," Paine states, looking over at her friend.
"Yeah, but..." Yuna starts, before stopping and nodding instead. "Right."
"So let's do something," Paine continues.
"Right, let's do it!" Yuna says happily. Suddenly, the bridge door opens, and Tobli comes running in, a little too fast for his own good.
"Oh, catastrophic catastrophe! Dear me, dear me! What oh whatever shall I do!" Tobli exclaims, stopping at the top of the stairs. "The spectators are making a spectacle! I don't even want to speculate! Please! Do something, Yuna!" Yuna just smiles, looking up at Tobli.
"Leave it to us!"
"Yuna, we're counting on you!" he replies, looking down at the girl.
"Showtime?" I ask, smiling.
"On with the show!" she says, turning to Rikku and Paine, before holding her hand out. "Y!"
"R!"
"P!"
"Ready?" Yuna asks, and the other two nod.
"Let's do it!" they all shout at the same time. Quickly, Yuna spherechanges into her Songstress dressphere, and I do the same, joining the three girls in walking to the elevator.
As we step out onto the deck, I can see hundreds of people around the Celsius, some arguing, some looking up at us intently. Silently, Yuna steps to the very edge of the deck, pulling out a microphone and beginning to speak, the entire crowd going silent at her first words.
"One thousand years ago, before the time of Sin...Spira was torn in two, divided by a terrible war. This was Spira's great mistake. Out of the rift left by this terrible conflict, Sin was born. In only two short years, Spira has shaken off its unhappy past. We have moved on. Now, Spira grows brighter with each passing day. That light is our strength. I don't want to see it fade. Do you? There are so many of us, each with different ideas and different beliefs. Of course we sometimes disagree, and arguments will happen. But our hearts can and should always be one."
The people seem to calm down at Yuna's words, and as Yuna continues to speak, I can hear a slight echo to her voice.
"Believe with me. Even if we're torn apart, our feelings will unite us. That is what this song is about." Silently, I pull out a microphone of my own and move beside Yuna, as music begins to play from the sphere screen behind us.
(Play FFX-2 theme 1000 Words)
As the two of us begin to sing, our words carry out over the vast area of the Plains, seeming to leave no corner of the area untouched by the melody. Paine and Rikku stand silently behind us, watching us perform, and the people below are deathly quiet as they gaze up at the two of us.
The sphere screen behind us suddenly starts to shimmer and glow, before flashing and becoming an image of Zanarkand, a thousand years in the past. The screen gives off the illusion that we're flying through the ancient machina city, and the people look around in awe of the sight.
As the song continues, lights begin to sparkle around Yuna, before they fly up and towards the screen. Suddenly, the screen changes to form an all-too-familiar sight: the underground of Bevelle, along with the giant Vegnagun. Images of Shuyin can be seen, staring up at the machina, and we watch as scattered bits of events start to appear. Shuyin stands on top of the organ, examining it, and then begins to play as the two of us come to the chorus.
Before our eyes, the lights that have gathered around Yuna vanish, replacing her image with that of Lenne's. Yuna doesn't seem to notice as she continues to sing, and I do so as well, almost feeling as if I must continue the song all the way to the end. The people continue to stare as the screen shows Shuyin and Lenne standing in front of Vegnagun, as a squad of armed soldiers rush in and point guns at them. The two embrace, knowing that they can't escape, before the guards fire, the two falling to the floor silently.
Again, the lights around Yuna shimmer and change, Lenne's image being replaced by Yuna once more. The lights flow beside Yuna, shining and changing into an exact image of Lenne which begins to sing along with us as we repeat the chorus. The crowd below continues to watch in silent amazement as the three of us continue to sing, lights dancing around the three of us the entire time.
Finally, the song begins to end, and Lenne's image shines before vanishing, the sphere screen rippling and clearing to show the familiar area of the plains once again. As the melody fades out, Yuna's eyes begin to leak tears, and she falls to her knees, quietly sobbing as Rikku and Paine run over to the two of us.
(End FFX-2 theme 1000 Words)
"Yunie! Are you okay?" Rikku asks, kneeling down to face Yuna, who is still sobbing slightly. Truthfully, I'm fighting back tears myself. As I was singing, the emotions I was feeling from Shuyin were nearly overwhelming. I can only imagine how Yuna must feel.
A scream breaks the silence, however, and all of us look down to see lightning bolts striking near the crowd. No one has been hit as far as I can see, and my eyes quickly move to the source of the attack.
"Darius," I mutter, my feelings of sadness quickly turning to rage. Sparing a glance down at Yuna, I'm relieved to see her no longer crying, and I turn to Paine.
"You two take care of Yuna. I'm going to deal with this creep for good."
"But..."
"Rikku, trust me! Just get there as soon as you can!" I say, before beginning to spherechange. A few moments later, I find myself in my special dressphere, and I take a deep breath before running and leaping over the side of the Celsius. Quickly, I use Angel Wing, flying back up slightly and looking down at Darius, before diving down to meet him. It's time to finish this...one way or another.
My favorite part...and I can't insert the lyrics! (cries) ...Ah well. I'll try and put up an unedited version on my site soon; you can check the homepage link in my profile for that link. But as for next chapter...all heck breaks loose as the final battle with Darius commences! And more plot revealing than you can shake a stick and 13/27ths of another stick at! As always, please review!