Well, I've had a case of the 'busies' this week...college finals coming up, website design, and just generally never having time to do much that I wanted. But, with my semester ending this week...I should have more time for writing. And hopefully, I'll be able to finish up Eternal Requiem by January's end.
Well, as they've discontinued the review replies, I'll just get straight to the point. The replies have been e-mailed, and now on to the chapter!
Chapter 27—Light And Darkness Intertwined
The lightning bolts striking outside the Celsius are doing nothing to interrupt my muddled thoughts. I'm not sure whether I'm happy or sad because of that fact, either.
'I should just come right out and say it. No dancing around it. Just say it and get it over with.'
With a deep sigh, I stand up from my bed and begin to head for the cabin.
'I just hope they're not mad at me for not telling them sooner.'
"Hey!"
Accompanied by a thump, a short cry rings out as I open the door. Peeking around the door, I see Rikku on the ground, having apparently been hit by the door. Paling a tiny bit, I step over to help her up.
"You okay there?" I say, helping her off the floor.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she replies, smiling. "I was coming to talk to you."
"Same. But...I think this is something that all three of you should hear. Are Yuna and Paine still in the cabin?"
Rikku nods, and I begin to head for the elevator with her close behind me.
"This must really be bugging you," she says, as the doors close. "You're not acting like yourself."
'You have no idea, Rikku...'
"It is. I think I'll feel better once I get this over with, but..."
"But what?"
'But...I'm afraid they might hate me...I'm afraid you might hate me.'
"...Nothing," I reply softly, stepping out of the elevator and walking towards the cabin. Rikku follows quietly, and I step inside to see Yuna and Rikku sitting on stools next to the counter.
"Hey," I say, waving a little. "Where's Auron?"
"He already left," Yuna replies, standing up from the stool and walking over. "Said he had some things to take care of."
"Typical Auron. Can't relax for one minute," I say, shaking my head.
"Something wrong?" Yuna asks, noticing the look on my face. With a sigh, I walk to a table and sit down, facing all three of them.
"I've got something to tell you. Something I should've told you a long time ago," I remark, turning to Yuna. "Yuna, you're connected to Lenne through the Songstress dressphere, right?"
"That's right," she says, not seeing what I'm leading up to.
"Well," I begin, standing up again and taking a deep breath, "I'm connected to Shuyin through my Warrior dressphere."
The silence in the room is so thick now, you could cut it with a knife. Slowly, I draw my sword, the blue blade shining slightly in the light.
"This sword...is Shuyin's. I don't know why I'm connected to him, but I am. I can feel everything that he feels. Just like you can feel Lenne, Yuna."
No one says anything for a minute, simply staring at me in silent shock. Unconsciously, I shiver, the stares beginning to worry me as to the thoughts going through their minds.
"How long...have you been that way?" Yuna finally asks, breaking the ominous silence.
"Remember the first time I spherechanged to Warrior on Gagazet?" I prompt, causing Yuna's eyes go wide in recognition. "Since then."
"But...you're still you, right?" Rikku asks, somewhat nervously.
"As far as I know...yes," I reply, not wanting to make the situation any worse. Before anyone else can say anything, however, Buddy's voice comes over the intercom.
"Gullwings! To the bridge!"
"Sounds like trouble," I say, glad to be out of the center of all the attention. "Let's go!" Quickly, I dash out of the cabin, headed for the elevator with everyone behind me.
"What's going on?" Yuna asks as we enter the bridge.
"Looks like something's going on at Mushroom Rock Road. Some girl busted past the Youth League members and headed down into the canyon," Buddy explains, and I scrunch my face in confusion, before blinking.
"...The Den of Woe," I say after a moment, the answer hitting me squarely in the face.
"Let's get down there!" Yuna says quickly, and Buddy nods, beginning to pilot the Celsius towards Mushroom Rock Road.
"Lady Yuna! Thank goodness you're here!" Lucil says as we approach, running up to meet us.
"What's the problem?" I ask quickly, causing Lucil to turn back towards the path leading down into the canyon.
"Some girl in a blue outfit ran right past the guards and went down there. We tried to go after her, but the fiends...they're getting too numerous for us to handle."
"Must be getting pretty bad here..." I mutter.
"Leave it to us!" Yuna exclaims, clenching a fist. "Gullwings, let's go!"
"Right!" Rikku and Paine say, beginning to run off towards the canyon.
"We'll take care of it, Lucil," I say, before following the three girls.
Lucil wasn't kidding about the fiends. As I catch up with Yuna and the others, I can see scattered groups of pyreflies, all that remain of fiends that got in the trio's way. Quickly, I unsheathe my sword, looking over the blade that I've fought with so many times before.
"Funny...fate really has it in for me," I mutter, before jogging over to the entrance of the canyon.
"I don't see anything yet," Rikku says, peering down into the dark canyon.
"Then let's go down there," Paine says, rolling her eyes at Rikku. Rikku just sticks her tongue out, before Yuna begins to leap down into the canyon with the three of us following.
The dark trail to the Den of Woe seems even darker now, as evening is beginning to fall over the area. Squinting, I can soon see the entrance to the cave, and the four of us run towards it full speed. As we enter, who should we find but Lenna, examining the door to the cave intently.
"Lenna!" I yell, diverting her attention away from the door and towards us.
"You again," she says, sighing. "What do you want?"
"What are you doing here?" Yuna asks.
"If you must know, I came here to see what was behind this door. But I can't open it. I'm still missing one sphere, and I've looked everywhere for it," she says, frustrated.
"Wait a minute...one sphere?" I ask, to which she nods. Nodding, I turn to Yuna. "Yuna, we've got the other one!"
"We do?" she asks, confused.
"Yeah! Logos and Ormi dropped it the first time we came here! They must've been trying to open the door, too," I say, to which Yuna's eyes widen.
"That's right!" she says, digging around in a pouch on her belt, before pulling out an orange-colored sphere. Quickly, she walks over to the door, placing the sphere into the remaining hole. The spheres all glow with orange light, beams of light moving from the spheres to the center of the door, before the door raises up slowly, revealing the cave beyond.
"Spiffy," I mutter, looking at the now-revealed cave.
"Time to face my past. Come on," Paine says, beginning to walk into the cave. Yuna and Rikku follow, as do Lenna and I. As the five of us walk through the cave, I turn to Lenna, a stern expression on my face.
"Okay. Level with me. Who are you?" I ask bluntly, not wanting to waste time with idle talk.
"I'm not telling you," she replies, equally bluntly.
"Yes you are," I retort, eyes narrowing. Lenna and I glare at each other for a moment, before she finally sighs.
"Alright, fine. You're not gonna leave me alone until I tell you, so I may as well get it over with," she mutters. "The reason I didn't want to say anything...is because of who I'm related to." Quirking an eyebrow, I look at the smaller girl.
"Who you're related to? What would that have to do with anything?" I ask, now confused.
"Trust me...it has a lot to do with things. I'm from Guadosalam, and...I'm related to Seymour Guado."
At that statement, I stop completely, looking over at the smaller girl with an expression of anger.
"...Wait a minute. Seymour? So, what, are you gonna betray us like he did?" I ask, slightly angry now that she kept that from us all this time.
"I'm not like him!" she replies. "I'm...I was his cousin, but after he did the things he did, I got kicked out of Guadosalam...no one wanted to associate with the family of a 'madman.'
"I thought all the Guado were behind that jerk?" I mutter, trying to calm myself down.
"It's not what you think. You're right, there were a lot of the Guado that followed him...but just as many didn't like what he did. They were all silent, though...they didn't want to say anything out of fear that something would happen to them. They were the ones who kicked me out after he was sent to the Farplane," she explains. Slowly, I take a deep breath, managing to calm myself down once again.
"Alright...fine. I believe you. But I'm warning you...try anything, and I'll personally kick your tail all the way back to Guadosalam. Got it?"
"Whatever..." she replies, shaking her head.
"Let's just get back to the others..." I say, beginning to run down the passageway with Lenna following.
"Whoa..." Lenna says softly, as the two of us step into a large chamber. Yuna, Rikku, and Paine are staring in awe, much the same as she is. The entire chamber is alive with pyreflies, the colorful lights floating around the chamber and providing illumination to the room.
"Something's coming!" Rikku exclaims, pointing to the back of the room. The pyreflies around the chamber begin to swirl around at the back, as three faint images begin to appear. Nooj, Baralai, and Gippal.
"Guys!" Paine shouts, looking at the three images. Just as quickly as they came, the images vanish, however, leaving us alone once again.
"You okay?" Yuna asks Paine, who nods.
"What was that?"
"Are they...unsent?" Rikku asks, then shakes her head. "No, that can't be right."
"Memories. This place traps memories. It's like one big sphere...just like Zanarkand was, two years ago," I explain, looking around.
"Those were the guys' memories from back then...preserved by the pyreflies. Memories. Or two-year old nightmares," Paine says. Suddenly, another image begins to appear in front of us, and a chill runs down my spine as a ghostly image of Shuyin fades into view, pyreflies flittering around him.
"Older than that," he says.
"Shuyin," Yuna and I say, simultaneously.
"You!" Paine exclaims.
"I wanted to rest forever, but the pyreflies make me relive that moment," he says slowly. "Again and again and again..." Suddenly, Shuyin vanishes, reappearing near Rikku and moving around her body.
"Rikku!" I yell, stepping towards her quickly.
"No...no!" she yells, squeezing her eyes shut and yanking out her daggers, before slashing through the air once.
"Rikku!" Yuna exclaims, starting to move towards her cousin.
"Stay back, Yuna!" I yell, as Paine tries to slash at the ethereal image of Shuyin. Shuyin moves closer to Paine, however, and Paine freezes, grunting as Shuyin begins to control both of their minds.
"What's going on?" Yuna asks, stepping back. Shuyin floats over to Yuna, moving closer to her and almost seeming to smirk.
"You will see," he says, before floating beside her. Suddenly, Yuna collapses to the floor, leaving Lenna and I to deal with Rikku and Paine. Quickly, I raise my sword, stepping into a defensive stance as the two approach.
"I don't want to fight you!" I yell, hoping to snap them out of their trance. They don't respond, though, and advance on me, Rikku swinging her daggers wildly. Sword flashing, I deflect the strikes, keeping the flat of the blade to Rikku so as to avoid hurting her. Paine charges in with an overhead slash, which clangs off of my sword blade and sends a shiver up my arm. Suddenly, a black cloud appears over their eyes, courtesy of Lenna.
"Thanks," I say, the two stumbling around blindly now. Slowly, Yuna begins to get back to her feet, looking at Rikku and Paine.
"Stop!" she yells, and the two turn to her as the blindness dissipates. Rikku charges Yuna, and Paine charges me again, Shuyin using them both as puppets.
"Get a hold of yourself, Paine!" I exclaim, smashing the hilt of my sword into her face. Paine stumbles back, spinning and attacking with a high slash, which I duck. Quickly, I lash out with a leg, sending her to the ground as I knock her legs out from under her. As she starts to get back up, I smash a foot into the side of her head, knocking her down to the ground again. This time, she doesn't move.
"Yuna!" I yell, seeing Yuna fighting off Rikku with accurate shots from her pistols. Rikku moves in to strike at Yuna, but Yuna dodges and slams the pistol into Rikku's head, making her crumple to the ground.
"Are you okay?" I ask, and she nods.
"I'm fine," she replies.
"What in the world is going on!" Lenna exclaims, looking at the slowly rising figures of Rikku and Paine.
"Shuyin's using them...just like he used Paine's friends two years ago," I reply. "I'll give you a better explanation later!"
"Shuyin is no ordinary unsent!" Rikku says, shaking her head to clear it.
"Seems that way," Paine says, nodding. "When he died a thousand years ago, his feelings became intertwined with the pyreflies, creating this...apparition."
"He's like a dream...or a nightmare," Yuna comments.
"Only this one is all too real," I add.
"He must have had some serious regrets for his feelings to act on their own like that," Rikku comments.
"He does," I say, turning to them. "That's all I can feel from him. Anger, hate, despair...regret and hurt."
"This is what destroyed the Squad," Paine explains. "Despair strong enough to crush the minds of those it touches. What just happened to us happened to them, too. Here. They felt Shuyin's despair. They went mad, and they died. They killed each other!"
"But these three lived," Shuyin says, reappearing nearby, images of Nooj, Gippal, and Baralai beside him. "So...I decided to use them."
"You'll pay!" Paine says, slashing her sword through the air in anger.
"I'm coming for you, Shuyin! Better get ready!" I say, dropping into a fighting stance as the trio of ghosts advance.
(Play FFX theme The Deceased Laugh)
"Power Break!" I yell, slashing into Nooj with fury powering my strike. The ghost seems to feel pain from the impact, before it blasts me in the chest with a pistol. I wince from the strike, stepping back some and spherechanging into Black Mage. Spells will probably work better against these things.
"Fira!" I hear Lenna cry, and look at the ghost of Baralai just in time to watch flames erupt around it, followed by a second spell a moment later.
"Thundaga!"
Paine's attack slams into Baralai, and the ghost runs up to Paine with its staff held high, smashing it down and into her side. Paine grunts under the attack, before also moving back some.
"Cura!" Rikku yells, having spherechanged into White Mage. The spell washes over Paine, healing her bruises and cuts from the fight before as well.
"Firaga!" Yuna's spell hits Gippal squarely, and the specter backs off from its target, Lenna, before firing a round from a large gun at Yuna. Yuna cries out as the round explodes, knocking her back.
"Yuna!" I yell, turning to Gippal. "Blizzaga!" My spell hits Gippal in the chest, making it stumble back from the force. A yell of rage sounds out in the chamber, and I see Baralai's ghost hit the dirt, courtesy of another Thundaga spell from Paine.
"Watera!" Lenna cries, the spell hitting Nooj, but not having much of an effect. The ghost turns to her, shooting her with the pistol in its hand before Yuna sends it to the ground with a Firaga spell. The two ghosts begin to fade away, leaving only Gippal left.
"Take this!" Rikku exclaims, slashing with her two daggers, now back in the Thief dressphere. Her daggers leave marks in the ghost's body, and a Fira spell from Paine sends it sprawling to the dirt for good, fading away a moment later.
(End FFX theme The Deceased Laugh)
"No one uses my friends," Paine remarks, spherechanging to Warrior again. Quickly, I do the same, as Rikku turns to us.
"Anyways, let's go outside," she says, voice trembling a little. "I don't want to be here."
"Good idea. Let's get out of this place," I mutter, beginning to lead everyone out of the cave.
'I told you I'm coming for you, Shuyin. It won't be long at all...and then, I'm going to make you pay.'
"...We shall see," Shuyin replies, chuckling inside my head.
'...I know you're hurting. I know you feel angry over what happened to you and Lenne...but this isn't the way.'
Shuyin doesn't respond to me, leaving me to my own thoughts as the five of us continue to run out of the cave.
This chapter was very hard for me to write. I puzzled over it for a while, and even now, I still don't believe I did as well as I would've liked. But, perhaps I'm just not giving myself enough credit. As always, please review!