Well, inspiration strikes again, I suppose. Finished this chapter in all of about...two days. O.o Anyhow...we're moving into the ending now...so sit back and enjoy the show.
Chapter 28—From Hunted To Hunters
What now...?
The inevitable question, with only one equally inevitable answer.
We stop Shuyin.
"It was Shuyin." Paine's voice cuts through the overbearing silence that the five of us have held since leaving the Den of Woe. "Two years ago, the guys encountered Shuyin's memories and learned of Vegnagun. After we escaped, they said they would uncover the truth behind it. But then...Nooj shot us," Paine explains, eyes falling to the ground momentarily. "We thought he'd betrayed us. But Nooj wasn't Nooj. I understand now...Shuyin was using him the whole time."
All this time, I've known that we would have to stop Shuyin sooner or later. But now, after hearing all of this with my own ears, I'm becoming less adamant about my decisions.
'If it were Rikku and I in their places...wouldn't I go to any lengths to save her? To avenge her? Can I really go through with this...now that I truly understand?'
"Let's go find him, Paine," Yuna says, looking at her friend.
"Agreed. We've got to free him from Shuyin," Paine replies, nodding. Rikku moves in between them suddenly, looking between the both of them.
"Not so fast," she says.
"What?" Yuna replies, confused.
"Remember when the three of them were meeting in the Bevelle underground? All these pyreflies came floating out of Nooj's body in a big cloud. And then they went whooshing into Baralai's body!" she says, motioning with her hands to simulate the pyreflies. "So doesn't that mean Shuyin's using Baralai now?"
"Oh!" Paine exclaims, realization hitting her in the face. "Hey Rikku, not bad." Rikku just giggles in reply.
'I have to...no matter what, I have to go through with this. If I don't...if we don't, Spira's finished.'
"I guess it's Baralai we're saving, then," Paine continues, looking around. "By the way, you'll be helping."
"Why wouldn't we!" Yuna says, faking hurt.
"Yeah, you've already dragged us all over Spira!" Rikku adds.
"Wait...wasn't that me and Yuna?" I say cheekily, earning a swat from Rikku on the arm.
"Thank you," Paine says, the first true smile I've seen on her face in a while appearing.
"So, Lenna," I begin, turning to the younger girl, "are you up for this, too?"
"Why not," she replies, shaking her head. "Can't be anything worse than what I've already gotten into hanging around you guys."
"Aw, I never knew you cared," I say sarcastically, getting an eyeroll for my troubles.
"Leaving me out, I take it?"
Turning to the entrance to the cave, I see the figure of Drante Vego leaning against the wall, a long sword held in his right hand.
"The more, the merrier," Yuna says, smiling.
"You're coming too, I take it?" I ask, and Drante nods.
"If what I've learned is true, then you will need all the help you can get," he replies. I find myself nodding; for all of my knowledge of this world, I've yet to see Vegnagun in action. I'm not completely sure that I know what we're really going up against.
"Well then...good to have you with us," I say, before turning to Yuna. "Your call. Pick a destination, and we'll follow."
Yuna lowers her head, deep in thought about where we should go. Silently, I look around at the people I'm with, wondering if they feel the same way I do at this moment.
"Well...if we're going to stop Shuyin, we need to go to the Farplane. Nooj said to take care of things topside...and we have. Now it's time to help him out," Yuna says, and all of us nod.
"Well said, Lady Yuna," Drante comments.
"Alright, so it's decided. Just one problem. We know now that the holes in the temples lead to the Farplane. So which one do we take?" I ask Yuna, who scrunches her face in thought for a moment before looking up.
"Besaid Island," she responds, and I nod.
"Fitting. It started there two years ago, only fair that we end everything by going back there first," I reply, smiling.
"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go, Gullwings!" Yuna says, raising a fist into the air.
"Let's do it!" Rikku says, doing the same, before Yuna begins to lead all six of us back to the Celsius.
"You guys alright? You were gone a long time."
"Yeah, we're fine," Yuna says to Buddy, stepping into the bridge with all five of us in tow.
"Before we forget..." Shinra begins, turning to Buddy, "we made something for you."
"A special bonus for the Gullwings!" he says, walking over and handing each of us a dressphere.
"Go ahead, try it out," Shinra prompts, and I shrug, inserting the new dressphere in place of my Black Mage dressphere. Yuna and the others do the same, and the four of us nod to each other before spherechanging. When the light clears, the four of us stare at each other in shock. At least, I know I'm staring. I can't quite say for the other three.
"You've gotta be kidding me," I mutter, looking over myself. In place of my Warrior dressphere, I'm now garbed in what appears to be a Cactuar suit of some sort. Looking over at the others, I can see Yuna dressed as a Moogle, Rikku as Cait Sith, and Paine as a Tonberry. Apparently, they finally finished work on the Mascot dressphere.
"They look great on you!" Brother says. Behind me, I can hear Lenna snickering, and I believe even Drante is holding back a laugh.
"I...um, want one too," Shinra says after a moment. I would almost bet that he's snickering behind that helmet of his as well.
"Gosh, thanks," Yuna says, looking from Brother to Buddy, and then to Shinra.
"What the hell is this?" Paine asks, clearly annoyed.
"Hey, why not, right?" Rikku replies, shrugging.
"I'm with Paine on this one...but, I suppose if it works..." I add, shrugging as best I can. Quickly, I shift back into my Warrior dressphere, the others doing the same as I remove the Mascot dressphere, placing a new one into my Garment Grid. "Yuna, you want to explain the plan?"
"Plan?" Buddy asks, causing Yuna to nod.
"We're going to the Farplane. We're going to stop Vegnagun, for good," Yuna replies, face set with determination.
"How do you plan on getting there?" Shinra asks.
"Simple. We use the holes in the temples," Yuna explains, looking around. No one says anything for a moment, before Brother decides to break the silence.
"Made up your mind?" he asks, to which Yuna nods. "Where will you jump in?"
"Besaid Temple," she replies confidently.
"You're really going in?" he says, in slight disbelief.
"Yup."
"The time for invasion has come!" Brother shouts, moving to the front of the bridge and clenching a fist. "Sphere hunter team Gullwi...hm. Your friendly neigh...eh." After a moment of confusion, he looks over all of us. "What are we called now?"
"Does it really matter?" Shinra replies bluntly.
"Good point..." Brother says slowly, before making several elaborate gestures and motions. "Surging flapping neighboring Gullwings, attack!"
"Whoa, such passion!" Buddy exclaims.
"Seriously!" Rikku agrees.
"I'm so moved," Paine states flatly, walking over to a side of the room.
"At any rate, let's go!" Yuna says, cutting in.
"The Gullwings' last mission. Let's do it," Shinra says.
"Hey, hey, hey, none of this 'last mission' business, you hear?" Buddy says, walking over to the smaller Al Bhed.
"For me...it probably will be," Shinra replies, walking up to Yuna. Silently, he looks up at her for a moment, before wrapping his arms around her in a hug.
"Be careful," he says, and Yuna nods.
"I'll be fine," she tells him, smiling and turning to us.
"Save the huggy-huggies for your triumphant return! Yes!" Brother exclaims, and I nod.
"Never thought I'd say this, but I agree with Brother. Let's hit it!"
"It's time, Gullwings," Yuna prompts, and the four of us nod, clenching a fist in unison.
"Let's rock!"
"So, you're really going in there, huh?" Wakka asks Yuna, looking over at the girl. Wakka and Lulu saw us approaching, and came out to talk to us. I don't believe they expected to hear what we're telling them, though.
"Yeah, we're going," she replies. "If we don't..."
"Let's not think about that," I say, cutting in. "We'll be fine. Just watch over things here, would you?"
"Alright, brudda. You got it," Wakka replies, nodding.
"Be careful," Lulu says simply, her eyes moving from Yuna to myself and back again.
"We'll be fine, Lulu. Really!" Yuna says, grinning slightly.
"Let's get to it, then. We've got a job to do!" I say, prompting nods from everyone else. Yuna takes the lead, the five of us racing up the temple steps after the girl and into the temple itself. Inside the temple is deserted, a far cry from the populated place that it was not long ago. The doors to the Cloister of Trials are firmly shut, but it takes us mere moments to open them and advance into the trials.
The fiends that infested the trials a short while ago are no more, apparently diffusing once the aeon of the temple was beaten. Drante and Lenna look at the halls with wandering eyes as we run through, paying silent respects to the summoners who once passed through.
"Almost there!" Yuna says, pointing to the elevator platform that will take us to the Chamber of the Fayth.
"Good...the sooner, the better," I reply, stepping onto the platform with everyone else. A dull grind sounds for a moment as the platform begins to ascend, taking us up into the room where summoners once prayed to the fayth.
"Magnificent," Drante comments, looking around at the well-decorated room.
"Wish we had time to give you guys the grand tour," I say, grinning slightly.
"Perhaps you could do so after we've destroyed this monstrosity," Drante replies.
"No turning back now..." I mutter, turning back to the area in front of me. A few feet away lies the large hole that we saw before, an entrance to the realm of the dead itself.
"So, who wants to go first?" Paine asks, staring down into the pit.
"...I'll go first," Yuna says, after a moment of hesitation. With a deep breath, Yuna walks over to the edge of the pit before jumping in, vanishing entirely in a matter of moments. Rikku smiles at me before following Yuna down, and Paine follows suit a moment later. Lenna examines the pit for a second before diving down quickly, and Drante follows just after her.
"Endgame, Shuyin," I mutter, before leaping down into the dark hole.
Confusion.
That's all I can feel as I descend into the Farplane. Confusion as my body is turned in every direction imaginable, as swirls of color dash around me...and then, just as suddenly as it has come, it vanishes, leaving me standing next to Yuna and the others on a small, glowing path.
"Looks like we all made it," I say, more to myself than the others.
"Let's get moving," Paine says, turning to all of us.
"Paine's right," Yuna agrees, "we don't know how long we have to stop him."
"Then what are we waiting for? A written invitation and cookies? Come on!" Lenna exclaims, beginning to run down the shimmering path. Shaking my head, I follow along with everyone else, chasing after the smaller girl.
(Play FFX-2 theme Abyss of the Farplane)
The 'road' in the Farplane is long and winding, almost twisting back on itself at times. The few fiends that get in our way are no match for the six of us, and so movement is steady for the most part. I can see large platforms at certain places, but even though the paths may take us right next to them, we cannot get to them. Something here prevents us from stepping off the paths.
'This place gets on my nerves...'
"So, you've finally come."
'Yeah. You've got one last chance to stop. You don't have to do this, Shuyin. It's not worth it.'
"Isn't it? They caused my despair...our despair."
'But destroying the whole of Spira isn't the way! What would Lenne say if she saw you now?'
Shuyin doesn't answer, letting me know that I hit a nerve with that question.
"Uh...guys?" Rikku says nervously, pointing in front of all of us. We're finally approaching one of the platforms, and pyreflies are swirling around the center of it, almost as if they're waiting for something.
"This can't be good..." I say, drawing my sword while keeping my eyes on the pyreflies. Everyone tenses as the pyreflies begin to move faster, melding into a solid form at last. As the remnants of the pyreflies clear, the aeon of ice, Shiva, can be seen standing in front of us.
"Another one? Aw, man..." Rikku whines, grabbing her daggers.
"Hoped it was over, but no...when could things ever go my way..." I mutter, shaking my head and preparing for a fight.
(End FFX-2 theme Abyss of the Farplane; play Star Ocean 3 theme Cutting Edge of Notion)
Shiva makes the first move, a Blizzaga spell rocketing towards Drante, who swiftly grabs an orb from his pocket and dodges the spell, the orb morphing into a long sword as he moves.
"Fira!"
Lenna, apparently, has wasted no time in shifting to Black Mage and firing a spell at the aeon of ice. Shiva nimbly flips out of the way of the attack, landing in front of Rikku. Rikku gives a short cry, slashing across Shiva twice before jumping away. She's not fast enough to evade the subsequent Blizzara spell from the aeon, however, and tumbles to the ground.
"Flametongue!" I yell, dashing in and slashing upward with my sword. Shiva spins away from my attack...
"Mimic: Flametongue!"
...But not from Drante's, who comes in immediately after me, his sword enchanted with fire much like my own. His long sword cuts a gash across Shiva, the fire dealing even more damage to the frigid aeon.
"Burst Shot!" Yuna cries, firing a glowing round from her pistols that slams into Shiva, pushing her back from the force.
"Magic Break!" Paine yells, running in and cutting across Shiva's chest while she's still off balance from Yuna's attack. The aeon staggers back again, before beginning to gather energy into her hands. My eyes widen as I realize what she's about to do.
"Oh, no you don't!" I yell, spherechanging quickly. The light around me clears to reveal my new dressphere, which now covers me in black armor. Metal boots cover my legs nearly up to my knees, and a chest plate protects my body from the shoulders to the waist. Smaller pieces of armor cover my forearms, and a helmet of a sort with two small crests adorns my head. The sword of my Warrior dressphere has changed into a slightly curved blade, a deep black in color with a red handle. Quickly, I charge at Shiva, now dressed in my Dark Knight dressphere.
"Demi!" I yell, bringing a hand in front of me to cast the spell. Waves of dark energy crush Shiva, sapping away her energy, but it isn't enough to stop her attack. A torrent of icy energy erupts from her palms, freezing me in place along with everyone else and quickly encasing us in blocks of ice. Unable to move, we can only watch as Shiva snaps her fingers calmly, causing the ice to explode violently, cutting us up with a rain of icy shards.
Staggering a bit, I drop to a knee from the attack, noticing cuts and scratches all over the unprotected areas of my body. Ignoring them for now, I stand back up and prepare to engage Shiva again.
"Firaga!"
A spell from Yuna, now also in Black Mage, blasts into Shiva, throwing the icy aeon to the ground hard before I can attack.
"Fira!"
A second spell hits the aeon courtesy of Lenna, just for good measure. Paine charges in as the aeon stands up, sword held high above her head.
"Flametongue!"
Paine strikes down quickly with the sword, now wreathed in flames. The sword finds its mark, slashing into Shiva deeply as a burst of fire overtakes the aeon. As Paine steps back, the aeon falls to a knee, fading away into pyreflies slowly.
(End Star Ocean theme Cutting Edge of Notion; play FFX-2 theme Abyss of the Farplane)
"Everyone okay?" Yuna asks, looking around as we all spherechange back to our regular dresspheres. Everyone nods, signaling that they're fine, and Yuna motions for us to follow. Paine falls into step behind her, in front of the rest of us as we begin to follow. Apparently, she's just as eager to get this over with as the rest of us.
"Two aeons left," I whisper to myself, "and then we can finish this..."
Well, the ending has officially begun! Only a few more chapters to go before we wrap up the X-2 storyline...but what other plans do I have in store? (grin) As always, please review!