Well...it all boils down to this. The group has almost reached Vegnagun, and their confrontation with Shuyin. This chapter...is more of a breather. You could say, a moment to relax before everything turns into glorious chaos. So, without further ado...let's get this train rolling, shall we?
Chapter 30—Silent Reflection
The new part of the Farplane is quite different from the part we just went through. The paths are solid, feeling more like stone than the ethereal walkways we were on minutes ago. As I stare down the path, I can see gateways crackling with black energy as well. The path loops and curves around itself, but the main path requires us to go through those gateways.
"Looks like one doozy of a puzzle," I mutter, sighing. More tricks to slow us down, or perhaps frustrate anyone who might attempt to get to Vegnagun. I can't say for sure, really.
"Hey, look at this," Yuna says, examining something on the left side of the path. A small branching path sits there, with a circular symbol on the ground. Curious, we all walk over to it, looking at the symbol intently.
"What do you suppose it does?" Paine asks, causing me to turn to her.
"Let's find out," I say, stepping into the center of the symbol. Nothing happens for a moment, before musical notes chime through the air, three of them in all.
"What was that?" Rikku asks.
"Notes. Musical notes," I reply, stating the obvious with a small smile.
"I know that, but what are they for?" she says, rolling her eyes.
"Probably that," I respond, motioning towards a small keyboard sitting on a pedestal next to the first barrier. With a sigh, Lenna begins to walk over to the keyboard, glancing back at the rest of us.
"Let me handle this," she says, looking over the keyboard. After a moment of concentration, she plays the same three notes we just heard. The barrier in front of her shimmers brightly, before the dark energy fades out of existence, leaving an ordinary ring of metal behind that frames the path.
"Nice job," I tell her, causing her to shrug.
"I study music for a hobby. Nothing big, really," she replies.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get a move on!" Rikku exclaims, beginning to run up the path and through the ring of metal. The rest of us follow, continuing to run the twisting path. Though my body may be keeping pace with the rest easily, my mind is on other things.
'If Shuyin's simply a shadow...then it's not really him...just his feelings in a physical form. I never really gave it much thought before, but now it's making me wonder...do I really have this all figured out? I'm starting to get tired of feeling like I'm missing the last piece of the puzzle.'
"Another barrier," Paine comments, causing me to snap back into reality, nearly running into Yuna as she stops.
"Makes two," I mutter, staring off further down the path at another barrier. "And only one more after this."
Quickly, Yuna spots the second of the magical circles and steps into it, sending four musical notes chiming through the air this time. Lenna listens intently to the notes, then moves to the keyboard, repeating the tones. The air shimmers around the barrier, causing it to glow brightly for a moment before fading away like the one before it.
"That's two down, one to go!" Yuna says, nodding and running back to the rest of us.
"We're almost there," I say, as Yuna and I begin to lead the others to the third barrier. The walk this time is rather long, making me feel as though our time is ticking away dangerously fast. Finally, we reach the third barrier, but the path is perfectly straight, no splits along the path anywhere to house a symbol.
"Where could it be?" Rikku asks, and I begin to think, wracking my brain for the location of the final symbol.
"Well, it's not left or right, or behind us, so it can only be up," I mutter, glancing up to the sky, "or...down." Finishing my sentence, I walk to the edge of the path and look down, smiling a moment later as I see a smaller path below. Carefully, I leap down, seeing not one, but two symbols on the path. Stepping into the first one, several notes ring into the air, and I proceed to the second one, stepping into it as well. A few more notes sound, and I begin to make my way back to the upper level as the group moves towards the keyboard. Five notes sound out as I climb back up, and the barrier shines brightly before fading away in the same manner as the rest.
"I believe someone is there," Drante says as I approach, pointing farther down the path to a large platform. Squinting, I can see something sitting on the platform, but I can't make it out at this distance.
"Well, don't just stand there. Let's see what it is!" Lenna exclaims, dashing down the path. The five of us follow, and Rikku gasps in surprise as we get closer, recognizing the figure instantly.
"Gippal!"
It's the leader of the Machine Faction himself, kneeling down and clutching his stomach. A large weapon of some sort is lying on the platform beside him, and he looks at Rikku as she kneels down to check on him.
"I got...careless," he says softly, looking around at us.
"Are you all right?" Paine questions, and Gippal moans a little, before nodding.
"I could use...a nap," he says with a smile.
"Where's Nooj?" Yuna asks, looking down at Gippal.
"He went ahead."
"He must be trying to buy us some time," I murmur, my ears catching the sound of something behind us. Turning, I can spot the figures of Leblanc, Logos, and Ormi making their way towards us.
"Guess she couldn't stay away," Rikku comments, and I shrug.
"Well, Nooj is here. I figure she'd tear the thing apart herself to keep him safe if it came down to it," I say, chuckling.
"I never said where I would wait!" Leblanc protests loudly, frowning.
"Well, then please, take care of Gippal," Yuna says, causing Leblanc to direct a glare her way.
"You dare give me an order?"
"Look, we'll tell Nooj how you're waiting like a good girl and doing your part for the team," Paine cuts in, obviously tired of dealing with Leblanc's attitude.
"All right, I'm in," Leblanc says, after a moment of thought. Gippal manages to rise to his feet then, stepping over to Paine.
"Hey, Dr. P. A gift from Nooj," he says, handing her a sphere. Paine looks a little surprised at this, staring at the sphere silently. "It's from two years ago. Said it was inside the sphere camera."
"I'll watch it later," Paine finally says, starting to put the sphere away.
"Hey," Yuna interjects, causing Paine to stop, "You should watch it now. Think about it. You know you won't be able to fight your best as long as it's on your mind."
Paine remains silent, mulling over Yuna's words for a moment, eyes darting between Yuna and the sphere, before she gives in.
"You're right."
Clicking the sphere on with a simple motion, Paine holds it up as the sphere begins to play back events from two years past. The scene shows Nooj, Baralai, Gippal, and Paine on a boat, in the middle of an ocean somewhere.
"Whaddaya got in mind for fun? Any ideas, Dr. P?" Gippal asks, staring over at Paine, who is leaning against the railing of the ship.
"Me?" she asks, attention now seemingly diverted. "A ship that glides through the air. That thing you mentioned before. If it's for real, I wanna fly it."
"You get to be pilot, then," says Baralai, stepping closer to the two of them. "And maybe I'll try my hand at navigation."
"Then I'll be engineer!" Gippal says, smiling.
"Nooj?" Baralai prompts, turning to the older man.
"Captain," Paine says, not giving him a chance to answer.
"Ah, that's perfect," Baralai says, nodding.
"You'd let an amateur be captain?" Nooj says, a hint of amusement in his voice.
"Chill out, Noojster. All you gotta do is shut up and look important and you'll fit the part," Gippal says, a small smile creeping onto his face.
"Like a glove," Paine agrees.
"I'll work you like dogs," Nooj replies, a broad grin on his face, which sends all four of them into a round of laughter as the sphere turns off.
"What happened to that Paine, I wonder," Paine muses quietly.
"She's inside you, sleeping," Yuna responds, placing a hand on the shoulder of her friend.
"Well, wakey, wakey! Time to set sail!" Rikku chimes in.
"Your captain and your navigator are waiting!" Yuna adds, smiling.
"Incredible," I breathe, staring off into the distance at the enormous platform that holds Vegnagun. The platform seems the size of Luca Stadium from the distance I'm at, and I begin to wonder just how large Vegnagun really is.
"It is a marvel of technology, is it not?" Drante says, stepping up beside me.
"There aren't really words for it, Drante. Too bad we've gotta be the ones to take it apart, piece by painful piece," I say, slowly smiling. Drante chuckles a bit at my statement, turning to Yuna.
"Are you ready to go, Lady Yuna?" he asks, to which Yuna nods.
"I'm ready," she replies, and we all nod, beginning to walk to the next area.
Blinking, I stare out at the next area, or really, lack thereof. The entire place is just empty space, with at least a dozen floating platforms hanging in the nothingness. They make a seemingly straight path to the platform above, which is connected to the final stretch leading to Vegnagun.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Lenna exclaims, before jumping on the closest platform. The platform shakes for a moment, before taking off to the right, rising quickly and forcing Lenna to hang on to the platform to keep from being thrown off.
"Are you okay?" I shout up to her, and she gives a faint nod, hopping to the next platform. This one doesn't move, and the platform floats back down to us, leaving Lenna stranded up on the other platform.
"Guess it's not so simple," I hear Paine mutter, and I shrug, stepping onto the platform next. The platform rises up to the right, taking me up to the same platform that Lenna is perched upon. As I step off, the platform descends back to its previous position, allowing the others to follow, one at a time. While the others are catching up to us, I step on the next platform, which takes me up to a platform beside the main one. Hopping off of the platform quickly, I move from one to the next, ending up on the main path once again. Lenna follows a moment later, and the two of us wait for the others to catch up with us, before turning to a barrier that lies in front of us.
"And I thought we were done with them..." Lenna mutters, shaking her head.
"Expect the unexpected," I say, shrugging. "This one should be simple to solve." Stepping up to the center of the platform, I suddenly hear musical notes begin to ring through the air again. They continue, 12 in all, and I watch in silence as the barrier in front of us fades away to nothing.
"See? Simple!" I reply, chuckling. Lenna just rolls her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah...let's just get this over with."
"For once, I agree," I remark, stepping past the ring of metal.
"I got a hunch that once we go on ahead, there's no turning back," Rikku says, looking ahead at the large platform that conceals Vegnagun.
"A hunch?" Paine asks, glancing over at her friend.
"Yeah."
"That's it?" Yuna asks, giving Rikku a strange glance.
"A hunch it is, then," Paine says, shrugging.
"Then, let's not keep this ghost waiting any longer," I say, beginning to run ahead down the path.
As I noted above, this chapter is merely a small interlude before the final fight kicks off, so hope it's not a disappointment to all the readers. So, get ready for the final fight, and as always, please read and review!