Chapter 51 – To the End of the Road
Yuna peeked open her blue eye. Lying on her back still, she glanced up at the sky. Colored peach and pink, the sky appeared like a painted morning picture, although she could never tell whether it was morning, afternoon, or night at any point in time in the Farplane. Instead of stars twinkling overhead, pyreflies dotted the sky above. Their soft, golden hue comforted Yuna, who pondered what memories and emotions they carried within their mysterious form.
Looking to either side of her, she noticed Rikku and Paine sleeping soundly. Knowing how much Rikku loved her sleep, Yuna giggled at the noisy sound of Rikku snoring. For a moment, she watched the peaceful slumber of her friends. Quietly she rose from the ground and brushed off the blades of grass stuck to her clothing. Softly on her tip-toes, Yuna inched away, careful not to disturb her slumbering friends.
With no fiends in sight, Yuna felt free to wander at her discretion. The rushing waterfalls caught her ear, and she walked towards the sound. The field of flowers seemed to span endlessly across the Farplane. The sweet perfume of their scent filled her nose. Approaching the cascade of waterfalls, Yuna recognized this area as the place where she encounter Shuyin after she fell down the hole in Djose Temple. No fog shrouded her surroundings this time. Far in the distance, she spotted something strange sticking out of the ground. Approaching what looked like a staff of some sort, Yuna didn't remember any object like this the first time she fell here. Fastened on top of the staff waved a white and pink flag with a big heart in the middle.
Tied around the base of the staff was a piece of paper. Yuna united the paper from the staff and opened it up to read. Her eyes grew wide and she jogged back to where Rikku and Paine slept. Rikku had rolled over, draping her arm over Paine's face. Her clamorous snoring began to wake up Paine, who swatted her hand away.
"Good morning, Paine," Yuna greeted while waving her hand.
"Huh?," said Paine while rubbing her eyes, "You're already up?"
Yuna knelt down beside her. "Yep, I went for a walk."
Rikku slumped back over to her other side, mumbling something about lightning and Gippal. The girls thought it was cute how she sometimes would talk about Gippal in her sleep. They knew after her rendezvous with Gippal that she had a serious crush on him.
"I wonder if they've kissed yet?" blurted out Paine.
Yuna blushed. "Don't say such a thing!"
"Hey, it's only natural, right? She's a big kid now." Paine laughed heartily, poking Rikku in the forehead.
Sputtering with her lips, Rikku stirred, and she opened up one of her eyes. "Uh, hey guys. Is it morning already?"
"I guess it is whatever passes for morning in the Farplane," Yuna answered.
Paine smirked. "You'll have to leave Gippal behind in the dream world."
Rikku began to lull back into sleep before she exclaimed, "Hey! Um, what did I say about him?"
Paine and Yuna looked at each other, laughing uncontrollably. Rikku sat up and threw a tuft of grass at Paine. In retort, Paine pinched her check, commenting on how sweet it was that Rikku had a boyfriend. Yuna continued to giggle at the teasing between her two friends until the cringle of paper reminded her of why she woke them up.
"Oh, I found out Leblanc has already been here!" declared Yuna, holding up the paper.
Both girls immediately stopped their tussle and looked over at Yuna. Clearing her throat, Yuna read the letter out loud to them both. Leblanc apologized for her impatience, but she and her goons went ahead to try to track down Gippal and Nooj before they encountered Vagnagun. YRP would be the cavalry. She hoped their combined prowess would be enough to defeat the weapon. She ended the letter by warning that the road ahead looked perilous and to be safe until they found each other.
Leading them back to the staff marker Leblanc left for them, Rikku pointed out a portal nearby. A human-sized whirling orange cloud hovered above the ground. In the middle of it was a slip of blackness.
The portal widened, stretching itself out when Rikku walked up to it. "This is our ticket to Vegnagun."
"Well, what are you waiting for?" asked Paine.
"Uh, you're the tough one. You always go first!" retorted Rikku.
Paine rolled her eyes. "You love sending me to my death first, don't you?"
Rikku used her finger to pull down her eye while sticking her tongue out at Paine." You know it! If anything is on the other side to eat us, you'd be the tastiest."
While not very appreciated, Paine elected to go first anyway and stepped through the fissure. Rikku twitched like mad before the portal. Closing her eyes, she swallowed hard and braved the void. Picking up her foot, she stepped in. With a flash, she vanished, leaving only Yuna to make the leap.
She breathed in and let out a long burst of air. Before she was ready to step through, she caught a faint call of a whistle. She searched around curiously as to where it emanated from. Again, she heard echoing throughout the Farplane, echoing of a familiar whistle. It was the same as before, the whistle she so desperately held in her faintest of memories. Spinning her body around, Yuna sought to find where it came from. To the edges of the flower fields, she ran, urgently looking for her love. She cared not about his form, just that he was here. Turning back around, in front of her stood Bahamut's fayth. He looked up at Yuna, his demeanor was sulky and melancholy. Startled by his sudden appearance, she hesitated to approach him.
"I'm glad to see you've made it this far, Summoner Yuna," he spoke in a hushed tone.
She nodded to him, but the thought of Tidus still loomed in the back of her mind, "Yes, I'm—"
"I am sorry," he said abruptly, cutting off Yuna. "We, the Fayth, weren't able to stop the monsters lurking around us. Neither Maester Kinoc nor Shuyin. Instead, we became that which we feared most. Forgive us, please."
She knelt down to him. "You've done nothing wrong. We've all been wronged by them. But, please tell me one thing. What is Shuyin?"
Bahamut replied, "He is a mere shadow of himself. Although he may appear alive, he has been dead for a long time. His soul roams, filled with hate and vengeance. It became so strong, that it manifested into a shade. A shade that only seeks revenge."
"A shadow? He's unsent?"
Bahamut shook his head. "Just a shadow. It may look like him, but the real Shuyin died long ago. Even after a thousand years, his hate and misery linger on. His feelings grew so strong, they began to act on their own . . . eventually, they became a shadow—a shade that wants only to vanish, but cannot."
Yuna gasped, putting her hand up to her mouth. "Then how much of the real Shuyin is still left? Is the man Lenne loves still there?"
"I cannot say," Bahamut said, his eyes lowering to the ground. "He is a machination of deep-rooted hatred imprinted in pyreflies. I don't know what of him is left."
Clutching her hands over her heart, Yuna's entire body felt like it could cave in. She swallowed hard in a feeble attempt to push aside the tightness wrenching in her chest. Striving to do for Lenne that which she couldn't do for herself, the thought of Shuyin being beyond reach tore at her heart.
Gripping her fists together at her side, Yuna breathed heavily. "I can defeat a shadow. I must!"
"Can you?" the fayth questioned.
She nodded, confident that she could heal the deep wounds of an ancient torment. If she could come to terms with Lenne's endless pain, then she could do the same for Shuyin. Not only for her sake, and not only for the sake of Spira, but for Lenne's sake as well. Through the trials, and the torment, she had come to embrace Lenne. She, as well as herself, deserved better than to live eternally with a broken heart.
"Do you want to see him?" asked the Fayth out of the blue.
Yuna stammered, "Who?"
"You've heard the whistle, haven't you?"
"Yes . . ." she whispered, her head nodding ever so slightly.
"Then we will try to bring him back."
"Can that be done? I was told by another fayth that it was impossible."
The Fayth shook his head profusely. "No, not impossible. He, unfortunately, was enslaved by the darkness and used as a pawn. I don't know if we can do it, but we will try."
Yuna's face lit up brightly. "Thank you."
With those parting words, she went through the void. On the other side was a world even more puzzling and abstract than the Farplane she knew from seconds before. It looked like a gigantic trap, all laid out for their arrival.
"It's about time you showed up," Paine joked. "We started to think you bailed on us."
"She would never!" Rikku jabbed Paine in the arm.
"I'll see this through to the end," Yuna stated, her hands firmly gripped together.
Paine looked at the winding maze ahead. "I just wonder if the rest of them made it through all this."
Rikku shrugged. "Only one way to find out."
"She's right," said Yuna. "We have to believe that they'll be waiting for us."
The girls marched forward side by side. With posture straight and tall, Yuna projected confidence. Still lodged in the back of her mind lingered the tiny, glimmering hope that she could have Tidus back again. Casting her selfish desire aside, she focused on the task at hand—eliminating Vegnagun. Whatever the outcome may be, she set herself on the path to reuniting Lenne with Shuyin.
Not far from their path a triad of black, bubbly fiends hovered in the sky. Swirls of magical light surrounded them, revealing their elemental properties. Rikku and Paine instantly choked on their breath.
Paine cleared her throat. "Didn't we fight something like this in Bevelle?"
"Yeah I think so," replied Rikku while wiping her nose. "I hate these things!"
Not to be daunted by the fiends, Yuna held her breath and immediately pulled her pistols. She fired a volley at the one in the center, disintegrating into pyreflies. Rikku and Paine, who had just reminded themselves of the terrible time they had with one, dropped their jaws at their friend's fearless display.
Yuna smirked. "What? Don't just stand there."
Snapping out of their trance, they nodded with a sharp smile and darted for the other two elementals. Rikku leaped up high, twisting in the air as she slashed at the fiend. Running underneath the fiend, Paine swung up with her mighty sword. Their combined effort reduced the fiend to nothing in an instant. The remaining elemental shot a bolt of arcane energy straight at Rikku, who cleanly backflipped out of harm's way. Yuna lined up a shot at the same time Paine unleashed a blast of energy from her sword.
Dusting themselves off, the girls triumphantly continued, having defeated the elementals without breaking a sweat. Then they came across a challenge of a different kind. On their level, Yuna glanced up, seeing the continuation of their path above them, reaching high above them. At the edge of the road, they couldn't go ahead, so they would have to go up. A number of small platforms dotted the air up to where they needed to go. Beside them was a mechanical device with long, rectangular keys built into it.
Underneath each key was a progression of syllables: Do, Re Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do✭, Re✭, Mi✭
Rikku pressed a key, which unleashed the sound of a musical note. Paine rubbed her chin as she curiously gazed over the screen.
She looked over at her friends. "Well, this is different. Does anybody here play music? I'm more of a drummer at heart."
"Aw, I got this!" belted Rikku, as she twiddled her hands in the air like a guitar.
Yuna laughed. "I know some from singing. They taught me at the temple."
As she started to explain, the notes at the top must have something to do with getting up to the road above. A musical puzzle of sorts, the other smaller platforms must be the key, or keys rather. If they play them in the right order then they should be able to proceed. Rikku and Paine looked at each other and agreed.
"So how do we know what notes to play?" asked Paine.
Yuna folded her arms together. "I dunno. Let me take a closer look."
Paine shrugged while stepping aside to allow Yuna to step onto a platform. It floated up to a larger, stationary platform. There were two other platforms beside it. Choosing one on a whim, Yuna leaped over to the lower one. Standing there for a moment, nothing happened. Turning to look down at Rikku, she got a shrug in reply. Telling her to try the other one, Yuna complied and hopped over. This time, two notes played. Rikku, with her ear outstretched, gave her the thumbs up. The first notes lit up, and two glowing notes appeared.
"Come back down," said Rikku, waving to her cousin.
"You know, I doubt we can stand here all day. But don't worry, I have this little tune memorized in my head." she smiled, pointing to her temple.
"Are you sure, Yunie?"
Yuna flashed her a big grin. "Trust me, Rikku!"
Having almost complete faith in her cousin, Paine and Rikku jumped to the other side of the platforms. After a while of checking and rechecking, they completed almost all of the puzzle. Paine panted from all the exercise she had gotten.
"Man, this sucks," she complained while sucking air. "I'd rather fright fiends."
Rikku patted her on the back. "It's not that bad. This will keep you in shape!"
Cracking a smile, Paine asked Yuna what was left. Putting her finger to her lips, she thought hard to remember the entire tune. Nodding to herself a few times, Yuna eventually hammered out everything inside her head. They were almost done, just one more note to go. Yuna made the last hop over to the platform hovering right below where they needed to go. On her tiptoes, she peered up over the edge. Looming a little beyond the path stood a giant arch, illuminated with a pale teal glow. Wondering what it was, she stepped into the center of the platform she stood on, and the final note sounded.
"That should be it!" exclaimed Yuna.
Paine was less celebratory. "That should?"
As Yuna observed before, a metal arch loomed in front of them, still with a menacing dull glow. Focused on what lie up ahead, Yuna stepped forward. As she brazenly crossed the arch, the pale light burst into shimmering brightness, and a flagrant noise rang around them. With a sudden gasp, Yuna jumped backward, bumping into Rikku and Paine. From thin air, an enormous beast formed in front of her.
Bearing a stark resemblance to the Omega Weapon Yuna and Rikku faced in the Omega Ruins two years ago, the fiend snarled at them, as if it was guarding Vegnagun against them. The girls instantly gripped their weapons. With a screech, it reared its entire upper body back and catapulted a giant blast at the girls. All three girls dove out of the way, avoiding the crashing impact of the blast. Staring at the charred ground before her, Yuna started thinking this wasn't any imitation.
Picking herself off of the ground, Yuna fired off a barrage of pin-point shots at the fiend's legs and arms. Even with a full clip, it appeared that it didn't penetrate the fiend's tough exterior. Far from disabled, the fiend charged at the girls. Lashing out at Paine, its massive hand clenched her up from the ground. Squeezing tightly, she screeched as it compressed her body.
Rikku fumbled to get over to her. Yuna's hands shook in her hurry to reload her pistols. She lodged two special, blue bullets in the first two chambers. Clicking it back into place, she immediately aimed for the fiend's hand, firing two glimmering, blue bullets. A lusterless blue trail followed the bullets, striking precisely where she wanted them to be aimed. A cloud of steam and pyreflies blew out of the hole she put in its wrist. In a fit of rage, the fiend released Paine. Plummeting to the ground, her fall was broken by Rikku.
Angered to the point of seething fury, she growled at the fiend. "Hurt me? Now I'm pissed! Time to eat it all back!"
Pointing her sword to the sky, Paine began to glow a deep, dark purple. The fiend, apprehensive about her overaggressive posture, went to swipe at her with its gigantic claw. A large, roaring rumble bellow from above. A battery of gigantic meteorites fell from the sky. One by one, their impact crushed the fiend, smashing it into oblivion. When the final rock hurdled to the ground, nothing remained but pyreflies floating out of a smoldering crater.
Rikku did a diving hug on Paine. "Woo-hoo! Way to go, Paine!"
"Um, wow. That was great!" remarked Yuna, her hands still shaking from the vibrations of the crash.
Pointing her sword at the craters, she replied, "That was me mad. Don't ever make me mad."
Yuna laughed, although she got the message. With their obstacle out of the way, the only thing left to face was Vegnagun. While these little laughs relieved a modicum of anxiety, Yuna knew the fate of so many still loomed over them. In her heart, she knew the end was at hand. No matter how determined of a weapon Vegnagun could be, Yuna would face it head-on.
She led them ahead, not satisfied to stand around and dwell on the gravity of the situation. Down a long, winding path they walked. Some suspense built up in their hearts. Yuna could feel the knot in her stomach tightened as they proceeded farther and farther down. As they neared the end, it came into sight. Vegnagun, the monster they witnessed in Bevelle, and in the ancient images gathered by Shinra, rested against a towering spire.
It rose far taller than any building in Spira, even those in Bevelle. Rikku hid behind Yuna, as even from afar, the weapon stared with a terrifying glare. Its massive arms and legs sprawled out from its insect-like body. Yuna could hardly imagine that this machina was built over a millennium ago. In the far distance, approaching Vegnagun, Leblanc surveyed the area along with Ormi and Logos. Spotted by Paine, she yelled out to them, but they were too far away to hear.
"I don't know about you, but Leblanc cannot handle a weapon like this alone," she stated firmly.
Rikku shivered. "Are you sure we can?"
Yuna, staring right into the unlit eyes of the tyrant, inhaled deeply. Blowing it back out, she gripped Rikku's hand. Looking directly into her eyes, she smiled—confident and assuring.
"We can because we have to."
Next chapter: The final battle begins! After all this time, the girls come to fight the weapon that seeks to destroy Spira. From the bottom, they must work their way up to Shuyin. But they won't have to do it alone.