Chapter 53 – As Light Bleeds to Dusk
Locked in a stare with Shuyin, Yuna felt as if all the muscles in her body contracted at the same time. From head to toe, she felt her body turn stiff. After all she had gone through, she stood within shouting distance of Shuyin. While the world around her froze and time seemed to slow to a halt, she scrutinized Shuyin's soul through the eyes of Baralai. Far behind the anger and determination laid a sense of guilt, perhaps even fear. Could there still be enough of who Shuyin was a thousand years ago to save him, wondered Yuna?
A glow began to sparkle around Yuna, snapping her out of her staredown with Shuyin. Looking down at herself, she found herself fitted in her songstress dress. A halo of blue engulfed the pyreflies swirling around her. The sound of a crystalline sparkle rang in her ears. Yuna felt dizzy, her sight and mind became hazed. Shaking her head, she reopened her eyes only to see Shuyin staring right in front of her. She could almost reach out and touch him. Taken by surprise, she stepped backward, gasping at his sudden appearance before her.
He followed by stepping forward, closing the small distance between them. Paine stammered to attack him but was stopped by Yuna's raised hand. She braced herself to guard her friend if necessary, but Shuyin did not attempt to strike her. His eyes conveyed nothing but a deep infatuation. He raised his hand to touch Yuna's cheek. Even though he held a menacing expression just moments before, he now was docile. He smiled at her.
"Shuyin," whispered Yuna.
His eyes scanned Yuna's body. "Lenne? Is that truly you, my love?"
Yuna bowed her head, her cheeks flush. "There's something I must tell you."
She squeezed her hands together firmly. A solemn tear formed in the corner of her blue eye. She shed a tear not for herself, but for Lenne. Just as she had before, she felt Lenne's soul enrapture her own. They became one in all forms of consciousness. After all this time, she truly had access to all of Lenne's self—her feelings, her emotions, and her heart.
Like looking into a mirror, she felt the same feelings of guilt, remorse, and disappointment as Shuyin did. Lenne's heart broke from dismay by Shuyin's horrible actions over the last thousand years. She knew, from the start, that all of this had occurred. How many hundreds of years did she live with this, Yuna couldn't tell. Yuna understood one thing, Lenne still forgave him. As wretched a creature as he became, she still forgave his sins. These were the words Shuyin needed to hear but knew he didn't deserve. A thousand years of pain bled from both of their hearts.
"I am grateful for you, Shuyin," Yuna finally continued, the long pause rattling her nerves to the brink. "You came for me even at the end. You stayed with me, and you loved me . . ."
"What does it matter?" he yelled suddenly, backing violently away from her. "I couldn't save you! Lenne, that's all I wanted to do. And I couldn't do it."
She spoke again, even as the tears poured from both their eyes. "I know. But to do this isn't right. It won't change the past."
He confessed, "I know, but what else could I do? As I wandered, I had nothing else to me but you, Lenne."
"Please, stop grieving now. You're not alone. We can rest together."
His eyes glowed, large and ready to fade from existence. He lifted in the air, leaving Baralai's body slumped to the ground. Paine ran over to take him away. Walking over to Yuna, he extended his hand, ready to embrace his lover. He started to brush his hand through Yuna's hair, then an abrupt expression of disbelief spread across his face. His eyes grew wide. Stammering to say a word, he took a step back from Yuna.
His disbelief quickly turned to anger. "No, this can't be. You are not Lenne!"
Yuna stretched out her hand. "Wait! Shuyin!"
He roared, "Get away from me! You aren't Lenne! Damn you for trying to trick me! How could have I been such a fool?"
His teeth clenched together, wrinkling his face into a form of pure fury. Lashing out, he bellowed at Yuna. He snapped himself around and faded from sight.
"I will let no one ever get in my way! I will destroy Spira!" echoed across the Farplant.
A squeal behind Yuna snapped her attention. When she looked behind her, Yuna spotted Paine lying on the ground, a trickle of blood seeping down her forehead. Both Yuna and Rikku rushed over to their friend, picking her off the ground. Wobbling as she rose, Paine grasped her head.
"What happened?" Rikku asked.
Paine continued to rub her head. "He took him again."
Yuna immediately searched around for Baralai's body. "No, Shuyin is controlling him again."
Much to her dismay, she spotted Baralai's body, again enraptured by Shuyin's spirit, climbing up onto Vegnagun.
"You imposture! Why would you try to trick me?" he yelled in accusation.
She sighed, closing her eyes. "Don't you understand? Can't you feel the pain in your soul? Have the centuries left you completely numb?"
"Numb? How could I ever be numb?" Shuyin declared, swinging his fist in the air wildly. "I've felt suffering and loss longer than anyone alive!"
"But is that all you feel? I saw more than that in your eyes."
He scoffed. "Saw? Saw what?"
"The guilt. It burns behind your anger," she answered.
"What do you know? How could you possibly comprehend the pain I feel? What it's like to wallow in the anguish of knowing your love is dead and gone from you forever?"
"More than you know," she stated firmly, a position which surprised Shuyin. "You see, I, too, have lost my love. Two years ago now. While two years may seem like nothing to your millennium. To me, it has felt like an eternity. I will never . . . never have him back."
"Then you of all people should understand my motivation," Shuyin said in a subdued tone.
"No I can't!" she shouted above him, "Don't you realize all the pain you've caused for others?"
"What do I care?" he retorted, pressing his hand into his chest. "They deserve it! They deserve to feel what I have felt."
"You're wrong!"
Shuyin's eyes diverted to the organ keys. "Then we will see."
Standing at the organ, he began playing a contorted melody filled with dark dissonance. From within the recesses of Vegnagun, its structure transformed. Yuna led Rikku and Paine up a tendril toward the weapon's head. Emerging from inside Vegnagun, a cylindrical black cannon extended upward. Streaks of neon blue lightning spiraled within, waiting to be unleashed. Four red lights on the lip of the cannon foretold the destruction caged inside. Vegnagun wrapped its legs around the spire it sat on, anchoring itself firmly.
Shuyin cackled insanely. "Spira deserves no less than to drown in its own destruction. It created this monster, and now it will reap what it has sown."
Yuna changed out of her songstress dress. "I'm going to climb up to Shuyin. Cover for me!"
One of the redoubts protection Vegnagun's head discharged a blast of arcane energy at Yuna. Pushing her out of the blast, Rikku endured the brunt of the blast, knocking her backward and onto the ground. Letting out a cry, Yuna raced over to her cousin, who lay whimpering.
"Rikku! Are you alright?"
Her cousin gave her a thumbs up. "Yeah, ouchie. I'll be okay. Just get to Shuyin."
Taking a position next to Rikku, Paine looked up at Yuna and nodded her head.
Clenching her hand into a fist, Yuna turned around to ascend Vegnagun's head. Launching a fiery explosion at Yuna, she lunged forward into a handspring to avoid the blast. She grabbed hold of the front plate of Vegnagun's face. Her foot slipped at first while she attempted to scale until she could find a safe foothold. The cacophonous music poured from the organ above. As she climbed upwards, the entire body of Vegnagun began to vibrate. Glancing back at the cannon protruding from its body, Yuna witnessed the energy building up.
Her muscles ached with each step higher. She could feel her energy fading from all the battles. Only by pushing her own body to the limit did she find the strength to pull herself higher. Her hand discovered one more groove within the plated fresh of Vegnagun, enough to lift herself to the top. Peeking over the crest, she saw Shuyin furiously crashing down upon the keys of the organ.
Pushing off with her left foot, she willed herself to the top. The volume of discordant music deafened Shuyin to her arrival. She placed one hand on the handle of her pistol, and with her other, she pulled out Lenne's sphere to hold.
"That's enough!" she yelled.
With a gasp, Shuyin stopped playing. His brows crossed as he stared into Yuna's eyes.
"I will show Spira the power of the demise they created," stated Shuyin, pointing to Yuna. "And you can't stop me."
Yuna shook her head. "I'm not trying to stop you. I'm trying to save you."
"You can't save me," replied Shuyin in a whisper.
Stepping closer to Shuyin, Yuna extended out her hand holding the sphere. "Not me. Lenne."
"What do you mean?"
"This is how I know about your past," Yuna answered. "She is in here."
Shuyin retracted himself. "No, that can't be!"
Yuna leaned forward, motioning for Shuyin to take the sphere. "See for yourself."
For a moment, he hesitated to move, his eyes completely fixated on the sphere in Yuna's hand. Leaving Baralai's body behind, Shuyin floated up to the sphere. She could see his face distort in the translucent orange glow of the sphere. Glancing behind her, Yuna noticed Paine and Rikku climbing up the head of Vegnagun. Yuna raised a finger to her lips to hush their speaking, then pointed over to Baralai's unconscious form slumped across the organ. The girls tiptoed around Shuyin's spirit and picked up Baralai's limp body.
Peering at Shuyin, Yuna said, "She is in there, waiting to share her feelings with you."
"Lenne, after so many years. I've missed you so much," whispered Shuyin, his fingertips hovering around the sphere
As Paine and Rikku painstakingly climbed down the head with Baralai's body, Yuna noticed Shuyin spot their theft. His fingers formed fists, and he stood up tall. She could hear a soft growl emit from him as his eyes bludged in wrath.
"No, you tricked me! Lenne isn't in here!" he screamed.
Yuna extended her hand holding the sphere out again toward Shuyin. "Wait! She is—"
Before Yuna could finish her words, Shuyin swatted the sphere in her hand, sending it flying out of her hand. The dressphere landed far behind her, leaving a golden light trail behind before rolling off the edge. Spinning herself around, Yuna shrieked as she started to chase after the sphere. Darting up to the edge where the sphere fell from, she spotted it on the platform below. Paine and Rikku had just climbed down with Baralai's body. She called for her friends, but her words were drowned out by a blast of organ music.
Turning around, Yuna witnessed Shuyin's spirit hammering the keys of the organ. His expression portrayed pure rage, and his eyes displayed unforgivable betrayal. Although Yuna did not understand how his spectral form manifested itself enough to move the keys physically. Unhallowed, dissonant music shrieked from the organ. The whole of Vegnagun trembled. Streaks of blue and white lightning again filled the cannon jutting out of its enormous form. Gasping for air, Yuna ran toward the organ. She lost her balance from the extreme tremors surging across Vegnagun.
A ball of white-hot energy formed at the lip of the cannon. Fearing she would be too late if she darted for the organ, Yuna pulled out her pistols. For her sake, and the sake of everyone in Spira, she prayed she was making the right choice. Quieting her mind, she heard the voice of her father—be strong, Yuna! Extending out both of her arms, she fired her pistols into the organ. Upon the impact of each bullet, purple sparks flew out. The music faltered before the organ stopped responding to Shuyin's command. Looking up at the cannon, Yuna saw the energy ball dissipate before retreating down into the barrel.
A chain of explosions detonated out of Vegnagun's body, shattering the spire the weapon was situated on. Collapsing to the ground, Yuna felt the machina start to topple over. The entire Farplane seemed to tremble from the ruined weapon's dying tremors. Nearly losing her balance, Yuna leaped off the head onto the remnants of the platform below. Quickly she darted her eyes around, seeing neither Rikku and Paine nor the songstress dressphere.
Hopping down the line of floating platforms, she sprinted to distance herself from Vegnagun. She nearly lost her balance from the vibrations quaking the road. Looking behind her, Yuna witnessed Shuyin standing atop the head. For a moment, he tried to control the weapon with the organ. No music emanated from it. Shuyin resigned himself to his fate, meeting Yuna's eyes one last time. Vegnagun slipped into the abyss of the Farplane.
Silence—no more dissonate music, no more explosions, and no more hateful words filled the Farplane. The shaking stopped and calm returned. She stood in place, staring at where Vegnagun stood just minutes ago.
"Is it finally over?" she asked herself.
After a long, solitary walk, she returned to the fields of flowers. She searched the entire glen for her friends but found no signs of anyone, not even Leblanc, Nooj, or Gippal. It was not the first time she roamed here alone. Yuna watched the celestial pyreflies float aimlessly around her. She closed her eyes, holding both her hands against her chest. Inhaling a deep breath, she placed two fingers in her mouth and belted out a loud whistle. Echoing throughout the glen, she held her breath, awaiting a long-desired reply. Only the far distant rushing of waterfalls returned a sound. Again she whistled, longer this time.
Running from one end to the other, she held out hope that she would hear an answer to her whistle. One last time, at the edge of the glen, she blew out a whistle. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she slumped to the ground.
"Hey, Yunie!" called a voice from behind.
Behind her came running Rikku with Paine following close behind. Yuna quickly wiped away the tears from her face. Dashing across the flower fields, Rikku dove on her cousin, embracing her tightly.
"Thank goodness we found you!" Rikku declared.
Paine stood with a wide smile on her face. "You did it, Yuna. You stopped Shuyin."
Pushing aside her personal anguish, Yuna looked up at Paine and nodded. With a faint smile, she hugged Rikku.
"How is everyone else?" Yuna asked.
"They're fine. Leblanc had taken Nooj and Gippal away earlier. We left with Baralai's body as soon as we got him down from Vegnagun," Paine answered.
Rikku nodded. "I'm glad we did. I didn't know you'd be shooting off Vegnagun fireworks!"
"I didn't know that would happen either," giggle Yuna.
"Let's go home," said Rikku. "We've earned a break!"
Paine chuckled. "I'll say we have. No more sphere hunting for a while."
"I think the guys are going to speak to Spira as a whole. Give a big speech in Luca maybe. They want to mend the division. Isn't that great?"
Yuna looked down at the ground. "Oh, of course. It's time for everyone to come together."
Paine helped Yuna to her feet. The three friends walked back to the portal leading out of the Farplane. Giving each other a high five, Rikku and Paine jumped through. For Yuna, she felt she had not accomplished any of her missions. An emptiness crept inside of her.
She paused, taking one last look at the glen. "Goodbye, Tidus."