Disclaimer: Square-Enix Incorporated owns all copyrighted material this fanfiction may include. All other materials, such as characters, events, dialogue, et cetera, all belong to Zeshin-kun.
Author's Note: So, what's our goal? Oh yea, Shuyin's got his weapon and he's on his way back. Yu Yevon won't know what hit him! ... Or will he? We still don't know anything about this new Sin and Vegnagun is only a machina. Who will come out on top? A more powerful and feral version of the thing that terrorised Spira for generations or the monstrous machine that nearly blew it all up?
This chapter will feature what happened to the gang after Shuyin took off. Also, what that paper was that had Lenne's handwriting on it. Any of you pay attention to that one? It's a very important piece of paper. ^_~
*while reading Oblivia's review* (~.~;;)... (;;^.^)... (^~^) *giggle* You'll see. =p
Spira: The Eternal Discord
Chapter 45: The Consequences of Risk
Tidus
"Then, I went upstairs and he didn't follow. I thought it was weird that he still didn't come up after a while so I went down to check on him and he was gone." Rikku said.
She'd been telling us what happened up to the point where she found us. So far, the only thing I could make out of it was that Shuyin set up Zanarkand just to get us distracted. It looked that way, anyway. It was over an hour later and there was no sign of Sin popping up and Paine didn't even call us back yet. The only draw from that whole bring back Zanarkand plan was getting us all out of the way so he could run off. Of course, neither Yuna nor Rikku wanted to believe that. But, there was one thing all three of us agreed on.
"He's going for Vegnagun." Paine said when we boarded the airship.
It was only minutes after Rikku finished her story. Paine reported that there was seismic activity in D-North and on the outskirts of Bevelle. We rushed back to the entrance of Zanarkand, ready to board Cid's airship, but it turned out the old guy had other ideas. After we made that "landing" a la the first time I went to Bevelle, Cid took the damaged airship to clear civilians from the Calm Lands and surrounding areas near Zanarkand. As for us, he made a call to Brother and we had the good old Celsius back, completely repaired and ready to kick Sin all across Spira. It was actually from the Celsius' console that Paine got the readings about the tremors happening.
"Why would he?" Rikku asked, taking us back to the present and getting on with our discussion about Shuyin's plan.
"I thought Shuyin was done with using that awful machina." Yuna added.
"It's Vegnagun. We are dealing with the very same monster that terrorized Spira for one thousand years. He went back for his own terror, a weapon that could destroy a planet versus an equally devastating force." Paine suggested to us.
"But Vegnagun's no match for Sin." I responded cynically.
There was no way any machina could match up to Sin. Sin was designed to destroy machina, after all. The whole point to Sin was that Yu Yevon thought people abused machina so it was going to destroy any that got too powerful. Vegnagun is the epitome of powerful machina. Head to head, Sin would make a beeline for it and turn it into scrap metal.
"I don't think it's about being a match." She said, her voice monotonous like she was thinking it through while saying it, "He's looking for a way inside."
"What do you think he's going to do, Paine?" Yuna asked.
"Oh, Yunie, I think I should give this to you." Rikku interjected.
"What is it?" Yuna enquired when Rikku handed over an old piece of paper.
"I don't know, but Shuyin said it was in Lenne's handwriting. For a while, I kept thinking this was why he left."
Yuna looked over the paper before replying with, "I'm going to need some time to study it."
"It might be important." Rikku insisted, "Something tells me Shuyin planned to use it against Yu Yevon."
"Okay, Rikku, I'll get on this right now, but we should head for Bevelle if Shuyin's trying to get Vegnagun again." Yuna told her, heading off to the cabin with the paper.
"Got it, Yunie. Set a course for the Bevelle Temple!" The eager girl chirped, patting Brother on the shoulder.
"Rogerrrr! Setting now the courses for getting to Bevelle!"
"Well, now that that's settled, I really don't know what he's going to do." Paine admitted.
"Yea, you do." I said, "You know exactly what a guy like Shuyin would do. He's going to fire that thing at Sin and get himself killed when it doesn't work."
"You don't know that."
"No, I don't know what would happen, but I can take a guess and you made the same one. Shuyin's gonna go in guns blazing only to find out Yu Yevon was waiting for him to do that and then Sin's gonna do what it was meant for and that's destroying machina."
Rikku slipped in between us, "Are you two honestly underestimating him? I think we've seen enough of him to know he doesn't go in "guns blazing", silly head."
I sighed, "This isn't just any enemy now, Rikku. This is the guy that screwed him over way back and Shuyin already told us what happened that night, remember? He underestimated Yu Yevon. He just might do that again."
"I have to agree with him. Shuyin's not himself around his past. It's a scar. Those things don't leave you, even if you start being a manipulative bastard to everything else." Paine added to my theory.
"Guys, what would come out of him screwing up now? Besides, Vegnagun isn't just any machina. It could destroy the whole of Spira for crying out loud!" Rikku continued arguing.
"Only if you shoot the core." Paine corrected.
"And that was the core. We're not talking about a planet core this time, Rikku. Planet cores don't shoot back. We knew really well what Sin's capable of and that was a regular Sin. Remember what it almost did to us on the airship?" I suggested.
"This time, Sin's attack power is going to be worse tenfold." Paine grumbled, clenching a fist.
"Are we sure we know what we're getting into? We didn't really come up with a plan yet." I said in realization.
We really hadn't. So far, our plan was Shuyin bringing back Zanarkand so we knew where it would be and that already fell through because Shuyin really just wanted us out of the way so he could get his precious machina weapon. We didn't have any idea on what to do about Sin once it appeared. Last time, we just went in and nearly died. When it saw us getting closer, it immediately went for Tera Graviton, the attack I was reminding Rikku about. It was able to use a weaker Giga Graviton on us when we were up close and that took out whatever was left of the airship's weapons and almost knocked out its propulsion. This time, Sin was going to have much more than that in store. We needed a plan and fast.
"I guess all we really can do is try our best. Maybe try to dodge that Tera Graviton thing. That one was rough." Rikku said.
"Now there's a well-thought plan." Paine's sarcasm could cut steel.
"What else can we do? We don't even know what this Sin is capable of. All we have on it is that it's stronger."
"The problem is how much stronger, isn't it?" I mumbled, getting lost in my own thoughts.
The Sin we fought before was geared specifically to keep Spira's people stunted. It took out any advancement in technology. Bevelle's Yevon made it a crime to develop machina and set up the way to keep the cycle going by having a summoner use a Final Aeon on it. There were quite a few things wrong with our approach if we were going by "stronger". First, this Sin was made to take out the planet. No more kid gloves. That probably meant that, even with a Final Aeon, Sin wouldn't be beaten. Yevon and that whole period of time was just about dealing with machina and keeping the people under control, which was why the Al Bhed were shunned. This Sin and what Yu Yevon had in mind really didn't need any of Spira's people under control. Really, Yu Yevon was just going all out to blow it up so it didn't matter what the people were doing. Our thinking needed to change. I was sure we couldn't just hit it a few times and punch a hole into it this time. It wouldn't let us get that close. Yu Yevon would probably have remembered that getting inside Sin was how we managed to take it out. Although, at the same time, we didn't even have Aeons to sacrifice anymore. There weren't any left on Spira. Also, Yu Yevon wasn't just some mindless parasite, either. This time, he was himself, a fully aware and definitely strong unsent. He wouldn't have to fall for the same tricks like he did last time, being herded into the Aeons until there was nothing left, leaving him vulnerable.
"We-" I started to say.
"We can't think about this battle like the last time." Rikku interrupted, finishing what I was going to say for me.
"Right! I was just about to say th-"
"Good thing I've never dealt with it before. By the looks of what it used to be, I'd say we should take out the outer defences first." Paine suggested, also cutting me off.
"Been there, done that." I finally got out, "That's how we breached it last time. We took out the barrier protecting it by attacking the nodes over the fins, then we hit it hard and took out a sinspawn on its head that protected it. After that, we were able to blow open a hole and fly the whole airship inside."
"I stand corrected."
"Dr. P skipping out on a sarcasm moment? The world really is coming to an end!" Rikku joked, kneeling next to Paine.
"Minus-"
Rikku quickly put a finger up to her mouth and cut her off, "You know, you think it would help if we tried thinking about how it was like back then?"
"You mean the first Sin?" I asked her.
"No, I mean the people. Maybe the key to beating it isn't to beat Sin, but to beat Yu Yevon. If we could figure out just why he went all nuts and wanted to strip the world of its machina, maybe that will tell us how to beat him!"
"You're talking about relating the past to our present. There's no way to do that. I mean, besides Shuyin and this guy." Paine retorted, waving over at me.
Actually, what Rikku was saying started to make sense to me. From what I've been seeing, there were, at least, a few similarities we could draw from the two lifetimes. If we went by Shuyin and I being linked, then Yuna would match up with Lenne since they're both summoners and Shuyin kept mixing up Rikku with his Kirin so that would be that link.
"You know, Rikku might be onto something here."
"Except, Shuyin and I talked this part through. Shuyin's not him. I mean, even right now he's going after a machina and not sticking by his sword and who do we know who did that?" Rikku explained, looking at me when she finished.
"You mean, he's related to Chappu?"
Rikku would elabourate, "Part of him, at least. The thing he said about it was since he was never sent, only parts of him ever got recycled like the part where he went after Vegnagun and left his sword. That's just what Chappu did when he went to be a Crusader and left Brotherhood behind!"
"But didn't we always think he and I were the same?" I asked, confused, "I mean, I still am a dream of the fayth they made from him, aren't I?"
"Well, yea, I didn't really get that part when he was saying it, but it's as if the parts of him that did get to the Farplane when he died ended up mixing with Chappu and Chappu repeated history. Then, the fayth made you to fix that mistake so history wouldn't just repeat and it really didn't! What I'm saying is that maybe if we think about what they did wrong back then that let Yu Yevon win, we can stop that from happening again and beat him."
"Wow, that's fairly deep for you, isn't it, Rikku?" Paine finally chimed in, "Alright, then Shuyin and this guy, Yuna probably fits with Lenne, you're obviously Kirin, so what about the rest of it?"
"Wakka and Lulu have to be Rothel and Larea. Rothel was their team captain just like Wakka was the Aurochs and he loves Lulu just like Rothel and Larea were in love." Rikku suggested.
"But those two aren't in this. Lulu still needs to rest." I said.
"Just like how Larea ended up not being part of what was happening in the end."
"This theory is just a little too funky." I admitted, scratching the back of my head.
"You know, I think you just took it one too far. The part about figuring out what they did wrong and what we can do right sounds good. So, what did they do wrong to make the Age of Sin happen?" Paine said.
"The Machina War?" Rikku guessed.
"Makes sense." Paine returned, taking a moment to consider it.
After a while, with none of us coming up with anything good, Paine came in again, "Shuyin's awfully alone all the time, isn't he? Maybe that's what they did wrong. They weren't a strong unit."
"It does sound like that." Rikku gasped.
"He did like Chappu and went after a machina that ended up getting him killed. Lenne was killed with him and after that, Sin popped up, right? Well, we're all in it together this time. Does it really make a difference? That big of a difference?" I asked.
"Well, it wasn't as neat as that. Shuyin told me he was really out of it when he got to Vegnagun that night. All of his friends were killed when Bevelle attacked the stadium."
"So they were together and that just got them blown to bits? Wow, that's reassuring now that we're all together on this airship." Paine stated in conjecture.
"No, that's not what we're supposed to take from that." I slowly said, thinking back to everything that happened, "His spirit was broken. All of his pals gone in a flash? That's gotta take it out of you. Think about the enemies we had so far. Seymour? Areth? Evil shadowy Dark Shuyin? These guys were all there to mess with us, break out team up, make us lose hope? I'm willing to bet that's Yu Yevon's ploy. He wants us to be down so we won't put up a good fight."
"Smart thinking."
"Yea, that's a great idea!" Rikku chirped, "Okay, so then we just have to keep our spirits high!"
"Easier said than done." Paine replied, "We're still sitting ducks on this airship. What's stopping Sin from killing us off and leaving Shuyin broken again?"
"That's not gonna happen." I said.
"And you saying that's gonna make it so?"
"That's right."
"Fa'na tuusat."
"No we're not! We-" Rikku was about to say.
"He wants me to kill Yu Yevon!" Yuna suddenly shouted, coming back from the back and running towards us with that paper.
"Well, duh." Paine noted.
"No, I don't just mean defeat him and send him to the Farplane. I mean permanently! He wants me to take away his existence!" Yuna clarified.
All three of us gasped. Brother and Buddy were shocked by the announcement, too, since the entire Celsius suddenly jerked to the left. We were all caught by surprise with what Yuna said.
"No, that doesn't make any sense." I finally voiced, breaking the silence.
"That's what the Breaking is. Lenne figured out a way to destroy the composition of pyreflies. They completely shatter and the person's memory is lost forever." She explained.
"How? How could there be magic to do that?" Paine asked.
"It isn't really a spell. It's similar to how the Sending works. It's a manipulation technique. The Sending guides the pyreflies to leaving their bodies and moving on to the Farplane. The Breaking coerces them to shake until the energy inside them is excited too much and ruptures the skin. I think Lenne described the energy as what actually holds the memories in place. Once that's released, it will be scattered into the atmosphere and the memory won't be sustainable."
"But how do you know Shuyin wants you to do that?" Rikku interjected, running over to her cousin and kneeling in front of her and cupping her hands in her own, "I'm the one that gave you the paper, remember?"
Yuna nodded at the girl, "Yes, Rikku, you gave it to me, after Shuyin gave it back to you."
Seeing how we were all confused, she flipped the paper in her hand over and placed it directly under the light. At first, none of us saw anything, but Yuna kept it there. Suddenly, a pyrefly shot out of it and whizzed about us. The moment it passed into us, we knew what Yuna had seen. Shuyin had given her the instruction to use it on Yu Yevon when the time came. He wanted to eliminate the threat once and for all and what better way would there be than to destroy the very stuff that made him?
"So he knew what that was when I showed it to him." Rikku whispered.
"He probably thought it was our lucky day. I don't think he knew anything about it until you showed it to him." Yuna said to comfort her.
"So is he really going after Vegnagun?" Paine asked, walking over to Brother.
My eyes trailed after her, eventually seeing out into the HUD, which led me to say, "Oh yea, he's really going for it."
"What makes you say that?" Paine asked.
Rikku eventually saw, herself, and stood up in a daze, pointing it out. Outside, just a short distance from the Celsius, there was a black object flying in the sky. It had spider-like legs, coiled up into its chest and large moth wings that were made of a black energy. As it flew, its tail wavered in the air, tapping against an invisible force shield, which was the only way I even knew it was there.
The com abruptly came on and Shuyin's voice came through, "What's our goal?"
"This is it…" I uttered.
"But is it victory?" Paine added.
Translations from Al Bhed:
"Fa'na tuusat." – "We're doomed."
Author's Note: Will they win? How can they defeat Sin this time? Tidus, Rikku, and Paine were going on about linking the past and the present, but is that really it? So much theorising is happening amongst them, but is any of it going to play out?
One thing I can guarantee, the Breaking, is going to play a part. Still, that's only if they manage to defeat Yu Yevon because when else could they have the opportunity for Yuna to use it?
For those of you who also frequent the forum, yes, I still have every intention of having this be part of the Exigo timeline and so nothing will be changed from the RP's setting. That may just clue you lot in to how this will turn out. ^_~
Til next time!