Chapter Text
Lenne stared at the violet sphere glowing inside one of Shinra's devices. Even though she had been sitting still for hours waiting for his analysis to complete, her heart pounded in her chest. Every inch of her being needed this sphere to be the key for returning Yuna to her rightful time. She feared the anticipation would kill her if not for the fact she was already dead.
Outside of the soft humming of his machina, little noise emanated from the other dormant machines. She knew better than to mess with any of his tools. Stuffed to the gills in an otherwise nondescript room, Shinra had many unique machina crammed into his laboratory.
Since her separation from Yuna, Lenne wrestled internally with her own existence. Was she alive, dead, or some other perversion? Even after meeting so many amazing people, and fighting harrowing battles, she had no answer to this question. She only knew that she must bring back Yuna. Whether she survived as a part of Yuna or not mattered not to Lenne.
Watching her glossy reflection, tinting her face in a purplish complexion, she continued to battle with her emotions. Reuniting with Shuyin remained the furthest thing from her mind. Yuna had done too much for her already to worry about that. Lenne's regret for not pushing Yuna away from that path ate away at her.
Regret filled in so much of her existence that Lenne hardly recalled the good things she had been able to accomplish. Feeling alive again seemed like a dream. Although she cherished her second lease on life, she wished for peace even more. All Lenne wanted to do was rest.
The door to Shinra's laboratory opened, and Rikku walked in. Lenne spun the chair she sat in around to face her.
"Hiya, Lenne! Any luck figuring this thing out yet?" Rikku asked.
Lenne shrugged. "Nothing yet."
"Ya know, you don't have to stay in here watching this thing. Shinra said it'll alert him when the test is finished."
"I know," replied Lenne. "But what else is as important until I know if this sphere will bring back Yuna."
Rikku crossed her arms. "Hey, I hope so, too."
Lenne bit her lip. Deep-seated pain dripped from Rikku's words, enough to cause Lenne's chest to further tighten. Rikku had been good to her since she separated from Yuna. She easily could have resented Lenne, knowing how much she loved her cousin. Yuna loved Rikku just as much.
"Sorry, I just don't know what else to do," Lenne said.
Rikku walked next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Neither do I really. We just gotta hope this works."
Slowly nodding, Lenne looked up at Rikku. "If not, we'll figure something else out."
"Right."
The lack of conviction in Rikku's voice crushed Lenne like a hammer. She closed her eyes. She knew that at the end of the day this entire predicament was her fault. Lenne failed to consider Shuyin's feelings a thousand years ago. While his plan to steal Vegnagun eventually led to his and her deaths, she had the opportunity to prevent it all—if only she been more plain with her feelings.
Never did she imagine that a thousand years later, her grave mistake would send Yuna's life into a downward spiral. Yuna, a true hero who had saved Spira from destruction, deserved so much more. She had enough turmoil weighing down on her that the burden of Lenne's own darkness nearly killed her.
Lenne's head hurt almost as much as her heart. So many mistakes kept presenting themselves to her that she wished Yuna had never found her sphere on Mt. Gagazet four years ago. Despite Yuna's best efforts, Lenne never reconnected with Shuyin. He remained a tumultuous shadow of his former self, and Yuna was lost in the past.
Lenne leaned back in her chair. "This sucks."
Rikku perked up. "What's the matter?"
"Everything. I've screwed up so much in my life," replied Lenne.
"Hey, don't say that. We've all made mistakes."
Lenne buried her face in her hands. "Not one that sent someone back in time."
Rubbing her hands together, Rikku looked away from Lenne. "No . . . but that wasn't your fault."
"Of course it is," said Lenne. "All this never would have happened if I hadn't been so blindly focused on my battles and songs instead of him."
Rikku paused for a moment. "I don't know if you could've done things differently in the past or not, but you didn't cause Yuna to get lost in the past."
"What do you mean? Of course I did!"
"No, you didn't. Yuna did that on her own accord. She is fiercely loyal to all of us. Sacrificing herself is . . . just what she does," Rikku said.
Pondering her friend's words, Lenne sat quietly. Her eyes watered, but she didn't cry. All of her choking emotions bottled themselves up just before release. Her head felt dizzy. She tried to regulate herself by breathing in and out deeply, but she continued to spiral. Only a buzzing sound from Shinra's sphere analyzer broke her out of her tortured trance.
An orange light flashed in time with the sound. She stared at the device which looked blurry through her teary eyes. Wiping them with her hand, she leaned forward, trying to read the machine. Its gauges provided her with no discernible information.
Shinra shuffled into the laboratory, nearly startling Lenne out of her skin. She stood up and grabbed him by the shoulders. Her eyes burned with hope and fear.
"What does it say? Is this the sphere to bring her back?" she asked.
Shinra waved his hands in front of him. "Whoa, Lenne! Let me take a look before I answer that."
"Oh, sorry," she whispered.
She held her breath while Shinra fidgeted with his device. He stared intently at its readouts, running his finger up and down the gauges. With a grunt, Rikku marched over next to him.
"Okay, Shinra, what's taking you so long? C'mon and tell us already!"
Shinra shrugged. "Hey, I'm just a kid. It takes me a second."
"Forgive our impatience, but you know what this means to us," Lenne said.
He nodded. "I do. Thankfully for all of us, it's good news. This is the other sphere Iutycyr created to retract people from the past."
Rikku leapt into the air. "Yea! You did it, Lenne!"
The two women hugged each other, both crying out in glee. Shinra cleared his throat in a poor attempt to refocus their attention. He pulled the purple sphere from his machine and held it up.
"There's just one little issue I haven't solved."
Rikku raised an eyebrow. "Um, what issue?"
Shinra answered, "Well, I don't exactly know how the past and present will rectify themselves once this is activated."
"Rectify themselves?" Lenne looked at Shinra with a perplexed expression.
"Iutycyr had little idea himself from what I read of his writings. In reality, I can't guarantee you won't be blasted out of existence, Lenne. Nor do I know what may happen to Seymour."
"Well, why not?" asked Rikku.
"Seymour and Lenne's current existence are a direct result of his machina's effect. Neither existed in independent form before," he explained.
Rikku looked over at Lenne with concern. "Oh, geez. Uh, so what do we do?"
Lenne grabbed the sphere out of Shinra's hand. "We use this sphere to bring Yuna back. Nothing else matters."
"Lenne . . ." Rikku whispered.
Staring at Shinra, Lenne asked, "How do we reactivate Iutycyr's device with this sphere?"
"That should be simple. There should be a slot for it on the same pedestal Shuyin used," he answered.
Rikku waved a hand in the air. "What will happen after the sphere does its thing?"
Shinra's posture slumped. "Well, Yuna and Shuyin should be brought back to now."
"And what else?" Rikku hovered close to him, leaning in to an uncomfortable distance.
He sighed. "That I can't say. I don't believe Iutycyr knew either."
Lenne gently placed a hand on Rikku's shoulder. "Rikku, it's okay. Whatever happens, I'm at peace with it."
Rikku started to muster a retort to her but relented to Lenne's feelings. Without saying another word, Rikku nodded and left the laboratory. It pained Lenne to watch her newfound friend walk away holding such anguish, but it would be short lived once her cousin returned from the ether of time.
"What do we need to prepare?" Lenne questioned.
Shinra tapped a finger against his analyzer. "Once we arrive at the tower, I'll make preparations to power the machina on. Other than that, it's as simple as placing that sphere in the right holder."
"That's it?"
He nodded. "Yeah, that's it."
It seemed too easy for such a mind-boggling machine to function simply by using the sphere in her hand. She trusted Shinra to have all the operations in order. If all it took was this sphere to reclaim Yuna from the past, everything else afterwards was irrelevant.
Brother called Shinra over the CommSphere, telling him they neared arrival to the tower. Lenne stared at her wavy reflection in the sphere she held in her hands. Whatever sorcery this tiny orb possessed, she would need all of it soon.
She left the laboratory with Shinra, and met Rikku and Paine on the lift. Shinra ran through the technical aspects of his role in activating Iutycyr's device. He made it all sound mundane, like a simple exercise he could do in his sleep. She couldn't understand why she felt so anxious. Her task was the simplest of all. The trepidation of the unknown continued to nag her. The fear of failure, though she kept it on the borders of her mind, would not go away.
Dusky grey clouds covered the entire sky above. Intermittent drops of rain splattered on the top of the tower. Stepping out of the Celsius, a cold wind immediately blew in her face. Taken aback, Lenne stumbled, nearly dropping the sphere. Paine grabbed onto her arm, helping Lenne steady herself. She exhaled a sigh of relief.
"You're not going to pass out on us I hope," said Paine.
Lenne chuckled. "No, I promise I won't."
"You'll be okay. You and Yunie," said Rikku.
"That's right. We will be."
She watched Rikku scamper away to help Shinra inside the tower. Paine walked over to the panel by the ancient machine. Following Shinra's instructions, she pushed some buttons. A dim glow emanated from the panel. Even in the chilly air, her hands began to sweat. She breathed in, waiting for her signal. After an eternal minute, Paine gave her a thumbs up.
Lenne nodded and approached the sphere pedestal. Three openings were grouped close together. Offset to the right of the group, a lone opening begged for her attention. Closing her eyes, she plugged the sphere into its housing. It clicked in place almost effortlessly.
Iutycyr's creation snapped into motion, screeching loud enough to echo across the island. A resting bird flew away, startled by the vibrations the machine caused. The hairs on Lenne's head stuck up from the static electricity it generated. She watched with anticipation for the end result of the scientist's work.
Glimmering light engulfed her, blotting out her surroundings. So bright was the light that she had to close her eyes. Immense pressure pressed against her whole body, pushing her towards some unknown location. It felt like her chest would cave in from the pressure. She gasped before the world went dark.
Feeling a cold stone floor against her skin, Yuna's eyes shot open. At first, she stared blankly at her surroundings. Her prone vantage point offered her little context to identify her location. A crisp wind blew her hair around. Holding her breath, she waited to hear something that would give her a clue.
The winding down of a machina started to creep into her senses. Yuna sat up, looking up at the ancient, towering device slowly coming to a rest. The crystalline water spiraling around it retracted, and the murmuring of machinery fell silent. The sudden silence frightened her.
She tried to stand up but wobbled when her head started spinning. In her woozy state, she fell back down on the ground. Hazy sounds of footsteps rushing towards her registered in her mind, even though she couldn't tell if the sounds were real or imagined. Closing her eyes, Yuna waited for the dizziness to settle down.
When she opened her eyes, the worried face of her cousin greeted her. Rikku knelt down to check on her, repeating her name and shaking her shoulder. The world had stopped spinning out of control for Yuna, and she sat up.
"Rikku . . . is that really you?" Yuna asked.
Her cousin grinned. "You betcha!"
Yuna looked over at Paine. "Oh, Paine. You're here, too?"
"Glad you didn't forget about me," she joked.
Rikku hugged Yuna tightly. "Oh, Yunie! I'm so glad you're back—it's a miracle!"
Yuna nuzzled up against Rikku. "I don't know what happened. Am I really back in the present?"
Paine nodded. "Yeah, you're back where you belong."
"How did I get here?"
"What do you mean?" Rikku questioned.
Yuna pondered that before answering. "The last thing I remember, I was in Bevelle. No, I was under Bevelle."
"Under Bevelle?" Paine raised an eyebrow.
Yuna tried to explain, but lightheadedness overtook her. Rikku and Paine helped her to her feet and guided her to the Celsius. The warmth greeting her inside the ship helped keep her unsettled, queasy feelings at bay. She smiled wearily at the comforting decor of the ship.
Brother, Buddy, and Barkeep awaited her in the cabin. Shinra soon rushed in and gave Yuna a great, big hug. While her head felt woozy, her heart felt mighty given the love she received. A sudden wave of hunger hit her, and she devoured the full meal Barkeep hastily prepared.
Much to Rikku's displeasure, the rest of the Gullwings peppered Yuna with a barrage of questions. Yuna knew it couldn't be helped. She just endured the most unnatural journey anyone in Spira had ever taken. She answered all of their questions as best as she could, but her memories lacked detail. While she felt confident that she recalled all of the events from the past, not everything fit together properly.
To Yuna, it felt like someone else had actually lived what she recalled. She merely watched it all unfold as an outsider. It made little sense to her. The longer she ate and fielded questions, the more an unsettling feeling overtook her. Simmering at first as a nagging agitation, these feelings grew into a harsher unease.
Yuna's heart began to hurt like it hadn't in years. Waves of shame for letting Tidus die crashed over her. Sadness for Lenne, who Yuna continually let down, bit away at the happiness she had just felt from returning home. It all came at her so quickly, it nearly overwhelmed her if not for how tired her body felt.
Her instincts told her to retreat and let herself sort it all out while she slept. Rikku helped her up the stairs and into her bed. She appreciated her cousin for tucking her in.
"Are you sure you don't need anything else?" Rikku asked.
"No, thanks. I'm okay right now," said Yuna, though internally she lacked conviction in believing her own statement.
Rikku sat on the edge of the bed. "Hey, um, you may not be able to answer this right now. Do you know what happened to Lenne?"
The question begged for an answer, which Yuna couldn't provide. It jolted her more awake momentarily. She had not actually thought about what happened to Lenne now that she returned to the present. Searching the deepest recesses of her mind for an answer, she found herself too weak to uncover one.
"Well, I don't really know," Yuna whispered.
Rikku frowned and looked out the window. "That's okay."
Yuna softly touched Rikku's hand. "What is it?"
"She's really nice, Lenne is. It was terrible to lose you, but she comforted me. Kinda acted like a big sister while she was here," Rikku said.
Yuna bit her lip. "Lenne was always a good person. Strong, too. She just had a lot go against her, like me."
"Shrina didn't know what would happen to her or Shuyin when you guys returned. If she's still alive somewhere, do you still wanna help her?"
Rikku's question shocked Yuna. "If Lenne is, I have to help her. Because if she's still alive, so is Shuyin."
"I never really understood just how much pain you suffered two years ago. I'm sorry I didn't do more," said Rikku.
"Oh, Rikku, don't say that," Yuna said while sitting up. "If it wasn't for you and Paine, I don't know where I'd be."
A tear trickled down Rikku' cheek. Yuna embraced her, letting her get out all of her tears. Rikku wrapped her arms around Yuna tightly, crying enough to soak her shoulder. When her tears subsided, Rikku stood up with a solemn expression on her face.
"Sorry, it's just all been too much."
Yuna sighed. "I know it has. But it'll all be okay."
"Yeah, for us I know. But what about Lenne?"
Yuna's eyes dropped. "I don't know. All we can do is hope we can help her and give her what she deserves."
Rikku opened her mouth to give Yuna a response, but no words came out. She simply nodded with her head down and let Yuna rest. She wanted to follow Rikku and try to comfort her cousin more, but Yuna's weakened body refused to move. She lay back down in the bed and closed her eyes, hoping for happier things when she woke up.
Golden sunlight casting down from a perfectly clear, blue sky brightly lit the pier Yuna stood on. The gentle murmuring of rippling ocean waves calmed the world around her even further. She glanced at the ripe green of the potted plants lining the edge of the pier.
She turned to watch an electronic screen anchored to the side of the Luca Stadium. It was half time during the current game, and the Zanarkand Abes were winning by two goals. Hardly a soul meandered around outside of the stadium, leaving Yuna to her own devices.
"It's gorgeous here," a woman behind her said.
Yuna jumped and spun around to see who spoke to her. Much to her surprise, a familiar face stood facing her with a hand on her hip. Lenne's long, brown hair blew freely in the wind. Yuna couldn't help but admire her bold, violet lipstick and the white ruffles accenting her songstress attire.
"Lenne! You're alive!" Yuna exclaimed.
"In a way, yeah. But only because of you," said Lenne.
"Because of me?"
Lenne nodded. "That's right. Without you, I have no body to belong to."
"So, you are back inside of me?" questioned Yuna.
"It seems we joined back together," Lenne responded. "Iutycyr's invention worked."
"Thank goodness!" Yuna exclaimed.
Lenne frowned and walked closer to Yuna. She let out a long sigh, keeping herself from making direct eye contact with Yuna. She clasped her hands behind her back as she walked, stopping parallel to Yuna.
"I was hoping this wouldn't have happened," she whispered.
Yuna turned her head, watching Lenne's stern expression melt into a troubled one. "Why?"
"Because this needs to be over. You don't need to carry my burdens anymore."
Yuna shook her head. "Not when you've come this far."
Lenne turned to face her. "Come this far? Yuna, there is no hope anymore. What's done is done. No amount of time will save Shuyin or bring us back together."
Her icy words stabbed at Yuna. She wanted desperately to wrap her arms around her friend and tell her everything will be alright. Shuyin, in whatever shadow of a being he existed as now, still lived. He must, if both she and Lenne still existed. Because he still lived, he could be saved, though she knew Lenne didn't reciprocate her feelings. Yuna looked around while the silence between them weighed heavy.
Finally, she asked, "Why are we in Luca?"
Lenne motioned around the pier. "Don't you remember this place?"
Yuna examined the pier and the stadium with closer scrutiny. "Oh, I do remember. This is where we met . . . well, sort of."
"That's right. You wore my songstress dressphere here for the first time, and we connected."
"I recall not being able to stop my feet from dancing," said Yuna after laughing.
Lenne hinted at a smile. "Up until that day, I hadn't connected with another person for so long."
"I'm glad we did connect. Fate led us to be together."
Lenne's smile dissolved into a frown. "Are you really happy? What joy have my dark feelings brought you?"
"A purpose," Yuna replied. "Without you, I wouldn't have had hope to bring back Tidus for as long as I did."
Lenne grunted. "They served you no good."
"Your feelings mirror my own. Both of us, even though it was a thousand years apart, suffered from the same tragedy," Yuna said.
"At the end of the day, will either of us find happiness?" Lenne questioned with tearful eyes.
Yuna turned to face Lenne fully and moved to embrace her. "I promised you that I would see it through to the end. If enough of Shuyin lived to be saved, I would bring your feelings to him."
"And . . ."
"And he still does. He must live still if I made it back," explained Yuna.
Lenne breathed in deep before exhaling. "But he is dead, too. Just like me, he has no body to go back to."
"I can't say what might have happened to him then."
Yuna watched her friend get lost in thought. Tears ran down her cheeks. Oppressive pain hurt inside of Yuna—not like she felt since she nearly lost control of Lenne's feelings two years ago. When Lenne looked up at her, despair pouring from her gaze, Yuna's heart sunk.
Lenne said, "Before we brought you back, Shinra told me Iutycyr's machina would make everything return as equally as possible."
"Then what would it have done with Shuyin's spirit?" asked Yuna.
"Unfortunately, I think I know where he is. Or rather, whose body he is inhabiting."
A torrent of fear gripped Yuna. "Who?"