She's got a halo around her finger, around you. [Yuna&Lenne]{closed}

[lyricalsummons]

COMPLETE

Character(s): Lenne & Yuna
Content: Wormholes! And... Lenne might think she's actually in Zanarkand. DX
Setting: Zanarkand, Oblivion!Spira.
Time: Afternoon, ish.
Warnings: ....potential angst?

Continued from this thread in Paixao.




Lenne had taken her time re-adjusting to Paixao, and spent the last week wandering her former haunts and checking in on the network posts. She didn’t reply to anything, but felt better knowing what was going on around her.

She woke up that day, noting nothing extraordinary in the air around her, it was just another day, she assumed. That was her first mistake. Upon opening the door, she let out a shrill shriek, and was pulled into a wormhole… and just when she’d escaped, there’d been another… and another…. Until, completely exhausted, she’d been dropped into three feet of snow in a chilly mountain pass. She would have been content to just lay there, afraid of being turned inside out from another excursion into the unknown just by taking a few steps… but it was frigid.

She caught sight of a path and pulled herself out of the snow bank to follow it, starting to jog a bit just to warm up. She followed the path for what she judged to be a mile, maybe a little more… and stopped when she came to an overview of the horizon ahead of her. It could not possibly be… but it was. There before the fallen songstress was Zanarkand. It felt like hours but was merely minutes she stood, literally and figuratively frozen. She’d been taken home, finally… and it was in ruins.

With what courage and strength she could muster, she continued down the path, until eventually she arrived just outside the city, where she couldn’t manage to force herself to continue any further.

----------------

Last few comments:

"It's a long story, and not exactly a very happy one, but... I'll tell you if you want to hear it. Maybe... it'll help you understand me, too."

"There is too much that I don't understand," Lenne said after a long moment, a sigh escaping her. "I can't keep hiding from it all. I am sorry if it hurts you to tell me," she added, much more quietly, but altogether truthful.

"I want to understand you, to understand what happens to my world... I need a reason to go back. I don't expect you to give me all of that, but... whatever you want to tell me, I will be grateful."

Yuna shook her head, letting the dressphere return to its default setting. In a flash of light, she appeared back in her Gunner outfit, tucking the garment grids back into their positions in her pouch. Reaching out to touch Lenne's shoulder reassuringly, she tried to figure out where to start. It was such a long story and so hard to admit, even to herself. But Lenne was a friend, someone from the past. Yuna trusted her. And she would need to know why her world was so different.

"It's okay. It's better now... easier. But it won't be easy for you to hear, either." She took a deep breath. "I know you're from my past. A thousand years ago-" Well, really a thousand and two by now, but who was really counting? "-there was a war between the summoners of Zanarkand and the machina of Bevelle. Bevelle won. Zanarkand... and its summoners were completely destroyed. That's why the Zanarkand here is in ruins. That's what the rest of us remember. Out of that war... came Sin, our eternal punishment."

Comments

[lyricalsummons]

Lenne was silent for many moments, letting Yuna's words wash over her, allowing herself to finally feel the truth in what her friend, the former summoner, was revealing. If she wasn't careful, it could overwhelm her, but Lenne had to admit first to herself that she already knew. She knew what had become of her beloved Zanarkand. She knew there was a reason she had never been sent. There had to have been, and it was worse than she had imagined.

Finally her face cracked just half a smile, as her defenses kicked in a for a brief moment. "Ironic that it would be called Sin," she managed, shaking her head. "What became of your aeons?" she asked more quietly. Lenne couldn't claim them just yet, she knew for fact she could still summon them in Paixao, and imagining them gone, just... hurt more than she could put to words.

[sumofallfayth]

Yuna hated having to be the one who told Lenne all of these horrible things, how Spira had spiraled downwards into fear and desperation. But the woman deserved to know. As a fellow summoner, she deserved to know what had happened.

"Mm," Yuna answered, nodding once to the mention of Sin. The question of the aeons, though... That was a harder one to answer. "It's a long story. First... I have to tell you about the summoners, how we changed. The summoners of my time were charged with defeating Sin. The Final Aeon was the only way we knew how to do it. But after the Final Aeon defeated Sin, it would then kill its summoner. And in a few years, Sin would be reborn anyway. The cycle would repeat itself. There was no ending it... none that we knew at the time."

None until she and her guardians had looked for another way. But had their attempt been worth it? She had to believe it had been. That was the only thing keeping her going some days.

"My guardians and I found another way. We defeated Sin ourselves... from the inside out, defeated Yu Yevon... and saved Spira. But in order to prevent Yu Yevon from reforming Sin from an aeon... I had to summon them... and then defeat them in turn."

Yuna's head turned away as she recalled everything. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the painful memories, the thought of everything she'd done, how many people she'd lost in her lifetime... but a few tears slid down her cheeks anyway. It hurt to remember and it always would.

[lyricalsummons]

If Lenne hadn't already respected Yuna as much as humanly possible, it would have doubled along with her awe. What her friend had experienced was tragic and traumatizing, and as she listened to her story, tears began forming in her eyes, so that by the time Yuna turned to conceal her own, those tears were streaming down Lenne's face. She reached out to her friend and laid her hand on Yuna's shoulder, brow furrowed, and for a long while, truly at a loss for words.

Lenne had witnessed tragedy in her short life, too. She could offer nothing more than her understanding to Yuna, in that moment. Having to systematically destroy her aeons, even for the sake of saving the world, was a grave sacrifice. It was slaughtering friends. That Spira had come to such a dark place where it was required to do so... that was deeply distressing. These revelations did nothing to soothe her torment, only adding to what she could only decide was guilt. Guilt that she didn't do more to prevent her Spira, her beloved Zanarkand, from falling to Sin.

Her heart broke for Spira, and Yuna. There was a wound she couldn't heal. But she was damned if she wasn't going to try to right those wrongs, somehow. Any way she could.

"I'm so sorry, Yuna." For failing. For making you suffer by reliving the tale for me. For everything.

[sumofallfayth]

Yuna saw the tears in Lenne's eyes and instead of letting things simply stand with a hand on her shoulder, she reached out to pull her friend into a hug. They both needed it.

"It's not your fault," she assured Lenne. "Things happen. No one blames you for this, no one." They blamed Yu Yevon. Or at least she did. "These things happened for a reason and if they hadn't... I never would have met you." Or Tidus or had Sir Auron as a guardian or a long list of other things. Much as she didn't like what had happened to the people of Spira for so long, she couldn't deny that at least it meant things could get better.

[lyricalsummons]

Lenne embraced her friend with no hesitation, and steeled away her emotions as best as she could, if only to keep from outright sobbing. It had been a long, long time since she had been so transparent with someone and it was as frightening as it was refreshing.

Once again, Lenne was floored by Yuna's amazing ability to see the light in everything. It was something the songstress had always desired for herself, and something she hoped to learn from her friend. She was deeply glad she'd met her, too.

"You're right, you know," she told Yuna, a ghost of a smile lighting her face. "And someday, I hope to believe you. I know it all happened for a reason, and I pray that more good will come out of it all, but-" she cut herself off suddenly, shaking her head and a more determined look was on her face than before.

"No. I will believe. I have to move on from this." She hugged her friend again, as if she could draw a little strength, a little hope from the former summoner. She had a purpose, now. She'd do everything in her power to help others return to their worlds. If she couldn't help Spira... It was the least she could do.

"Thank you. I don't know what would have become of me without you." She intended no strings attached to that statement, only the most sincere thanks. Had anyone else been the one to fill her in, she might not have recovered so well. Or at all.

[sumofallfayth]

Yuna took the hugs willingly, holding on to comfort them both. The conversation had brought up difficult points for both of them, but the fact that they were both trying to work through this, that they had each other at all to lean on and confide in, meant the world to Yuna. And she knew it would make all the difference to them as well.

"You're welcome," she answered with a warm smile. "I'm glad... I could help at all."

[lyricalsummons]

"You've been more help that I thought possible," Lenne responded quietly. She still had many questions, but she knew that this was not the time. They'd both had to relive a lot of hurt today, and she was ready to let things lighten up for a while. She took a moment to gaze around her, at the beauty of the forest, and took a deep breath. Dream, illusion, or otherwise, for just a moment, this was her sanctuary. Time to start again.

She smiled then, and bumped her hip against Yuna's with a laugh. "Alright, friend. Think we can get home in time for dinner? I find soul-searching always leaves me famished."

[sumofallfayth]

Yuna smiled, nodding once at the change of subject. It was definitely needed. Reaching into her pocket, she hit the Songstress Dressphere, so they would match, changing in a flash of light.

"Can we dance back?" she teased with a grin. "I haven't danced in a really long time."

[lyricalsummons]

Lenne laughed and nodded, linking her arm through Yuna's for a few moments, and starting them in sync down the glittering path.

"I can't remember the last time I danced just to dance," Lenne admitted, releasing her friend so she could twirl a moment with a giggle.

"We really should do this more often."

[sumofallfayth]

"Yes, we should," Yuna agreed with a smile, rehooking their arms after the twirl and continuing to skip along down the path. With any luck they wouldn't hit any other fiends while they were out, but Yuna wasn't counting on it.

"I was thinking of doing a concert sometime. Maybe we could team-up."

[lyricalsummons]

"I would be delighted!" Lenne answered immediately and truthfully, keeping time with Yuna as they danced along. They were almost to the start of the glittering path, and Lenne was just a little disappointed that their adventure was drawing to a close.

"I think a 'community' concert would do a lot to brighten spirits in this place," she added a few moments later.

[sumofallfayth]

"So do I!" Yuna crowed happily as they danced their way down the path. "I just don't know many songs. Maybe you could think of more?"

She wasn't particularly good at this sort of thing. The only reason she'd managed it before was because she'd been using the dressphere's memories and it had reacted with the screen Shinra used. But maybe... she and Lenne could combine their abilities and memories into something they could use to encourage the rest of the city. Everyone needed a little support, especially in a place like this.

[lyricalsummons]

"I'm sure I could recall a few... and if not, well, we should probably write a couple new ones!" Lenne was excited about the possibility of actually being able to perform again. There was nothing quite like the high, the energy that came with being in front of an audience and sharing something you love.

"Whatever you have in mind, I'd be thrilled to be a part of it." She was almost bouncing more than dancing, now, her energy level spiking with excitement, at having something to look forward to.