The Magic of J-pop!

But first, more commspheres! At least the Gagazet hot springs are funny.

The next task at hand is to rehearse for the show. I think this is a minigame, but all we have to do is mash buttons. You're supposed to time your dancing to Rikku's, but button mashing works. I got a score of 300, twice the target for the best accessory, Shmooth Shailing. Thanks, Barkeep. I now have a ribbon that slows me...

The star of the show should be at the venue before the fans, so we head to the Thunder Plains. As we get there, though, the hypello tells us a fiend is attacking the onlookers. Since we've got some downtime, let's go clear it out! Follow the hypello to the new cave. All the way in the back is the random lizard who breathes fire. He's simple, but watch out for the gigas that roam the cave. It can use a hero's drink on itself, making itself immune to all damage. Hopefully, your dark knight knows Death.

We return to the Celcius, and it's on the verge of war already. The Celcius went around Spira, picking up anyone who wanted to see the show. Both New Yevon and the Youth League are here, and they want to fight each other. Childish insults are slung, and everyone blames the missing leaders. To quell the crowd, Yuna climbs to the deck of the airship.

She gives a quick history lesson on the Machina War, warning everyone we're on the verge of another useless struggle before telling us what the song is about. 1000 Words plays, but strange things happen that distract from the music. Shinra's titantron goes haywire and shows the city of Zanarkand as it were 1000 years ago. And then it shows Vegnagun. Shuyin is playing it as Yuna transforms into Lenne. We see a scene that mirrors Yuna's dream from chapter one. Instead of Yuna and Tidus dying, though, Shuyin and Lenne are killed. At the end, the song becomes a duet between the two songstresses as the clouds, for the first time ever, part. The sun finally shines on the Thunder Plains. As Yuna ends Lenne's song, she collapses and is taken to the cabin.

Paine is there, and Rikku joins shortly after. According to Shinra, all that crazy stuff happened because Lenne's thoughts, via the songstress dress sphere, interfered with his stuff. Yuna is alright now, so the girls head to the bridge. Waiting for them is Maechen! He knows who Lenne is and lets the Gullwings in on his information. During the Machina War, Lenne was a singer. Her vocal prowess was matched by her ability to summon, though, so she was called to the frontlines. Her lover, whose name was lost to time, grew enraged and did all he could to save her. He wound up in the lair of Vegnagun, where both of them were killed by Bevelle's soldiers. Rikku compares it to Yuna's would be sacrifice from two years ago. Yuna was prepared to die, just as Lenne, but Rikku would do anything to save her. That ability to sacrifice was what drove Yuna on, and it, ironically, gave her a reason to die. Yuna was fine, as she assumes Lenne was. Lenne's last words were, "I love you," but Shuyin never heard them. Is that why he's been looking for Lenne for 1000 years and still vows revenge?

So how do we stop him? We go down one of those holes! Buddy tells us Leblanc is on board, and you should go see her. You can ignore her, but she shows up anyway, and we miss a Crimson Sphere if you talk to Shibra early. Yuna fills Leblanc in that Nooj is on the Farplane, so Leblanc orders the boys to head down there. She'll be going as well. The boys aren't happy, but the boss believes the power of love will protect them!

Now we can talk to Shinra. The sphere he dropped into one of the holes has begun to function, but it's not good. Fortunately, Leblanc rushes in and hits the console. Percussive therapy works! We see Gippal talking up Shinra's tech but turns it back to himself for fixing it. We then hear Nooj, and Leblanc gets excited. Nooj and Gippal are trying to formulate a plan of attack on Vegnagun, but the colossus flees when he senses danger. Nooj had an idea, but it might not work. If it doesn't, then his demise will be his apology. Gippal thinks it is a bad "sorry" because Nooj has been suicidal for years. As Gip asks Nooj about Leblanc, the feed dies. Everyone is more determined to fight, so the Celcius takes to the skies and flies right into chapter five!

We're in the final act, but there's a lot of clean up to do first. We'll end some substories over the next few days.