Final Fantasy X belongs to Square Enix.


Yuna still couldn't come up with questions, so the brawny Aesir began escorting her through Asgard. They meandered across the floating islands and crossed bridges connecting them. Most of the houses they passed by were rectangular with roofs either made from clay or wood planks while supported by wooden poles. One floating island held a beautiful garden with a massive tree in the center, which had golden apples growing from its branches.

Still, what could this man possibly want from her, anyway? She paused in her tracks when they stopped near a bridge to the large island in the center.

"Ma'am?" the man paused.

"I…didn't get your name," Yuna blurted.

The brawny man blinked twice before he placed his right fist onto his chest.

"I am Thor," he proclaimed, "the mighty Aesir of thunder."

Thor extended his palm towards the daughter of Braska.

"And you are?"

"Yuna," she simply replied.

After an awkward moment of silence, Thor beckoned Yuna to follow them as they crossed the bridge. When they set foot onto the island, the daughter of Braska made a brief glance at the rows of statues on both sides of the path. The courtyard had a massive fountain with another statue standing in its center. They simply meandered around the fountain before they stopped at a short flight of stairs leading to a massive pair of doors. Yuna reached out her hand, yet the doors appeared to open themselves without warning, leaving her bewildered. For now, she followed the Aesir through the foyer, ascending a flight of stairs before stepping through the door to the throne room.

Those waiting to see whoever was ruling Asgard can do so on the countless luxurious and comfortable teak benches, all of which are facing the throne in a wide V-shape. Those of higher standing can instead take seat in the opulent balconies overlooking the entire hall. On the other side of the throne room, Yuna spotted some elderly man with a bushy beard and a golden eyepatch. He held an ornate spear in one hand while he kept his other arm parallel to the floor, allowing a pair of crows to perch on it. He donned a navy cloak. When he locked his eye onto Yuna, he rose from his throne.

"Father," Thor proclaimed, placing his hand on his chest while gesturing to Yuna, "I found the Prime Merlinian."

Yuna gave Thor a confused stare.

"W-What?"

The AllFather didn't say anything as he descended down a few steps.

"Has no one told you what a Prime Merlinian is, ma'am?" he asked.

Yuna paused for a moment before she shook her head.

"I lived my whole life," Yuna admitted, "as a heathen."

By then, the AllFather was a few steps closer to the daughter of Braska.

"I am Odin," he greeted, "King of Asgard."

Yuna simply hugged her arms to her chest.

"You can call me Yuna…but I'm not sure if this is either a kidnapping or a rescue."

"It is neither, Lady Yuna," Odin assured her, "it has been a long time since a Prime Merlinian has blossomed. When they blossom, their power is equal to that of the great wizard Merlin."

Thor turned to leave the throne room, leaving Yuna alone with the AllFather.

"Does…a Prime Merlinian also have the potential to bring the Calm," Yuna stuttered, "and defeat Sin?"

Odin sighed and turned his back on Yuna, much to her confusion.

"Sin must not be destroyed," he disagreed as he folded his arms behind his back.

Yuna blinked twice.

"Why not?" Yuna objected, "the Teachings of Yevon say Sin is our punishment for our vanity. If we atone, Sin will go away, won't he?"

"You are only looking through a narrow lens," Odin countered, "milady."

Odin beckoned Yuna to follow him to the back corner of the throne room, the two crows perching on his shoulders. The AllFather pushed a door open and led the young girl down the long corridor. They ascended a flight of spiral stairs before arriving in a circular observatory. Odin reached for a sphere from its pedestal display before sliding it into a slot on the floor in the center of the room.

The next thing she knew, she watched as the sphere summoned a projection of some treelike structure.

"What's this?" Yuna asked as she knelt to the floor.

"This, milady," Odin answered, "is Yggdrasil, the World Tree where the Nine Realms reside."

Yuna kept her mismatched eyes locked onto the projection of Yggdrasil, watching as nine glowing dots scattered throughout the structure. The projection was kind enough to label these glowing orbs such as Asgard, Midgard, Nifleheim, Musphelheim, Vanaheim, Alfheim, Svartalfheim, Helheim and Jotunheim. One particular glowing orb, Midgard, remained still in the trunk of the structure.

When she extended her hand and tapped her finger on it, the projection zoomed in on Midgard. Yuna got a closer look until she located the continent of Spira. To her bewilderment, some black color blotted most of the places in Spira. Her eyes wandered to the other continents, examining as many small blackened blots dotting the globe. It took a mere minute for Yuna to find two more continents also had the largest of blackened blots.

"Is this Sin's doing?" Yuna asked.

Odin shook his head.

"What you see is the corruption that tainted Midgard since the Machina War," he explained.

Yuna couldn't help but blink twice, not understanding what the AllFather meant.

"C-Corruption?" she paused, "I don't remember learning this."

Yuna heard the door swing open so she glanced over her shoulder. Her face lit up as she saw Sin standing out in the corridor. She also noticed Thor and Loki bickering behind him.

"You could say those areas are…polluted," Odin clarified, "it is why Sin came into existence in the first place."

The AllFather stepped closer to the projection just as Yuna stood to her full height.

"Furthermore," he added, "had the war continued on, all of life on Midgard would've become extinct."

Yuna lowered her head as Odin removed the sphere, causing the projection to dissipate.

"How do I…find another way to bring the calm?"

Odin glanced over his shoulder.

"Cast aside the false teachings," he answered solemnly.

Yuna turned on her feet and stepped closer to Sin, stopping mere inches in front of him.

"What did Odin mean by Prime Merlinian?" she asked him.

Sin and Odin exchanged a brief glance in a moment of silence before the destroyer shifted his gaze towards this apprentice.

"Perhaps we'll look further into this theory," Sin suggested.

Yuna nodded as Sin placed his hand on her shoulder. Odin returned the sphere to the pedestal display before he stepped out of the observatory. As he led the destroyer and the young girl down the corridor, the AllFather gave Thor and Loki the stink-eye.

"Are you two done squabbling?" Odin barked.

Thor and Loki stiffened before shooting a glance at the AllFather. They merely started to calm down as they also meandered through the corridor, descending a flight of stairs and stepping through the large door leading to the courtyard. The AllFather stepped aside while Thor paused in his tracks, waving at an irritated Loki as they strolled away from the palace. Yuna leaned closer to Sin as relief flooded her mind.

"So, about the Moogle Tree," Yuna mentioned.

Sin kept one of his eyes focused onto the summoner's daughter.

"We'll depart by morning."


Returning to Midgard through the Bifrost felt like a breeze. By the following morning, Yuna had prepared for the trip, so she and Loki perched atop Sin's back as he made his departure. She simply tilted her head back and relished as the breeze brushed past her hair. As she watched the ocean waves rolling in the horizon, she couldn't help but wonder if she'll make a good impression to the moogles. Would they still be ok considering their dire emergency?

To her left, Loki held onto his satchel packed with small meals he prepared ahead of time, preserving them with a few crystal shards. While Sin may not've been one for showing up at every mealtime each day, the trickster still insisted to prepare for a possible picnic in the event Yuna was hungry.

An hour or so later, Sin stopped at a coast, which snapped Loki and Yuna out of their thoughts. The trickster god used a wind crystal to slow their descent as they disembarked and waded to shore. They waited several minutes before Sin shrunk down and morphed into his humanoid form. Pyreflies surrounded the destroyer as he set foot onto shore. Loki glanced over his shoulder, only to notice a small town at a distance.

"This isn't Moogle Island, you know," Loki reminded.

Yuna turned around to get a better glimpse of her surroundings. She spotted a massive tree on another island.

"If it's not safe for moogles to return to their island," Sin explained, "then it's not safe to set foot there, especially for Yuna."

Loki sighed and shrugged before he and Yuna followed Sin out of the beach and made their way towards the small town. Once they reached the outskirts of the town, the summoner's daughter noticed there weren't any humans inhabiting it. To add more to her confusion, she spotted cats scampering along the pavement, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, or simply relaxing on some furniture.

"Cats?" Yuna paused.

Yuna tilted her head downward and noticed a cat walking up to her before standing on its hind feet.

"So what brings you here, miss?" the cat asked, "we didn't expect the destroyer to bring you along."

Yuna shuddered and blinked twice.

"I didn't know cats can talk!" she exclaimed.

Sin and Loki paused in their tracks and shifted their gaze towards Yuna.

"This is Jellicle Isle," Loki clarified, "the cats living here developed the ability to speak after making it their home."

Loki grinned at the cat perching its paws on Yuna's shins.

"Isn't that right, Rum Tum Tugger?" Loki remarked.

Rum Tum Tugger huffed at the trickster.

"We're the Jellicle Cats, remember?" he insisted.

Loki didn't respond, so Yuna knelt down before lifting Rum Tum into her arms, keeping one hand underneath his hind feet.

"Have the moogles been faring well?" Sin asked.

"Yes," Rum Tum answered, "it's been a week since they sought refuge here."

Yuna's eyes wandered until she spotted a moogle wandering the streets while running some sort of errand. She remained close to her mentor as they and Loki continued their stroll down the street. To her right, Yuna watched as a miniature train glided along the railroad surrounding the town while a cat donning a waistcoat perched atop the locomotive. She noticed as Rum Tum's ears perked up in excitement.

"Afternoon, Skimbleshanks!" Rum Tum called over.

Skimbleshanks tilted his head towards Rum Tum just as the miniature train came to a stop at the nearest makeshift platform.

"Afternoon, Rum Tum," Skimbleshanks greeted, "I see the guests of honor have arrived."

Yuna blinked as Loki gave a bow.

"Just as scheduled," Loki agreed.

The passenger cars' doors opened, allowing some of the Jellicle Cats to disembark and make their way into the town. Skimbleshanks took this opportunity to jump off the locomotive while Rum Tum leapt out of Yuna's arms.

"I guided this train around the town twice this morning," Skimbleshanks said, "the festering blight hasn't spread beyond Moogle Island yet."

Yuna took a step closer to the two cats which caught their attention.

"Is there a bridge to Moogle Island?" she asked them.

"There is, milady," Skimbleshanks sighed, "but it's infected, so crossing it by foot is nearly impossible without getting poisoned."

Sin lowered his head in dismay.

"We'll continue on, anyway," Sin replied.

Skimbleshanks nodded at the trio as they continued down the street. Yuna tilted her head towards an alleyway, where she saw two cats, whom Loki identified as Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, raiding a dumpster for treasures. The daughter of Braska turned to her right and found another cat perching on a cushion underneath the awning with kittens curling up next to her. The trickster identified that cat as Jennyanydots.

When the three turned at a corner, Yuna flinched and let out a startled yelp as some sort of figure landed on her back, causing her to nearly stumble forward. Sin thought fast and caught his apprentice before she could land flat on her face.

"Yuna," Sin asked frantically, "are you all right?"

Yuna panted before tilting her head towards the destroyer.

"I-I…what was that?" Yuna stuttered.

Loki quickly scanned his surroundings before he laid eyes on the shadowy figure that sped through the streets. While Sin helped Yuna to her feet, the trickster sprinted after the figure. This shadowy figure made a brief glance at its pursuer and was about to search for an escape route, but then an elderly cat spotted both of them and intercepted them, forcing both to stop in their tracks.

"Macavity," she demanded, "where have you been?"

The elderly cat carefully examined cat, noticing infested amethyst globules embedded between his fur and his eyes glowed a sickly magenta. Even when he barely stood, this cat's expression remained stoic while the globules oozed pus and blood.

"What's…the meaning of this?" Loki paused.

Macavity didn't say anything, but a dark aura enveloped him without warning. He charged into the elderly cat, eliciting a yowl out of her as the force of the tackle caused her to collide into a brick wall. Loki began his sprint, but Macavity disappeared into the shadows, leaving the trickster in disappointment. By then, Sin and Yuna arrived in the area. Braska's daughter made a glance at the elderly cat and her eyes widened in horror when she noticed the cat's head started bleeding.

"No," she stammered.

Yuna frantically sprinted towards the cat and knelt to the ground, gently lifting her into her arms as tears welled up in her eyes. Sin approached Loki, who glanced over his shoulder.

"Macavity just got away," Loki explained, "did you see the bad shape he's in?"

Sin focused his gaze on the pavement and spotted blots of pus and blood staining the ground. His eyes changing to yellow, he hovered his hand over the stain and pyreflies started emerging from the ground.

"I have yet to fathom how the blight got him," Sin observed.

After a moment, Sin stood to his full height and returned his gaze to Loki.

"We have a few days to track down and capture Macavity," he told the trickster, "if he dies, the blight will likely spread to Jellicle Isle."

Loki stiffened before his eyes wandered towards Yuna. She held the elderly cat close to her chest as tears trickled down her face. All the while, a few more Jellicle Cats and moogles made their way into the street and stared in horror. After a few moments of silence, Yuna's hands glowed blue and sparkles surrounded the elderly cat, chimes filling the air. The elderly cat's wounds closed and she slowly opened her eyes.

"W-What…?"

The elderly cat meowed while she locked eyes onto Yuna's. The summoner's daughter wiped her tears as her thoughts filled with relief. Sin and Loki exchanged glances seconds later while she gently ran her hand along the cat's spine.

"Whatever you're thinking," Loki said, "she didn't look alive when you arrived."

Sin simply shrugged before he approached Yuna. Standing to her full height, she glanced over her shoulder and focused her mismatched eyes onto his violet ones.

"Sin?" Yuna paused.

"It seems the situation is more dire than we expected."


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