Chapter 9: The Redeemer of the Fayth
On Bevelle's bloody plains, Setanta and his men stood triumphant over their foes, all trampled under their boots like weeds. They had crushed the main force of the Black Eagle tribe and secured the city and the surrender of its defenders, but the fighting was not all over yet. The Dark Queen remained aloft in the sky, and her hundred war-witches along with her. She had other allies on the way as well.
On the eastern seas, on the other side of the narrow isthmus that connected the northern and southern continents of Wilderia, there began to appear a fleet of ships. As they drew closer, it became apparent that they were pirate ships. It was Captain Korwin and his Bloody Tide. The large frigates came up near the shore and started firing their cannons at the city of Bevelle. Meanwhile, motorboats brought hundreds of pirates onto the coast and they began to march across the plains toward the Highbridge. At the entrance to the Highbridge, Setanta and Suldane reformed their ranks.
"We're not out of the woods yet, Lads!" Suldane shouted, and he took the front of the lines with his axe. Setanta walked across the ranks to review them, and as he stepped up beside his father he looked across the plains to the southeast at the edge of Macalania woods, and he saw Yuna and the elders walking across the field toward them. She walked slowly and carelessly, as gracefully as though she was walking on air. Setanta saw the faint glow about her and he knew that something had changed. He strode quickly across the field to meet her.
"Get her into the city, quickly! We don't have much time before they march on us!" Suldane called after him. Setanta reached his wife in the middle of the field, and as she stepped closer to him he felt a magical warmth emanating from her.
"Yuna! Are you alright?" He asked her.
"Yes, I am. I've come to help. Let me heal the wounded from the battle, and help the survivors in the city." Yuna implored him.
"How can you heal them? What are you saying?" Setanta asked, bewildered. After he spoke, Yuna reached out her delicate hand over a slight bruise and cuts on his upper arm, and he felt the warmth intensify, and a blue-colored aura passed between her hand and his flesh. It began to seal his cuts and alleviate the bruising on his arm. In only a few heartbeats it was healed and whole again.
"What magic is this?" Setanta asked her in wonderment.
"This is the will of the Lord." Yuna told him, and the innocence in her face assured him of the truth of it.
"It's a miracle!" Setanta cried out. He swept her up in his arms and carried her across the field, with the elders running behind him. They ran through the cheering ranks of his army, and Setanta let her down upon the Highbridge floor. Auron saw him approach and ran to embrace Yuna.
"Yuna!" He cried out. Yuna turned to him in shock and bewilderment.
"Auron!" She called back. When he reached her he wrapped his arms around her in relief.
"Where in Spira have you been?" Auron asked her.
"I… I was in Djose, with my husband… Auron, it will take a lot to explain this, but… everything will be alright!" Yuna assured him anxiously.
"Your husband?" Auron said, shaken with bewilderment. Setanta stepped forward then, unnerved by the sudden fondness that this stranger shared with his young wife.
"Is this a friend of yours, Yuna? Family perhaps?" Setanta asked her. Yuna hesitated, and did not want to speak.
"I'm her guardian. You interrupted her pilgrimage!" Auron said in visible outrage. Setanta glared hotly at him then, his face full of rage instantly.
"I didn't interrupt it; I ended it. Next I'll end your life, you deviant bastard!" Setanta fumed, drawing his sword.
"No! Wait!" Yuna cried out, but Setanta lunged forward, and Auron stepped back, drawing his katana to block the swing that was coming at him. Their swords clashed and sparks flew, and the two of them stood glaring death and hatred into each other. Yuna was crying and shaking in panic, but suddenly the magic welled up in her veins, and she knew what to do. She stretched out her quivering hands, and suddenly an aura of blue light flowed from her and formed a screen between the two warriors as they parried and swung at each other. Suddenly their blades slowed and faltered, and could not penetrate the screen between them. Once they noticed it they backed away from each other. They gazed upon Yuna and saw the magic flowing from her fingertips.
"Setanta, don't hurt him! It's not his fault!" Yuna cried out desperately. Setanta stepped toward her then and sheathed his sword. Yuna let the magic dissipate, and then Auron sheathed his katana and came toward her. Suldane and some of his men came back from the front ranks to the bridge then, to see what was happening. Suldane confronted Auron again.
"What's going on here, you old deviant?" Suldane asked him antagonistically. Auron glared at the old warlord. He knew that Suldane was too big and too strong for him to challenge, but he wasn't one to suffer taunts and insults from anyone.
"I should ask you the same question, savage!" Auron replied. Suldane smiled wickedly.
"Ha! You don't know how right you are, but you will know it, when I savagely hack you apart and feed you to lupines! Before I do, tell me what the hell your problem is, old boy…" Suldane continued to prod him.
"You kidnapped her!" Auron accused him. Suldane shrugged.
"Who? You'll have to be more specific; we kidnap most of our women and God-Daughters. That's how the tribe has survived all this time. What does it matter to you anyway? Do you expect me to believe that you can satisfy a woman?" Suldane taunted him, and all his men laughed thunderously. Auron burned with fierce indignation.
"You kidnapped Yuna! Our summoner! She was the one who was meant to end Sin forever!" Auron fumed. Suldane merely smirked.
"My son will end Sin for you, so don't worry about that. We won't have to sacrifice young girls to your demon, either. So who exactly are you? Her guardian? You were the one who was going to perform the sacrifice, aye? Perhaps I should sacrifice you, after all…" Suldane said.
"That's not what was going to happen! She can end Sin, and save this world!" Auron tried to refute him, but Suldane shouted in his face.
"You coward! You think saving the world is a task for virgin girls? What next? Child Crusaders? I've heard that you degenerates actually allow that lunacy! He's a demon bastard! He's a coward and a snake! Take him prisoner! I'll execute him myself after the battle!" Suldane commanded his men with hysterical fury. They immediately surrounded Auron and took his weapon, and dragged him away down the Highbridge. Yuna watched this display nervously, and said nothing until Suldane had passed her on his way back to the front lines. She spoke to Setanta then.
"Please, don't let him do it! Don't let him execute anyone! Let me talk to them, and I'll change their minds!" Yuna begged him. Setanta gazed hesitantly upon her, but finally he nodded.
"I'll speak with my father, and try to calm him down. For now stay in the city, at Yevon's headquarters, and wait until the battle is over." Setanta told her. Yuna nodded and hugged him tightly. Setanta patted her head gently, but then he slid out of her grasp and walked hurriedly to take charge of his army. The pirate horde was well on its way, and several of the war-witches had landed to accompany them. The Dark Queen and her riders continued to harass his men and shoot arrows down upon them. His men of course shot back with their rifles, but the Zu were flying overhead swiftly, and circling them like vultures awaiting a kill. Captain Korwin led the ranks of his pirates, while cannon rounds soared overhead and went barreling into the city or in front of the ranks of Setanta's army.
Setanta whistled loudly, and Brutus came running to his side. He marched in front of his men and gave them hand signs, to split the army in half and march forward across the field at a jog. He started running toward their enemies then, and the whole army charged. The Mounted Marauders sped away to prepare for a flanking maneuver, and the Devil Dogs and Red Blades split their forces and ran to both sides of the pirate horde to entrap them. Kelk Ronso brought his warriors and the Crusaders forward slowly, coming down the middle. The Cannonfire intensified, and many men fell and many buildings in the city were bombarded. It seemed that the battle would go badly for Setanta, but suddenly cannon fire came flying from the other direction; there was now crossfire from the east and west. Setanta separated himself from his men and turned to look back at Bevelle Bay. He saw two ships maneuvering swiftly across the bay; they were Al-Bhed ships. They presented their sides to the west, and fired volleys of artillery rounds over the isthmus toward the pirate ships on the western sea. Several of the pirate ships were hit, and began to sink. The others had to cease fire and begin evasive maneuvers, attempting to counter-attack this newly arrived opposition. Setanta did not know who they were or what they had come for, but he could safely assume they were aiding him, at least in the moment. He turned and sprinted to rejoin his men in the charge.
As soon as Setanta was parallel to the front ranks again, they met their enemies in battle with a bone-breaking crash. Horrific carnage ensued, but Setanta and his father forged the path ahead once again, amid cloven and bloodied foes. Chief Barbay and his men sprang upon the enemy from the opposite side of the field, and their war dogs tore into the pirate ranks. A while after they engaged the pirates, Kelk led his men against the front, and the Marauders rode around and attacked from the rear, pinning the pirates into a hopeless last stand. They fought fiercely to free themselves, and it would continue to be a hard battle.
At the edge of Macalania woods, a few journeyers appeared. It was Kimahri, Neela, Rikku and Conchubar. They surveyed the field, the bloody chaos upon it, and the crossfire of cannon rounds, along with the ruined city. It was an awe-inspiring sight, horrific yet majestic, powerful and life-changing. Nothing like it had been seen in an age. Kimahri and Neela saw their people fighting desperately on the field, and they immediately went dashing across the plains to join them. Rikku knelt helplessly beside Conchubar, overwhelmed by the sight of it all.
"What can we do? Where should we go?" She asked him in despair.
"Wait here, or else go into the city, but it will not be safe. Yuna is likely there, taking cover. I will go onto the battlefield with my people, where I am needed." Conchubar told her, and he went striding over the plains carrying his gnarled staff, headed directly into the middle of the fight. Rikku stood up with some effort and ran toward the Highbridge. When she reached it she found the ruined causeway littered with rubble and bodies. She went down the bridge toward the entry plaza of Bevelle, all the while finding no one alive to greet her. When she did reach the plaza and the entrance to Yevon Headquarters, she saw a girl and a very old man tending to wounded soldiers who were laid out across the plaza. She had seen her before; spied a glimpse of her from far away at Luca. She knew that it was Yuna. Rikku ran toward her, calling her name. Yuna turned just in time before the scrawny blonde girl crashed into her and wrapped arms around her. Yuna laughed unsteadily, not sure of what was happening.
"Hi there! Do I know you?" She asked.
"I'm your cousin, Rikku! Cid's daughter!" Rikku told her.
"Really?" Yuna said, exasperated. She hugged her cousin then, and they laughed together in relief and joy.
"I'm so glad to see you! I thought we might never meet!" Yuna said to her. Rikku smiled brightly.
"I've been looking for you for weeks now, ever since I heard you were in Luca, and I saw you there in the coliseum right before everything got chaotic. I was on the search with Kimahri and his friend, until just now when they went to help the Ronso win the battle." Rikku informed her.
"Kimahri is here? I'm so glad he's alright… I knew everyone would be worried sick, but I couldn't leave until now." Yuna said.
"It's time for payback against your kidnappers! I heard they forced you to marry one of them!" Rikku said, outraged.
"That's true, I suppose, but you don't know everything… besides, you would lose. Setanta and his father are too strong, and their army is too powerful. But I think he is the one who can defeat Sin." Yuna said.
"They haven't brainwashed you, have they?" Rikku asked her uneasily, and a light of sheer sorrow and anxiety shone in her green eyes.
"No, that's not it… it's much more than that. I'll tell you sometime. Right now we should go to Auron, and see if he's alright. Setanta's men took him to the other side of the plaza and chained him to a wagon wheel. They won't let us release him." Yuna said.
"Auron? You mean Braska's friend?" Rikku asked.
"Yes, that's him." Yuna replied, and together they walked to the west side of the plaza where a large wooden wagon was blocked in place, and Auron's arms and torso were chained thoroughly to it. He looked up at them in despair.
"Sir Auron, this is my cousin Rikku. She came here to find me! And it looks like the Al-Bhed ships are outgunning the pirates! We may win soon…" Yuna told him, hoping that it would lift his spirits. Auron nodded solemnly. Before he could speak, a female voice cried out his name from the road leading away from the plaza and into the city. A girl came rushing to meet them. It was Paine.
"Auron! What happened?" She cried out as she saw him chained to the wagon wheel. She drew her sword when she saw the guards touch the pommels of their own weapons.
"Stop, Paine! Don't do it!" Auron shouted at her.
"Is the city lost?" Paine asked him in dismay. Auron shook his head.
"No, the city is safe, but I had some disagreements with its new rulers. Don't involve yourself; I'll be fine. Were you able to stop the fires and hunt down the Black Eagles?" He asked her.
"We did everything we could, but Tidus was thrown into the crater! I need help to find him!" Paine said frantically. Auron groaned in misery. He thought they might pull through and win the day, but now everything was going wrong again. Yuna stood frozen in shock as soon as she heard the name. All of her memories of Tidus came racing back through her mind, and she felt a severe distress in her heart and in her stomach. It was sharp and sudden, in a way that she never could have prepared herself for. She realized that she still cared for him deeply.
"Sir Auron, don't worry… I'll go with her to find Tidus." Yuna said in a quivering voice.
"You can't go without me!" Rikku exclaimed desperately.
"We'll all go. I need all the help I can get!" Paine said urgently. Auron spoke then in a weary and raspy voice.
"Be careful and don't worry about me. Rescue Tidus. If I'm gone when you get back, tell him that he is the one who must defeat Jecht. Tell him not to worry about anything else. If I am killed, do not avenge me." Auron ordered her.
"You won't be harmed, Sir Auron. Setanta promised me…" Yuna assured him.
"We'll see." Auron said, accepting his fate.
"I'll be back as soon as I can!" Yuna said, and she went with Paine and Rikku down the street toward the middle of the city.
Below the city, in the dark Tidus began to stir and wake. He found himself in the abysmal and gloomy realm of the undercity. It was damp and dark, and lit only by dim scattered lanterns, seeming like faint stars in the distance of the various corridors and chambers of this dark cloister. He picked himself up from the rubble and looked out of the crater above him, seeing the daylight so far away that it was actually mortifying in a way. He had no idea how he might get back out. Occasionally he heard the sound and felt the vibration of a cannon round impacting in the city above. He finally made up his mind to start moving through this dismal realm and chose a corridor to traverse.
While he was walking through the musty halls, suddenly he saw a young boy run out from a coinciding corridor, look toward him, and then continue running around the corner.
"Hey! Wait!" Tidus shouted, and he immediately chased after the child. As he rounded the corner, he saw the boy dart around another, and he dashed toward it. When he finally made the next turn he found himself in a ruined chamber, with dim light coming from above. There was rubble and wreckage fallen everywhere from the streets above. There was a Fayth statue lying propped up against the far wall amid the rubble. It had apparently fallen from a temple above. It glowed with a faint light, and Tidus could feel ominous power pulsing from it, pervading the whole room. He walked a few steps forward, and then suddenly he saw the spectral figure of the young boy materialize and walk out of the statue. He jumped back, startled, but the phantom seemed unthreatening, and he felt no urge to flee.
"Who are you?" Tidus asked hesitantly.
"I'm one of the Fayth, but my name is not important. My temple has been ruined, and the statue is nearly broken. Summoners will not be able to find me here, if the city of Bevelle even lasts through the day. I need your help now, before it's too late…" The boy said.
"I don't know what to do… how could I help you now?" Tidus asked him hesitantly.
"There's only one thing you can do, Tidus. You have to understand who you really are, and why you're here. Then you can go on to help all of us. You have to be prepared to face your father, and defeat Sin." The boy-Fayth said wistfully.
"What are you talking about?" Tidus demanded, feeling a frightful twisting inside himself, as if whatever would be said next would somehow damage him.
"You know that's why you're here now, don't you? You were allowed to enter Spira, as your father was, to bring an end to Sin. In fact, that was the purpose behind your entire existence. We all needed you to put an end to Sin for us."
"What do you mean by we? How can you say something like that to me? What gives you the right to tell me my purpose in existence?" Tidus said, recoiling in dismay.
"Because you are nothing but a dream, Tidus. You yourself are a dream of the Fayth. We dreamt you up in our death-slumber, because we needed you to exist, to put an end to Sin forever." The Fayth said to him. Tidus screamed out loud. Something within him knew it was true, but he had to struggle against the realization to preserve his sense of self.
"That's crazy! You're lying to me! What makes you think you can say these things to me!" He shouted. The boy-Fayth lifted up a hand and waved it at Tidus then, and all of a sudden his body felt incredibly light, and he looked down upon his forearms and hands to see them flickering into transparent phantasms. He fell to the floor on his hands and knees then, feeling that he was weak and quivering with shock, but in reality his figure was barely able to move. It flickered several more times, and then the boy-Fayth lowered his hand, and the feeling of faintness left Tidus. Now he finally understood, and accepted his new reality. Somehow, by the mere revelation of it, his fears and worries were gusted away. He was silent for a long moment, and then he spoke in a shaky but calm voice.
"How did this happen? And why?" Tidus asked.
"You know that one thousand years ago, Zanarkand was destroyed. But it was not your Zanarkand, rather it was the real Zanarkand of Spira. That was the one we used to inhabit, before Bevelle and their machina weapons destroyed it. That night, nearly all of us were exterminated. The mass-death of that night put so much stress on the souls of the people and the fabric of Spira and the Far Plane itself… that it caused us to be trapped between worlds. We were dejected; we weren't ready to die, and we didn't want to be forgotten, so we became the Fayth, and our sadness became a collective dream. Yu Yevon tapped into that mass suffering, and used it to conjure Sin. Our dreaming has kept Sin alive as well, and given Yu all the power he needs to work his black sorcery. Now, we're tired of dreaming. We just want to sleep, even if it means that we'll be forgotten forever. That's where you come in, Tidus. You and your father… he had to come here to become Sin. He volunteered to do it, once he discovered the truth. He is not a real Spiran, he is just a dream like you. Once you defeat him in battle the cycle will be broken, and Yu Yevon will have no host to latch onto. Once he is defeated, Sin will never return, and we will fade away." The Fayth told him.
"But what about my Zanarkand? My old life? Will I ever be able to go home?" Tidus asked desperately.
"Your Zanarkand is only a dream as well. We conjured it up… the few of us who remained from Zanarkand. We were made into the Fayth, and dreamed up the city of Zanarkand from our own memories. The place that you know, everyone and everything in it, was just a dream. When we go, it will go too." The Fayth said.
"But then… what will happen to me, and to my… to Jecht?" Tidus asked in a stammer, and tears began forming in his eyes.
"You'll disappear, along with the dream Zanarkand. You will be resting with us, in the Far Plane, forever." The Fayth said solemnly.
"But… I don't want to go… I want to live! I finally have someone… something to live for now. Don't take that away from me!" Tidus shouted, and he began to feel feverish and sick.
"You've found the truth now, Tidus. You know that this is just the way that it is. All of our people are suffering. We've been suffering for a long time now. Can't you find it in you, to sacrifice something for us now? As long as you and your father continue to live in Spira, we will continue to suffer. The people of Spira will continue to suffer as well. Can't you sympathize with our pain?" The child Fayth asked him in a deep melancholy. Tidus couldn't stop himself from weeping then, but after a moment he wiped his face clear and stood up.
"You're right. I understand now. It needs to be done. I'm sorry… for being selfish." Tidus said.
"It's not your fault. It's ours… our fear and longing drove us to do it. I should be the one to apologize… and I am sorry." The boy said sincerely. His visage dimmed then, and he hung his hooded head low.
"I'm grateful… actually, I am thankful to you for what I was allowed to have, even though it can't last. It was worth it." Tidus said.
"Don't be discouraged, Tidus. It's not so bad to rest. Once our sins have been forgotten, and our souls are purified, we can finally come back fresh to be born again. That will be the awakening from our sleep, once the dreams have drifted away." The Fayth told him in consolation.
"I know… I can do this. But how, and where?" Tidus asked.
"Go to Mount Gagazet. At the foot of the mountain, beneath the bridge from the Calm Lands, you'll find a deep cavern. Go there and seek out Yojimbo the Fayth. He will teach you the final lessons you need to know, to complete your quest." The Fayth instructed him. Tidus nodded firmly with determination.
"Alright… I'll go. Now I just need to get out of here…" He said. The boy nodded, and beckoned for Tidus to follow him as he strode back out of the chamber and led him down the long corridors of the undercity.
Meanwhile, Yuna, Rikku and Paine were striding quickly across the streets above. Paine led them on the way to an old staircase, by which they might access the undercity. When they reached the dark entryway to the stair, she stopped, seeming to hesitate for a moment.
"What's wrong? Isn't this the place? Paine… are you alright?" Yuna asked her with concern.
"Yes, this is it… I never wanted to come back here again. I have to do it for him though… let's go." Paine spoke with determination. She stepped briskly forward into the archway, and went down the steps into the dimly lantern-lit realm of subterranean Bevelle.
"What's the matter with her? Do you think we should trust her?" Rikku asked suspiciously.
"I think we can… I feel that we can. Somehow, I know she's an honest person. She must care for him deeply… she wants to find him badly." Yuna said intuitively. Rikku stepped closer to her.
"Can you really read people like that? I never knew you would have such a gift…" Rikku remarked in wonderment.
"I only just acquired it recently. But yes, we can trust her. Let's go…" Yuna urged her, and together they hurried to catch up with Paine in the dark corridors. They followed her rushed pace as best they could, until they came to a large chamber in the corridors. It was an underground plaza, with market stalls and dwelling places. Some people were out and about, trading their wares and performing their crafts.
"I had no idea this place existed…" Rikku said in bewilderment.
"Me neither, and I lived in Bevelle until I was seven. This is strange…" Yuna commented.
"It's not the kind of place that typical Yevonites would ever stumble into. This is where the poor, the criminals, the outcasts and excommunicated live. It's not the safest place in Bevelle, so be mindful and keep your eyes open." Paine warned them.
"Is this your home?" Yuna asked her cautiously.
"Yeah… this is where I grew up, after my parents died. Some people will recognize me… that could be good or bad. Let's keep moving. I know my way through the undercity, and the crater will be a league or two from here." Paine said, and they pressed on together. Yuna reflected silently on how disparate the lives of two people in Spira truly could be. When her father died fighting Sin, she had been taken to grow up in the quiet, gentle forests and waterfalls of Besaid. For Paine, this dark and dangerous realm had become home after her parents' deaths. It was frightful to think about. If not for Auron and Kimahri, Yuna may have met a similar fate.
They walked through the plaza and down another corridor and some descending steps. They came to a large machina door. Paine attempted to open it, but it had been sealed and locked down.
"Damn it." Paine fumed under her breath.
"What's wrong?" Yuna asked.
"We need to get through here, but the door is locked. Usually I could always unlock it, but someone has changed the codes." Paine replied in frustration.
"Here, let me give it a try." Rikku offered, and she stepped up to the terminal beside the door, and plugged in a small interface device that she carried on the bracer covering her left forearm. She ran a program to pick the code for her. After a moment, the lock was decoded and the door slid open with loud metallic rumbling.
"Good thing I ran into an Al-Bhed wiz-kid before coming down here…" Paine remarked. Rikku giggled, flattered.
"It was nothing really." She said.
"You're both Al-Bhed, aren't you?" Paine asked them as she looked curiously at Yuna.
"Well, not quite. We're cousins. She's Rikku, and my name is Yuna. My father married an Al-Bhed woman. He was resented by Yevon for doing it. My father was the Lord Braska." Yuna revealed.
"You're Yuna, Braska's daughter? How did you get here? We've been looking for you for weeks now!" Paine asked her in puzzlement.
"I was on a pilgrimage, and Tidus was one of my guardians. Things went wrong while we were at Operation Mi'ihen, and we all got separated. Now things are… complicated." Yuna said. Paine nodded.
"I was there too… that's where Tidus and Auron found me. I was wounded, and they took me to the healers. I joined up with them after that, to help find you." Paine said.
"Really? Well then, I thank you for your help. It is greatly appreciated. I'm so sorry that things have gone badly since then…" Yuna said softly. Paine shook her head firmly.
"Don't say things like that. We're here now, and we have to carry on." Paine said determinedly, and she went through the doorway and led them on through the labyrinth of the undercity. They marched onward until they finally arrived at the crater in the middle of the city. From the pyreflies drifting and swirling about, they began to see fiends manifesting and being born as they coalesced into materializing form.
"We need to hurry… the pyreflies and all the mass sorrow of this place will start conjuring some truly wicked fiends. It's not uncommon to find great fiends in the depths of the undercity." Paine warned them.
"He must be around here, right? Unless he woke up and tried to find a way out…" Rikku surmised.
"We'll see." Paine said.
The three of them made their way through the corridors surrounding the crater, and came at it from a different path. This time when they neared the crater, they saw a mass of pyreflies combining together. Suddenly a devilish fiend began to take form in front of them. It was a dark demon prince, with wide bat wings and grinning fangs, and long arms that held dark batons.
"We should turn back!" Rikku cried out.
"It's too late! Defend yourselves!" Paine shouted, and she drew her sword. The demon prince lunged forward and tried to strike her with his baton. Yuna, almost instinctively, raised a magical barrier between them. The demon could not pierce it. However, he began raising a sphere of black magic to dispel it. Rikku drew her assault weapon and fired a grenade from the attached launcher beneath it. The fiend was damaged greatly, but still continued to erode Yuna's magic. Paine lunged forward then, leaping with her sword. She dove straight at the fiend's torso and hacked downward, splitting open his chest cavity. Black bile spilled out, and the fiend collapsed and dematerialized into scattering pyreflies. Once the demon prince had fallen, the three of them regrouped.
"That was horrifying… but I can't believe it was that easy to defeat." Yuna said.
"Your magic definitely helped… it weakened him, I could tell." Paine replied.
"Well don't give me any credit…" Rikku quipped. They laughed in relief.
"That's pretty impressive, as far as machina weapons go. I would've loved to have it at Mi'ihen." Paine remarked. They resumed their search then, and as they rounded another corridor they saw a young man approaching in the distance.
"It's him!" Paine shouted, and she immediately sprinted to meet Tidus. Yuna and Rikku trailed behind her, but as soon as she reached Tidus she leapt forward to embrace him tightly. Yuna slowed to a stop when she beheld this. Suddenly she realized why Paine was so frantic to find him. She loved him too. When Tidus and Paine embraced each other they kissed passionately, and it was a long moment before they finally released one another. Yuna slowly strode up to them then.
"We finally found you! Where have you been?" Paine asked him.
"I was in the corridors… I found something. I know what I have to do now." Tidus said.
"What do you mean?" Paine asked him.
"I'll explain when we get out of here… wait a minute, is that Rikku?" Tidus asked, bewildered.
"Yep! It's me! It's been a while now, huh?" Rikku said to him.
"Wow! I never thought I'd see you again! How did you get here?" Tidus asked.
"I came looking for Yuna, and when we met on the plaza we all joined up to come search for you." Rikku told him. Tidus felt his skin tingle. He looked past them both to the girl hanging back in the shadows. She was wearing a different dress now, and since she was further behind he hadn't recognized her.
"Yuna? Is that you?" Tidus asked. She stepped forward then to greet him.
"Tidus! I'm glad you're alright. It's good to see you again." Yuna said, forcing a pleasant grin onto her fair face. Tidus was wrenched from within, and his mind was suddenly ablaze with memory. He was put in a trance then, as all the lost remembrances of their journey together came washing over his consciousness. The mere sight of her triggered such a powerful stirring emotion in him, that he could not endure it all at once. He stumbled backward, until Paine and Rikku caught hold of him and propped him up.
"What's wrong? Are you alright?" Paine asked him, deeply dismayed.
"It's ok… I'll be fine." Tidus stammered after a moment.
"Let's get him out of here, quickly!" Paine said decisively, and the other girls nodded in agreement. Rikku scanned the path for them with her assault machina, and Yuna was right behind her. Paine walked with Tidus in the rear, holding his arm securely. They made their way back through the undercity to the underground plaza where they had entered.
On the battlefield, Setanta and his men were locked in fierce combat, poised to sweep the victory yet again. The pirate ranks were dwindling, but the black magic and fierce nature of the war-witches was enough to keep the struggle from turning immediately. Some stragglers from the Black Eagle tribe came pouring back down from the Calm Lands, when their queen gathered them up and led them back onto the battlefield. She departed from them and let her war-witches guide them, while she went to enter the battle between Setanta and Captain Korwin. The Black Eagles were only a couple hundred strong then, but they were encouraged by the witches and Zu flying overhead. They soon noticed, however, that an elderly man in black robes, carrying a staff, was walking briskly toward them.
Conchubar lifted up his staff as he came within a few hundred yards of the Black Eagle horde. He saw lights flashing across the clouds and the sky then, and he could see white figures flying in the distance, approaching from out of the clouds. He spoke words of prayer and devotion then.
"I proclaim the glory of the Lord of the Age of Light! Remphan, let your majesty and might be known! Let none challenge you!" Conchubar said, and he saw two Angels dart out from the clouds then, and they soared down to the ground beside him, landing with perfect ease and grace. They were glowing with divine light, and their silvery armor and weapons shone brightly. One of them was armed with a pair of swords, the other with a longbow and quiver of golden arrows. Their winged helmets glistened in the sunlight. Conchubar raised his staff again to salute them, and they both bowed cordially to him. Together the three of them walked across the field toward their enemies, and the angels wrought quick and relentless death upon the Black Eagles, who quickly fled the fight yet again, this time never to return. The two Angels took flight again, and chased after the Zu-riding witches, shooting them down one by one, until no more trace of the Black Eagle tribe could be seen anywhere near Bevelle. The Angels then departed, and Conchubar knelt in solemn prayer.
In the middle of the battlefield, Kimahri and Neela suddenly thrust themselves among the ranks of their kindred, and made their way to the front battle lines. Kelk Ronso saw them then, and he called out to Kimahri, tossing him a Titan Lance. Kimahri caught the weapon in one hand, and with the other he threw his spear into his enemies, killing one of them instantly. Then he took hold of the lance and fought on ferociously, killing every pirate that fell within his broad reach. Biran and Yenke saw him beside them and cheered with loud laughter.
"Is that Kimahri?" Biran said.
"He is strong after all! It is good that Kimahri fights beside us at last!" Yenke said, and together they routed the enemy mercilessly.
The battle was swiftly turning in the favor of the defenders, but the enemy leadership made one final effort to prevail. The Dark Queen swooped down with her Zu and landed in the middle of the melee, nearby Setanta himself. She dismounted and drew her weapons; a tomahawk and a totemic black magic wand. She was a tall and lithe woman, with pale skin and black hair braided into long locks. She was clothed in black leather that covered her chest and a black skirt around her waist. Leather bracers and golden armbands covered her arms. Beads, amulets and magical talismans hung from her neck and covered her breasts. She strode determinedly across the plains, coming toward Setanta directly, and once she was within a hundred yards she began to dash in a remarkable sprint.
Setanta turned toward her while Brutus guarded his back, and once she was near he lunged forward and swung horizontally in a wide arc. She miraculously dashed back at just the last instant before his blade would have slid through her, and only the tip scathed her midriff. A red line of blood appeared there, but she screeched a bloodthirsty war cry and flung herself at him again, swinging her tomahawk wildly. Setanta managed to block her attack, but she was in close to him then, and his long blade was unable to maneuver an attack on her; he could only deflect her assault by swinging the blade around his back as if it were a screen, deflecting her tomahawk. She jumped onto his back then and sank her nails into his shoulder, and tried to scratch out his eyes. Setanta grabbed her other wrist before she could reach his face, and he flung her over his shoulder. The Dark Queen rolled violently over the ground and immediately sprang back to her feet. As soon as she stood upright, Setanta's blade swept through her neck, and her head sprang free. A spectacular gush of blood followed it as it rolled across the reddened grassy field.
Once they saw her dead, the Black Eagles cried out in horror and the distressed screaming of her witches was horrendous. The pirates were terrified and demoralized then, and they struggled in a panic to free themselves and flee. Captain Korwin tried to rally them but Suldane parted the ranks and appeared a few paces to his side, holding his mighty axe with one hand, just below the double-heads. Suldane glared at him with a contented and wicked smirk. Korwin turned to attack him, lunging forward with his saber. Suldane merely turned aside and the blade missed him, and in the same whirling motion he brought up his axe and swept Korwin's legs out from under him. The pirate captain laid helpless on the ground; before he could move Suldane brought the axe swinging down like a pendulum, and it sank deep into Korwin's chest, splitting his ribcage open.
All of the pirates immediately broke ranks and fled then, seeping through the pores in the Marauders' enclosure from the eastern side of the battleground. They ran back toward the eastern shore to climb into their motor boats and try to board their dwindling ships. Only a few remained, but after a final volley from the nimble and accurate Al-Bhed ships, these last remaining frigates were demolished in a blaze of cannonfire. The pirates fled in a disorganized rabble then; some by sea, others on foot made their retreat into the Macalania woods. Suldane pulled his axe free and rushed out of the clustered ranks of his men, so that he could observe the sight of his enemies driven in defeat. He laughed triumphantly.
"Hahaha! Look at the bastards run, with their tails between their legs! Whew lads! We've won the day! Hahaha! All dead bastards on the road to Hell, and screaming vagrants scattered on the wind! It sounds like a sweet Angels' choir to my ears! Haha!" He proclaimed with euphoric laughter.
"All praise the Lord!" Setanta shouted beside him, and all the men raised their weapons high in a victory salute, as they cried out in cheer. Setanta raised his sword high in one hand, rallying his men around him, and then he motioned for them all to march back to Bevelle. They took captured tribals and pirates with them, and Brutus frolicked with the other hounds and lupines as he carried the head of the Dark Queen in his maw, parading it around in front of the marching ranks.
They marched triumphantly down the causeway of the Highbridge, sounding their battle horns and cheering jubilantly. The battle for Bevelle was finally over, and the city belonged to the victors.
