Sahrah: Ooh, so it's chapter ten, is it? Hm. Some very dramatic ends in here… I'm already crying. It's certainly going to be a good chapter, don't you think?
bloodredx: Oh, I hope so. I'm looking forward to it. Although I'm a bit saddened.
Sahrah: Yeah, but sadness is part of it. I'm sad because I don't own the characters (mostly) or the music (this chapter's song is 'My Immortal' by Evanescence.). I'm also sad because after this, it's all fluff until the ending. Which will also be quite fluffy. But, fluff is fun… and I haven't written any in a while, how unlike me…
bloodredx: Of course. I think I'll enjoy a break from the serious. And Yuna/Tidus fluff is always cute, especially when it comes from you.
Sahrah: Aww, thank you! Some of it will be Rikku/Gippal, though. Well, I suppose we'd best get this road on the show. I've already had one reviewer all yelling at me… Heehee, sorry guys! I love you all! Yuna's point of view. For a change.
Chapter 10: Just Too Real
He was angrier than I'd ever seen him before, with a sleek and deadly sword in one hand and one of Marza's guns in the other. His normally calm and calculating face was curled up into an ugly snarl. His eyes were pits to hell, and his hands twitched on the weapons.
"I challenge you," Ray said lamely, pointing the sword at Tidus, who only tightened his grip on me.
I'm so tired of being here
Suppressed by all my
Childish fears
"No," Tidus answered firmly. "I have done everything you asked of me. I have left my friends behind, put them at extreme risk. I have beaten the challenge you gave me, and now I'm going home. And I'm taking Yuna with me. You got that, you bastard?"
Ray's eyes were angrier than ever, almost red with rage. He dropped the sword and raised the gun.
And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
'Cuz your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone
"Then I'll just kill you both," he hissed.
"The hell you will," I mumbled. I reached around to Tidus' back pocket and pulled out my gun that he'd kept with him. I whirled and fired, shooting Ray in the foot. He screamed and dropped the gun, hopping stupidly on one foot.
These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just so much that time cannot erase
"Don't I get a say in this?" I asked him sarcastically. "Or am I supposed to sit around and wait for someone to decide what happens next? I'm tired of that; I've been doing it for hours. You want to fight someone, Ray? Then fight me. Got it? Let's go. Right now. I could kill you for what you've done." I raised my gun again. "I won't kill you… but you can still go to hell!" I lunged for the sword he'd dropped and grabbed it, thrusting the gun into my belt and raising the sword. Paine and Tidus had taught me well.
"No!" Ray howled, falling on his rear end in surprise. I held the blade to his throat.
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand for all of these years
But you still have
All of me
"Seems you're all talk," I told him. "That was pathetic. You really aren't very powerful, are you?" He looked at me with his demon eyes and called for his sister.
"MARZA! GET IN HERE!" Of course, Marza came running. Her shoulder-length blonde hair that had been in a ponytail previously was floating around her neck, and she'd changed into a clean lavender tank top.
You used to captivate me by your resonating light
Now I'm bound by the life you left behind
Your face it haunts
My once pleasant dreams
Your voice it chased away
All the sanity in me
"What is it?" she asked calmly, as if she didn't see my sword on his neck.
"STOP HER!"
"No."
Even I was a bit taken aback. But no where near as much as Ray seemed to be.
"WHAT!?"
"No, I don't want to stop her," Marza answered. "You can let Elliot go; I'm tired of being afraid of him, and of you. You, dear brother, are a thorn in my side and I am glad to be rid you. So go on, let him go. I'm done with this crap."
These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase
Ray started laughing then, cackling like the villain he really was. He pushed the blade away from his neck and stood up, shaking his head at his sister. "Let him go? You stupid bitch! He's dead! He's been dead for months, you moron!" Ray spat his words cruelly as Marza's eyes widened in horror and anger.
"How could you?" she hissed. "HOW COULD YOU HOLD IT AGAINST ME? YOU… YOU SICK MAN!"
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have
All of me
"Please," he snorted. "You were the one stupid enough to believe me."
"You monster!" Marza started sobbing; her eyes fierce and angry like fire. "I GAVE YOU EVERYTHING I HAD LEFT!"
"Yes… you did, didn't you, my sister? But it doesn't matter."
"THE HELL IT DOESN'T!" Marza whirled and grabbed the sword from my hand, pointing it skillfully at her brother. He smirked, tilting his head.
"My quarrel is not with you, Marza. Stand down."
"I've been taking orders from you for months, you dog. I have done everything you asked of me. I have not disobeyed you, no matter how WRONG I thought you were. Because I owed you a life debt that you held against me. You strangled me with it. But you KILLED Elliot. He's dead, and you lied. You betrayed me, and now I'm going to take your life."
I tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone
But though you're still with me
"You'll be sent to prison," snapped Ray.
"It'll be well worth it, I assure you."
"I'll kill them, you know." Marza froze. Ray had the gun out and was pointing it at Tidus's head. We were across the room from him, but Ray had proved himself a marksman and would not miss. "There is one shot left in this gun, and I will kill Tidus Watanuki right before your eyes, Marza! This man you fell in love with…I'll kill him, just like I killed Elliot! And then I'll take Tidus' sword and kill Yuna, then I'll take Yuna's gun and kill you!"
I've been alone all along
"Wait," I exclaimed, stepping back to where Tidus stood. "In love?"
"That's right, Yuna," Marza whispered, dropping the sword. "But I… I didn't mean to!" she looked up, her face contorted with guilt. "I didn't mean to fall in love with him! B-but, he was so much like Elliot had once been, that I… I'M SORRY, YUNA! OH YEVON, I'M SO SORRY! BUT I LOVE TIDUS, TOO!" She collapsed on the ground sobbing, her shoulders shaking and her breathing erratic. She seemed to be entering some form of shock.
I shook my head. "It's okay, Marza! It's going to be all right! I forgive you!"
"Marza!" Tidus added. "Get up!"
When you cried I'd wiped away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
"How sentimental," snorted Ray. "Bye bye, Tidus." He cocked the gun and aimed.
Almost in slow motion, I ran to Tidus and held him fiercely.
"I won't live without you!" I hissed to Tidus as he hugged me. Marza was screaming into her hands, her face unseen under her blonde hair. Ray smiled sadistically.
"No, Ray, don't!" I screamed. "Don't! TIDUS!" Tidus hugged me tighter, closing his eyes tightly. Ray pulled the trigger, laughing hysterically, his sanity long gone. The shot was loud, explosive, like a scream cutting through silence.
But you still have all of me…
The shot rang through the air faster than I could scream for something, anything, to stop. Then it was dead silent.
All of me…
The bullet went through Marza's heart, probably killing her instantly. Her periwinkle eyes were wide with shock, rage, grief, and sorrow. One final tear escaped her mournful eyes. Her mouth was open slightly. Her pretty blonde hair was splayed around her. She landed with a soft thud.
"MARZA!" Tidus and I screamed, releasing each other and racing to her fallen body.
The blonde girl had leapt into the bullet's path. To protect Tidus – and to protect me – she had died.
Then, I couldn't feel anything until something soft and warm ran from my eyes and down my cheeks. Tears for this girl, who had kidnapped me, put Tidus and our friends through dangerous trials, fallen in love with my boyfriend. Tears for this girl who had been trapped in a rapist's house for a week and had lived, would have lived, a life full of terror. Tears for this very human girl who had never been given the love she'd wanted or needed.
Tears for this girl who was so much like me.
Tidus cried too, for a girl he'd barely known but knew so much about. Tears for a girl that he could have loved. Tears for a girl who had loved him.
Ray let out a strangled sound, a mix of rage and shock. He stumbled out of the room hastily. His fate was momentarily forgotten—Marza… had died for Tidus and for me.
All of me…
Marza was dead.
Marza's POV
It didn't hurt, really. Dying. It didn't hurt.
I was sort of hovering over where my body was. Yuna started bawling, screaming bloody murder. She was sobbing. Tidus was, too. Ray, of course, had already left. He had, I could tell, decided his final move. But I didn't worry. I would never see Ray ever again.
Death was not cold. No, for me, it was warm, welcome. I felt no more pain; I was weightless. It was liberating to the extent where I could have forgiven Elliot for everything he'd ever done. I could forgive the entire world for what it had done to me. It didn't matter anymore. I was free.
Tidus hugged Yuna gently, and I felt regret. There had never been anyone in my life to hold me like that. Suddenly, I felt alone, more than I'd ever been in my entire life.
What would become of me now, I wondered? I might've panicked a bit. Was I going to be as miserable and alone in death as I had been in life?
I watched Yuna and Tidus for a long time. It could've been minutes, it could have been hours. Time, I soon learned, is irrelevant after you die. Soon, the pair stood and left. Tidus was limping, and Yuna was still hysterical.
The room was then empty, and I looked to examine my dead body. A wave of calm washed over me. Something warm was emanating from behind where I stood. I turned; a magnificent light, brilliant and grand, was shining from everywhere. It was dazzling, almost blinding. I saw a hand reach towards me. It belonged to a man who looked my age.
"E-Elliot?" I whispered fearfully, pulling away. It was Elliot's face. But the man shook his head no, and gently wrapped his fingers around my wrist. No, it wasn't Elliot. This person was an angel, probably.
They say that at the light, all your family members who have died will wait for you. But, I suppose, since my family hated me, I was given an angel for myself. Hesitantly, I reached up to touch his face. It was so warm, so comforting. There was something wet on my cheeks; was I crying?
My angel wiped the tears away. He told me that no one can leave the physical world until they cry for themselves. When you die, it is the only time that you ever cry for only yourself.
You cry for your own funeral. You cry because your life is over. I cried because it never really began. I cried because I had no real reason to cry; I had no reason to live, after all. I cried because I was dead.
I cried only for me.
And then I stopped crying. The angel turned me towards the source of the light. It was warm. It was bright. It was happy.
Nothing hurt me anymore. I was free. It was the first time that I truly felt like everything was going to be okay.
"Will I be happy?" I asked my angel. He nodded with a smile. And so, I was.