Disclaimer: Not mine

Chapter 11

Yuna gasped as she saw the group waiting for them, the anger on the faces of the priests. "Please…"

"Give us a chance to explain," Auron told them.

Lightning sparked over Harry's fingers as he looked at the group of priests and Guado, they were not good odds. He felt Tidus shift beside him, moving so they were better angled to protect Yuna.

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Nikos had been with the Temple for many years, ever since he had come as a young man. Then he had been a Summoner on Pilgrimage but that had ended here. He had come here to pray to the Fayth, and she had appeared before him and…it had been like coming home. He had been unsure when Seymour had come to them, there was something about him, but he was a Maester now and in charge of the Temple.

Nikos was very in tune with the Fayth, so he was shocked as the hymn suddenly went silent, eyes wide as she appeared before him. "My Lady?" he breathed.

There was no welcoming smile this time, her face cold and stern. "Do not interfere with the Lady Yuna," she commanded. "Anyone who does will never Summon any Aeon again. We will protect her."

"But they killed Maester Seymour…"

"And he killed Maester Jyscal. Lady Yuna will end the cycle of Sin for good and free us. Do not stand against her," she warned before fading away and he blinked.

Nikos saw some of the monks moving towards the party and stepped forward. "No, stand down!" he called shocking everyone before bowing to Lady Yuna. "The Fayth has spoken, no one is to impede the Lady Yuna or her Guardians."

Tromell glared. "The Guado take care of Guado affairs."

Nikos stared him down, feeling her pride in him as he did. "The Fayth themselves call Maester Seymour a murderer."

"Jyscal's sphere!" Rikku called and Tromell smirked.

"You mean this?" he held it up and went to break it only for it to fly from his hand to Harry's.

Harry felt Shana's pleasure at the priests actions even as she remained silent, the Hymn no longer being sung. He glanced at the priest, he would not try to stop them, he figured Shana had threatened to abandon him if he did. But that did not stop the Guado or keep them from taking the sphere by force should it be left with the priests. So, he slipped the sphere into his pack, other than the word of the Fayth it was their only evidence. Not that he thought Bevelle would do anything, he knew from the Fayth that those in charge were not Summoners. Seymour was dead but Harry had the sick feeling the Guado had no plans to send him.

"We are leaving," Auron stated calmly, he too knew that their actions here would come back to haunt them but there had been no other choice. If only Yuna had been able to send him. They back away from the priests who made no move to stop them but the Guado began to move so they ended up running back up the ice path and out of the ice cavern.

Harry glanced back and grimaced. "Run!" He didn't blame the priests for not stopping the Guado when they could summon fiends and most priests were not fighters. They came out onto the ice and skidded to a stop as they found several Guado and a large ape-like fiend waiting for them. How had they gotten ahead of them? They surrounded Yuna and readied their weapons, even as Harry heard the familiar, comforting sound of the Hymn began again. Rikku quickly snatched their potions, without them the Guado weren't that difficult to defeat, their fiend was. Harry hit it with a Flare spell even as Lulu made use of her recently learnt bio spell to help weaken it. Wakka was able to blind it while Auron and Tidus hacked and slashed away. Harry drew his own sword and joined them, adding in the occasional lightning bolt. They killed it….but not before it shattered the ice beneath their feet, sending them falling into the depths beneath the lake, Harry's magic surging wildly in an effort to ensure they all survived the fall.

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Harry coughed as he came to, feeling the odd, fading tingle that said that not only had he died but he'd broken his spine. Wonderful. He groaned and rolled to his side, feeling the cold stone beneath him. What had happened? He looked around and then it hit him, the ice. He absently used magic to clean himself off as he looked around, but no one was in sight. He pushed to his feet and stumbled, seeking the others, desperate to find them alive.

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"Harry!" Tidus yelled in relief as the older man stumbled into view. He ran over to him and slipped under his arm to support him. "Where are you hurt?" He lowered Harry onto a rock and took a deep breath before reaching out with a Cure spell, feeling it take effect. He knew theoretically that Harry was immortal but seeing him injured still had him near to panicking.

Harry smiled at Tidus and took his hand, gently squeezing it. "I'm okay. Where are the others?"

"I don't know, I woke up along," he admitted, terrified for Yuna.

Harry nodded and stood, now steady on his feet. "We'll find them," he promised, and they began walking.

"Where are we anyway?"

"Look up," Harry pointed and Tidus looked up at the ice above them. "That's the bottom of the Temple, we fell a long way." They walked quietly, looking for any sign of the others only to suddenly stop.

"Harry…"

"The Hymn's stopped," Harry nodded, looking around warily. It had stopped back in the Temple because Shana had been angry, but it had been audible since they had left the Temple. Why stop now? "Merlin…" Harry whispered in alarm and Tidus grabbed his hand, holding on tight.

"Sin…" Tidus choked out before the world went crazy. He felt Harry's grip tighten on his before darkness claimed him. Once again he found himself in a hazy Zanarkand, upside down. "Zanarkand… You homesick, too?" he asked and then Blitzballs appeared, lying on the deck of their houseboat. "That's not your world anymore. You're Sin now," he choked out. An image of Tidus as a child sitting on the deck, looking out at the city, formed and Tidus managed a shaky laugh. "Hey, I'm older now, you know?" And then his Dad was there, in front of the door, his back to Tidus. "I know. You want this to end. I'll find a way. Promise," he whispered, even if it meant his own death as well.

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Tidus choked and gasped, coughing up water even as he was rolled onto his side to keep him from choking.

"Easy, you're okay," Harry soothed, rubbing his back, and Tidus blearily opened his eyes to see Harry leaning over him.

He pushed up and Harry helped him, looking around to see sand and sea, nothing else. "Where are we?" He asked as Harry helped him to his feet.

"From the look of it? Bikanel Island, only desert island in Spira and home of the Al Bhed," Harry answered, relieved Tidus was awake now. "You were out for a while. We ended up in the water and I think you swallowed half of it."

Tidus winced, the magic used by Blitzballer's relied on them being conscious when they went under, if they weren't then they drowned just as easily as anyone else, that was what most had assumed had happened to Jecht. "Thanks Dad," he glared at the water and Harry chuckled. "The others?"

"Don't know yet, was a bit busy keeping you alive." It had been touch and go for a few moments which had scared him. "We should move, we'll need to find a fresh water source before nightfall."

Tidus nodded and they headed up the sand. He turned to look back at the sea. "I forgive you, this time. Be good for a while, okay?" he whispered and then turned away to follow Harry into the desert.

"Down!" Harry yelled and they both dropped as a shadow passed over them.

"Great," Tidus grumbled, freeing his sword to face the massive bird-like fiend. Harry hit it with a Flare spell and it barely flinched. Tidus grinned and cast Bio, happy he'd learnt it from Lulu earlier. Thankfully, the bird wasn't immune, and they alternated magic with sword work until it finally a thunder bolt hit it and Tidus looked over to see Lulu hurrying towards them, relieved to finally see someone else.

"Are you alright?" She asked and they nodded. One last Flare from Harry and it burst into Pyreflies.

"The others?" Tidus asked, scared for the others.

"Haven't found them yet. We're supposed to stay in one place if we get split up."

"How does that work, if we're split up but all stay in one place then no one will be making their way to the others," Harry pointed out and she frowned before nodding. They set off, Harry stripping his jacket off in the heat of the sun. They crested a sand dune and spotted a large, dead machina with a human form sheltering under it.

As they got closer the red hair became obvious and Tidus grinned. "Wakka!" he yelled and the other Blitzballer looked up, grinning in relief.

"Hey!"

"You okay?" Harry asked as they joined him in the shade.

"Ya, I'm fine," Wakka was relieved to see them. They'd all been worried when they'd woken under the ice to no sign of Harry or Tidus. "Where's Yuna?"

Lulu frowned, hopefully she was with one of the others. They rested for a time in the shade, keeping out of the worst of the heat before setting out again. Auron found them when they were fighting a group of fiends, and then they found Kimahri stuck in a deep sandpit.

"Yuna….gone," he told them despondently and Tidus scowled at him.

"It's not your fault, Kimahri! Come on, let's go find her," Tidus grinned and Kimahri nodded slowly. Now only Rikku and Yuna were missing but Harry wasn't worried about Rikku, if anyone knew how to navigate the island it was Rikku. They spent the night huddled under broken machina, eating cold rations before taking turns at watch. Tidus shook Harry and Auron awake and pointed into the distance where an explosion of light lit the sky.

"Flare gun," Harry commented. "Al Bhed."

"Help?" Tidus asked eagerly.

"Could be," Harry tried to work out how close it was but that wasn't easy in a desert. "Looks like someone in trouble or someone who has found something…or someone."

"Should we go look?" Tidus asked, what if it was Rikku or Yuna?

"I'll go," Harry grabbed his coat that he'd been using as a pillow. "Be back in a bit," he judged the heading and took off jogging across the sand until he was out of sight and could really run. He reached the spot and saw a lot of tracks…but no one there. He bent down and picked up a ribbon…Yuna. The Al Bhed wouldn't hurt her, she was half Al Bhed and a Summoner. Getting her back might be interesting though. He turned and then relaxed as he recognised the small figure running up to him. "Rikku."

"Harry! I saw the flare," she panted and then saw the ribbon in his hand. "Oh no."

"Yeah, come on, let's get back to the others." He led her back to their camp where they were all glad to see her.

"Yuna?" Lulu asked and Harry gave her the ribbon.

"The Al Bhed have her so she's safe."

"Safe? You mean kidnapped!" Wakka snapped.

"What does it matter as long as she's safe?" Tidus demanded and Rikku nodded.

"That's right! Anyway, I will take you there if you promise… that you won't tell anyone about it. Especially not Yevonites, okay? You know they don't like us Al Bhed. Who knows what they'll do if they knew?"

Wakka rolled his eyes. "Gimme a break. What are you accusing Yevon of this time?"

"Yevon did something really bad to us before," she admitted softly.

'Well, you Al Bhed must've deserved it."

"Argh! Can't you guys…talk about this later?" Tidus glared at them both.

"Just promise you won't tell anyone about this island. Promise?"

"Promise,' Harry told her, and the others nodded, except for Wakka.

"Wakka, come on!"

"All right, I promise! Lead the way."

"It's too risky to travel at night," Rikku shook her head and Wakka went to argue.

"She's right, get some sleep," Harry told him. Gradually the camp settled down and went back to sleep, Harry on watch now.

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The next day was spent fighting fiends and slowly getting closer to Home. They finally came to the top of a hill and looked down at a massive building, part of it buried in the sand.

"Yuna's down there?" Wakka complained.

They ignored him and headed down the slope, Rikku calling out as they got close enough. Al Bhed were soon around them, eyeing them. they were shocked when Harry and Tidus greeted them in Al Bhed, not expecting them to understand or speak their language.

"Father!" Rikku called as the older man approached.

"Rikku," he was relieved to see his only daughter alive and well, even if she was in the company of Guardians. How had they gotten to the island when last word had them at Macalania Temple?

"Everyone, this is my Dad, Cid, leader of the Al Bhed," she introduced.

Cid was shocked when the two young men greeted him in his own language, one more fluently than the other but both were understandable.

"Is Yuna here?" Harry asked. "We got split up, but I followed a flare and found one of her ribbons. We were hoping that means you found her."

Cid nodded, "she is here." It was a relief to have his niece safe, he would not allow her to gain the Final Aeon.

"Then we will be on our way, with Yuna," Auron stated firmly.

Cid frowned. "Yuna will remain here, safe."

"You can't keep her against her will!" Tidus snapped at the man.

"So I should let you take her to her death?" Cid snapped back and Tidus rolled his eyes.

"How many times do you guys need to be told?" Tidus growled and Harry gently tugged him back, they were more than a little outnumbered should a fight start.

It was possible that Tidus would not die, kept alive by the Fayth and Auron was unsent but the others? Yeah, not going to risk that. "As the Al Bhed have been told since the first attempt to take Yuna in Luca, she will not be using the Final Aeon. We are going to stop Sin, permanently," Harry told Cid.

"Why should," Cid was cut off as an alarm began to blare. Fiends began appearing around them and the Guardians exploded into motion, Yuna was inside, therefore no fiend was allowed to get passed them.

"Guado!" Harry yelled as he spotted the distinctive hairstyle, sending a Death spell his way.

"A war? Between Yevon and the Al Bhed?" Lulu asked as she cast spell after spell, this did not make any sense.

And then wounded Al Bhed stumbled form inside of the building. "Guado go for Summoners!" one called, and Harry swore.

"Go!" Auron yelled and Harry nodded, bolting inside, Tidus quickly at his side as they cut through anything in their way.

They came to a sealed door and quickly cut through to find Dona, Isaaru and Yuna being protected by Al Bhed as Guado and fiends attacked, obviously trying to get to Yuna. All three had summoned, Valefor, Ifrit and Ixion wreaking havoc on the fiends. Harry tossed Tidus a potion and he downed it quickly before they ran in, attacking from the rear.

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Yuna was exhausted but she refused to back down, she would not let the Al Bhed fight alone. She drew the knife Harry had slipped her days ago and prepared to defend herself close range if necessary. As the Guado began to fall from the rear she smiled, recognising the signature use of a Flare spell. They had found her. Ixion lashed out using Thor's Hammer as if sensing her happiness even as Ifrit screamed in defiance, attacking like crazy…but Harry had been…close to the Fayth so was it surprising the Aeon would fight hard if he was present? With a last blast the room fell silent and she stumbled before running, throwing herself into Harry's arms, feeling him hug her close.

"Alright sweetheart?" he murmured, and she nodded, clinging to him as Tidus guarded them and then she moved to hug Tidus who held on just as tight.

"I was so worried," he admitted. "No more getting kidnapped, okay?"

That made her laugh and nod before she pulled back to look at the dead Al Bhed.

"Hello again. Wait there until we have performed the sending," Dona told the two men, one eyebrow arched at the way her fellow Summoner had greeted them.

"They died…protecting us. It's not much, but the least we can do is give them a proper sending," Isaaru agreed and Yuna nodded, moving to help them even as Tidus and Harry moved among the living, offering aide.

"We need to move, can you travel?" Harry asked the Summoners and their Guardians who all nodded. "Stay together, Guado and fiends are everywhere."

They moved out, soon finding the rest of the group.

"Harry! Dad's going to blow Home to take them out. We need to go!" Rikku yelled as they appeared.

"Lead the way," he answered as he helped Yuna over some rubble. They ran for their lives, not stopping to fight, using spells and Summons to clear the path until they entered a tunnel and then emerged in a small room. The door opened and Harry's eyes widened. "An airship?" where the hell had they found an operational airship? They got on board and Harry led them to the bridge.

"No time! Go, go go!"

"Three minutes left!"

"Hurry, hurry! You have one minute!" Cid yelled back. "Everyone on board?"

"Everyone alive!"

Harry ignored the chatter as he moved to one of the panels and Tidus joined him, both reading the information, easily able to understand the writing. It began to shake as Brother worked to launch and Harry shook his head, pointing to a readout. Tidus saw it and winced.

"We won't make it," he hissed, and Harry nodded.

"I'll handle it," he left, running for the engine room where he ignored the startled Al Bhed to pull a panel off and then he went to work, quickly rewiring the system.

"Tidus?" Yuna moved over to him and he wrapped an arm around her. "What's wrong?"

"This thing hasn't flown in a thousand years. Harry went to fix it," he assured her. This was beyond his repair skills, he knew houseboats not airships. He relaxed as the warnings on the panel cut out and everything began to show as operational enough for them to launch. They fell silent as the Al Bhed on the bridge began to sing the Hymn solemnly.

"What's goin' on?" Wakka demanded, looking around wildly.

"We're…we're going to blow up our Home," Rikku choked out.

"How?" Lulu frowned, it would take the Bahamut several Mega Flare's to do that and none of the Summoners on board had access to that Aeon yet. Even an Ultima spell wouldn't be enough.

"With one of the forbidden machina!" Cid answered before turning to his people. "Ready? Fire!"

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Feeling the lurch and sound Harry moved to one of the windows, watching as the ships guns fired on Home, levelling it and then it exploded. He bowed his head, how many Al Bhed had given their lives that the rest could escape? He straightened up and went back to showing the others how to begin further repairs before he left them to it and headed back to the Bridge. They needed to decide what to do next, Bevelle was technically the next stop on the route and yet going there would be dangerous now. He found the others watching in silence on the bridge as Home burned and he joined Tidus and Yuna, saddened by the waste of life. This shouldn't have happened, there was no reason to attack the Al Bhed.

"They were after me," Yuna whispered.

"Yuna?" Tidus frowned.

"The Guado, they wanted me, but the Al Bhed wouldn't let them take me."

"revenge for Seymour?" Tidus asked and Harry shrugged.

"Possibly."

"Or?"

"Yuna did not send Seymour."

"You think he's unsent?" she asked in alarm and Harry nodded. "He wants me," she shivered, and Harry hugged her.

"He won't get near you," he promised and Tidus nodded. They would never let Seymour get his hands on Yuna, who knew what he had planned.

"Where are we headed?" Auron asked once the island was out of sight.

"Bevelle," Yuna answered as she stepped away from Harry's embrace.

"What?" Rikku stared at her with wide eyes.

"I must go to the Temple," Yuna answered.

"If word has reached Bevelle we will be arrested."

"If they see us, there's more than one way into that city," Harry answered, he had scouted the city when he had woken, he had found every way in thanks to magic. "It is still risky, we'll be safe in the Temple, nowhere else," he warned, and Yuna nodded.

"Now wait a minute…" Cid cut in and Yuna turned to him.

"Thank you for your concern Uncle, but this is my Pilgrimage. I will face Sin and I will defeat it, without the Final Aeon. I have already received Aeons that have been forgotten but I must also go to the Temples. This is my decision."

Cid stared at her, she was so much like her Mother. If only he had remained closed to her after she married Braska… "Alright! You heard her, set course for Bevelle," he called to Brother and Yuna smiled at him.

TBC…