Chapter 11 - Zanarkand
The air although already cold and sharp had mutated and some how managed to render Cloud's muscles useless. He was frozen in place but why?. Sinister laughter echoed. "Well done Cloud. You may still prove to be useful after all." Sephiroth taunted as he descended from the clouds. Cloud tried to respond in some way but it was no use. "Nothing to say? Ha ha ha of course you don't." Sephiroth chuckled. "Shut up!" Tidus shouted which seemed to catch Sephiroth's attention reminding him that the others were just behind Cloud. "Hm? Oh it's you. You're the son of Jecht correct?" Tidus was stunned and stuttered out "You, I, how do you-" "Ah yes I know all about Jecht. When Seymour becomes Sin your father will be released, you should be thanking me." Sephiroth said with a smirk on his face. All Cloud could manage was a grunt which only made Sephiroth laugh "What was that Cloud? Ha ha ha! Now watch as I kill all of your friends right before your eyes!"
Sephiroth raised his sword and went straight for Yuna luckily Kimahri was there to block the hit however Sephiroth was able to parry Kimahri's spear which left him wide open. This time it was Auron who stepped in and he managed to block the attack as well as giving the group some space between them and Sephiroth. All Cloud could do was watch as Sephiroth beat them to a pulp. They didn't stand a chance, Cloud had to help them but all he could hear was Sephiroth's voice echoing through his mind commanding him to stay still. Cloud could only hope that Zack and Aerith could get him out before something terrible happened. Tidus and Auron went in Hacking and slashing away trying to land a blow however Sephiroth was too good of a swordsman to let his guard down so easily. Just then Tidus tackled Auron out of the way as Lulu combined her magic with Wakka's ball. The fiery ball took Sephiroth by surprise and it made impact however this only angered Sephiroth which made him even more lethal.
"Cloud!" Aerith's voice shouted from inside his head "Zack is fighting Sephiroth off but he won't last much longer so finish it quickly!" "Don't worry I will." Cloud said. Just as he was about to run into battle Aerith stopped him "I have a message from Zack. He said to go kick his ass." Cloud smirked and replied "Tell him the same."
Cloud turned and drew the Buster Sword. He ran straight at Sephiroth and slashed his sword across his back. Sephiroth fell to his knee and Cloud flipped over him and in front of his friends. Sephiroth would not harm them anymore. "You should not be able to move!" Sephiroth seethed. Cloud didn't have time to talk so he just advanced. Attack after attack came in from Cloud but they were all blocked. He knew Sephiroth would crack eventually, that back slash had crippled him a lot. Cloud launched his blade at Sephiroth and the Buster Sword locked with Sephiroth's Masamune. At the time Cloud had more strength and he put that to good use, he used the weight of his sword to throw Sephiroth back giving him some space. Cloud raised his sword in the air and ran his hand across the Buster Sword. It came as a surprise to Cloud but Climhazard was successful. With that limit break Sephiroth was done. "You got lucky today Cloud. Just remember, you are my puppet and you will obey me!" Sephiroth bellowed as he disappeared in a sea of black feathers.
"There's no time to waste let's go." Auron said as he turned towards the bypass. "Hold on," Cloud said "Sephiroth said that when Seymour becomes Sin Jecht will be free. Does that mean?". Cloud didn't get an answer however Auron and Tidus were exchanging looks. "What do you know?" Cloud questioned. Tidus looked up at them all and muttered "Sin's...my old man." "You hit your head?" Wakka asked which Tidus disregarded. "Sin is my old man. My old man became Sin! I don't know how or why he did it. I felt him inside. And when I did, I knew it was true. My old man is Spira's suffering. Sorry.". Silence fell upon them until Cloud said "You know what we have to do." "I know. Let's get him! I think he would want that." Tidus replied which made Lulu ask in surprise "You would fight your own father?" "Yeah. No problem there. Now let's get moving!" Tidus exclaimed as he and Rikku exchanged a look before locking their hands together.
Cloud and Yuna were at the back of the group trailing behind. "How do you feel about Jecht?" Cloud asked her and she looked down. "It is my duty as a summoner to defeat Sin. I can't let anything prevent me from achieving this goal, but I do feel for Tidus. I could never imagine fighting my own father could you?" "I don't know. I never knew my father, he died when I was still young." Cloud never thought he would talk about his parents with anyone again but he found it easy to talk to Yuna about anything. "I'm sorry, I didn't know." She said but Cloud shook his head "Don't be.". They continued to walk in silence for a moment until Yuna asked "By the way, what was wrong with you when Sephiroth showed up? You just froze.". Cloud stopped walking. Yuna turned to face him and put her hands on her hips "Tell me!". Cloud smirked "I can't hide anything from you. I don't really know how to explain it but there's a piece of Sephiroth inside of me. I can hear his voice ringing in the back of my mind, he must've found a way to influence me again." "You mean like when he forced you to give him the black materia?" Yuna asked and Cloud nodded. "Don't worry, Zack and Aerith help me drown him out. And with your help there's no way he'll be able to get through again." Cloud assured Yuna who nodded in agreement.
The group had made it through the bypass and were met with a strange sight indeed. Bodies were sticking out of the wall and gave off a glow mist. "A summoning! Someone is using these fayth. Someone is drawing energy from all of them." Yuna explained. Cloud was drawn to it as was Tidus. It seemed like they were in a trance and they both raised their hands to touch the fayth. As soon as contact was made they both fell to the floor and passed out.
When Cloud woke up he was in a completely different place. Tidus was next to him and he blurted out "Zanarkand!?" which made Cloud look at him in confusion. "This is your Zanarkand?" Cloud asked and Tidus nodded. Something caught Cloud's eye. He saw something running into a building, no it was someone, a child. The two of them followed the child into some kind of house. There were tonnes of Blitzball trophies and awards all line on different shelves scattered around the place. "Do you remember me?" The child asked from the bottom of the stairs. Cloud nodded "You're the fayth of Bahamut right?" then Tidus added "Where are we?". The fayth seemed to be amused by Tidus' question and said "Silly. Don't recognise your own home?" so they really were in Zanarkand. "Are you all right!?" "Wake up! Please!" The voices of their friends were echoing around the room. "This is a dream?" Cloud asked and the fayth nodded "We don't have time to be dreaming!" Tidus exclaimed and the fayth just sighed and ran outside. They followed it and found themselves on a balcony. "Tidus you aren't dreaming, you are the dream."
The fayth explained to them that the summoners and all the remaining people of a war 1000 years ago between Zanarkand and Bevelle became fayth in order to keep Zanarkand alive. All of this before Cloud's eyes was a dream created by the fayth, the buildings, the sound of people, the night sky and even...Tidus. "We've been dreaming for so long...we're tired. Will you, will you help us rest? You and your father have been touched by Sin, you're more than just dreams now. Just a little more and maybe..." The fayth said but Cloud was still confused. "What does any of this have to do with me? Why did you bring me here as well?" he asked and the fayth looked away. "You were brought here with our help Cloud. When we can finally rest you'll..." "I'll what!?" "You'll go back to Geae." Cloud looked down. All he could think about was Yuna. Was he to be separated from another loved one? Was fated really this cruel? "There's more," The fayth continued "Zack and Aerith are also fayth, you know. When you defeat Sin they will also rest and you will no longer be able to contact them."
Zack and Aerith's spirits appeared in front of Cloud and he muttered "Did you know?" "We've always known." Aerith replied with a choke. "We wanted to tell you, but it was just...too hard." Zack said. Cloud's eyes were fixed on the floor. "Is there anyway we can get back after Sin is defeated?" Tidus asked and the reply from the fayth was "There is a chance, however it's not in our control." "Cloud please wake up!" "Tidus get up!" Yuna and Rikku were calling for them, they had to wake up. The scenery began to fade and everything turned white.
When Cloud awoke he saw the worried faces of his friends looking over him. He blinked slowly then sat up. "Are you all right?" Yuna asked him and Cloud nodded. Tidus had began to come to as well and the two of them exchanged looks. The group questioned them on what happened however they kept what they saw to themselves "It must have been the fayth. I guess when we touched them some sort of toxin was released, best not to dwell on it." Cloud said and the others looked at both of them unconvinced however Cloud pressed that they should keep going.
They entered the cave leading to Zanarkand only to be faced with the trials od Gagazet. It wasn't too difficult though, a few mediocre challenges later and the group were already on there way out of the cave. The hard part was the fiend waiting for them just outside the exit. "Be careful! There's something different about this one!" Cloud warned the others. He drew his Fusion sword and charged the four legged beast. Cloud attacked a few times before jumping back to see it's response. The creature raised it's tail and shot multiple lasers at the group. Cloud managed to block the attack, however the others weren't so lucky. They had become disoriented and were unable to fight properly. Echo drops, that's what they needed. Cloud searched through his supplies only managing to find one echo drop. Only one of his friends could be cured instantly so he had to make the right choice. Yuna had told him that she had been practising new spells so maybe she could find a way to heal them without echo drops. He made a split second decision and rolled out of the way of the fiends attack, using the echo drop on Yuna as he did. "You need to help them." Cloud told Yuna who protested. "You're not fighting alone!" she argued but Cloud shook his head and said "Don't worry, I'll be fine."
Before Yuna could even reply Cloud turned and charged. A tail sweep came in but Cloud anticipated it and jumped over the tail. With the fiend turning back to Cloud an opening was created and Cloud seized the opportunity by slashing his sword across it's body. The fiend was still able to fight though and it slashed downwards attempting to knock Cloud over, however he was able to dodge it. Wakka's biltzball came flying in and caused the beast to stumble back. Wakka and Tidus then came to Cloud's side providing him with back up. "Save some for us bubby!" Wakka taunted and Cloud just smirked as he charged in again. He swung at it's head and locked his blade in between it's teeth. Cloud could only hope Tidus and Wakka knew what to do. Glancing behind him Cloud saw Tidus doing somersaults and heading straight for him and the fiend. He waited until the last possible second and pulled his blade away. Cloud rolled backwards to give Tidus a clear strike and it seemed as though that was the killing blow.
"Everyone ok?" Cloud asked and the general response was yes. Everyone stood up and began to walk until Rikku said "Hey, can't we rest for a while?" Auron dismissed the idea as they were almost at the summit. "That's why I want to stop for a bit. Soon means that...there's not much time left." Rikku said trailing off as she did. "Rikku..." Yuna replied "Fine. I'll think on the way."
As they walked up the path the old city of Zanarkand was revealed. Dozens of buildings stood there broken and forgotten just like the slums in Midgar or the rundown town of Corel. What a depressing place. "Yuna, I say no! If we go down there then you'll..." Rikku said once again trailing off. Yuna approached Rikku and put her hands on her shoulders "You're a true friend, and I thank you, but I must go..down, to Zanarkand" "Yunie.." Rikku sobbed and as Yuna went to hug her Cloud noticed she had dropped a sphere. "Thank you Rikku. Thank you for everything."
When the two separated the group continued on, however Cloud remained stood still, frozen. He was terrified. All these months he had been saying how Yuna wouldn't die and that he was going to save her, but the closer Zanarkand got closer the more he started to doubt himself. "You coming Cloud?" Tidus asked and he muttered under his breath "I'll catch up.". Tidus just nodded and ran back to the group. Cloud approached the sphere and picked it up. Could this be a message from Yuna? He hit play and watched as the video started.
"If you are all there watching this, then I guess Sin is already gone. And so am I, I suppose." Yuna's voice was broken and sad. The video showed the scenery of the Mi'ihen Highroad. Was this what she was up to when everyone was sat at the fire? Yuna continued to speak and said goodbye to everyone individually, recalling memories she shared with reach one of them. The video cut to Cloud who was sitting at the fire staring at the flames intensely. "I guess that leaves you, Cloud. The big scary man from Gaea," Yuna said giggling to herself. "Ever since I found you on the beach in Besaid I knew things were going to change. You always give me the courage I need to stand up for myself and for that I'm grateful. It's strange I didn't expect love to feel like this...I...um. Oh that's no good, I'll re-do that part." "Watchya up to?" Tidus' voice interrupted and then the video faded to black.
Cloud dropped the sphere on the floor. His eyes were burning and he was unable to move. He fell to his knees and punched the floor. How was he going to save her? The final aeon had the power to defeat Sin, there's no way Cloud could take it on. A tear rolled down his cheek and dripped on the floor. Even if he saved Yuna he would be sent back to Gaea, it was a lose lose situation. He couldn't let the others know how he was feeling, otherwise they would lose confidence as well so he manned up and stood up putting the sphere in a safe place as he did. He let out a sigh and continued up the path to catch up with the others.
When Cloud caught up they were all sitting around a campfire. Everyone was silent. Cloud looked down and then made a fist. He drew his Buster Sword and stuck it in the ground on top of a hill. He thought back to what Zack had said when he handed Cloud the Buster Sword. "This is my pride and dreams," Cloud said to the group "It's my living legacy and no matter what happens as long as this sword stands tall I will always be here." he continued. Yuna stood and then stuck on of her rods into the ground next to the Buster Sword "I hope I can be a part of that legacy." She said and Cloud kissed her on her forehead muttering the words "Of course." "Me too, ya!" Wakka exclaimed as he added one of his balls to the collection. Soon enough every single guardian got up and added one of their weapons to the Cloud's living legacy, no, to the groups living legacy. "Now where's my kiss bubby?" Wakka joked as he put his arm around Cloud which caused everyone to laugh. Even Auron cracked a smirk. Although it was short Cloud savoured every last moment of their time at the campfire. It was the last time they would probably laugh like that again all together.
Soon enough the sky had darkened and the stars had appeared. It was time to leave. No more breaks, no more jokes, it was time to get serious. This was their last mission. Cloud thought back to when he first started this journey. The group were so inexperienced in combat and now, now they were taking out strong fiends without even breaking a sweat. The road was broken and jagged. Parts of it were crooked and knocked out of place. This was no surprise to Cloud, after all this was the aftermath of a great war fought 1000 years ago. No matter what they were getting to that blitzball stadium at the end of the road, nothing was going to stop them.
As they approached the entrance they were met by an old and wise being. "Journeyer of the long road, name yourself." "I am the summoner Yuna. I have come from the island of Besaid." "Your eyes, my dear. Show me the long road you have travelled. Very good. You have done well. Lady Yunalesca will surely welcome your arrival. Go to her now with your guardians."
As the group entered they saw two people having a conversation, a summoner and her guardian. "Use my life Lady Yocun and rid Spira of Sin." were the last words uttered by the guardian until she along with the summoner disappeared. Had they just witnessed a memory of a high summoner? "This dome is filled with pyreflies. It's like one gigantic sphere. People's thoughts remain here. Forever." Auron explained. Continuing on even more memories were shown by the pyreflies. It seemed like every guardian was offering themselves for something, but what? Eventually they came across a familiar spikey blue haired child. It was Seymour. "No! Mother, no! I don't want you to become a fayth!" He cried and Cloud almost felt sorry for him. "There is no other way! Use me and defeat Sin. Only then will the people accept you." his mother said however Seymour continued to argue "I don't care about them! I need you mother! No one else!" "I don't...have much time left."
"Seymour?" Rikku questioned, however Cloud was more interested in what Seymour said. 'I don't want you to become a fayth'? What was he talking about? Another memory came to them. It was them. Braska Auron and Jecht. "Hey, Braska. You don't have to do this." Jecht said and the high summoner replied "Thank you for your concern." "Lord Braska, let us go back! I don't want to see you...die!" Auron protested. Braska simply smiled "Auron I am honoured that you care for me so. But I have come to kill grief itself. I will defeat Sin, and lift the veil of sorrow covering Spira. Please understand, Auron.". They carried on moving and made it to the centre of the stadium. "Is Yunalesca through there?" Cloud asked and Auron shook his head "The trials await us behind this door."
To Cloud's surprise the Zanarkand trials weren't as bad as he thought they would be. It was as simple as matching the LED shapes on the floor the the ones on the screen, nothing too difficult. Once they had obtained all the spheres representing each different temple and placed them in the peddestles the centre of the room lit up. A great being with immense power raised from the hole in the centre. "That is the Spectral Keeper. Do not underestimate it." Auron warned the group. As soon as they stepped on the symbols surrounding the hole the room changed and they were floating in the air.
Cloud analysed the battlefield and knew the Keeper's strategy instantly. He moved onto a symbol that was right in fornt of the Keeper and waited. Just as Cloud thought, it was slow and had poor agility. "Everyone keep moving! As long as we can keep moving then it shouldn't be able to hit us!" Cloud advised however he still had no idea what this thing could take so that was his next move. He advanced and took a swing at the Keeper. The Fusion sword barely made any impact. "Auron!" Cloud shouted and he nodded. Auron already understood and used his armour break ability which weakened the Keeper's defence. "Alright everyone let him have it!" Cloud shouted to the group and they obeyed. They were slaughtering the Keeper while Cloud charged his limit. "Stand back!" was the order as Cloud moved his sword in a circular motion above his head. He jumped up in the air and performed meteorain which obliterated the Keeper into pyreflies.
As the Keeper was destroyed the room turned back to normal and an elevator appeared. "Yuna." Cloud muttered as she said "The hall of the final summoning." "Go." was the response from Auron. Something didn't feel right to Cloud and that feeling was confirmed by Yuna's cry "Sir Auron! Everyone!". They all got on the elevator and found Yuna looking over a fayth, however it looked as though it's power had vanished. "That statue lost it's power as a fayth long ago," It was that guy from the entrance again "It is Lord Zaon, the first fayth of the final summoning. Lord Zaon is...his soul is gone." he continued. "There's no final aeon?" Cloud questioned and the reply was "Lady Yunalesca will show you the path. The final aeon will be yours. Go to her now. Inside, the lady awaits."