Bound Through the Ages
A/N; Please read the message in bold at the top of my profile regarding updates. Please enjoy.
Chapter 12; A sword through the heart
Zanarkand
Harry walked out of the door at a fast pace and it took him a moment before he spotted the beast hanging above Zanarkand. He'd been so furious that he'd completely missed the Myst leaking from him body in response to Sin's presence. He stopped a few paces outside of the old Blitzball stadium and merely looked up at the floating creature.
"Jecht, your son is as infuriating as you are." Harry told Sin even though it couldn't understand him. "He'll either save my soul or destroy Spira once and for all. You made a mistake by bringing him to me." Harry continued getting louder and his tone became angry. "Why did you bring him to me? Because of Tidus I let it be known who I am. Was that your plan? To release the Aeon to destroy you?"
Harry drew his sword from his back and levelled it at Sin who didn't even move. It was over three hundred metres high hanging about fifty metres off of the ground. This sword would barely be a pin prick. "If that was your plan it won't work!" Harry yelled. "I'd kill them all before they reached it!"
Harry dropped his sword so the tip hit the ground, shook his head and slotted the sword onto the catch on his back and turned to the south, aiming to cross the mountains and return to Bevelle to take his anger out on whatever might remain of the Maesters. He was perhaps half way across Zanarkand when Sin left the ruins, heading into the west and the frigid northern ocean. An hour after that he heard the faint throb of an Airship's engines and he turned to see the Highwind settle over the other side of the city for a while before it took back off and headed south, over his head and onwards.
That might be a problem but only if they put all the clues together and even then it wasn't an easy passage to make, especially if Harry was there to greet them. He stopped when a figure appeared out the pyreflies ahead of him and Harry almost brushed past him and continued but just couldn't do that to Simon. No matter how angry he was.
"Harry." His voice was barely a whisper but it was his real voice and not an echo. "What are you doing?"
"What does it look like?" Harry asked.
"You should be with Tidus." Simon told him.
"Open your eyes, Simon, there is no me and Tidus." Harry almost snarled but his voice betrayed his defeat. Yet again the world had come apart for Harry. Not like the Great Cataclysm and not as badly as when Simon had died but still dramatic for Harry. "I gave up being able to die. I gave up you so that I could free the others one day. And I made the decision because I thought I loved Tidus and that he loved me and would trust me."
"And now he's gone." Simon spoke sadly. "But that doesn't change what you stayed here for. The Fayths are still trapped. You can still free them."
"How?" Harry begged. "Tell me how!"
"You know how." Simon sighed. "Let them release it."
"No." Harry shook his head in denial. "You agreed with me. I told you what I really was and you agreed with me that there would never be a time when that was an option."
"But if there was ever a time, Harry, it's now. They are willing to use it and the other Fayths want it too." Simon sighed.
"Simon, no." Harry cried, tears on his face and he fell to his knees. "I can't kill so many people again. It's like a black cloud waiting to wipe everything out leaving only me behind. I can't murder so many people to be left standing at the end. I can't face that again, Si. Millions will die and I'll be left a shell afterwards and I won't recover this time. I won't, Si."
His answer was silence and he looked up to find Simon kneeling before him with such a lost expression on his face it broke Harry's heart all over again. "How can you love a monster, Simon?" Harry cried. "I might pretend to be a human but inside I'm the worst thing in Spira."
"Harry, you're the one thing that I can say with certainty is right in this world." Simon told him gently. "And no matter what happens I will always love you. And no matter what happened in there, Tidus will always love you."
"Si..." Harry sighed even as his old husband faded from view with a warm gust of air that settled into Harry's skin. Harry sat on the ground, wrapped his arms around his legs and cried as he pictured what the world would be like again if they released him. A dead world with only Harry to walk it. Alone for eternity.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Airship
Tidus helped Lulu sit on one of the beds in the infirmary as he felt the ship lift up from the ground and bank around. Tidus sat next to her and wiped at his face, unable to keep his eyes completely dry and Lulu saw it and put her hand on his back.
"We should look for him." Wakka announced from across the room where he was helping Yuna to sit on another of the beds. Kimahri was also walking wounded as was Auron though he didn't show any wounds. Rikku, himself and Wakka were the only ones that weren't with serious injuries. Lulu was shaken to the core and pale as a ghost and Yuna was almost unconscious. They'd never been so badly beaten in their lives. It was true that they'd been able to defeat Yunalesca but there was no point in trying to convince themselves that they'd bettered Harry. He'd held back because he hadn't wanted to kill any of them but he'd still beaten Auron in seconds, Lulu and Kimahri in only a slightly longer time and then only not been able to protect Yunalesca because Yuna had surprised them all by summoning the most powerful Aeon she had without her staff and now she was half asleep because of it.
"You think we could find him?" Rikku asked. "He didn't look like he wanted anything to do with us and even if we do find him he could just kill us or beat us again and walk off."
"What did he do?" Cid asked walking up to them from the doorway.
"He turned on us is what he did." Wakka announced.
"He didn't turn on us." Tidus said as he stood up. "We turned on him and Yunalesca. Harry was right, Yunalesca had nothing to do with Yevon. All she wanted was for people to be able to live with a little bit of peace. That's what Harry has fought for these last thousand years."
They all looked at him with sad expressions. "That doesn't change what we have to do." Yuna made Wakka help her sit up. "We have to end this now. Destroy Sin once and for all and let Spira rebuild itself, no matter how bad it is afterwards. Spira has always rebuilt itself after every Sin that came here and we can do so again. Just once more."
"We can only try." Auron nodded.
"If Harry doesn't kill us." Tidus spoke up.
"He won't kill us." Rikku argued.
"He will." Yuna gasped tiredly. "They are all telling me it. All of the Aeons. Harry will kill us all before we do it again. Tidus is the only one that he might hesitate to kill. We have to use that." She said just before wincing in pain.
"What?" Wakka asked in concern.
"It's the only choice. He won't kill Tidus." She winced again even as she spoke.
"I'd imagine the Aeons do not like the idea of using Tidus against Harry." Lulu spoke up.
"What do you say, Tidus?" Auron asked.
Tidus couldn't answer and merely turned towards the windows and sat against one of the pillars and watched the clouds brush past them.
"The first problem." Yuna continued. "Is where we're supposed to find the Fayth of this Aeon."
Cid glanced at Rikku who nodded and turned to Yuna. "That we may be able to help you with."
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Three days later
Harry walked into the small port town on Aracabo. It was one of the small towns that lined the eastern coast of Spira. Not normally travelled to because it didn't have a temple but it was a major port town for supplies travelling to Bevelle which, even though it sat on the coast, didn't have a port. The town was only a few miles south of Bevelle but the road between them was quite well travelled by people from the city wanting to travel south by boat.
Harry wanted to find an Al-bhed ship in port which wasn't uncommon but because of the recent troubles there were none but Harry had spotted two Al-bhed within the forges of the city and they'd had the look of sailors about them. He spied on them for a while and found that they were looking for a few spare parts for their ship. They got what they needed quite easily and Harry followed them down to the docks to a small boat moored up to the jetty and as they were about to cast off with their supplies Harry stepped up to the boat and put his hand on the bollard to stop him casting off the line.
"What is it that you want?" The man asked him in struggling common.
"I wish to talk to your Captain." Harry told him in perfect Al-bhed making him snap his head up.
"You don't look like an Al-bhed." The man frowned.
"I'm not. I'm a friend of Cid though." Harry told him. "Where is your ship?"
"About a mile out around in the bay." The man told him. "What do you want with our Captain?"
"I need transport." Harry told him. "I can pay for it and it isn't too far away especially if you're travelling south."
"We'll take you to the ship but whether to accept is up to the Captain." Harry was told and he cast off the boat and stepped onboard. The trip was short but Harry helped with the oars and soon they were entering a bay where one of the normal Al-bhed motor ships sat at a short stay anchor, they hadn't planned on remaining here for long. There were about ten members of crew on these ships and their main purpose since the creation of Home was to transfer supplies to the city but now they'd be returning to their old purpose, travelling between the trade ports and the Al-bhed travellers. Obviously one of the crew had noticed the additional person on the ship because as the little boat came alongside and Harry climbed up onto the deck he was met by almost the entire crew. The Al-bhed had become less suspicious after the creation of Home but that would fall away now.
"What's this?" One of them, probably the Captain asked as the two crew from the boat climbed up onto the deck.
"He wanted to talk to you, Captain. About transport." The same man told him.
"Transport of what?" The Captain asked. "And what is he offering?"
"Transport of only myself." Harry cut in making the Captain realise he could speak and understand Al-bhed perfectly. "And I can pay well."
"And where is it you want to go?" The Captain asked.
"Cid led an expedition a few months ago to the old Ruins where you found the Ancient Airship and salvaged it." Harry told them making them all flinch in surprise. "I wish to return there as fast as possible. I believe it likely that Cid has taken the Airship there."
"You seem to know much of the Al-bhed." The Captain told him.
"I'm older than I look." Harry said bluntly. "I travelled with Cid when he was younger and helped him unit the tribes and helped to build Home."
"You're the Harry he talks about?" The Captain raised his eyebrows.
"You know that name?" Harry asked. The Captain obviously knew Cid personally.
"We're on our way to find Cid, if you say he's going out into the ocean then we'll take you where you want to go and see if we can find him." The Captain nodded. "We won't ask for payment unless he's not there."
Harry nodded. "I can accept that."
"Find him quarters." The Captain announced. "You can dine with us in two hours if you wish. I'll send someone for you."
Harry nodded and let himself be led out of the way so the crew could get back to their work without him getting in the way even though Harry had lived on ships before and he and Cid had travelled Spira on one of these creating an ever growing Al-bhed fleet before Harry had led them to Bikanel Island.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Early morning
The ancient ruins weren't that far out to sea and the ship quickly travelled along the north easterly course to a position not far from the ruins of Zanarkand. Harry's power had formed and routed itself in one position throughout two millennia, impervious to the tectonic plates. The sea bed here was the only place that Harry could trace back to his old life. This was Great Britain, sunk to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean by the sheer power of the Great Aeon taking most of Europe down slowly with it and then Russian. The Himalayas had sunk into the encroaching water to form the desert islands that formed Bikanel and the population of the world had fled to the Americas even as land grew up from the sea bed to form the shape that was Spira.
This was a place where the normal laws of physics were twisted by Harry's power. The water was kept away from the structure that sat in the undersea cliffs of rock that had been attracted to the source of the power forming an underwater mountain that the Zanarkand citizens had built their station into the side of. A way to protect the power and ensure it didn't fall into the wrong hands. In the end it had been they who had been the wrong hands. The Ancient Ruins where Tidus had first been taken to by Sin had been the surface station set up on the top of a cliff that almost reached the surface. Now as they approached the sea that Harry hadn't come to in hundreds of years Harry could feel the power surging through his body and his eyes, he knew, were taking on a rainbow coloured texture to them. Reds, golds and blues flickered across the surface of his emerald green eyes as he looked out over the water and the Al-bhed forming here.
The Highwind hung above the water, grappled down into the water to the research centre and anchored around were three other Al-bhed ships. Harry turned from the stem as he heard footsteps and the Captain of the ship blanched slightly when he saw Harry's eyes but made no comment. The Al-bhed's eyes were all bi-colour so it wasn't all that strange to the man and he accepted it though he didn't know it was because Harry's body was filling with Myst.
"It seems you were right about our destination." The man told him.
"I had hoped to be wrong." Harry sighed. "Have you spoken to Cid?"
"I just called him." The Captain nodded. "He wishes to speak to you."
The Captain held out to him a small device that Harry recognised as a communications unit and he stepped up onto the guard rail of the ship and balanced there as he looked across the water at the hovering Highwind. "Cid." Harry spoke simply letting the device send his words to the Highwind.
"Harry!" It was definitely Cid's voice.
"I'm only going to say this once, Cid. I like you and I've always liked the Al-bhed but I'm very tempted right now to send a spell at the Highwind that will blast it to shreds." Harry told him with a deadly seriousness to his voice that told everyone listening that he wasn't joking. He pulled his sword and held it towards the Captain. "Cid, where are the others?"
"Down looking through the ruins." Cid told him.
"You're going to call them back now." Harry ordered him.
"I can't do that, Harry. We have to do this." Cid told him.
"You have to destroy the world?" Harry spat. "You're fools. This will do nothing but destroy everything you know."
"Or rewrite it." Cid argued.
"Cid, you're a fool. Get out of here." Harry hissed and flung the communications device at the Captain listening to him in shock before Harry dove off of the ship even as it still cut through the water. He swam away from the propellers before diving deeper into the water, using a well controlled Demi spell on himself to make him sink faster until he could see the entrance to the station and the airship dock.
Somehow in their three days head start they'd found the opening at the base of the underwater mountain that led into the twisted labyrinth of traps and creatures that Harry had created to guard the entrance to his power. He swam through it before locking it closed and barring it with more weight than the Al-bhed could open from the outside. An Al-bhed submersible sat in the water ahead of him and he swam up past it and into the dingy atmosphere of the tunnels.
There was quite a bit of equipment set up on the bank of the underwater lake and all of it was Al-bhed and as Harry moved into the first large cavern he found a station set up with Al-bhed walking around. They turned to look at him in surprise and it took them slightly longer to decide what to do with him as it took him to act. A wave of magic shot through the area, destroying all of their equipment and throwing them across the room, all unconscious before they landed. He surprised himself by realising that he'd been a moment's thought away from escalating his attack to an Ultima and then surprised himself again that he'd hesitated to kill them.
He walked through the debris of his sledgehammer like attack and further into the darkness of the tunnels, lit by a string of lights until those ran out and only a few battery lamps marked junctions in the labyrinth like tunnels. Harry knew the way off by heart though and he wasn't waylaid by any of the creatures down here who merely watched him walk past and none of the traps caught him because he had been the one to lay them.
He eyed a few of the creatures noting once again the effect that living down here had on them. They were rife with the Myst that crept through the hallways, trickles that escaped his core power and mutated the creatures, sometimes into beautiful creatures and other times into creatures out of nightmares but all had a deadly bite.
This place had been built to delay anyone that came down here and possibly kill them if they weren't prepared for it and Harry had added more teeth to it after Zanarkand had been destroyed but it was basically three parts. The inner core which was almost identical to the Chamber of the Fayth in any of the temples yet it held merely the power of his Aeon since Harry was the Fayth. That was locked behind the most intricate doorway and only Harry had the key for that and it was so big that no mortal magic could effect it. The door itself was part of the mountain, attempt to force it open and the entire structure would collapse crushing or drowning everyone in there.
Before that was what Harry had dubbed his vault. It held anything that Harry had scavenged from the old Earth that he didn't want in the hands of Spiran people. Nuclear missiles, tanks and weapons that the Zanarkand citizens had agreed were better off sealed away. Harry had added things to it since including the original system that Seymour Guado had stumbled upon with machina to display the memories from the Farplane. Harry had created it to show the people of Zanarkand what would happen if they summoned the Great Aeon to defend their home but it could show a lot more than just the destruction of the Earth.
On the outside of that was this labyrinth and to get from one to the other was a group of creatures not unlike the one that Tidus had fought in Macalania Temple. Elementals. Harry had taken the ice one from here to guard the Shifting Glacier but there were more.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Tidus looked over at the others as they stumbled into the largest chamber they'd come across so far. They'd been seeking their way through the labyrinth for a day now and it was only because of the Al-bheds help that they'd gotten this far with energy left to spare. There had been three Al-bheds with them not including Rikku but they'd grown more and more anxious over the lack of communication from the base camp near to the underwater lake in the last half an hour and two of them had retraced their steps the most direct way to go re-establish communications.
The room they were in was the first clearly artificial structure. The cavern itself was rectangular in plan but there were built up tiers on either side of the long room and glowing crystals on the ceiling gave them a dull light to see by making them all a little more relieved but Tidus wasn't fooled. He knew that Harry had created this place to guard the Great Aeon from people like him that would use it and that meant he hadn't created this room for no reason.
Tidus had given it three days thought before he'd finally come to a decision. Harry was right that the Great Aeon should never be allowed to be released but he'd spoken to all of the Aeons in the last few days and their plan was for their release and Tidus knew that Harry wanted that beyond all things and if he had a chance to give Harry that then no matter how much Harry argued against it he'd try to see it to the end and he'd take the blame for releasing the Great Aeon on Spira again. Harry wouldn't be to blame this time.
"I don't like this." Tidus announced tightening his grip on the Shifting Glacier as if Harry's ties to it could give him strength. "It's too quiet in here."
"There's the door, let's just get through here." Yuna announced and the group made to move just as a scream made them stumble to a stop and spin around in time to see their Al-bhed counterpart crushed into the stone wall of one of the lower tiers. He'd obviously leant on the wall.
"It's a trap!" Auron announced just as the remains of the, now dead, Al-bhed were dropped to the ground and the stones erupted outwards forming a creature the same size as the War Drone that they'd destroyed when they'd first entered Mount Gagazet. It wielded a huge battle hammer made with a stone end and it swung it clear through them forcing them all to dive out of the way. "Run!" Auron yelled and they all turned to sprint for the other end when the air flexed around them and sent them all hurtling to the side and a shade of a creature appeared in the ebbs of the wind that blew around like a tornado.
"What are they?" Wakka shouted over the roaring sound of flames as a ten foot tall being of fire sprung up from the ground on one side and a waterfall formed the vague shape of a snake on the other side.
"Elementals!" Tidus yelled. "I fought one of ice when I got this sword from Harry!"
"Yuna!" Lulu yelled. "We're going to need the Aeons!"
Yuna nodded and from the middle of the group she began trying to summon as fast as she could but it seemed that the Aeons wanted to help and they helped her bring them into this realm and even as Ifrit burst into existence the creature in front of Tidus attacked them. The water snake shot towards him and out of instinct alone he met the charge with the full weight of his body slamming the Shifting Glacier into the snake's front making it shriek and twist in pain as the ice tried to freeze it. It turned in on itself and burst into a shower of water and Tidus thought he'd killed it for a moment before the water drew together and erupted at him, hitting him square in the chest and throwing him back through the air.
He was caught in mid flight by large wings as Valefor burst from the ceiling and caught him before placing him quickly on the ground and turning to attack the rock golem. Tidus recollected himself in the war they'd dropped into. There were four of the Elementals against the group who were doing nothing more than helping the Aeons that Yuna had brought into the battle. Ifrit was attacking the fire Elemental, drawing from it even as it tried to harm it while Ixion, strengthened against water was now attacking Tidus' own snake. Yojimbo traded blows with the Earth Elemental along with Valefor and Bahamut was using all of his magic to push back the air elemental until with a solid attack of energy Bahamut scattered the winds with a shriek of pain from it.
Ifrit extinguished the fires quite quickly and Ixion's lightning strikes killed the water snake and together they destroyed the Earth Elemental but as the Aeons faded from sight Yuna was having to be held up by Kimahri. It had been a short battle as things went but if it wasn't for the Aeon's desire to help them and thus allow Yuna to summon more than one of them they'd be dead right now.
"Let's get out of here." Rikku announced pulling herself up from the ground. They checked themselves over. Tidus had a bruise on his chest but was otherwise okay and by the looks of it he was the only one to take an injury before the Aeons had joined the battle. They all drank a little bit of water before turning to head further into the massive maze that Harry had created for one purpose. To kill anyone that wanted to wield the power of the Great Aeon.
Tidus jerked as he heard a very distinct sound echoing through the air and he turned to look at the others as he realised what it was. It was clapping. Somebody was clapping, very slowly in that very sarcastic way of somebody making fun of another. They all moved about nervously until a movement up to the right drew Tidus' attention and then all of the others until they were all looking up at the top tier that covered the right of the room and at the figure standing there in his black leather trousers and red sleeveless and high coloured vest. The handle of his sword was just poking up over his right shoulder and Tidus surprised himself with his initial reaction. He tightened his hand on the Shifting Glacier.
Harry stopped clapping and a sarcastic smile spread across his face but Tidus could see the most devastating emotion behind Harry's cold expression. Harry was deeply and truly wounded. Betrayed to the worst possible level. "I'm impressed." Harry announced loudly. "Nobody's beaten them before but still it does you no good."
"Run." Auron hissed and as a group they turned for the door that continued deeper into the underwater mountain.
Heat smacked into the seven of them just as roaring flames erupted across the exit to the room. Harry had blocked their escape. "You think I'm just going to let you run away from me?" Harry actually laughed but it wasn't an amused one and he drew his sword before leaping into the air, spinning the blade around to his right and with a thud his boots hit the dirt on the floor and he twisted around, scratching the twin blade across the ground. They were in no doubt that this time Harry wasn't going to pull any punches.
"Let us do this!" Yuna demanded and Harry raised his sword and levelled it at her throat with only twenty feet between them.
"I'm very much capable of killing you all. The only reason I haven't merely done so already is because I'd rather you walked out of here alive." Harry told her and through her the others.
"Not without a way to destroy Sin once and for all and free the Fayths." Tidus spoke up.
"You don't know what you're talking about!" Harry hissed angrily. "All this Aeon can do is destroy. You can't ever save anyone with it."
"The other Aeons don't agree with you." Auron spoke up with a small grin. "Who are you to deny them?"
"Shut up you undead fool!" Harry spat. "You're a mere child compared to me. They are mere children compared to me!"
"Valefor, Ifrit and Yojimbo aren't." Tidus pointed out.
Harry glared at him but didn't argue. "I don't want to kill you all but you clearly aren't going to listen to me. There's only one of you that can summon the Aeon and once she's dead the rest of you are no risk to Spira."
"We won't let you touch her!" Lulu took a step forward to stand between Harry and Yuna.
"She was willing to sacrifice her life to save Spira. Right now the threat to Spira is her." Harry pointed out and moved his sword, levelling it to his right. "If you fight me then you'll die. None of you has the power to beat me, let alone kill me. And Yuna, if you try to summon any of them at all I will kill you all with one spell and no matter how powerful Lulu has become she can't destroy me."
"Lulu, put out that fire and then run!" Tidus hissed. "Take Yuna through and get inside. We'll delay him."
"No!" Harry snapped and clenched his hands. The fires roared high but Lulu jumped into action to try to dispel them but Harry fed the fires more energy than she could counter even as he deflected the spiked ball that Wakka flung at him with all of his might. His sword swayed back and with a delicate twist he blocked Kimahri's halberd and then another twist blocked Auron's sword before he flipped backwards to avoid Tidus' strike in his direction.
Tidus was faster than the others and a single second later the Shifting Glacier struck at Harry who blocked it, twisted the blade to lock Tidus in place. "I don't want to kill you Tidus."
"I don't think you're capable of it, Harry." Tidus told him and he knew there was a pleading tone to his voice.
"You don't get it do you, Tidus." Harry sighed. "In here I'm not Harry." Harry made his move and activated the ice cell on his blade which was already filming over with ice from its contact with the Shifting Glacier and with a spell from himself ice shot across the room in all directions sending Tidus, Wakka, Auron and Kimahri tumbling backwards. And the fight began, a fight that none of them could really follow. Only Harry seemed to be able to watch all of them at the same time and his blocks were effortless and tireless. Tidus just couldn't see any opening in his fighting style.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Harry blocked Auron's strike and flexed the tiring muscles in his arm. It had been an awfully long time since he'd taken on four opponents of their calibre all at the same time and it was actually starting to tax him but even if his strength was waning slightly his speed and skill were not so easily afflicted and it was more than a compromise against Auron and Kimahri who were both physically stronger than him. One because he was a Ronso and the other because he was already dead and therefore didn't tire as easily.
Tidus and Wakka however were starting to show the serious signs of their exhaustion and Harry had left several injuries on Wakka to take him out of the proper battle and as he pushed away Auron's sword he blasted Wakka completely out of the fight with a bolt of lightning that sent him arching back across the room.
Auron, Kimahri and Tidus took pause as they were once again reminded of Harry's magical power but Harry was distracted in using magic because of Rikku, Lulu and Yuna's attempts to clear their way deeper into the mountain. It was Tidus that reinitiated their battle by leaping at Harry with a lightning-fast slash of his sword. Harry jumped the sword, landed with one foot on the hilt and just as Tidus was drawing back he twisted around, bringing his sword in an arc behind him to smack into the Shifting Glacier even as he used the hilt to spring board off from. The force of the complex attack sent Tidus flying in one direction and his sword in another.
Harry landed and parried a blow from Kimahri even as Tidus landed in a heap and didn't move. He'd concern himself with Tidus' health after the rest were unarmed and with a deft flick of his sword Kimahri's halberd was pinned to his left leg and with a side jump the Ronso was forced to release it in favour of remaining upright and Harry grabbed the shaft of the halberd and drove the end into Kimahri's ribs, knocking the wind out of him.
This time it was his turn to be surprised. His connection to the fires that blocked the way onwards vanished as a wall of cold air and mist slammed through them all and the heat from Harry's fires vanished as Lulu and Yuna combined their magic through the Staff to obliterate Harry's spell. Auron took advantage of his split second's distraction and lashed out at him and his sword sliced into his left shoulder, splitting skin and muscle as it cut through.
Harry staggered out away from the blade and hissed in pain but knew better than to concentrate on healing it especially when Rikku shouted for them all to run.
"Stop!" Harry yelled and straightened up, letting his sword touch the ground and as they heard the tone in his voice they turned to look at him and gasped as they saw his green glowing eyes just before the green fire spread across his entire body and down his sword.
The green flames reached up above Harry and flickered to his right as if caught in a wind but all the others felt was a wave of utter stillness spread through the cavern and they all knew that Harry could kill them all at a moment's notice.
Harry moved to walk forward but his head snapped to his left to see Tidus back on his feet and glowing with a bright white light. He was unarmed but the Holy spell that had taken over his body was more than just a weapon. Tidus leapt at him, the Holy power boosting his speed to a speed that the others could barely follow. The Shifting Glacier glowed white before leaping up to meet him in mid jump and Tidus caught it and brought it down on Harry's head only for Harry to block it. Green met white and burst out in opposite directions, the group protected by the flash of white.
Harry twisted their blades and locked the Shifting Glacier. "Tidus, stop!" Harry hissed though his words reached every corner of the cavern yet didn't echo.
"Not until you do!" Tidus told him.
"Why?" Harry asked.
"Because you have to free them." Tidus told him. "And if I have to take the blame just like you did then I will. I was created for a reason and this is it."
"You weren't created to suffer, Tidus." Harry hissed angrily. "And I won't let them summon it when it's the world that will suffer."
"It's not the world I care about." Tidus told him sharply. "It's your happiness."
"And you think this will help me?" Harry scoffed. "You have no idea what it's like!"
"To watch the world be destroyed?" Tidus asked. "I've lost my home, Harry. I don't have anything to go to except for you and I won't see you in pain for another thousand years once I'm dead when I can do something to end Spira's pain right here and now, no matter what the cost is."
"I'll just kill them all to stop you." Harry warned him.
"Then you'll have to go through me first." Tidus yanked away from Harry and white light blinded Harry for a moment before Harry blocked Tidus' sudden strike and a burst of green clashed against Tidus' white aura flashing both colours across the room like two beings of energy warring. Harry completely ignored the others as he tried to beat Tidus down enough to force him out of his Final Overdrive without killing him but the Holy spell was just as powerful as the Ultima one and Tidus knew that Harry couldn't be killed so wasn't holding back. Harry finally managed to throw Tidus into the wall and in seconds had him pinned back with the edge of his sword against the Shifting Glacier and pressed up under his neck. White condensed over Tidus, pushing back at the green glow but Harry had the upper hand.
That was until Lulu stepped in to help. A bright flash of white that had nothing to do with Tidus burst from his body as Lulu risked casting a Holy spell on Tidus in the hopes he'd absorb the power and not die from it. Harry was sent hurtling back across the room as he dropped his sword and the Final Overdrive fell from him.
He landed and even as he forced his body to stand up Tidus attacked him mercilessly sending a Holy spell at him that Harry was hard pressed to protect himself from. He couldn't be killed by it but it stripped him of energy and he collapsed to his knees once more and looked up at Tidus who lost his white sheen as he walked towards him, seeing the weakness that had spread through Harry's body after being struck by two strong Holy spells. Anyone else on the planet would have been utterly destroyed.
Harry tried to form fire around him but even the most basic magic was out of his reach and he couldn't do anything against them as Kimahri and Auron hoisted him to his feet and held his wrists tightly.
"How long do you think that's going to last?" Harry asked.
"Long enough." Wakka told him tiredly. "And we can just beat you again."
"You didn't beat me." Harry glared angrily. "Tidus did and he can't do that again."
They looked at Tidus who was on his knees with Rikku at his side. He was pale and completely drained just like Harry. Harry met his eyes with one of utter defeat and Tidus had to shut his eyes against the pain that spread from Harry. "Then I think we should travel quickly and do this before you recover." Yuna announced and turned towards the door not realising that Harry couldn't recover as fast the closer they got to his core being. Still faster than a normal human but as the Myst filled his body his normal powers were weakened and Harry couldn't control the Myst.
Harry was forced to walk between Kimahri and Auron and didn't have much choice but to let them guide him. Rikku helped Tidus to walk while Yuna, Lulu and Wakka kept clear of everyone in case they ran into anything and had to fight but Harry already knew that there was nothing else further in.
The first room they came into was actually almost a pit full of bridges and lifts and their own bridge merely led into the centre of the pit that disappeared into the darkness below and up about a hundred feet to a ceiling. The lift was large enough for them all and magic burst into existence as soon as Rikku led Tidus onto it and let him lean against the side. Auron and Kimahri pushed Harry on next and forced him to sit on the floor against the wall and even though Harry wanted to fight he didn't have the energy yet and merely watched as the brakes released the now floating platform and it began to slowly sink down into the pit.
"What is this place?" Yuna gasped looking at the walls as they sunk past hundreds of tiers and large openings in the side. Some had locked doors over them but others were like shelves cut into the wall. "What are those?"
Harry craned his neck to look at the Challenger II tanks, probably one of the most armoured and powerful battle tanks in modern Earth. They sat in rows along with Russian T-62s. "They're tanks." Harry said bluntly. "The turrets fire a round that would probably destroy the Highwind in a single shot and can fire once every thirty seconds or so."
"What are they doing down here?" Rikku asked.
"Better down here where nobody can find them." Harry grumbled. "And I'd rather this stuff stayed down here if that's okay with you." Harry asked sarcastically. "Oh, you'll like this next part."
"What?" Yuna asked with a frown.
"Behind these doors." Harry jerked his head at the metal doors that stood across a whole row. "One behind each one are what are called Nuclear Fission weapons. Different sizes and shapes."
"What do they do?" Rikku asked.
"Split atoms." Harry grunted. "And release energy."
"So?" Wakka asked even though there was not much in that sentence that any of them understood. The study of that kind of science had died with Zanarkand and the older Yevon.
"You'll see." Harry turned his head away just as they moved past that section and further down into the darkness until the lift hit the bottom and Harry was forced to his feet and more or less hauled off of the lift by Auron. As soon as they were all clear the magic in the lift died and it went dark.
Lulu made the end of the Staff glow and they spotted an opening in the side wall and Wakka and Lulu led the way followed by Yuna, Rikku and Tidus who was now making an effort to walk by himself. Then Auron holding Harry up and finally Kimahri walking at the back in case Harry tried something.
The entered a long thin room and Harry braced himself for what he knew was about to happen. An orange light flashed along with a two tone alarm and the door began to shut behind them until they were locked in. "What's that?" Yuna asked him but Harry refused to answer. Lights erupted around the walls and with a flash the walls vanished to be replaced by a completely different scene. They were standing on a ridge with fields behind them and trees flowing in to a valley in front with mountains in the distance.
But it was the thing in the middle that really drew their attention and it was a moment before they could speak. "Is this like what Seymour used?"
"Exactly." Harry hissed.
"What the hell is that?" Rikku asked. "Is that... Sin?"
"Welcome Tidus to about half way through the Great Cataclysm." Harry spoke sarcastically. "You want to see what you're about to release then keep your eyes open."
"What?" Yuna turned to Tidus.
"The Great Cataclysm is an event in my Zanarkand's history where the world was destroyed by a massive force that overturned entire continents. "Harry said it was the Great Aeon."
"It is the creation." Harry spat. "See that?" They looked back at the thing that had drawn their attention. It had looked like a living mountain moving ever so slightly in the middle of the forest and as they watched it lifted its enormous head. It looked almost like Bahamut in proportions except its body was larger in relation to the rest of him. It still looked like the most deadly thing to ever be created though with a dark silver, almost black scaled hide and huge wings that opened and shut almost continuously as though stretching. It's head was shaped like Bahamut's and Harry knew that Christopher had based his shape off of the Great Aeon. It's tail stretched down along the trees and moved slowly, flattening the odd tree when it strayed too far and his clawed feet were so sharp that they dug into the ground further with each movement.
"Where is this?" Lulu asked.
"Welcome to Macalania Forest." Harry laughed. "You're about to see the largest fight between the most powerful version of Earth verses the greatest mistake ever to be made. That thing is why I'm punished like the other Fayths."
"You summoned that?" Yuna asked.
"Don't look down on me, Lady Yuna." Harry hissed her name with disdain. "You plan to do the same and so you're going to stand here and watch what is about to happen and I hope you see nightmares for the rest of your short life. And I didn't summon that." Harry paused and snapped his head around to Tidus. "I created it."
"You created the Great Aeon?" Tidus flinched.
"Look there!" Rikku pointed up at the sky to see two small flashing objects high up in the sky, leaving a trail behind them as they approached.
"You remember the Nuclear Fission weapons?" Harry asked. "The weapons that could destroy the world."
Before anyone else could speak the Great Aeon raised its head towards the incoming Intercontinental Ballistic Nuclear Missiles and a flash of light from it sprung out in all directions. The shield wasn't solid but it ebbed like a wind spreading through the trees just as the missiles thudded into it and exploded.
The group around Harry were flattened back by the shockwave that slammed into them, simulated by the artificial scene but even if it hadn't the sheer sight of two ICBMs exploding with white fury would have sent them all tumbling. They shielded their eyes and finally looked at the massive mushroom cloud that blotted out the sun and roiled the clouds leaving a red glow to light the area and at the base the burning mushroom cloud was burst apart by a wave of Myst and the Great Aeon appeared without a scratch on it.
"Impossible!" Rikku gasped.
"It's only just begun." Harry told them just as a roar erupted through the air and hundreds of streaks flew over head and explosions struck the Myst flooding away from the Great Aeon. Missiles. A few seconds later jet planes were streaking overhead, strafing the beast. "Would you like a running commentary?" Harry asked sardonically.
Auron grabbed his arm to shut him up just as the planes banked away from the Aeon and a wall of Myst slammed through them all, obliterating over a hundred pilots in a mere stroke that Harry knew wasn't even an effort for the Aeon. It approached them and the group turned at the sound of heavy metal grinding against heavy metal and they broke apart as a seventy-two tonne Challenger II tank rolled through them and as soon as it came into view of the Aeon, adjusted the angle of its turret and fired with a bark of thunder that threw them all back. More and more of the tanks, of all kinds appeared on the scene, bringing about the true sound of war. Suddenly there was too much chaos around them for Harry to even comment on.
Helicopters strafed the Aeon along with more Jets, shells flung from a hundred miles away from the world's greatest Warships, missiles from artillery closer in and thousands of tanks and vehicles throwing everything they could at him and with the second blast from the Aeon there was a lull as the Myst obliterated it all.
"Shut it off!" Yuna yelled at Harry but Harry ignored her even as Auron grabbed him tightly.
"This is what you want to summon!" Harry accused them. "I say enjoy it!"
The Aeon was now approaching their position with slow and deliberate steps through the glowing trees and the Myst twisted and upturned the ground between them as a wall of Myst slowly approached them and just as it was about to hit Rikku the scene changed.
The group sighed out in relief before looking at the place they were now standing. They were in the middle of a city unlike anything they'd ever witnessed before. Even Tidus was shocked by the height of the skyscrapers and they got dizzy just looking up at the rows and rows of windows. Then they realised that something was wrong. People were running away and they were clearly not from Spira. A tourist board near to them announced that they were in a city called New York City.
Before anyone could speak a shape blotted out the sun and the air thickened even as they looked up at the flying Great Aeon as it hovered above the city but it seemed peaceful compared to the last time. "What...?" Tidus made to ask but stopped when a person ran straight through his back and out of his front and collapsed to the ground seeping Pyreflies. They looked around and saw more and more of the thousands of people fleeing from the Great Aeon falling to the ground even as the air thickened with Myst that distorted the view of the buildings until they seemed to be twisting and bending.
The ground shook and they staggered as the whole scene tilted up and they realised that wherever they were was sinking down. "There!" Wakka pointed down the street at a solid blue and white mass rolling towards them. A wall of water that obliterated the buildings it struck and tossed metal contraptions in front of it and picked up people and smashed them into buildings.
The scene shifted again and this time Tidus cried out at the sight on the horizon. There was no sign of the Great Aeon, only a battlefield below them where people fought against machines which fought against the Aeons they were far more familiar with.
"Is this the war between Yevon and Zanarkand?" Lulu asked.
"It is a shame that the Zanarkand Summoners didn't heed my warning and watch what they did." Harry spoke simply just as a light flashed in the middle of the scene and a huge shape was summoned into existence before crashing to the ground in the centre of the battlefield easily large enough to have crushed half of both armies. Wings burst into existence and the wave of Myst destroyed the rest of the armies. Thousands dead in seconds before it roared and the ground below them rumbled and begun to crack apart. They could hear the fury in the Great Aeon's roar and by the time it leapt up into the air they were above a huge mountain range strewn with the destruction of the war and the wake of the Great Aeon.
The last scene was one that Harry had described to the others when they'd crossed the Moonflow and nobody made any comment as the Great Aeon hung above the city of Anarysis and it crumbled into the sea taking half a million people with it into the cold depths.
The scene faded and they found themselves finally free of the images, in the lit interior of the long room. Those that were still standing collapsed to the ground all except Auron who was still holding Harry upright tightly.
"This is your last chance to turn back, Yuna." Harry tried. "Do you really want a repeat of what you just saw? Do you think the world will survive?"
"It will." Yuna convinced herself as she stood up and turned to Harry. The others all raised, even Tidus. "This time it will have Sin to fight."
"You think you understand what it is?" Harry asked in surprise. "You're an idiot."
"You can't stop us." Yuna pointed out.
"I may be weakened, Yuna, but if you try to take it I will find a way to kill you." Harry warned but was ignored as the group began to walk away. Tidus moved towards Auron and Harry and motioned for Auron to let him take Harry who almost shrunk away from the man he loved. Even now he still loved Tidus.
Auron nodded and let Tidus support Harry but Auron and Kimahri still followed just in case as the group of eight walked along the long room which slowly began to spread out until they came to a dead end. The wall in front of them was in fact a door and Harry knew what lay on the other side. Something he hadn't seen in almost fifteen hundred years. The door had been untouched for that long but it still glowed with energy. It used the power of the Aeon locked behind it to make it impervious to magic.
"Can we break it down?" Wakka asked.
"Please try." Harry told him.
"Try a spell." Yuna told Lulu ignoring Harry.
Lulu raised the staff and tried to cast a fire spell to burn part of the door except that when the spell struck the door there was a flash of red fire and Lulu was sent hurtling back through Rikku and Wakka with flames licking at her clothing.
"I'd suggest something stronger." Harry put in with a laugh. It wasn't an amused one but merely a desperate need for this not to be happening. Still, he reassured himself, they couldn't find a way around that door.
"What about battering it down?" Rikku asked as she picked herself up and helped Lulu sort herself out. She looked at Harry who raised his eyebrows up at them.
"Be my guest." Harry told them.
"Harry. What will that do?" Tidus asked him gently.
"Why should I tell you that?" Harry asked.
"Because you don't really want to see us dead." Tidus told him.
"I'd rather see you dead, Tidus, then responsible for releasing what I created." Harry sighed but answered them none-the-less. "That door is tied into the structure of this mountain, it holds up its weak spots. It has to open in a certain sequence or..."
"The entire place comes down." Auron muttered.
"Like I said, be my guest." Harry told them.
"How are we supposed to get in without the key then?" Yuna asked the others. "Is there another way around? You must have put in a back door."
"Why would I want to insure a way into it?" Harry asked. "The idea was to keep idiots like you out."
"I've never seen a key like that before." Rikku muttered looking at the strange key hole. Harry couldn't see it from here but he knew what it looked like. Rikku continued talking, almost to herself. "It has to be a four pronged key with at least eighteen key pieces per prong."
Harry almost winced as she said it knowing only one of them that could possibly recall that particular key and Tidus tensed up, betraying that he had. "Please no, Tidus." Harry pleaded. "I can't..."
"Harry." Tidus sighed before turning to him. He put Harry's back to the wall and put his forehead against Harry's. "I know you think this is wrong but no matter the cost this time it will allow Spira to rebuild itself and not just like in a calm." His hand rested on Harry's chest, right over where the key hung. Harry should have thrown it in the ocean miles from here not brought it in with him. "You don't want to witness it and you don't have to and this time it won't be your fault." Tidus told him and moved his hand up to pull down the zip on the front of his vest. Harry had the energy to try to stop him but he could let Tidus have this if he could get up the energy to stop Yuna. All he needed was one spell and the few seconds it would gain him.
"I love you so much, Harry." Tidus whispered even though the others were all watching and trying to listen in. "You have no idea how much doing this hurts but if it means that in five hundred years you can live in peace then I'll do it." His hand took hold of the key and snapped the chain and then Tidus stood back and wiped his arm across his face. Ridding himself of the tears in his eyes.
Tidus left Harry alone and turned to walk to the door and slowly put the key in the slot and twisted. Harry felt his heart break all over again at the look of determination on Tidus' face as the ground shook and the door began to break into hundreds of moving pieces that slowly moved over one another even as they heard distant sounds of the entire mountain moving about to secure itself and finally the door split apart and the inside of the chamber became visible.
The door was about ten metres wide at the base but that was enough to see the cavern for what it was. It was another pit like the first but it was bright and filled with swirling patterns of Myst that was denser than anything they'd ever seen before and within the Myst they could sense a sheer power and a powerful sentience that throbbed to a slow heartbeat. It was awe inspiring but they all knew what it would cause when they released it and that gave them pause and that was all Harry needed.
He collected all the magic he had left and formed and released a single spell. The blast struck them all and seized them in place even as they turned to look at him in that moment's build up. Harry shoved himself off of the wall, ripped the Shifting Glacier from Tidus' sheath and in a single twist he sliced it straight into Yuna's chest. It slid into her flesh but his movement was arrested by another blade before his own could dig in deep enough to kill her and he was thrown back. His hand released the Shifting Glacier even as his body caught up to what had happened even as the same blade swung out and buried itself into his stomach sending him sprawling back onto the ground. Yojimbo stood between him and Yuna in case Harry had anything left in him and Harry gritted his teeth even as his spell failed and the others regained their ability to move even as Yuna fell backwards with the Shifting Glacier freezing her body slowly.
Tidus stood in shock even as the others rushed to Yuna's side and started trying to heal her and Harry could only hope that they'd be too late. Tidus knelt at Harry's side and Harry was surprised by the understanding there. "I know why you did it, Harry." Tidus told him placing his hands on Harry's stomach regardless of the fact that the loss of blood would only hinder Harry. "But this has to happen."
Harry turned to look at him but couldn't move with the amount of blood he was losing. Tidus leant down and kissed him before standing up and moving over to Yuna. "Yojimbo told me to put her in the chamber." Tidus announced even as he yanked the Shifting Glacier from her chest and ignored her scream of pain as he lifted her into his arms and with all the energy he had took her into the very heart of the power. "You have to go the last bit alone, Yuna. Can you do it?"
Harry just about saw Yuna nod her head and as soon as Tidus let her go she stumbled forwards into the heart of the chamber, along a small bridge that ended in the centre of all of that. The last thing that Harry saw before he fell into unconsciousness was the tendrils of Myst slamming into Yuna, flooding into her and reshaping her core to allow her to use her power to trigger Harry's transformation from Fayth to Aeon.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
End Chapter
