Chapter Thirteen
Everyone stood in shock of what had just taken place. It was devastating. I leaned over the edge of the boat, looking into the water as two tears made ripples in the surface.
"I will defeat Sin… I must defeat Sin…" I heard Yuna mutter.
Tidus was lying in the middle of the deck, staring sadly up into the sky. Yuna sat by him, staring into the distance.
We got off the boat at the Kilika Dock. It was one of the most devastating sights I'd ever seen. Houses were torn from their foundations. People were lying about, wounded. What people weren't injured were trying desperately to help in some way.
"Greetings. I am the Summoner Yuna. I have come from the temple in Besaid." Yuna said, doing the prayer in a sign of greeting.
"Oh! M'lady Summoner!" A woman cried.
"If there is no other Summoner here, please allow me to perform the sending." She said.
"Thanks be to ye." The man standing next to the woman said.
"Our loved ones… we feared they would become fiends!" The woman said.
"Please… take me to them." Yuna said. Her guardians followed her after the couple, all except for Wakka and Tidus.
"We'll go see what we can do to help in town." Wakka said to him. They left as well in the same direction Yuna was going.
A little girl sat on the edge of one of the wooden paths, holding a homemade doll. Tears were in her eyes. I stopped. She looked up at me.
"Why did Sin have to take my mommy?" She asked.
A lump rose in my throat. I struggled to talk past it. "One day soon, Sin will be gone. Forever. And you won't have to lose anyone, ever again."
"But Sin always comes back." She replied.
"Not this time. Summoner Yuna will destroy Sin forever. I promise." I told her.
She shook her head and looked down, hugging her doll close to her.
"Alyssa!" Lulu called.
I looked up and walked after them. A teenage girl sat with her legs dangling in the water, sobbing quietly. I stopped, glancing to see if the others were going too fast. Wakka was talking to someone several feet away, and Lulu and Yuna were talking as they walked. Tidus was following them, looking confused.
I sat down next to the crying girl. She didn't look much older than me. "What's wrong?" I asked.
"He's dead… Sin took everything… my mother… my father… my fiancée…" She said softly, choking back her sobs.
"I'm sorry…" I replied.
"We were here… sitting. He asked me to marry him. I said yes. But then… Sin came. We ran, like everyone, even knowing we wouldn't escape… he took me into that bungalow…" She turned and pointed to a building that had lost its roof. "…and he protected me. But in doing so…" More tears streamed down her face. She sobbed softly. "He died… to protect me…"
I blinked away my own tears, knowing she was in far more pain than me. "It won't be this way for long. Summoner Yuna will kill Sin."
"But she will die. And Sin will return." She replied.
"Not this time. I know in my heart. This time will be different. Sin will not come back."
"How do you know…?" She retorted.
"Because… I…" I paused, realizing how stupid it would sound to tell her that she was really from a video game I loved in a different world. "I just know."
"Well, I knew too, when Summoner Braska died. But here we are. And there Sin is."
"Well, maybe you don't believe me, but I know it'll be different." I stood up and walked over to Yuna and Lulu.
Yuna looked depressed, which was unlike her. She was trying to be strong and happy, but I knew her well enough to know that she felt worse than I did. She forced a friendly smile when she saw me. I did my best to do the same.
Then she walked down toward the water and began talking with someone.
"Have you… been crying?" Tidus asked, walking up to me.
"No…" I lied. Usually, if I don't cry that much, it doesn't show at all.
"Your eyes are all red…"
"Allergies." I said, and then I faked a sneeze.
"What're you allergic to?" He asked. Typical of him to be the biggest ass he could.
"Pollen…" I muttered through clenched teeth. Because I'm one of the few people who aren't allergic to oxygen, I don't know that much about being allergic to it. The only thing I'm allergic to is certain brands of soap. And lectures. But I have totally different reactions. With soap, I get a rash. With lectures, something inside my brain begins to eat my mind from the inside out… ANYWAY…
"You weren't sneezing on Besaid. There's a lot more pollen there than on the beach." He argued.
"I don't control it, okay!? Leave me alone!" I snapped, walking a few feet away.
He followed. "And besides, we're on the beach. There's no flowers here." He insisted.
"Yes, there are. Look." I pointed to the array of… coffins, or whatever those things were that the people had put in the water to honor the dead. They were covered in flowers. I faked a sneeze.
"Oh…" He said, defeated.
Two points for the girl with no allergies to pollen!
"What's a sending? Are we going somewhere?" Tidus asked.
I shot him a glare, but he was talking to Lulu.
She scoffed. "You truly are clueless." I couldn't believe it took her that long to get it. "Are you sure it's just your memory that's the problem?" She asked.
I couldn't help but smile.
"The dead need guidance." She said. "Filled with grief over their own death, they refuse to face their fate. They yearn to live on, and resent those still alive. You see, they envy the living. And in time, that envy turns to anger; even hate. Should these souls remain in Spira, they become fiends and prey on the living. Sad, isn't it…?" She seemed to be acting sarcastic, which I thought was cruel in this situation. "The sending takes them to the farplane, where they may rest in peace."
"Summoners do this?" Tidus asked. Two points for Genius number one!
Lulu made a 'hmph' sound and turned to watch Yuna.
She turned around and started toward the water, gripping her Summoners' staff like it was her life. At that moment, I was sure Sin itself couldn't rip it out of her hand.
I watched closely as her feet touched the water. She walked out several feet and stopped for a second. Anyone else surely would've fallen beneath the surface, but somehow, she managed to stand on the surface of the water.
She waved her wand in a circle, raising several of the pyreflies from the coffin-like boxes beneath the water.
She spun around, waving the staff. The water began to rise up beneath her, lifting her higher into the air as she danced in a circle. The pyreflies circled about, creating the full effect of the sending.
I glanced over at Tidus. His face was expressionless, but the look in his eyes said everything. It was one of those rare moments when guys show emotions; one of the reasons that makes spending time with them bearable.
His eyes tracked her every move. It was so sweet I almost cried again.
The girl I'd talked to earlier fell on her knees, sobbing.
Tidus walked forward, to the edge of the water. He took a step, and somehow didn't sink. He stared at Yuna as she finished the sending.
The pyreflies flew off into the sky, hopefully heading to the farplane.
Yuna stepped onto the dock. Her head was high, despite the two tears that dampened her cheeks. She and two islanders exchanged the prayer.
"It must be tough… being a Summoner." Tidus mused.
"Yuna chose her own path. She knew, from the beginning, what it meant." Lulu replied. "All we can do is protect her along the way… until the end."
"Until the… end? What's the end?" He asked. I was half-tempted to shout it at him and smack him at the same time. I scoffed and crossed my arms instead. Everyone turned and stared at him like he'd just told them his father was Sin. That was punishment enough.
Lulu shrugged and sighed, shaking her head. "Until she defeats Sin." She said harshly, walking a few feet away from him. I couldn't blame her. Perhaps when God made him He was so busy making him look good that He forgot to put a brain in his head…
Tidus shrugged at the people who were still staring at him.
Yuna came running up to Lulu, looking like a little girl who'd just learned how to swim and wanted confirmation from her parents. "I hope… I hope I did okay." She said. I watched as two tears slipped down her cheeks.
"You did very well." Lulu said, embracing her. "They've reached the farplane by now, but… No tears next time, hm?"
Yuna nodded as Lulu wiped the dried tears off her face.
After that was done, we left to one of the few standing buildings, which just-so-conveniently happened to be an inn. I remember walking up to the bed, but that was it.
My memory blacked out, and I can only assume that I plopped face-first into bed and slept through the whole night.
A/n: Reviews would be nice, considering I had to look up the sending on YouTube after my friend's evil telepathic person thing erased my memory of it... ANYWAY
REVIEW PLEASE!! PRETTY PLEASE!! WITH A HUG AND A COOKIE ON TOP! OKAY FORGET THE HUG MAKE IT TWO COOKIES!! PLEEEEAAASSSEE!!
On a side note, a friend of mine wrote a really good Final Fantasy One-Shot that is really good and really sad and we're both disappointed that it got no reviews... so if you could do us both a nice favor and don't mention I told you this, and review a one-shot called... I think it's called 'A Moment' but don't quote me on that.... x.x and if anyone asks I said nothing! :D
You didn't see ANYTHING. (except a review button that looks like it says 'Submit Review' but really says 'Click Here Or Die'...)