The Divine Comedy
Chapter Twenty-One
Copyright Infringement and Blatant Matrix Rip-offs
Dragon had done as Rikku asked and taken Jamie back to Bevelle. He met with the others in the throne room beneath the temple.
Yuna saw the state Jamie was in and felt herself shudder. Already she could feel that something was terribly wrong. She had Dragon lay him on the floor and she knelt down by his head. She pressed her forehead to his with her hands cupping either side of his face. After several tense moments her eyebrows knitted tightly together and she sat upright again. The look on her face was very troubling.
"What is it? What did you see?" Dragon asked anxiously.
Yuna looked at the Guardian, making an attempt to speak. She was interrupted by a loud slam coming from the large double doors that led out of the throne room. Everyone's head jerked in the direction of the only entrance at the sound, watching as the doors flew open and collided with the wall.
They saw Andrea fall heavily to the floor, like she'd been shoved, and Rikku followed closely. She'd removed the blade from Andrea's chest and had slipped it into her belt allowing it to hang at her hip. Never before had anyone seen the Al Bhed so angry. You could almost feel the fury as it showed itself flashing in her emerald eyes.
Andrea attempted to stand, rolling onto her hands and knees. Rikku's face twisted into a fierce grimace and she kicked her hard in the stomach, sending her clear across the room to the foot of the throne. Everyone watched with wide eyes, and Paine's mouth slacked open. She was terribly impressed.
No one dared move as Rikku nearly stomped her way over and yanked Andrea up by her belt. She dragged her where Jamie lay and threw her down hard.
"Fix him!" she snarled.
Andrea looked up at her fellow Guardian with a bruised and bloody face. When she didn't answer Rikku clapped her hand tightly around her throat.
"Rikku, stop!" Dragon pleaded. "We don't even know what's wrong with him yet!"
The Al Bhed looked at Yuna, somehow able to sense that the High Summoner had something to say. Yuna felt a shiver up her back. She was compelled to answer.
"What did you see?" Rikku asked. Her voice was unusually soft.
"Th-that's just it," she stuttered a little. "I didn't. There's nothing there,"
Rikku's eyes widened in despairing shock. She snapped her glare back to Andrea.
"What have you done?!"
Andrea laughed. She choked a little bit, spitting out a loose tooth, but she still laughed.
"I was just going to kill him," she said. "But I think this is better. Now both of you can suffer,"
"What do you mean?!" Rikku was so incredibly pissed off.
Suddenly Jamie stirred, his eyebrows tightening and then his eyes blinking open. Rikku was frozen in place as she watched him sit up, rubbing his head with a slight groan. Rikku let Andrea go and went to his side, throwing her arms around his neck and nearly bursting into tears.
"Jamie, are you okay? I was so worried!"
"Yeah-sure, I'm fine. Never felt better actually," he smiled at her innocently.
"You sure?"
"Of course! I mean, with a hot woman like you hanging on me, why wouldn't I? But I have a question,"
"What?"
"Just who are you and why are you calling me Jamie?"
Andrea suddenly burst out laughing. Rikku's jaw nearly hit the floor. "You don't know me? That can't be possible…I'm your wife!"
"Whoa, really?! Awesome!" and his face lit up. "However, I would like to think I couldn't forget someone like you…but it looks like I have."
Andrea continued to laugh until Rikku was fed up with it. She stood up, grabbed Andrea by the wrist and jerked her up.
"Fix him!" she screamed. "Fix him or so help me I'll-,"
"Or you'll what? You've got nothing on me," Andrea sneered.
Rikku put her to the floor again very hard, her head bouncing on marble. She planted her foot just over the gaping sword wound in Andrea's chest and looked down on her, her hands fisted on her hips.
"I don't have anything, do I? So I guess these don't matter to you anymore?"
Andrea looked up and saw her holding something between her first two fingers. Andrea's fist clenched and then she realized what she'd taken.
"Rikku don't!" Andrea's face suddenly showed panic and tears began forming in the corners of her eyes. "Please, Rikku; they're all I have left!"
The Al Bhed had managed to take Andrea's rings without her noticing. Somehow she knew that would get her to listen.
"Help us and I'll give them back to you."
"Fine, fine; I don't care! Just let me have them!" Andrea pleaded.
"When Jamie's back to normal," Rikku asserted. "No sooner,"
When Andrea finally gave in Rikku let her stand. They knew what had to be done now but they had to give Jamie a quick explanation. He consented with little persuasion, making a point that if his wife was that good looking, he'd want to remember marrying her. Rikku, Andrea, Dragon, and Yuna remained in the throne room while Paine, Baralai, and Celeste took Eve outside.
"So, what needs to be done?" Yuna asked, looking at Andrea, cringing at her black eye.
"I have to call the power back, stop the magic. I sent it to the deepest part of his subconscious, knowing that if it started there it would totally consume him." Andrea watched Rikku's fists tighten. "His psyche is probably wandering around in there somewhere. We'll have to find him. He's the only one that can take us where we need to go."
Everyone nodded. "Ready? Let's do it."
(II)
The four of them found each other at the beginning of a long corridor. Yep, you guessed it; a hallway of doors. Cliché yes, but effective.
They looked around. "Everything looks fine here," Rikku said curiously.
"It hasn't spread this far yet." Andrea said. "It's taking his deep memories first, and then it'll come for the rest." She looked around a moment. "Jeeze, was my head this boring?"
"I'm sure we don't have a lot of time," Dragon interjected. "Let's move on."
Everyone seemed to agree and they started forward. After what felt like an hour of walking past countless nondescript doors they paused. They paused and stared.
"Do I even want to ask?" Andrea refused to blink.
The door looked to be brand new. It was carved finely from hardwood and stained a dark chestnut. However, that wasn't the strange thing. The peculiarity was what was currently hanging from the brass doorknob. All four of them bent down for a closer look. Suddenly, after the realization hit, Andrea drew back and wretched.
"Dude, that's sick!"
"What's the matter?" Rikku was grinning.
"That's a man thong! What the hell is wrong with your sick puppy of a husband?!"
Rikku giggled and took the scandalous garment off the door, stretched it on her index finger, pulled it back as far as she could, and let it fly.
"Ow, my eye! Dammit, Rikku!" Andrea cursed, trying to stand up again after the ruthless sneak attack.
Suddenly the door flew open. They could hear heavy metal music belching out into the hall and Rikku couldn't help but smile. Even after several implements normally reserved for more private moments in the bedroom of a sexually dominating control freak surrounded her all she could do was grin widely and go "Yay, finally!" The door slammed after she was yanked inside.
It was dead silent for what seemed like a short eternity. No one spoke or made a sound…I don't think anyone even bothered to breathe. For the longest time there was little more than silence. Then, out of nowhere, the ground shook violently, the door flew open, and Rikku stumbled out into the hallway. The door closed promptly after her.
Rikku found her footing and stood up. If they didn't know any better, her companions would think her drunk. Unfortunately, they did know better. Rikku had this punch-drunk look on her face, and the most askew smile they'd ever seen. Andrea's head tilted to the side, her face twisting in an expression of God-knows-what at the sight of the dark red mark on her neck…and shoulder…and…elsewhere.
"You guys," Rikku panted. "I just had my world rocked…in seven different positions…" and she just smiled.
"Eww, too much info! Let's get out of here you guys," Andrea choked again, nearly throwing up. She shook her head, knowing that this was going to be one hell of a day. In a short time they reached the end of the hall, finding a door and hardly hesitation to open it.
They found themselves in a round room with only three doors. The one in front of them looked like nothing special. It was a plain wooden door with the finish slowly peeling off and a tarnished, copper knob. This door was so ordinary, it was disappointing. To their right, they saw a stained mahogany door with a brass knocker and a curved brass handle. Lamps hung in either side of the door. Andrea thought it looked like a door you'd find in Britain. On their left, they saw a rough steel door with claw marks and dents in it. On it was stretched some police tape, stating "Keep Out", a Metallica poster featuring the Black Album, and a Happy Bunny poster with had the little rodent telling you to 'Go suck someplace else.'
They figured out quickly which door belonged to whom. Jamie's was the middle door, Dias owned the British door, and Noct had the punk rocker door.
Yuna turned to Andrea and asked, "Where should we start? When we went into your mind, it was easy enough to figure out what to do. You only had one mind for us to sort through. Which door should we go through?"
"Dias' door," Andrea said immediately. "He's more the voice of reason here. And besides, Jamie's head will be too fucked up for us to get through safely alone. We'd need a guide, like Dias."
"But why don't we go through Noct's door?" Dragon asked.
"From what you guys have told me, he's the one that…I don't want to get distracted." Andrea wanted to think as little of that night as possible.
"Understood," Dragon said. "We'll enter the door to the right."
When they opened the door, they were met with another hall of doors. The only thing different about this is that standing right inside the door was a man sitting asleep on an old horse drawn buggy. He wore a top hat pulled over his eyes, had a whip in one hand and the reins in the other. He wore worn clothes and gloves that had the fingers worn off. The horse turned its head to the group of travelers and whinnied. The horse driver nearly jumped out of his seat and turned in the direction the horse was looking. He looked exactly like Jamie, though his teeth were a dentist's nightmare…or dream, however you want to look at it.
"Well, 'allo, 'allo," the driver said in the thickest British accent Andrea had ever heard. "An 'oo moit you lot be?"
"I'm Yuna, and this is Rikku, Andrea, and Dragon. We came in here looking for Dias."
"You don' say?" The driver said. "You lot are from the outside. An' you wanna see the guvner, by the day. Well don' 'jes stand there gettin' yer knickers in a pinch. Hop in me cart an oil take you to the guvner faster than you can say two kippers on a tea cozy."
"Did any of you guys understand a word he just said?" Rikku whispered. Everyone shook their heads. But they all climbed in the cart nonetheless.
"Ah, ah," the cab driver said as Dragon moved over. "Sorry, mate, but yer makin' po' Betsy a mite bit jittery. Ye'll have ta' walk."
Dragon shrugged and resigned himself to walking just behind the cart. The driver flicked the reins and cracked the whip and soon his horse, Betsy, was moving.
"Just out of curiosity," Yuna asked, "what is your name?"
"An' why do you wanna know?"
"Every being we've encountered in anyone's mind has had a name, usually named after an emotion or thought process. What's yours?"
"Me name's Generosity. I'm the one that guides people troo deez 'allways and makes sure they don' get lost. I know these tunnels like the back o me 'and."
"At least we don't have to walk," Andrea said.
"Yeah," Generosity said. "Quite a stroke a luck you lot found me. Anyways, up on the right, ye'll find the libry," he said, pointing to a large open hall lined with books. "Guvner did always pride 'imself on knowledge."
"Speaking of knowledge," Dragon said, "What can you tell us about the Cerberus' mind after Sin destroyed the center head?"
"A bit o chaos, that was," Generosity turned his head. "We were all new to de' world. We ad no idear where ta go. But Guvner Dias stepped up and assured us that 'e would make sure us all 'ad jobs."
"What about the Noct side?" Andrea asked.
"'Aven't 'eard much 'bout them. Dias says 'e threatens ta destroy all you lot 'ave."
"Why is that?" Rikku asked.
"Don' know. Somethin' 'bout a mistake, far as I can figure. An' on yer left, you see the sense o 'umor." They passed a door that had a piece of parchment pinned to it. Rikku leaned out to read it.
"Eviction Notice?" she read aloud.
"Guvner's all 'bout no nonsense. 'E won' 'esitate til 'e gets wot 'e wants. Thought it got in deh way. Well, 'ere we are." Generosity slowed the cart to a stop and let him passengers get out. They were at the base of a flight of steps that led up to what looked like the front of an exquisite mansion.
"We're there already?" Yuna asked.
"Guvner runs a tight ship, 'e does. Keeps everythin' nice an' tidy." Well, oil leave you ladies 'lone. Good day." Generosity flicked the reins and left.
They walked up the flight of steps and looked at the door. It looked just like the door they used to get in Dias' mindscape in the first place. Rikku reached for the knob, but Dragon grabbed her hand.
"We can't just barge in like that," Dragon said. He reached for the knocker with his scaly hand and knocked on the door.
A butler that looked exactly like Jamie answered the door. He carried himself with unbelievable posture and if his nose had been any higher, Andrea would have been tempted to reach out and flick him in the Adam's apple. Flick him or punch him…whichever.
"Yes?" the butler asked.
"We're here to see Dias," Yuna said.
"Master Dias is expecting you," the butler said. "Walk this way."
"I could walk that way," Rikku whispered to Andrea, "but I don't think I can get a corn cob that far up my ass."
Andrea bit her tongue to keep from laughing. The butler turned and glared at her down his nose, but kept walking. The butler took them up the stairs. Dragon had to squeeze his way up the stairwell, finding his gut a bit wider than he originally thought.
The Butler led the four of them to the end of the hall and opened the door for them, bowing his head a little as they entered in. Dragon was content with sitting outside. At that the man in the penguin suit left them to their own devices.
Dias was sitting by the fire in a fine leather chair in house slippers and a velvet robe. He looked up form his book to acknowledge their presence and greet them.
"Welcome! It's so good to see all of you," Andrea noticed he looked at her funny. "I take it you're here for information?"
"Yup," Rikku answered flatly.
"Well, if I may be so bold as to say I know what you're after. You see, when Chaosin was destroyed, the collective consciousness was split; so what you need first is Noct's portion of the Mind Essence. Once you have obtained that, you can return here and I will give you my half. From then on you must find the Psyche and give them to him. With them the balance will be returned and Cerberus will be whole again."
"Isn't there an easier way?" Rikku whined a little.
"It's the only way, I'm afraid. Only a Guardian can undo the entirety of Andrea's magic. Not to mention it has to be her opposite, so there's no way around this."
"Dammit, you suck," Rikku groaned, glancing at Andrea who didn't resist the urge show the Al Bhed her social finger.
"Well, off you all go, not much time to wait, chop-chop!" he watched them head for the way they came and sputtered. "No, you can't go that way!"
"Why the hell not?" Andrea snapped lightly.
"There's no door there,"
All of them looked, not believing him, and found the truth in his words. Dragon was no longer in the hallway and there was no longer a door. It had become a solid wall.
"Take this door. The passage is quite chaotic, but it's far shorter a distance. Once you have the Mind Essence, you can find your way back here like before. Good luck." And he smiled.
They followed his advice and exited through the new door that had materialized where a book case had once been. Andrea could help but give him a dirty look, a distrustful glare as she was the last through the portal and closed it.
"Andrea?" Yuna said. "Just out of curiosity, what did you do to Jamie to make him lose his memories?"
"If I remember correctly," Andrea said, "he's the one that showed me how to do it."
(II)
(Previously)
Black Phoenix flew right into him, disappearing inside of his body. He flew back several feet, hitting the ground hard and lying flat on his back. Rikku ran to him, Dragon coming soon after.
Inside Jamie's mind, Andrea changed back to her human form and looked around. She discovered she was in a hall of doors. She faintly felt a sense of déjà vu descend upon her. She walked around trying to find Jamie's Psyche so she could pound him into sausage. She looked in various doors but found nothing. Except a Jamie painting a huge mural, a Jamie jamming on a bass guitar, and a Jamie hung upside down in a shark tank wearing a straight jacket and 20 pounds of chains.
"This guy fantasizes about Houdini?" Andrea wondered. She turned just in time to catch the blade of Tetsusaiga between her hands.
"Get out of my head!" Jamie screamed.
"Make me!"
The battle that took place was very similar to the one outside. The only difference was that Jamie had the upper hand. This was his home field after all. He could be faster, stronger, more powerful if he so willed it. It was his mind.
Jamie took the initiative, not allowing Andrea a chance to maneuver against him. Her lurched forward, gripping her by the shoulders and forcing her to the floor. He reared back his hand, balled in a fist, and socked her one good time in the face. The back of her head went into the floor, making a deep indention. He punched her at least two times before pausing a moment, wanting to see the extent of what he'd done. At first she just laid there, not moving or showing any signs of being alive. He leaned in close, trying to listen for even the slightest of breaths.
In the moment of a heartbeat, Andrea's hand reached up and grabbed him by the bottom jaw. Yes, I mean her fingers curled tightly around even his teeth. She gave him a fierce shove, allowing her the room to stand. With an angrily curled lip she opened her wings in a hail of ruby sparks. The very temperature seemed to rise at the subtle transformation. Jamie got up and rubbed his lip with his sleeve, not finding any blood but half-expecting to. He quickly stood and drew 'Saiga, another rain of sparkling light as a shocking prologue. Without hesitating he charged, blade tip forward.
Andrea deflected Jamie's attack. She caught the sword between her palms, allowed it to force her back. Her bare feet slid across the floor with a high pitched squeal of skin on tile. Finally she shifted her feet to be parallel and her hips to turn sideways. Her movement stopped and she accepted Jamie's force. The motion allowed her to yank the blade for his hands and send it flying into a large steel vault door. Jamie pulled his sword from it only to see a brilliant light spill out of the hole. Jamie looked at the sign above the door and saw, "Movie Vault".
"Oh, shit…" Jamie and Andrea said before they got pulled in.
Blink
Jamie walked down a rain soaked street. His black coat and hair clung to him. He was wearing sunglasses despite the darkness around him. He looked in the windows of the buildings around him and saw multiple Andreas; all sporting the same suit and tie. He walked forward and saw one Andrea standing in the street before him. Jamie stopped walking and stared at the woman before him.
"Mr. Jamison," Andrea said. "We've been expecting you."
"Where'd all the other yous come from?" Jamie asked.
"I don't know," Andrea said with a smile. "But I like it."
Blink
Andrea walked through the forest wearing a suit of armor and carrying a large sword at her side. She soon came to a bridge and saw Jamie standing there wearing black armor and carrying Masamune.
"None shall pass!" Jamie said. Andrea walked up to him and quickly cleaved his arms off.
"What are you gonna do now? Bleed on me?" Andrea continued across the bridge only to be kicked in the butt.
"I can still fight you know," Jamie said, still bleeding.
"You're really pissing me off right now," Andrea growled.
"NEE!" comes a voice behind Andrea. The sound caused her to flinch and go rolling across the ground.
"Who the hell are you?" Andrea asked to the really tall man with a disproportional head.
"They call me…Tim?"
Blink
Jamie swung down from the crow's nest and clashed swords with Andrea. She wielded a cutlass and Tetsusaiga had shrunk to the size of one. All around them, the pirates on the ship stared at the two fighting above them. Andrea deflected Jamie's blows and punched him in the chest so hard he flew into the black sails behind him. While Jamie was tangled up, Andrea took a breather.
"I need a drink," she said. "Rum, maybe."
"Sorry, love," a pirate next to her said. He wore a bright red bandanna, had several beads strung through his beard, and had the wildest eyes Andrea had ever seen. "Rum's gone, savvy?"
"Why is the rum always gone?" Andrea shouted.
"That's exactly what I said," the pirate agreed. "As to why, you can thank a certain governor's daughter," the pirate nodded over to a woman standing near him.
"It was the rum or our lives, you incompetent twit!" she said.
"You're too kind, love," the pirate said.
Blink
Andrea and Jamie stood in the bell tower of an old Catholic church. Although, Andrea could tell something was up when her head moved.
"What the…" she said, putting a hand to her head. "I'm…bald? What the fuck is this? And what's this thing in my forehead? Is that a bulls eye?"
"Dammit!" Jamie shouted. Andrea looked and he was dress in a deep red jacket, deep red leather pants, and his mask was adorned with horns and red eyes. "We get transported into a cool superhero movie, and I'm the freaking blind guy!" He stumbled around…blindly. How else? "Where the hell are you?"
Andrea grabbed one of the smaller bells off of the floor, grabbed one of Jamie's sticks, and put the bell over his head. "Ding!" she said before rapping the bell lightly…a couple dozen times.
"Ow!" Jamie shouted before he fell into the stained glass. The glass shattered and he plummeted to the streets below. He hit the ground with a resounding thump, but he stood, shakily, but he stood. "I'm…okay…" he muttered right before a runaway moped slammed into his right leg.
Blink
Andrea and Jamie stood in the middle of a massive city, facing each other down. Andrea wore black robes accented with red, and Jamie wore brown and tan robes. They both ignited their light sabers. Jamie was a cool blue, almost white, and Andrea's was a deep blood red. They clashed their light sabers and sparks of energy flew. Every blow Jamie made was blocked or parried by Andrea. And Andrea's moves were deflected recklessly, as if Jamie had no experience with a sword. They eventually came to a group of Senators on their way to a Senate meeting. One of them stepped forward.
"Whysa yousa fightin?" he said. "Yousa need be lublubin, none o dis pokey die die yousa doin."
Jamie and Andrea looked at each other. Andrea pulled her light saber back. "If you'll excuse me," she said. She flung a hand towards the Gungun and his hands flew to his neck. He gasped a few times before eventually going limp.
"Any of you have a problem with that?" Andrea asked. The Senators shook their heads.
Andrea walked back over to Jamie. "Not that I care that he's dead, but…you're evil, you know that?" Jamie asked.
Andrea smiled and swung her light saber into Jamie's. "I try."
Blink
Andrea and Jamie battled through the snow. Somehow, through all of the movie spoofs, Andrea had got a hold of Masamune and Tetsusaiga rang against it. They battled through the snow, getting closer and closer to a large factory in the background. Jamie knocked Andrea to the ground and took Masamune. Just as Jamie was about to make the killing blow, he heard singing behind him.
"Willy Wonka! Willy Wonka! The amazing chocolateer!"
Jamie and Andrea slowly turned their heads to see a display of singing dancing puppet. Five children and their…Jamie and Andrea could only assume parents or grandparents, stood between them and the display, oblivious to the battle behind them.
"I waited for you in Star Wars," Jamie said. "I expect you to do the same for me." He settled Masamune in its usual place on his back and walked towards the people. When he arrived to the display, it was in flames and before the ten people stood a man in a purple coat, a purple hat, and purple gloves.
"Hello star shine! The earth says he…" he didn't finish because Jamie had slammed his Tetsusaiga into the 'Amazing Chocolateer'.
After he was dead, Jamie pointed down at him and shouted, "That was for Gene Wilder, you son of a bitch!"
Jamie walked past the shocked group of people and heard the fat one say, "Does this mean no chocolate?"
Andrea stared at him, still on the ground. "Why the hell did you do that?" she asked.
"I grew up with Gene Wilder and orange Oompa Loompas. The new movie was good, but there were certain things I couldn't stand. Like him," Jamie jerked a thumb at the corpse over his shoulder.
Blink
Andrea wore a long black duster and stood in a room lined with screens. Each one showed her. In front of her sat Jamie in a white suit. He looked at her and then looked down.
Jamie looked back at Andrea and asked, "Why do I get the sudden urge to say 'Systemic Anomaly'?"
Blink
Andrea and Jamie were surrounded by people. Jamie was wearing white again and Andrea wore red, although this time, she had a pair of horns growing from her forehead.
"I know this movie!" Andrea said. She reached up and felt her horns. "This means I'm Satan!"
"It also means I kick your ass," Jamie said, reaching into his pocket. He brought out a large white ball.
"What are you going to do?' she asked. "Summon Ozzy? In case you haven't noticed, I'm not a bat, so he can't bite my head off."
Jamie threw the ball down and from the smoke rose, not Ozzy, but the lead guitarist for Metallica.
Andrea gasped. "Kirk…Hammett?" She was too distracted by the presence of her guitar hero to notice the Flying V that Hammett brought down on her head.
Blink
"Let me stand next to your fire," the woman in white sang up on stage.
Jamie and Andrea stared each other down again; a new movie, a new chance to kill each other. Jamie now wore torn jeans, a solid black shirt, tucked into them, and a black hat that said 'Jamie's World' on it. Andrea wore the same torn jeans, a blue flannel shirt, and a belt. She recognized this movie and knew what the belt was. She pulled the tazer out and zapped Jamie right in the chest with it. He lay on the floor tossing and convulsing for a while, but got up. He saw another white ball lying on the ground, so he picked it up and threw it at Andrea.
From the smoke emerged, not Ozzy, not Kirk Hammett, not even Jimi Hendrix. From the smoke emerged one of the greatest martial artists this world has known. Luckily, this man was Andrea's martial arts idol as well. She stared in wonder at the man before her, his beard exactly how she imagined it. His hair exactly how she imagined it. She couldn't help but drool in the mere presence of this man.
It was Chuck Norris.
Andrea sank to her knees and started bowing. "I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy!"
"Ha!" Jamie shouted. "I knew you'd be no match for this guy. I win again!" But he didn't win, because at that moment, Chuck spun around and kicked Jamie right in the jaw. Jamie spun around and landed on a table. Andrea looked up and saw Chuck Norris extending a hand to her. She took it, staring at the contact. She stood and looked away from her idol, still not worthy.
"You're worthy," Chuck said. Andrea looked at him, still amazed. "Not even in his mind could I harm another martial artist." Andrea was about to thank him, then suddenly…
Blink
"I'm king of the world!"
Blink
"You love this woman, Don't ya?"
"Yes."
"You wanna hold her?"
"Yes."
"Please her?"
"Yes!"
"Then ya got ta, got ta try a little tenderness! Chicks love that romantic crap!"
Blink
"Expecto Patronum!"
Blink
"Mike broke the Hubble! Mike broke the Hubble!"
Blink
"I's scared o the dahk."
Blink
"The dog's name was Indy!"
Blink
"You got me freakin' sharks with laser beams attached to their heads?"
Blink
"There is no spoon."
Blink
"What part of Georgia you from? South Central?"
Blink
"This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes."
Jamie looked at the pills in front of him. He reached towards the blue one.
"Also, the blue pill is a suppository."
Blink
"Don't try to leave 'em Robin! That's why they shot their Daddy!"
Blink
"Shall these quips and sentences or paper bullets of the brain awe a man from the career of his humor? No! The world must be peopled!"
Blink
"Screw you guys, I'm going home."
Blink
"Funny, she doesn't look Druish."
Blink
"Did you just soil yourself?"
"Maybe."
Blink
Andrea climbed out of the light, leaving Jamie to blink in and out of various movie spoofs. She was about to pull her foot out of the vault when she felt something jerk on her leg. She pulled as hard as she could and found Jamie latched on to her leg. She swung her leg around and flung Jamie into the doors on the opposite wall.
"Now that we're out of the movie spoof from hell, I can properly kill you," Andrea said.
"I think I want something to kill, too," Jamie grunted. "I'm tired of you fucking around with my head."
"What?" Andrea said, amused. "Killing Willy Wonka wasn't enough for you?"
"What shot who, now?" Jamie asked, confused. "I killed Gene Wilder?"
"No," Andrea said, annoyed. "You killed the new Willy; the one played by Johnny Depp."
"New Willy Wonka? There was no new Willy Wonka. I read about it. They couldn't find anyone to play Willy, so the movie was canceled. And Johnny Depp couldn't have played him. He's just too cool."
"What are you talking about? I saw you slam your sword into him and kill him just like I killed Jar Jar."
"What the hell's a Jar Jar?" Jamie asked, more confused than ever.
Andrea was about to answer, but then she realized something. They were in Jamie's mind, and he couldn't remember these occurrences because they had destroyed the source of those memories. They ventured into his memories of those movies and destroyed part of the memory, so as far as Jamie was concerned, Jar Jar and the Depp Willy Wonka never existed. She smiled and rushed Jamie. He was about to bring his sword down on her, but she sidestepped and brought her knee into his gut.
"Hate to hurt and run, Black," Andrea snickered, "but I have a few things to do."
Andrea changed to her Phoenix form and flew through the many halls of Jamie's mind, searching for the one door. She was somewhere around the part of the mind that organized what Jamie saw, smelled, touched, tasted, or heard, when she saw it. 'Main Memory Bank'.
She opened the door and saw a vast library filled with books that undoubtedly contained Jamie's many memories. She saw a few copies of Jamie carrying a large book with, what Andrea could only guess was a light saber burn through the middle. That must have been his memory of Jar Jar. She looked out into the library and saw more copies tending to a book that had been hacked to pieces and now leaked chocolate.
She focused her mind and soon, Ifrit was tearing into every book she could get a hold of. With a fiendish glee she ripped pages, burned volume after volume, and threw entire shelves into the walls. She set half of the library on fire and then changed into Phoenix. With a resounding cry a hemisphere or mystical flame radiated from her, setting everything asunder in an inferno. She scorched the entire library, nearly ever book in ashes. She changed back to her human form and exited the room. As she closed the door behind her, she snapped the knob off.
"Oops," she said, tossing the knob into the nothingness.
(II)
Now they were in an open, dome shaped room. In originality, the ceiling was made from panels of clear glass but was now stained black and cracking. Andrea saw this and thought of her deal with Rikku. Her conscience was tugging at the back of her mind, making it that much harder to ignore her obligation. She stopped, the rest of the group halting as well.
"I have to call what I can of the magic back. Before we go any further and I change my mind." And she clapped her hands together. Red and gold sparks flickered from her palms and they began to glow. She widened the space between her hands and then raised them over her head, drawing back the tendrils of shadow seeping through the splintered glass.
(II)
True, he was slowly forgetting everything he ever knew, but that didn't change his mantle as Guardian. Jamie felt as if he'd just awakened from a deep sleep, a dreamless one at that. He heard the Cerberus, heard the Guardian calling him. He stood in the darkness of his mind, stood steady and upright. Jamison continued to listen to Cerberus, following instructions to move forward.
Without hesitation Jamie came to a wall of fire and passed through it unharmed. He found himself still within darkness, but no longer his own. It was different, unfamiliar yet it had a strangely recognizable feeling about it. He almost recognized it.
Before him was a door, a great steel one. It was locked tight. There were chains, barricades, padlocks…so many things to keep it shut. Jamie stepped forward and reached for the door, touching the cold metal, running his hands over the chains. Something knocked from the inside of the door. He listened closely for a moment, hearing it again and knocking back. Whoever was there exchanged sounds with Jamie until he tried the old "shave-and-a-haircut" routine. At that, the person behind the door simply shouted; "Just get me the fuck out of here!"
Out of impulse he reached for Tetsusaiga, never assuming that it might not be there. He drew the massive sword and cut into the door at its hinges. There was a loud screech of metal scraping metal and then silence. Jamie stepped aside as the door came tumbling forward, smacking flat onto the ground.
"Finally; thought I was gonna go nuts in there,"
Jamie was confused for a moment. He could see Andrea standing there before him, yet she wasn't trying to kill him. Could this be some strange Guardian mind trick? Don't worry; I'll keep Yoda from writing on this anymore.
"Who are you?" He asked.
"I'm Andrea…her heart anyway. Thanks for getting me out of there, I appreciate it."
Whoa…she was thanking him!
"Look, Jamie, I got some things I have to tell you. You don't have to listen, but you really should."
"Okay,"
"You have to get Andrea and Phoenix connected like they should. The Alignment won't happen if you don't."
"So how do I do that?"
"Well, once she and I are on working terms again, it shouldn't be that hard. But it's going to be really difficult to do just that. Somehow you have to get her body to reboot; you know…a super-restart or something."
"Yeah? Hmmm," he stroked his chin to think a moment. "I think I have an idea, but what about you?"
"I've already got a plan; I got places to go and not a lot of time to get there. If you've got your mind straight than I don't have problem. Just do it soon, whatever it is." And the Heart was gone.
Man, Jamie thought; if that's any inclination of what Andrea is like with a heart, he was willing to take any chances. It was damn well worth it just to get her off his ass.
He suddenly felt something jerking at the back of his head. It tugged a second time, but painfully. A third time then a fourth, and then it was dark again.
(II)
Andrea fell back, her hands clutching at her chest. It looked like she was in a serious amount of pain. Jamie remained still on the floor and the others watched what was unfolding in front of them. The last thing any of them recall was Andrea calling back the black magic before all four of them were forced out of Jamison's mind.
"Ow…son of a bitch-OW!" Andrea roared at the horrible feeling she had in her chest. "I'm feeling! It's…it's like someone's taking a jack-hammer to my chest!"
Deep down, unbeknownst to everyone, Andrea's heart was really slamming away at her ribs with a sledge hammer, but she figured it a close enough guess.
Everyone watched, not sure what to do. When whatever she was feeling appeared to subside, Andrea stood, her knees wobbling a little. Suddenly she looked at Yuna, pointing a shaking hand at the High Summoner.
"Yuna, quick," she panted. "Tell me the saddest thing you can think of."
"Um," her expression was blank. "As we speak thousands of Al Bhed children are suffering from starvation."
"No, sadder,"
"Uh…Balding Chocobo Disease is becoming more and more rampant with every year,"
"It is?!" Rikku gasped.
"No, sadder!"
"Well…despite your best efforts you're still the only person on Spira that knows how to make gravy,"
Andrea suddenly began wailing, crying heavy crocodile tears. "I am?! I'm the only one who knows how to make gravy?! That's so horrible…and I care! What is the deal?!"
Both Rikku and Yuna were about to make their best effort towards an explanation, but that changed immediately. In their distraction, no one saw Jamison open his eyes, sit up and motion towards the High Summoner. It was far too late when she realized the Guardian had pulled her gun from the holster at her hip and stood up.
"You've got a heart, Andrea," he said. "That's the deal."
For a split second Andrea's eyes widened in fear. It was genuine fear. She only blinked once before Jamison found his mark and pulled the trigger. He pulled it twice before Andrea fell back, eyes wide open and with two new holes in the left side of her chest. She screamed in pain, the sound covering up the two doors swinging open.
"We heard shots," Paine couldn't finish. She saw the scene inside and it erased her train of thought.
Andrea gripped hard at the wounds in her chest, crying and trying to breathe steadily.
"Oh…fuck…it hurts!" she was writhing in agony. She coughed and blood spilled out of her mouth.
Out of her nature as a White Mage, Yuna went to Andrea, having her lay on the floor with her head on her lap. If anyone bothered to look, they would notice the dread and utter despair on Dragon's face.
"Don't heal her, Yuna," Jamie said coldly.
"She's suffering, Jamie! You can't expect me to just sit here and-,"
"It has to be this way."
No one moved and everyone watched.
"Yuna, I'm sorry," Andrea said, swallowing hard. "I'm sorry for everything. No, don't stop me…I need to say it." She made herself look at Rikku then Jamie and then back to Rikku. "I hope you guys can find it in yourselves to forgive me. I don't regret anything, and I meant everything, but I'm sorry I caused you all so much trouble."
"Why so penitent all of a sudden?" Paine had come over and knelt down. Andrea was her friend too after all.
"Looks like this is it," Andrea had calmed considerably, but it was obvious there was still a lot of pain. "I'm dying."
"You can tough it out, Andrea; I know you can." Yuna assured her. Andrea only shook her head.
"No, not this time." She looked to the Al Bhed. "Please, Rikku; let me have my rings back."
Considering the situation she didn't argue or try to break a deal. She pulled them from her pocket and returned them. Andrea managed to put the rings back on her finger, right where they belonged. She suddenly winced, holding back a scream.
"God, it hurts!" she cried, tears streaming down her face. "Yuna," she was becoming frantic. "I'm scared,"
Yuna looked at her, felt her body trembling. She truly was afraid. For the first time since they had met, Andrea was terrified.
"I'm so sorry," and after a hard cough, spitting up blood, she fell still. There was a very long silence where Jamie saw it time to return Yuna her pistol, which she didn't seem to notice. He simply sat it on the floor next to her, saying not a word.
"How can this be right?" Yuna asked quietly, her head shaking back and forth. "This doesn't make any sense."
"It will. In fact it's actually beginning to become clearer for me." Jamie said. Somehow he sounded different, but how so was another matter.
"So what now?" Paine looked up at Jamie, searching for an answer.
"Midnight tonight…that's when it will happen. We need to get me, myself, and dick-face straightened out before then."
"But without Phoenix's power…how can we?"
"It'll be easier for me now. Just trust me," and he looked at Rikku and smiled.
"So you're saying you want us to go back in?"
Jamie nodded and shifted into a crouch to lie back down on the floor. They all gathered round him once again. Suddenly Yuna paused.
"Wait, we need someone else to go with us. We have to replace the muscle…" she didn't feel the need to finish.
"I'll go, I've done this before." Paine offered and came to the High Summoner's side.
"Okay," Yuna nodded. "Let's do it,"
They returned to the room with the glass dome, seeing the injured iron door in front of them that led to Noct's realm. They were well aware that there wasn't much time left, and so they made a dash for the door, ripping it almost off the hinges as it opened. On the other side they were greeted by more than just a messy room that one would think belonged to roadie. Yuna shouted as she saw Noct flee through a door on the far side of the room and immediately set in pursuit of him. The party was stopped short. Up from the floor came a group of shadows, thick and full of life mysterious. They peeled up from the floor, taking shape and becoming what they were. They were copies of Noct, each wielding Tetsusaiga and Masamune. Yet each of them represented a different aspect of the Guardian's dark side. Hatred, malice, vengeance, fury; all of them had manifested to bar their path.
The party drew their weapons, those of them that had weapons. Dragon simply snarled ferociously, the black slits in his eyes narrowed.
"We can't waste much time here, we have to go after Noct now!" Yuna dictated, her fingers itching. "Two of us can stay behind and hold them off while the others keep on ahead."
"So who stays and who goes?" Paine had already plunged into the fray, matching blades with one of Noct's clones.
"I'll go!" Rikku volunteered. "Noct might listen to me,"
"Go with her Dragon, Paine and I can handle this," Yuna looked to the Guardian and he nodded.
"Rikku, hop on, I'll take you."
The Al Bhed heeded her fellow Guardian and climbed onto his back. Dragon charged headlong forward, forcing his way past the too-small doorway that Noct had escaped through and into whatever was beyond that. Dragon plowed through at least a dozen doors, not looking up but simply pressing onward. Rikku clutched closely to him, keeping her head down.
One more door came tumbling down and so did Dragon, having tripped on something.
Huddled on the floor was another copy of Jamie. Or Noct as the case may be, since he still had the scar over his eye Seraphim had given him. He was unarmed and made no motions towards attacking them. Dragon and Rikku stopped for a moment, forgetting Noct almost completely. Rikku walked around the copy until she could see his face, feeling a chill run up her back. She knelt down, trying to catch his attention.
"Who are you?" she asked gently.
The copy looked up at her with despair and replied, "Regret,"
Dragon padded over quietly, watching as Regret sat up, hugging his knees close to his chest with his eyes to the floor.
"Can you take us to Noct? We really don't have much time," Dragon said.
"You know, Noct isn't a bad guy," Regret said. "Dias is the one you need to watch for."
"What do you mean?" Rikku's eyebrows knitted tightly in the middle.
"It's like what Phoenix said," he nearly whispered. "Just because it comes from the darkness, doesn't mean its evil. This all my fault…I should've listened."
"Can you lead us to Noct's psyche or can't you?" Dragon was becoming agitated.
"I can…but maybe I shouldn't. I'll regret it, I know I will," he sounded so incredibly sad.
"Please," Rikku pleaded. "You have a chance to make it all right again…please help us."
Regret looked up at Rikku and hesitantly nodded his head. "O-okay, I will. I know what to do, just follow me,"
Regret stood and walked on, taking them deeper into Jamie's mind, closer to the center of Noct. Finally they reached the last door, and Regret shrugged heavily, as if walking into his own execution. They entered stoutly, entered without fear to face what lie beyond the door.
"What the fuck are you doing here?!" Noct cried angrily, clutching a black orb glowing to his chest. "Get away from me!" It appeared that he was screaming at his doppelganger.
Regret stepped forward despite Noct's demands. Rikku and Dragon watched without blinking, not even noticing the others storming into the room and screeching to a halt.
Noct backed away from Regret, hoping to escape and finding no more doors. He stepped further and further away, finally stopped by the wall behind him. He gripped tightly at the glowing blackness he held, not daring to let go.
"They want to make it right again, they want to heal us." Regret said, holding out his hand.
"No, you don't understand! You can't let Dias get a-hold of this! Dias is the evil one, not me! Get back!"
"This is how it must be, Noct." Regret shook his head. "I don't want to be around anymore, and you don't want me around either. If we do this, put things back the way they were, I'll go away. Please, Noct," and he stepped forward again.
"No, Dias is lying! He doesn't want things right again! You have to believe me! No!"
Regret forced himself on Noct, allowing himself to be absorbed by the psyche. Noct twisted, growled as if in pain. He fought against his copy, losing in the end. Noct was on his knees by the end, trying to catch his breath as slivers of tears streaked down his cheeks. He held his half of the Mind Essence, the seal of Yin in his hands, offering it to Rikku. As she took it from him, he immediately began to show signs of losing to Noct. Soon he would be expelled and the psycho would return to his old self.
"Run with it, I'll hold him while I can," Regret spoke through Noct as his fellow Guardians took the seal from him.
"Do as he says, I'll stall him," Paine said, confidence in her abilities to buy them time.
"Don't be long," Yuna cautioned. Paine knew the risks, she still insisted on staying.
The others dashed away, back from whence they came and Paine waited with sword at the ready for the battle to begin.
Rikku held tight to the seal as she sat astride Dragon's back, Yuna sitting in front of her with pistols drawn. Almost instantaneously after leaving Noct, they noticed the world around them catching fire and burning down, as if nature had gone mad. Dragon ran as fast as his legs would carry him all the while trying to avoid falling gobs of fire and a man in a purple suit and top-hat screaming some nonsense about the chocolate melting.
He forced his way through closed doors and portals too small. He made his way back to the three-way intersection; he could see it just ahead. As they drew near, Dias appeared at the heart of the intersection, at the center of the three doors.
Dragon stopped, allowing Yuna and Rikku to slide off of his back.
"Ah, good to see you could make it; as you can see things are beginning to get worse."
"Tell us something we don't know," Rikku almost laughed, finding herself unable.
"You have the seal?"
Rikku nodded and showed him the glowing Yin as she stepped towards him.
"Excellent," Dias hissed, pulling his own seal, Yang, from behind his back.
"NO!"
Everyone stopped what they were presently endeavored in and turned. They saw Noct, limping towards them; limping not from injury, but from a persistent Paine refusing to release his leg from her arm-lock.
"Don't give it to him!" Noct pleaded. "He'll destroy us all! He doesn't want balance!"
Before Rikku could turn back, perhaps even question Dias, her hand was relieved of Yin. Dias began to laugh.
"Unfortunately he's right for a change. I don't want nor need balance. I'm satisfied with things as they are."
Noct's jaw dropped. He saw Dias steal the seal and his heart shattered. His knees buckled and hit the floor hard. "No," he whimpered.
Rikku stared hard at Dias. "What are you talking about?"
"You see, I like conflict. In fact, I like it a lot, almost obsessively. You see, light always wins, no matter how you look at it. And in spite of that, dark always comes back for a second helping. It never ends yet always ends the same. It's so delicious."
"You sick, fucking bastard!" Noct cried.
"How could this happen?" Yuna gasped, her hope wavering.
"Don't know for sure, really. I think it all started in severity when you defeated Sin, High Summoner."
"Yeah," Noct growled. "Sick-o here liked watching you fight Sin so much he was jerkin' his gerkin through the whole thing."
Everyone looked at Dias in shock.
"That's…DISGUSTING!" Yuna cringed.
"Never mind that," Dias' face reddened. "Still, the point stands, and I see little of anything you can do about it. You see, if the Alignment comes, the world will be purified and there will be no more conflict. Even Noct and I won't exist. So you see, it's not just my sickening obsession with conflict, it's my survival." And Dias laughed.
"All of this is my fault," Noct shook his head. "I just wanted to fix my mistakes. I wanted to start over, to make sure that there would never be another Sin, or Vegnagun, or Vae. Was that so wrong?"
"What are you talking about?" Rikku asked.
Noct sighed. "When the world was first created, each of the guardians gave Spirans a gift: Sera created the earth and the bodies of the humans, Phoeny gave them life and knowledge, Drake supplied the emotion, and I…I mean Chaosin, gave them…free will…choice…the capacity for good and evil. I gave Spirans darkness. But soon, darkness became synonymous with evil. It's because of me that Fiends exist. It's because of me that Sin was created and Chaosin died. I wanted to start over, destroy all Spirans and recreate them without the capacity for evil. But the other Guardians wouldn't listen. That's why I got rid of them all, so I could destroy Spira in their absence. Then, when they came back, we'd have no choice but to start over. After that, I wouldn't care if I existed or not. At least I'd have a clear conscience."
Paine watched as Noct wallowed in his regret, though that copy was nowhere in sight.
"Ah, fuck it," Noct surrendered. He fell forward onto his elbows and planted his forehead into his open hands. "It's over, it doesn't matter now."
"You big girl," Paine snorted. "You come off as Mr. Big-bad-ass, and here you are giving up already. What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Want a list? It's over, there's not point now."
"Yeah there is, you can still fight Dias! You aren't crippled."
"It doesn't matter anymore."
Paine shifted to stand, grabbing Noct by the collar and hoisting him roughly to his feet. She forced the Guardian to look her in the face.
"Look; no matter what evil comes to the world, there will always be light to overcome it and what not." You can tell she'd never given a talk like this before. "But there are times where the dark needs to stand up to the light and bitch-slap it upside the head and kick it in the business. Now you're going to get your sorry, whiny ass up and go do what you do best to Sponge-Bob-Tight-Pants over there."
Noct's eyes were wide. That was a talk he never thought he'd have. But hell, he felt better now. In fact, he felt great, he felt his natural-born ferocity bubbling up inside. He was feeling frisky.
With a wicked grin he pulled himself from Paine's grasp and made his way towards Dias, slowly at first. Then he suddenly broke into a dash and leaped forward, his human skin tearing away and the form of the Guardian, only one-headed, taking its place. He sprinted towards his sick counterpart, pouncing with his jaws opened wide. Dias' eyes flashed wide as Noct overtook him. In the blink of an eye Dias took a similar form and fought with Noct, dropping Yin and Yang, the seals bouncing on the floor.
"Take them through the center door!" Noct snarled to them. "Complete the seal!"
Rikku gathered up the orbs and nodded to the Guardian, wincing at the sound of flesh tearing and an angry roar. She signaled for the others to follow and entered the center door, flames on the verge of swallowing it whole. Jamie's mind was continuing to fall apart, despite their best efforts.
Inside were more flames and two more copies of Jamie there on the floor. One was flat on his back with a gaping hole through his middle, and the other was knelt beside the first.
"Thank god you're here," Concern looked relieved to see them.
"What can we do?" Rikku asked with urgency.
"Put the seals together and return them to the psyche," he gestured to the Jamie on the floor. It looked like the copy had a serious fever with sweat rolling down his face.
"How?" Rikku had a feeling she was thinking to hard. She shook her head. "Never mind."
Rikku pressed the orbs together and they melted into one another. They became one and shimmered, levitating out of Rikku's flattened palms. The Mind Essence hovered over the psyche for several short moments and then filled the empty hole where its guts were supposed to be.
Shortly after, psyche opened his eyes, the fever broken, and stood. Concern stood next to him and smiled at those that had at last made the balance.
"Thank you." Was all he said and began to glow in a shadow of light. It consumed his form whole, and then dissipated to reveal something no one expected.
There stood Chaosin, in spirit of course. Everyone looked on, awe painted on their faces in wide eyes and slacked jaws. Rikku stumbled all of sudden as Seraphim stepped out of her.
"So you weren't completely gone after all," Seraphim grinned.
"I couldn't bear to leave you alone, love. Please forgiving me for hiding from you," and his ears drooped a little.
Sera stepped up to Chaosin's side and put her hands gently to his cheeks. Their souls kissed and embraced, holding one another as reunited lovers do. Chaosin pulled away and looked down at Sera.
"The Alignment is at hand and it is time for us to leave this plane for the next."
"Can we? What of our powers? What of this world?"
"I believe all is in capable hands. As for us, yes we can. We have a place to spend eternity waiting for all of us. Soon Phoenix and Dragon will join us there. Leave your powers as I will, Sera, and come with me."
Seraphim nodded to Chaosin and turned to those standing in a stupor. Jamie could have sworn he had seen the Seraphim somewhere before. And all at once, it hit him. He knew who she was.
"Stephanie?" Rikku looked from Jamie to Seraphim.
"Yes, Jamie. It's me. You probably want a full explanation, but since time is short, I'll only tell you what you need to know."
"When the Guardians went their separate ways after our defeat at the hands of Yu Yevon, I traveled from world to world in search of the one that would replace the center head. I felt drawn to your world and soon I was born into the child, Stephanie. When I met you, I could see the cloud of destiny surrounding you. I knew you were the one.
"The Fayth agreed to bring you to Spira, so I knew I had to return here and find Phoenix, Noct and Dias, and Dragon. But in order to do so, I had to die in your world. I returned to Spira and bound myself to the one originally meant to house my spirit: Jennifer. You were not meant to come to Spira for some time, but my death threw you into a suicidal depression that threatened your life.
"The Fayth brought you to Spira early, hoping that meeting me would inspire you to live. But you met Rikku instead."
"I remember this," Jamie said. "You said that the chocobo I met on the Highroad was supposed to take me to Luca where Jennifer was, but it sensed my nature as the Cerberus and introduced me to Yuna."
"Yes," Seraphim said. "That's why Jennifer and Rikku had to die: Jennifer so my spirit would be released, and Rikku so my spirit could bind to her."
"Jennifer shouldn't have had to die," Jamie lamented.
"Don't worry," Serphim smiled. "Something tells me that you'll see Jennifer again soon enough. But for now, all is well and the Alignment will come. Your work here is finished and now you must go. All of you have done well, and thank you." She knelt and embraced Jamie one last time. And she returned her attention to Chaosin, only to disappear as if they had never been.
The Guardians gone, the focal point was now Jamie's psyche, who smiled at them much like Chaosin had.
"I'm grateful," he said simply. "Thanks for fixing me. Now get out of here, you've got places to be."
"What time is it?!" Dragon blurted suddenly.
"I don't know," Yuna said. "But let's scram anyway,"
And they left Jamison's head.
(III)
The clock was chiming towards midnight, six chimes to be exact. Once conscious Rikku tore her eyes open and forced herself up. She grabbed Jamie's arm and hoisted him up form the floor, smacking him on the cheek to make him wake.
"Get Eve on the throne!" Dragon shouted as he came to.
Yuna shook the daze from her head, standing unsteadily for a brief time, and gathered up the child in her arms. She made a mad dash for the throne, Eve giving a gleeful shout as if it were some sort of joyride. She let Eve down and she sat in her rightful place.
"Ready!" Yuna called back.
"Now what?" Paine yawned.
The clock had three chimes to go and then midnight would come.
"Wait for it," Jamie said. "Wait for it,"
Dragon momentarily looked down at Andrea's still, cold body anxiously. What was going to happen?
Ten…
Jamie and Rikku looked to each other, taking one another's hand tightly. This is what they'd been fighting for all this time. Would it be worth all the pain?
Eleven…
Yuna, Paine, Baralai, and Celeste all stood next to the throne. The High Summoner folded her hands at the center of her chest, praying silently. Please let this be the end…
Twelve…
The final chime of Midnight was haunting, and it seemed to ring on forever. At first, everyone only waited in silence as nothing happened. The remaining Guardians all looked at one another, not sure what to do or even what to think.
Thirty seconds passed.
There was suddenly a loud bang, and the room filled with a cloud of smoke and the smell of charcoal. Dragon's mouth dropped open and he shouted as he watched Andrea's body burst into flames and become ashes little by little. His expression was that of terror.
As quickly as it started the fire grew. It climbed higher and higher, shaping into a pillar that shot through the ceiling. Following the flame was a pillar of pure moonlight shimmering upward from around Jamie's feet. Rikku stepped away, almost feeling as if she were pulled. She watched as brilliant starlight surrounded Dragon, swallowed him whole. And the last thing she recalled was the surge of power she knew to be Seraphim, and being covered in warm, golden light.
From the deep reaches of the heavens above Spira, you could see the world as it was changed. It became a sphere of color, only becoming brighter and brighter. The cosmos was blinded, brought to its knees in reverence. A fool would think the world was headed for supernova and then be fated to a dismal black hole. On the contrary; this world would continue. It would thrive, evolve, and change…Spira would live on.
In all, the event was only several minutes. Before anyone was aware it had ended. The lights faded and the Guardians were left as they were. Now Andrea knelt naked in a pile of ashes that were once herself, now with gold and crimson streaks in her dark brown hair. She had been reborn, taking the Phoenix's path and allowing the spirit to move on and leave behind its powers to join Chaosin and Sera on the other side.
Rikku stood dazed, wobbling a little on her feet. She put away the Seraphim's wings, becoming more herself than she felt she was. It was strange not having Sera's soul around. Now she truly was the Seraphim, the paragon of purity.
Jamie shook his head hard, ridding himself of dizziness. He too had changed a little, his ears now pointed and somewhat fuzzy with black fur. Rikku practically jumped into his arms when he turned to look at her, asking her if she still loved him even after he'd forgotten about her.
Dragon had remained seeming not to have changed at all. His eyes had widened again as he looked at Andrea, but not in terror. His cheeks reddened as much as one with blue skin could and went to her side, unfurling one wing to cover her with.
"Is it over?" Yuna asked aloud.
"Yeah, it's done." Andrea said, smiling a little. "It's finished."
Authors' Notes: It's almost over. I think there might be one chapter after this, maybe two, we'll see. Anyway, hope you've enjoyed our little tale and are looking forward to the ending. Perhaps our heroes will have their first Christmas, who knows. Later!