A/N: You know what I just realized??? If you pronounce this pairing (Mauron) wrong, it comes out as "moron" lol Anywho...thanks to my constant readers and their reviews; you guys make me smile!!

Moira stomped her way through the snow up to the edge of the mountain trail. There was no one around and even the landscape was barren, save for a small pine tree. She went over and over what Auron had said but could still make no real sense of it. He was unsent? How was that possible? How could she have not guessed? It was painfully obvious when she thought back over their journey together; how he practically ran from Requiem temple when Yuna sent the summoner, how he refused to visit the Farplane, how he seemed to lose all strength when he was close to it. All these signs should have alerted her to the fact that the man she loved was different at the least. But she was blinded by her affection.

"Would I have believed it if I did suspect it?" she mused.

As if figuring this new side of Auron out wasn't enough, now she had to wonder why he was so intent on leaving her behind. Did he love her no longer? What was the real reason he didn't want her to enter Zanarkand. She paced and thought, thought and paced until she gasped at the sudden realization. He didn't want her to see him leave! That had to be it! He didn't know she knew how it would happen! He didn't see the vision she saw all those months ago. She had to tell him! She turned to return to the shelter where she left the swordsman but found that he wasn't where she left him. He was right in front of her.

"It's been my experience not to let arguments like ours play out too long. There are always too many hurt feelings that fester over time," he said calmly, spreading out his hands before her. It was almost a gesture of helplessness.

"You don't have to apologize, Auron," she said. "I think I know why you did it."

"You do?"

"Tell me, what does Zanarkand look like?"

He was taken aback by her unusual question.

"It's in ruins. Once it was a city full of lights and tall buildings. There was water everywhere, either fountains or waterfalls that ran right over the sides of the buildings. But now, since Sin destroyed it, it's nothing more than a shadow of the city it once was. It's sad really."

"I've seen it," she whispered.

"How? When?" he asked, concern clouding his eye.

"When I tried to heal you after you were injured by the basilisk. When you caught a glimpse of my memories, I saw a vision. I didn't understand it at first, but now I do. It was your sending that I saw," she said, a single tear betraying the intense emotion she was feeling.

"What did you see?" Auron asked, not sure he wanted to hear the reply.

"We were all standing in a ruined city and you walked away from the group. You stopped beside Tidus and said "it's been long enough". Then you..." here she choked back a sob. "Then you disappeared, leaving behind only pyreflies."

"That's why you screamed," he said softly.

"Yes."

"That's what I wanted to protect you from."

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Believe me, Moira, I wanted to. But I always thought I could put it off. But now, with Zanarkand so close..."

"I needed to know. Despite what you might think, this is better. I would have been utterly destroyed if I hadn't realized before you...left," she said, wiping away another tear. Looking at the salty drop she laughed a little. "I don't think I've ever cried this much in my life!" She smiled at him, trying to lighten the mood, but she could see his burden crushing him. She moved smoothly into his welcoming arms and whispered, "No matter where you go, I'm always with you. I love you Auron, now and forever. And if, after we defeat Sin and I watch you fly from me and I somehow make it back to my world, I'll still love you each and every day. And when my friends try to set me up with some "great" friend of theirs, I'll still hear your voice, smell your scent, remember your touch and love you more at that moment than I do now."

"Pretty words," a nasty voice hissed from behind them. They turned to see Seymour standing behind them. Auron immediately grabbed for his sword and silently cursed when he realized he'd left it in the shelter. Moira was unarmed as well, other than her magic which she knew from experience was practically useless.

"What the hell are you doing here, you son of a bitch?" Moira yelled.

"Now, now, Lady Moira. Hardly such language for a lady, don't you think so, Sir Auron?" Seymour turned his simpering smile to the swordsman.

"Given the subject, I think the language too soft," Auron growled.

"Such contempt!" Seymour said with a laugh.

"What do you want?" Moira demanded.

"I just couldn't wait to see you again. I've so longed to rekindle our...shall we say, friendship?"

"Let's not," Moira snarled.

"Fine, have it your way," Seymour said with a fake pout. "I'll just kill you then, reclaim my property and leave."

"Your property?" Auron asked.

"Yes. The child, Bethany. There is something I need her to do."

"And what is that?"

"I need her to come with me to Zanarkand," he replied, still smiling.

"She goes nowhere with you," Moira said flatly. She glared at the Maester and felt all her old fear and rage bubbling to the surface. The voice of her fears called out to her, but she ignored it and concentrated on the rage instead. Her hands glowed black but she looked for something else to target, as she knew the spell would pass straight through him. Looking just behind him, she noticed a large overhang of snow and ice.

"If I can hit that just right, it'll bury him long enough to run for our swords. Perfect!" she thought. Leaning towards Auron she whispered, "When I give the signal, run for the shelter."

"No!" he hissed back.

"What? Are you going to fight him unarmed?" she whispered back.

"No need!" a lively voice shouted from behind them. Rikku and Kimahri were walking a few paces towards them, each holding a sword. Moira let her guard drop for a moment and before she could knock the overhang off, Seymour lashed out with a blast of magic that sent both she and Auron flying backwards. Moira's spell lashed out as she fell, but hit nothing. They landed in a tangled heap on the hard ground and Moira counted quite a few stars before she passed out. She heard a strange voice shouting just before she blacked out completely.

The strange voice belonged to Bethany.

"Bastard! I'll kill you for what you did to them! And to me for that matter!"

"You've neither the will nor the strength," Seymour lilted, completely unconcerned by her presence.

"We'll see about that!" she yelled, spreading her arms wide to the sky. "Show him how you scream, Anima!"

Instinctively, Rikku and Kimahri dragged the unconscious bodies of their friends away from the girl and the monster she was calling up. Lulu and the rest had rushed after the girl when she bolted from the tent. They also stayed well back, knowing the overwhelming power the girl wielded. Lulu hoped she could control it.

A huge anchored chain appeared in the sky and dropped into the earth at Bethany's feet. Slowly the length became taut and then was pulled up by an unknown force. One of the claws of the anchor was dragging up a huge head, wrapped in bandages and bleeding. The monster roared its fury to the skies and tried to free itself but it was also secured by strong chains, one around her arms and another set held fast by a smaller pair of human arms that draped around the monster's neck. Lulu found the strange contrast between the two sets fascinating; it was like seeing the beast and the fayth at the same time.

The Aeon remained partially encased in the earth and screamed out again as it faced her foe. Lulu noted that the Aeon cried tears of blood and she wondered if the fayth within the beast recognized her son. For her sake she hoped not.

"Do you think to harm me with my own Aeon?" Seymour asked, laughing arrogantly.

"No."

"No?" he asked.

"No," Bethany replied. "I mean to kill you with your own Aeon!"

"You cannot control it!" Seymour said, sounding very sure of himself.

Bethany did not reply. She turned to the monster and laid a gentle hand on her side.

"Pain," she whispered. The Aeon cried out a strangled noise and fixed her bloody eye on Seymour. She shuddered violently as she projected the attack on her son. If she sensed who her enemy was she certainly wasn't going to pull any punches. Seymour was hit, full force with the blast of energy and crumpled. He screamed and writhed in pain.

Moira and Auron had both regained consciousness by this time and watched in stunned silence as the scene unfolded. Seymour stood upright once more and directed a blast of fire back at the Aeon. The flames surrounded Anima and she screamed, but they died away quickly and Yuna quietly tossed a curaga spell at the Aeon. It was against the rules of engagement but she figured that a rat bastard like Seymour deserved none of the niceties of war.

Anima, acting on her own, hit her son with pain attacks at regular intervals. He retaliated with black magic that was quickly losing its intensity. After another attack, he fell to the ground again and did not get up. For a moment, Moira thought he was dead and waited for the pyreflies, but then remembered that he was unsent.

"I'll never get the pleasure of watching him die!" she thought to herself.

"The time for your death is nigh," he hissed at them. "Keep the girl! I don't care! I'll become Sin without you!"

"Once again," Moira yelled, though it hurt to do so, "you're insane!"

"I will bring justice to Spira!"

"Whatever!" Rikku yelled back.

Seymour said nothing else, but tried to stand. When he found he could not, he gathered his remaining energy and disappeared before their eyes. Only Auron, Wakka, Tidus and Kimahri had seen this before; the rest were in total shock.

Seeing the battle over, Anima turned her blood stained face to Bethany and without words asked permission to depart. Bethany nodded and thanked her and the beast disappeared in a silvery shimmer. The connection between them, now broken, caused Bethany to collapse. Wakka was the first to rush to her side, and without a word he scooped her up and carried her back to the shelter. He laid her down on the bed.

"She'll be better after a good night's rest," he proclaimed. "That Anima is an impressive Aeon, ya?"

"She's powerful to be sure," Lulu said, helping Moira into the bed next to Bethany's. "But there is such sadness about her. It cannot have been easy for the fayth within to wage war against her own flesh and blood."

"No, I guess not," Wakka murmured. He excused himself and left the tent, leaving the two injured women to Lulu and Yuna's care.

"Where's Auron?" Moira asked, her voice a little hoarse.

"He's with Kelk. Don't worry, he's fine. It seems you took the most of the blast. Lie down and rest for the day," Lulu said.

"No, I'll be ok."

"You will be," Lulu replied, fixing the girl with a scarlet stare, "after you rest."

"Is that an order?"

"Just a strong suggestion," Lulu said smiling.

"Fine, you win. I'll keep an eye on Bethany."

"Thank you," Lulu said, rising to leave the tent. "I'll check on you both in a few hours."

Moira nodded as she laid down, not realizing how tired she was. Within minutes of the mage's departure she was sound asleep.

Her fitful sleep was interrupted by ragged, choking sounds. Bethany began to have trouble breathing. Moira leapt from her bed to the girl's to see if she could help, but it was too late; the girl's ragged breathing had stopped and her now limp arm dropped off the side of the bed. It had only taken a few moments for the girl to expire.

Moira grasped the girl's hand and stroked it for a moment. She'd only known the girl for a few short hours but she understood her pain and what she'd been through. She brought the dead girl's hand to her cheek and vowed to seek revenge for her death. Sighing heavily, she placed Bethany's hands across her chest and drew the blanket up to her chin. She couldn't bring herself to cover her up completely; it was always a cold gesture in her mind, as if the living were trying to forget the dead.

She stood and with one last look at the girl, she turned to leave the tent to tell the others. Before she reached the entrance she heard a soft sigh from behind her. Thinking her diagnosis was wrong and the girl was still alive, she whirled around thinking she would see Bethany sitting up in bed with a healthy flush to her cheeks, but it was not. It was something much more heartbreaking.

A/N: I am now officially addicted to cliff-hangers, whether large or small...wha-ha-ha-ha!!!!!!