EPILOGUE:

A NEW ADVENTURE BEGINS

Two years later…

If there was one thing Harry had come to appreciate in the past little while, it was waking up in the arms of his newly-wedded wife. Okay, they were somewhat young to be married, being seventeen (Harry nearly eighteen now), but marriages of the young were pretty common in Spira. It came from Sin threatening to kill them before people even had a chance to fall in love.

The ceremony was a quiet one, held at Besaid at their temple. Yevon had transformed, and was no longer as overtly religious as before, becoming more of a spiritual guidance way of life. But ceremonies and rites like marriages and funerals were still held there, and they wanted to make sure Yuna and Tidus, along with Wakka and Lulu could come without trouble. Rikku thought it a delicious irony that an Al Bhed was being married at Besaid in a Yevon temple.

Their honeymoon, oddly enough, was spent on Earth. Rikku had wanted to see the homeworld of her new husband's birth (and the machinery of that world: she took a sphere to record as much as she could), and they had a holiday in Australia for the honeymoon proper, followed up by a reunion with those he knew from Hogwarts later in Britain. However, Harry considered Spira his true home now, and Dumbledore gave him his blessing. In any case, Harry had been declared dead, along with Sirius, after falling through the Veil. Returning to Magical Britain would cause too many questions to be asked.

Some emigrated to Spira. Hermione and her parents did so, joining the Al Bhed. In fact, Hermione had now joined the Machine Faction, a research and development group of the Al Bhed who were looking to create new machina. Gippal had founded it, and was leading it. Hermione was apparently his second in command…and dating him as well. Gippal was only a couple of years her senior.

Hagrid and the Lovegoods, lured by the thought of new creatures to study, had also made the journey. Hagrid now worked at the Monster Arena in the Calm Lands, though he had apparently collaborated with Clasko, a former Chocobo Knight, on Chocobo breeding and training as well. Luna and Xenophilus, meanwhile, had become sphere-hunters, one of many. They had collaborated with the group Harry and Rikku were part of, the Gullwings, on many occasions.

The Weasley twins, along with Ron and Ginny, had also made their way across. The twins had set up shop in Luca, and were doing a roaring trade in both prank supplies and Blitzball memorabilia, while Ron and Ginny joined the Youth League.

Finally, Snape, in an attempt to start afresh, had come to Spira seeking his fortune. He had a roaring trade in Guadosalaam. The Guado had recently fled Guadosalaam for Macalania Woods, as some Ronso and a few other Spirans had been considering taking revenge for Seymour's actions. It had become the new hub of sphere-hunters, and Snape had a knack for both selling potions, as well as selling information to sphere-hunters. While Snape and Harry hadn't completely made up, they were nonetheless on better terms than before.

Harry gently rubbed Rikku's naked back as she stirred, her green eyes with those spiral pupils flickering open, her blonde hair in messy disarray. "Morning, Harry," she said in Al Bhed with a cheeky grin.

"Morning, Rikku," Harry replied. "Do you think we made too much noise last night? I mean, I put up the silencing charms like Padfoot showed me to, but I think Paine has sensitive ears…"

"Hey, it's not your fault that you're good in bed," Rikku said with a smirk.

"You too, Rikku," Harry said. It wasn't just silencing charms he was grateful to Sirius for either: he had also shown him how to use contraceptive charms. That, plus more mundane protection, helped make sure their active love life wouldn't lead to any surprises. Well, at least not until they were ready for children, anyway.

"D'you think Shinra's decoded that sphere yet?" Rikku asked in English as she clambered out of their bed. They had their own cabin, albeit cramped, on the Gullwings' airship, the Celsius.

Harry resisted the urge to stare at the lean and lithe and lovely naked body of his wife and lover as she pulled on her clothes, before saying, "Probably has. Shinra's a whizzkid. I mean, that Dressphere System seems bloody weird, but it's actually a godsend. Once you get used to it." He got out of bed himself, and donned his own clothes.

Not long ago, Brother had come to Harry and Rikku with a proposition: become a sphere-hunting group, the Gullwings. Harry and Rikku accepted. They had other recruits too: two other Al Bhed, and a couple of others. One was a friend of Brother's, Buddy, who was considerably more eloquent than Brother, whose English was still a little stilted and choppy. The other was Shinra, who perpetually wore thick clothing and a mask over his face, a child who was nonetheless a prodigy.

The two others were as different as chalk and cheese. One was a Hypello of Brother's acquaintance. The blue, almost frog-like creature was only known as Barkeep, and acted as both the bartender for the bar of the Celsius (it had a bar! Why would an airship have a bar?!) as well as a quartermaster, obtaining their supplies.

And the other member of the Gullwings?

It was Paine.

After Sin's dissolution, and her uncle's Sending, Paine travelled Spira, working as a mercenary, before she finally plumped for working with the Al Bhed to protect their digging expeditions at Bikanel Island. She now worked as one of the Gullwings on Rikku and Harry's request, having found sphere-hunting interesting enough to join. She still had a somewhat stoic, no-nonsense attitude, but she was on good terms with Harry and Rikku at least. Being involved in stopping Sin and being able to say goodbye to her uncle helped give her, if not closure, then something that helped take some weight off her shoulders. She was still trying to find out exactly what happened in the Den of Woe, though the only member of the Crimson Squad she still communicated with on a regular basis was Gippal.

However, recently, Kimahri, who had become the leader for the surviving Ronso, had sent them a sphere he found on Mount Gagazet. And it was this sphere that Shinra was decoding, cleaning up and salvaging the data that remained. It was ancient, possibly even a thousand years old.

They didn't know it, but this sphere was going to send them on a whole new adventure…

Paine turned to look at them when Harry and Rikku entered the bridge of the Celsius, dressed and fed. The bridge was not unlike that of the Fahrenheit, albeit with its own differences. "Good night last night?" Paine asked sardonically.

"You could say that," Harry said.

"Well, you're not going to get much rest from now on," Paine said, indicating Shinra's station. "Shinra's got the sphere cleaned up, and it's pretty interesting."

"Yes," Shinra said, his voice rasping through his mask that concealed his head and face. "It can play back properly now, but the content…well, see for yourself."

Harry and Rikku walked over, and had a look. They watched as the sphere's video played back on the screen. It was crappy video, but enough could be seen to give them a shock. Once the video had ended, they stared at each other. "Was that…him?" Rikku asked.

"Not the one we know and love," Harry mused. "I know who has to see this, though."

"Took the words out of my mouth," Buddy said from his seat. "We're already on our way to Besaid. We'll be there in a few minutes."

Some things changed. Others remained the same. Yuna, Wakka, and Lulu remained on Besaid Island, albeit with Tidus added to their little circle. Surprisingly, Wakka and Lulu were married themselves, and Lulu was pregnant, and indeed was soon due. Wakka, having retired from Blitzball, had gone a little soggy around the edges. Not much, not enough to be noticeable unless you looked for less muscle and more flab, but it was enough for Rikku to tease him on occasion.

Tidus and Yuna, however, were taking their relationship somewhat more slowly. Tidus was probably afraid of ending up like his father, possessive of his wife if he had a child. And for the time being, they were both content with that. Tidus did play with the Besaid Aurochs, though, helping them win more games than they ever had before.

One thing they weren't content with, though, were the continuous offers from the Youth League and Aegis (the latter, sadly, acquiring the nickname of New Yevon from followers and detractors alike, despite Yunalesca's efforts), along with pestering for advice. Being the messiah of a world had its drawbacks.

Harry and Rikku found Yuna, Tidus and Wakka on a path leading away from the village. Harry was struck by how idyllic and peaceful the island was, Fiends notwithstanding. It was no wonder Braska wanted Yuna raised here.

As they walked down the path from the village, Rikku teasing Wakka by elbowing him in the gut gently, Harry looked at Tidus and Yuna. "How's things?" he asked.

"Could be better, what with the Youth League and Aegis pestering us, but I can't complain about the company," Tidus said with a smile.

Yuna nodded. "I am glad that I have Tidus here, that he did not disappear with Sin and the Fayth. It would be…troublesome, otherwise. At least with him by my side, I don't get as many marriage proposals as I have feared. But…people expect me to solve their problems. I wouldn't mind if it were something…interesting, or I could save a life. But…never mind. You didn't come here to listen to my problems. I have Tidus, Wakka, and Lulu for that."

"Yeah. Well, we got something interesting from Kimahri at Mount Gagazet," Rikku said, with Harry handing the sphere over to Yuna. Now that it was decoded, it could be used at will. "He sent it over to us. And, well, we found this on it. Play it back."

"Okay," Yuna said, before playing it back. An image formed within the sphere, a dark, static-ridden image that resolved into the image of a teenaged boy in a cage. Yuna, Tidus, and Wakka gaped. The boy strongly resembled Tidus. The clothing was somewhat different: where Tidus had yellow, he had blue, and it had a slightly more different design, but it was a Zanarkand Blitzball outfit.

Then, his voice emerged from the sphere. Tinny and a bit hard to make out, but clearly Tidus' voice, but angry. "…not sorry! I haven't done a damned thing wrong!" the doppelganger was yelling at the recorder, glaring balefully at the sphere. "I know you're listening, even if you aren't talking. If she was your girl, what the hell would you do?! Huh?! How can you blame me for trying to use your weapon? It was the only way I could save the Summoner! What would you do if you were in my shoes?" The recorder took the sphere away from the cage, and the doppelganger wailed, shaking at the bars of the cage, "LET ME OUT, YOU BASTARDS!" Then, he broke down into sobs. "Please…I want to see her…one last time…please…"

As the recording ended, Tidus and Yuna looked at each other. "That's not really Tidus, is it, ya?" Wakka asked, frowning.

"No," Rikku said, shaking her head. "Yunalesca said that Tidus resembled a Blitzball player called Shuyin. Remember what Belgemine said, Wakka? Well, Yunalesca told us more. Apparently Shuyin broke into Bevelle during the war against Zanarkand, intending to take control of a massive machina weapon to save his lover, a Summoner called Lenne. Actually, we're using an old sphere of one of her performances, albeit one that's a bit too corrupted to do more than salvage a few seconds of video and audio, as part of our Dressphere System."

"And remember what Paine said, two years ago? The presence that possessed the Crimson Squad felt like you, Tidus. It may have been Shuyin," Harry pointed out.

"Yeah, but…Shuyin ain't Tidus, ya?" Wakka said. "Anyway, what's it to us?"

"Aren't you curious about what's going on?" Rikku asked. "There's more to this story, I'm sure!"

"Yeah, but Yuna has responsibilities! Okay, it's the off-season for Tidus, but Yuna, she's booked solid for three months! She can't just drop everything and go off, ya?"

"For what? Being pestered by the Youth League and Aegis to be their new mouthpiece?" Harry asked sardonically. "Being asked to be a sponsor for this potion line or that staff maker? Seriously, how did Yuna manage to be booked solid for three months? I'm glad I didn't stay on Earth, it would have been worse for me."

Rikku then gave Wakka a look. "Wakka, everyone's expecting so much of Yuna. But when was the last time she got to do something because she wanted to? I mean, it's not like I expect her to come, but I thought…it'd be an interesting diversion for her, and Tidus too. When was the last time either you or Yuna left Besaid?"

"Two months ago, to watch Tidus play in Yunalesca's United Spira tournament," Wakka said.

Which had been one of Yunalesca's best ideas. Yunalesca and Baralai, the former Crimson Squad member, were the driving forces behind Aegis, the organisation that had once been known as Yevon, and was known by many as New Yevon, despite their best efforts. Indeed, Aegis and the Youth League (the latter growing mainly out of the remains of the Crusaders) were the two main driving forces in Spira nowadays. That, and the Machine Faction and the sphere-hunters.

After a moment, Yuna said, "We'll go. I…want to do this."

Tidus rubbed the back of his head. "…And so do I. I guess you got me hooked, you two."

They were soon onboard the Celsius, slipping away when Wakka ran back to Besaid to try and find Lulu to talk reason into them. They just went to the docks, boarded the airship, and left. Yuna and Tidus had felt exhilarated at slipping away, almost like eloping lovers. In truth, they missed a bit of adventure, and wanted to do it again. Plus, maybe they could find out if there really was a link between Shuyin, and what happened to the Crimson Squad.

The truth was, they didn't realise it, but they had just embarked on yet another adventure that would shake Spira to its foundations, so soon, relatively speaking, after the end of the Cycle of Sin…

EPILOGUE ANNOTATIONS:

Well, here we are at last. I started Cycle of Sin in December 2015. Now, at last, it's finished. There will be a sequel, but I want to finish other works first, or at least take a break from the story. As mentioned in a previous chapter, the sequel will be posted as a crossover with Final Fantasy X-2, so keep an eye out there.

For those wondering, Sirius is with Cid and Isaaru at Zanarkand. Remus and Tonks live at Kilika.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the story. See you later.

No numbered annotations for this chapter…