Clarity

"I don't get it," Tidus said once we had arrived at the Command Centre. Oblivion had went off to speak to a man in orange robes, leaving us all to our own devices. He did advise us not to leave the Command Centre as the Operation would start soon. "Why would Seymour ask us to come all the way here when we're not even meant to be here in the first place?"

"Since when did you care about rules?" I smiled playfully. I sat on a wooden bench with him, looking out at the camp. It was huge and there were a number of Crusaders around. Really Tidus was asking a question I was wanting to ask as well but wasn't bold enough to open my mouth. In reply to my response Tidus pushed me a lightly.

"I don't, I just don't get what Seymour's planning," He told me. "Remember on the Highroad, Lysander said that Seymour liked Yuna? You think that's it?"

"I don't know," I answered honestly. "I mean, it might be. I don't know if his idea of romance is watching a battle atop the cliffs," Tidus smirked a little at me in amusement. "But we couldn't have ever gotten past the Mushroom Rock without getting caught in the fighting. I don't really know why he allowed us to pass." I started to think properly about Tidus' question. The pair of us just didn't understand what the purpose behind this whole trip was. I didn't know if Seymour was planning anything. Lysander's idea of him liking Yuna might have just been him purposefully pulling at Tidus' leg.

"Hey, Lulu, who's that?" Tidus asked, pointing towards the man in orange robes. Lulu folded her arms and observed as Oblivion and the man spoke.

"That's Maester Wen Kinoc," She informed us. "He's one of the four Maesters of Yevon and leads the Warrior Monks and Crusaders," We noticed Oblivion walking away from Kinoc and the Maester went on to speak with some Crusader Officers. "I didn't think he would be overseeing the Operation personally." We all were surprised when Kinoc approached Auron, appearing friendly and warmer towards the Guardian. Auron was less so.

"Auron, I didn't believe it was you at first, it's been ten years," He said. It's good to see you again," Auron seemed quite distant and I tilted my head slightly. Had something happened between the two? "You must tell where you've been all this time."

"We don't have time for this now, do we?" Auron asked in rhetoric. Gatta came into the camp, saluting the Maester and interrupting the stand-offish reunion.

"All troops are ready to move at your command, sir," He said. Kinoc saluted Gatta and nodded.

"Good. Dismissed," Gatta gave another salute and left as Kinoc spoke to Auron, this time too quiet for us to hear. Beside me Tidus tensed and I thought he'd heard what was said.

"What did they say?"

"I don't know, but I bet it's not good," He said. I nodded. If the Maester didn't want us to know then it was most likely a bad thing. Still what was he telling Auron? As the Maester turned round, Auron couldn't help but smirk to himself.

"That Kinoc? A Maester?" I think he intended to be heard and caused Kinoc to turn around, his face no longer happy as it was before with the man.

"I heard that Auron," He said. "A lot has happened in the last ten years. What were you doing and where?" I thought Auron would brush him off and tell him this wasn't the time to ask questions.

"Fulfilling a promise I made to a friend," Was his answer. "And I still am."

"Tell me one thing: have you seen Zanarkand?" I took a moment to think about that as Auron scoffed and walked away from Kinoc. Auron was a Guardian to Braska and Braska was a High Summoner, so of course he had seen Zanarkand during that Pilgrimage. Then I thought of the Zanarkand Tidus and I had come from. Jecht was also a part of Braska's Pilgrimage. Did Kinoc know about the Zanarkand we had come from?

Seymour arrived in the camp shortly after, bowing to us in greeting and some of us bowing back, namely Yuna, Lulu and Wakka. It was strange that only a small portion of the group were acting respectful. I had no reason not to bow apart from that it felt mechanical to me and I didn't like doing things that didn't feel natural. Maybe I should try a bit harder, just so I don't look ignorant or anything. Even so as soon as Seymour entered the camp a deep pit formed in my stomach. I suddenly wanted to leave.

"Are you okay?" I looked at Yuna as she suddenly spoke. I didn't even see her approach. I wanted to nod my head and not worry her but instead I swallowed nervously and shook my head.

"I don't like it here," I told her. She nodded and held my hand assuringly, like a big sister would.

"I know. I feel like we don't belong here," She wanted to sound as comforting as possible but I could hear the worry in her voice. She didn't want to be here either. "We'll be fine. It'll be okay." She smiled and it made me smile. I felt a little better at her words but the both of us wanted to get away.

"I wish we could just run back to the Highroad but we're stuck here..." I said. I then looked at Yuna, smiling again to reassure her that I felt better. "I know we'll be okay," There was a silence in the camp. Heavy and thick and slightly uncomfortable and tense. We all knew it was starting. I felt anxious again and had to break the silence. "What exactly are they planning to do anyway?"

"Look over there," Auron said, nodding to a huge cage hanging over the cliffs. There was a huge beast inside, nothing like I had seen before. "That is Sinspawn. They plan to have it call to Sin and lure it into a trap," He then looked out to the ocean. That beast scared me, especially since it was so close. It was in a cage and surrounded by Crusaders so that made me feel less on edge. "They won't need to. Sin will come." Both Yuna and I thought he meant that Sin would come anyway because there were so many people here. I swallowed again, staring at the ocean, waiting for something to happen.

Something didn't feel right.

"Everyone get back now!" Oblivion suddenly yelled, wielding his scythe and running out in front of us. I was pulled back by Yuna as the beast charged through the camp. I looked up, shocked at what was attacking us: the Sinspawn. How did it get out? "Get the Maesters out now! Go!" Oblivion ordered the Officers who complied without question, escorting Seymour and Kinoc away from the fight. Everyone prepared their weapons and charged at the thing.

It guarded its chest with its arms, changing our tactics to destroy its protection. It would sometimes attack by charging at us or casting Thunder spells. Once it spat venom at us until Lysander started to focus solely on the head, noticing a pattern when in its attacks. Oblivion was as a strong as I remembered him in Luca, defending us from the heavier blows and cleaving off one of the arms. Tidus and I stood by Yuna, protecting her when the Sinspawn turned its attention to her as she cast spells to heal us and nullify its thunder attacks.

I dodged the Sinspawn's arm as it swung for me, getting it away from Tidus and Yuna. It became stunned from Lysander's gunshot and Auron went for its remaining arm and took it off, leaving its chest exposed. I ran in for a punch that, as I thought, didn't do as much damage as I wanted it to. However now that it was exposed and all of us were attacking it at the one go, it didn't take long to take down, screeching and collapsing on the cliff.

Then we saw it: Sin. It was making it way towards the beach, cannons firing at it from all across the cliffs, doing nothing. We watched it as it came closer, unaffected by anything that was thrown at it. Oblivion had went off to the cage while we had the moment in order to see what had went wrong. I just stood in place, watching Sin come closer to us. I felt scared.

"Look out!" Auron bellowed, making us all get away from the cliffs. We saw what Sin was doing. It formed a barrier around itself, firing a blast of light towards the beach and the cliffs. Panic filled us and we just ran away but it was no use, we were still caught in the explosion.

I don't know how I ended up on the lower cliffs, or how long I had passed out for. I was in the middle of the cliffs, surrounded by broken cannons and dead bodies, Crusaders and Al Bhed alike. I barely breathed, looking around for the others, not seeing them anywhere. Then I looked out to the cliffs, seeing Sin in the ocean, killing so many people. Why did it need to kill people?

As I watched Sin I thought about the Toxin. How close would I need to be to get affect by it? I hoped I wasn't too close. I didn't think I was. I hoped the others weren't too close. I hoped the others were still on the top of the cliffs.

I felt panicked suddenly. Grace never came back to the Command Centre. She said she'd be back. What if something had happened? What if she was caught in the fight and she was hurt? What if the others were hurt? Where were they? I didn't want to lose them, I didn't want to be alone.

Then I remembered to breathe. I took a huge gape of breath but didn't feel any calmer. I continued breathing, looking around the cliffs. Pyrflies were leaving the bodies of the dead, the cliffs glowing faintly with the same aura of death. It unnerved me to know that all these people had died trying to stop Sin. They all tried and failed.

I wanted to go home. The thought burst into my head so suddenly. I was filled with fear and surrounded by death and all I wanted to do was go home. I wanted to go back to my brother and my sister and my dad back home, back in Ireland, I wanted to go back to Limerick, back were I lived with my family. I wanted to hug my dad and have him tell em it was okay, I wanted to play with my sister. I didn't want to be here any more I just wanted to go home!

My thought track surprised me. I wanted to go home but the sudden burst of memories that flooded back made me stand in shock. My home back in Ireland? Back in Limerick? I... I lived in Limerick, yeah. With my brother and sister and my dad. My mum died when I was young. We never lived in Zanarkand. Lysander was right.

"Christie!" I turned to the voice that called me. It was Oblivion. He looked slightly dishevelled as he approached me, probably having ran or fallen down the cliff. He scanned me to check if I was hurt, thankful I wasn't. "I can't find your friends, I'm sorry. They must be scattered from the explosion," I couldn't say anything and looked at the man as he stared out to the ocean, Sin leaving the massacre. His eyes turned sad and also shocked, as though he had come to a realisation like I had. "I can't believe it... he was right..." I didn't understand, who was right? I didn't think to ask. Oblivion turned his attention to me, noticing the stunned expression on my face. "Christie? Are you all right?" I looked straight at his face. I didn't nod or shake my head or give any response relating to the question. There was only one thing in my head and it was the only thing I felt that I could say, no matter how insane of confused it made me seem.

"I'm not from Spira," Oblivion's expression changed to relief, as though his question was answered.

"I know."