Disclaimer : I don't own anything.
Note : Hmmm...thing should be getting more interesting.
Oh, I'm not sure if I mentioned it before, but I'm all better now. I've been so busy this week, but made sure to make time for this fic for all of you. :) I'm so glad you like this fic, it makes me happy to know you do. :)
The whole 'Lord Merrick' thing was just because I wanted to include another Ranger. LOL.
If you noticed, most of the former Rangers are people who've made more than one appearance...most of them. Many of the ones I left alone are what I see as villains or those who, for the most part, only made one appearance.
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(Zanarkand)
Sitting around the campfire, our group relaxed and took in the temporary peace. I never wanted this to end, never wanted to go back into the dead city of Zanarkand. I knew that maybe, my choice would end up trapping Tor and I here, but if it meant possibly saving her life, then so be it. This place looked like a nice place to live, once you get past the unending army of fiends, the undead that liked to mess things up, the strict rules of a lying religion, and the Random attacks of Sin.
I knew I was being selfish, but dammit! I didn't want Tori to die!
As it was, I was struggling to remain cheerful and not let on what was really bothering me. If anyone could read my mind, they'd find that I was utterly terrified, but thankfully, I was able to mask my terror and be there for my friends...for Tori.
"Hey! There was more, right?" I asked, reminicing with the others. "I mean, like that time...uhhh..." I paused, noting how the others seemed to becoming agitated. "Anyone?"
Tori sighed. "I think..."
I turned to her, hoping she'd continue the story telling, but from the look in her eyes, the time had come. "Yes?" I asked warily, playing along.
"I think we should stop...maybe. For now." she seemed unsure. "Let's go."
Hesitantly, we walked along the crumbling path that led to Zanarkand's temple. We ran into humungous fiends, Flans, Behemoths King Malboros and more. The Malboros were a pain, but with a few of Cam's Tornado attacks and Tori's and my Aeons, we were able to bring them down easily. It helped that they were weak against fire.
Soon enough, Cam pulled to a stop just outside of a large building that looked like a super-sized temple.
Dusti nwas watching the pyreflies floating around the ditches on either side of the road, filled with water from rains. "It's just like the Farplane." he muttered as he trembled a bit.
Cam nodded. "It's not that different."
As we approached the entrance, a man appeared out of nowhere and walked up to us, a gentle smile on his face. "Journeyer of the long road. Name yourself." he said in a quiet voice, looking at Tori, before his gaze became confused and he looked at me. "Hmmm...two Summoners. Unusual. Name yourselves." he corrected.
I sighed and walked forward. "Summoner Blake Bradley." I stated, noticing how his eyes went wide and he gaped at me.
Tori followed my lead. "Summoner Tori. From the Isle of Besaid. Blake is from Besaid as well." she put in , sending me a raised eyebrow.
Raising my eyebrow right back, I folded my arms over my chest. How was I supposed to know ghosts wanted to know where we came from? It's not like I'd undergone the same training as all other Summoners.
"Your eyes, dear Summoners. Show me the long road you have travelled." he stated as he walked forward and gazed into Tori's eyes, nodding after a moment and moving to me. He gazed into my eyes as well and a smile formed as he raised an eyebrow, but he nodded to me as well, stepping back. "Very good. You have journeyed well. Lady Victoria will surely welcome your arrival. Go to her now, and bring your Guardians with you."
Walking past the group, he walked out of the entrance and faded away into nothing, one last word riding the still air.
"Go."
We went inside, and I noticed the dark, damp and cold atmosphere of the building. Crumbled paths littered the way to our destination, but for a moment, I was stuck, staring at the pyreflies that floated around as the others moved in as well.
Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and transparent people stood in front of us. It looks like a Summoner and his Guardians have appeared. The Summoner had short black hair with white streaks in the front, framing his youthful face. He had bright blue eyes and a well maintained goatee.
One of the female Guardians turned to look at her Summoner as others shot at invisible enemies. "If it might benefit the future of Spira, I will gladly give my life. It is the highest honour for which a Guardian might ask. Use my life, Lord Merrick, and rid Spira of Sin."
The images faded away and left us staring in shock. The others' shock was likely from seeing images of a dead Summoner, but for Tori and me, it was because we knew him. Well, knew of him. That was Merrick Baliton, the Lunar Wolf Ranger of the Wild Force Rangers.
Tori gasped and her eyes widened. I knew why she was shocked, but also knew she wouldn't get into it here.
Dustin also looked on with wide eyes. "What...was that?" he cried in terror.
"Our predecessors." Cam answered easily, being the only one who didn't seem spooked.
"She said 'Lord Merrick'." Tori whispered. "Didn't she?"
"Wait!" Hunter cried, looking around wildly. "She guarded Lord Merrick?"
My guess was that Merrick must've been yet another High Summoner. Like all the others before him, he fought Sin, sacrificing his life so that Spira had 10 years of peace. I bet, that if he'd known Sin was only going to come back, that he would've found another way.
"This dome is filled with pyreflies. It's like a gigantic sphere. People's thoughts remain here, forever." Cam filled them in as he began down the passage way.
We followed him to where the path lifted and turned, intersecting with another path. Dustin saw a treasure chest and ran over to it, opening it and pulling out two more of those golden tails.
Oh yeah, I'd learned they were called Mega-phoenix's. Use them if more than one party member was knocked out, and it would revive and heal them all up fully.
Useful, to a degree.
Still, it's not like it could save Tori, and I had to bite back a glare at the excited grin on the Al Bhed's face.
Just as we were about to go over to the other path, a new spectre appeared. This one was of a young woman with long black hair, leading a young boy, also with long black hair, though his was pulled back into a ponytail, down the path. The woman looked sad, but the boy looked scared.
"No!" he cried, holding onto the hand of his mother. "Mother, no! I don't want you to become a Fayth!" he cried as the tears poured down his face.
The woman knelt by his side and gently touched his cheek as she gave him a sad smile. "There is no other way." she said softly. "Use me to defeat Sin. Only then will others accept you."
"I don't care about them!" he shouted angrily. "I need you, mother! No one else!" he wailed.
Sighing, she stood up and walked down the hall as he slowly trailed after her. "I don't...have much time left." she said thickly as she continued on.
Their ghosts faded away and everyone gasped. I felt my eyes widen as I recognized the boy, and for a split second, I felt bad for him, before my hatred bubbled back up. As much as I wanted to laugh at that image, I couldn't. It reminded me of dreams I used to have, where my mother and father would leave, and I'd beg them not to, but they wouldn't listen.
"Hey, wasn't that...?" Shane trailed off as his jaw dropped and he stared after the long faded images.
Dustin nodded, his jaw also hanging open and his eyes wide. "Lothor?" he muttered in shock.
We began to run up the pathway, heading for the next room, when all of a sudden, two transparent people raced along side us, passing us easily and heading to the doorway, where they stopped.
One was clearly Braska from what I remembered of his statue at the temple, and the other looked to be a younger version of Cam.
"Ah!" I cried in shock as I stopped about a foot from the transparent Cam and turned back, seeing our Cam looking a little pale.
"My Lord!" the younger Cam cried, fear shining in his black eyes. "You don't have to do this!"
Braska nodded slowly. "Thank you for your concern."
"Let us go back! I don't want to see you...die!" he spit out as he shook.
Sighing, Braska stood still in front of him. "You knew this was to happen, old friend."
"Yes, but I...I cannot accept it." he muttered.
"Cam...I am honoured that you care for me so, but I have come to kill grief itself. I will defeat Sin, and lift the veil of sorrow covering Spira. Please understand Cam."
The two spectres ran through the closed doorway and disappeared, and after a moment of silence, our group decided to follow them, finding them in the next room, much to everyone's surprise.
""Are the trials ahead?" Cam asked quietly.
"Probably." their Summoner muttered with a nod.
The ghosts faded away, and we made our way to what looked like an elevator. Going near it, it suddenly descended, and in it's place, a large fiend appeared. It looked like a skeletal fish, with spikes out of it's back, and giant boney wings.
"The Spectral Keeper!" Cam cried as he armed himself.
The rest of us followed suit, but strangely, the fiend stopped a moment and stared at me. Then it reared back and let out a mighty roar as it swung one of it's clawed fins forward, but I flipped over it and slashed it with the gleaming blue blades of my thunder blade.
'What the hell was that about?" I cried as I dodged another attack.
Hunter's whole body glowed yellow and to my surprise, he raised his hand to cast a thundag, butit cast 10 times before he finished, slumping slightly as he panted.
"I don't think it likes you!" Dustin called as he used grenades mixed with fire gems.
"Gee nah! I didn't notice!" I shot back with a glare. "What gave you that idea?" I continued as I flipped over it's fin again, only to be hit by the other one and sent flying.
As I landed, I frowned and made a face, clutching at my side as I staggered to my feet. Tori ran over and healed me, giving me a raised eyebrow while she was at it. "I think it's because it can probably sense you're a Summoner." she said with a shrug. "Remember what that man at the entrance said? It's unusual, and Lady Victoria probably didn't realize there were two of us."
"Maybe." I muttered. It certainly made sense, but then, why attack me? Unless...it was because I was made a Summoner and didn't go through the traning or something.
Cam used his Tornado attack as Hunter fired another volley of thundaga spells, Shane threw his spiked blitzball, and Dustin mixed a grenade and fire gem together. The cimonation of attacks weakened the giant fish a great deal, but it was still alive, and Hunter was out for the count as he panted to catch his breath and drank an elixer. Can too was pretty much out for the count, because he was uot of sake for the attacks.
Charging my blade with thunder energies, I combined it with casting a powerful firaga spell, making me dizzy, but I shrugged it off and charged with my blade ready, flipping and slicing the fiend down the middle of the stomach.
Dustin threw another grenade, and the thing faded away, bursting into a giant cloud of pyreflies as it faded from view.
As Tori raced to heal everyone up, and Dustin passed Cam a sake jar from hsi pouch, the elevator came back, and Tori stepped on alone. As it descended, I was sorely tempted to jump on and go with her, but for some reason, felt she wasn't in danger.
She wasn't gone two minutes when I heard the younger Cam's voice ring through the room with a note of concern in it.
"Huh? What do you mean there's no Final Aeon?"
I felt my eyes widen and took a step forward as the elevator came back up and Tori looked at all of us with wide eyes. "Sir Cam!" she called, but her eyes strayed to me as well.
We all jumped on the elevator and rode it to the lower level, where Tori took us all into a small room that was obviously the Chamber of the Fayth, from the stone statue in the center, where the Aeon was supposed to be...but...
"This isn't a Fayth! It's just an empty statue!" Tori cried, looking at the others with worry and a hint of relief.
Suddenly, the man from the entrance reappeared and sighed. "That statue lost it's power as a Fayth a long time ago. It was Lord Bradley..." he said, looking at me inquizzitively. I noticed the others looking at me as well and raised an eyebrow, feeling completely freaked out by the way they were staring. "The first Fayth of the Final Summoning. What you see before you, is all that remains of him. Lord Bradley...his soul...is gone."
"Gone?!" Shane cried in shock.
Dustin shook his head. "You mean, there is no Final Aeon?" he looked decidedly relieved at that. An expression that quickly turned to anger and worry at the stranger's next words.
"But fear not. Lady Victoria will show you the path. The Final Aeon will be yours. The Summoner..." he trailed off and looked at me. "Or Summoners, will join with the Final Aeon. Go to her now." he said as he began to fade away. He pointed to the door on the other side of the room and nodded. "Inside, the Lady awaits." were his final words as he faded away once again.
"Tori, wait!" I called as I turned to Cam. "You knew about this, didn't you?"
"Yes." he admitted softly.
"Why didn't you tell us?!" Dustin screamed angrily.
"If I had told you the truth, would that really have stopped you from coming?" he shot back, remaining calm.
Hunter sighed. "Tori..."
"I'm not going back." she said firmly.
"I know." he admitted as he walked to the doorway first. "I will go first to protect you. You will be safe." he said sternly as he walked through the door.
We all walked through the doorway, and into a large round chamber. There was only one other exit, across the room and at the top of a long flight of stairs. As we walked to the center of the room, the door opened and we heard footsteps approaching.
"Someone's coming!" Dustin cried as he took a step back.
I walked to Tori's side as she gasped at the figure that approached. "Lady Victoria."
The young woman came down the stairs, her long blonde hair fanning out behind her, and the skimpy outfit barely covering anything. I noticed Dustin raise an appreciative eyebrow and shook my head with a frown.
As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she smiled warmly at us, a smile that froze and turned to a confused frown when she looked at me. "Two Summoners." she stated in a deep, seductive voice. "How odd." With a shake of her head, she nodded to us.
"Welcome to Zanarkand." she stated, her smile back on her face. "I congraduate you, Summoners. You have completed your pilgrimages. I will now bestow upon you, that which you seek. The Final Summoning...will be yours. Now chose." she gestured to Hunter, Dustin and Cam. Pausing a moment, she looked at Cam closely before continuing on with the faintest of frowns. "You must chose whom I shall change...to become Fayth for the Summoning."
"There must be a bond between the chosen and Summoner, for that is what the Final Summoning embodies. The bond between husband and wife, mother and child, or between friends."
That made a bizarre kind of sense. And I realized, that was why Lothor wanted to marry Tori. It was the only way he could see, to become Sin.
"If that bond is strong enough, the light will vaquish Sin. A thousand years ago, I chose my husband Bradley, as my Fayth. Our bond was true and I obtained the Final Aeon. There is nothing to fear. You will soon be freed of worry and pain. For once you call forth the Final Aeon, your life will end."
Yep, she's as looney as the others. I thought dryly, listening as she spoke of a Summoner giving up her life, as calmly as if she was talking about the weather.
"Death is the ultimate and final liberation." Looking to Tori, she gave her a warm smile. "Your father, Braska, chose this path."
With a sweep of her hands, the area became misty and the ghostly figures of Braska and a younger Cam reappeared, as Victoria disappeared.
"It's not too late! Let us turn back!" Cam cried a he looked at Braska.
The Summoner shook his head. "If I turn back, who will defeat Sin? Would you have another Summoner and their Guardians go through this?"
I began to realize just why Tori kept going. As much as she didn't want to die, she didn't want to pass this burden on to anyone else, either.
"There must be another way!" When he saw that his Summoner was not about to be budged, he sighed.
Another man appeared in the image, though his face was blurry. "Chose me to become your Final Aeon." he said in a vaguely familiar voice.
Images rushed through my head, and I winced a bit at their forcefulness. It looked like I was watching another version of myself, a much younger version of myself, yell at a man who looked exactly like my father.
I hate you! the boy cried as the other man laughed.
Cry, cry. That's all you're good for. the older Bradley taunted.
That is the other version of you. He does not exist in this world, but does in our dreamworld of Zanarkand. His father, was sent to Spira to find a way to beat Sin, but he failed and became Sin instead. Lulu said gravely.
"There must be another way!" the image of Cam repeated as I shook my head, feeling confused.
So then...that other man is Zanarkand's Blake's father? I thought in confusion.
Correct. Though you two are not connected, we needed to explain this to you so you would be somewhat prepared. Yuna put in.
Great! I thought sarcastically.
"I been doing some thinking." The third man stated seriously. "My dream is back in my world, in my Zanarkand. I wanted to make that runt into a star blitzball player. Show him the view from the top, you know. But now I know there's no way home for me."
I'm sorry son. his mental voice flowed through my mind. Be good for your mother.
An old lady once told me, that when a love bird dies, it's mate slowly give up on life... An older Spiran Blake's voice followed it. When my father left, my mom just gave up on life. She died of a broken heart.
"Make me a Fayth. I'll fight Sin with you, Braska. Then maybe, my life'll have meaning." the man finished, appearing clearly.
He looked to be in his late thirties, with long black hair that was slightly wavy, but hung down slightly messily to just past his shoulders, with a red bandanna across his forehead. He had black eyes and a dark tan, with a slight beard. He was shirtless, and wore leather breeches, with a strange, fancy, 'J' shape tattooed across his chest.
"Don't do this, Jecht!" the younger Cam cried, looking at the man pleadingly.
Braska sighed. "Jecht."
"What? You're not gonna try to stop me, are you?" he asked, sounding slightly put out.
"Sorry." Braska said slightly, before shaking his head. "I mean, thank you."
"Braska still has to fight Sin, Cam. Guard him well. Make sure he gets there." with a slight grunt and a wince, he nodded. "Well, let's go."
"Lord Braska! Jecht!" the memory of Cam cried as the others turned to face him. "Sin comes back every time! It comes back after the Calm, every time! The cycle will continue and your deaths will mean nothing!" he shouted.
"I understand what you're saying, Cam. I'll find a way to break the cycle." Jecht told him.
I watched in morbid fascination as the strange otherworld version of my father smirked. It was unnerving and slightly...painful to see my father like this, even if it wasn't my father. And since he became Sin, that meant, I'd have to...kill him. Losing my father twice, I wondered...just what did I do to deserve being tormented like this?
"You have a plan?" The younger version of Cam questioned almost hopefully.
"Trust me. I'll think of something." Jecht said confidently.
The images of Braska and Jecht walked up the stairs and disappeared into the other room. Meanwhile, Cam unsheathed his sword and slashed it through the center of his ghostly image's body, making the image dissipate.
"And the cycle went one." he said angrily as he glared at the ground and panted savagely, sheathing his sword once again.
I raised an eyebrow, not entirely sure what to make of this. This had to be the first time I'd seen Spira's Cam lose his temper, and it was kind of scarey. Shaking my head, I focused on the task at hand. "We'll break it!" I insisted firmly.
"But how? Wait. You got a plan, now?" Shane put in incredulously.
Hell yeah! I thought to myself, but didn't want to say it out loud at the moment. I didn't trust that 'Lady' Victoria, and didn't want to chance that she'd over hear me and possibly try to stop me.
"If one of us has to become a Fayth...I volunteer." Hunter put in, looking at Tori with a sad smile. His gaze turned to me and became openly pained, but he remained quiet.
I felt tears come to my eyes at that. I could only hope that we could stop this from happening, but hearing him openly volunteer still hurt. It made me feel helpless, or...more helpless than I already felt.
"Me too, Tori!" Shane agreed with a nod.
"That still won't change anything, you know?" I told them, glaring slightly. "You'd bring the Calm, and then what? That won't break the cycle!"
"Listen...You wanna defeat Sin and keep Tori alive..." Shane put in, shaking his head. "You don't want Sin to come back, ya? That is just not gonna happen, bruddah, you know?"
Hunter nodded and looked at me with his pained eyes. "If you want everything, you'll end up with nothing." he put in softly.
"But I want everything!" I shouted as I glared at them.
"Now you're just being childish!" Shane scolded.
"I might not have a chance, but no way am I gonna let Tori go!" I shouted angrily as I panted. "And what Cam said about there being another way..." I hesitated a split second and changed what I was going to say, stll not wanting to give up my secret. "I think it's true!"
" 'You'll think of something'?" Dustin asked carefully, not daring to look hopeful.
"We'll ask Victoria. She's got to know something." I insisted.
"You really think she'll help you?" he pressed, his gree eyes brightening a touch.
"I don't know but I have to try! This is my story!" I was taking Cam's earlier words and using them as my own. "It'll go the way I want, or I'll end it here!"
"Wait." Tori said softly as she looked at me. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears and she stared at me, a confused look lying in her eyes. "You say it's your story, but it's mine too, you know? It would be so easy...to just let my fate carry me away...following this same path my whole life through. But I know...I can't. What I do...I do, with no regrets.
She marched up the stairs with determination, though sorrow and fer radiated from her body. Hesitantly, we followed her up the stairs and through the door, finding a large square room beyond.
Would Lady Victoria help us? Personally, I seriously doubted that. If anything, I kept myself ready for battle at all times.
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Hmmm...wow...good thing I ended it there. More to come yet...including an interesting meeting.
Working all night...too tired to say much about this chapter, and I was completely blank about a title.
I really hope you like this chapter.
R+R please.
Thank you everyone.
Tenshi.