Disclaimer: Don't own FFX.

Sorry for the week hiatus. Finals came in. Now that's over, NEW CHAPTER!

Revised 12/21/2016

The party reached to Mt. Gagazet and started to just climb up the mountain as soon as they refilled up on items. Donna and Isaaru gave their gils to Max to help them buy their stuff. As they were walking, Biran and Yenke were waiting for them.

"Summoner!" shouted Biran, "We Ronso will any pursuers from Old Yevon. Penance for breaking Kimahri's horn, long ago."
"We crush enemies following behind," announced Yenke.
"Kimahri crush enemies standing before," said Kimahri in reply and respect.

Yenke and Biran nodded before they started to sing the Hymn of the Fayth. They were soon joined by other Ronso tribesmen. After they were done singing, they left them alone to prepare their defenses.

As they traveled up the mountain, weathering the cold wind that was blowing upon them all, and more powerful fiends attacked them. However, with 3 healers/summoners and so many guardians, it was easy to defend the summoners. They soon encountered a makeshift monument that seemed to have been built by the Ronso.

"These mark the graves of summoners and guardians who failed," explained Lulu as all three summoners bowed down to give their respect to those who had fallen.

"Summoners that die up here…aren't sent to the Farplane," added Lulu. Tidus and Max turned to her in confusion.
"Who would send them? They die alone," further explained Lulu, "Many have become fiends, and they may want company."

At this, Barthello started to flex his visible muscles. The weather was too cold that even he decided to put on a jacket. However, he made sure that it was tight so people could still see his muscles. Maroda and Pacce adopted a more serious face to protect their brother.
"We'll be fine," said Tidus, "Long as we're all here, they won't take our summoners."

Everyone nodded as they continued down the road. As they were walking, they passed by another monument. Auron stopped them for a second.

"There should be a message for Yuna around here. Braska left it in case you ever made it this far," said Auron. He reached behind the monument and grabbed an old memory sphere before tossing it to Yuna, who automatically played it.

It showed Braska, who was also at Mt. Gagazet. Behind him was the monument dedicated to lost summoners and guardians. Auron and Jecht were paying their respects.

"Hello, Yuna. I hope you are well. I wonder how old you are, now that you're watching this sphere. You must be very beautiful, like your mother. I wish I could see you. Oh, by the way… Jecht and Auron send their regards. So far, our journey has been very entertaining. Of course, it is a hard journey, but I have no regrets. It is the path I have chosen. Yuna, when you have grown, you will have to find your own path. Do what you must do, the way you want to do it. Doors will always open themselves to those who do. Listen close, Yuna. Your future is yours to make. Live the way you want to. Whatever way that may be, you have your father's full support. Yuna, I will always be with you."

As Yuna put the sphere down, they could see tears starting to form in her eyes. She really missed her father now after this message. Silently, Tidus walked up to her to hug her. After a few minutes, they separated.

Donna scoffed but decided not to say anything for now. She knew she had to keep a tighter control on her lips, especially in this far in the pilgrimage. After several more encounters with fiends, they finally reached what seemed to be the peak of the mountain and the entrance to Zanarkand. As they were all walking, Max, Tidus, Rikku, Barthello, and Pacce were lagging behind.

"Zanarkand is on the other side, you know?" said Rikku, stopping for a bit and turned around to them. The others also stopped too.
"Yunie and the others are gonna get the Final Aeon, you know?" continued Rikku. "I still haven't thought of anything."

The others looked down in sadness. They hadn't been able to think of something either.

"Barthello doesn't know either," he lamented. Barthello knew that Donna would die when he agreed to this pilgrimage, but now that they made it this far, it was getting harder to let her go.

"I don't want big brother to be sacrificed," muttered Pacce. He never knew the truth until recently, and yet the brothers couldn't leave him alone while they went on the pilgrimage. Their parents had died early on, leaving Isaaru to be the man of the house. When he made the decision to become a summoner, it was decided they would take Pacce along so they could watch over him. Once it was over, Maroda would be the one to take care of him. With the money and fame, if Isaaru did win, they would be set for a good amount of time.
"What are we gonna do?" asked Rikku, who was starting to panic.
"We'll do something!" stated Tidus fiercely, "We just don't know enough yet. Until we do, we really can't help Yuna. Let's got to Zanarkand. We'll find something there. It'll all come together. I know it!"

"Right!" cheered Barthello, Pacce, and Max.

Rikku teased Tidus, stating that he was actually sounding like a leader, to which Tidus replied that he was the star of the Zanarkand Abes for a reason. Max might hold the title of the strategist, but it was Tidus who lead his team. Rikku mockingly bowed to him, causing them all to chuckle. When she raised her head, she gave a shriek and pointed behind them. They all turned around to see Seymour standing before them.

"Ah, the son of Jecht and his annoying friend," said Seymour.
"Rikku, run ahead get the others!" shouted Max as the males all got ready for battle.

"Pacce, go with Rikku too!" commanded Tidus.

Rikku and Pacce nodded and ran off to get the others.
"Now is your time to die. Prepare yourself, son of Jecht and chaos bringer," stated Seymour. He launched a few 3rd tier spells at them, forcing them to scatter. Max started shooting at him, causing Seymour to shield himself with a spell. Suddenly, Barthello charged in and gave a wicked uppercut right into his stomach. It broke through the shield and forced Seymour to back off for a bit. Seymour sneered a bit at this attack. Soon, footsteps could be heard coming. Reinforcements had arrived.
"Save some for Kimahri!" shouted Kimahri as he took a vanguard position.
"Lady Yuna, it is a pleasure," purred Seymour, ignoring everyone else. Yuna shivered at this. Even now, Seymour was still persistent in having her as his wife.

"Hmph. Enough! Just go away you annoying freak!" said Donna as she began to try sending him to the Farplane. Isaaru and Yuna started to join in to help.
"A sending, so soon?" chuckled Seymour, "Allow me to say something to the last Ronso before I leave." Everyone stopped at that sentence. Fear started to take root in them all. It couldn't be true. Seymour started to cackle evilly, "Yours was…truly a gallant race. They threw themselves at me to bar my path. One…after another…"

He raised his hand, motioning on how they came before clenching his fist in the end. Kimahri growled at this in rage.

"Bull crap! You're lying!" shouted Paine.

"Am I?" said Seymour as he reached into his robes and tossed out a bag. The bag opened upon impact on the ground, and horns scattered to their feet. Maroda was on his knees in disbelief and examined them before telling them that these horns were indeed from the Ronsos. Kimahri howled in agony.
"You could end the suffering of this poor Ronso," stated Seymour, ignoring Kimahri.
"I don't understand you!" screamed Yuna in rage.

"Allow Kimahri to die, and release him from his pain," said Seymour, as if he was explaining something to a toddler, "Spira… is a land of suffering and sorrow caught in a spiral of death. To destroy–to heal–Spira, I will become Sin. Yes, with your help. Come with me, Yuna."

Everyone stepped back at this proclamation. This man was crazy, no insane. He had officially set the bar for insanity. As Yuna took another step back, Tidus stepped in front of her, as if to protect her.

"Once I have become the next Sin, your father will be freed again," whispered Seymour, loud enough for them all to hear, though.

Before anyone could ask, Max shot Seymour twice in the face, who blocked it. He didn't stop and switched to bow form and fired a Thundaga arrow. This one caused Seymour to step back a bit. Tidus took this chance and charged forward, his sword swinging in a downward arc. Seymour leaped back, barely dodging the attack, though a thin gash could be seen on his chest. When he leaped back, though, he jumped off a cliff.

"Ha! Hope he enjoys falling off a cliff!" shouted Wakka. However, the next thing he saw made him pout. "Oh C'mon!"
Seymour had come back, but he had transformed. Sitting upon a bizarre contraption called Mortiochus, he had transformed to the same look as before.

"Pitiful mortals," exclaimed Seymour, "Your hope ends here. And your meaningless existence with it!"

Soon, their formation had formed. Barthello, Tidus, Paine, Auron, and Kimahri took vanguard. Max and Wakka were in mid-range. Lulu, Isaaru, Donna, and Yuna were at the back, ready for support. Rikku was guerilla again, but Maroda also took the same position, wielding a dirk. Pacce was told to go hide. At first, Pacce wanted to fight, but a look from Isaaru made him comply.

Before the fight, Seymour asked Yuna one more time, "Do you not want to heal Spira's sorrow? Let death carry you off into peaceful slumber."
Yuna didn't even bother replying this time. Max and Wakka answered for her by striking first.

They were fighting even harder than they thought were possible. The Mortiochus kept trying to stab them with a lance and inflict a status ailement. When Barthello got hit, his started to glow green. At first, everyone was confused at this, and Esuna wasn't curing it. Barthello tried to heal himself with a potion when he noticed it caused him even more pain. Then Seymour cast Full-Life on poor Barthello. He felt indescribable pain before keeling over. Donna screamed in horror as her guardian went down. Isaaru kept calm and cast Life on Barthello. He was back up but was severely weakened from the two hit combo. Yuna immediately started to heal him.

"You monster! Die!" shouted Donna as she summoned Shiva.

"No!" shouted Auron, but it was too late for the warning. Seymour banished the aeon, instantly killing the aeon. Donna and Isaaru looked in horror.

"Aeons don't work against Seymour!" shouted Lulu. They nodded in reply and just kept up with healing.

Max was the next one to get hit by the Mortiochus. He was glowing green now.

"Ah crap!" yelled Max as he noticed Seymour already getting ready to cast Full-Life on him. Everyone was trying to prevent him, but he wasn't stopping. Max reached into his pouch when he touched a Holy Water that he had bought from O'aka.

'Huh. When Barthello was glowing green, he took damage from items that would heal. Almost like he was an undead... Maybe.. Hope this doesn't kill me!' thought Max as he grabbed the Holy Water and drank it.

The effect was immediate. Max stopped glowing green just as Seymour's spell hit him.

"Oh thank heavens!" shouted Max. Holy Water cured whatever status ailment he had. He decided to nickname it Zombiefication until further notice. Seymour didn't like it and aimed a Firaga at him.

'We need to go faster,' thought Tidus. He could spam Haste, but it would take too long. He reached deep within him and pulled out the usual mana for Haste. Instead of releasing it, he saved and stacked another one on top of it. He kept pulling as much mana as he could from deep within. When he couldn't hold it in anymore, he released it. In doing so, Tidus cast Hastega, allowing everyone within the area to feel the effects of a speed boost. He was quite surprised at this but didn't complain. Nor did anybody else. With the speed boost, it was getting easier to dodge Seymour's attacks.

Kimahri had gathered enough Overdrive energy and immediately used it to cast Mighty Guard, a skill Biran had taught him directly. It was just in time as the Mortiochus grabbed its two blades from its shoulders. Seymour went up into the air for a bit before diving back down with a flip and struck at them with an x-attack. The vanguard and mid-range went flying back into the backline from that attack. Isaaru and Donna quickly tried to heal them. Thanks to Kimahri, the damage wasn't as bad as it looked. Yuna, however, was not pleased. She decided to summon even if Seymour could banish it. At least she had to get one attack in! She summoned Bahamut.

Seymour gaped in disbelief that Yuna would do such a futile action before banishing it.

"Death awaits you!"

Bahamut took the hit, but to everyone's surprise, it was still standing, if only barely. It seemed to want to at least get one attack in, the same as Yuna. Bahamut gathered the energy that it took and performed it's overdrive Mega Flare.

The Dragon King did a backflip and landed on all four of its limbs. It stamped its two front ones as if to balance itself. The floating golden wing behind it's back started to rotate and gather energy. It was spinning faster and faster every second. Bahamut opened its mouth, and a ball of energy could be seen forming. Soon, Bahamut took a deep breath, inhaling the ball before roaring out loud. A huge blast of continuous energy came forth and blasted Seymour and Mortiochus. It's destructive energy blew up, and a small mushroom cloud could be seen. The dust cleared up to see that Seymour had been heavily damaged by the attack. Grunting in pain, he banished Bahamut one more time, this time succeeding. As Bahamut faded away, it looked at Yuna and gave her a grin, as if telling her that it completed it's objective.

Thanks to Yuna, Isaaru and Donna were able to heal everyone back up with the use of spells and potions. As they got back up, Seymour cast Dispel and negated the speed boost they were all enjoying. As Tidus gathered the energy to cast Hastega again, Barthello charged forward. He pointed his right fist at Seymour, and clicked the big red button that Max had installed inside. The gauntlet flew from his fist and punched Seymour right in the face, surprising both of them. The fist automatically flew back to Barthello after it had done its job. Barthello looked at his weapon in amazement and grinned.

"That is so AWESOME!" shouted Pacce in the back, still hiding. "Was that a rocket fist?"

Seymour was not pleased and cast Flare on Barthello. After attacking Seymour and Mortiochus, alternating hits, Seymour's face was showing he was getting tired. The Mortiochus kept draining his health every time it was about to fail. Soon, he had enough and started to prepare for his ultimate attack. This move would ensure that all of them would die! He just needed to be a bit careful of Yuna, but even if she died, he was sure he could revive her. As he gathered energy into the Mortiochus, it started to glow brightly.

"That doesn't look good," said Paine as she gave a horizontal slash to the Mortiochus. Everyone was wailing on Seymour and Mortiochus, and yet the glow didn't seem to stop.

"Everyone! Gather around me now!" shouted Max.

"Do as he says!" shouted Tidus, who already understood what Seymour was about to do and what Max wanted to but not questioning it, everyone ran to Max.

"Too late fools!" cackled Seymour as he unleashed his fury. "Prepare for TOTAL ANNIHILATION!"

Right as they had gathered, lighting could be seen at the side of the Mortiochus. Then, it started to shoot laser beams at them all, kicking up dust as it did so. Not even stopping, Mortiochus dropped out missles from its bottom compartment, shooting them and impacting on the group, causing even more dust to rise. Lastly, Seymour swooped in to drop one last missile, one that was bigger than all the others shot before, that detonated upon impact, causing far more damage than all his other attacks.

"No...," muttered Pacce as he dropped to his knees. After such an attack like that, it was unlikely there were survivors.

"Pitiful. They wouldn't have died if they listened to me," said Seymour, directing his gaze at the last survivor. "Don't worry little boy. I'll end your suffering soon enough."

"Don't you dare touch my brother!" two voices rang out.

Pacce and Seymour looked back at the destruction site to see a glowing blue round barrier after the dust cleared up. Everyone was inside and completely safe! Max had his hand held high, carrying a small box that was projecting the light. Soon, the barrier shattered into pieces, and the box made a beeping noise before it stopped glowing.

"Dam. That was a pretty powerful attack to consume all the energy on this barrier," commented Max as he put it away. Luckily it would recharge after awhile.

"What! Impossible!" shouted Seymour. He now knew who was responsible for the first blue light barrier back on Operation Mi'ihen.

Max responded by using his Overdrive energy to use his 3rd one, Big Shot. It was similar to the first one, where he would shoot it at a critical spot, except this time, a much more powerful shot was heading to that area. Putting his guns together, he focused his energy, building up a ball of destructive energy, and fired. Seymour was hit and flew back a bit, but he wasn't out yet.

"You have angered Kimahri! The spirits of the Ronso will guide Kimahri's spear!" roared Kimahri as he threw his halberd straight towards Seymour's chest. Right after he threw it, the blunt end of the pole opened up a hole, and large explosion came out of it, accelerating the force of the throw. Flying straight and true, it pierced Seymour, and dug into his chest. Seymour looked down in disbelief at his inevitable defeat. Kimahri roared proudly as he pulled the string that was still attached to his halberd. The halberd came out of Seymour's chest, along with a blood spurt.

Unable to take any more damage, Seymour andMortiochus started to detonate before finally disappearing.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. As we all know, Seymour Flux is one of the most annoying bosses to fight. Can't tell you how many times my party died due to that freaking Total Annhilation move. Instead, I had Lulu cast Bio on Seymour and let that do the rest. You can see that I didn't do that for my story, as I felt like it might look cooler not to use it.