Ingus stood near the entrance of the near-abandoned Tower and watched the horizon. They waited for days and Sazh still didn't take their bait. Alus joined Ingus and said in a sickly voice, "It's no small miracle what you accomplished before they left. Would you give it any mind if I offered you a position in my army?"

"You should rest, Majesty."

"I've rested long enough. If rest would fix this illness, it would have done so by now. I repeat my question."

"… It is not by my power that this guild has gathered, Majesty. I only asked for your assistance as a lure."

"You say as if that isn't itself a feat."

"I say you should award the mages. Palom, Porom, and Leonora put a lot of work into this even if we lost them for a time to the same plague we fight now. When this is all over, you would do well to offer them a place instead."

"Much as I would love mages from another world on my court, I doubt they would agree to such a thing."

"And yet you have not asked."

"But I can't convince you to work for me? Your opportunities in Saronia would stretch far beyond the borders of both our lands."

"Not at this time, Majesty."

"Very well. What are your plans if you catch this friend of yours?"

Ingus focused on the horizon. "We will kill him if we must."

"And if you can't?"

"Then we must reclaim him."

"How?"

"Bhunivelze took those closest to each other and broke them together. The only reliable method we learned required using loved ones, yet we have none of those people in our reach. We will find another way if our backup plan doesn't work."

"Are you four not his friends?"

"A second-hand relation does not accomplish the same effect."

"Did my father try to hurt any of you?"

Ingus thought back to their first time in Saronia. "Not that I remember, Majesty."

"Alas. It would be fascinating to know about semblance. Perhaps we could find someone that reminds him of his loved ones?"

"We have no one of the like here. His son was a unique child and those he works with are unlike any I've heard of in the country below or above."

"Then we must find another way."

The Crystals said, "He's arrived, but not where you stand. He's left to the Tower of Owen."

"He's arrived?" Alus asked. "Take me with you."

"You'll be safer here."

"But—!"

Ingus left Alus and met Refia on her exit from their own Tower. She said nothing and he knew she thought the same—the Tower of Owen was too far from their reach. Toan accompanied her and had the same knowing look.

"Luneth!" Refia yelled. He appeared before them and blinked as if he didn't know what the Crystals said. "Can you take people with you when you teleport?"

"If I focus, sure."

Arc hurried out to meet them and Ingus took him by the shoulder. Toan took Arc's hand. Luneth took Refia and she held Ingus.

Alus—whom Ingus didn't see follow them—dove in and grabbed Refia's hand in time for Luneth's magic to engulf them and they arrived by the Tower overlooking the Floating Continent.

"That was foolish!" Ingus said to Alus, who breathed hard and looked like he'd seen the wrong realm. "This is dangerous!"

Alus took a moment to recover himself. Arc steadied him. "I know," Alus said after recovering most of his breath. Despite Arc's support, Alus looked unsteady on his feet. "But I have an idea."

Ingus wasn't royalty. It wasn't his place to chastise a king, especially not one as powerful as Alus. "Don't ever do that again," Ingus said.

Alus gave a breathless nod

They continued on. . Toan joined Arc and helped guide Alus along until he could move on his own again.

They transformed themselves despite Refia's protests and rushed to the tower again. Somehow Alus handled it better than the teleportation. By the time they reached the control room, Sazh waited atop the railing with his back to the furnace. Despite the heat of the molten crystal oozing behind him, Sazh leaned back and stared at the ceiling like a foot soldier taking a break from training.

"Stop!" Refia yelled before pulling out an ice spell that misted with the heat of this place. "Where's Desch?"

"Desch is distracted," Sazh said. "As were the rest of you, apparently. Now don't move or I'll take us all out of the sky."

Ingus looked between him and his party, sweat prickling his forehead. The heat, though well contained by the control sphere, caused a mist in the air and warmed the metal on him.

"Get away from there!" Luneth yelled. "You'll mess up the tower!"

"And why do you think I'm here, son?"

"Because the Tower's the one keeping the continent afloat," Arc said.

Toan kept a tense stance near the entrance, where Alus hung back.

Refia put herself between the rest of them and Sazh. "You want to cause catastrophe across our entire world. If you bring down the continent, you cause mass hysteria. Do it right, and this side of Blue Terra is crippled."

"Where are we?" Arc asked. "Not Saronia, right?"

"Not yet," Luneth said.

Sazh gave a pointed look to the churning crystal inside the control sphere. "I could change that. Y'all mentioned some voodoo across the ocean about things crashing into the planet, didn't you? Why didn't you think of this one?"

"Because we're idiots," Refia said. "And you're a dirty cheater."

"Ain't that just the truth."

Luneth moved and Ingus pulled him back. "We may be Crystalchosen," Ingus said, "but if he pulls anything with that control, then we're not likely to survive."

"But—!"

Sazh pushed himself from the rail and approached the control sphere. Ingus' thoughts raced—they couldn't let him move first. But they couldn't let him trigger anything. They had to end it in one shot. If Refia and Arc could paralyze him, then—

Sazh stuck a hand in the crystal and something twisted in Ingus at the sight. That should not only take the hand but the rest of Sazh as well. Yet he pulled his hand back out untouched and watched the crystal ooze back into the rest.

Luneth twitched and Ingus knew he couldn't keep him down much longer.

"Where's Dajh?" Ingus asked.

"Thoughtful of you to ask. But he's busy with… something else."

Refia flared a pink glow and refreshed her ice spell. "He'd be disappointed to see what you're doing."

"Maybe if he wasn't intent on following my example."

"You don't actually believe this, do you?" Arc asked. "You hated the thought of leaving home because you didn't want to get caught up in this. What changed?"

"Nothing changed." Sazh wouldn't look their way and Ingus sensed defeat in his voice.

"Something's off," Ingus said.

"Try everything," Sazh said. "You don't know what you're all meddling with."

Arc shuddered. "I've got an idea."

"Doesn't matter," Refia said, "because we'll stop it anyway. We'll stop you, too, if we must, but I'd rather not kill you, Sazh. You were like my third dad."

"Hail, I'll agree with that," came Cid's voice.

Everyone turned to see Cid join them, Desch on his heels.

"Sorry I took so long," Desch said. "It's a long way from his home to here."

Sazh wouldn't look their way. "I have to do this, old friend."

"Then why haven't you done it already?" Cid moved past them and Refia cast a shield of ice on him. "You idiot, it'd be a mighty waste if you destroyed everything you hoped to return to. And I think you still agree with me. Best keep our options open, hm? You know, I've got a gliding device similar to what you abandoned. Wouldn't you like to see Dajh use it? The boy hasn't taken his first flight and I think it's time we changed that."

"He's found different wings."

"Then they're crap next to these ones. Just think—we could jump the edge of this little island right now and you would land pretty as a feather not far from Amur and Sunset Hill. Hell, we could go visit that other continent if we wanted."

Sazh looked up at Cid and Ingus tensed with the others. They didn't dare to hope. But those eyes softened.

"Remember those warm summers?" Cid asked. "Remember chasing those bugs with your kid and promising him his own bug to fly? Remember when we sat down for an ale after that and we toyed with the idea of a little man-vessel that let him feel the wind in his hair without the bulk of an underdeck?"

"You won't fool me with false dreams."

"You dismiss a lot of things, friend. And you're right about most of them. But not this one. So how about you get that hand out of that lava and onto some controls? I want you to tell me about the weight of the catchers and see if we can't make it any smoother."

"Wait!" Alus burst into the room and paused to catch his breath. "Mister Sazh, I heard you can help me!"

Silence fell. Ingus' heart jumped into his throat. He'd forgotten about Alus. Toan, too, who still kept near the entrance. "Majesty, what are you—?"

"There's something I have that belongs to you!" Alus approached Sazh. "If you could take this from me, then I'll be forever grateful to you."

"You're one of that fal'Cie's targets?" Sazh asked. "You look sick enough to be."

"Will you take it? Lumina told me you'd take it!"

"Don't let him!" Luneth said. "That'll just make Sazh stronger!"

"Isn't that better than Alus dying?" Desch asked.

Alus moved closer and Arc worked with Refia to keep a shield of ice on him. But they visibly struggled with the strain of keeping everyone cool.

Sazh leaned toward the control sphere. Desch kept a safe distance from Cid while Luneth gained inches from the ground. Luneth grabbed for Alus, but Sazh blasted him back with fire.

"I'll take them from you," Sazh said. He sounded almost pained. "Come here, son."

Alus did so. Cid yelled for him to stop, but Sazh blocked them off. He took Alus' hand and the two engulfed in fire.

Arc and Refia shouted in alarm. Toan dashed forward, but the ice shield strained and forced him back.

"Luneth!" Ingus called. "Go!"

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Wait!" Toan said. "We've done this!"

"That was different!" Arc said.

"No, it wasn't!" Toan grabbed Luneth and sparked with his purple energy. "His mind! Refia, can you go in?"

Refia nodded and took Luneth's other hand. "Use us both."

"Be careful," Toan said. "Aim."

"I've managed worse." Luneth's eyes turned red. He shut them. They all went still.

For five long heartbeats nothing happened. Then the flame vanished.

The room rumbled. Sazh and Cid both collapsed like lifeless dolls. Alus stumbled away from the control center.

Arc dashed in to get Alus away from the center. Desch took his place. Ingus grabbed Sazh and flared magic to keep away the broiling heat.

Arc said after he got Alus to the entrance, "He's burned."

"Heal him." Ingus kept dragging Sazh. He turned knight and used the renewed strength to pick Sazh up. Cid was also exposed now that Refia was distracted.

"Keep them down," Ingus said to Luneth on his way past.

Luneth didn't respond.

Arc helped Ingus get Cid. With him near Alus, it was easier to manage them both.

Desch reached into the molten crystal and the tower jolted. Ingus realized with dread that Desch might have been possessed, only to relax again when they steadied and Desch nodded to them. They were safe for now.

Minwu stood at the edge of eternity and watched stars explode. He saw the breaking of worlds and the forming of moons. He stood on the precipice of something inverted. He felt the same swell of determination as when he stood at the gates barring him from Ultima. And he felt the same as when he walked into the Council for the first time.

"Spira waits," Braska said. "Much as I like to consider myself patient, I can't hold myself back for long."

"Gaia VI remains strong?" Minwu asked.

"Yes. Shadow watches over his people with hidden dedication. They shall not fall any time soon to Bhunivelze's schemes."

"In some way, I like to think we saved them from Bhunivelze. But he might never have put his eyes on them in the first place. We could be wasting our energy, Braska."

"He's an opportunist. And we're keeping Gaia VI from becoming an opportunity."

Jecht came running at them and knocked both from the edge. "Let's get this party started, you knuckleheads!"

Minwu righted himself in time to shoot a stern look Jecht's way before the currents of space took them and Minwu again traveled the way he took to visit Tidus for the first time an age ago.

They sped through creation and Minwu followed Braska toward the blue and shifting waters of Spira. The planet glimmered like a jewel in the display of its orbit and he felt a pull to that place like Gaia II's. But this one didn't hold the same sorrows as his home world.

They entered through the Farplane and Minwu slammed into a wall.

"Wait," Braska pulled him back from what looked like a frozen field of flowers. "We'll have to take this one slowly."

Jecht joined them. "Like hitting water after a fall. Time to swim, bros!"

"We'll carve a path," Minwu said, "and send in the rest of the souls after."

Jecht and Braska took off with Jecht going faster. Auron caught up to them and they forced their way through air as thick as syrup. A frosty fog obscured most of the Farplane from view. What plants and water he saw looked white as ash.

"Where's the souls?" Jecht asked. "Did Bhunivelze chase them out?"

"He confused them," Minwu said. "He put the same elements above what they knew below to flood the living with the planet's energy."

Braska reached out and no pyreflies came to greet him. Minwu watched him stretch for something and find nothing. "The living will suffer disease from this. Humanity's so devastated, they'll need help making it past the ensuing catastrophe."

"Aerith will know a thing or two about that," Jecht said.

They pushed past the inertia and found their first entrance to the living world. The safeguards developed by the planet were gone, leaving the Farplane exposed and the entrance wide open. Minwu only hoped no one wandered in.

When Minwu left the sterilized Farplane, he found the wilted and whitened edge of the Moonflow. No pyreflies inhabited the place and no people walked the road.

Only a deathly mist met them.

Paine watched the dead from the Celsius' deck. Like a rotten gas, the dead covered the mainland and poisoned the border waters. Only the surrounding islands and Gagazet's point stood clear of it. Cid joined her.

"Yuna's down there?" he asked.

"In the heart of Bevelle."

"We know what this thing does to people?"

Ghostly whispers and painful pricks in her skin. Something inside her begged to return to the depths of the planet. "Not really."

"Got any plans?"

"I'd ask the same of you."

"… Come with me." Cid took her inside, and they found Lulu in the lounge. Barkeep retired and left the place to O'aka's brother, Wantz. Lulu sat beside another lady in black.

"What's this?" Paine asked.

"Yuna told me about her meeting with some dead souls," Lulu said. "Black and white magic combined. But no one can cast with the planet infested like this."

"Except for us," lady in black said.

"I fished them off the mainland," Lulu said. "Before we found you. They have magic from another world that's unconnected to this one."

Paine looked at Cid and he said, "Buddy and Brother tried to hack into the stuff, and we can't replicate it. But we got some interesting information from it."

"We have all sorts," said the lady in black. "So maybe we can make this mix you're talking about."

"I imagine that'll take some blowing up," Paine said. "Depending on the scale of your magic, that is. Where's Gippal?"

"Missing," Cid said. "Last we picked up on his signal, he was headed north. But either he camped out in the Calm Lands or he hit Gagazet. And Gagazet isn't kind to people running from Bevelle."

"Kimahri?" Paine asked.

"He and the rest of the Ronso are safe. Don't know why the stuff hasn't touched it."

"Then why wouldn't people just run there?"

"Because we're headed into winter. Most of us don't do well there in the summer. Unless you want to sleep in ten-foot snow drifts."

"Let's start with the Ronso. They might know something we don't."

"Will you need materia?" asked the lady in black.

Lulu said, "I hope not. But we'll call if anything goes wrong."

Outside, clouds fell and obscured their view from the ship. Paine worried about landing in such conditions, but the Gullwings dealt with worse. She still grabbed a coat because she wasn't invincible.

Cold rushed the landing and fog enveloped them when they touched down and opened the gate.

It took a short hike to find the Ronso settlement. Kimahri expected them and Paine hesitated at his quiet intensity.

"It took Yuna," Paine said.

"Kimahri knew this. We tried to save them but mist too strong."

Lulu said, "We need to beat this before it beats us. Kimahri—"

"Come." He moved further up the mountain and left them to follow.

Ronso walked by and paid them little heed. Those horns looked different. Or… she saw them different after her travels. Kimahri ordered them to see the cave he presented.

Inside, they found uneven rock and a still pond. It held engravings of Yevon script, but it didn't read right.

"Here," said Kimahri. "Old Ronso hid summoner messages."

"Summoner?" Paine asked. "You can read Yevon script?"

"Ronso learn. Lost much after Zanarkand. But can re-learn."

Lulu approached one of the walls with awe. "I never saw this. What all is written?"

"Much lost," Kimahri said. "Technology, language, power… heritage. But Ronso have time. Ronso learn."

"Do you know about the mist, then?" Paine asked.

"Mist is not recorded. But mountain safe. Altitude safe."

"Then why is the water also safe?"

"Not recorded. Recorded is way to stop."

Lulu drew up short in her observations. "How?"

"Summoner power."

"But summoners are gone," Lulu said. "Explain, Kimahri."

"Only fake summoners are gone. Summons happen long before Sin. Aeons became Zanarkand summons."

"Lenne," Paine said. "She lived before her people turned into Aeons. She would have summoned something else?"

Kimahri nodded. "Your people infused with summon power. Ronso born with it."

"The horns," Paine said.

"Ronso keep training," Kimahri said. "It take long time to recover lost power. And Ronso busy rebuilding."

Lulu came closer. "I beg your pardon. The Ronso have been summoners all this time? Did you know?"

"Ronso know there was lost history. But Yevon hid well in messy language. With Yevon gone, Ronso learn language. Language explains process."

"Why explain it here?" Paine asked. "Right on the mountain where any smart kid could find it? Why not in Bevelle's underground?"

"Process make human powerful. Yevon scared of powerful summoners."

"Ginnem mentioned the conversion process being painful," Lulu said. "She found it suspicious and meant to investigate if she survived…"

Paine felt a twist of anger. "Baralai would know."

Lulu said, "So summoners existed before Aeons. That means there's other creatures to summon. Perhaps we can find out where these summons disappeared to?"

"Ronso close," Kimahri said. "But Ronso need power. It take long time and Ronso few. With help, we summon Titan and Ramuh again. Titan and Ramuh take back planet."

Paine eyed the etchings of people. "We would need Yuna, Kurgum, Donna…but getting Bevelle clear enough to save them would take a lot more than we have."

"We have me," Lulu said.

"Current summoners not enough," Kimahri said. "More needed."

"How many?" Paine asked.

"Many," Kimahri said. "Connection lost. Restoration takes hundreds of masters. Ronso few and weak."

"And we don't know Yuna could even help," Lulu said. "Her power might be unique to Aeons and not these other creatures."

The air split and a pink-haired girl joined them. "There's a simple answer here!" She struck a chord in Paine, but those memories remained poisoned and unreachable. "I can talk to all the summoners you want!"

Lulu regarded her. "And you are…?"

"Lumina, at your service!" The girl lit the etchings in a glow and all but danced around the cavern. "Isn't this grand? The uncovering of ancient history and long-running betrayal. Oh, the poetry! But alas, my time is short. Bhunivelze's finally catching on and I need to make this quick. You need the old gate back, right?"

Kimahri bristled, but he didn't correct her.

"You need way more than what you have here to do that. But you know what? I'll do you a favor. I'll talk to all the summoners I know in the linking worlds and get them to help, m'kay?"

"What is this?" Paine asked. "A favor, done out of the goodness of your heart? There's a catch, isn't there?"

"Only that I want the best show you can manage." Lumina dimmed again and went still. "I'll only last for so long before I recomplete myself with my other half. While I can appreciate it, I want to experience the wildest ride. And I want to stick it to Bhunivelze one last time."

"How?" Paine asked.

Lumina grinned. "What push you need, I'll provide. Call me when you're ready, okay?"

"Then to Bevelle it is," Lulu said. "We have power enough for that. Lumina, send Bhunivelze our regards."

Vanille barely thought past the haze clouding her mind and hiding the reservoirs of Mwynn. Bhunivelze thought he could pull it from her head, but in so doing only reinforced the barriers she built. She pretended for so long not to have what Bhunivelze needed, and his repeated attempts helped her keep her new reality.

"I'm not a former vessel," she said to herself as she walked the long hallways back to the main palace. No one else remained here besides her and Hope. Yet she liked to think that place still held a semblance of the familiarity she came to know with her friends there.

Her skin crackled with Bhunivelze's energy and she shuddered when she realized she couldn't sense His presence anymore. She became so accustomed to It.

An echo of his force sent a shiver down her spine and she wondered why He considered her such a risk to the stability of everyone else. He forced Himself into her head to find Mwynn, but there was something more to it. He thought if He let her go, then it would risk the others rebelling for her sake.

"I'm not as important as all that," she said. She said it so often that her tongue moved before she thought the words. "If they haven't left yet, I don't think they will."

She woke up on a bench near Queen's old "desk" and wondered when she fell asleep. She barely remembered the walk, much less—

"Hey, Vanille." Hope sat on the desk, draped in checkered silk. "You passed out on the beach."

She struggled to keep her eyes open. "I'm sorry."

Hope watched her with half-lidded eyes, and she wondered how connected he remained. He didn't act as suddenly zealous as the others, but he also didn't betray any sympathy for Vanille's torture. That same torture that revealed to her his weakness. Did he know she could kill him now?

"Has He made any progress?" Hope asked.

"I don't know. He doesn't tell me anything after He finishes, and I don't feel different. Mwynn locked herself deep inside, I guess."

"You remembered so well before."

"Yes, I remembered little things to help us in our quest. But Mwynn knew Her Son better than we ever could."

"Isn't it our job to learn Him better?"

"Is it? I can't remember."

Hope scrutinized her and she remembered his older self playing at politics and controlling the country better than any king or emperor ever should. A scientist in the game of intrigue meant for corrupt moneygrubbers and angry activists. A child on the shoulders of giants.

"Let's find somewhere to talk," Hope said.

Vanille shut her eyes and gripped the bench. "I don't want to move."

"It might be safer."

"Safer from what?"

"From yourself. This place reminds you of Mwynn's rebels." Hope jumped from the desk and spoke to the air about losing contact with Sazh.

Vanille felt a flutter in her chest at the thought of Sazh being freed from this cursed state.

"Of course, it doesn't matter," Hope said. "So long as we hold Valhalla, it takes only a trigger to bring them home. If he's died, we should clean up after ourselves."

Vanille struggled to her feet and waited for Hope to finish his conversation before saying, "You can't go around just disposing of the bodies! There's better options!"

"Like how You've been acting really funny since we got back. Do you work for Bhunivelze or don't you?"

Vanille took him by the shoulder and shoved him into another bench. "Don't you? Sazh will come back one way or another!"

"I want Sazh back!" Hope kicked her back and sent her stumbling. "I want him safe!"

"But is he safe here?"

"I didn't say here!"

"Then what are you saying?"

Vanille cupped his face with both hands. "You're confused, Hope! Everything you say sounds like a contradiction!"

"That's because I am a contradiction! I'm… scared for him! For what might happen when he comes back. And if he leaves again. I don't want him to hurt anymore!"

"He hasn't hurt yet!"

"He will. When he gets back, Bhunivelze will make him pay for switching sides. And I can't stand the idea of someone going through what I did!"

"Neither can I." Vanille pressed her forehead to his. "We don't belong here."

"Then where do we belong?"

"Elsewhere. Let's run."

Hope shook. "We can't. Don't talk like that."

"Bhunivelze's resting. He's looking for something. And that something isn't us so now's our chance."

"That's crazy! You're crazy!"

"Crazy enough for both of us." Vanille leaned back again and checked the symbols burned into his eyes. "And you're faking it."

"I—!" Hope took a deep breath. He smelled of wet sand. "I have to. He's almost given up on me so it's a matter of time before—where would we go?"

Vanille took him in a hug and Hope finally relaxed into her. He felt so small. "We'll get out of here."

He mumbled something before correcting himself. "I trust you."

"I trust you, too. With my life." Vanille felt a spike of alarm and checked his eyes again. The gold shimmer grew stronger.

"Time to go," she said, and rushed him to the shore.