We stood there for what seemed like forever. Yuna and I looked at the ruins of Zanarkand, knowing that soon our journey would be complete. For good or bad. Tidus joined us after a couple minutes, and I knew it was heavy on his mind. As soon as we were ready, we descended.
I knew that Yuna believed that this was the end of her journey. But I knew differently. But even I had a heavy heart knowing that if she didn't defeat Yunalesca, I would have to. I think Zaon, Sora, and Ben all knew there was something on my mind but stayed silent. We made it to the entrance to the ruins, and Yuna stopped.
"I think we should rest for a while." Was all that Yuna said. Yuna and Tidus moved to the side and we left them alone. Auron sat next to me, and asked if we could talk. I nodded, and he started talking about how Braska wouldn't approve of me being here and that having Zaon and Sora here was unsafe as well.
"They chose to walk this path with me. And besides, nothing is going to happen to us, Auron. I have a plan." I whispered as I leaned towards him. "But Yuna must learn the truth of the world first." At my words, Auron seemed to relax but not completely. He still had to guard Yuna through the ruins, and to Yunalesca. I knew that he would make sure both Yuna and I would make it, but would his anger flare when he saw Yunalesca again? Or would he explain? These thoughts plagued me, even as Yuna was ready.
We gathered our things, and headed into the ruins. While I knew where most things were, there were always surprises. I ended up finding a crest that had the sign of Neptune, and a crest of Uranus. To me this meant that I was supposed to be here, as were Sora, Zaon, and Ben. But still, who was the Pluto Crest for? This thought lingered in the back of my mind, and that worried me. Was there someone else from my world here? And if there were, where were they?
Even with all this on my mind, I was able to fight and heal well. We got to the dome where Yunalesca awaited, and I saw a chest that shouldn't be there. When I tried to open it, I found it was locked. So it was a celestial weapon. Great. Well we had to come back afterward anyway for the last key to get Anima, so I wasn't worried. The unsent priest greeted us, and then told us to go to Yunalesca. I passed him and started fighting my way to the trials. Yuna was by my side the whole time, and we fought side by side to get to the trials.
As we made our way to the dome, we saw summoners before us and a childhood Seymour. By the time we made it to the entrance to the trials, we were used to seeing them. Or so we thought. Standing by the broken doors, was the memory of Braska. I looked at this memory hungerly. Oh, how I missed him still. Yuna must have seen my face go pale, because she walked over to hug me. After the vision faded, Yuna and I walked into the trial. Luckily, I remembered this trial from the game. So I knew where to step. I motioned to everyone where to step and after a minute or two, the door to the next part opened. One by one, we solved the puzzles. Next was the guardian of Zanarkand. A final test, if you will. This battle was always a trial of itself, and even I was shaky about it.
We attacked it with everything we had, and every aeon we had fought beside us. I only had Shiva left, and Yuna had Yojimbo. I summoned Shiva with a full overdrive, and blasted the guardian with Diamond Dust. Auron took one final berserked hit, and it burst into pyreflies. Next, we had to deal with Yunalesca. But we had to rest, and even Yuna knew it. It was at that point that I didn't know what was worse...losing Braska or fighting Yunalesca alone. But I knew what I had to do. And when we were rested enough, we entered the chamber of the fayth.
I already knew that there was no fayth here, just a empty stone. But this surprised Yuna. As Yuna turned to question us, the unsent priest appeared and opened the door to Yunalesca. I walked right through, knowing that now was the time. This was it. As I approached the stairs, Yunalesca appeared. I didn't notice that Yuna was behind me, until Yunalesca addressed us both. After she asked us who would become our fayth, Yuna asked for some time. Wakka and Lulu both offered to be Yuna's Fayth, and Yuna needed her time. So we waited. I knew what I had to do, and suddenly I was ready. And soon, Yuna was too. We slowly made our way up the stairs to meet Yunalesca again.
Yunalesca asked us again who would become our fayth. Yuna asked if we used the Final Summoning, would Sin return. Yunalesca didn't hesitate to tell her that Sin was eternal, and Lulu and Wakka were upset. That is when they found out that all they had was hope. That is when Yuna said that she would not cover up Yevon's lies with false hope.
"Now! This is it! Now is the time to choose. Die and be free of pain, or live and fight your sorrow! Now is the time to shape your stories! Your fate is in your hands!" Auron called out. Kimarhi readied for battle, as he said, "Yuna need Kimarhi, Kimarhi protect Yuna!"
"Well I'm fighting!" Rikku piped up.
I can't believe we're gonna fight Lady Yunalesca! Gimme a break!" Wakka muttered. Lulu responded with, "You could always run."
"Ha! I'd never forgive myself, no way! Not if I ran away now! Even in...death, ya!" Wakka told Lulu, who retorted. "My thoughts exactly."
"Yuna! This is our story, now let's see this thing through together!" Tidus told Yuna, who heard this and nodded. Ben, Sora, and Zaon all brought out their weapons, and rushed to surround me. Yuna had made her choice, now I had to. Yunalesca looked to me.
"I choose no one. I made this journey to destroy the final summoning. Not to become part of the lies and cover up." I told her. We were thrown into battle.