**Well, its been a great ride, everyone. Hope you enjoy this last chapter, and please, please, read the author's notes at the end. They're uber-important. Thanks to all who helped me along the way...and you guys are gonna have a hoot with this chapter. Please review, if you feel so inclined!**
The trio of girls had a rather uneventful time through the snowy hike of Mt. Gagazet, much to Yueh's surprise at the least. Even the caves were easier to deal with than all had previously thought.
Good enough for me, Yueh thought sardonically. I'm getting tired of adventure. She looked at her companions trudging ahead of her, and sighed as she saw the worried look on Arashi's face. Then again, I suppose we could use more time to figure out how to defeat Sin without…without…
"Hey, look! Light!" Arashi shouted, pointing to, of course, a large shot of light coming from the end of the caves.
"Thank goodness," Niet muttered. She brushed a hand through her hair and stretched out her shoulders, making a mass of clicking noises as her joints cracked. "I'm getting sick of all this darkness…"
"Same here," Yueh said. She cracked her neck and jogged ahead of the group. "Towards the light!"
"And usually that's a bad thing," Arashi commented, giggling despite the look on her face. "Ikimashou…ne?" She walked slowly after Yueh, and Niet trailed behind her.
On the other side of the cavern's exit were the stone statues of the other Fayth, still in their odd positions of what one assumed to be sleep. The three looked over them quietly and solemnly before Arashi finally broke the silence.
"Well, at least there's no sanctuary keeper, right?" She gave another nervous laugh, a hand behind her head. "Let's just…head up the hill and take a break at the Zanarkand Ruins."
There was a pause. "Just like Blondie and the gang," Niet commented. "Right?"
Yueh noticed Arashi's gray eyes flinch at those words. She turned away from Niet and Yueh and nodded. "Yeah. Exactly." She went on, and Niet and Yueh exchanged a quick glance before following her up the way
"I have the tents," Niet said, trying to spark up conversation.
"Are you sure that's a good thing?" Yueh retorted. Niet stopped in her tracks and gave Yueh a rather nasty look. She then proceeded to run and tried to tackle Yueh into the ground. She only managed to hit Yueh on the shoulder, but they both hit the rocky terrain with a loud thud. The two looked at Arashi, expecting some reprimand or, at least, a glance of indifference.
Arashi was still walking farther into the landscape, searching for a good spot to sit. If Yueh and Niet had been characters in an anime, the two would have fallen face-first onto the ground again.
"She's really out of it," Niet said, standing up and dusting off her cloak.
Yueh remained seated on the ground, staring after the summoner in her sweeping blue cloak. "I think it's more than that…" She looked up at a confused Niet and shrugged. Standing, she said, "Let's help Arashi find a spot, huh?" Niet nodded and the two of them ran up next to their summoner, pointing out different spots where they could rest.
It's definitely more than that…you're just as worried as I am, aren't you, Arashi? About--about…
*-*-*-*-*
It had been at least a day. The sky was in a sort of twilight state, as it wasn't completely dark, but stars were already shining overhead. The sand was…well, sandy, and quite honestly, he was absolutely sick of it.
Genki was seated on the sand, trying to shift into a position that didn't allow sand to seep into his shorts or tank top. As much as he hated to admit it, the whiny young Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode Two was right: sand did get everywhere. And it was becoming a large nuisance.
Mariana strode out of their "tent," which was one of the stands the Al Bhed had set up for lost travelers. She was smiling still, that odd little smile of hers, and she stretched her arms out above her head towards the stars. With a small, happy sigh, she pulled a blanket out from the tent (meant for protection from the cold desert nights) and set it on the ground next to Genki, as if she were a beach-goer in California or Florida. Genki watched, almost amused, as she lay down on the blanket and stretched out again, staring up at the sky. He looked up, hoping to see something that she was seeing.
There was a long moment of silence, which was only broken by quiet breaths and the wind around the two. Genki got up the nerve to speak.
"Mariana, about what you were saying earlier--about Braska," he began, "what did you mean, exactly?"
Mariana's face scrunched into an unpleasant sight. "What else is there to say, Genki? He was an idiot. He relied on luck and other people to get where he did, and when he did bring the Calm…" Genki's ears picked up a small grumbling and cursing before her voice returned to normal. "It wasn't meant to be. It was just…luck."
Another silence. "But they succeeded, because of the Fayth's blessings, not because--"
"It was pure and simple luck! Braska was a weakling who relied on others! He had no reason--no right--!" She stopped her screaming short and jumped to her feet. She pointed a green-painted fingernail at Genki, her face bright red. "No right! It was luck! LUCK!" She stomped, barefoot, into the tent and all was silent once again.
Genki shifted again, and flung some sand and pebbles from his tank top again.
He really hated sand.
*-*-*-*-*
Yueh woke up the next morning to the small lights of pyreflies in the area around them. All three girls had slept outside during the night, because of the pleasant surroundings and the calmness of the place. If anything, Yueh thought, this should be called the Calm Lands. She stretched slowly before standing up and staring at the endless sky. If only it weren't so close to…to the end…
Yueh sighed, and her brown eyes now looking towards the ground beneath her feet and blankets. She had accepted it, now, that all this would end soon. At least, it would for two of them. As for which two, Yueh had that decided as well. And the second will become Sin in the endless spiral, and maybe they can find something…kinda like Auron, I guess. She shrugged mentally, and let out another small sigh. Zanarkand…the end and the beginning…
Yueh's sandals made little sound as she made her way around the camp and up onto a small cliff that raised about six feet above the ground where her friends slept. Surveying the ground, she gave a short, sorrowful laugh as she looked upon her mog doll, Niet's rapier, and Arashi's jeweled belt sitting in a small pile on the dirt. Just like Blondie and the gang, Yueh thought to herself, remembering what Niet had coined the day before. And yet…
Here I stand, just outside the place where two of us, Arashi for sure, will die in a useless cycle. One that we should have been able to fix, with our ultimate knowledge. So only one of us goes on, trying to find a solution as vengeance to the other two who have died, or almost died. And that…that would be a living Hell.
The rocks crunched beneath her feet as she shifted her weight from one leg to the other. I wouldn't wish that on anyone, but maybe…maybe whoever's left…maybe they'll think of something we didn't, and then…then…
Our story, our legend would continue.
One of the two girls below, Yueh didn't know which, began to stir, moving the pebbles beneath the sleeping bag. She sighed and hopped gracefully off of the small outcropping, landing like a cat on the ground next to Niet. As Niet was still wrapped up tight in her blanket, Yueh figured Arashi must've been the one waking up (by herself, for once). She turned to the summoner, and saw her sitting up, cracking her neck and rubbing her eyes. Somehow, her hair had remained in near perfect condition, without a hint of bedhead to be seen. Arashi stood up, adjusted her skirt slightly, and went to grab her belt. Without turning, the blond said, "Yueh, wake up Niet and begin packing. We're going to see Yunalesca today…" She trailed off and placed the belt back through its loops.
"Right," Yueh said. She kicked Niet lightly. "Wake up. Time to go." Niet mumbled something and Yueh kicked the girl once more. "Up. Now."
Niet sat up slowly and glared at Yueh. "I'm tired…"
"We leave," Yueh said, sounding overly like Auron. "Now."
Groaning, Niet stood up and began packing her sleeping bag to carry along. Yueh let out a breath and did the same with hers. In a few short minutes, the three were ready to leave and meet Yunalesca.
As they walked down the almost endless road, Arashi could be heard humming to herself a song that Yueh didn't recognize. Yueh almost asked her what the song was, but restrained herself, figuring that perhaps, silence was the best thing before the final confrontation.
The three continued on the way until they stumbled upon a ghostly figure. It was some random summoner, who stated quietly, "I will accept the final aeon…no matter what anyone says. I will…" The figure dissipated into the nothingness from which it came.
Niet shuddered despite her cloak. "Creepy…"
The trio went on until Arashi tripped and fell on a small broken piece of a column. When Yueh went to pick her friend up, another figure appeared. This one Yueh didn't recognize, but by the look on Arashi's face, it was obvious that she did.
The new ghost was of a woman in her late thirties, with medium length, layered brown hair and glasses. The woman smiled kindly. "Sar-bear, would you take out the garbage for me?"
"Mom…" Arashi's eyes were filling with tears. "I…"
"Arashi, I'm sure its just pyreflies reacting to…" Niet was cut short by another figure, another woman. This one didn't say anything other than a reprimanding sounding, "Kathy…"
Niet blanched. "MOM!??!" Niet looked at Arashi as the ghost disappeared. "Arashi, what's--what's happening?"
Arashi gulped, and tears streamed freely down her face. "I didn't…want to tell you…"
"The world is shrinking, since Sin came along. Wisconsin, and most of anything past California and those states…they're gone." Niet began to interrupt, but Arashi held up a hand. "Even looking at the map…our world is shrinking to the size of the original Spira. People are slowly forgetting that it was once a game…because it's now our reality."
"But how do you know!?" Niet shouted out. Yueh was in too much shock to say anything. Did this mean that her family was gone, too? Or were they safe, since they were in California?
"I know, because…" Arashi's voice choked, and she leaned her face near the ground. Her voice was slightly muffled now, bouncing off the stone and into her face before barely reaching the other two. "In the Farplane, I saw all our families. Whenever I thought of them, whenever I saw them in my mind…there they were in front of me." She looked back up. The tears continued in waves. "Every single one of them…I…" She shook her head, and salty drops fell everywhere. "I have to do this now. To kill Sin, even for a moment…maybe, we can bring them back…"
She stood, stomping forward. "We move on, I have to do this, whether or not I die."
"Arashi, but--"
"We move on." The trio went on, all three feeling the sorrow and pain of this news.
Yueh was breaking up inside. Her family was gone…and she had caused it. What more did she have to live for? What else was there? She had failed all of her mission, if she couldn't bring them back…
The three reached the chamber where Yunalesca had met the group in the game. They all stood there for a short time, silent, before the doors opened and Yunalesca, in all her barely-clothed glory, came out.
"You have come to gain the final Aeon…am I right?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Arashi nodded, and Yueh got a sinking feeling in her stomach. This was it.
"Then choose your guardian that will be the other sacrifice, and enter my chambers when you are ready." With that, she turned on her heels and left.
Arashi looked at her guardians and sighed. "Both of you, come with me…"
Niet and Yueh were both confused. "What?"
"Just follow…" Arashi climbed up the steps slowly and, while bewildered, the other two followed. Through the door, and into the familiar area where, once, in a different universe, Yunalesca had been killed again…
Yueh took in a deep breath as Yunalesca approached. She had a confused look on her face. "I said choose one, Lady Arashi. Did you not understand?"
"I did," Arashi said quietly, "but I have to say this." She turned to Niet and gave a small bow. "Niet, I choose Yueh, and…you have to go on. Find another group and carry on. Come back here and do what we could not."
"But--!" Niet began to protest profusely, but Arashi just smiled and cast a sleep spell on the girl. Niet's brown eyes closed slowly and she fell gently to the ground in a small heap. Arashi's sad blue-gray eyes turned to Yueh, filling with tears once more. "Yueh…I figured you'd want to do this. Are you ready?"
Yueh's heart screamed otherwise, but she quietly said, "Yes." She stepped forward past Niet and bowed as well. "I'm ready."
"We…are ready, Lady Yunalesca." Arashi nodded once.
Yunalesca smiled. "Then let's begin. Close your eyes, and pray…"
Yueh did so, and felt herself being lifted up. Her world began to fade, and she heard yelling and screaming behind her. Some sort of commotion…
Her thoughts began to dim. Was that a man she heard behind her? Maybe the former Sin? She felt dizzy.
Another scream, this one female. A pain on her forehead, a surge throughout her body.
Total darkness.
---------
**So, that's the end. Two of your main characters are dead, and the third, Niet, is left to go on, and find a new summoner in the second part of--
Chya, right, like I'd kill off someone, especially my own characters? You have GOT to be kidding me. This is in no way the last chapter, people. If you've learned anything about me thus far, there are two things you should know:
1. I don't kill off people. I don't like depressing stories or depressing endings! The real world's depressing enough.
2. I love, and I mean absolutely LOVE, messing with you guys. The reactions are so funny... ^_^ V
So! Join me here, same time next week, for a new chapter starting the second arc of Across Worlds! I promise not to drag it on so much like I did the first arc... Ja ne!
--Ari =D (evil grin)**