Wow, the final chapter...this feels so weird. There's still an epilogue after this, so do stay tuned! Sorry it took so long, too--my mono has not been kind to me, and I've been doing stuff getting ready for college. ALSO, for a short time, FF.net disabled my account because they deleted one of my stories, saying it didn't meet guidelines. If you've read it (a short skit with FFX characters, like for cosplaying), you'd know why I'm a bit ticked. So, please forgive me. They haven't replied to my emails either. Email me if you know how to contact FF.net other than their listed email addresses! I really want to talk to someone about it (they said it was chat or something or other, not a skit, even though I listed it was a skit at least three times in the thing, once in the summary). Any help would be greaaat.

Anyway, without further ado, the final chapter! I apologize for any choppiness or weird stuff--I'm not good at writing endings. ;;; --Jedi Ari

Yueh was falling through the air, holding tightly onto Hunter's hand with her own, only able to watch as bright points of light buzzed past them through the darkness. It was completely and utterly silent with the exception of her and Hunter's breaths. After what felt like a few minutes of falling, she finally said something.

"When do you think it'll stop?"

Hunter merely shrugged as much as he could mid-air before squeezing her hand tightly. Yueh reciprocated and pulled herself closer to the young blitzer. It was at that moment when music began to play.

"You hear that?" Yueh asked. Hunter nodded. The chorus slowly got louder. "It's the Hymn of the Fayth again, isn't it?" She closed her eyes and concentrated on the music. Please, help me get to where I need to be…to save earth and Mariana…

Suddenly, the chorus halted, and so did Yueh and Hunter. Both let out a yelp as they landed on a very soft bit of ground, rather like the cushions on a plush couch. Opening one eye, Yueh looked around and at herself.

"I don't think I'm broken…" She blinked slowly and stood up, helping Hunter up along with her. Yueh nearly fell over again when she tried to walk around. Walking on the ground was like trying to walk around on a broken spring mattress. She looked over to Hunter. "You okay?"

"Yeah, nothing broken, although I think my butt might be bruised after this—" The duo stared at each other.

"The accent's gone!" they shouted together. Yueh began to jump, which, as she quickly found out, was a bad idea, for they were both on the "ground" again in rather short order.

"Man, that's a relief. I thought I'd be stuck talking like Wakka forever," Hunter said with a relieved sigh. He gave a grin as he winked at Yueh. "…ya?"

"Yeah, that would've—" Yueh shook her head and stood up again, more carefully this time. "We've gotta go find Mariana and Genki. And get us all out of here." She furrowed her eyebrows as she looked around the enclosed chamber. "Wherever 'here' is."

The chamber was covered with a soft cushion, its hue always changing and shifting. It went down into a tunnel, to where, Yueh wasn't sure. But it's the only direction we can go in, isn't it?

Hunter echoed her thoughts and pointed down the tunnel. "Guess we go that way, huh?"

"Right." Yueh grabbed Hunter's hand and began to lead the way. They both carefully stepped down the tunnel as quickly as they could without falling over.

It was silent as they walked, and Yueh couldn't quite take any more of it. "You sound…different without Wakka's accent," she said, trying to start small talk.

Hunter laughed. "Yeah, I bet I sound a lot better now, right?"

Yueh thought for a moment, then shook her head. "No, not necessarily better," she decided. Hunter gave her a bewildered look and she giggled. "And not worse, either. Just…different. It'll take some getting used to." The two smiled at each other and kept on walking.

"Mariana and Genki should be pretty close, shouldn't they?" Hunter said. He stared down the long hallway. "We weren't far behind them in jumping in the portal-thing."

"You'd think." Yueh continued tromping down the squishy path. Ugh, this stuff is hard to walk on. "How are we going to stop her?"

"I was hoping you had a plan, actually," Hunter admitted. Yueh sighed.

"I guess we'll have to ad-lib it, then." There was an awkward moment of silence. "Do you…do you think we'll—"

"—make it back out to earth?" Hunter said, finishing her thought. Yueh nodded, and Hunter just shrugged. "We've gotten this far, and I finally don't have an accent. I am not going to stay here and die." He looked at Yueh. "And I'm not going to leave you here, either."

Yueh blushed. "I…thanks." She stopped, sighing. "I just hope I can fix the mess I made here. If…if I can't bring back my family—"

Hunter clasped both of Yueh's hands in his own. "It's not just your mess. It's ours. And we will fix it. Whatever it takes…" Hunter took her in a soft embrace, and Yueh blushed deeper. "…we'll do it."

"Right." She took a deep breath before separating herself from Hunter. "So let's keep going." Hunter gave a short nod and followed her closely.

It wasn't long after that when Yueh spied a light flickering at the end of the hallway. Her face brightened. Mariana's gotta be there! She glanced at Hunter. "C'mon, let's run!"

"But—"

Somehow, both Yueh and Hunter managed to run on the soft, pliable ground at near full speed. Yueh smirked. We must have a high luck stat…especially to make it this far. They were feet from entering a small, circular chamber when Hunter suddenly stopped and pulled Yueh back against the wall. She looked at him, her brown eyes wide.

"Wha—"

"If we just rush in, we could screw something up," Hunter whispered hoarsely. "Let's just spy for a little bit, okay?"

I should've thought of that… Yueh nodded and peered into the room next to her.

It was a perfectly round room, with the same cushy stuffing on the walls, all of the same shifting hues. In the middle of the room was a tall, glowing column that seemed to be made of glass with water inside. Mariana and Genki were staring at it, just within Yueh's line of vision.

"This is it…Sin's life force," Mariana said, putting a hand on the glass. "We will destroy Sin once and for all…so it can never return."

"Mariana." Genki interrupted his wife with a soft voice. She turned to him and he began to fidget. "I know this is what we have to do, and I know I want to do this, but I'll regret it if I don't do one thing first."

Mariana's eyes grew in concern. "What?"

Quite suddenly (almost making Yueh gasp), Genki took Mariana's head in his hands and kissed her deeply. Yueh looked away, as did Hunter, blushing, only turning back when they were sure they were done. Mariana was looking at Genki, her own face red and her eyes even wider.

"I love you," he said simply, his gaze never wavering from hers. Tears began to form in Mariana's green eyes.

"I…I love you too." She gave her husband a tight hug. "I only wish we could have found one another in different circumstances." Releasing him, she gave a sad smile, almost making Yueh cry. "Let's do it."

"Like you could ever defeat Sin!" a voice said, laughing. The column shimmered with each chuckle. "Sin will never die!"

Yueh winced. She knew that voice. Glancing at Hunter, she knew he recognized it as well.

Mariana did, too: her gaze was once again fierce as she glared at the column. "Seymour, you…"

Sure enough, a blue-haired man in a robe of the same color stepped out from the column. Mariana went to punch him, but her fist sailed right through him and socked the glass.

"He's a mirage?" Hunter asked quietly.

"An illusion—a projection," Yueh murmured.

Mariana cradled her inured fist against her chest, still glaring at the Guado. "I will get rid of you, too."

He laughed. "Dear woman, how do you 'get rid of' someone who is already dead?" Mariana clenched her unhurt hand with no reply. Seymour smirked. "You see? Even without Yu Yevon, as long as I persist, the spiral will continue, with Sin as my puppet!"

This is just great. Creepy Guado guy is somewhat alive, and he's controlling—augh, this sucks! She gritted her teeth. How are we going to beat him?

Genki stepped forward, his eyes on Seymour. "Dead or not, where I'm from, you're just a character in a game. And you know what?"

"What?" Seymour asked in an amused tone.

Genki pulled out his sword. "I kicked your ass every time!" With a shout, Genki drove the sword deep into the column, making Seymour wince slightly. Sparks of electricity jumped from Genki's arms and down the sword, into the column.

Seymour laughed. "That's all you can offer?"

Mariana let her hand down from her chest and shook her head vehemently. "We haven't even begun!" she screamed, thrusting her hands against the glass. More electricity jumped down her slender arms, arcing into the hole from the sword into the column. Seymour's legs seemed to give out for a moment, but he regained his composure.

"You're acting with ignorance! You know I'll still survive—and so will Sin!" he shouted, laughing coldly.

Yueh watched, frozen in some sort of shock, as Mariana and Genki sweated heavily, beginning to sink to the ground. Seymour's laugh overcame all other noise, growing louder and Mariana and Genki seemed to fade.

"Give your lives, if you like! Sacrifice yourselves! You would need twice your strength to even touch me!" Seymour yelled shrilly, throwing his hands in the air.

It's time.

"Good—because she has it," Yueh said, stepping out into the sparking light. Hunter stepped in next to her, taking her hand.

"Both of us," he said.

"A girl thinks she can defeat me? And her friend as well?"

Yueh somehow forced a smile. "It's just like Genki said…"

"…we've kicked your ass every time!" Hunter finished, throwing a charged blitzball at the glass column. It broke into it, embedding itself in the glass. Hunter kept his hand on the ball, continuing to course electricity to it.

Seymour sunk to his knees, grasping at his chest. "You…you can't beat me! I can't die!"

Yueh stepped closer to Seymour's projection. "How do you get rid of someone who's already dead?" She grinned wickedly as Seymour twitched and put her hand against the column.

"How?" Seymour coughed out.

Lightning sparked at her fingertips as she screamed, "You kill him again!" With both her hands on the glass, Yueh put her heart and soul into the strongest lightning spell she could muster.

Seymour screamed, his body sparking with large bolts of lightning. His form flickered before disappearing completely—but Yueh knew it wasn't over.

A body appeared on the inside of the glass tube—Seymour's. He was writhing in pain, thumping the glass with every jerk.

"Sin will never come back!" Yueh shouted out.

"And neither…will you!" Mariana yelled.

Both mages and their companions gave a final surge of electricity, shattering the column and bursting Seymour into a cloud of pyreflies. A small cloud of red and white mist flew from the center of the pyreflies. It swirled slowly around Yueh and the others.

"Yu…Yu Yevon possessed him?" Mariana mumbled.

Yueh shook her head. "He stole Yevon's power," she said with certainty.

"Kill it before it does anything else!" Genki ordered.

Yueh outstretched one lightning-covered hand as far as she could. Closing her eyes, she tried to concentrate on her target.

He's weak…

Her brown eyes shot open. Yevon was just within reach.

"Now!"

The mist made the mistake of floating straight into Yueh's sparking hand. When it hit, Yueh put as much of her energy into the spell as she could. With a final shriek, Yu Yevon died, the mist evaporating.

All four in the chamber relaxed, leaning against what was left of the glass column. Their breaths were slow, but steady.

"It's finally over," Yueh said. She looked in turn at Hunter, Mariana, and Genki. "After all this time, just like that, huh, Mariana?" There was no response—the summoner's eyes were closed. "Mariana?!"

Genki took his wife in his arms and shook her gently, his eyes full of panic. "Mariana, please wake up, please—"

"She is all right, just exhausted. She'll wake up in a while," a young voice said. Yueh turned to its source and found a boy in a purple hooded robe: Bahamut's fayth.

"Why haven't you disappeared?" Hunter asked.

The boy smiled. "I have a little time yet."

"Now that Yevon and Sin are gone, what will happen to earth?" Yueh asked. "Will it stay like this?"

"No. Even now, it's going back to normal. The land is returning, and so are the people—even those killed by Sin's destruction here. Your families, too," he noted, seeing Yueh's worried look.

"Will they remember anything about what happened?" Hunter wondered.

Shaking his head, the fayth said, "Nothing. It will be like a dream. Everything will…reset itself to the moment Sin arrived." A smile. "The least we could do. Those with charms such as yours will be the only people of earth to remember."

Yueh let out a happy sigh. Only we'll remember this horror, no one else— "Wait, what about people like Genki? Who fell in love with a Spiran?"

Luckily, the young boy seemed to have an answer for every question thrown at him. "They will be given a choice: to leave this world forever and go to Spira with their significant other, or to remain on earth and lose their memory, just like the others."

"I'll stay with her," Genki said without hesitation, holding Mariana to his chest.

"I must leave. I…finally get to rest," the boy said, turning away.

"Wait!" Yueh said, jumping up. "What about Spira? What about—what about Tidus? Will he still—?"

"No," the fayth said, looking over his shoulder. "You and the others made him more than a dream—made him a reality. And Spira…" The boy grinned as he turned to leave. "…will never have to fear Sin again. Goodbye, and thank you." With those last words, the boy walked through the wall and disappeared.

Yueh smiled. "Everything's gonna be all right now, isn't it?" She turned and helped Hunter up. "It's over." It really is over…

"Yeah. Now we just have to get out of here and back to earth," Hunter said, looking around the room.

Genki finally stood up, his sword sheathed and Mariana cradled in his arms. "With Sin gone, and Seymour, and Yevon and the fayth gone, this, uh, dimension probably won't be needed anymore, so…"

Yueh raised an eyebrow. "It'll just collapse and spit us out?"

Genki frowned. "Um—"

Suddenly, the chamber began to shake wildly. All of the people standing fell back down onto the cushioned floor. Hunter looked over to Genki and Yueh with a lopsided grin. Grabbing Yueh's hand in one of his own and his blitzball in the other, he said, "Guess you were right!"

Yueh gulped and closed her eyes tightly. Time for another long fall…

The chamber began to flicker in and out of existence, until it finally disappeared completely, prompting Hunter to shout:

"Yee-hah!"

----

The rest of the group sat in waiting in Yunalesca's chamber, waiting as patiently as they could. Most of them were sitting on the ground still, occupying their time by making idle chatter or, in Kimahri's case, making no noise at all. Arashi and Atrah were the only ones moving, with Arashi pacing and singing softly and Atrah following her footsteps. This went on until Yunalesca's chamber gave a mighty shake, throwing the walkers off-balance and making the others look around nervously.

"Um, is that a good or a bad sign?" Niet asked, looking at Arashi.

Arashi pursed her lips. "It could be either."

As the chamber rumbled again, Mattian said, "It'd better be a good sign, or else I'm outta here!"

"You're not very brave for a guardian, are you?" Rikku commented.

Auron let out a small laugh. "This coming from a guardian afraid of a little thunder?"

Rikku pouted. "Hey—"

The room shook again, this time accompanied by a large gust of wind from the direction of the ceiling. All eyes looked up to see a new swirling rift in the air, prompting everyone who wasn't already standing to do so.

"That can't be good!" Niet exclaimed, hiding behind the nearest person (who, unfortunately, was Mattian). She grabbed tightly onto his shoulders, her nails digging in. Thankfully, Mattian didn't say anything and simply winced and beared it.

Arashi, however, was grinning and heading right under the portal. "Yuna, I'm going to need your help on this one. You know how to cast Shell, right?"

Yuna nodded, a bit confused. "Yes, I do. But why—?"

"Just trust me and come here, please," Arashi interrupted, staring up into the portal. Yuna walked over and Arashi went on. "We'll cast Shell at the same time, towards each other. When it materializes, grab the edges, okay?"

"All right," Yuna said slowly. The two looked at each other intently.

"On three. One, two…three!"

The Shells shot straight for each other, and met in the middle, sticking together before rebounding at the white mages. They both grabbed the very edges of the honey-combed "fabric," creating what looked rather like a large fishing net.

"Everyone, hold on to a part of the Shell and spread out in a circle!" Arashi commanded. "We need this thing to match the size of the hole up there!"

As everyone moved into place, Mattian asked, "Why are we doing this?"

Arashi smiled widely. "Because I'll bet you any second now, Yueh, Hunter, Mariana, and Genki are going to fall out of that portal!"

Before anyone could reply, a loud noise came from the rift—and it sounded rather like a certain long-haired blitzer from earth.

"Yee-hah!"

Hunter and Yueh, hand in hand, came blasting through the portal, headed quite quickly for the ground. Yueh was absolutely terrified when she figured out they were falling from the ceiling, but smiled with relief when she saw a white magic "net" waiting for her.

The two fell gently into the Shell-net, bouncing a few times before coming to a full stop and climbing out onto solid ground.

"Welcome back!" Niet said, smiling. Yueh returned the gesture.

"Where's Genki and Mariana?" Gage asked.

"Gah!" came a shout from the ceiling. Everyone looked up to see Mariana and Genki falling down as the rift whooshed close behind them. Genki landed neatly on the net with Mariana in his arms. The "rescue team" set the Shell-net on the ground, where it dissipated, leaving Genki and Mariana on the floor.

"Everyone's all right!" Rikku shouted happily with a jump.

"Mostly," Genki corrected her. He looked down at Mariana. "She fainted from the battle."

"Battle?!"

"What happened in there?"

"Who'd ya fight?"

Yueh took a deep breath and explained everything that had just happened: Mariana and Genki's near sacrifice, Seymour, the water column, Yu Yevon, and Bahamut's fayth's explanation of what was going to happen.

Upon hearing the news that he wouldn't disappear, Tidus seemed both shocked and happy.

"I…I get to stay with everyone?" he said, blinking. Tears were in Yuna's eyes as she ran to him and held him tight. Tidus just laughed and put his arms around her. "I…get to stay here with you!" He picked the summoner up, twirling her around. "I can stay with you!" he shouted, tears in his own eyes even as he smiled.

Lulu shook her head. "They're off in their own little world," she said. Even as she did, however, she smiled.

"Happy endings all around!" Niet said, doing her own dance. Rikku eagerly joined in, giggling.

Yueh smiled with a happy sigh. Everything had been set right, finally. Finally.

"There is one small matter yet to be resolved," Auron said, glancing at Yueh with his one russet eye.

Her smile turned into a confused frown. "What?"

"How are we getting home?"

Yueh thought for a moment. "Well—"

"I know!" Arashi spoke up, grabbing her belt.

"You do?" Niet asked mid-dance.

Arashi nodded. "Yup, but I need all of my guardians to help," she said wryly. Niet blushed, stopped danging and walked over to Arashi. Her other guardians huddled close by.

"How are you going to accomplish this?" Auron asked.

"Easy! We send you!" Arashi exclaimed. There was a collective wince from the Spirans, making Arashi laugh nervously. "Ehe, sorry, bad wording…"

Yueh laughed inside her head. Nice one, Arashi.

"I think she means we send you home using the jewels," Yueh said, stepping in. "One mass transportation spell."

"Mariana and me as well, right?" Genki asked, finally standing up. Mariana was still cradled in his arms, unconscious.

"Of course!" Arashi said. She looked at Yueh. "You ready?"

Since the day this adventure started, Yueh thought. She nodded and grabbed the gem around her neck. "All right, everyone—"

"Wait!" Arashi shouted suddenly. Yueh almost fell over.

"What?"

Arashi's face turned red. "There's one more thing I want to do before they leave."

"I think you've done enough for one day, hon," Atrah said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Just one last thing," Arashi promised. Gesturing Niet and Yueh closer, she began to whisper her plan. Yueh's eyes lit up—it would make a truly happy ending for all in this ordeal. Niet just laughed and shook her head, but agreed.

The conspiring trio all turned to look at Auron, who stared back calmly.

"Auron, we all agree that you deserve something for all you've done for everyone," Yueh announced.

"Ooh, a present!" Rikku said gleefully. She hopped up and down a little. "What?"

"I believe having my life when I should be on the Farplane is enough of a reward," Auron commented.

"Well, I don't!" Arashi disagreed, hands on her hips. She brandished her belt and, as a whitish aura began to glow from Yueh's, Niet's, and her charms, said, "You lost ten years because of Sin, and I think you should get the back!"

Auron chuckled. "A kind gesture, Lady Arashi, but—"

"No buts! Take back your ten years!" With those words, the white glow from the charms surrounded Auron, blocking him from all view for a moment. Once the aura evaporated, everyone but Yueh, Arashi, and Niet gasped.

"What is it?" Auron growled. Slowly, he blinked his eyes—both of them. His face contorted slightly as he brought a hand to his head, running it down the right side of his face.

He was ten years younger, and his scar was now a faint line down his right cheek.

"I—I—" For once, Auron was speechless.

"Have a happy ten years more!" Arashi said, stepping forward. She plucked his glasses from his nose, adding," And I'll take these, since you don't need them." With a wink, Arashi put them on her own face.

Atrah laughed. "You thief!"

Auron remained without words as Yueh took command once more. "Okay, everyone, let's sent them back home!"

The earth group began to concentrate, their magical energy growing. Streams of white and blue light began to weave through the Spirans, including Mariana and Genki.

As they began to fade, Rikku shouted out, "Come and visit us sometime, okay?"

Arashi grinned. "We will!"

Niet glanced at her, one eyebrow raised. "We will?" Arashi just laughed.

The Spirans began to disappear, each with a goodbye, until only Genki and Mariana remained. The former-psychiatrist was still knocked out.

"Genki!" Yueh yelled before they faded completely. He turned his head to look at her.

"Yeah?"

"Tell Mariana goodbye for me. And…thank you."

Genki nodded as they finally disappeared.

Yueh laughed and fell to the ground with a relieved smile.

It's done...

Finally, everything is back to normal…