Whoo boy! Its been a LOOOOOOOONG time since I've updated! So sorry! Life's been pretty crazy recently. But, here's a long chappie to make up for it. And to all my faithful reviewers, I hope you continue to read this story, even if my updates become kinda few and far between. I love you all!
p.s. if anyone catches any grammar/spelling errors, PLEASE include this in the reviews. i know i need to improve on these things. sweatdrops tee hee!
Summoner Angel
Ch.14: The Origin
As Spira slowly collapsed in on itself and the Gullwings partied in Macalania, somewhere deep within the wreckage of what used to be the Farplane somewthing awoke. It was something as old as time, more ancient than any race on Spira. It had been disturbed by the sudden shift of power when the barrier between the living and the dead disappeared. It was drowsily shifting around among the ashes of Guadosalam, puzzling over what had happened. All it knew was that something was wrong; a key part of Spira's destiny had been destroyed. Where was Sin?
No one really even knew what that being was. No one even saw it as it slid across the Moonflow calling pyerflies to its aid. It was weak and tired and formless, needing the pyreflies to gain its shape once more. Actually, the pyreflies needed it even to exist. A little known fact was that this swiftly moving whirl of light was the Origin of all things; the beginning and the end. Spira's creator. All things were created at the suddenly material hands and could be destroyed by those same hands. It had come now to track down the one things that had ruined its master plan for Spira. The dream that had put an end to the eternal Sin.
That dream was currently dreaming on board the Celsius while it made its way to Bevelle. After getting distress signals from almost all of Spira, Yuna had suggested a meeting of world leaders at Bevelle, one of the last standing strongholds against the onslaught of never-ending fiends. Kuron/Gippal had contacted the new Machine Faction leader, Nooj was bringing Lucil and Elma along with the shaken remnants of the LeBlanc Syndicate, Issaru and Baralai were gathering the big heads of New Yevon, and even Kimahri was trekking down from Gagazet with his second-in-command. Gankee had tried to convince Lorelei to come with the Kohlsos, but she had seemed more stubbornly adamant than usual about not leaving the caves. It was almost as if she knew something he didn't. Maea also stayed with her fuzzy white companions, much to Auron's dismay.
The red garbed guardian was currently brooding on the deck while the others either rushed around frantically or slept. Tidus fell steadily into the former category, snoring loudly while an angry Barkeep scrubbed the bar down. Tidus would've just kept on sleeping through the entire day if an odd nightmare about a shimmering woman dragging him into some dark water didn't wake him. He gasped loudly and sat up, blinking before leaping out of bed. He didn't want to think over-much about what the dream could mean because his dreams never meant anything good was going to happen.Yawning and stretching, he decided to go find Yuna, wherever she was, and headed for the elevator with a slight smile.
Yuna was pacing around on the bridge while Rikku and Paine tried desperately to get her to sit down or something. She was making them nervous by being so nervous! The half Al Bhed brothers, Gankee and Kuron, were monitoring Spira through the CommSpheres and the full Al Bhed boys were silently going about their own duties. That was unusual seeing as they usually had something to say every moment of the day. Tidus strode in nonchalantly just as Brother announced their arrival in Bevelle. Paine rolled her eyes and muttered something about "stating the obvious" and Yuna hurried to the front of the airship. Her brow furrowed as she took in the horrible damage done to the city. Fiends had destroyed almost all of the residential areas, forcing the survivors behind a barrier of soldiers and magics. Rikku gasped loudly, the only one to even utter their reaction to the awful destruction.
Instead of cheerfully tickle-attacking his bride-to-be, Tidus walked over and placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. Kuron cleared his throat as he stood up. "Um, I just talked to Maroda through the CommSphere and he says they have everything pretty much under control. Gankee hurriedly explained how they had this situation under control. "They somehow mixed Shell, Protect, and Reflect spells with a powerful Nul-All spell to defend themselves against the fiends. Genius!" The dark haired son-of-Auron gushed this in one breath.
Paine clucked her tongue and shook her head, arms already crossed over her chest. Rikku blinked, confused by his excitement. "Its just magic, duh!" She said, shaking her gold locks. "Ok, kids, this is where you get off." Brother announced almost angrily, glaring at Tidus with a dangerous glint in his eyes. He punched the button to open the door for them and sat back down, ready to leave. Rikku rushed over to talk to him in Al Bhed while everyone else followed a stern looking Yuna to the elevator. There was an air of somberness that couldn't be pierced by anything as they all piled onto the elevator. A frustrated looking Rikku jogged to catch up to them and then the lift whooshed down to the engine room. "I hate brothers! Geez!" Kuron and Gankee traded miffed expressions and Rikku fell into a brooding silence. Yuna looked as if she was going over a speech in her head, her brow furrowed in thought. Tidus, a little out of place suddenly, glanced at Paine who was watching Yuna too.
She caught his eyes on her and shook her head as if to say, "Its no use even trying to calm Yuna down now. She's off on her own." Tidus knew that that was how Yuna dealt with stressful situations like this one. She did it on her own. He wanted her to stop doing that and start asking for help every now and again. They were engaged now and he thought a codependent relationship would be healthy. He was about to ask Yuna a serious relationship question when the lift halted. Yuna jumped a little, as if she was surprised that the ride was already over. She glanced at each of her closest friends in turn, attempted to smile, failed miserably, and turned to leave. Auron was already waiting for them on the Highbridge, his sword resting on his shoulder. Yuna stepped up next to him and the two of them regarded the heavily guarded inter-fortress for a moment. Rikku and Paine took their usual places on either side of Yuna. Kuron and Gankee looked over to Tidus who was trying to figure out exactly what this meeting was going to be about.
Auron took the lead of the group, followed by the YRP girls and then their faithful boyfriends. The boys in the back were silent for a while as they walked down the long bridge towards the main defenses. Then, Kuron coughed a little and opened his mouth. He no longer wore the eyepatch and proudly displayed his filial connections through his eye color. "I think we should form our own little group, boys." His carefree, lilting voice said this in Al Bhed. Luckily, Tidus remembered enough Al Bhed to raise an eyebrow. This seemed like the weirdest time ever to bring up forming a club. Gankee seemed to echo his sentiments. "What're you talking about?" The dark haired twin asked his brother, puzzled. Kuron pointed to the three girls walking ahead of them in silence. "Ya know, like YRP. They've got this whole three muskateers-girl power thing goin' for 'em. I just figured maybe you guys would wanna form the boyfriend equivalent. Tidus smirked at the thought of the three of them prancing around the airship, posing a lot, and screaming, "TGK!" all the time.
Gankee burst out laughing and the guffaws echoed in the chillingly still air. All three guys lost their happy smirks and Gankee blushed crimson when their female counterparts glared back at them. Apparently, it was 'Be-Quiet-And-Look-Pretty' time for the boys. Tidus sighed and studied some of the destruction around them as the other two guys fell into similar thoughtful states. Anything beyond the Highbridge on either side was complete ruins; deserted and charred and filled with roaming fiends. It looked like a scene out of a horror flick he had seen once in Zanarkand. Tidus tried to quell the feeling of deep depression raising out of his stomach when they reached the guardpost just outside the magical barrier. Gankee immediately ran towards the barrier and began examining it. Kuron watched with a half-interested, half-nonchalant look on his face. Rikku, Paine, Yuna, and Auron stood silently and waited for a guard to come let them through.
Tidus looked up at the barrier with his mouth open as if he were a child in a candy store. The whole thing swept up and over the internal workings of Bevelle and it shimmered with every color imaginable. Rikku, who can't keep still very long, as poking the side of the barrier and watching the ripples travel along its considerable girth. Paine smacked her arm and told her sternly to stop. All this occured somehow far away from Tidus. He felt weird and out of place again, like he had on the lift or any time things picked up around him. His being gone two years hadn't effected Spira all that much, it seemed, since things just picked up where they left off when he got back. Maybe Auron felt this similar distance. Tidus looked over at his former mentor who was standing away from the group as well. This was an odd glint to his eye as Tidus approached him for questioning.
"Uh, Auron?" The blonde blitzer ventured when he reached Auron's side. The older man shook himself out of some kind of trance and looked over, grunting. "Um, I was just wondering if you ever felt like you don't belong here, in Spira I mean. Like, maybe you and me are out of place, ya know?" Auron's keen gaze suddenly silenced the eager boy. The older guardian sighed heavily and shifted his weight as a guard finally took notice of them standing there. "Of course I feel out of place. I am dead. I don't belong with this living, vibrant creatures. You are entirely different, though. I don't know if you belong or not." With that vague statement, Auron fell into pace with Paine and Rikku who followed a stern looking Yuna. Tidus, his head filled with that last statement, looked down at his hand. It looked real, like Gankee's or Kuron's hands. It moved and worked like their hands did. He had a brief flash of that day that he had disappeared two years ago, when his hand had been see-through and disappeared.
He shuddered suddenly and pulled himself back to the present, in which Gankee was staring at him with concern etched on his gentle features. Tidus looked away from the mismatched eyes of the gentle warrior before either of them could say anything. "What?" Tidus spat, rushing past to catch up with the others before the barrier closed again. Gankee quickly caught up with him. "I was just worried about you. You were just standing there, staring at your hand. It was kinda creepy." Tidus cast a sideways glance at the halfing who was looking at him as well. "I'm fine. Just..." The blonde dream was about to voice his ponderments about his existance. Then he seemed to realize that he was talking to someone he had known for less then two weeks. "Just what?" Ventured the dark haired son of Auron, his voice low and curious. "Just nothing, ok? I'm fine!" Tidus snapped and bolted to catch up to the retreating backs of his companions.
As soon as Yuna and her companions entered, they were greeted by a really tan guy with white hair and a creepy, mechanical guy with funky brown hair. Tidus guessed they were Baralai and Nooj, the leaders of New Yevon and the Youth League. Tidus' bright blue eyes left the two men talking to Yuna to scan the room. Kimahri was supposed to be there and he wanted to talk to him before the meeting started. Gankee and Kuron hesitated; they had been on their way to talk to the Al Bhed of the Machine Faction when they spotted Tidus on his own again. Kuron motioned for Gankee to wait while he hurried back to their blonde friend. 'Hey, Tidus. Wanna go hang with the Al Bhed for a while? They're pretty cool guys, if I do say so myself." His voice was happy-go-lucky, but his eyes gave away his worry for Spira and his friend. Tidus shook his head, withdrawn from the world in general. "Nyah. I'm cool." Kuron shrugged and turned back to Gankee who also shrugged. Then they walked away.
Rikku was talking to a girl who had been with Baralai and she was laughing at something the girl had said. Paine was discussing something with Nooj while Yuna talked to Baralai. A boisterous blonde woman appeared from one of the side chambers and spotted Tidus. Tidus groaned inwardly. The last thing he needed was some wacko trying to hit on him, especially when he was in this odd bad mood. The woman was dressed in a weird dress that barely covered her, well, it barely covered her body. She was followed by two men dressed in blue, one tall and thin and the other short and stout. Tidus tried to fit this description of them with a name from the tale of Yuna's journey. Before he got the chance to, the woman was standing right in front of him, grinning hungrily. "Why, hello there, stranger. I don't believe we've been introduced yet. I'm LeBlanc, love. And you are?" Tidus almost burst out laughing when she introduced herself thus. He should've known this weirdo was LeBlanc from Yuna's tale.
Either one of the men she had been talking to or she herself spotted Tidus' about to insult the overly proud LeBlanc because Yuna was suddenly standing next to Tidus. Nooj and Baralai were right behind her. "Oh, LeBlanc! I meant to get in contact with you to apologize for not making it to Guadosalam in time to save your home." Tidus stared at Yuna with a new respect. She was so sincere and diplomatic that she made him feel bad about the little lies he told every now and again. LeBlanc, who seemed disappointed that Yuna interrupted her, smiled fakely. "No problem, love. I understand the situation better now, isn't that right boys?" The men on either side of her nodded and loudly agreed. Tidus raised an eyebrow and looked at Yuna who shook her head slightly. Nooj stepped around the two lovers, eyeing Tidus oddly. Baralai joined him, speaking to Yuna. "Yuna, I don't believe you've introduced us to your friend here." Nooj nodded, a curious gleam in his eyes. Yuna looked flustered at herself. "How rude of me! Nooj, Baralai, LeBlanc, this is Tidus my..." She trailed off, looking at Tidus oddly.
Tidus was about to snap the words "Husband-to-be" when he caught similar odd looks on the faces of the others standing there. "What?" He asked, glancing around himself with a nervousness he hadn't felt since his first blitzball game. A hush had fallen over the room suddenly, an odd, fearful hush. Rikku and Paine suddenly appeared next to Yuna, looking at Tidus with shock and fear on their faces. Kuron and Gankee could be seen trying to make their way through the crowd towards them. Auron was nowhere to be found. "What is everyone staring at?" Tidus shouted, looking furiously at Yuna who was covering her mouth with her hands, eyes full of tears. This caught an angry Tidus off-guard. 'Why is she crying?' He thought, looking down at himself. He gasped and yelled in anguish at what he saw.
Pyreflies were streaming all around him, weaving in and out of him like he wasn't material. Like that day two years ago, on the airship after the defeat of Sin. His mind filled with confused thoughts and the need to hold Yuna again. Everyone seemed to be speaking at once and Yuna took a few steps toward him, eyes locked with his. Before anything else could happen, Auron's voice could be heard above the din of the chamber below him. He was on the lift that would've taken him up to the second floor if it hadn't been frozen by some odd force. He had his arms outstretched and he was speaking in some odd language. Everyone turned to him, trying to make sense of what he was saying. Tidus panicked suddenly realizing he couldn't move at all. His eyes were locked on Yuna who was torn between listening to Auron and saving Tidus from his fate. It was odd, that feeling that stole over Tidus. He knew he wasn't going to disappear again. He didn't know how, he just did. The pyreflies swirled around him as Auron's voice raised in volume and intensity.
Yuna cried out and was pushed away from him, as was the whole crowd. Mass chaos took over when people noticed the fiends breaking through the barrier and rushing towards them. As this was happening, Auron continued chanting in that weird language and the pyreflies continued swirling around around Tidus' frozen form. The shimmering beings moved faster and faster until the oddly calm Tidus could see nothing by the blur of color and light that was the pyreflies. He heard Yuna's cries for him and vaguely made out the voices of the others trying to reach him. But, above all this, he heard mainly Auron's insistent chanting as if he were standing right next to the red garbed man. Confusion edged around the rim of Tidus' fuzzy mind. He wondered why Auron was chanting and what connection between the chant and the pyreflies there was. The crescendo of chaos and panic outside his prison suddenly was silenced. The pyreflies moved in very close to him and everything went black.
Yuna screamed suddenly, locked in fierce battle with a group of fiends that had made it past the barrier. She watched in horror as the pyreflies around Tidus rushed in towards the center of their circle where he stood. Pushing away from her foe she ran towards the pyreflies just as the whole thing disappeared. Tidus, the pyreflies, even Auron's chanting. Rikku and Paine rushed to her side, Paine fighting off the fiends as a Dark Knight and Rikku shaking her cousin. "Yunie! Come on! We gotta fight!" Yuna closed her eyes, biting her lip against the tears. She had just watched him disappear AGAIN. How much of this did the world think she could take? Familiar sensations of pain and anguish rushed through her and she collapsed to her knees. Rikku made an angry noise and whirled around to fight. She transformed into a Warrior and rushed at some fiends who were attacking the helpless Yevonites. Yuna knelt in the center of the mass chaos, screams and battle cries echoing in her head.
Gankee and Kuron ran over to Rikku and Paine who had just finished off the last of the fiends. "We've gotta get all these people to safety, fast." Gankee yelled, pointing to the weakening barrier and the wall of fiends forming on its wavering surface beyond the doors of the temple. Kuron agreed readily, glancing at the dazed form of Yuna. "Uh, what happened?" He asked Rikku who shook her head and met his concerned gaze with her panicky one. "Tidus is gone!" The petite blonde cried, frantically clinging to Kuron. Her cries about the situation seemed to draw the attention of the world leaders still lingering about. Baralai, Nooj, a short Al Bhed man, LeBlanc, and Kimahri hurried over to them. Kimahri rushed over to Yuna and picked her up in his strong blue arms. Gankee gaped at this, but said nothing as Paine told the others what he had said about the fiends and the weakening barrier.
It wasn't until much later, in the safety of the Celsius, did Yuna speak again. The world leaders were gathered on the bridge while the remaining civilians and soldiers of Bevelle occupied the cabin, engine, and deck. Buddy was rushing around, making sure everyone was safe and calm while Brother tried to be calm about flying the ship with far too many people in it. The serious murmur of the world leaders and Gankee reached the ears of Kuron who was busily working on a damage report of all Spira. The blonde halfing shrugged off their morbid talk and continued working. Rikku sat next to a devestated looking Yuna where Kimahri had left her. Paine stood leaning against the wall, eyes closed, arms folded. No one knew where Auron was. Or Tidus, for that matter.
Just when the tone of panic in the murmur of conversation reached its peak, Yuna stood and shouted. "Everyone shut up!" They all whirled and looked at her, shocked that she was speaking again. Rikku stood up, too, placing a hand on her cousin's shaking shoulder. Concern was etched on her face and glimmered in her eyes. Paine's face displayed similar concern as she moved a little closer to Yuna and Rikku. "Yuna?" Voiced a concerned sounding Kimahri from his position near the cockpit area of the bridge. "Just shut up about this stupid crisis already! The world's gonna end, alright? There's nothing we can do! The fiends are desotroying everything and the Farplane is gone! The dead will destroy us all!" Rikku traded worried glances with Paine who shook her head and slapped Yuna, hard. The usually clam, diplomatic Yuna screeched and pointed at Paine with a crazed look on her face. "You're one of them, aren't you? You're here to kill me and use my body to spy on the rest of the living!"
Everyone watched in horror as Yuna went on, pacing back and forth, spouting nonsense about the dead wiping out all existence because they had been bad that year. Her eyes had lost their usual gleam and were dull, insanity had her in its grips. No one knew what to do. Rikku burst into panicked tears and Paine tried to calm her down while attempting to stop Yuna. Gankee stepped into Yuna's path and cast a Stop spell on her. She froze and tipped over, falling to the ground, stiff as a board. A tense silence followed in which Everyone present calculated the chances they had at saving Spira if their shining star and guiding light was completely nutso. It looked grim. Kuron took the sobbing Rikku into his arms while Paine and Gankee quietly discussed what they could do with Yuna. Things were looking quite grim for the remaining humans living on Spira.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the ruins of a long-forgotten temple in Macalania, Tidus awoke from that weird experience with the pyreflies. He found himself tied up to a wall, arms straight out to his sides while the rest of his body hung limply (AN: Think Jesus.) below him. The room he was in smelled of death and was completely dark. It was deathly cold, too. No light penetrated from anywhere and he had the horrible feeling he wasn't alone. Tidus thought briefly about the others, Yuna and the rest of the Gullwings. He wondered if they were allright, if they had made it through that whole thing okay. Then he remembered that weird situation with Auron's chanting. 'Auron!" He cried, voicing the feeling he had been unable to communicate earlier. As if his cry had summoned him, Auron stepped forth out of the darkness, pyreflies clinging to him and floating around him. His eye glowed with an odd inner light and he was smiling creepily.
Tidus knew immediately that something was wrong with him. "A-Auron?" He choked, fearing the older man more than he had ever feared anything before. He got the feeling that it was all his doing that Tidus was here, strung up like that. Cold fear kept him speaking again when Auron's body stopped moving and the pyreflies spread out, illuminating the room they were in. Tidus stared in horror at the chamber walls around him. Skeletons hung from similar shackles all around the large room. Each one rested under a different symbol. Tidus craned his neck and attempted to see above his own head. Yeah, there was a symbol there, but he had no idea what it meant so that didn't help him. Actually, the way the room was designed, it seemed like Tidus' position was the final one. As if all these skeletons were paving the way to his own place at the end of the chamber.
Auron's figure, previously motionless, suddenly stepped back and pointed at the ground in front of him. Tidus looked down as the pyreflies rushed down to light up the symbols on the ground. Each of the odd symbols above each of the dead bodies hanging from the walls was etched on the ground in a circle. The symbol above Tidus' was at the center with another, large, prominent symbol. Auron continued backing away, chuckling creepily until the pyreflies were the only company Tidus had. He was trying to make sense of this situation and was failing miserably. Had Auron joined up with evil and kidnapped him for a sacrifice? Had some baddie taken Auron over when he was being brought back? Had he ever been himself this whole time or some evil spirit? Was there a connection between this cold, dank chamber of death and the mutated fiends and the Farplane? Tidus shook his head, banishing the confusing thoughts in his mind. He needed to figure a way out of this situation that seemed to only end in death for him.
He didn't want to wait around for whatever that big symbol next to his on the floor was to come and eat him. Whether or not Auron was actually involved in this, Tidus knew he had to get uninvolved. Pulling at his bindings, he quickly found that that was pointless. Staring at the ground below him and the lazily dancing pyreflies, Tidus felt a feeling of despair descend upon him. This situation looked completely impossible to him. He was chained to a stone wall with about twenty dead guys and some pyreflies. Great. Sounds like a party. Tidus shuddered when he thought about himself ending up like one of those skeletons. Then his mind shifted to Yuna and he focused on thoughts of her. He thought about their days together, before and after Sin. He was never happier than when he was with her and he wanted that happiness forever. That's why he had proposed; he wanted to be with Yuna forever. Suddenly, the need to escape and live and find Yuna rushed through him and he roared in fury.
He focused all his energy on an Ultima spell. Tidus had an idea, however risky it was for him. It would most likely free him from his chains so he could find a way out of there. As he formed the Ultima, the pyreflies started freaking out. They all rushed together and made a swirling ball in the middle of the chamber. Tidus scoffed at the little creatures as he aimed and released the powerful spell. It whooshed above him and hit the wall with considerable force. The whole chamber shook and the wall holding Tidus crumbled slowly to the ground. Tidus braced himself and closed his eyes. He felt his arms come free from the destroyed wall, although the metal bands of the shackles still stayed there around his wrists. Pushing some of the larger pieces of rubble off of him, he jumped up triumphantly. Tidus shook himself and hurried in the direction Auron had been heading when he retreated from the room. He tried not to look at the dead guys lining the walls or the ball of pyreflies that was following him.
In the weak light of the pyreflies, Tidus spotted a door and took off running towards it. He had just leapt through it and took off up a set of stairs when he saw the last thing he thought he'd see there. Lorelei and Maea stood at the top of the stairs discussing something in Al Bhed. Tidus flattened himself to the wall and attempted to listen, but the ball of panicky looking pyreflies gave him away. He didn't know why he felt like hiding from the two women, but he did. Tidus flinched when he heard their footsteps hurrying down the stairs. "There! I told you he'd escape!" Maea cried in Al Bhed, pointing at Tidus with an angry look in her eyes Tidus hadn't seen in the time they'd spent with the Kohlso. The Elder shook her wizened head and grabbed Tidus by the shoulders. He cried out at the pincer-like grip the old Kohlso possessed. 'Shut up you! We do not need your yelps!" Tidus squirmed as Lorelei and Maea stalked back down the stairs, carrying him between them. They re-entered the creepy chamber with the dead guys and Tidus panicked.
'Let me go! Come on!" He yelled, employing a little more strength then he would've deem nessecary to break free of anyone else to leap away from them. Lorelei growled and Maea cried out in some weird language. The Kohlso threw herself down onto all fours and leapt at Tidus who srpang away towards the doorway. Suddenly, the pyreflies were back, swirling around Tidus and confused his escape path. Shouting, Tidus pulled his sword out and slashed at the tiny light balls. It seemed to at least anger them since they backed away and let him run back up the stairs. Tidus could hear the Kohlso's galloping pursuit and Maea's encouraging yells for Lorelei to "Bring him back". Panting, the blonde paused at the top of the stairs to scope the surroundings. He noted quickly that it seemed like he was back in the ice caves of the Kohlso. Before he had a chance to even get confused as to the connection between the Kohlso and weirdo, not himself Auron, Tidus heard Lorelei's roar a little too close for comfort.
Without a second thought, Tidus took off down a narrow side path that seemed to lead him up. His only thoughts centered around getting up and out of there as fast as possible. He was so focused on his objective that he didn't noticed when the concentration of pyreflies in the tunnel became thicker and thicker. Nor did he hear the odd chants of what seemed like many, many people. He also didn't notice when he had burst into another chamber filled with pyreflies and dead bodies. The only thing he noticed was that the sounds of his pursuers were gone. Smirking, he paused to catch his breath near the center of the circular chamber he had wandered into. This one didn't have symbols or skeletons, just dead Kohlso littered across the floor, their bodies twisted and broken. Tidus took a deep breath as his wide eyes roved across the death in this room. It reeked of rot and carnage, the smells of death that choked him and made him cough. The pyreflies in the room were streaming from the bodies and from the hallway Tidus had run from towards a figure standing in the middle of the room.
Tidus noted the fact that he was standing VERY close to whatever it was that was calling the pyreflies to it. He heard the chanting from the hall grow louder and he recognized Auron's voice mixed in with many others. He turned from the glowing figure surrounded by thousands of pyreflies towards the doorway. Just as he thought, Auron walked in leading a procession of zombie-like Kohlso to their apparent doom. Tidus ran towards his mentor and shook him violently. "Auron! AURON! Snap out of it! You've gotta stop-" He was silenced by Auron's sudden violent response. The man grabbed Tidus by the shoulders and threw him into the wall. Tidus cried out in pain and cast a Curaga on himself before stumbling to his feet. Auron continued towards the center of the chamber, chanting along with the rest of them. The blonde blitzer could only watch as the man he had once considered his father figure stepped aside when they reached the center of the room.
The figure surrounded by the pyreflies turned as the procession of Kohlso stopped, their chanting silenced. The figure spoke and it sent chills down Tidus' spine. It was a female speaking, but it didn't hold any gentleness of a human female. It was a hard, heartless voice that echoed loudly in the chamber. "You have come to return to the beginning, the end of your meaningless existence. You have come here to energize me, your creator. The Origin of All Things calls you to die!" With that, a wave of energy rushed through the group of Kohlso and Tidus turned away from their screams. He heard them be thrown about and die. He heard dying children whimper for their mothers who were already dead. He heard bones break, necks snap, last breaths breathed. Then he heard something entirely out of place. Laughter. The figure in the center of the room was laughing.
Tidus whirled around and gaped at the figure, now quite visible through the pyreflies. It was the woman from his nightmares about dying, a woman floating above the chamber floor a good five feet. Her long hair flowed around her, seeming to melt into her flowing dress. Her skin was pale like white marble and her eyes were completely blank. They glowed with an odd light, but had no features at all. They looked like the eyes of a statue before the sculptor added pupils and irises. In fact, her garments and hair glowed and shimmered like the pyreflies at wove around her. But, prehaps the one thing that caused Tidus to collapse in shuddering fear was the symbol on her forehead. It was the same one that had been etched near his own symbol in the death chamber. This thing was there to kill him.
p.s. if anyone catches any grammar/spelling errors, PLEASE include this in the reviews. i know i need to improve on these things. sweatdrops tee hee!
Summoner Angel
Ch.14: The Origin
As Spira slowly collapsed in on itself and the Gullwings partied in Macalania, somewhere deep within the wreckage of what used to be the Farplane somewthing awoke. It was something as old as time, more ancient than any race on Spira. It had been disturbed by the sudden shift of power when the barrier between the living and the dead disappeared. It was drowsily shifting around among the ashes of Guadosalam, puzzling over what had happened. All it knew was that something was wrong; a key part of Spira's destiny had been destroyed. Where was Sin?
No one really even knew what that being was. No one even saw it as it slid across the Moonflow calling pyerflies to its aid. It was weak and tired and formless, needing the pyreflies to gain its shape once more. Actually, the pyreflies needed it even to exist. A little known fact was that this swiftly moving whirl of light was the Origin of all things; the beginning and the end. Spira's creator. All things were created at the suddenly material hands and could be destroyed by those same hands. It had come now to track down the one things that had ruined its master plan for Spira. The dream that had put an end to the eternal Sin.
That dream was currently dreaming on board the Celsius while it made its way to Bevelle. After getting distress signals from almost all of Spira, Yuna had suggested a meeting of world leaders at Bevelle, one of the last standing strongholds against the onslaught of never-ending fiends. Kuron/Gippal had contacted the new Machine Faction leader, Nooj was bringing Lucil and Elma along with the shaken remnants of the LeBlanc Syndicate, Issaru and Baralai were gathering the big heads of New Yevon, and even Kimahri was trekking down from Gagazet with his second-in-command. Gankee had tried to convince Lorelei to come with the Kohlsos, but she had seemed more stubbornly adamant than usual about not leaving the caves. It was almost as if she knew something he didn't. Maea also stayed with her fuzzy white companions, much to Auron's dismay.
The red garbed guardian was currently brooding on the deck while the others either rushed around frantically or slept. Tidus fell steadily into the former category, snoring loudly while an angry Barkeep scrubbed the bar down. Tidus would've just kept on sleeping through the entire day if an odd nightmare about a shimmering woman dragging him into some dark water didn't wake him. He gasped loudly and sat up, blinking before leaping out of bed. He didn't want to think over-much about what the dream could mean because his dreams never meant anything good was going to happen.Yawning and stretching, he decided to go find Yuna, wherever she was, and headed for the elevator with a slight smile.
Yuna was pacing around on the bridge while Rikku and Paine tried desperately to get her to sit down or something. She was making them nervous by being so nervous! The half Al Bhed brothers, Gankee and Kuron, were monitoring Spira through the CommSpheres and the full Al Bhed boys were silently going about their own duties. That was unusual seeing as they usually had something to say every moment of the day. Tidus strode in nonchalantly just as Brother announced their arrival in Bevelle. Paine rolled her eyes and muttered something about "stating the obvious" and Yuna hurried to the front of the airship. Her brow furrowed as she took in the horrible damage done to the city. Fiends had destroyed almost all of the residential areas, forcing the survivors behind a barrier of soldiers and magics. Rikku gasped loudly, the only one to even utter their reaction to the awful destruction.
Instead of cheerfully tickle-attacking his bride-to-be, Tidus walked over and placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. Kuron cleared his throat as he stood up. "Um, I just talked to Maroda through the CommSphere and he says they have everything pretty much under control. Gankee hurriedly explained how they had this situation under control. "They somehow mixed Shell, Protect, and Reflect spells with a powerful Nul-All spell to defend themselves against the fiends. Genius!" The dark haired son-of-Auron gushed this in one breath.
Paine clucked her tongue and shook her head, arms already crossed over her chest. Rikku blinked, confused by his excitement. "Its just magic, duh!" She said, shaking her gold locks. "Ok, kids, this is where you get off." Brother announced almost angrily, glaring at Tidus with a dangerous glint in his eyes. He punched the button to open the door for them and sat back down, ready to leave. Rikku rushed over to talk to him in Al Bhed while everyone else followed a stern looking Yuna to the elevator. There was an air of somberness that couldn't be pierced by anything as they all piled onto the elevator. A frustrated looking Rikku jogged to catch up to them and then the lift whooshed down to the engine room. "I hate brothers! Geez!" Kuron and Gankee traded miffed expressions and Rikku fell into a brooding silence. Yuna looked as if she was going over a speech in her head, her brow furrowed in thought. Tidus, a little out of place suddenly, glanced at Paine who was watching Yuna too.
She caught his eyes on her and shook her head as if to say, "Its no use even trying to calm Yuna down now. She's off on her own." Tidus knew that that was how Yuna dealt with stressful situations like this one. She did it on her own. He wanted her to stop doing that and start asking for help every now and again. They were engaged now and he thought a codependent relationship would be healthy. He was about to ask Yuna a serious relationship question when the lift halted. Yuna jumped a little, as if she was surprised that the ride was already over. She glanced at each of her closest friends in turn, attempted to smile, failed miserably, and turned to leave. Auron was already waiting for them on the Highbridge, his sword resting on his shoulder. Yuna stepped up next to him and the two of them regarded the heavily guarded inter-fortress for a moment. Rikku and Paine took their usual places on either side of Yuna. Kuron and Gankee looked over to Tidus who was trying to figure out exactly what this meeting was going to be about.
Auron took the lead of the group, followed by the YRP girls and then their faithful boyfriends. The boys in the back were silent for a while as they walked down the long bridge towards the main defenses. Then, Kuron coughed a little and opened his mouth. He no longer wore the eyepatch and proudly displayed his filial connections through his eye color. "I think we should form our own little group, boys." His carefree, lilting voice said this in Al Bhed. Luckily, Tidus remembered enough Al Bhed to raise an eyebrow. This seemed like the weirdest time ever to bring up forming a club. Gankee seemed to echo his sentiments. "What're you talking about?" The dark haired twin asked his brother, puzzled. Kuron pointed to the three girls walking ahead of them in silence. "Ya know, like YRP. They've got this whole three muskateers-girl power thing goin' for 'em. I just figured maybe you guys would wanna form the boyfriend equivalent. Tidus smirked at the thought of the three of them prancing around the airship, posing a lot, and screaming, "TGK!" all the time.
Gankee burst out laughing and the guffaws echoed in the chillingly still air. All three guys lost their happy smirks and Gankee blushed crimson when their female counterparts glared back at them. Apparently, it was 'Be-Quiet-And-Look-Pretty' time for the boys. Tidus sighed and studied some of the destruction around them as the other two guys fell into similar thoughtful states. Anything beyond the Highbridge on either side was complete ruins; deserted and charred and filled with roaming fiends. It looked like a scene out of a horror flick he had seen once in Zanarkand. Tidus tried to quell the feeling of deep depression raising out of his stomach when they reached the guardpost just outside the magical barrier. Gankee immediately ran towards the barrier and began examining it. Kuron watched with a half-interested, half-nonchalant look on his face. Rikku, Paine, Yuna, and Auron stood silently and waited for a guard to come let them through.
Tidus looked up at the barrier with his mouth open as if he were a child in a candy store. The whole thing swept up and over the internal workings of Bevelle and it shimmered with every color imaginable. Rikku, who can't keep still very long, as poking the side of the barrier and watching the ripples travel along its considerable girth. Paine smacked her arm and told her sternly to stop. All this occured somehow far away from Tidus. He felt weird and out of place again, like he had on the lift or any time things picked up around him. His being gone two years hadn't effected Spira all that much, it seemed, since things just picked up where they left off when he got back. Maybe Auron felt this similar distance. Tidus looked over at his former mentor who was standing away from the group as well. This was an odd glint to his eye as Tidus approached him for questioning.
"Uh, Auron?" The blonde blitzer ventured when he reached Auron's side. The older man shook himself out of some kind of trance and looked over, grunting. "Um, I was just wondering if you ever felt like you don't belong here, in Spira I mean. Like, maybe you and me are out of place, ya know?" Auron's keen gaze suddenly silenced the eager boy. The older guardian sighed heavily and shifted his weight as a guard finally took notice of them standing there. "Of course I feel out of place. I am dead. I don't belong with this living, vibrant creatures. You are entirely different, though. I don't know if you belong or not." With that vague statement, Auron fell into pace with Paine and Rikku who followed a stern looking Yuna. Tidus, his head filled with that last statement, looked down at his hand. It looked real, like Gankee's or Kuron's hands. It moved and worked like their hands did. He had a brief flash of that day that he had disappeared two years ago, when his hand had been see-through and disappeared.
He shuddered suddenly and pulled himself back to the present, in which Gankee was staring at him with concern etched on his gentle features. Tidus looked away from the mismatched eyes of the gentle warrior before either of them could say anything. "What?" Tidus spat, rushing past to catch up with the others before the barrier closed again. Gankee quickly caught up with him. "I was just worried about you. You were just standing there, staring at your hand. It was kinda creepy." Tidus cast a sideways glance at the halfing who was looking at him as well. "I'm fine. Just..." The blonde dream was about to voice his ponderments about his existance. Then he seemed to realize that he was talking to someone he had known for less then two weeks. "Just what?" Ventured the dark haired son of Auron, his voice low and curious. "Just nothing, ok? I'm fine!" Tidus snapped and bolted to catch up to the retreating backs of his companions.
As soon as Yuna and her companions entered, they were greeted by a really tan guy with white hair and a creepy, mechanical guy with funky brown hair. Tidus guessed they were Baralai and Nooj, the leaders of New Yevon and the Youth League. Tidus' bright blue eyes left the two men talking to Yuna to scan the room. Kimahri was supposed to be there and he wanted to talk to him before the meeting started. Gankee and Kuron hesitated; they had been on their way to talk to the Al Bhed of the Machine Faction when they spotted Tidus on his own again. Kuron motioned for Gankee to wait while he hurried back to their blonde friend. 'Hey, Tidus. Wanna go hang with the Al Bhed for a while? They're pretty cool guys, if I do say so myself." His voice was happy-go-lucky, but his eyes gave away his worry for Spira and his friend. Tidus shook his head, withdrawn from the world in general. "Nyah. I'm cool." Kuron shrugged and turned back to Gankee who also shrugged. Then they walked away.
Rikku was talking to a girl who had been with Baralai and she was laughing at something the girl had said. Paine was discussing something with Nooj while Yuna talked to Baralai. A boisterous blonde woman appeared from one of the side chambers and spotted Tidus. Tidus groaned inwardly. The last thing he needed was some wacko trying to hit on him, especially when he was in this odd bad mood. The woman was dressed in a weird dress that barely covered her, well, it barely covered her body. She was followed by two men dressed in blue, one tall and thin and the other short and stout. Tidus tried to fit this description of them with a name from the tale of Yuna's journey. Before he got the chance to, the woman was standing right in front of him, grinning hungrily. "Why, hello there, stranger. I don't believe we've been introduced yet. I'm LeBlanc, love. And you are?" Tidus almost burst out laughing when she introduced herself thus. He should've known this weirdo was LeBlanc from Yuna's tale.
Either one of the men she had been talking to or she herself spotted Tidus' about to insult the overly proud LeBlanc because Yuna was suddenly standing next to Tidus. Nooj and Baralai were right behind her. "Oh, LeBlanc! I meant to get in contact with you to apologize for not making it to Guadosalam in time to save your home." Tidus stared at Yuna with a new respect. She was so sincere and diplomatic that she made him feel bad about the little lies he told every now and again. LeBlanc, who seemed disappointed that Yuna interrupted her, smiled fakely. "No problem, love. I understand the situation better now, isn't that right boys?" The men on either side of her nodded and loudly agreed. Tidus raised an eyebrow and looked at Yuna who shook her head slightly. Nooj stepped around the two lovers, eyeing Tidus oddly. Baralai joined him, speaking to Yuna. "Yuna, I don't believe you've introduced us to your friend here." Nooj nodded, a curious gleam in his eyes. Yuna looked flustered at herself. "How rude of me! Nooj, Baralai, LeBlanc, this is Tidus my..." She trailed off, looking at Tidus oddly.
Tidus was about to snap the words "Husband-to-be" when he caught similar odd looks on the faces of the others standing there. "What?" He asked, glancing around himself with a nervousness he hadn't felt since his first blitzball game. A hush had fallen over the room suddenly, an odd, fearful hush. Rikku and Paine suddenly appeared next to Yuna, looking at Tidus with shock and fear on their faces. Kuron and Gankee could be seen trying to make their way through the crowd towards them. Auron was nowhere to be found. "What is everyone staring at?" Tidus shouted, looking furiously at Yuna who was covering her mouth with her hands, eyes full of tears. This caught an angry Tidus off-guard. 'Why is she crying?' He thought, looking down at himself. He gasped and yelled in anguish at what he saw.
Pyreflies were streaming all around him, weaving in and out of him like he wasn't material. Like that day two years ago, on the airship after the defeat of Sin. His mind filled with confused thoughts and the need to hold Yuna again. Everyone seemed to be speaking at once and Yuna took a few steps toward him, eyes locked with his. Before anything else could happen, Auron's voice could be heard above the din of the chamber below him. He was on the lift that would've taken him up to the second floor if it hadn't been frozen by some odd force. He had his arms outstretched and he was speaking in some odd language. Everyone turned to him, trying to make sense of what he was saying. Tidus panicked suddenly realizing he couldn't move at all. His eyes were locked on Yuna who was torn between listening to Auron and saving Tidus from his fate. It was odd, that feeling that stole over Tidus. He knew he wasn't going to disappear again. He didn't know how, he just did. The pyreflies swirled around him as Auron's voice raised in volume and intensity.
Yuna cried out and was pushed away from him, as was the whole crowd. Mass chaos took over when people noticed the fiends breaking through the barrier and rushing towards them. As this was happening, Auron continued chanting in that weird language and the pyreflies continued swirling around around Tidus' frozen form. The shimmering beings moved faster and faster until the oddly calm Tidus could see nothing by the blur of color and light that was the pyreflies. He heard Yuna's cries for him and vaguely made out the voices of the others trying to reach him. But, above all this, he heard mainly Auron's insistent chanting as if he were standing right next to the red garbed man. Confusion edged around the rim of Tidus' fuzzy mind. He wondered why Auron was chanting and what connection between the chant and the pyreflies there was. The crescendo of chaos and panic outside his prison suddenly was silenced. The pyreflies moved in very close to him and everything went black.
Yuna screamed suddenly, locked in fierce battle with a group of fiends that had made it past the barrier. She watched in horror as the pyreflies around Tidus rushed in towards the center of their circle where he stood. Pushing away from her foe she ran towards the pyreflies just as the whole thing disappeared. Tidus, the pyreflies, even Auron's chanting. Rikku and Paine rushed to her side, Paine fighting off the fiends as a Dark Knight and Rikku shaking her cousin. "Yunie! Come on! We gotta fight!" Yuna closed her eyes, biting her lip against the tears. She had just watched him disappear AGAIN. How much of this did the world think she could take? Familiar sensations of pain and anguish rushed through her and she collapsed to her knees. Rikku made an angry noise and whirled around to fight. She transformed into a Warrior and rushed at some fiends who were attacking the helpless Yevonites. Yuna knelt in the center of the mass chaos, screams and battle cries echoing in her head.
Gankee and Kuron ran over to Rikku and Paine who had just finished off the last of the fiends. "We've gotta get all these people to safety, fast." Gankee yelled, pointing to the weakening barrier and the wall of fiends forming on its wavering surface beyond the doors of the temple. Kuron agreed readily, glancing at the dazed form of Yuna. "Uh, what happened?" He asked Rikku who shook her head and met his concerned gaze with her panicky one. "Tidus is gone!" The petite blonde cried, frantically clinging to Kuron. Her cries about the situation seemed to draw the attention of the world leaders still lingering about. Baralai, Nooj, a short Al Bhed man, LeBlanc, and Kimahri hurried over to them. Kimahri rushed over to Yuna and picked her up in his strong blue arms. Gankee gaped at this, but said nothing as Paine told the others what he had said about the fiends and the weakening barrier.
It wasn't until much later, in the safety of the Celsius, did Yuna speak again. The world leaders were gathered on the bridge while the remaining civilians and soldiers of Bevelle occupied the cabin, engine, and deck. Buddy was rushing around, making sure everyone was safe and calm while Brother tried to be calm about flying the ship with far too many people in it. The serious murmur of the world leaders and Gankee reached the ears of Kuron who was busily working on a damage report of all Spira. The blonde halfing shrugged off their morbid talk and continued working. Rikku sat next to a devestated looking Yuna where Kimahri had left her. Paine stood leaning against the wall, eyes closed, arms folded. No one knew where Auron was. Or Tidus, for that matter.
Just when the tone of panic in the murmur of conversation reached its peak, Yuna stood and shouted. "Everyone shut up!" They all whirled and looked at her, shocked that she was speaking again. Rikku stood up, too, placing a hand on her cousin's shaking shoulder. Concern was etched on her face and glimmered in her eyes. Paine's face displayed similar concern as she moved a little closer to Yuna and Rikku. "Yuna?" Voiced a concerned sounding Kimahri from his position near the cockpit area of the bridge. "Just shut up about this stupid crisis already! The world's gonna end, alright? There's nothing we can do! The fiends are desotroying everything and the Farplane is gone! The dead will destroy us all!" Rikku traded worried glances with Paine who shook her head and slapped Yuna, hard. The usually clam, diplomatic Yuna screeched and pointed at Paine with a crazed look on her face. "You're one of them, aren't you? You're here to kill me and use my body to spy on the rest of the living!"
Everyone watched in horror as Yuna went on, pacing back and forth, spouting nonsense about the dead wiping out all existence because they had been bad that year. Her eyes had lost their usual gleam and were dull, insanity had her in its grips. No one knew what to do. Rikku burst into panicked tears and Paine tried to calm her down while attempting to stop Yuna. Gankee stepped into Yuna's path and cast a Stop spell on her. She froze and tipped over, falling to the ground, stiff as a board. A tense silence followed in which Everyone present calculated the chances they had at saving Spira if their shining star and guiding light was completely nutso. It looked grim. Kuron took the sobbing Rikku into his arms while Paine and Gankee quietly discussed what they could do with Yuna. Things were looking quite grim for the remaining humans living on Spira.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the ruins of a long-forgotten temple in Macalania, Tidus awoke from that weird experience with the pyreflies. He found himself tied up to a wall, arms straight out to his sides while the rest of his body hung limply (AN: Think Jesus.) below him. The room he was in smelled of death and was completely dark. It was deathly cold, too. No light penetrated from anywhere and he had the horrible feeling he wasn't alone. Tidus thought briefly about the others, Yuna and the rest of the Gullwings. He wondered if they were allright, if they had made it through that whole thing okay. Then he remembered that weird situation with Auron's chanting. 'Auron!" He cried, voicing the feeling he had been unable to communicate earlier. As if his cry had summoned him, Auron stepped forth out of the darkness, pyreflies clinging to him and floating around him. His eye glowed with an odd inner light and he was smiling creepily.
Tidus knew immediately that something was wrong with him. "A-Auron?" He choked, fearing the older man more than he had ever feared anything before. He got the feeling that it was all his doing that Tidus was here, strung up like that. Cold fear kept him speaking again when Auron's body stopped moving and the pyreflies spread out, illuminating the room they were in. Tidus stared in horror at the chamber walls around him. Skeletons hung from similar shackles all around the large room. Each one rested under a different symbol. Tidus craned his neck and attempted to see above his own head. Yeah, there was a symbol there, but he had no idea what it meant so that didn't help him. Actually, the way the room was designed, it seemed like Tidus' position was the final one. As if all these skeletons were paving the way to his own place at the end of the chamber.
Auron's figure, previously motionless, suddenly stepped back and pointed at the ground in front of him. Tidus looked down as the pyreflies rushed down to light up the symbols on the ground. Each of the odd symbols above each of the dead bodies hanging from the walls was etched on the ground in a circle. The symbol above Tidus' was at the center with another, large, prominent symbol. Auron continued backing away, chuckling creepily until the pyreflies were the only company Tidus had. He was trying to make sense of this situation and was failing miserably. Had Auron joined up with evil and kidnapped him for a sacrifice? Had some baddie taken Auron over when he was being brought back? Had he ever been himself this whole time or some evil spirit? Was there a connection between this cold, dank chamber of death and the mutated fiends and the Farplane? Tidus shook his head, banishing the confusing thoughts in his mind. He needed to figure a way out of this situation that seemed to only end in death for him.
He didn't want to wait around for whatever that big symbol next to his on the floor was to come and eat him. Whether or not Auron was actually involved in this, Tidus knew he had to get uninvolved. Pulling at his bindings, he quickly found that that was pointless. Staring at the ground below him and the lazily dancing pyreflies, Tidus felt a feeling of despair descend upon him. This situation looked completely impossible to him. He was chained to a stone wall with about twenty dead guys and some pyreflies. Great. Sounds like a party. Tidus shuddered when he thought about himself ending up like one of those skeletons. Then his mind shifted to Yuna and he focused on thoughts of her. He thought about their days together, before and after Sin. He was never happier than when he was with her and he wanted that happiness forever. That's why he had proposed; he wanted to be with Yuna forever. Suddenly, the need to escape and live and find Yuna rushed through him and he roared in fury.
He focused all his energy on an Ultima spell. Tidus had an idea, however risky it was for him. It would most likely free him from his chains so he could find a way out of there. As he formed the Ultima, the pyreflies started freaking out. They all rushed together and made a swirling ball in the middle of the chamber. Tidus scoffed at the little creatures as he aimed and released the powerful spell. It whooshed above him and hit the wall with considerable force. The whole chamber shook and the wall holding Tidus crumbled slowly to the ground. Tidus braced himself and closed his eyes. He felt his arms come free from the destroyed wall, although the metal bands of the shackles still stayed there around his wrists. Pushing some of the larger pieces of rubble off of him, he jumped up triumphantly. Tidus shook himself and hurried in the direction Auron had been heading when he retreated from the room. He tried not to look at the dead guys lining the walls or the ball of pyreflies that was following him.
In the weak light of the pyreflies, Tidus spotted a door and took off running towards it. He had just leapt through it and took off up a set of stairs when he saw the last thing he thought he'd see there. Lorelei and Maea stood at the top of the stairs discussing something in Al Bhed. Tidus flattened himself to the wall and attempted to listen, but the ball of panicky looking pyreflies gave him away. He didn't know why he felt like hiding from the two women, but he did. Tidus flinched when he heard their footsteps hurrying down the stairs. "There! I told you he'd escape!" Maea cried in Al Bhed, pointing at Tidus with an angry look in her eyes Tidus hadn't seen in the time they'd spent with the Kohlso. The Elder shook her wizened head and grabbed Tidus by the shoulders. He cried out at the pincer-like grip the old Kohlso possessed. 'Shut up you! We do not need your yelps!" Tidus squirmed as Lorelei and Maea stalked back down the stairs, carrying him between them. They re-entered the creepy chamber with the dead guys and Tidus panicked.
'Let me go! Come on!" He yelled, employing a little more strength then he would've deem nessecary to break free of anyone else to leap away from them. Lorelei growled and Maea cried out in some weird language. The Kohlso threw herself down onto all fours and leapt at Tidus who srpang away towards the doorway. Suddenly, the pyreflies were back, swirling around Tidus and confused his escape path. Shouting, Tidus pulled his sword out and slashed at the tiny light balls. It seemed to at least anger them since they backed away and let him run back up the stairs. Tidus could hear the Kohlso's galloping pursuit and Maea's encouraging yells for Lorelei to "Bring him back". Panting, the blonde paused at the top of the stairs to scope the surroundings. He noted quickly that it seemed like he was back in the ice caves of the Kohlso. Before he had a chance to even get confused as to the connection between the Kohlso and weirdo, not himself Auron, Tidus heard Lorelei's roar a little too close for comfort.
Without a second thought, Tidus took off down a narrow side path that seemed to lead him up. His only thoughts centered around getting up and out of there as fast as possible. He was so focused on his objective that he didn't noticed when the concentration of pyreflies in the tunnel became thicker and thicker. Nor did he hear the odd chants of what seemed like many, many people. He also didn't notice when he had burst into another chamber filled with pyreflies and dead bodies. The only thing he noticed was that the sounds of his pursuers were gone. Smirking, he paused to catch his breath near the center of the circular chamber he had wandered into. This one didn't have symbols or skeletons, just dead Kohlso littered across the floor, their bodies twisted and broken. Tidus took a deep breath as his wide eyes roved across the death in this room. It reeked of rot and carnage, the smells of death that choked him and made him cough. The pyreflies in the room were streaming from the bodies and from the hallway Tidus had run from towards a figure standing in the middle of the room.
Tidus noted the fact that he was standing VERY close to whatever it was that was calling the pyreflies to it. He heard the chanting from the hall grow louder and he recognized Auron's voice mixed in with many others. He turned from the glowing figure surrounded by thousands of pyreflies towards the doorway. Just as he thought, Auron walked in leading a procession of zombie-like Kohlso to their apparent doom. Tidus ran towards his mentor and shook him violently. "Auron! AURON! Snap out of it! You've gotta stop-" He was silenced by Auron's sudden violent response. The man grabbed Tidus by the shoulders and threw him into the wall. Tidus cried out in pain and cast a Curaga on himself before stumbling to his feet. Auron continued towards the center of the chamber, chanting along with the rest of them. The blonde blitzer could only watch as the man he had once considered his father figure stepped aside when they reached the center of the room.
The figure surrounded by the pyreflies turned as the procession of Kohlso stopped, their chanting silenced. The figure spoke and it sent chills down Tidus' spine. It was a female speaking, but it didn't hold any gentleness of a human female. It was a hard, heartless voice that echoed loudly in the chamber. "You have come to return to the beginning, the end of your meaningless existence. You have come here to energize me, your creator. The Origin of All Things calls you to die!" With that, a wave of energy rushed through the group of Kohlso and Tidus turned away from their screams. He heard them be thrown about and die. He heard dying children whimper for their mothers who were already dead. He heard bones break, necks snap, last breaths breathed. Then he heard something entirely out of place. Laughter. The figure in the center of the room was laughing.
Tidus whirled around and gaped at the figure, now quite visible through the pyreflies. It was the woman from his nightmares about dying, a woman floating above the chamber floor a good five feet. Her long hair flowed around her, seeming to melt into her flowing dress. Her skin was pale like white marble and her eyes were completely blank. They glowed with an odd light, but had no features at all. They looked like the eyes of a statue before the sculptor added pupils and irises. In fact, her garments and hair glowed and shimmered like the pyreflies at wove around her. But, prehaps the one thing that caused Tidus to collapse in shuddering fear was the symbol on her forehead. It was the same one that had been etched near his own symbol in the death chamber. This thing was there to kill him.