Standard Disclaimer. I do not own FFX or the characters in it. They are owned by Square-Enix. I do own this story, and my original characters. The title of this chapter is from a song performed by Simply Red.
They were nearly shot by the guards when they tried to enter the Palace of St. Bevelle. Wakka, Tidus and Rikku were all ready to make a fight of it, when a young woman came flying out of the palace and screamed at the guards to stop. From Mercy's perspective, it was difficult to tell who was more surprised that this girl was truly the captain of the guards: the guards, the party, or the girl herself. It was clear to her from the way that everyone in the group addressed the new captain, especially Auron's sarcastic remarks, that they had encountered the young woman before. At least, Mercy thought, it seems she can get us in to see this Mika quickly, whatever her other faults. But as they passed through the magnificent halls of the Palace of St. Bevelle on their way to the courtroom, she pulled Auron to the back of the group.
"What's her name?" Mercy asked quickly.
"You mean the new 'captain'? Auron asked disparagingly. "Her name is Shelinda. Why?"
"Are they all as…literal-minded…as she is?" his wife questioned him in return.
"No. Most are unfortunately much smarter than that. Why are you harping on this?" he asked, annoyed.
"Then hadn't you better hold off on the sarcasm? One of the more intelligent ones might take offense," she shot back.
"I'll consider it," he replied, as they stepped through the doors of the courtroom, where the Grand Maester Mika awaited them.
Mika was nearly frantic. "Why are you here? You must go and defeat Sin, quickly! You have obtained the Final Aeon from Yunalesca, have you not?"
"Well, we did meet her," Tidus began.
"We fought and defeated her," Yuna finished for him.
Mika was incredulous. "What!"
Auron spoke with steely resolve, and long-simmering anger. "Summoners and guardians will be sacrificed for the Final Summoning no more!" No more, old man. Not another Jecht. Never another Braska. No more! He screamed in his heart, but his lips remained closed.
Mika cried out, "You have profaned and subverted a thousand-year-old tradition? Fools! Infants! Do you realize what you've done? You've taken away the only means of calming Sin!"
Mercy searched Auron's set face, and saw how close his anger was to the surface. The rising panic in the old man's voice made her shake in her boots. Old man, she prayed, do not, by whatever is holy in this misbegotten place, call your guards. Fayth, whatever you are, I beg you, do not let this old fool call his guards. If the guards come, Auron will start a bloodbath in here. No guards, please, no guards. She crossed her fingers again, and balled her hands into fists at her sides.
Tidus tried to get the old maester to see the new path they were taking. "Hey, maybe that's not the only way! We think we've got another."
Mika shook his head. "Why...Preposterous! There is no other way!" The volume of the old man's voice was falling now. The fight had gone out of him.
Auron snorted in disgust. "The grand maester, running away?" Mercy let out her breath in a sigh, and unclenched her hands.
Mika bowed his head. "Spira has lost its only hope. Destruction is inevitable. Yu Yevon's spiral of death will consume us all. I have no desire to watch Spira die."
Yuna stood firm. "It won't die!"
Mercy relieved about the immediate future, let the thought form, you were watching Spira die, you old fool. Now, maybe, there is a chance...
Tidus asked, "Who is this Yu Yevon guy?"
Lulu pressed Mika further, "Lady Yunalesca also mentioned him."
And Rikku, "Wait, gramps! Who's Yu Yevon?" she shouted.
Mika paused, then spoke wearily. "He who crafts the souls of the dead into unholy armor. An armor called Sin. Clad in it, Yu Yevon is invincible. And the only thing that could have pierced that armor, you have destroyed! Nothing can stop it now."
The grand maester vanished, sending himself to the Farplane rather than face a future that he believed was doomed. Good riddance, Mercy thought, nodding her head sharply at the Grand Maester's final retreat.
Wakka cursed at the empty air, "Disappear on us, will ya? Rotten son of a shoopuf!"
Shelinda swept in moments later, clearly expecting that Mika would be in the courtroom. "Where…where is the Grand Maester," she stuttered.
Yuna couldn't figure out how to reply, so she started to stammer in return, "He, um..."
But Auron broke in gruffly, "He's not here yet. How long must we wait?" Mercy turned her face away, and covered her mouth with her hand, so as not to expose her husband for the terrible liar he was by bursting into laughter.
The girl replied in confusion, "That's odd…I'll go look for His Grace." And she left again, closing the doors behind her.
Tidus and Yuna turned, and spoke to something in the corner of the room. No one else could see it, but Mercy thought she saw a shimmer of purple in the direction they were looking. Another fayth? When Yuna announced that she needed to go see the fayth, Mercy was certain that was what she had seen. Auron's cryptic, "I see," made her wonder if he saw it as well, or just guessed.
As the rest of them waited for Yuna and Tidus to return, Mercy pulled Auron aside. "You're still a terrible liar," she whispered, her eyes dancing with amusement.
"She believed me," he muttered back.
"Yes, but you're the one who said she's not too bright," his wife shot back. "You're still better off playing it deep and mysterious."
"I'll keep that in mind," he replied, a half-smile briefly lighting his face.
The party waited for Yuna and Tidus to return, in varying degrees of impatience. But when the group was reunited, Yuna looked troubled. She kept glancing at Tidus, as though he had said or done something that disturbed her. At last they made their way toward the exit, running into the new Guard Captain, Shelinda, again. It seemed she couldn't find Maester Mika anywhere in the Palace. Still, they managed to enlist her aid in singing a lullaby to Sin, when the time came. But when would the time come? Mercy wondered. And what should we do to prepare for it?
Aboard the airship, she asked, "Did you learn anything about Yu Yevon from the fayth?"
"Yeah!" Tidus began eagerly.
"I have an idea," Mercy interrupted. "Why don't we find someplace where we can all sit down together and have lunch, and you can tell us, and we can plan our next move?"
Any mention of food immediately caught both Tidus' and Wakka's attention. "Sounds good to me," Wakka responded enthusiastically.
Rikku also thought lunch sounded pretty good, so she organized a room and food with surprising efficiency. Mercy immediately thought 'Conference Room' as soon as she saw the place. It wasn't much, just big enough to hold a long table with too many chairs for the eight of them, plus an alcove that contained some basic kitchen equipment half-concealed behind a screen. The promised meal arrived while they were all settling into their seats.
Tidus was still eating when Lulu inquired coolly, "So, what did you learn from the fayth?" Fine, Mercy thought. If she feels like she needs to take over here, that's okay by me. As long as this thing gets done.
Yuna was the one who responded. "The hymn will calm Sin, but it will not harm it. We still must fight Sin, and then fight Yu Yevon. The fayth said we must call them, that they will help us. I promised that I would."
Tidus swallowed his last bite and added, "The reason that Sin always came back before was that Yu Yevon was a summoner. Whenever anyone used the Final Summoning to defeat Sin, he would just, well, kinda, take over their Final Aeon and use it to make a new Sin. So he could keep going as long as summoners kept using the Final Summoning. Forever."
Lulu just shook her head, her hair concealing her face. Wakka held his head in his hands, crushed at this final betrayal.
Mercy exchanged a brief look with Auron, and he nodded slightly. This is your story, my lady. Now is the time for you to tell it, he thought, as he watched her rise from her seat beside him.
"There's something else," Mercy began hesitantly, as she stood behind her husband now. "I don't know what Auron or Tidus might have told you about what I did in Zanarkand…"
Lulu spoke up immediately. "Nothing," she said, trying to make it sting.
Mercy intercepted blank looks from all the others, as Yuna tried to smooth things over by saying, "Sir Auron didn't speak very much about anything."
"I should have known better," Mercy continued, laughing slightly as she placed her hands on Auron's shoulders, "than to think that my husband would ever say a single extraneous word on any topic." She stared straight into the mage's eyes as she spoke, deliberately placing emphasis on the words 'my husband', reminding Lulu of her exact status within the group. Lulu's eyes flashed fire, but she knew better than to respond for the moment.
Auron found that he had difficulty resisting the impulse to lean back, to let his head rest against his wife's breasts. She strips away my defenses, he realized. Removes the masks I use to shield myself from the world…even from the others. Maybe, I no longer need them…if she is here.
"Never mind," Mercy went on. "Anyway, I was a historian. A little like, what was his name, oh yes, Maechen, I believe. I'd love to have a long talk with him sometime..."
"No," Auron and Tidus exclaimed in unison. "That would take days," Auron began. "Weeks," Tidus continued. "Maybe months," Auron parried.
Tidus unwilling to let it go, turned to Auron. "Maechen should thank us. We just saved him from a fate worse than death. She would grill him until he told her every story he'd ever heard, no matter how long it took."
Auron, completely deadpan, finished with, "No. I believe we just saved ourselves."
Mercy rested her hand on the nape of his neck for a moment, then wrapped her hand gently around the long tail of his hair, and ran her circled fingers down its length, as she smiled down at him. Suppressing a sensual shiver, Auron tilted his head to stare up at her, the back of his head resting against her arm. The wry half-smile on his face momentarily showed all his emotions, love, amusement, the niggling worry that she might truly hunt up the old wanderer, but the glint in his eye made it all too clear that he was teasing her, and enjoying himself immensely at her expense.
Yuna stared at Sir Auron in astonishment. With each hour, it seemed, he emerged more and more from the fortress he had built around himself, and she marveled at the change. If this is what he was like in Zanarkand, the summoner reflected, it is no wonder Tidus said that he missed Sir Auron as much as he missed Mercy. This is wonderful to see. He deserves to be happy, and I am so happy for him. Tidus saw nothing unusual in their exchange, he was just glad to see the old Auron coming back again. But Wakka and Rikku had followed the entire exchange with wide eyes, and were now staring open mouthed, still trying to absorb this new behavior from the normally withdrawn guardian. Lulu ground her teeth.
"Okay, guys, I give up. I promise I won't go searching for Maechen," Mercy said, laughing. Tidus heaved a huge sigh of relief, and theatrically wiped his forehead with his hand.
Then Mercy's hands dropped from Auron's shoulders, and she began to walk around the room, as her voice took on a much more serious tone. "I wasn't just interested in the story of the past, in the way Maechen is. My primary area of research was always causes and effects, the study of why groups of people act the way that they do."
"Surely you're not saying you can tell anything about individual behavior?" Lulu asked skeptically.
"No, Lulu, I'm not. That's the province of the mind healers." Mercy practically had to swallow her tongue, to keep herself from asking if Lulu needed one, but she managed, and continued speaking. "Population groups are predictable. Why towns spring up in some places and not others, for example."
"What does this have to do with Spira," Tidus asked curiously.
"Auron told me about Spira five years ago," Mercy explained. "I asked him a lot of questions," she faced her husband from across the table now, and smiled slightly, "some of which probably didn't even make sense at the time. I started doing research. Obviously, I couldn't find anything about Sin, but I was fascinated with the problem of how people would deal with a world-wide disaster that continued for so many years with very little respite."
"What did you look for?" Yuna inquired, fascinated now herself.
"I went through all the material I could find on areas that had experienced natural disasters, and how they did or did not recover," the guardian-historian replied. Tornados, hurricanes, floods and earthquakes were what I primarily searched for. I looked both for places where they had recovered, and ones where they hadn't, and tried to determine what factors made the difference."
"Why is this relevant?" Lulu practically screamed.
Mercy put her hands on the back of an empty chair, and stared at each of her fellow guardians in turn, her eyes coming to rest on Lulu last, knowing that she would be the most trouble. "Spira is dying," she stated, firmly but sadly. "Sin is killing Spira."
Lulu slapped her hand down on the table in outrage. "That is just not possible. I refuse to believe it."
Wakka spoke up, surprising everyone. "Lu, I don't wanna believe it, but things don't look good, ya? What if Mercy's right?"
"How…how can you be certain of this?" Yuna asked in mixed alarm and confusion.
Mercy jerked out the chair she was holding onto, and plopped into it. "That's the problem with theories. I can't be certain. I can only tell you what I found, and let you decide if it makes any sense."
"I don't think it makes any sense at all," Lulu muttered sarcastically.
Mercy ignored the mage's comment, and began, "Every situation I researched, there was one very clear fact that emerged. It takes twenty years for the population to completely recover from a major disaster. That's the amount of time it takes for the orphans from the first one to grow up and start having their own children, and that seems to be one of the keys. It also helps if there are places either nearby or within easy transportation range that are willing to assist in disaster recovery. Or places that have a surplus population that see their neighbors' misfortune as their opportunity, and are willing to relocate. Any area that was hit too often, too close together, didn't recover. It dwindled, and eventually died. I saw it time after time, in place after place."
"How does this…this research apply to Spira?" Lulu counter-attacked.
"Unfortunately," Mercy sighed, "it is entirely too applicable. Spira never has twenty years to recover. It seems to have ten years at most, and then decades of worldwide catastrophe to deal with. There is no place in Spira that can effectively assist anywhere else, because everyone gets hit, sooner or later. And there is certainly no surplus population, not from what Auron told me." Her eyes met his, directly across the table now.
"How can you possibly know that?" Lulu challenged.
"I can't," Mercy replied, "but you can. What have you seen on your journey? What have you read? What have you been told? Quit reacting to me and think about what I'm saying for a change, will you?" Mercy's voice rose, her temper finally beginning to snap.
"Besaid Village is the same size it was when I was a kid," Wakka said quietly, clearly thinking out loud. "Or maybe even a little smaller, ya?"
"Did people move away?" Mercy asked, calm again.
"A few moved to Luca, dey thought it might be safer. Mostly, dey just died. Killed by Sin, ya. Nobody needed their huts, so they just got left to rot, I guess," the big blitzer's voice trailed off.
Auron began speaking, very slowly, as if the words were being dragged out of his memories while tearing at his heart. "There was a village on the Djosé shore. Belvir. Braska, Jecht and I planned to spend the night there. Sin attacked during the night. The entire village was obliterated. It has never been rebuilt. There were only two survivors," he finished speaking, staring at his hands clenched on the table in front of him. Mercy stretched her legs under the table, and tapped her foot against Auron's boot. He looked up and met her eyes, and the frozen, glazed expression on his face eased a little bit.
"That does not mean that all of Spira is dying!" Lulu wailed. Why is everyone so willing to believe her? How can they all accept her wild theories so readily? She has not yet earned her place among us.
"Doesn't it?" Auron replied grimly. "How many people have we met whose villages were wiped out by Sin? How many other villages' ruins did we see?"
The black mage was furious, but momentarily silent. The answers were: too many, and, too many, and admitting this would not help her argument, she knew.
"We've seen some villages, ya," Wakka said slowly, "but Kilika keeps getting rebuilt, no matter how often Sin wrecks it. Why is dat?"
"It's because of the temple," Mercy answered. "Because the temple is on an island. To reach it, you need a harbor. The harbor needs people to service the ships that come, take care of the men that crew them. And service the temple, as well. Some village has to exist somewhere on Kilika Island, as long as the temple is there. And Kilika also serves as the link between Besaid and the mainland, and Besaid-woven cloth is a prized commodity, I understand. So there is a third reason for the port to exist. Those three reasons, taken together, will keep rebuilding Kilika, since there is no other suitable site on the island."
"But Djosé Temple doesn't have a village," Lulu shot back.
"No, it doesn't, and that is one of the factors that tells me how wrong things are. It should. Belvir used to serve some of that purpose, as does the Hypello community on the west side of the Moonflow," Mercy replied calmly. "But Djosé is on the mainland, and can be supplied by road. Kilika must be supplied by ship, and visitors to the temple must arrive over the water, and that makes the difference."
"There is a regular caravan run from Luca to Guadosalam that passes through Djosé," Auron supplied. "Guard duty for that caravan was a common training assignment from Bevelle. I made that run several times when I was a trainee among the warrior-monks."
"Dat explains it, then," Wakka concluded, nodding and scratching his head.
Yuna spoke up. "We have met so many people who have said that their homes were destroyed by Sin. So many. And others who are simply wandering, searching for a place where they can live free from Sin." She wrung her hands in pity over the plight of the refugees they had encountered.
Mercy pressed on, "How many of us lost at least one parent because of Sin?" They all nodded or bowed their heads. Rikku was the lucky one in the group. She was the only one who still had a parent living, really, since Mercy didn't think Tidus would count Jecht as alive, exactly. But they all stared at Mercy in disbelief as she raised her hand with them. "Sin killed my parents, too, I just didn't know what it was," Mercy told them. "Did any of you know your grandparents?" A chorus of mumbled negatives was the only reply she received. She and Tidus were the only fortunate ones in this category. "In every generation, how many of the best and the brightest are lost fighting Sin? How many summoners and their guardians have died during their pilgrimages? Your whole way of life has been a fight for survival against an enemy that could not be defeated. You know that now. You could not win. I think you were losing ground with every generation that passed. Eventually, you would have lost."
Yuna gazed at Mercy from her seat near the end of the table. "Mercy, why are you telling us this?' she asked quietly, into the silence. "And why now?" the younger woman continued, letting her curiosity show.
"A lot of reasons," the older woman began. "Unlike some people, I believe in sharing knowledge, in letting people make decisions based on all the information that is available," at this comment, Mercy cast a significant glance at Auron, who merely raised a brow, "even if that sometimes means I may talk a little too much in the process." At that, Auron let his lips turn up in a small smile, and she grinned back.
Yuna, observing the non-verbal byplay as well as hearing the words, decided, that is what I want to have with Tidus. Someday. The kind of understanding that doesn't need any words. That kind of love.
Lulu, watching in bitterness, wondered, would Chappu and I have had that, if we had had enough time? Could I ever have that, with anyone?
Mercy continued speaking, directing her words mainly to Yuna, "I thought you should know what I found out, because it seemed important. Spira is running out of time. The Final Aeon is not a solution, only a…stopgap…that can't continue indefinitely. At least, that is what I believe. I know that…destroying Yunalesca…went against everything you had been taught, all your life. It would be natural to doubt, to question, if you did the right thing. Especially as we prepare to take on Sin. I hoped it might help…to know that there was another reason why what you did was…the right thing to do."
Yuna stared directly into Mercy's eyes. "I understand, a little. And thank you, for telling us. I think…it does help." Yuna bowed her head in acknowledgement, and respect.
Silence stretched out for long minutes, until Mercy finally broke it. "So, are we ready yet to face Sin, and Yu Yevon, in battle?" She looked at each member of the party in turn. One by one, they shook their heads. One or two even hung their heads, as though in shame at their unworthiness. That can't be allowed to continue, she decided immediately. "Then what do we need to do to get ready?" she challenged.
Everyone looked up, and began to speak, slowly at first, then almost tripping over each other in their eagerness. "Wait, wait," Mercy nearly had to shout over the din. "One at a time, so we can all hear. Yuna, you go first," she said, smiling at last.
"Well," Yuna began, "Maester Seymour's aeon. I do not know where it can be found, but it was very powerful. We should look for it, I think."
"There was a building where I first landed in Spira, I think maybe it used to be a temple," Tidus burst in. "It was in the middle of the ocean, I bet we could find it with the airship. Maybe the aeon is there. The place was half underwater. We should look there."
"Yes, we should look for Seymour's aeon," Auron said gravely. "And there is another. Belgemine guards the remaining aeons at Remiem. The Magus Sisters. You must challenge and defeat all her aeons to gain the Sisters."
Lulu decided it was her turn. Whatever Mercy's theories, they still had to defeat Sin. "There is one more powerful spell I need to learn, Ultima, which will require much study and practice. I also need time to accumulate more power. And, Yuna has considerable power, which can be used for either black or white magic. I am less skilled with white magic, but I believe it would be beneficial for both of us to learn as many of each other's spells as possible. There will be fiends who are only susceptible to magic, and times when we need more healing than Yuna and Rikku can provide."
Wakka contributed, "The rest of us, fighters, we should all be at the peak of our training. You know what I mean, ya?"
"You're right, Wakka," Tidus agreed. "Hey, maybe we should go back and see that old guy in the Calm Lands, the one running that Arena thing. If we have to train, we might as well get something for our trouble. You know, have a goal in mind. Might make it more rewarding. And, hey, didn't we hear a rumor that Lord Mi'ihen's old sword might still be around?" Tidus warmed to the subject.
"That'd be some sword," Wakka responded.
"Yeah," Tidus replied eagerly.
"Omega," Auron intoned.
"Who, or what, is Omega?" Tidus asked.
Lulu couldn't resist displaying her knowledge. "Seven hundred years ago, a monk named Omega who defied the teachings was sentenced to a dungeon. He became a fiend."
"The traitor Omega," Wakka added.
"His dungeon should be the final test of our readiness to face Sin. If we can beat Omega, that should prove sufficient," Auron concluded.
"For all of us," Lulu added.
"There is one other thing we need to take care of, probably sooner rather than later," Mercy began again.
"What have we forgotten?" Yuna asked diffidently.
"What happens, if we fail?" Mercy asked the question that no one wanted to hear.
"We won't fail," Tidus protested hotly.
"Mercy's right. We must plan for everything we can, even the things we do not want to happen," Auron cut in.
Mercy tried a gentler, more directed approach. "Yuna, I think I know the answer, but please help me. All the teachings direct summoners to pray at the temples for the aeons, then go to Zanarkand to meet Yunalesca to receive the Final Aeon, correct?"
"Yes," the summoner replied.
Mercy continued, "But, because of what we did, Zanarkand is now a dead end." Tidus snickered. Auron snorted. Mercy looked daggers at both of them, then muttered, "No pun intended."
Yuna was confused, but finally said, "That is right, the teachings now point to an empty ruin. What should we do?"
"Is there another summoner that you trust? Or, at least, one who will have an open mind?" Mercy asked her.
"That lets Dona out," came the sarcastic comment from Tidus.
"You got that right," Wakka replied.
Yuna said, "Isaaru. But, why?"
"Isaaru will not believe any of this," Lulu said bitterly.
"Lulu, don't put words in my mouth," Mercy shot back, heat in her voice. Then she took a deep breath, and continued. "His belief is not required. He just needs to listen, and, as I said before, to keep an open mind. If we succeed, he will have all the proof he ever needed, and his belief or disbelief now won't matter a damn. But if we fall, he'll need to go to Zanarkand. He'll find out for himself that Yunalesca is gone. He'll have to be willing to act, then. But if we fail, and we leave no one behind us who knows what we know, what happens when the next summoner reaches Zanarkand? How will they know what to do?" Mercy pleaded with Yuna.
"I understand," Yuna agreed. "I think Issaru will do this, if…I ask him." The young woman cast her eyes down at the table, remembering her last encounter with the other summoner.
"So what is the plan?" Auron asked, wanting to be certain that they had come to some reasonable conclusions after all this discussion.
"First we talk to Isaaru," Yuna answered, "and search for Maester Seymour's aeon."
"Then we go see the old guy in the Calm Lands, and start filling his Arena for him," Tidus added.
"Sounds good to me, brudda," Wakka added enthusiastically.
Rikku bounced happily in her chair. Lulu shook her head in weary resignation. Kimahri had been quiet through the discussion, but he seemed content, because Yuna was clearly agreeing to the scheme. Auron and Mercy looked at each other across the table. She winked at him, then waited to see how he would react as she wrapped her booted legs around one of his, under the narrow table. His mouth twitched, then she saw the glint of mischief in his eye, as he raised his eyebrow. This is all going to work, she thought.
Tidus watched them together; he could almost see the shimmer in the air between them as they looked at each other. I have to tell her the rest of what the fayth said, he realized. And I think I better do it now, before I lose my nerve. She has a right to know. Whether she tells the old man, well, that's her decision.
"We should go see if Isaaru is still in Bevelle," Yuna said.
"Let's ask Pops to check with his new gadget. He'll be able to locate him in a jiffy," Rikku chimed in.
"All right, we'll go to the bridge and ask him," Yuna replied, a little uncertainly.
"I'll go with you," Wakka announced, and so they began to leave the room, with Kimahri guarding Yuna, as always. They hesitated at the threshold, turning to look at Lulu, still seated at the table.
Lulu said, "Please go, I would like to remain here. I need to…think…for a while." The rest of the party filed out. Yuna, Rikku, Kimahri and Wakka headed for the bridge.
Tidus lagged behind, and Mercy stuck with him, guessing that something was wrong, but not sure what. Even Auron was puzzled by his odd behavior. After they turned a corner, Tidus stopped walking, and asked, "Mercy, can I, uh, talk with you, just for minute?"
"Sure, what's up?"
"I mean, well, what I meant was, uh, can I talk to you, alone?" he finally managed to say, while scuffing the sole of his shoe against the floor. Then he looked up at her, his eyes pleading.
She exchanged a brief glance with Auron, and nodded. Her husband said, "I was going to see Rin about some armor. I'll be back," and walked quickly through the far door.
As soon as they were alone, Tidus said sadly, "There's something I have to tell you. I learned something from the fayth. Something about Zanarkand. Our Zanarkand." He went on in a rush. "The city is a dream of the fayth. Mercy, when we destroy Yu Yevon, the dream will end. We will…vanish. I thought…I thought you should know."
"Have you told Yuna?" she asked.
"No. I don't know if I can. Will you…will you tell Auron?"
"He already knows the city is a dream. He's known that all along. He's always wondered what would happen if Yu Yevon was destroyed. Now, we know," she sighed.
"Then what will you do? How can you stand it?" his voice was shaking with emotion.
She stood close to him, and placed her hands on his shoulders. He put his hands on her waist, then leaned forward until his forehead rested against hers, and their arms clasped loosely around each other. He could see that her eyes were bright with unshed tears, and he knew that his own face was wet.
They were concentrating so intently on each other, that neither saw the black mage peering around the corner at one end of the corridor. What is this? Lulu thought nastily, as she observed their easy, intimate embrace. I wonder what Auron would think if he could see his wife now? Or poor Yuna. The mage shook her head sadly. They look so…cozy. I just wish I could hear what they are saying to each other. It might be…interesting, she decided sarcastically.
It's time, Mercy decided. I have to tell him. I have to take this one worry off his shoulders. "Tidus, honey," she whispered, "don't worry about me. I should have told you this sooner, anyway."
"Told me what?" he asked sharply.
"I could have stayed in our Zanarkand, you know." She temporized as she brushed away his tears with her hand. "Daf and Marko escaped to the hills, I could have gone with them. I stayed in the city until the last minute, because I wanted to be with Auron until the end. After he left, the fayth offered me a chance to come to Spira. I took it. But, you see, there was a catch. I had to ride Sin to come to Spira, and there was only one way that could happen for me. I am…like Auron now. I am unsent."
He shook his head against hers. He didn't want to believe it, but he did. It made too much sense.
"If we defeat Yu Yevon, and survive, Yuna will have to send me as soon as the battle is over. So I will not vanish. I will go to the Farplane. Whatever that means." Her disbelief was still evident in her tone.
"What will Auron do?" Tidus asked, with a hitch in his voice.
"Ask him yourself," she responded, as the door opened and Auron stepped through it.
Lulu waited breathlessly to see what would happen. She expected Tidus and Mercy to spring apart guiltily, and Auron to exhibit a jealous rage. Maybe they will even fight, she half-hoped, half-feared. Then the mage saw that she must have read the entire scene completely and utterly wrong. Mercy and Tidus slid one arm around each other, and opened their hug on the other side, to welcome Auron into it. Auron looked down into their tear-stained faces, then he stepped forward, and into their embrace, wrapping his arms around them both.
End Chapter Twenty-Nine