i'm back! yeah, and now i've got a question for all my fans. who's your favorite character, and why? and don't forget to leave a review too. now onto review replies! only a couple this time... guess nobody thought i'd update again so quickly after my writers block. oh, i forgot to mention it last chapter, but i've broken the 300 page mark on the original copy! of course that uses 12 point times new roman, but still.
Da Ker MysTeRr- wow, spectacular. i'm glad you liked my fight with lusniec. and yes, everyone wants me dead. i have lots of enemies. well, i'll try and update again soon.
Sephirothxx- yes, only one more time to kill seymour.and i'm glad you liked the fight scenes too!
Plum-chan- muwahahahahahahah! nobody that doesn't know me personally expected that. and even then they only knew because i told them. and lulu's just perceptive, and while she woke up right after the attack, fanfiction deleted the words 'leaning on his left foot' or something like that. that's how lulu knows that i led with my left foot rather then my right. and there's a massive crack in the ground under my left foot...
BOrn-Slippy- hey, don't apologize for being critical, every author needs a critcal person to review it once and a while. As for the Matt and Andy being neglected, do you mean dialouge wise, overall neglected, neglected in fights... gimme something to work with. as for this book, the first of four, is more about me while books 2 and 3 focus more on matt, andy, and the ice goddess. seph and rae will work their way in and out of all of them, and a couple of the characters that are dead may make some come-backs.
lightningwizard- well, welcome back man! i'm glad the fight scenes could make your day!
and now everyone, on to chapter 15!
Chapter 15: Zanarkand
The group was finally off of Gagazet, or as Andy liked to call it Gaga-fuck. Actually, they weren't sure if they were off it, just that the ground wasn't covered in snow anymore, a welcome relief. Instead, they were standing in one of the most fucked up places they'd ever seen. Water rose up in mushroom-like styles, and there was a solid wall with people stuck inside of it.
"What is this?" Ryan asked. He was still pale from all the blood he'd lost from fighting Lusniec, and since the battle Rikku hadn't let go of his hand unless there was a fight, and even then she didn't let him do anything but attack from a distance and heal people. The worst part, to Ryan at least, was that everyone had supported her, even Matt and Andy.
"Those are Fayth!" Yuna declared, her voice a mixture of awe and fear. "A summoning! Someone is using these Fayth! Someone is drawing power from all of them!"
"This many?" Rikku squeezed Ryan's hand a little tighter as she asked the question, horrified by the thought of someone so powerful existing.
"Who wields power on this scale, and what could they be summoning?" Lulu wondered aloud.
"Good question." Matt asked as he examined the wall.
Rikku let go of Ryan's hand and turned on Auron, "You know something, don't you? Spill the beans!" She ordered.
"Look not to others for knowledge. This is your journey, too." Auron told her.
"Yunie might die, you know?" Rikku countered, to which Auron said nothing.
"No… Auron's right." Tidus agreed.
"Didn't expect that one." Ryan whispered as he bent down next to Matt who was looking at base of the wall.
"This is our... This is my story." Tidus told everyone.
"It's mine too you know." Andy said as Tidus walked over to the wall. He touched it and there was a bright flash of light. Everyone covered their eyes, and found Andy, Tidus, Ryan, and Matt lying limply on the ground near the wall when they opened them up again.
"Jeez, he can't stay standing for more then an hour!" Rikku complained.
888
Matt, Andy, and Ryan once again found themselves in the familiar, mist filled void of the Fayth. "Well, it's been awhile since we've been here." Matt said with a sigh.
"Isn't that the truth." Andy agreed. He glanced over at Ryan who looked rather nervous. "Somthin' wrong?"
"Rikku made sure I didn't fight cause she didn't want me to over-exert myself and pass out. What do you think she's gonna do when we go back?" Matt and Andy laughed at their friend.
"Well that's a battle you'll never win dude, so give it up." Matt suggested.
"I do not think she will hurt you." Three familiar voices added, not surprising the three friends in the least. "After all, And, Matt, and Tidus have also passed out."
Ryan, Andy, and Matt turned around and found themselves starring at not three Fayth, but eight. "Wow, crowd's gotten a little bigger." Andy noted.
"Indeed." They all said in unison. The three that had first spoke with Andy, Matt, and Ryan at the beginning of their adventure stepped forward. "Everyone behind us, each of them is a Fayth who's Aeon Yuna has acquired. She still needs to get us, and Anima." They told the friends.
"What the hell? I thought only Seymour could use Anima." Matt and Ryan nodded in agreement while the Fayth shook their heads.
"No, Anima is a hidden Aeon, not one exclusive to Seymour." The three teens shrugged. "But you must not allow Yuna to get the final Aeon!"
"No kidding, it'll kill her." Matt said instantly.
"And it will bring about the new Sin." The Fayth added, all eight speaking in unison.
"What!" Ryan, Matt, and Andy yelled, each one of them thinking that it was odd everything said was said in unison.
"A Summoner calls the Final Aeon. The Final Aeon defeats Sin, and then kills its Summoner. Then Yu Yevon takes the Final Aeon and makes it into the new Sin."
"But Yu Yevon isn't going to come back as Sin this time!" Matt yelled.
"Yu Yevon wants to destroy the world as thoroughly and quickly as he can. If he can, he will use every resource available to him. Sin included." The Fayth told them.
"Bastard." Ryan muttered. "Is that all? You called us here to tell us that we can't let Yuna get the Final Aeon? We already planned to keep her from getting it."
The Fayth shook their head. "We've found the last god." They said. The teens gawked at them, amazed by the statement. "She is the ice goddess, as Seph is the water god."
"Bastard." Ryan muttered at the mention of the assassin.
"But there is a small problem." They Fayth continued. "The ice goddess is in your world, and we cannot find her."
"But you found us!" Andy countered.
"You had just died, so your souls were in the void between Spira and Earth, making them easy to find. And, in case you were wondering, only your spirit is on Spira, you are still alive on Earth. What we need you to do is, when this is done, go back to your world and find the ice goddess."
"How will we get back?" Ryan asked.
"We… we will not be able to help you with that." The Fayth admitted. "Once Yu Yevon is destroyed, we shall die. But there is a small tear in the barrier that separates Spira and Earth. The supernatural beings you call ghost, and monsters, they are actually the souls of fiends from Spira. When we send you back, we will be forced to open this hole more, so some fiends may be able to pass through with their physical body. You will need to find them and kill them while you are on Earth looking for the ice goddess." The three nodded. "And you will also need to find that rip. We do not know where it is, or what it looks like, but we are confident that you will be able to find it."
"That's good to hear." Ryan rolled his eyes as he spoke.
"Furthermore there is a three year time limit." The Fayth said. "Something even more powerful then Seymour is at work in the shadows of the world, and it is growing stronger with each passing day. At this rate, it will be strong enough to break out of the Farplane in three years. You must return, with the ice goddess, by then."
"Oh yeah, that'll be hell." Ryan said. "Can't you tell us anything about her?"
"She may use Tonfas." Vena's voice called out, stepping out of the shadows with Dnortih close behind.
"And she will probably be very shy, possibly to the point where she seems anti-social." The thunder god added.
"That helps a little… I guess." Matt said as he nodded towards the two gods. "But we probably won't be able to do all of that in just three years. We're going to need some kind of help."
"We'll still be able to talk to you." Vena pointed out. "And we'll be able to lead you to the general area of the rip. Anything else, we can't guarantee anything."
"Well, it's a start." Ryan said with a sigh. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up suddenly, and he got a bad feeling in his stomach. "What's happening back on Spira?"
"You really are a freakin' guardian angel." Dnortih said with a little surprise evident in his voice. "We just came to tell you that you're needed back on Spira." There was a bright flash of light and the three found themselves starring at a gray, cloudy sky.
Auron's grunt of pain and Kimahri's roar quickly drew their attention to their left, where their friends were battling a giant purple thing that stood on two legs, was twice as tall as anyone in the group, with spikes down its back, dirty blonde looking hair, and a tail that looked like it was from a tadpole. Auron was getting to his feet shakily, and Kimahri was leaping around the thing, barely avoiding the things random blows, most of which cracked the ground.
"Well this'll be fun." Matt said, Lightning Edge digging into the ground as the ring of lighting formed around him, forcing Ryan and Andy to step away quickly.
"Jeez, warn a pal first would ya?" Ryan complained.
"Deal with it." Matt took off towards the fight, bent low and tearing up the ground that passed under his Lightning Edge. When he screamed their friends looked over at him, Tidus quickly jumping out of Matt's path and Rikku cringing at the sight of the lightning. The massive fiend turned to face Matt, bellowing out something that could only be taken as a challenge. Matt gladly accepted, dodging past one arm and jumping on it as the other came in. The behemoth roared as it crushed its own hand with the force of its blow, but Matt's Lightning Edge silenced it as his Chidori dug into the fiend's eye and then into the brain. Matt jumped back as the thing fell, landing next to Rikku who walked away in disgust as he wiped his arm clean.
"Glad to see you're ok." She said as she drew closer to Andy and Ryan who were walking to join the rest of the group. "What happened?"
"I'm not entirely sure." Ryan lied without breaking stride. Rikku looked at him doubtfully, but Andy agreed and she let the matter go without any further thought. "Anyway, it looks like I'm gonna have to hurt someone."
Rikku and Andy looked at him oddly and he motioned to a long cut along her side, which had ripped her shirt. "Wow… barely even noticed that…" Ryan rolled his eyes sarcastically and she punched his arm jokingly in reply.
"Jeez, I let you use my sweatshirt and you go and get it ripped to pieces on me."
"Anyway, Auron said we had to go as soon as you guys woke up. You're not too tired to keep going, are you?" Rikku asked, ignoring Ryan's comment.
Andy made an extravagant yawing motion that caused Rikku and Yuna to laugh, but drew an icy glare from Auron. "Alright, let's go." He said quickly. After a while they reached a cave that Auron said was called the "Caverns of Darkness" and also explained that they held two trials. The first one was stupidly easy. There was a glowing ball, surrounded by four wall-like things that slowly circled it. It took Wakka an entire five seconds to hit the glowing center so they could proceed. The next challenged proved, if not more difficult, more time consuming. Tidus, Rikku, Wakka, Matt, and Andy had to swim through a section of the cavern. Ryan wanted to join them, but Yuna said he was too pale, and Auron forced him to sit down with a single hand. Wakka, Tidus, and Rikku had to figure out what holes in the wall they were supposed to swim into, a puzzle that Matt figured out rather easily. Ten minutes later they were back, and the group started back up again.
"They will be upon us soon." Auron said while they were taking a break. "She has sent fiends to test our Summoner's strength."
"Who is 'She'?" Yuna asked.
"Yunalesca." Auron was walking again, but Yuna just starred at him in awe.
"Lady Yunalesca?" she asked, apparently shaking off her amazement.
"In Zanarkand, she awaits the arrival of the strongest."
"She… is still alive?"
"As much as Mika and Seymour." Auron replied.
"I see." Yuna replied sadly.
"Lost your nerve?" Auron asked as he stopped.
"No. Nothing frightens me now."
"Braska would be proud." Auron told her.
"Then… I must not let him down." Yuna declared after a few seconds of awkward silence. The group took that as their cue to start walking again.
Almost as soon as they stepped out of the cave the ground started to shake. "God damn it!" Matt complained.
"It comes!" Auron informed them.
"This should be fun." Ryan muttered.
"No sword, go it?" Rikku asked him.
"I don't think I'm gonna have a choice…" Ryan whispered, his eyes widening with worry.
"Why not?" Rikku asked. Rikku followed Ryan's gaze and gasped in surprise at the massive fiend that was coming around the corner. It was totally covered in scales, stood on four legs, had a giant tale, and two sets of wings, one pair too small to let the thing fly, and the other pair made of something akin to bone. Its head was covered in spikes, and its nose stuck out over its face while another bone protected the chain. "Oh." Rikku managed to whisper.
"Damn big ass, scaly fiends!" Andy snapped his gloves as he continued to mutter curses under his breath.
"Yuna, cast protective magic." Auron said before he charged the fiend. "Armor Break!" The sound of his sword cutting through scales sent a chill down everyone's back. "Now!" He yelled to Yuna who nodded and started casting protect and shell on everyone. Tidus added in a Hastega, making everyone faster then the creature. Rikku and Tidus seemed to move as fast as Ryan normally did, and Ryan seemed to teleport from place to place with the spell in place. And now he wasn't just limited to the ground, and one of his favorite tactics seemed to be to use the Ryu Tsui Sen while flying down as fast as possible, doing more damage then the attack had ever done before. But even after cutting off the two smaller wings the thing didn't seem bothered by it.
"This is bad." Matt pointed out as the thing started shooting beams out of its wings. The group scattered, evading the blue bolts by a hair if they could, but pretty much only Tidus and Ryan came out without getting hit.
"Damn." Ryan muttered as he and Tidus started to jump around, curing their friends of the various aliments the attack had inflicted. While they did that the giant fiend healed what damage they'd done to it, and then began to charge up a massive energy attack.
"Damn it!" Andy yelled, whipping a kunai at the giant beat. As it got closer it erupted into flames, which multiplied and made hundreds of copies of the kunai, all of them but the original made entirely out of fire.
"That's a new trick." Ryan said, more then a little relieved to see something new. The burning Kunai bounced off of an invisible barrier. "Knew it was too good to be true."
"It's firing that beam!" Lulu shouted, diving out of the way as a wall of orange energy flew towards them. Ryan glanced back at Andy, who was trying to carry a blinded Kimahri out of the way, and then looked back at the beam.
"This is going to hurt." He muttered as he charged the beam. "Hiten Mitsurugi Style Kuzu Ryu Sen!" he shouted, filling Wind Cutter with holy energy as it struck nine points around the beam. For a second it looked like he would win the battle, but then the thing fired a second, much weaker beam into the back of the first. Despite the tiny amount of energy that it had added, the beam slammed into Ryan head on, sending him flying into the wall.
"Ryan!" Rikku yelled, running over to him. "Are you ok?"
"I was right." Ryan whispered as he sat up slowly. "That hurt."
"You idiot." She said with a strained laugh. "You're gonna kill yourself at this rate."
"It was that… or Andy and Kimahri." Ryan told her.
"I don't care!" She told him firmly. "I know you wanna protect your friends, but that's a little too extreme."
Ryan smiled. "Ok. I'll be more careful in the future." He told her.
"You'd better." She said as he stood up. Suddenly they heard Suzaku's familiar screech as it dive-bombed their foe, both powerful creatures going up in flames and leaving for good. "Damn it Andy! Why didn't you do that instead of that kunai trick?"
Andy shrugged. "Wanted to try out my new trick." He said simply. Ryan shook his head helplessly.
"Bastard." Ryan muttered.
"Can we rest a little? Ryan's still hurt." Rikku pleaded.
"No need. We reach the summit soon. We can treat our injuries there." Auron told them.
"But soon means there isn't much time left!" Rikku complained.
"Rikku…" Yuna said in a voice that showed how grateful she was for Rikku's concern.
"Fine!" Rikku whinned. "I'll think on my way!" The next twenty minutes passed in silence, other then the random fiend battle. Eventually Tidus stopped and asked Wakka if they were almost there.
"Ya brudda. We've come a long way." Auron laughed at Wakka's comment.
"What's so funny?" Tidus asked.
"You remind me of myself." Auron told him. "Before, the closer I came to Zanarkand, the more I wondered… when we arrive, Braska will call the Final Aeon… He will fight Sin, then die. I thought my mind was made up long before. But when I stood here, my resolve wavered."
"Huh, never would've figured. Even legendary guardians choke sometimes too, ya?"
"Legendary Guardian?" Auron seemed almost offended by the title. "I was just a boy. A boy about your age, actually. I wanted to change the world, too. But I changed nothing. That is my story."
"You were a kid once?" Ryan asked sarcastically. Auron walked off without replying, so those how had listened to his story shrugged and followed him. They came to the ruins of Zanarkand, city of the dead. "So this is it?" Ryan almost couldn't believe that his time in Spira was almost over. The thought of going back to Earth made his heart skip a beat, although whether or not it was from going back to being a nobody or leaving Rikku he wasn't sure. "The last place for our journey…"
Rikku walked away from Ryan and turned to Yuna. "Yunie, I say no! If you go down there, then you'll…"
"Rikku… you're a true friend, and I thank you, but… I must go… down to Zanarkand." Yuna told her.
"I'm not saying we shouldn't go. But shouldn't we think about it some more? There's gotta be some kind of way we can save you, Yuna!"
"All my life I knew this moment would come." Yuna told her.
"Yunie…" Rikku looked like she was going to cry. Yuna rushed over and hugged her, not noticing that something dropped out of her sleeve as she did so.
"Thank you Rikku. Thank you for everything." Yuna told her cousin.
"Don't say that Yunie. It's not over yet!" Rikku told her, resting her head on Yuna's shoulder.
"Tell Cid I said thank you." Yuna asked.
"Tell him yourself!" Ryan and Matt yelled at Yuna angrily, all the other guardians whirling around, weapons drawn or spells at the ready. "You aren't dead yet, are you?" Yuna shook her head numbly. "Then why the hell are you giving up?" Yuna didn't answer. "We're your friends, right?" Yuna nodded. "Friends don't let other friends die. So we're not going to let you die, got it?" Yuna nodded again and Rikku smiled.
"Yeah!" She agreed. "See? We're gonna see each other again, ok?"
Yuna looked away from them for a few seconds before starting towards Zanarkand again. "Kimahri, let's go." The Ronso followed quietly, the rest of Yuna's guardian's slowly joining them until just Matt, Ryan, Andy, and Tidus were standing there.
Tidus bent down and picked up the sphere Yuna had dropped, playing it without hesitating. Yuna's voice came out of the recorder, thanking first Auron, then Kimahri, followed by Lulu and Wakka. "Andy, Matt. Both of you are so quiet, I was a little afraid you didn't like us at first. But then you came to save me at Luca, and I knew that you did like us. It was good to know, and I'm glad you're with us, really. Ryan, you were so easy to get along with. I hope you're still alive to hear this… you have a habit of nearly dying on us." She stopped to giggle for a few seconds. "But that was because you were always trying to help us. You always seemed to get hurt protecting someone… and I'm glad that you're with me on my journey too. I hope all three of you find your way back to… well, wherever you came from. I guess that leaves… the newest guardian. The star player of the Zanarkand Abes! You are… I am… Well, um… I'm glad… I'm glad we met. We haven't known each other that long, but it's funny. So this is what it feels like. It's a much more wonderful feeling than anything I had ever imagined. Wonderful… but it hurts, sometimes. I wonder. I… I just want to say, thank you for everything. Maybe that's why it hurts, sometimes. When I think about us never being together again at all… I'm afraid. No, I shouldn't say that. I'll do that part over. Um…"
"What cha up to?" Tidus's voice cut in. Tidus nearly smacked himself when he heard it.
"Damn, that sucks." Ryan said with a nod.
"Hey, what are you guys doing!" Rikku asked as she walked back towards them. "Auron's already got a campfire going."
"Well we certainly wouldn't want it to go out. I mean, it's not like our friendly god of fire could start another one or anything." Matt said with a roll of his eyes. A bolt of lightning struck a few feet away, and Rikku was curled up in a ball the second it cracked.
"You big meanie!" Rikku accused when she stood back up. "That wasn't very nice." Matt just laughed and led them towards the campfire. By the time they got there Tidus was trying to stall for time by telling stories. Ryan stopped and looked over at Zanarkand. He sighed and sat down on the edge of the path, starring out at the ruins absently. "Something wrong?" Rikku asked, sitting down next to him.
Ryan was silent for a while before answering, "Yeah, that night in Macalania woods… we weren't alone, that's why I stayed behind even though I knew you weren't serious."
"So you were hiding something." Rikku said triumphantly.
"Yeah. I was talking with someone. I dunno who, but he told me that we'd face three evils on Gagazet… but we only fought Lusniec, and Seymour. Where was the third one?"
"That's what you're worried about?" Rikku asked, almost not believing him. Ryan nodded.
"Yeah. Stupid, but I can't help but think that something didn't go right." Ryan admitted. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid."
"Maybe? I think you took a blow to the head when you fell of Gagazet." Rikku told him. "Come on, would you even have been able to fight someone else?" Ryan shook his head and Rikku stood up. "Then stop complaining." When Ryan didn't get up she sat back down and looked at him. "That's not all, is it?" She asked quietly.
"No." Ryan admitted.
"What else has you worried?" Rikku slipped her hand into his and squeezed it gently.
Ryan took a deep breath. "I might not… be able to stay in Spira after we kill Sin…"
"What?" Rikku's voice was so quiet that Ryan barely heard her. "Why not?"
Ryan shook his head. "Something about one of the other gods being on Earth. Andy, Matt, and me. All three of us have to go back and find her."
"Why? Once we kill Sin we won't need any more gods!" Rikku stated.
Ryan shrugged. "I guess that's not the only reason we came here." He guessed. Rikku looked at him like he was crazy.
"Why else would you come here?" Rikku asked.
Ryan shrugged again. "The Fayth that brought us here didn't say. Lusniec didn't tell me shit, and Matt and Andy haven't said anything about it. But they know something else is going on. They're not telling us something."
"Then don't worry about it." Rikku suggested, laying down and looking up at the sky. Ryan laid down next to her and she glanced over. "The sky's beautiful at sunset." Ryan nodded. She rolled over until she was laying down on him. "So why did you come to Spira?"
"Well… I got shot in the head in my world. Matt and Andy got shot too. We died, and ended up talking to some of the Fayth. They said they'd give us a second chance at living. In the beginning it was just so that we could keep living." Ryan stopped and thought about it everything that he'd gone through. "But, being in Spira's been like living in a dream. I've always wanted to do something like this, something important, you know?" Rikku nodded. "And here, I'm somebody. Back on earth, I'm invisible. It's just me, Matt, and Andy pretty much. No body really cares what we do, because nobody really cares, except our families."
"You mean none of you have girlfriends? Er… had girlfriends?" She corrected herself with a smile.
"Well, I had one, but that was a while ago. More then a year. I walked in on her and one of my friends, and they were pretty much having sex… needless to say I don't exactly get along with them anymore."
"Wow, that must have sucked."
"That would be one way to put it. Since then, I think I kind of gave up on having a girlfriend. I was afraid of getting hurt again I think." He closed his eyes and took as deep a breath as he could.
"I guess that's understandable." Rikku said.
Ryan nodded and smiled, "I thought I loved her, actually." Rikku frowned. "I didn't, I just didn't in the end, I know that now. But that didn't make it hurt any less."
"If you gave up on having a girlfriend, then what am I?" Rikku asked.
"Very, very special?" Ryan asked, drawing a giggle from Rikku.
"Aside from that." She said.
Ryan thought about it for a minute. "I think coming to Spira was sort of like starting over, maybe. A new beginning sort of thing. After I got to know Lulu and Yuna, I started thinking that maybe the girls here weren't cheating whores… then I met Dona." Ryan added, and Rikku giggled again. "She's just… well, I won't count Dona. Anyway, then I met you. You were just so… carefree. Not to mention headstrong, hot, and easy to get along with." Rikku smiled.
"Compliments aren't going to get you anything." She said in a teasing voice.
"What? I'm not a pervert!" There were a few awkward seconds. "Okay, so maybe I'm a little perverted. But I'm not the kind of guy to go out with someone just to get in her pants. Anyway, I'm getting off track. Actually, the little oxygen I'm getting is just enough to keep me conscious, so I'm not sure I ever actually had a track to start with, and I'm getting a little lightheaded." Rikku slapped him playfully and rolled off, using his outstretched arm as a pillow. Ryan took a dramatic breath. "Ahhh, I can breath again!" He said sarcastically, drawing a little laughter from Rikku. "And you're fun to be around! That was the last one!" Ryan announced.
"Ahhh, so that's why I'm special." Rikku said as Ryan rolled so that their noses were touching.
"Yep, more or less." He agreed. "So now it's your turn." Rikku looked at him oddly. "Why me?" He explained.
"Uhhh…. I'm not sure…" She admitted. Ryan put his free hand over his heart and acted like he was in pain.
"Oh, the pain."
Rikku laughed. "Oh, relax. What I mean was I was never really interested in guys before. I mean, I'm only fifteen. And the few guys I would've gone out with were scared of my dad."
"Well, Cid is scary…" Ryan admitted.
"Nah, he's a softie at heart." She told him. "But I think the reason I was never really interested in guys before was because most of them were just perverts who wanted to have sex with me, or wanted to hook up with me 'cause my dad's the leader of the Al Bhed."
Ryan shook his head sadly. "Man, guys in Spira are weird." He muttered.
Rikku shrugged. "Yeah, but you aren't from Spira. And you didn't want to go out with me just to have sex with me, otherwise you would've tried something those two hours in Macalania."
"Hey, how'd you know it was two hours?" Ryan asked.
Rikku smiled. "I was awake. I wanted to see if you would try anything. I kinda expected you to, to be honest. But you didn't. You just waited for me to wake up… and then proceeded to run to the bathroom at full speed." She added with a snicker. "And you didn't act any differently after you found out that my dad was the leader of the Al Bhed, like most guys do. Plus… you stood up for the Al Bhed when most people would've been insulting us. Not a lot of non-Al Bhed would look at us, not to mention go out with us."
"Yeah, but people tend to be ignorant to others." Ryan said. "I never could stand that."
888
"Seph, what are we doing here?" Raw asked through a yawn. "We've been watching them talk for, what, going on three hours now?"
"Yeah." Seph replied automatically. "Why?"
"Well, I'm tired, and bored, and cold, and really don't wanna sleep in the snow." Rae wrapped her cloak tighter around her body as the wind picked up.
"Yeah. Let's kill him and get the hell out of here." ZP agreed.
"Shut up, ZP." Seph replied, his gaze shifting away from the main group and towards the two figures lying on the ground. He was too high up to make out any certain details, but he was pretty sure one was a guy and one was a girl. At least he hoped that he was right, since they seemed a little too close for two guys. Two girls, well, that thought didn't bother him too much.
"Seph!" Rae whinned to the assassin over another gust of wind that came ripping down the mountain path. Seph whirled around and gave both his companions an annoyed glare.
"Would you both just shut the hell up?" He hissed. "ZP, if you wanna die, go ahead and attack now, and Rae, if you really don't want to be here, then leave." He turned back and noticed that the two figures were walking back to the main group. He heard ZP mutter something and it took most of his willpower to keep from spinning around and impaling the shadow-walking-pain-in-the-ass. Frustrated by the lost chance he almost considered attacking head on, but he'd seen what had happened to Lusniec and Seymour. 'They'll take down anyone that underestimates them. I have to be careful about how I do this.'
"So what are we doing anyway?" The pain in Seph's ass asked.
Seph looked at him like he was insulted by the question. "You are a dumb-ass." He muttered, turning back to watch the group.
"Excuse me?" ZP asked starring at Seph like the assassin had just slapped him.
"You saw what that one kid did to Lusniec." Seph said without turning to face the two. "He cut him in half, even though Lusniec had an unstoppable technique. And the dark skinned kid with black hair, he manipulates Lightning the way I do water. And the tallest kid, he made a bunch of copies of kunai out of pure fire."
"Your point being what? That you're scared to fight them?" ZP questioned.
"My point," Seph's annoyance was beginning to show in his voice, "is that it'd be suicide to go in and attack when we don't know what all they're capable of. You wanna die, by all means, do. It'd make my life a hell of a lot easier." Seph looked back at the group. "But me, I've gotta live till I get my revenge."
888
Tidus had run out of stories to tell before Rikku and Ryan had rejoined their friends, so they were welcomed by an uncomfortable silence. Yuna stood up and told them it was time to go, and no one argued, not even Rikku. They fought their way through the fiends that opposed them in silence, except for the occasional grunt of pain or muttered curse. Eventually they came to the ruined remains of a blitzing arena, where they were greeted by an unsent.
He moved directly over to Yuna, utterly ignoring everyone else. "Journeyer of the long road, name yourself." It ordered.
"I am the Summoner Yuna. I have come from the Isle of Besaid." She answered immediately, her voice filled with determination.
"Your eyes, my dear." The unsent told her. "Show me the long road you have traveled." He starred into Yuna's eyes intently for a few seconds before smiling. "Very good. You have journeyed well. Lady Yunalesca will surely welcome your arrival. Go to her now, and bring your guardians with you. Go."
Yuna nodded and led the way into the dome. Almost immediately a woman with armor on appeared out of pyreflies. "If it might benefit the future of Spira, I will gladly give my life." She said to the empty space in front of her. "It is the highest honor for which a guardian might ask. Use my life, Lady Yocun, and rid Spira of Sin." With that declaration the spirit disappeared.
Rikku started to step back, but ran into Matt instead of open space. "What… what was that?" She asked in a scared voice.
"Our predecessors." Auron said without breaking stride.
"She said "Lady Yocun" didn't she? Wait! She guarded High Summoner Yocun!" Lulu asked in disbelief.
"This dome is filled with pyreflies" Auron told them, still not slowing down. "It's like one gigantic sphere. People's thoughts remain here. Forever." The rest of the group followed him through the dome, not stopping until a young version of a familiar blue haired Maester appeared next to a woman.
"No! Mother, no!" Seymour cried. "I don't want you to become a Fayth!"
"There is no other way." Seymour's mom cried. "Use me and defeat Sin. Only then will the people accept you."
"I don't care about them! I need you, mother! No one else!" Seymour was crying now.
"I don't have much time left." Seymour's mom said before the two disappeared.
"Hey, wasn't that…?" Wakka started.
"Seymour?" Rikku finished. Auron nodded and started back up, apparently determined to get through the area as quickly as possible. The next images stopped him dead in his tracks. Standing before the group was Braska, a young Auron, and Jecht.
"Hey, I've seen him before!" Ryan said, pointing at Jecht.
"What! When?" Tidus asked, spinning around so quickly that he nearly lost his footing.
"After Lusniec knocked me off Gagazet." Ryan told him. "Why?"
"That's… my dad." Tidus admitted. Ryan's face paled.
"But your dad… he's Sin, isn't he?" Ryan asked. Tidus nodded. 'Why the hell would Sin want to help me? I'm trying to kill him.' Auron started again, seeming a little more flustered then usual as he led them to a door where he, Braska, and Jecht appeared once again.
"Are the trials ahead?" Jecht asked.
"Probably." Braska replied, seeming a little sad at the thought.
"Here too, huh?" Jecht seemed annoyed by that. "Gimme a break. I was expecting, you know, parades and… fireworks!"
"You can ask for them after I defeat Sin." Braska told Jecht before the trio disappeared.
"Wonderful. So we have to deal with cloisters here too?" Matt asked.
"Yes." Auron told them before pushing the door open. Inside was a small room with a grid on the floor, a few of the squares had white dots, and a big screen on the far end of the room, with some shapes highlighted on it.
"What are we supposed to do?" Tidus asked, stepping forward and onto the grid. A red symbol appeared under him and he jumped back in surprise. "What the?"
"The symbols on the screen show us what symbols we need to activate on the floor. If we step on a wrong symbol the entire puzzle will reset." Auron told them, walking over and stepping on another. Not even two minutes later they'd gotten the right ones together, and a door opened up, along with six pedestals sliding out of the wall. Auron walked over, pushed one of the pedestals back in, and then walked through the door. The next room was a bigger version of the grid, except for the hole in the middle of the room.
"This could take some doing." Auron was already walking over to the screen. He pushed it and several shapes lit up on the ground. After a few incidents involving someone stepping on a wrong pattern, they finished the puzzle and a symbol appeared on one of the platforms that reached out over the hole slightly.
"Ryan, go push another pedestal." Auron ordered. Ryan bowed and disappeared, and a few seconds later the sound of the pedestal being pushed into place echoed into the larger room, and almost immediately after that Ryan appeared again. They repeated the process for the remaining four pedestals, and each time they solved one of the puzzles a symbol appeared on one of the platform that jutted out slightly over the hole in the middle of the room. "It comes." Auron said quietly. He walked over onto one of the pedestals and drew his sword.
"What's coming?" Rikku asked uncertainly, rolling the sleeve of her sweatshirt up on the right so that she could defend herself. As if her words had been a signal that they hadn't known about a massive fiend appeared. It was thin, with a stinger like tail in place of legs, it had a needle like nose, and scythe like arms. It was also incredibly tall, standing well over a dozen feet.
"That's and fugly fiend." Matt stated as he brought Lightning Edge up and rested it on his shoulder before walking forward to join Auron.
"Fugly would be a compliment…" Ryan said as he watched the thing turn to them and swung one of its arms. The force of the blow was enough to knock Auron back several feet, even though he managed to block it. "That can't be good…"
Several flames that vaguely resembled kunai flew into the thing. It roared in pain, but over all the attack only seemed to annoy it. Cursing, Andy snapped his fingers, four balls of fire appearing instantly. "Dumb ass fiend." He muttered as he sent them rushing forward, but again he did little damage.
Ryan drew Wind Cutter and felt a wave of pain roll through his shoulder blades. He heard everyone gasp as the pain subsided. "Wow brudda, those are some big wings you got there." Wakka commented.
"They must be six feet each!" Lulu added in disbelief.
"Yep." Ryan agreed as he jumped into the air and started to fly towards the fiend. It turned to face him, slashing twice with one claw and then trying to stab him with its tail. The barely dodge the first two, but he felt the third strike brush up against his leg. Instantly the appendage went numb, and Ryan found himself struggling to stay airborne as the poison started to creep through out his entire body.
"Yunie!" Rikku yelled, getting the Summoner's attention. She pointed to Ryan and Yuna instantly cast Esuna on him, stopping the poison and partially restoring the feeling in his body.
"Rikku, move!" Matt shouted. She looked at him oddly, and then jumped to the side in horror as his extra axe flew past her harmlessly. It slammed into one of the guardian's claws but Rikku barely heard it over the explosion from where she'd been standing a few seconds earlier. She cried out in surprise as the force of the explosion sent her flying farther then she'd expected. She landed with a painful thud and groaned in pain.
"Rikku!" Yuna rushed over to her cousin, readying a cure spell in case it was needed.
"Yuna!" Lulu cried in horror. The Summoner looked back and saw a massive stinger-like tail heading for her. She froze in horror and heard Rikku cry out in fear a few feet away.
'This is the end?' Yuna wondered in disbelief. The stinger drew closer and she shut her eyes, unable to watch her death as it came at her. She felt something warm splash onto her and opened her eyes at the lack of pain.
"What the hell?" Matt muttered as he starred at Yuna. In front of her was a thick footwall of solid water so strong that it had stopped the attack completely.
"You are all pathetic." Seph said as he walked through the door to the room. ZP came next, still unarmed, followed closely by Rae. "Let me show you how you kill things."
"Oh shit." Andy muttered as Seph held a cupped hand towards the massive fiend. At first nothing happened, but before anyone could ask what Seph was doing the massive fiend started to convulse. It thrashed about violently, knocking everyone around it back in the process. The sound of hundreds of bones snapping erupted into the large room, echoing loudly as the bones started to rip through the skin, shooting blood everywhere as they cut through muscle, skin, and organ alike. Rikku and Yuna covered their ears, and Lulu looked away from the horrible scene. Auron and Kimahri watched impassively, ZP stepped in front of Rae so she didn't have to watch, while Wakka and Ryan started throwing up. Tidus, Andy, and Matt just watched in horror as the thing exploded, launching blood and guts in every direction. Everyone's shadow jumped up in front of him or her, stopping the horrible smelling gore from actually hitting. In place of the fiend was a giant ball of water, at least three feet in diameter.
"That was impressive." ZP commented as he stepped out from in front of Rae. "What exactly was it?" Seph shook his head but made no other motion to show that he'd even heard the question. Instead he walked over to Yuna and Rikku.
"So you're the traitor." He said, squatting down to look Yuna in the eyes. "Yet you still want to save the people of Spira from Sin." Yuna nodded slowly, her eyes wide with fear. "I told you I'd kill all of you, remember?" Yuna nodded again and tried to back away but a wall of water appeared behind her. "That's going to have to wait."
"Wow, finally someone who's not here to kill us." Tidus said thankfully.
"Then why are you here?" Ryan asked, drawing attention to himself for the first time. Rae, ZP and Seph all starred at him for a second as he dropped to the floor, his wings disappearing in a flash of light.
"Oh, I was here to kill you." Seph admitted. "But I've lost more friends to Sin then I have for you. So for now, I'll let you live. So long as you let us help you kill Sin."
"What!" ZP cried. Seph gave him a lazy glance as ZP stalked across the room and grabbed him by the collar. "You lying bastard! You said we would kill them when we started!"
Seph's hand shot out so fast Ryan barely noticed it. ZP's head snapped back from the force of Seph's punch. Another kick and ZP was starring at the ceiling, a pendulum dangling right in front of his face. "When we started this I said we'd kill them. I never said when, I never said how. I told you before, if you wanna die, go right ahead and try to kill them now."
ZP glared at the patient assassin but said nothing. After a few more tense seconds Seph pulled the pendulum back and allowed ZP to stand back up. Instead he kicked out at Seph's legs. The battle-tested assassin jumped over the ill-conceived attack. He spun to face ZP, who was rolling away from Seph now, and launched a pendulum at the teen. A second before his pendulum connected with ZP's skull the boy jerked, a throwing star slamming into the base of his neck and knocking him forward and into Seph's pendulum.
Seph looked up and saw Ryan, arm still stretched out, another throwing star in his other hand. "Thought I was the assassin."
"Yeah well. I don't like to kill, but you said you'd help us fight Sin. That's a battle we're gonna where we'll need all the help we can get." Ryan told Seph. "And we've seen what you can do."
"So you did that to protect me?" Seph asked, attempting to clarify Ryan's reasons.
"Well, that and the fact that this kid wanted to kill us all now, before we could save the world." Ryan shrugged.
"Regardless, Yuna, we are here." Auron told the Summoner, although his eyes never left Seph. The assassin starred back, not backing down an inch.
"That hall of the final summoning." Yuna said quietly.
"Go." Auron ordered.
"Yes." Yuna walked over to the elevator that had appeared and went down the chamber. A few minutes later she was back at the top, a worried look etched across her face. "Sir Auron! Everyone!" she cried.
"Oh boy." Matt muttered, already on the platform. Rikku, Tidus, Wakka, Lulu, and Kimahri got on, leaving no room for the others.
"We'll be right down." Auron told them. Yuna nodded and the lift started down. "So what will you do now, Ryan?" Ryan turned and regarded Auron with open confusion. "You have the power to kill the most powerful swordsman to ever walk Spira. What will you use it for?"
"Well, right now I'm gonna use it to help Yuna. As for the future… I'll keep on protecting my friends."
Auron smiled slightly. "I see. I'm glad." Ryan looked at him, once again confused, but Auron made no effort to explain what he meant.
"Jeez, you make it sound like you thought I was gonna go mass murderer on everyone or something." Ryan muttered.
"I asked only because I do not know what you will go through when you return to Earth." Ryan and Andy whirled on him, starring with open bewilderment. "I've lived in Spira. I've lived in Tidus's Zanarkand. But I know nothing about your world, beyond what you have told us. And from what you have told us, it seems like you didn't exactly enjoy yourself there."
"But how did you know that we were going back?" Ryan asked. The elevator arrived and Auron stepped on, motioning for them to follow. With no answer forthcoming they walked on and rode the elevator down. At the bottom they found the remains of the fiend that Seph had destroyed, and a hallways. Following the hallway they found the rest of their group.
"This isn't a Fayth." Yuna said as soon as they were in the room. "It's just an empty statue."
The man that they'd met before entering the dome appeared. "Ah, so you did survive." He said when his gaze fell on Rae and Seph. Rae looked down slightly, but Seph simply nodded. "That is good." He turned to Yuna. "This statue lost its power as a Fayth long ago. It is Lord Zaon, the first Fayth of the final summoning. What you see before you is all that remains of him. Lord Zaon is… his soul is gone."
"Gone?" Wakka cried in disbelief.
"You mean, there is no Final Aeon?" Rikku asked hopefully.
The man nodded and Ryan thought Rikku was going to break his hand out of sheer joy. "But fear not." Rikku's grip loosened drastically as her hope died. "Lady Yunalesca will show you the path. The Final Aeon will be yours. The Summoner and the Final Aeon will join powers. Go to her now. Inside, the lady awaits." The man disappeared, revealing a doorway behind him.
"Yuna wait!" Tidus spun on Auron. "Auron, you knew this was going to happen, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Rikku whinned.
"If I had told you the truth, would that have really stopped you from coming?" Auron asked. Everyone fell silent.
"Yuna." Kimahri said.
"I'm not going back." She told him.
Kimahri stepped past her and walked towards the doorway. At the entrance he stopped and said "Kimahri knows. Kimahri goes first. Yuna is safe. Kimahri protect." With that the Ronso disappeared inside the doorway. The rest of the group filtered in silently and found Yunalesca waiting for them, and with her long silver hair and bathing suit on all of the men, except for Auron, and Ryan whom Rikku elbowed in the side, couldn't help but gawk for several seconds.
"Lady Yunalesca." Yuna said reverently.
"Welcome to Zanarkand. I congratulate you, Summoner." Yunalesca returned Yuna's bow with a nod of her head. "You have completed your pilgrimage. I will now bestow you with that which you seek. The final summoning… will be yours. Now, choose. You must choose the one whom I will change… to become the Fayth of the final summoning."
"You're shitting me…" Ryan muttered in disbelief, his words hidden by the gasps of horror from his friends.
"Seems like one of us dies no matter what." Seph commented with an amused grin. He felt Rae's hand slip into his and squeeze it gently and looked at her in surprise. She was looking at her feet intensely, and silent tears were running down her face.
"I sense that one of you has been here before." The group gasped again and Seph's eyes went wide as he realized why Rae was looking down at the ground, and why she summoned fiends to fight for her the way Summoners summoned Aeons.
"No way…" he whispered. Rae looked at him, her eyes begging him to stay quiet.
"You, girl, in the back." Yunalesca called out. Rae's eye's widened in horror and her body went rigid as she turned to face the First Lady of Yevon. "Yes… you were here… two years ago?" Rae nodded. "You… you couldn't bring yourself to accept the final summoning, correct?" Again Rae nodded. Yunalesca smiled a smile somewhere in-between Seph's smile and Lusniec's smile. "And he died, protecting you on your journey home, didn't he?"
"Shut up!" Rae whispered as she dropped to her knees, crying openly.
Yunalesca shook her head at Rae as if she was a disgrace to all Summoners. "There must be a bond between Summoner and chosen, for that is what the final summoning embodies: the bond between mother and child, husband and wife, or between friends. If that bond is strong enough, its light will conquer Sin. A thousand years ago I chose my husband Zaon as my Fayth. Our bond was true, and I obtained the Final Aeon. There is nothing to fear. You will soon be freed of your worry and pain. For once you call forth the Final Aeon, your life will end." Everyone flinched at those words. "Death is the ultimate and final liberation. Your father, Braska, chose this path." Yunalesca left them alone with those words, walking through the closed doors on the far side of the room. In the oppressive silence that followed her exit the group went over what they'd just heard. Suddenly Braska, Jecht, and a young Auron appeared.
"It's not too late! Let us turn back!" Auron pleaded with his two friends.
"If we turn back, who will defeat Sin?" Braska asked him. "Would you have some other Summoner and his guardians go through this?"
"But… my lord, there must be another way!" Auron argued.
"This is the only way we got now!" Jecht told him. "Fine. Make me the Fayth. I been doing some thinking. My dream is back in the other Zanarkand. I wanted to make that runt into a star blitzball player." Tidus sucked in his breath at the comment. "Show him the view from the top, you know. But now I know there's no way home for me. I'm never going to see him again. My dream's never gonna come true. So make me the Fayth. I'll fight Sin with you, Braska. Then maybe my life will have meaning, you know."
"Don't do this Jecht!" the young Auron yelled while the older Auron tightened the grip he had on his sword. "If you live… there may be another way! We'll think of something, I know!"
"Believe me, I've thought this through." Jecht told Auron. "Besides… I ain't getting any younger, so I might as well make myself useful."
"Jecht." Braska seemed grateful and sad at the same time.
"What! You're going to try and stop me, too?" Jecht complained.
"Sorry, I mean… thank you." Braska corrected himself.
"Braska's still has to fight Sin, Auron. Guard him well. Make sure he gets there." Now Jecht turned to face Braska. "Well, let's go."
"Lord Braska! Jecht!" Auron cried out.
"Now what do you want?" Jecht asked.
"Sin always comes back! It comes back after the calm every time! The cycle will continue and your deaths will mean nothing!"
"But there is always the chance that it won't come back this time. It's worth trying." Braska told him.
"I understand what you're saying, Auron. I'll find a way to break the cycle." Jecht assured Auron's younger self.
"You have a plan?" Auron asked in disbelief.
"Jecht?" Braska seemed more then a little surprised too.
"Trust me, I'll think of something." Jecht assured them with a laugh. The real Auron charged forward and attacked the memory of himself, apparently unable to deal with the images any more.
"And the cycle went on." He whispered.
"We'll break it!" Tidus assured him.
"I agree with the jock." Ryan added, drawing a laugh from Tidus.
"But how? What, you got a plan now?" Wakka demanded of the two.
"If one of us has to be a Fayth… I volunteer." Lulu said.
"Me too, Yuna!" Wakka agreed.
"That still won't change anything, you know?" Tidus told them. "You'd bring the Calm, then what? That won't break the cycle!"
"Listen… you wanna defeat Sin and keep Yuna alive… You don't want Sin to come back, ya? That's just not gonna happen, brudda, you know?" Wakka told his friend.
"If you want everything, you'll end up with nothing." Lulu agreed.
"Jeez, I'm supposed to be the pessimist here." Ryan complained. "You know, I know for a fact that Lulu's right." Everyone looked at him. "When I was on earth, I had a tendency to have… periods where I… well… wanted to kill myself." Everyone gasped except for Auron, Kimahri, and Seph who just watched him impassively. "Anyway, all I wanted to do was to get rid of all the pain I felt. Even if it meant dying. But I decided, 'I'll give it one more day. Who cares if I suffer in the shadows for one more day?' and you know what? When we got here, I found out that I didn't have to suffer all the time. I learned to deal with the pain and moved on."
"What does that have to do with saving Yuna? I want everything, I want to save Yuna!" Tidus yelled as Yuna blushed slightly.
"I didn't give up when it would've been easy to just grab a gun, put it to my head, and pull the trigger. I suffered instead. So why don't we all deal with our suffering a little longer, and come up with a way to kill Sin that doesn't involve Yuna dying, hmmm?"
"Now you're being childish!" Wakka accused.
"So?" Wakka looked at him oddly. "Would you rather I do what an adult would do?"
"Yeah, would you rather we just throw away the life of a Summoner? Just so we can do what we want? We may not have a chance in hell, but isn't it worth trying?" Matt asked.
"And maybe what Auron said about there being another way… maybe it's true." Andy added.
"You'll think of something?" Rikku asked them hopefully.
"I'll go ask Yunalesca. She's got to know something." Tidus declared.
"Do you think she'll help you?" Rikku asked.
"Well, there's really only one way to find out." Ryan and Matt said as they started forward with Tidus.
"Yeah. This is my story. It'll go the way I want it… or it'll end here." Ryan slapped Tidus in the back of the head.
"This is our story too, you dim-witted jock." Ryan said as he, Rikku, Matt, and Andy walked through the door to Yunalesca's chambers.
"Have you chosen the one to become the Fayth? Who will it be?" Yunalesca asked when Yuna came in. "Or perhaps Rae will decided to acquire the final summoning this time."
"Might I ask something first?" Yunalesca nodded to Yuna's request. "Will Sin come back even should I use the final summoning to defeat it?"
"Sin is eternal. Every Aeon that defeats it become Sin in its place… And thus Sin is reborn." Yunalesca explained.
"So that's why Jecht became Sin." Tidus muttered to himself.
"Sin is an inevitable part of Spira's destiny. It is never ending." Yunalesca told them.
"Never ending?" Wakka asked in disbelief. "But… but… if we atone for our crimes, Sin will stop coming back, ya? Someday, it'll be gone, ya?"
"Wakka, is that what Yevon says?" Wakka nodded and Matt nearly laughed at him. "Humanity will never reach such purity. For every light…"
"There must be an equal or greater darkness to keep the balance of the world." Ryan finished the sentence. "Just like me and Lusniec. Right, Yunalesca?" Yunalesca nodded.
"This… this cannot be! The teachings state that we can exorcise Sin with complete atonement! It's been our only hope all these years!" Lulu yelled.
"Hope is… comforting." Yunalesca told the black mage. "It allows us to accept fate, no matter how tragic it might be."
"No!" Tidus yelled, his sudden outburst startling even Auron, Seph, and Kimahri. Before Tidus could charge Yunalesca the young version of Auron appeared.
"Where is the sense in all of this?" It demanded. "Braska believed in Yevon's teachings and died for them. Jecht believed in Braska and gave his life for him!"
"They chose to die… because they had hope." A memory of Yunalesca said, appearing a few feet in front of the real unsent. The image of Auron charged her, but she knocked him back with an invisible attack. The images faded and Yunalesca turned to the group again. "Yevon's teachings and the final summoning gave the people of Spira hope. Without hope, they would drown in their own sorrow. Now choose. Who will be your Fayth? Who will be the one to renew Spira's hope?"
An uneasy silence fell over the group before Yuna stepped forward. "No one." She said simply, but the words hit Yunalesca like a wet glove. "I would have gladly died. I live for the people of Spira, and would gladly have died for them. But no more! The final summoning… is a false tradition that should be thrown away!"
"No. It is our only hope. Your father sacrificed himself to give that hope to the people. So they would forget their sorrow." Yunalesca seemed unnerved by Yuna's conviction.
"Wrong. My father… My father wanted… to make Spira's sorrow go away. Not just cover it up with lies!"
"Sorrow cannot be abolished. It is meaningless to try." Yunalesca looked like she was going to freak out soon.
"My father… I loved him. So I… I will live with my sorrow, I will live my own life!" Yuna told Yunalesca. "I will defeat sorrow, in his place! I will stand my ground and be strong. I don't know when it will be but someday, I will conquer it. And I will do it… without false hope." Ryan clapped.
"Man, you should be a public speaker Yuna." He said and everyone couldn't help but laugh a little. "Well, you heard her Yunalesca. We're gonna take Sin down, and we're gonna do it without you final summoning."
"Poor creatures. You would throw away hope." Yunalesca had finally regained her composure. "Well… I will free you before you can drown in your sorrow. It is better for you to die in hope then live in despair."
"It's a bit late for that one lady." Ryan commented with a sarcastic roll of his eyes.
"Let me be your liberator!" Yunalesca said as she started to gather magical energy.
"Now! This is it!" Auron yelled as he drew his sword. "Now is the time to choose! Die and be free of pain or live and fight your sorrow! Now is the time to shape your stories! Your fate is in your hands!"
"Yuna needs Kimahri." The Ronso drew his spear and dropped into a defensive stance. "Kimahri protect Yuna."
"Well, I'm fighting!" Rikku said happily.
"I can't believe we're fighting Lady Yunalesca! Gimme a break!" Wakka whined as he prepared for the battle.
"You can always run." Lulu reminded him.
"Hah! I'd never forgive myself-no way! Not if I ran now! Even in death, ya!"
Wakka told her.
"My thoughts exactly." Lulu admitted.
"Well that just proves you two are made for each other." Ryan said as he drew Wind Cutter. Lulu and Wakka looked at him, then at each other, and blushed slightly. "Guess I have to keep you alive long enough for you to sort everything out. So lets get this over with, eh?"
"What about us!' Rikku asked playfully.
"Oh yeah, there's that too. Believe me, I'm not gonna forget about you anytime soon." Rikku smiled at the comment. "I mean, you do have my sweatshirt after all." He added jokingly, drawing a nervous laugh from everyone present.
"Yuna, this is our story! Now lets see this through together!" Tidus shouted.
"Jeez, I guess I have to help if I'm gonna kill all of you, don't I?" Seph said with a roll of his eyes.
"This sounds like fun." Andy commented, five balls of fire erupting into life around him.
"Wrong, it sounds like we're about to kick Yunalesca's ass. Such a pain." Matt said sarcastically as he picked Lightning Edge up in one hand and his other axe up in the other one. "Well, lets get this over with."
"Vunlac uv Tynghacc rayn so juela. Lusa yht pnayg dra uha dryd cdyhtc eh so fyo!( Forces of Darkness hear my voice. Come and break the one that stands in my way!)" Rae's voice started off slowly and grew louder towards the end. The wind picked up the way it had when Lusniec appeared, only instead of the angel it was one of the giant birds from Bikanel Desert, thing fiend's massive wings almost crushing the group each time it beat them. "Damn fiend! Not right over us!" She yelled. The fiend instantly moved so that it was hovering in front of the group rather then over it. "Stupid fiends."
"Well, you're the one that keeps summoning them." Seph said jokingly. "What does that say about you?"
"Stupid boys." Rae added.
"Again, you're the one that came on to me. So yet again, what does that say about you?"
"Would you shut up?" Rae asked. "It's not the easy thing in the world to summon and control spirits, you know?"
"No, I wouldn't. After all, I'm not dumb enough to do that." Seph said sarcastically.
"No, just dumb enough to rush head long into any fight, even if you know you can't win." Rae countered. "And then some friendly fiends always seem to come and save your sorry ass."
"Yeah, yeah." Seph said as he dropped twelve pendulums to the ground from each hand. The razor sharp blades cut into the rock and stuck point up, making it rather easy for Seph to attach all the strands of water to them.
"You've got more then 2 of those things?" Ryan asked.
"Actually… I've got 40, give a dozen." Seph corrected.
"Wonderful." Ryan muttered.
"Quite." Seph agreed.
"Silence!" Yunalesca roared. Ryan, Seph, and Andy responded by hurling their respective ranged weapons at her. A gun shot and the twang of Matt's bow followed quickly, and a massive amount of arrows made out thunder, and kunai made out of fire. The assault slammed into Yunalesca, who barely managed to get a shield up. But even with all her power she was no match for three of the four gods, and the new angel. She jerked as the weapons flew through her body and dropped to the ground silently.
"That's it?" Ryan asked.
"No way. That was way too easy." Matt stated.
"Did I ever tell you how much you guys scare me at times?" Rikku and Rae asked at the same time. They looked at each other and started laughing. The relief spread throughout the group quickly, and even Auron and Seph couldn't keep themselves from laughing a little.
"And to think we were worried." Matt said.
"You should be." Yunalesca's voice sounded like she was possessed in a really old horror flick, with the double voice. "I will free you from you suffering!" This time her voice was completely her own, but it was as loud as a thunderclap each time she spoke. The group spun around and saw her rising up twenty feet into the air, supported solely by her hair.
"You're kidding." Seph muttered when he noticed that she was completely healed. In response several of her thick strands of hair started to burrow through the ground and after the group. They scattered in every direction, but the slower characters weren't able to escape the attack. Auron and Kimahri got hit in the legs by the end of Yunalesca's hair, the mouth like things biting into them but inflicting very little pain. Instead a familiar inky blackness seeped into the cut.
"Zombie!" Tidus warned as he cast a haste spell on Yuna. The white mage instantly ran over to them, giving each of them a holy water before summoning Bahamut. The massive Aeon starred Yunalesca in the face for a few seconds then got down on all fours. The pinwheel on its back started to spin, and a few seconds later it launched a beam of pure energy at the holder of the Final Aeon. She countered with an energy shield, only this time it held up to the assault. "Hastega!" Tidus cried out. Ryan smiled and took off at top speed.
"What the hell? Where'd the other kid go?" Rae asked, looking around in confusion.
Rikku and Matt laughed slightly. "Ryan's really fast to begin with, right?" Matt said. Rae and Seph nodded. "That's because his style of swordsmanship involves moving so quickly it's just barely perceivable by the human eye. So when Tidus used Hastega and Ryan had the haste spell on him, he's even faster then normal. He can't be detected by the human eye."
"I see." Seph said, more then a little impressed. 'He may be fun to hunt.'
"Attack!" Rae yelled to the massive fiend she'd summoned. The creature let out a roar and charged Yunalesca. Before it got close enough to attack three of Yunalesca's hairs jumped out of the ground and grabbed its wings and neck. There was a snap, a spray of blood, and then the fiend went limp in the attack's grasp. Rae smirked slightly and turned to Seph. "Lemme see one of your pendulums for a second."
"Is this really the time?" Seph asked.
"Now!" Rae yelled. Seph shrugged and dropped one out of his sleeve.
"Don't cut yourself." He warned as he handed it to her. She took the blade and cut her palm open before handing it back. "What the hell?"
"Later." Rae took a step back and looked at Yuna. "Do you have Anima?" She asked. Yuna looked at her oddly and shook her head. "What's your strongest Aeon?" Yuna pointed to Bahamut. "Alright then. See if you can get him behind Yunalesca."
"Why?" Yuna asked.
"Just trust me. I've got a score to settle with this bitch." Rae told her grimly. "Everyone, you're gonna wanna move back a little bit. Ryan!" The boy appeared a few feet in front of her. "Can you keep Yunalesca busy? This could take a few minutes."
"Sure, I'll even dress in drag and do the hula for ya." Ryan said sarcastically as he disappeared.
"Hey, I wanna see that one!" Matt yelled.
"Me too!" Rikku added.
"Ok, everyone, back up." Everyone did as Rae ordered. A cry of pain from Yunalesca and a muffled grunt of pain from Ryan told Rae she didn't have much time to work with. "E cissuh oui Aeon uv Tynghacc. Lusa du sa Anima (I summon you Aeon of Darkness. Come to me Anima)!" Rae yelled as she slammed her hand into the ground. Her blood seeped out from under her hand and formed a bunch of strange markings on the ground around her hand. Matt looked on with wide eyes.
"A summoning technique! What the hell?" As Matt asked the question a familiar inky black hole started to expand from Rae's hand. She jumped back, pale from loss of blood. Rikku and Seph went work instantly, cleaning and dressing the cut as a hook fell into the hole. Sure enough, when the hook reappeared, it was dragging Anima to the surface.
"Rae, when on Spira did you learn to summon Aeons?" Seph asked as the mummified Aeon went to work on Yunalesca, who had just knocked Ryan to the ground with one of her hairs.
"Well… three years ago I was a Summoner." She told him. Everyone looked at her like she was a fiend herself. "My best friend was my guardian. We got every Aeon, even Seymour's. But when we got here… I just couldn't use him for the final summoning. So we left, but on our way back down Gagazet he got killed. Until now, I hadn't summoned an Aeon since then."
"So that's what Yunalesca was getting at." Matt muttered as he watched the two Aeons crush Yunalesca. "Well, I'd say our Summoners took care of Yunalesca…"
"No." Seph said, his eyes narrowing. Yunalesca fell to the ground and it started to shake. "I'd say they just pissed her off."
"Damn it." Andy muttered.
"Give me a break!" Tidus complained. "Can't she just stay dead?"
"I will never die!" The deep voice that had spoken in unison with Yunalesca earlier roared. The ground seemed to explode, launching rocks, and Ryan, towards the group. The swordsman landed with a thud on the ground.
"You ok?" Andy asked with a raised eyebrow.
Ryan raised a hand and gave him a thumb up. "Yeah. Just fine." He stated with a roll of his eyes.
"Good." Andy, Matt, and Seph stepped forward. "Suzaku." The giant bird flared into existence.
"Yamu." Matt stated as electricity in the shape of a wolf crackled into life.
"Leviathan." Seph whispered the words as a Chinese dragon appeared out of the air in front of him. "Well, lets do this." Matt and Andy nodded and the three beasts charged Yunalesca, who was now little more than a medusa head.
"No! Matt, stop!" Rae yelled. Matt and Yamu turned to face her as one, but Suzaku exploded, drowning out Rae's words. Leviathan roared and tried to push its way through Yunalesca, but succeeded in doing little more then destroying itself. Yamu roared and charged Yunalesca. As it ran it turned into a massive bolt of lightning with fangs. It slammed into Yunalesca, but she seemed to enjoy the attack rather then get hurt. "Idiot! She absorbs lightning!"
"Now you tell me." Matt muttered. He lifted his axes and charged Yunalesca's head. Several of the worm-like hairs she had burrowed into the ground. The rocks around Matt shot up as three of them launched their attacks.
Matt split the first one in half with an overhead swing from both axes. The weapon's tore through the face on the end of the hair, but got stuck when he tried to pull them out. One of the remaining two fell when Anima and Bahamut both attacked it, the black energy of their attacks disintegrating it instantly. The third found itself wound up in two-dozen strings of water that were slowly digging into it. Blood poured from every part of it that was touched by the strands of water, and the harder it tried to reach Matt, who had just freed his axes, the deeper the strands dug into it. Seph grabbed all the water strands in his hands and pulled. The hair toppled to the ground where Tidus, Lulu, and Kimahri made short work of it.
Yunalesca's Medusa head roared in anger. A jester-looking phantom appeared in front of the group. It was missing its lower body, but its hands were wicked looking claws. It floated towards Auron and Lulu first. It looked them over for a second before swinging its claw. Lulu jumped back, the claw barely missing her stomach. Auron raised his sword to block, but the claw passed through it like it wasn't there. It grazed Auron's stomach and Auron went limp instantly. His massive sword slipped to the ground as he collapsed.
"Auron!" Tidus yelled. He rushed over to the fallen warrior and checked his pulse. His face paled and he shook his head slowly. "No!" He yelled, rising and turning to face the phantom. He swung his sword but it passed through the ghostly image without any effect. The clawed hand lashed out, catching Tidus on the arm. He too fell to the ground.
"Tidus!" Yuna yelled in disbelief. She pointed her staff at her friend and launched her spell. There was a flash, and when it faded Tidus was standing again, looking more then a little confused, but very much alive. He reached down and picked up his sword while Yuna repeated the spell on Auron. The sword master barely seemed surprised that he was alive again, and wasted no time in retrieving his sword.
A cry of pain drew everyone's attention back to Yunalesca's Medusa head, where Matt had just shoved Lightning Edge into one of her eyes. He jumped away from one of her worm-hairs and charged towards the other eye, his extra axe held in the air. He brought it down and felt it rip through the demon's eye with little resistance. As blood squirted out Yunalesca thrashed about with her tentacles wildly. Auron and Anima dealt with any that came too close to the group, while Yuna and Bahamut took care of Yunalesca. The king of dragons grabbed her by the stalks of hair on her head and lifted her into the air. Instantly all of Yunalesca's hair focused on the one Aeon, but Matt, Auron, and Lulu kept them too distracted to do anything.
"Rae! Hit it now!" Yuna cried, pointing to Yunalesca's unprotected underside. Rae nodded and Anima charged up a powerful attack. The beam shot through the creature's bottom and Bahamut dropped Yunalesca onto her back. Pyreflies were leaking from its shoulder as Yuna dismissed the mighty Aeon. Slowly Yunalesca returned to her original body.
"If I die, so does the Final Aeon. And with it, Spira's only hope." Yunalesca warned as Anima disappeared and Rae collapsed.
"Then we'll find Spira a new hope!" Tidus told her.
"Fool. There is no other way. Even if there was… even if you did destroy Sin… Yu Yevon would only create Sin anew." Yunalesca explained through coughs of blood.
"Yu Yevon!" Matt, Andy, and Ryan cried in unison.
"Ah… Zaon… forgive me… Spira has been robbed of the light of hope… all that remains is sorrow." Yunalesca whispered before pyreflies started to pour out of her body.
"I cannot believe what we just did." Yuna whispered as she watched Yunalesca's corpse disappear.
"Let's do something even more unbelievable." Tidus told her.
"What?" Rikku asked.
"Destroy Sin. So it won't come back, and without the Final Aeon." Tidus told her. "I don't know how just yet. But I'll find out."
"I'm with you." Andy agreed. "We would've had to do it anyway, right?" Tidus nodded. "Well then, what are we waiting for?"
Seph led the way back through the ruins, cutting down anything that tried to attack them. Ryan watched in amazement as the assassin coordinated the attacks of his multitude of razor sharp blades with flawless, and more then a little terrifying, skill. When they walked out of the dome they found themselves starring down Sin.
"Oh shit." Andy muttered.
well, that's chapter 15! i'll try and post as soon as possible, i know you're all dying to see what happens next. only the legendary weapons and omega ruins, probably next chapter; sin and returning to earth; and then the epilouge. remember people, don't forget to vote for your favorite charcter and give me a reason! cya next time!