So here we are everyone. this would've been up on memorial day, or yesterday, but the server wouldn't let me log in, a fact that caused me much distress.and just think, just one more update after this and then we'll be on to book 2! wow... this is the first story i've ever finished, you know that?And it's also more then 400 pages long in the master copy! And it's all thanks to you wonderful reviewers! give yourselves a pat on the back! anyway, i'd just like to promote the final fantasy 10 fics written by Ghost Rider CSV (the series starts with Yevon Phoenix and is currently on the sequal, Resurrection, they're really good, so go check them out 'cause the next update, aka the epilouge thing (wow, spelled that wrong), is gonna take awhile to get done more then likely, but you'll understand why when i update. now, onto reveiws!
labrat-seph- so you were too lazy to unlock all the legendary weapons? i unlocked tidus', rikku's, and yuna's... and then procceded to kill ultima, omega, jecht, and yu yevon in a grand total of 13 hits... i think...
lightningwizard- well thank you! i had a hard time making this one interesting without having much fighting... and i was kinda glad to not have Ryan in it for awhile. BOrn-Slippy was right, he was saving the group too much -- so i had to put him on the bench.
Auron's fan- well, you'll just have to read and find out how the battle goes!
Da KeR MysTeRr- well, here's the newest chapter! and speaking of sequals... i have an announcment to make, but i'm not gonna make till the end of the chapter! muwahahahahahahahah! don't look early now people!
Sephirothxx-yes, i made it interesting... and the omega ruins were a pain in the game, so i had Seph kick ass in them to show how much i despise them... and his clone technique was pretty kool. what was it, 600 pendulums? can you ow?
BOrn-Slippy- yes, it was entertaining. and will seph turn on the group? well, i'm no telling, i mean there are at LEAST 3 more books in the series, though he's not in one of them... at all...
and that's it for the reviews! now, enjoy the chapter, leave a review, and then i'll make my annoucement (spelled that wrong i think...) at the end! cya there!
Chapter 17:Good-byes
"All right, we're going in!" Tidus told Cid.
"How we gonna get inside?" Wakka raised a rather interesting question.
Tidus grinned. "The easy way! How else?"
"Figures." Rikku said with mock disappointment.
"He better not mean we're going in through the mouth…" Ryan whispered to Matt, who nodded in agreement.
"Well? Let's go!" Lulu ordered as the guardians started to file out of the room quickly. As Tidus, Matt, and Ryan went to walk off Cid called out to Tidus, who stopped, forcing Matt and Ryan to follow suit.
"How do you plan on getting inside?"
"If we can go through the mouth, we'll rip open a new one! You with me?" Cid looked at them and laughed.
"Now that's what I call a plan!" He agreed much to Tidus' pleasure.
"Vydran! E ghuf fryd du ica! (Father! I know what to use!)" The pilot told Cid.
"Aha! Of course!" Cid seemed to know what his son was talking about, but Tidus simply mimicked him, oblivious to what they were talking about. "All right, we'll give that thing a new blow hole. All you gotta do is jump!" HE told them.
"That's good to know." Ryan said sarcastically.
"I won't tell you to be careful. Do your worst kiddos!" The three gave him a determined smile.
"We always do." Matt informed Cid which caused the Al Bhed leader to smile.
"Fyed! (Wait!)" The pilot called. Everyone looked at him as he cleared his throat. "Rikku, you… guard." Although it was broken he got the idea across well enough.
"You should be talking to him about that." Tidus said with a grin, pointing at Ryan who smiled.
Tuh'd funno bym. E'mm gaab yh aoa uh ran. (Don't worry pal. I'll keep an eye on her.)" Ryan assured him before the three left. They met up with the rest of their group on the elevator, and silently they rode up to the deck for what could very well be their last time.
"I can hear the song!" Rikku said in an excited voice.
"Yes, I can hear the Hymn, too." Lulu agreed.
"They listened to us!" Rikku was jumping up and down with joy now.
"Yuna!" Tidus' voice drew her attention to him and he pulled out the sphere he'd found before Zanarkand. "You don't need this anymore, right? Right?" She shook her head and he threw it overboard. When it hit the peak of its flight an arrow flew through it, followed closely by a kunai and a throwing star.
"Hey guys? Guys? That's not good, ya?" Wakka commented as the airship began to shake. They looked at Sin and found a massive ball of energy in its mouth. When it fired the water and the land in its path split, and even though they weren't avid church goers on Earth, Matt, Andy, and Ryan couldn't help but think that the affect Sin's attack had on the ocean was probably something along the lines of what Moses did when he parted the sea.
"This is gonna take more then a little doing." Ryan muttered in awe as he watched the water go back to normal.
The speakers on the airship cracked to life and Cid's voice poured out over it, "Hey, I saw something shine at the base of Sin's arm! I reckon it's a weak spot!" That was all the incentive the group needed. But before they could do anything Sin opened its mouth and started to suck them in.
"B.S." Ryan muttered as they drew closer to the fiend.
"Sin's pulling us in!" Rikku told them.
"Brilliant observation." Matt replied sarcastically.
"Everyone, back inside!" Cid ordered.
"Don't worry about it! We'll just kick its ass here and now!" Seph replied confidently.
Rae gave her boyfriend a surprised look. "That's not like you. I mean, you always used to say that Sin was the only fiend in Spira that you feared."
"We've got to end it. Spira's lived in fear for way too long." Now everyone was starring at him. "Think of it as my last job if you will. I always knew I'd go out with a bang."
Matt smiled. "Guess that means we're off the hook then." Seph grinned but said nothing. "That's good to hear." He dropped Lightning Edge onto the airship and pulled out his bow. "Well, see you later." He muttered as he fired the empty bow. Nobody was shocked or surprised to see seventy arrows of pure electricity flying through the air a few seconds later. They slammed into Sin's left fin, just at its base. For a second nothing happened, but Matt's smile kept anyone from asking what he was doing. As they watched the arrows started to glow, and then Sin roared. The sound was the most terrifying, but also the most heartbreaking sound any of them had ever heard. "Gotta love delayed attacks." Matt informed nobody in particular as he walked over, threw the bow and quiver into the elevator and returned to Lightning Edge.
By the time he returned both Summoners had summoned their version of Anima, and the horrifying Aeons were pounding away at the same fin he'd damaged. Suddenly Cid's voice came over the radio again, this time ordering them to hold onto something.
"What exactly does he expect us to hold onto?" Andy wondered allowed as he laid down on the ground, driving both the blades on his weapons into the hull. Everyone else followed suit as best they could. Something beneath them started to give off heat, and then a massive bolt of pure energy shot out from underneath the airship. It slammed into Sin's left fin at the weak point. For a second nothing happened, but then the fin fell into the ocean below and Sin let out another cry of pain.
"Got it!" Tidus cried in joy.
"Couldn't have done it without you! All right! Everyone look sharp! Time to hit the other side!" Cid told them as Brother started turning the airship.
"Easy for you to say!" Rikku yelled jokingly. The second fin fell as quickly as the first, if not quicker, and once again Cid blew it off with the main gun. Rikku listened to the radio her father had given her intently, her face growing paler with each passing second. "The main gun's busted!" She was struggling to keep the panic inside of her from showing.
"Dang it! All right, back inside. Time for another plan." Cid told them.
"No!" Tidus yelled defiantly. "Every blitzer knows: when you've got the ball you gotta score!"
"On my honor as a Ronso!" Kimahri roared as he jumped off the side of the airship and onto Sin.
"Hey! Star players first!" Tidus complained as the rest of the group followed suit.
"We're fucking insane!" Ryan yelled as he dropped towards Sin. When they landed a sight that was familiar to some of the group greeted them. The Sinspawn that they'd destroyed at Kilika Temple was waiting for them.
"Not this bastard again." Ryan sighed. "And I can't even use the Do Ryu Sen this time."
"Why not?" Rikku asked.
Ryan pointed to the ground. "It'll tear up Sin's skin. And each piece of skin that comes off is gonna turn into a Sinspawn."
"Oh yeah." The Sinspawn lashed out at the group with its tentacles, but the group easily dodged the attack. Seph's pendulums launched out, wrapping around the things vine like fingers but oddly enough not cutting them to pieces.
"Bastard." Seph muttered, more then a little impressed. "It's a hell of a lot stronger then it looks. I can't tear it apart like the others."
"Hold it still then." Ryan told him. Seph nodded and Ryan jumped up into the air. "Hiten Mitsurugi Style Ryu Tsui Sen!" he came down and cut into the fingers that Seph had stretched taunt. They gave little resistance against the powerful attack, and Auron and Tidus quickly went to work on the other side, hacking the fingers off at odd intervals but with devastating affect. Without it's fingers it was pretty much harmless, and couldn't defend itself against the groups physical attacks at all. After that fell the group starred down a big pod looking thing that seemed resistant to physical attacks. Once Auron broke its armor the fight was as easier then they expected.
As they walked through the airships corridors they received congratulations from everyone they passed. The fact that everyone was congratulating them before Sin was truly dead turned all their stomachs, but they just smiled and let the people believe that Sin was dead for good. After all, soon it would be as far as they were concerned.
"Rikku, aqlammahd! (Rikku, excellent!)" Brother told his sister when the group walked onto the bridge.
"It's going to come back, isn't it?" Yuna's question was so quiet everyone but Tidus nearly missed it.
He nodded sadly. "I know."
"What?" Cid looked at them in shock. "You're kidding me!"
"No! We have to beat the guy inside of Sin."
"The Crusaders would be out of a job if it was this easy." Wakka agreed sadly.
"But it has weakened. I'm sure of it." Lulu told the group.
"Yeah! We're winning!" Rikku agreed excitedly.
"Alright, I'll see what I can do with the main gun!" With that the captain of the airship walked off the bridge with a determined stride.
"Well, I guess all we can do now is wait." Matt sat down, leaning against one of the walls. "Might as well get comfortable." The minutes ticked by as people filtered in an out of the bridge for various reasons, but everyone was on edge.
"Here we go!" Rikku shouted suddenly. She was watching Sin out of the main window while talking into the radio she had. The few members of the group that hadn't been on the bridge arrived in time to see Sin unfold two massive wings and fly over to a tower in Bevelle.
"What the hell?" Matt wondered aloud.
"Does anyone else see a city on its back?" Andy asked, voicing everyone's confusion.
"Most definitely." Ryan confirmed. "But why it has a city on its back, I'll never know."
"Jecht… he's waiting for you." Auron said quietly as Cid walked back onto the deck with a grim face.
"Well, son, the main gun is still busted! We can't give you any cover fire!" he declared sadly.
"Hey, just take us in." Tidus said confidently. "We'll do the rest." The rest of the group nodded in agreement.
"All right." He turned to Brother, "Take us up, flush to the mouth! No mistakes, or I'm gonna tear out that mop you call hair!" The group couldn't help but smile slightly at the comment.
"Trust… me. Me… take you there. No problem… ya?"
"Let's get ready to blitz!" Matt sighed at Tidus' enthusiasm.
'He's definitely as bad as Rikku.' Matt thought as the group made their way to deck. When they got out they found themselves starring right into Sin's many eyes.
"Here we go!" Cid warned as he flew closer to the massive fiend.
"Yeah! I'm coming for you, Dad!" Sin attacked, blasting a small bolt of energy at the group. Everyone jumped out of the way and the beam passed over the deck harmlessly.
"Ultima!" Lulu cried, launching a wave of pure magic at the fiend. It slammed into Sin, but had no real effect.
"That's not good…" Matt said quietly. He closed his eyes for a second and found Dnortih's power. He pulled as much of it out as he could, many times more then a Thundaraga spell would've required. He opened his eyes, and when he pointed a hand at Sin a bolt of lightning shot out of his hand. It slammed into Sin and caused what looked almost like an explosion when it hit.
"What was that?" Lulu asked curiously, to which Matt could only shrug.
"Something I just came up with actually." He admitted slowly.
"It worked though." Andy closed his eyes like Matt had. 'I'm pretty sure that was the power of the god of thunder, so what can the god of fire do?' he wondered as he found Vena's power. He tore almost all of it out and focused it into his hand. With a cry he threw it at Sin, and the giant wave of fire that appeared out of his hands was as big as the fiend. "Go. To. Hell." He muttered as he willed the wave forward. It engulfed Sin for a second and then multiple explosions sounded from the burning fiend. "I think I hit something explosive…"
With a roar Sin slammed into the airship, nearly knocking the group off the deck. As they regained their footing they saw Sin, mouth opened, trying to swallow them.
"Damn it! How'd I know we were gonna end up going in through the mouth?" Ryan muttered as he sheathed Wind Cutter. And then they were inside of Sin. It was unlike anything they'd expected to see. They were flying, and at one point passed through an illusionary eye that reminded everyone of Seymour for some reason.
"Dad! Where are you?" Tidus yelled into the emptiness as they got off of the airship.
"We must go to him." Auron told Tidus.
"Then we will! Let me take front!" Tidus led the group through in surprisingly quickly.
Until they reached a set of stairs, where they heard a horrifyingly familiar voice call out to them. "Welcome to the end!" Seymour told them, but he was different this time. Apparently he'd been waiting for them because he was already transformed and ready to fight.
"Don't you ever give up?" Tidus asked the dead annoyance that stood in front of them.
"Seriously. This'll be the fourth time we've killed you? Why humiliate yourself again, just roll over and die." Matt suggested in a voice that suggested that he'd rather kill Seymour himself.
Seymour gave them an insane laugh. "Sin has chosen me!" He told them.
"Psycho…" Andy muttered quietly as Seymour continued to rant.
"Sin just absorbed you." Tidus told Seymour.
"I will learn to control it, from within. I have all the time in the world. Since you were gracious enough to dispose of Yunalesca… the only means of destroying Sin is forever gone. Now nothing can stop us!" He burst into another fit of laughter that ended when Ryan threw several throwing stars at him. They simply bounced off his skin, but he looked at Ryan with hatred in his eyes.
"Well we can." Tidus told Seymour as he pulled out Caladbolg." Seymour's eyes widened.
"You… you have them! The weapons of legend!" He seemed more then a little frightened.
"Yep. Ryan translated their locations, how to get them, and then Matt gave the directions while he was asleep." Andy explained.
"And they certainly kicked Omega's ass, so I wonder what they'll do to yours. Care to find out?" Ryan asked with a friendly voice.
"You killed Omega?" Seymour was utterly shocked, that much was clear. "Well then, you'll just have to die here. I can't have such powerful foes running around." Seymour launched two Firaga spells at the group, which Andy absorbed before they could hit anyone. Seymour glared at the gods and tried a water spell. Just as it was about to hit the group it stopped, turned around and slammed into Seymour instead.
"Seymour, it's been awhile." Seph said calmly as he stepped out of a nearby shadow.
"Traitor!" Seymour yelled, a thunderbolt flying towards the assassin. It curved in mid air, hit Seymour, and then hit the three wheels behind him. They turned from blue to red as Seymour stood up slowly, obviously shaken by the powerful attack. "Then die!" He yelled as he launched a flare at the group, only to have it bounce off of an invisible shield.
"Sorry, but that's not gonna work." Ryan said quietly as Tidus and Auron charged Seymour. Tidus slashed him a bunch of times, drove his sword into the ground, and jumped off it. Yuna threw one of Wakka's old blitzballs at him and he twisted in mid-air and kicked it at Seymour. It slammed into the Maester, knocking him back a couple of feet before the blitzball exploded.
As Tidus dropped to the ground Auron took a long sip from his sake bottle and spit the sake back out on his sword. When he swung four fireballs came off of it and slammed into Seymour, knocking him back again.
Lulu and Yuna started assaulting Seymour with a barrage of Holy and Ultima spells, and Kimahri even threw in some second level spells. World Champion flew into Seymour repeatedly, its deadly spikes tearing out pieces of flesh each time. Seph's pendulums weaved in and out of the rest of the attacks, slowly cutting Seymour to ribbons. With a single, true, Wind Cutter and a Chidori Seymour fell to the ground, blood pouring out of nearly every part of his body.
"No!" He cried weakly.
"Now!" Wakka yelled to Yuna while pointing to Seymour. "Yuna, send him!"
"So it is you, after all, who will send me." Seymour muttered in an amused voice. "But even after I am gone, Spira's sorrow will prevail!"
"Not if we have anything to say about it." Seph whispered as Seymour disappeared, leaving behind the feeling that the group hadn't seen the last of him.
"Sin will be right behind you." Tidus told him before leading the group into the next part of Sin, where a tower fell from the sky.
"Well that certainly looks inviting." Ryan muttered sarcastically as they walked in. There was a bright flash and then they found themselves in a circular room with no way out, and the only other feature there was an egg-shaped glow. Tidus started towards it but was nearly impaled by an icicle that shot up out of the ground.
"Perhaps not standing still would be good." Rae suggested as she started to jog around. She reached the egg and picked it up, only to have another egg appear on the other side of the room. Auron reached down and picked this one up, and another one appeared. They continued to gather the light eggs until they had ten of them, at which point they were transported to a spot just outside a busted up city. And there was someone else there with his back turned towards them.
"You're late, Auron." The man's gruff voice made Ryan smirk slightly.
"I know." Auron replied quietly.
"So we meet again." The man turned and chuckled when he saw Ryan.
"Glad to see you made it kid." His eyes fell on Tidus. "Hey!"
"Hi." Tidus seemed like he was going to kick Jecht's ass right there, but he managed to keep himself in check.
"Hah! You got tall, but you're all skin and bones! You eating right, boy?" There was an awkward silence as the two studied each other. "You've really grown."
"Yeah, but you're still bigger." Tidus replied with the same tone he'd used earlier.
"Well, I am Sin you know." Jecht said with a laugh.
"That's not funny." Again Tidus used the same angry tone.
Jecht stopped laughing. "Well, then… I mean… you know. Let's end this."
Tidus raised an eyebrow. "Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"I hate you." Tidus told him.
"I know, I know. You know what you have to do."
Tidus nodded. "Yeah." His voice was sad but it held a determined edge.
"I can't hear the Hymn so well anymore." Jecht told them. "Pretty soon, I'm gonna be Sin completely. I'm glad you're here now. One thing, though… when it starts, I won't be myself anymore. I won't be able to hold myself back. I'm sorry."
"That's enough!" Tidus yelled, clearly frustrated. "Let's finish this, okay?" Jecht nodded sadly.
"You're right." He stepped onto a circle behind him. "Well, then… let's go!" Something inside him started to glow as he stumbled back towards the edge of the cliff. Tidus followed him and tried to keep him from the edge, but he was just a few seconds too late.
"Ryan!" Tidus whirled around to see his friend already running towards the ledge. He fell for a few seconds, looking oddly like a diver. Then his wings expanded and he pushed down towards the fading form of Jecht.
'Too late.' He realized as Jecht hit some lava. 'And why the hell does Sin have lava inside him? Talk about heartburn.' His thoughts were interrupted as a column of lava shot up at him. He barely dodged the first one and threw up a barrier to block another. He let it push him up as high as it went, and when it was falling back into the lava he turned and flew as fast as he could for the ledge everyone was on. Something stirred in the lava below, and when he was only a few feet away from the ledge he heard an inhuman roar. "Damn it!" He yelled as he was thrown way over the ledge by a force he couldn't begin to imagine.
His eyes widened as he watched a giant fiend with red skin, white hair, and a pair of horns rose up out of the lava. "Hey, are you ok?" Andy asked when Ryan landed. Ryan gave him a confused looked and Andy pointed towards his friend's wings, the tips of which were burned more then a little.
"I didn't even notice." With a flash of light the wings disappeared, but the rumbling grew louder.
"What's making that rumbling?" Rae asked, a hint of fear creeping into her voice.
"Jecht." Auron said quietly. Tidus turned to ask what he meant, but before he could even begin to form the question there was a thunderous, close roar. Everyone watched the eye, their expressions ranging from pure terror, like Rae and Rikku; to defiant glares like Matt, Andy, and Ryan; to impassive faces, like Auron and Seph.
A massive, red skinned, clawed hand reached up onto the ledge. "This could be a problem." Ryan grinned slightly when Andy stole his line. They watched as the previous Final Aeon pulled itself up onto the ledge.
"This will most certainly take a lot of work." Ryan muttered in awe as he looked at Braska's Final Aeon. It was at least twenty feet tall, and it wasn't even completely on the ledge. From the stomach down was still below them.
"I promise this will be quick." Tidus was stepping forward with Caladbolg. "Hit me with all you got, Dad!" Jecht complied by swinging a massive hand at the group.
"Damn it Tidus! Don't provoke him!" Ryan complained as he jumped up and drove Wind Cutter into Jecht's arm. The Aeon just starred at him like he wasn't really worth the trouble before knocking him off with a backhand that sent him hurtling into a nearby wall.
"Chidori!" Matt yelled. Instantly the familiar sound of a thousand birds chirping echoed in the cavern, while a familiar ball of lightning appeared in his hand. He jumped onto Jecht's other hand and charged up it as fast as he could, jumping and rolling around on it to dodge Jecht's attempts to knock him off. He reached the top and shoved the lightning into Jecht's neck. There was a second of resistance before his hand passed into the Aeon's flesh, but not nearly as far as he'd hoped. Jecht snarled in pain, reached up and grabbed Matt, and then threw him into Ryan who was just starting to sit up.
"Zombie Attack!" Auron charged his former companion and cut into him with his new sword. Jecht shrugged the blow off without taking much direct damage, but the familiar black stuff that had come out of Seymour's spear came off his sword and flowed into the cut.
'Intelligent.' Seph admitted as he dropped all of his pendulums at once. Everyone but Wakka, Rikku, Tidus, and Auron starred at the forty blades at his feet. "Well then, Sir Jecht. Shall we?" He asked as the water in the air connected the blades with stands of water.
Jecht replied by reaching into his own chest and pulling out a massive sword. "Now that's just fucked up." Matt muttered as he helped Ryan to his feet.
"What now?" Everyone glanced at Ryan with mild surprise. "What? You can't expect me always have a plan." He complained.
"Geez, always slacking off when we really need you." Matt muttered as he walked over and picked up Lightning Edge. 'That sword's giant. It's gotta be heavy as hell. If Jecht swings and misses then his sword'll probably get stuck in the ground.' A nervous smile crept onto his face slowly. 'But if it doesn't, we're in serious trouble.'
"Ok, anybody got a plan?" Rikku was bouncing from foot to foot nervously.
"Yeah, kick its ass." Matt charged in even as he made the suggestion.
"Hey, save some for me!" Seph complained as he and Tidus started charging Jecht as well. Jecht slammed down with his sword, barely missing Tidus and leaving a deep cut in the ground. Seph's pendulums shot out, wrapping around the massive sword and pinning it to the ground. "Move it, I'll keep him from using his sword!"
"Chidori!" Matt yelled. He charged up the Final Aeon's arm as Andy charged up the opposite arm.
"Combo of Hell!" Andy yelled, his fists glowing red hot. With a cry he punched Jecht in the neck a dozen times before creating a ball of fire in between his hands. Seph cried out in surprise. Andy felt one of Jecht's giant hands closing around him and nearly lost the end of the combo. He gave a determined cry, and hundreds of tiny darts of fire launched themselves into Jecht's neck just as Matt drove his Chidori into the other side. Jecht cried out in pain and dropped Andy.
"I'm not done yet!" Matt yelled, a Chidori forming in his other hand. "Give. It. Up!" He pulled the first arm out and shoved the second Chidori into the same spot he'd shoved the first one into. This time his arm went up to the elbow and Jecht roared in pain again before grabbing him and throwing him to the ground. "Son of a bitch!" he cried out as a jagged piece of rock drove itself through his leg.
"Ryan!" the angel glanced over at the former assassin. "I hope you've got one last trick up your sleeve."
Ryan grinned. "I might, dunno if it has any chance of working though."
"Damn… pessimist!" Matt complained before pulling his leg up and off the rock. After a moment of shock Yuna started to cast a healing spell on it and Ryan just smiled.
"What the hell, why not." he sighed.
"Wind Cutter won't work on him." Auron warned.
Ryan sheathed his sword and turned to face the powerful swordsman. "You forget, Auron. I didn't spend my entire life learning swordsmanship like you did. I'm not limited to sword attacks." Auron raised an eyebrow but Ryan just put his hand on the top of his head. "This could take a little to get started."
Wakka's blitzball flashed out. In mid-air its blades started to gather ice on them. Auron, Kimahri, and Tidus charged in, stabbing and cutting up any part of Jecht they could reach. Rae and Yuna both summoned Anima, which started to fire into the more powerful Aeon without much effect. Lulu started hurling Ultima spells as fast as she could, and Rikku threw grenades with both hands as quickly as she could.
"Tidus, I'll open a hole, you finish it, ok?" Tidus nodded and Ryan pressed the tip of his right pointer finger against the tip of Wind Cutter's blade, which almost immediately drew blood, but also a soft silvery light. 'I hope this works.' Ryan thought grimly as he made a gun out of his injured hand and pointed it at Jecht. He felt Lusniec's power rushing to his fingertip and took a deep breath. He held the pose for a few seconds, until he was barely able to keep the amount of energy under control. He pictured the hammer of a handgun in his mind as he said, "Here we go! Holy Punishment!" The hammer in his mind slammed down and a massive wave of Holy energy burst out of Ryan's finger and slammed into Jecht's chest.
Tidus charged in and slashed his father a couple of times before driving his sword into the ground and jumping off the hilt. "Wakka!" he yelled just before reaching the peak of his jump. Wakka took careful aim before throwing World Champion to Tidus. The younger blitzer spun in mid-air and kicked the ball into his father's chest, the blades biting into Jecht deeply, and then there was a giant explosion that destroyed part of the ledge they were standing on.
"Tidus! I said finish him, not blow us up!" Ryan complained as he flew out and grabbed his friend by the back of the shirt before his friend could fall into the lava. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Jecht falling down as well. He hurled Tidus towards the ledge and took off after Jecht, who was still aware enough to reach up and grab Ryan's hand.
"Dad!" Tidus yelled when Ryan landed and put the wounded man down gently.
"You'll cry. You're gonna cry." Jecht told Tidus as his son leaned over him. "You always cry. See? You're cryin'."
"I… hate you, dad." Tidus whispered through tears.
"Save it for later." Jecht ordered his son, who stopped crying almost immediately.
"Right… we've got a job to do, don't we?" Jecht nodded approvingly.
"Good. That's right." A proud smile crossed his face. "You are my son, after all."
"You know… for the first time, I'm glad… to have you as my father." Jecht gave his son a small laugh.
"Sir Jecht… I should…"
"No, Yuna," Jecht cut her off, "there's no time!" A black spider looking thing started flying towards him.
"You stay away!" Tidus yelled, swinging at the thing desperately to protect his father.
"Yuna, you know what to do. The Aeons… call them!" Jecht disappeared after the last order.
"Yes." Yuna whispered.
"Here it comes!" Lulu warned. There was a flash of light and the group was in a purple, mist filled void.
"Bullshit." Matt muttered. "You mean the Fayth live in the same place Yu Yevon lives in?"
"Who cares? Let's just kill the bastard and get this over with!" Andy suggested.
"Yuna!" The Summoner nodded and summoned Valefor. Immediately the black spider thing slammed into the familiar Aeon. It slowly turned dark, and evil looking as Yu Yevon's power coursed through it. A silent tear ran down Yuna's face as Rae summoned her own Valefor. The two Aeons starred each other down for a second before each unleashed a powerful blast of energy. The sudden brightness caused everyone to turn away, and several seconds later Rae screamed out in horror. Seph shielded his eyes and opened them as wide as possible only to find the Dark Valefor floating before him, untouched.
"Bastard!" all forty of his pendulums flew towards the Aeon, which in turn took to the air. It darted back and forth, dodging the numerous blades with surprising ease.
"This is gonna take some work." Ryan muttered as the Aeon started to rush towards them, Seph's pendulums close behind. A grenade flew past him, along with several spells and an arrow. Dark Valefor twisted and turned in mid-air, narrowly avoiding each attack. As it went into a barrel roll to avoid an arrow, World Champion soared through the air, burying itself into the vulnerable spot where the right wing attached to the body. The Aeon let out a cry of pain as it fell onto the ground, which turned out to be the massive sword Jecht had used, a fact that had been overlooked in the excitement of the battle.
"Move!" Auron ordered as he charged towards the downed Aeon, his sword dragging along the ground as he went. He stopped right in front of Valefor and took a baseball like swing at it while Tidus did a couple of flips before slashing down on the Aeon. Kimahri launched bubbles out of his mouth, something that did a surprising amount of damage. The Aeon shrieked and burst into pyreflies under the force of the assault.
Next Yuna summoned Ifrit. Again Yu Yevon possessed the Aeon, and again it turned dark and evil looking. Lulu launched several Blizzaraga spells at the Aeon, and much to everyone's surprise Rikku imitated the attack. World Champion slammed into the Aeon's chest, but Ifrit didn't seemed bothered by it as he brought up a wall of fire to stop the ice attacks. Andy gave a short, grim laugh and the wall of fire split in half, and the ice attacks slammed into the Aeon. Now it roared in pain, and launched two Firaga spells at Lulu, and two at Rikku.
"Insulting." Andy complained, two of the spells curving away from their intended target and slamming into the others while Ryan and Seph charged Ifrit.
"I've got this! Hiten Mitsurugi Style Kuzu Ryu Sen!" Ryan's sword disappeared for a second and then nine blades appeared. Each powerful thrust ran the powerful Aeon threw, killing it almost instantly. Yu Yevon reappeared with what sounded like an angry hiss, waiting for the group to make its next move. This time Rae summoned Ixion, and Yu Yevon drove himself into the proud Aeon, instantly corrupting it with his evil.
Dark Ixion roared, and bolts of black electricity shot out, one for each member of the group. "Ryan, draw them towards me!" Instantly Ryan took off, his own bolt of electricity arching around to follow him as he ran past the lighting heading for the others, particularly Seph. And much to his horror, despite running as fast as he could, the lightning was gaining on him. "Duck!" The angel obeyed, launching himself forward and onto the ground. All of the bolts flew over him and slammed into Matt, who sat there with an amused look on his face. "Yevon, I'm hurt. Is that really all you can do?"
Ixion bellowed a challenge that Matt quickly accepted via a flying axe to the Aeon's leg. As blood poured out of the crippled Aeon the group closed in, melee fighters protecting the spell casters. With a last reserve of strength Ixion jumped forward, nearly impaling Rikku, and dealing a glancing blow to Seph. Electricity shot through the assassin's body as he screamed and dropped to the ground in a smoking heap of pain.
"Curaga!" Ryan and Yuna cast the spell at the same time. The powerful white magic took affect immediately, the cut and the burns healing completely. Seph sat up and tested his side gingerly before standing up.
"Thanks." The two simply smiled as Rae summoned Shiva. "Wonderful, the agile one."
"Can't dodge what you can't see, right?" Ryan asked, glancing first from Andy then back to Seph.
"You got a plan?"
Andy looked at Seph like he was stupid. "Don't you know? Ryan's always got something up his sleeve, and if not, it's in his pocket."
"That's quite possibly the dumbest thing I've ever heard you say, you know that?" Andy shrugged. "Anyway, what do you have in mind?"
"Smoke screen." Seph looked at him oddly for a second before glancing at Andy. His eyes sparkled with eagerness as the realization slowly dawned on him. He quickly pulled on his white cloak and turned to Ryan.
"Works for me."
"Andy, wall of fire around Shiva, ASAP." The fires were already bursting into life as Ryan gave the command. "Seph, you're up." The assassin nodded, and Ryan and Matt slipped around behind Shiva with enough stealth to surprise even Seph. He turned to face the ice Aeon whom Yu Yevon had finished merging with. Tiny droplets of water began to fall out of the air, each one causing some steam to rise when it hit the fire. Shiva looked around in confusion before her eyes went wide with understanding. She tried to jump out of the smoke screen, but only succeeded on cutting herself on Wind Cutter's blade. She jumped back and ducked just before Lightning Edge came in at head level. Shiva jerked when Matt's second axe slammed into her ribs, cutting almost completely through the small Aeon.
"Got her!" Matt yelled over the still building smoke screen, Shiva disappearing into pyreflies at his feet.
"We're gonna summon both Bahamuts!" Yuna shouted to them. "Please, be ready!" Almost immediately afterwards the first dragon landed on the sword, the second following closely. They looked around, confused until they spotted Yu Yevon. The insane god studied them for a second, and his next move horrified everyone. He split in two.
"Bullshit!" Matt yelled in frustration, as both Aeons were possessed at the same time. One turned to face the main group while the other starred down Ryan and Matt. In unison they charged.
The first fired a couple of energy balls at Andy, all of which were deflected by his wall of fire. "Combo of Hell!" his fist grew red hot and he punched Bahamut in the leg a few times. The Aeon roared in pain as the fire needles started to form in Andy's hand. With a mighty roar Bahamut backhanded the god, breaking up the combo and sending Andy skidding across the sword before anyone could help him.
With a swing of his heavy sword Auron kept the giant dragon from finishing his friend off by forcing it to defend against his attack. But instead of dodging like he'd expected, Bahamut simply grabbed the sword by the blade and jerked it out wide. The dragon roared as it shoved its free hand into the guardian, its claws digging into his flesh enough to cause him blinding pain, but nothing fatal as far as he could tell. Bahamut raised its free clawed hand to strike Auron down for good, but Kimahri hurled his new spear threw it, earning a roar of pain from Bahamut and distracting it as Tidus ran towards Auron.
"Spiral Cut!" The blitzball star did a few acrobatic moves before jumping up and brining his sword down on the wrist of the hand that was embedded in Auron. For a second he thought that it wouldn't give, but it did, much to the relief of everyone who had time to worry about it. Matt and Ryan were not in such a situation.
"Yuna and Rae just couldn't summon them one at a time!" Matt complained as he threw his normal axe to the ground. Before he had a chance to drop Lightning Edge, Bahamut's attack forced him to bring it up in a two-handed guard. Even with both hands pushing against the Aeon's one he was barely able to hold off the attack. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Bahamut's other claw rose high above it's head. 'Hurry up, Ryan!' he thought as the attack started towards him.
Then Ryan was above the massive Aeon, sword raised high over his head. "Hiten Mitsurugi Style Ryu Tsui Sen!" Bahamut whirled around in surprise, nearly knocking Matt of the edge of the sword. Ryan dropped like a rock, but even with the power of gravity and his wings behind his attack it barely scratched the giant Aeon. "Wonderful." Just then a giant wolf made out of lighting came charging across the sword towards Bahamut, with a weaponless, tired, annoyed looking Matt on its back.
"Go to hell!" Yamu jumped at Bahamut's head. The dragon swung at it with a roar, and Matt jumped off it just a few seconds before the claw hit. Or would have. A split second before Bahamut would have killed Yamu the wolf disappeared, and all of the lightning that made it flowed into Matt, who was close enough to Bahamut's face to punch him. And he did, right in the eye.
"Show off." Ryan muttered with relief as the Aeon roared in pain. Before it had the chance to reach up and tear Matt off its face 100,000 volts of electricity coursed through Matt's arm and into Bahamut's defenseless insides. With one last roar the Aeon exploded, covering the two, and the back of the other Aeon, in blood and guts. "What'd you do to that thing?"
"If it was too hard to hurt on the outside, it must be soft on the inside, right?" Matt asked mockingly, and Ryan replied with a laugh.
"Guess being a crazy bastard is starting to rub off on you."
"No, I've always been a crazy bastard." Matt told his friend with a smile. "But right now, we've got to get that other one's attention. And I don't have enough for another Chidori."
Ryan stood up, Wind Cutter glowing softly. "You know, I think I've got enough in me for one last Wind Cutter." He brought the sword up over his head and held it there for a second, barely able to find the depleted energy that the Wind Cutter stemmed from. "Wind Cutter!" He slashed down, putting the last of his magical reserves into the swing. A silver line flashed out and slammed into the remaining Aeon's back. Bahamut roared and arched its back in pain. It roared again as several icicles burst through its chest, and again when Auron cut off one of its legs.
"What kept you?" The exhausted man demanded.
"Hey, we had to fight one too." The group's laugh was strained. "Of course, we've still got more to go, don't we? Yojimbo, both Anima, and then all the normal ones for Rae."
"No, I'm not summoning anymore." The Al Bhed told them. When they looked at her like she was crazy she elaborated, "I'm exhausted. I haven't done this in several years, remember?"
"Well then I guess it's just Yojimbo and one Anima." Matt commented sarcastically as Yuna stepped forward to summon the blade-for-hire Aeon. It appeared, slowly evaluating the area before turning to Yuna questioningly. Another tear rolled down her face as Yu Yevon slammed into the proud Aeon's back. It seemed like Yu Yevon was getting tired, since it took him longer to posses Yojimbo then it had for the others, a fact not lost on anyone in the group. Matt leaned over towards Ryan and asked jokingly, "Time for some pay back?"
"We'll see." Ryan offered before the possessed Aeon drew its short sword, cutting the main group with pure air. Andy and Seph managed to deflect most of the attack with their power, but even so Rae, who'd been sitting down, was the only one to escape without some injury.
Kimahri roared and jumped at the Aeon, teeth barred and claws ready. Yojimbo stepped to the side, slamming the butt of his sword into Kimahri's neck casually. The Ronso dropped to the ground with a thud, but before Yojimbo's downward thrust could kill him Auron charged in. His giant sword flashed straight down.
Yojimbo stepped to the side, ducking so that Tidus' swing also missed. When he straightened he found himself face to face with Seph. The assassin smiled slightly as the group created a circle around the dangerous Aeon, and their equally dangerous friend.
"Careful Seph. He's got more weapons then just his sword." Yuna gasped and Rae moaned. Everyone but Seph turned to look at the two.
"Where's his dog?" A growl from behind the group answered Yuna's questioned. Slowly the group turned to face the armored pet.
"Oh boy." Matt muttered as the dog charged him. It dove and the group parted, letting its first attack pass by harmlessly. Next it jumped at Tidus, but the blitzer easily dodge the attack, and got in a long slash on the dog's underside.
"You guys got this without me?" Matt looked at Ryan with a thoroughly insulted look. "Ok, I get the point. I'm going to help Seph, ok?"
"Whatever, just kill that damn samurai quickly, would you?" Ryan rolled his eyes at his friend's request.
"Easy for you to say. You're the one fight the dog." Ryan replied dryly as he walked up towards Yojimob's back. The Aeon was dodging some of Seph pendulums, but roughly half of them were lying on the ground, split cleanly into two pieces. 'Must be that special attack of his.'
"What kept you?" Seph asked in an irritated voice. Ryan raised an eyebrow, immediately noticing that something wasn't right with the assassin's voice. It wasn't just the emotion… it almost sounded like he was straining to keep it even. "Well, don't just stand there, help me out!"
"Hiten Mitsurugi Style…" Ryan smiled and let the sentence die on his lips as Yojimbo stopped and turned to face him. "So we meet again. It's been awhile." The Aeon nodded and Ryan glanced at Seph. The assassin was crouching close to the ground, panting heavily, and holding his side, which was bleeding badly. "Seph, rinno ib yht cdub pmaatehk. E'mm pa ugyo ihdem drah. (Seph, hurry up and stop bleeding. I'll be okay until then)" The assassin didn't bother to acknowledge he'd even heard the comment, but he did begin to dig through his pack for a potion, carefully watching the two swordsman circle. Watching Ryan enter a fight so calmly, and with so much caution wasn't something Seph was used to, and he was beginning to wonder exactly how strong Yojimbo was, and how much power he'd gained from merging with Yu Yevon.
A "Yelp" from Yojimbo's dog sent the two swordsmen charging. Yojimbo drew his short sword, an attack that Seph was all too familiar with. Whatever it was that Yojimbo did, it was enough to cut through his pendulums. Apparently Ryan knew about the attack. He jumped over whatever was behind Yojimbo's attack, although Seph personally suspected a vacuum, and raised his sword over his head.
"Hiten Mitsurugi Style, Ryu Tsui Sen!" The swords clashed together so powerfully that the ground beneath Yojimbo cracked more then a little, but the Aeon had no trouble stopping the attack. With one hand he easily pushed Ryan back into the air. The teen landed in a crouch, just managing to duck under a slash from Yojimbo's sword. "Hiten Mitsurugi Style Ryu Sho Sen!" Ryan put his hand on the back of his sword and jumped up at the Aeon's neck as fast as he could. At the last second the Aeon's head jerked back, barely avoiding the attack. 'Bastard!'
Much to the surprise of Seph and Ryan, Yojimbo didn't kill Ryan. Instead he jumped back, sheathed his sword, and held up one hand with two slightly bent fingers. Ryan's face lost some of its color, and Seph had a bad feeling as the ground started to turn the same color it turned when Anima was summoned. Only this summon brought out a long sword, which Yojimbo wasted no time in unsheathing.
'This can't be good.' Seph's fears were confirmed when the two blades met. Tentacles of black energy leaked out and pinned Wind Cutter against the demonic blade, preventing Ryan from using it in any way. "Get out of there!" Ryan glared at the Aeon before letting go of Wind Cutter and ducking down. With his left hand and foot on the ground he kicked up, his foot connecting with the off-balanced Aeon's stomach and launching it into the air. As it rose into the air two fire spells slammed into it, along with world champion and an arrow, each knocking it a little further into the air, and knocking Wind Cutter free in the process.
"Perfect." Ryan muttered as his hand wrapped around the familiar hilt. With a smirk he pushed off the ground. "Hiten Mitsurugi Style Ryu Sho Sen!" Ryan lost his confidence as he rose. Yojimbo's sword was glowing and it was raised over its head. With a might slash it unleashed its ultimate attack. Ryan twisted as much as he could to avoid the attack, but the bubble of water around him was the only thing that saved him, and even that was barely able to deflect the attack. As the water disperse Yojimbo, in all its heavy armor, and with all its concealed weapons, began to plummet towards Ryan's blade. He raised his sword in front of his face, but otherwise made no move to defend itself. The two blades clashed and they warriors seemed to freeze for a second before Yojimbo's sword broke, the top piece just barely missing Ryan's head, but still slicing up his shoulder. Even as Wind Cutter cut through his neck Yojimbo made no noise, dying as quietly as possible.
"Geez, over do it or something?" Seph questioned as Ryan began to drop limply towards the ground. At the last second he spun around and landed much like a cat.
Ryan laughed slightly. "I do have a tendency to do that."
"We've only got two more battles to go people, so suck it up and keep going." Matt's voice was joking, but nobody was laughing. "And Yuna, maybe we should heal up before you summon Anima."
Everyone sat down as Yuna went around and healed everyone's worst wounds. When she was done everyone stood back up, but an uncomfortable silence had fallen over the group. It didn't lift as Anima appeared before them, nor did it lift when Yu Yevon possessed the dark Aeon.
'So here we are.' Matt thought, partially relieved, and partially saddened. 'Only these two battles, and then we're going home…' A wave of regret washed over him but he was forced to worry about it later as Anima began its attack on the group. Blast of energy slammed into the sword, cracking it even more then it already was. The group surrounded the powerful Aeon, so Anima simply knocked out Auron and Kimahri who had been in front of it. It turned at what seemed impossible speeds for something without legs, and blasted at Tidus, who managed to roll out of the way.
Before Anima could attack Tidus again a grenade exploded where it met the ground, not doing any real damage, but still surprising the Aeon long enough for Tidus to get away, and for the group to get in a few good hits.
Wakka's blitzball slammed into the Aeon's head, while Lulu assaulted the Aeon with fire spells in an attempt to burn off the protective bandages wrapped around it. Matt charged in with Lightning Edge in both hands and started to hack at Anima's side, the god-forged weapon breaking through the bonds slowly but breaking them nonetheless. Ryan started hacking into the Aeon's other side as quickly as he could, although Wind Cutter wasn't doing much damage. Seph tried repeatedly to jab the Aeon in the eye, but was quickly reduced to only two pendulums for his effort when Anima started to blast the incoming pendulums with energy. Auron and Kimahri got up and charged into the fight as well. Auron's massive sword came down in unison with Lightning Edge, and Kimahri's spear dove into Anima's flesh repeatedly. Yuna began to cast powerful holy magic, while Tidus slashed Anima's front and Rikku stole things from behind it. Suddenly Tidus drove his sword into the ground and jumped off it. Without missing a beat Wakka hurled World Champion to his friend, who kicked it into the Aeon. It stuck into the Aeon for a second before a giant explosion launched it back to Wakka. The group waited for the smoke to clear, only to find Anima still standing.
"No way…" Ryan muttered in awe. 'What the hell is this thing? I mean, sure, it is the strongest Aeon, but come on.' Suddenly Anima bent to one side, pyreflies slowly leaking out of the multitude of cuts the group had managed to inflict.
"Was anyone else worried there?" Matt asked as he sat down to catch his breath. Everyone in the group murmured in agreement while sitting down to catch their breath as well. They watched as the pyreflies stopped coming out of Anima, and were replaced by the black form of Yu Yevon.
"It's the giant tick of doom!" Andy yelled, pointing at Yu Yevon who was beginning to pull itself back together.
"Everyone! This is the last time we fight together, okay?" Everyone starred at Tidus like he was crazy. "What I'm trying to say is… after we beat Yu Yevon, I'll disappear!"
"What are you talking about?" Tidus ignored the confused looks as he stepped towards Yu Yevon.
"I'm saying good-bye!"
"Not now!" Rikku yelled at him.
"I know it's selfish… but this is my story!" before anyone could argue with Tidus the form of Yu Yevon completed itself and attacked as two large pieces of what looked like rock floated next to it. A blue laser shot out of one of the things legs, missing Tidus by an inch at most. The group flew into motion as the other legs began to add to the assault. Yuna struck the god first, blasting him with a powerful holy spell that momentarily caused the bug to stop attacking. Auron charged in and slashed the god, the familiar black poison like thing that caused the receiver to become a zombie leaking into the god.
The two rocks turned to the god and started to cast healing spells on him. Auron allowed himself a grim grin of satisfaction as Yu Yevon withered under the healing magic's effect. The suffering increased more when Rikku started throwing healing potions and Yuna started to bombard it with healing magic.
"Star Player, coming through!" Tidus cried as he did a bunch of flips and cut the god. Yu Yevon let out something along the lines of a screech as the legendary weapon bit into its flesh. As soon as the screech ended Wakka's blitzball, surrounded by fire, ice, water, and lighting slammed into the god, drawing another, much longer, and much louder screech.
Another wave of blue lasers forced the group to go on the defensive again. While the group was dodging the Yu Yevon took the liberty of curing his zombie status, and then healing himself a little bit. Had Wakka not intervened by throwing World Champion into one of the rocks that, for a reason beyond the group's ability to comprehend, were able to cast healing magic, and blowing the thing up Yu Yevon would've been fully healed before restarting the fight. As it was the god had far more stamina then the battered group did combined.
'Bad, very bad.' Seph thought as he watched the god lasers closely. One shot through the ground next to him, and another grazed this opposite leg. He dropped to the ground and rolled back, barely avoiding a third laser. When he regained his bearings he found himself at the edge of the sword, with nowhere to run and another laser racing for him.
His body reacted long before his mind perceived the danger, calling upon reactions honed from years of assassinations. He rolled off the side of the sword, and his right pendulum shot up through one of the holes Yu Yevon's laser had punched in the steel. He launched his other pendulum into the next closest hole in the steel. The blade went up, then came back down through the first hole and tied itself in a knot. A laser shot through the steel a few inches next to him and he winced as a piece of steel dug into his arm. 'Guess it's time to get back in the fight.' He thought, but before he could start back up Tidus' sword went flying over the edge of the sword. Seph's right pendulum shot out and the string wrapped around the hilt.
"Tidus, catch!" Seph yelled when he was back on the sword. With a flick of his wrist he threw Tidus back his sword. The blitzer caught it just in time to block a laser, which bounced off the sword rather then punching a hole through it.
"You're kidding me." Matt muttered in an annoyed voice. The spun around, Lightning Edge knocking away two lasers while hurling his spare axe into Yu Yevon's body. The god let out another cry of pain that Seph silenced from behind. His pendulums wrapped around Yu Yevon's body and everyone who'd been at Macalania felt like they were watching the death of the unknown assassin all over again as Seph burst through the falling pieces of Yu Yevon like he was the god of death rather then the god of water.
"Geez, overkill." Andy's voice seemed bored despite the fact that they'd just killed Yu Yevon.
"Hmph. Always showing off." Rae commented lightheartedly. Seph shrugged and brushed some of the gore off himself as he walked towards the rest of the battered group. "So, now what? I mean, we killed Yu Yevon himself. Is there really anything left to do?"
"Killed me?" The voice was raspy and came as much from every direction of the never-ending void as it did from inside their heads. "You see, you're short a few people."
'A few people? But we should only be short one person.' Matt's mind raced to come up with an answer he knew it didn't have. His heart sank and a wave of fear passed over him. He glanced around and noticed that Ryan, Seph, and Andy were shaking too, but the others seemed oblivious to the terror they were feeling.
"Ryan, move!" Seph yelled suddenly, his pendulums already flying towards something behind the Hiten Mitsurugi Style master. Ryan spun around while he ducked, driving his sword into a massive arm and cutting a several inch long cut in it as well. Rikku screamed in horror as a black, spiked gauntlet wrapped around Ryan's neck.
Ryan's eyes widened in horror and he attempted to cry out in horror, but nothing escaped. The group watched in horror as their friend's eyes widened and then glazed over when a loud snap echoed in the darkness.
"Ryan?" Rikku's voice quivered and she gasped when the hand let him go and he hit the ground limply. "No! Ryan!"
"You piece of shit." Matt muttered through clenched teeth as Yu Yevon materialized out of the air in front of him. He was somewhere around eight feet tall, and he had on a suit of spiked, black full plate armor on. He carried around a massive morning star in his right hand, and his left hand was reaching for an equally large mace, the head of which was as big as Kimahri's head. 'What on earth?' Matt wondered as the sword in front of him started to glow bright red. He stepped back and felt himself hit a barrier of heat as he walked passed Andy, who was surrounded by a small wall of fire.
"Yevon!" the enraged god yelled. The armor-clad god looked at the teen with an amused look on his face. "Requiem of Fire!" The air in-between the two erupted into flames, engulfing the gods instantly. Yuna and her guardians listened with amazed horror as Yu Yevon screamed in pain. Flaming bits of armor flew out of the square of fire, sometimes accompanied by pieces of flesh or entire fingers.
After a few minutes the fire started to die down, but an amazing thunderstorm took its place. Lightning crashed down all around the group, but no one cried out in fear or surprise. The bolts didn't disappear when they hit though. Instead they sat there, slowly changing into copies of Matt until four were standing next to him, and five were standing behind the burnt form of Yu Yevon.
"Matt, kick his ass!" Andy yelled while pointing at Yu Yevon, but too exhausted himself to be able to finish the fight. Eight bolts of lightning collided in mid-air and jumped down into Matt's hand. Then another eight merged and jumped down into his hand, followed by another eight, and another set of eight. Each copy mirrored the original, four groups of eight lightning bolts jumping into each of the waiting copies.
"Yu Yevon," The god looked up at him with a hate-filled glare, "It's time for you to die. You've killed one person too many!" The god's reply was drowned out by the sound of ten Chidoris becoming two. "Now go to hell!" The god looked at Matt in horror. The Chidori was so big that Matt and the four clones that had appeared were barely able to hold it up, and in size it looked like it was twice as big as a beach ball. The group of clones behind Yu Yevon slammed theirs into the god. The Chidori engulfed Yu Yevon, the sound of electricity drowning out his screams of pain. As he flew forward in his ball of electricity the real Matt's group slammed theirs into him. What little armor the god had left exploded, and blood splattered as everywhere as the flying metal shot through Yu Yevon before shattering the cage of lightning.
"Holy shit." Seph muttered, voicing the thought everyone else was thinking as the clones of Matt disappeared and the real one collapsed. "What was that?"
"Apparently… painful." Mat muttered as a tear slid down his face, silencing Seph's sarcastic comment.
"Andy, move!" Auron yelled. The teen looked at him questioningly and then was slammed face first into the ground by Yu Yevon's final attack. The demented god coughed up blood, and with an insane smile rolled off the edge of the sword. A scream signified his landing on whatever the ground was like far below, and a set of black pyreflies floating up confirmed that this time he was actually dead.
"We've got to get out of here!" Rae yelled as the black void was replaced by Sin. Matt and Andy grabbed Ryan's body but nearly dropped it out of surprise.
"He's still breathing!" Andy's statement caused the group to stop instantly. "Yuna, he's not dead yet!"
"But we're out of healing potions! And I can't cast anymore magic!" her voice showed how helpless she felt. The wind picked up until it was almost like the group was back on Gagazet.
"Then I guess it's a good thing I came after all." Lusniec sounded amused as he appeared behind Matt and Andy, both of whom instantly spun around to watch him, weapons at the ready. "Now, now boys. I'm the one who's going to kill Ryan, not Yu Yevon. And it won't mean anything if it isn't a fair fight."
"What are you getting at?"
"Nobody's allowed to kill Ryan but me, so he can't die here." Lusniec stated simply as he pointed a finger at Ryan. Immediately the boy's shallow breathing returned to normal, and his eyes opened slowly.
"What the hell kept you, you freak." He muttered as he sat up slowly. Lusniec smiled and Matt raised an eyebrow while Andy starred in open confusion. "What?"
"What kept you, you freak? It sounds like you knew he was gonna save you." Ryan smiled at Matt's comment.
"Well, after I died I went to his realm. Scared the shit outta me at first, but when he explained what had happened and that I 'wasn't allowed to die' until he killed me, I pretty much figured that he was gonna--" he was cut off by Rikku who tackled him. "Do that." He finished with a smile. "Hi."
"Ahem." Jecht's rather loud sound drew all attention back to him. Yuna nodded and started to walk forward, already starting to perform the sending.
"Auron?" Matt cried in surprise. His comment caused Yuna to glance back and notice that Auron had pyreflies leaking out of him. "That'd certainly explain a lot."
"Don't stop." Yuna seemed like she was barely holding back tears after his comment.
"But I…"
"It's alright." The unsent said with an unusually warm voice. "It's been long enough. This is your world now."
"Hey Auron!" The unsent looked at Ryan who smiled. "Thanks for all your help. It must have sucked for you." The older guardian smiled but said nothing as he disappeared completely with Jecht.
"Hey!" The group turned to face Lusniec who was standing behind a portal. "This will lead you right back to your airship. Hurry or Sin'll come down on top of you." As if he'd planned it the giant fiend started to fall apart as the group rushed into the portal.
"Yuna, go send it!" Lulu yelled as soon as they were on the airship. The Summoner was already sprinting down the hallways towards the elevator, her friends at her heels. As soon as they were on the deck Yuna began the sending of Sin and the Aeons. At the end the sending Sin exploded into billions of pyreflies which flew out in all directions, their normally bright colors even brighter against the setting sun.
"Yuna, I have to go." Tidus whispered. All of his friends turned to look at him only to find him slowly turning into pyreflies. "I'm sorry I couldn't show you Zanarkand. Good-bye!" By this time Tidus was at the edge of the airship.
"Hey!" Wakka yelled desperately trying to stall for time.
"We're gonna see you again…?" Rikku asked with a sad voice.
"Yuna!" Kimahri yelled as the Summoner tried to hug him but succeeded only in passing through him. She got up silently and Tidus wrapped his arms around her shoulders in an embrace that she couldn't feel.
"I love you." She whispered to him quietly. Tidus walked through her and jumped off the edge of the ship and into the clouds that were painted yellow by the sunset.
"I guess it's your turn, isn't it?" Rikku asked Ryan quietly. He squeezed her hand but said nothing. "Take these." She handed him her goggles. I want you to hold onto them till you come back. That way you know that if you fool around with anyone else, I'll kick your butt when you come back, ok?" Although she was trying to make a joke she couldn't help but cry, which drew the rest of the groups attention onto them.
"Hey brudda, what're you doing to her know?" As if to answer Wakka's question a portal appeared in front of Matt. "Wait, you don't mean that you guys gotta go home too, ya?"
"Sorry Wakka. But there's something we've gotta do there." Matt told him sadly. "But we'll be back. The Fayth said that it wouldn't take more then three years."
"Rikku, hang onto this for me, would you?" Ryan asked as he handed her his necklace, using Matt's voice to hide his own. She nodded and stood up. "Listen, I'll be back ok? And believe me, I'm not gonna forget you." Rikku nodded and Andy tapped Matt on the back of the shoulder.
"Bye." She whispered before stepping back sadly.
"Hey, don't take too long bruddas. It's gonna be boring around here now, ya?" Wakka said sadly.
"Yes, and you'll always be welcome in Besaid." Lulu added with a smile.
"And here in the airship!" Rikku added.
"Home of Ronso will always welcome friends of Kimahri." The Ronso added.
"Well, wherever we are, you're always more then welcome to join us." Seph added.
"Yes, please hurry back." Yuna added.
"Hey, don't worry about it. And Yuna," The Summoner looked Matt in the eyes, "we'll try and find a way to bring Tidus back. So don't worry about it, ok? I have a feeling we'll all see him in Spira again some day." The Summoner nodded and smiled.
"I know. Thank you." She offered before the friends walked through the portal. As soon as Ryan was through, having been the last one, the portal closed, leaving the shattered group to deal with the turn of events in their own way.
888
"Thank you." The three Fayth said as Matt, Andy, and Ryan walked into the familiar purple mist filled void. "Yu Yevon will be too weak to do anything for awhile. You must hurry and find the god of ice, and then return to Spira. We will try and send a guide to help you, but it may take several days."
"Everyone…everyone has lost something precious" the words sounded like they were drifting to the group from far away, but they could tell that it was Yuna talking.
"What's that?" Matt demanded.
"Yuna is giving a speech to the people of Spira. Would you like to listen to it before you go back to your world?" The three nodded and the words resumed.
"Everyone has lost homes, dreams, and friends. Everybody… now, Sin is finally dead." There was a great cheer from the crowd. "Now, Spira is ours again. Working together… now we can make new homes for ourselves, and new dreams. Although I know the journey will be hard, we have lots of time. Together, we will rebuild Spira. The road is ahead of us, so let's start out today!" the crowd cheered again. "Just, one more thing… the people and the friends that we have lost, or the dreams that have faded… never forget them."
The Fayth smiled at the boys who were crying to themselves silently. "I know it must be hard, to be ripped away from those you've come to love after three months, but you will be back. Your destiny still lies in Spira, but to reach you destiny you need to come back to you world. We truly are sorry…" The Fayth started to disappear as darkness took the three into a deep, peaceful sleep.
888
"They're coming around! Someone get a doctor!" the woman's voice seemed distant to Matt as he slowly began to regain consciousness. Slowly his sense came back to him. First his hearing came back, accompanied by the sound of someone pacing around him and a heart monitor; next came smell which brought the sterile smell of a doctor's office; next was touch, which brought with it the sensation of his entire body being asleep and the feeling that something was tapped to his arm; taste came next, but brought little with it but the taste of Lysol; and lastly came sight which showed him that someone was pacing around his bed.
"Mom?" His voice sounded hoarse even to himself.
"Matt! You're awake!" Matt's mom threw her arms around him, nearly crushing him in the hug.
"Ma'am you're going to have to step away from him for a few moments. We've got to run a few tests on him." A doctor told her as he came in with two nurses trailing him. Matt's mom let him go and ran out of the room to call the rest of the family, leaving Matt alone with the doctor. "Now then, it's good you're finally staying awake." Matt raised an eyebrow but said nothing. "You've been slipping in and out of consciousness for the past few hours."
"You said you had some tests to run?" Matt asked as the doctor sat down.
"That is correct." The doctor admitted.
"Screw that." Matt muttered. He got out of the bed and only found himself starring eye to eye with one of the nurses. They guy was six feet tall as far as Matt could tell, and was built like a rock.
"Please sit down sir." The nurse ordered, flexing his muscles imposingly. Matt gave him an amused smile but did as he was told. The nurse removed the needle IV tube from his arm just before an explosion tore through the wall on the far side of the room.
"What in the name of Dnortih!" Matt yelled as he dove off the bed just in time to avoid a rather large rock.
"Oh, my aching head." Andy muttered as he came walking through what remained of the door. "Anybody got some Tylenol?"
"Jeez Andy! Trying to kill me now?" Matt demanded as he stood up. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw the scar that the coyote had left on Andy's forearm. "Holy shit… it was real!"
"What? What was real?" The doctor asked.
"Andy, it was real! You were there too, right!" Andy looked at his arm and then smiled as well.
"Oh my god! It's the marks the giant coyote of doom left!" He yelled joyfully. "It was really real! OH my god, they're all real!" He stopped suddenly. "But if it was real then Ryan was there too! Where's Ryan?"
"If you're talking about the other kid that got shot, he died. A half hour ago." The doctor told them sadly. When they started laughing he looked up at them like they were insane. 'That coma must have taken its toll on them after all.'
"Oh my god. I pity the person who's doing that autopsy." Matt muttered through his laughter.
"Yeah, wait till Ryan wakes up with a scalpel to his eye. He'll kick the guys ass before he realizes where he is!"
"Think we should go find him?" Before Andy could answer Matt's question three security guards came running into the room. They took one look before jumping at Andy and Matt. "What the hell!" Matt demanded as the two jumped away, easily avoiding the attack. One of the guards came after him with a nightstick.
"You need to lay down sir. You're in no condition to be up and moving around. Security, we didn't call for you, please leave now." The doctor yelled.
"These two are responsible for the explosion." One of the guards yelled accusingly before taking a slash at Andy with his nightstick. Andy simply caught it with his hand and looked at the guard like he was insulted. Something about the guard's eyes didn't seem quite right to him, but he was forced to duck under another nightstick before he could question why. With a single punch he sent the second guard flying across the room and into a bunch of machines, and the first guard ran out of fear. Suddenly Matt's guard went flying into the back of the retreating guard, knocking them both into the wall and cracking it more then a little.
"Overkill." The two smiled as Ryan walked in through the door. The doctor starred at him in shock.
"But you were dead!"
"Only for half an hour pal." Ryan replied without missing a beat. "Now, I don't feel like staying here anymore. The faster we get out of here, the faster we find the ice god, the faster we get back to Spira, the better off both worlds are, right?" The two nodded.
"How'd you figure it out?" Matt asked as he pulled a pair of his pants that were lying on the dresser next to his bed on, just now noticing that he was the only one that hadn't had pants on.
"Well, I woke up and some dude was trying to cut my eye open, and I use the Ryu Sho Sen on him without meaning to. That was a big clue." Ryan pulled off his shirt and revealed the numerous scars he'd acquired during their time in Spira. "As were these."
"Dude, put it away before Lusniec decides to show up." The comment got Ryan's shirt back on in record time.
"Sorry old man, but we'll be checking ourselves out, ok?" The doctor nodded numbly before the three teens walked out of the hospital.
"Hey Ryan, what's in your pocket?" Matt asked, noticing the slight bulge.
Ryan smiled and reached into his pocket. "That was the biggest clue of all." He said as he slowly pulled out a pair of goggles. Andy and Matt smiled. "And the reason that I'm in such a hurry, if it's ok with you two."
"Seriously, I'm already bored here. The faster we find this god, the faster we go back, and the more likely I am to have fun." Andy and Ryan laughed at their friend's comment, but couldn't have agreed more.
well, that's that. matt, ryan, and andy are back on earth. but what'll happen now? anyway, my annoucement! lightningwizard had a great idea for another book, and i'm gonna write it eventually, but i wanna see what you all think. who'd like to read about about the gods, and their lives? anyone? well, lemme know in your reviews, and until next time, don't do anything stupid without me!