We're winding down now! Only 4 or so more chapters to go before the ending! As always, the replies!

Daniel Wesley Rydell: No. I would've come anyway.

SS5Matt: Well...here's the good part. (grins)

Auron's Fan: There is no way I would get that speech wrong. It's one of the best lines in the game, along with his 'Where is the sense in all this!' line, and Yuna's monologue there. And apparently, a thousand years hasn't changed Yunalesca's fashion sense one bit. Go figure. (shrug)

desert-tiger: Well, least it wasn't a LONG wait...hehe...

anbu713: Heh. Okay.

And now, on to the fight with Yunalesca!


Chapter 38—Breaking The Cycle

(Play SO3 theme Frightened Eyes)

"Alright, you psycho, you're going down!" I yell, charging Yunalesca and aiming a right hook at her head. Smiling evilly, the summoner simply raises a hand, causing a magical shield to appear around her to block my attack, before she casts a Blind spell on me. Staggering back, I fumble around for a moment, before pulling out an Eye Drops item and using it.

"Mental Break!" Auron yells, running in and striking down. Auron's attack bounces off the shield as well, before she also Blinds Auron. Tidus and Kimahri run in for a double-team, and find themselves in much the same predicament after a moment. I can hear Yuna curing the two of them, and I don't take my eyes off of Yunalesca for a second.

"Okay...every melee attack she uses Blind...every magic, Silence. I hate this," I mutter, running back in and executing a jumping spin-kick, my foot bouncing off the shield again, but weakening it. As Yunalesca Blinds me yet again, I simply freeze, and focus. The air moves around me, and I dodge to the left instinctively, something flying by my head with barely an inch to spare. Smirking, I bring my leg up twice in snapping kicks, feeling both bounce off the shield.

"Silence Buster!" Wakka's blitzball suddenly whizzes in and bounces off Yunalesca's Protect spell. That final attack causes the shield to break, and even as Yunalesca raises a hand to Blind Wakka, Tidus and I are in her face. Tidus brings his sword down hard across her midsection, and I launch a spinning heel kick, feeling the attack connect with her chest. After the attacks finish, Yunalesca puts the Protect back up, causing me to growl softly.

"Esuna!" Yuna yells, casting the magic on first myself, then Wakka, then everyone else who had been Blinded. Lulu takes this chance to attack.

"Flare!"

The powerful Black Magic spell slams into Yunalesca with intense force, and she actually winces for the first time this fight, before pointing a palm at Lulu.

"Silence!"

The magical attack hits Lulu, instantly keeping her from casting any spells, and I frown, grabbing my staff and raising it.

"Holy!"

The powerful White Magic spell lances from the sky, slamming into Yunalesca with equally intense force, and causing her to flinch again. Shaking my head, I drop into a defensive position. Like Flare, Holy drains a lot of my magic power. If I had to guess, I'd say about a third, maybe closer to half. But now isn't the time to contemplate that. Yunalesca quickly recovers from the two powerful spells cast against her, and Silences me. Cursing, though no sound is coming from my mouth, I pull out an Echo Screen and use it as Yuna summons an aeon.

"Shiva, come forth!" she yells, ice shards slamming down behind her and revealing the fayth of Shiva, which bursts through the crystals and stands in front of us.

"Heavenly Strike!"

Shiva raises a hand, before a magically-charged ice crystal drops from above Yunalesca, slamming into her with quite a bit of force. Growling, Yunalesca raises a hand, and trails of energy fly from Shiva to Yunalesca. Shiva drops to a knee, drained from the attack as Yunalesca stands tall, apparently healed.

"Diamond Dust!" Yuna calls, and Shiva stands back up, firing a small wave of ice at Yunalesca, followed by a larger one that freezes the area solid. Snapping, Shiva smirks as the ice explodes, carving up anything nearby.

"Foolish creature," Yunalesca says, before absorbing energy from Shiva again, causing the aeon to fall and fade away.

"Okay...this is a problem," I say, unsheathing my katana. "Renzokuken!" Running in, I slash downwards several times, Yunalesca's mocking laughter sounding in my ear. Until one of my final strikes slashes through the Protect and into her, that is. Jumping back, I growl and pick my finishing move.

"Shadow Blitz!" The entire area goes dark as I charge Yunalesca again, slashing six more times at the fiendish woman, before jumping back, the area re-lighting itself.

(End SO3 theme Frightened Eyes)

"I've gone easy on you thus far. That will change. Now," she says, floating up higher into the air, before she suddenly glows. Through the glare, I can see her transforming, and I cringe as the blinding light dims. Now, Yunalesca is suspended in the air on several tentacles, seeming to be like a series of joined legs. Her silver hair has now turned into something resembling wings, and she laughs, before pointing a finger at us.

(Play SO3 theme Malicious Fingers)

"Hellbiter!"

Before we have any clue what's happening, a multitude of pale tentacles slice up from the ground at us, biting and tearing into each of us. They don't do much damage, luckily, but all of us are instantly afflicted with Zombie status from the attack.

"Esu..."

"Wait!" I yell, stopping Yuna.

"Why?" she asks, and I look at her.

"Trust me...she'll kill us all if we aren't zombies. Don't ask how...but she will. Just don't cure it," I tell her, hoping not to reveal too much about myself and my knowledge, but hoping to save us all from being killed.

"Hastega!" Tidus yells, the time magic speeding all of us up, thankfully. Tidus runs in after that and slashes downward, while Kimahri stands up straight and blows a stream of fire at the summoner, Yunalesca getting burned by the attack.

"Cura!" Yunalesca yells, and suddenly I drop to the ground, searing pain coursing through me.

"Ben!" Rikku yells, throwing a grenade at Yunalesca to distract her.

"Yuna...cast Reflect..." I moan, standing up weakly.

"Reflect!" Yuna yells, beginning to cast the magic on all of us, in order to protect us from an onslaught of healing magic. Unfortunately, it's a double-edged sword. We may not get hurt, but Yunalesca can easily heal herself. It seems to be a lose-lose situation.

"Mental Break!" Auron yells, running in and slashing down at Yunalesca, lowering her defense against magic even further.

"Flare!" Lulu yells again, the beam of non-elemental magic slamming into Yunalesca.

"Silence Buster!" Wakka cries, World Champion biting deep, but failing to Silence the summoner.

"Pathetic..." she mocks, casting a Regen on Wakka, which bounces off and hits her instead. Sparkling stars begin to flash around her, and some wounds slowly begin to heal up.

"We're gonna have to kill her quickly...Yuna, Dispel her! Everyone else, let's take her down! Flare!" I yell, Yuna casting the Dispel along with my Flare. Both connect, and Yunalesca growls as my wave of non-elemental energy burns at her.

"Holy!" Yuna cries, taking the chance to fire a powerful spell of her own. The white balls of light arc down from the sky and slam into the unsent woman with force, making her float back slightly.

"Magic Break!" Auron cries, darting in and striking down with the sword. The attack hurts Yunalesca, but nothing further than that.

"Pests...Hellbiter!" The attack connects again, hurting us all a little more, and I'm silently thankful that Yuna Reflected us all. No healing magic from her can hurt us. Which is good, because she could hurt us a lot with it. Just to state the obvious.

"Doublecast: Firaga!" Lulu yells, and my eyes go wide at Lulu's acquisition of one of the most powerful abilities that exists. A duo of Firaga spells slam into Yunalesca, and she grunts, before Auron runs back in and brings the sword down. A cut makes its way across Yunalesca's body, and she frowns, before a chain of Waterga spells goes off in her face. Rikku smirks, and I chuckle slightly, wincing. That Cura attack really hurt, and the Flare has drained most of my magic power. No healing is making this difficult.

"Take this!" Wakka yells, an aura of lightning crackling around the blitzball, which he kicks at Yunalesca. The ball impacts in the chest of the summoner, and she roars in pain, before staring us all down with an evil grin.

(End SO3 theme Malicious Fingers)

"You...you think you can beat me...? We'll just have to see..." she says, sounding pained now, as she suddenly glows again, and changes. When the light fades, Yunalesca looks nothing like before. In her place is a large, pale colored head, looking much like the infamous gorgons of mythology. Snake-like strands of hair, easily several times larger than any of us, extend from the top of the head, and fangs replace two of her teeth.

(Play FFX theme The Deceased Laugh)

"Mega Death!" she calls, and suddenly, a purple wave of energy shoots from the ground, going over all of us. Thankfully, since we are all currently zombies, the attack does nothing. It only kills the living.

"Heh...we found a way to beat you!" I yell, gripping my katana tightly. Running in, I slash down across one of the eyes, and connect. One of the snakes slams into me, though, and I go stumbling back, tripping and falling. I can barely move now, and everyone else is showing definite signs of fatigue as well.

"Enough!" Auron yells, and suddenly brings his sword back, arm outstretched. Focusing, he begins to spin, and fast, as an aura of energy surrounds him. Stopping after a moment, he slashes his blade through the air in front of him. A tornado suddenly appears out of the air in front of him and slams into Yunalesca, ripping into her. Taking the jug off his belt, he suddenly lobs it in, as the tornado explodes in a great burst of fire.

'Whoa...now that was neat,' I think to myself, getting up slowly and bringing out my staff.

"Thundaga!" I yell, wincing as I cast the spell. A bolt of lightning hits Yunalesca, and she screeches in pain, the Overdrive a moment ago having weakened her a great deal. Yuna looks over all of us for a brief moment, and brings her staff forward, preparing for a summoning.

"Bahamut!" she yells, twirling her staff as a glyph suddenly appears in the sky, something diving down towards it. The figure bursts through the glyph and sails down, revealing itself to be the powerful Bahamut. Landing by Yuna's side, Yuna smiles before calling out the attack.

"Mega Flare!"

As Bahamut prepares the attack, doing a backflip to land on all four feet, I can't help but smile. Bahamut charges a ball of energy in its mouth, the wheel on its back beginning to spin, before it blasts the beam out. The attack slams full force into the unsent, and she howls in pain as it tears away at her body.

When the dust clears, Yunalesca is revealed to be badly burned, bleeding, and seemingly on the last bit of her strength. Smiling, I look over at Yuna.

"Want the honors?" I ask, and she nods,dismissing Bahamut andraising her staff.

"Holy!" The bright beams of light lance down from the clouds again, and smash into Yunalesca with terrifying force, causing her to scream in agony. When the light clears again, we can see pyreflies slowly leaking from Yunalesca's body, now back in its original form. The fight is over.

(End FFX theme The Deceased Laugh)

"If I die...so does the Final Aeon. And with it, Spira's only hope," she says, looking over all of us.

"Then we'll find Spira a new hope!" Tidus shouts defiantly.

"Fool. There is no other way. Even if there was...even if you did destroy Sin...Yu Yevon the immortal would only create Sin anew," she says, now beginning to look up at the sky.

"Yu Yevon?" Tidus asks, Yunalesca ignoring him as she continues to stare.

"Ah...Zaon...forgive me...Spira has been robbed of the light of hope...all that remains is sorrow," she finishes, before bursting into a cloud of pyreflies, which fade away quickly.

"I cannot believe what we just did," Yuna says after a moment, turning to all of us.

"Let's do something more unbelievable," Tidus says, facing Yuna.

"What?" Rikku asks, turning to Tidus.

"Destroy Sin. So it won't come back, and without the Final Aeon. I don't know how just yet, but I'll find out." Tidus gives a final look at everyone, and nods. Wincing, I pull out a Holy Water and use it, everyone else following my lead, before myself and Yuna begin to cast Curaga spells on everyone to replenish our strength. That fight was not an easy one, by any means. Finally healed, we all start to walk back towards the entrance to the dome.

"We must talk," Auron tells Tidus, and I continue to walk, knowing what the conversation is about. Moving back into the room with the statue of Lord Zaon, we take the elevator back up, and exit the Cloister of Trials, making our way back through the dome, and back outside. When we get back outside, a surprise is waiting for us.

"Sin..." I mutter, seeing the gigantic creature mere yards from the dome, apparently waiting on something. Everyone's hands drop to their weapons, and I speak.

"Stop!" I say, looking over everyone. "It hasn't made any kind of hostile move. Let's just leave it alone. It seems to be waiting on something."

Everyone gives me a look as if to say I'm nuts, but obligingly lower their weapons. Sin just stares us down for a moment, as Tidus and Auron walk out of the dome now. Sin looks at Tidus a moment, and growls softly, as if almost trying to speak to him. Tidus simply stares at the creature for a moment, before I hear the airship approaching. As it moves towards the dome, Sin turns around and lumbers off, moving past the airship silently and back into the water. No one says anything, as the airship lands to let us all back on board.


"Aren't we the happy lookin' bunch," Cid says as we walk back into the bridge.

"Frana? Frana?" Brother asks Cid, apparently meaning our next destination.

"'Where? Where?' That all you can say? Why don't you think of something?" Rikku exclaims, storming to another part of the bridge.

"Well? Any good ideas?" Auron asks Tidus, standing near the railing on the bridge.

"Come on, help us!" he says, apparently talking to Auron, but I'm not completely sure. I'm not really focused on the conversation.

"What do we know...Sin is Jecht. Thus, you have a link...a bond with Sin. That may be our key," Auron says, thinking out loud.

"So what do we do?" Tidus inquires, Auron turning away from our group.

"We think, and we wait."

"Two things I'm bad at," Tidus mutters, as Auron walks up to Yuna. He looks at her for a moment, before walking out of the room silently. Everyone looks at Yuna, who walks up to Cid. Cid turns to face her, and she bows before turning away again. After a minute, Yuna walks out of the bridge, along with Kimahri. A minute later, Tidus follows, as I walk over to where Rikku is sitting.

"Feeling okay?" I ask, getting her attention.

"No..." she mutters, looking up at me for a moment as I sit down. "I just...I just feel bad. That's all."

"Want to talk?" I ask, and she looks at me, before nodding.

"It's just...what if Yunalesca was right? What if the only way to beat Sin is the Final Aeon? What if we can't win?" she says.

"Rikku...we can. Trust me. We can do it," I reply, looking over at her. "It's that kind of thinking that tears a team apart. Negative thoughts. We can do it. We will do it. All you have to do is believe that we can. Don't give up hope just yet."

"You're right...we can do it," Rikku replies, looking around at the bridge, before turning back to me. "I'm glad Yunie's okay, too."

"Same here," I say, smiling. "Ghuf fryd amca? E's kmyt oui'na ugyo," I say, slipping into Al Bhed for a moment. Rikku grins as I walk off a bit, and I lean against the wall as the doors open once more, to let Tidus, Kimahri, Yuna, and Auron back inside.

"Hey, guys!" Wakka yells, walking over from where he was standing, talking to Lulu. "I just had a great idea!"

"What is it?" I ask, walking over to where everyone is now gathering.

"It's like this, ya!" Wakka begins, but is interrupted by Lulu now.

"The Hymn is the key," Lulu says, causing Wakka to groan in exasperation, and me to chuckle slightly.

"The Hymn?" Tidus asks, causing Lulu to nod.

"Sir Jecht likes the Hymn of the Fayth, correct?"

"Yeah," Tidus responds, Rikku walking up now and adding her input.

"That's why he was listening to it in Macalania!" she says, and we nod.

"Sin...violence incarnate, listening peacefully," Lulu says, almost in disbelief.

"I know it's your old man, and I don't mean no disrespect, but..." Wakka starts, Tidus holding up a hand to silence him.

"No, it's fine. I've gotten used to it."

"Let me say it," Lulu cuts in, looking from Wakka to Tidus. "If we attack Sin head-on, we've little chance of winning. However, if he hears the Hymn of the Fayth, he will become docile."

"Yeah, and that's when we make our move!" Wakka agrees, clenching a fist. "Might be against the rules and all, but who's keeping track, ya? Ya?" he says, and I chuckle.

"No one's keeping track any more, Wakka. We're outcasts, but we're gonna do what no one else has managed to do," I say, pushing off the wall to go stand beside Rikku and Tidus.

"Yeah! It could really work!" Rikku exclaims, looking from me to everyone else.

"Yeah...yeah, it's worth a try!" Tidus says after a moment, and I nod as Tidus walks up to Cid.

"Hey, Cid! Take us to Bevelle! We need to talk to Maester Mika!" Tidus says, and Cid turns to look at Tidus as if he's finally lost the rest of his mind.

"Last time we went to Bevelle, we nearly got blown outta the sky! You sure, kid?" he asks, and Tidus nods.

"It's the only thing we can think of at the moment. I say, let's go for it." Tidus responds, and Cid nods.

"Alright then." Cid says, turning to Brother and nodding, Brother turning around and beginning to work the panel in front of him as Cid gives a shout. "Yeehaw! Next stop, Bevelle!" he yells, and I chuckle as the airship speeds up, headed for the Highbridge of Bevelle.


Oh boy. Shelinda and Mika. This will be...amusing, to say the least. As always, please review! It's winding down to the end now!