Forgive the time it took to post this, I had a case of writer's block, yet again. It's somewhat of a short chapter, but the next one will be way, way better. Now, onwards to the replies!

Bracey Face Anime Gurl: Yes, we most certainly do.

Auron's Fan: Yes, according to what we know, I would imagine Jecht was quite hurt. Getting both your fins cut off by a laser and then getting another part of you blown up can't feel very nice. Plus, if you've already played through, then you'll know he says he's not Sin completely yet. So, he may not feel as much as we think.

SS5Matt: Well, he's not going down without attempting to kick our tails first.

Iron Reaver: Heh. Fine.

XxCougarxX: First, no problem. I've had those days myself. Second, I'd think the poor guy was in the midst of a heart attack when Sin fell on his lawn. Thirdly, I won't ask, but I will answer. I'd say it smells like fish.

desert-tiger: Well, Sin's inside will prove to be weirder than the outside.

Daniel Wesley Rydell: Indeed. Your story...goes on. We think.


Chapter 41—Unbound

As the airship sets down, inside the heart of the massive creature known as Sin, everyone prepares themselves for the final battle. Weapons are checked, magic is readied, and everyone seems to be on high alert. Of course, I really can't blame them. I'm wary myself. Stepping outside of the airship, we're confronted with a bizarre landscape, full of twisting paths and black and blue sky. The area looks like an alternate dimension, and at this point, I really am not ready to rule that option out. Looking out over the area for a moment, I pull out my Sphere Grid, and finally place the last Ability Sphere I need to use inside. My final spell.

"Dad! Where are you?" Tidus yells, hoping for a response. Nothing is heard though, and Auron walks over to him.

"We must go to him," he states, Tidus nodding.

"Then we will! Let me take front!"

"Good luck," Yuna says, nodding to Tidus.

"Follow me!" Tidus exclaims, beginning to lead us all across the twisted path inside Sin.

(Play FF8 theme Only a Plank Between One and Perdition)

"Need to stay sharp...no telling what we'll find he..."

My words are cut off by a massive figure approaching us. Easily 10 feet tall, the fiend is covered in purple fur, with sharp horns and claws. A Behemoth King, one of the most powerful fiends that exists. Aside from Sin, of course.

"Uh, problem..." I mutter to myself, drawing my katana and preparing for battle. Tidus wastes no time, leaping at the fiend and slashing it across the waist. Growling, the creature swats Tidus away with a massive hand, before running at Yuna and slashing down. Yuna screams, and I move to attack, before seeing the creature's clawed hand firmly stopped by the blade of Auron's katana. Auron looks mad now, and pushes the fiend's hand away with a mighty grunt. Running up to the slightly off-balance Behemoth King, Auron brings his sword down hard, and a large cut appears on the creature, blood pouring from the wound. Taking this chance, I bring my left palm to face the creature.

"Flare!" I yell, the beam of non-elemental magic blasting out from my position and slamming into the chest of the creature.

"Firaga!" Lulu cries, and a fireball smashes into the same spot my Flare connected, the fiend roaring in pain and stumbling back. Wakka's World Champion nails the Behemoth King in the head, dizzying it, as Kimahri prepares a final blow. With a growl, Kimahri runs and leaps up to the creature's chest level, bringing the poleaxe across its neck in a quick slash. Blood now pouring from gashes on its chest and neck, the Behemoth gives a final roar, before falling. Pausing, I suddenly hear something, and look to the sky. My eyes widen as I then remember something. The Behemoth Kings will use Meteor upon dying.

"Look out!" I cry, diving out of the way as a basketball-sized chunk of rock hits the ground beside me. More begin to fall from the sky, and we all dodge out of the way, explosions knocking us all to the ground. As the meteors cease falling, we all pick ourselves up off the ground.

"Everyone okay?" Yuna asks, and we all nod, before beginning to walk the strange path inside Sin once again.


After a few minutes, maybe another 7 minutes or so of walking, we arrive at a large platform. The sight of the platform makes my eyes narrow, and I draw my katana, knowing what awaits us here.

"Don't you ever give up?" Tidus asks, drawing his sword and facing the unsent Seymour yet again.

"Sin has chosen me," he states, looking at us. "I am part of Sin. I am one with Sin, forever. Immortal."

"Sin just absorbed you," Tidus spits.

"I will learn to control it. I have all the time in the world. Since you were gracious enough to dispose of Yunalesca..." Seymour trails off now, as his body begins to transform yet again, his voice getting more metallic as well. "...the only means of defeating Sin is forever gone. Now nothing can stop us!"

"Well, we can!" Tidus yells, dropping into a fighting stance.

"By all means, try! You should thank me," Seymour says, looking at Tidus. "Your death means your father's life!" Seymour stops then, turning to face me now. "And you, you shall be the first to die! You have been a thorn in my side ever since the first time we met at Luca, and I shall make you pay for it!"

"Oh, really? Is that a fact? Then how come you haven't done it yet? The answer? You can't. Bring it on," I retort, leveling my katana blade at the unsent Maester. "I'll make sure you reach the Farplane this time!"

(End FF8 theme Only a Plank Between One and Perdition, play FFX theme Seymour Battle)

"Firaga!" Seymour yells, pointing a hand at me and launching 4 spells. My eyes go wide as I remember a moment too late that he multi-casts, and the spells slam into me, making me scream in pain as I'm thrown back to the staircase leading down.

"Ben!" Yuna cries, before she too is hit with a set of 4 Firaga spells and sent to the ground.

"Yuna!" Tidus yells, clenching a fist and charging Seymour. Casting Haste on himself in mid-sprint, Tidus jumps up and brings the sword down hard, an overhead cleave intended to split Seymour in two. Seymour moves to the side and smashes a fist into Tidus' face, before blasting him back with a Firaga spell as well.

"Wakka...hit the things behind him..." I say weakly, standing up and casting Curaga on myself. Wakka nods, and throws World Champion towards the wheel-like things behind Seymour. The blitzball connects, and two of the wheels shift, 2 yellow orbs now pointing towards Seymour. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Yuna stand up and cast Curaga on herself, affirming that she's okay.

"Thundaga!" Seymour yells, the lightning magic hitting Kimahri and knocking him back, before something hits Seymour in the face and explodes. Seymour stumbles back, and Rikku gives me a thumbs-up, smiling. I nod, and raise a hand into the air.

"Hastega!" The time magic speeds all of us up dramatically, except Tidus, who was already under Haste. Auron and Lulu take now to attack, while Yuna prepares to summon an aeon.

"You will hurt no one!" Auron yells, bringing his sword down hard on Seymour, the Magic Break attack failing to lower Seymour's magical strength.

"Doublecast: Flare!" Lulu yells, a duo of powerful non-elemental magic spells slamming Seymour in the chest. Wakka hits the orbs behind Seymour again then, causing 2 yellow orbs, a red orb, and a white orb to face the Maester now.

"Thundara!" he cries, a duo of lightning bolts slamming into Rikku and myself, sending us to the ground.

"You okay...?" I say to Rikku, and she nods. Casting a Cura on her to be sure, I stand back up, and bring my wakizashi out as well.

"Enough is enough, Seymour! Renzokuken!" Giving a battle cry, I run up to Seymour and slash down at his chest, dodging a Blizzara attack in the process. The hit connects, and I press the advantage, cutting at his hands and face repeatedly. Running back, I re-sheathe my wakizashi, and bring my katana beside me.

"Shadow Blitz!" As the area darkens, a black aura surrounds me, before I charge up to Seymour again. The dark-type attack runs its course easily, Seymour unable to block any one of the six slashes I inflict before the area brightens again.

As I step back, Kimahri gives a roar, and springs into the air on his poleaxe, coming down blade-first on Seymour. The Maester howls in pain, before smiling.

"There is no salvation for the damned! Rest in peace...in eternal darkness," Seymour says, raising a hand and using Dispel on all of us, removing our Haste. Suddenly, I freeze, knowing what comes next.

"Yuna, hurry!" I yell, and she nods, performing the summoning for Bahamut just in the nick of time. As Bahamut descends, stepping in front of all of us, Seymour speaks again.

"Let darkness take you! Ultima!" he cries, forming a ball of non-elemental magic. The ball expands, and then explodes, Bahamut roaring in pain as it's forced to a knee by the powerful magic. Standing up slowly, Bahamut forms 4 dark energy balls, one on each hand, and one on each wing, before launching them at Seymour. The Maester takes all 4, and winces, as the orbs behind Seymour all shift back to red once again.

"Firaga!" Seymour calls, another set of 4 Firaga spells slamming into Bahamut. The aeon roars, and falls, fading away slowly.

"Holy!" Yuna's spell is fired before Bahamut has even finished fading, and the spell hits Seymour with relentless force, knocking him back a few steps.

"Auron, Tidus, now!" I yell, and we all charge Seymour once again.

"Enough!" Auron cries, swinging his sword towards Seymour's chest, cutting a large gash into it as the blade connects. Tidus is next, doing a series of acrobatic flips before slamming his sword down on Seymour, the Maester roaring in pain. Finally, I spin around and slash Seymour across the chest as well, causing another grunt of pain from him. Seymour staggers for a moment, before falling to his knees.

(End FFX theme Seymour Battle)

"No!" he cries, as his body transforms back to its human form.

"Now! Yuna, send him!" Wakka yells, Yuna nodding quickly and running in front of Seymour, staff in hand. As she begins to send him, Seymour speaks, even as pyreflies leak from his body.

"So it is you, after all, who will send me. But even after I am gone, Spira's sorrow will prevail."

A bright beam of light then descends upon Seymour, and dozens of pyreflies fly from where he once was, the light vanishing as quickly as it came.

"Sin will be right behind you," Tidus says, looking at where Seymour was.

"Let's go. We still have to find Yu Yevon, right?" I say, beginning to walk the path again. Auron is right beside me, and everyone else follows the two of us through Sin once again.


After another few minutes, we come to what seems to be a dead end. Looking around, Tidus walks towards the other side of the path. Suddenly, something large flies down from above, smashing into the ground just in front of Tidus. As Tidus jumps back, I take a moment to examine the tower. The Tower of the Dead is huge, easily a few stories tall, with the symbol of Yevon on it in innumerable places.

"So, um...do we go in?" Tidus asks, tentatively. Nodding, Auron is the first to enter the strange building, soon followed by the rest of us. As we enter, a bright flash of light welcomes us. As the light dims, we can see that the area looks a bit like an ice covered version of Macalania Forest. Stalagmites are also shooting up out of the ground everywhere. Small, glowing, rainbow-colored crystals are randomly appearing and disappearing around as well, giving the area an instant, puzzling feel.

"Okay...everyone, try and touch the crystals. Don't get hit by those stalagmites, either," I say, beginning to run towards and touch one. As I touch it, it disappears, and everyone else follows my lead. In quite a short amount of time, 9 crystals have been touched, and Tidus darts towards a 10th.

"Got it!" he says, and suddenly the air around us ripples. Before we know it, we're all flying into the air by no means of our own. Suddenly, there's another flash of light directly in front of us, and we fly towards it.

As the light dims again, we're all standing on solid ground. To be more precise...Zanarkand. Not the Zanarkand from present-day Spira, though. The Zanarkand from Tidus' time. A thousand years ago. As I look around, I see the place I first wound up in Spira at, and I smile, knowing it's almost over at last. As Tidus approaches a man, standing on the center of a platform ahead of us, I take a deep breath, and follow. Awaiting the end of an adventure. The end of my story.


Finally, the end is almost here. Only 2 more chapters await! As always, please review!