PART 9: The Choice
Baralai had dove into the portal, and was running at full speed. Suddenly, he stopped short, right before the tower. "Paine's sword!" He picked it up, and sheathed it in the back. "She may be in trouble." Surprisingly, he reached the tower to find the guards still knocked out. "I guess Tidus cleaned up here. There's no time to waste." Baralai took the right path, the same as Tidus. He entered the room with the mirrors, only to hear the sound of swords clanging. Baralai quickly made his way through to find Tidus and Shuyin fighting. And Shuyin was winning. "You stupid, lying bastard! We trusted you!" Tidus yelled. Shuyin laughed, "Next time, put your trust in someone else! But there will not be a next time!" Tidus was looking weak, so Baralai casted Curaga on him, and joined the battle. "Baralai! What the hell are you doing here? Thanks!" Tidus said. Baralai nodded, "We have no time for this! Let's finish this!" Tidus nodded, "Right! Bring it on you big phony!" The two began to outnumber Shuyin, and he fell very quickly. "Losing…to fools like you! This is not right!" he shouted, as he did, Baralai knocked Shuyin out cold. "Forgive me, but…" Tidus interrupted, "Come on, let's go find Yuna!" "Paine's here, too, I believe," Baralai said. Tidus nodded. "We'll split up," Baralai said, "You find Yuna, I'll find Paine." The two had split up, Tidus took the right, and Baralai, the left. Baralai had headed up almost a dozen stairs before he had reached a door. "Not locked. I see, maybe I'm expected." He went through the door, and sure enough fought off a least a dozen guards.
Meanwhile, Seymour had put Yuna in a separate room, in order to interrogate Paine, which was useless. "What good is it to get information about the Crystals, when she is unconscious? Send Shuyin to me." The guard nodded, but before he could leave, Shuyin burst through the doors. "He's here…The Son of Jecht is here…" Seymour nodded, "And he is dead?" Shuyin shook his head, "Him and that New Yevon Praetor defeated me. They are both here…They-" Seymour laughed. Shuyin looked puzzled. "Sir-" Seymour turned to face him, "Use the girl as bait. Someone will tell us something, eventually. Do not harm her, though." Shuyin nodded, "I see…I will not fail." Seymour then looked at him dangerously, "Make sure you don't. I gave you the opportunity to come back to life. See that you repay me in the fullest. You have already done well to get me the second Crystal. Take the girl and go." Shuyin nodded and pressed the button, letting Paine fall to the floor. He picked her up, once again, and went out the door. Seymour motioned for one of his guards, "Send Lady Yuna back out here." The guard nodded, then a moment later, with another guard, brought out Yuna.
Gippal, Rikku, and Lenne were still on the remainders of Spira. They were the only three left. Lenne sat there, watching, as Gippal and Rikku talked. "We can't just sit here and wait…We have to go help the others, Gippal." Rikku pleaded. Gippal looked away, "But, Spira…If we don't get the other Crystals, Spira…will vanish…" Rikku nodded, then suddenly, began to pull herself back together, "Ok, let's do it then!" Gippal nodded, then looked at Lenne. Gippal pulled out the Crystal Locator, and turned it on. "There are two more Crystals on Spira! One is in Zanarkand and the other is in Bevelle! The two main cities…So, one was at the Farplane, one on Mt. Gagazet, Zanarkand, and Bevelle! Ok, we need the Celsius!" But, Rikku was already ahead of him, and Lenne followed behind her. The three boarded the Celsius, and set off for Bevelle. "Hopefully, Bevelle hasn't been swallowed up by the voids," Gippal said. "I wonder where it is…" The three arrived at Bevelle, and thankfully, Lenne was able to let them in, being she was a famous Summoner. "Wow! It really pays off to be a famous singer and Summoner!" Rikku said. The three entered Bevelle, and Gippal had the Crystal Locator on. "We are really close to the Crystal," Gippal said, "It must be through these doors. Where the main room is." The three walked into the main room, and saw the Crystal underneath a secure glass container. "Leave it to me!" Rikku said, as she took out a couple tools, and began tinkering with it. The Security feature faded, and Rikku lifted up the glass, and took the Crystal. "That was too easy!" Rikku said. "Well, then," Gippal said, "Let's get out of here." Lenne nodded. The three headed back to the Celsius. "Our last Crystal…Is in Zanarkand. We've no time to waste!" Gippal said.
Baralai had fought off guards in the previous room, and was now climbing Seymour's tower. He had reached the fifth floor, when Tidus ran up, "These two ways must interconnect at the fifth floor! This is crazy!" Baralai nodded, "So, we'll go together, then. Let's go." The two climbed up to the sixth floor, and stopped short. In the room, a huge monster loomed in front of them, in an goldish color. "What the hell is that?" Tidus said. Baralai looked, "It's one of the legendary monsters…Diamond Weapon. It's supposed to be undefeatable, just like the Omega-" "Omega-schemga! We killed that thing two years ago! Along with its buddy, Ultimate Weapon!" Tidus said. Baralai nodded. "Let's go, then!" Tidus and Baralai charged at Diamond Weapon. It roared at them, in fury. It was a long, hard battle. Diamond Weapon was much tougher then any monster that the two had encountered. Baralai had almost run out of magic at one point, and Tidus was running out of energy. "I told you…This thing is indestructible…We'll die…" Baralai said. Tidus looked at him, "We can't give up…Not on Yuna…or Paine…We just can't lose!" Tidus, then activated his overdrive, Blitz Ace, giving great damage to the mighty Diamond Weapon, and barely fainting just as it began to explode. Baralai healed Tidus with Curaga, "That was astounding! How did you do that?" Tidus just laughed, "Let's go find Yuna and Paine!" Baralai and Tidus went through the doors, and up to the seventh floor.