"Mother of all, I ask of thee, aide thy children in their hour of need."

A voice sounded in my head, Aide us, Great One, hear our plea. I knew, from the conversation we'd had earlier, that this was Myena's way of giving us our lines, like we were actors who got a bit too drunk the night before their show.

I murmured the words, along with Tidus and Rikku, both of whom spoke just as quietly as I did.

Just relax. This is no biggie, guys, we do stuff like this all the time. But we need you guys to be loud. We've invoked the universal powers, but they're not all-hearing, y'know? Let's try it again. Aide us, Great One, hear our plea.

"Aide us, Great One, hear our plea." I spoke loudly, with confidence I didn't have. I was driven by one thought, and one alone: I had to get Lilith out of my life. She was evil, pure evil, and I knew that she'd rather kill me than let me live in peace. What I ever did to deserve this I don't know, but I had to stop it.

Yet again, it was all up to me and my friends, who also spoke loudly and with false bravado.

Theo, to my left, lit a short stick vaguely resembling a match but longer and thicker. He dropped it onto a pile of light-green leaves that sat atop a carved stone: Sage, I had been told earlier, for cleansing. "Spirit of cleansing, hear our needs. Spirit of cleansing, cleanse us, please."

I still do not understand why my lines are always so dull.

Even considering how dire the circumstances where, Theo's mental comment was funny. Perhaps it was funny because everything else was so serious, but I'm not sure.

Either way, he prompted a giggle out Rikku, a chuckle out of Tidus, a stifled laugh out of me, and even a smile from Arel and Myena.

Spirit of cleansing, cleanse us, please

We caught our cue quickly and this time spoke with true, laid-black confidence. A quick laugh loosens anybody up.

Arel took the chalice Myena had just filled with wine from in front of her and a small dagger from the center of the circle. Holding the knife's hilt with both hands, he slowly submersed it into the goblet. Speaking with his true voice, he said, "Horned God, Great king, upon this creature, justice bring."

Upon this creature, justice bring.

We repeated the words immediately, almost without being prompted.

Now comes the hard parts.

I glanced from Myena, the Sender, to Tidus, remembering our conversation from earlier that day. He looked a little uncomfortable, but I could tell that he was fine to go through with it.

Myena stood and slowly walked the length of the circle in which we all stood, dropping powder to the floor as she went. Once she had made a full circle, she sat down in her place. "Barley, for cleansing, mixed with garlic and cloves, for purification and exorcism. Elements of nature, lying dormant in these herbs, we call upon you. Aide us now!"

"Aide us now," Theo and Arel began to chant, glancing at Tidus, Rikku, and I in a silent signal. We joined them, our voices rising together. My fellow Spirans and I leaned forward slightly in apprehension as our chanting reached a crescendo, waiting for something to happen.

Nothing did.

I had to remind myself that this wasn't Spiran magic. I didn't know what to expect, but had already known that it would be a lot less showy than magic I was used to. But, as soon as I slowed my chanting, Myena glanced at me. Don't stop, anyone. Keep going, just as loud, and stand up.

Apparently she'd sent this command to all of us, because everyone obeyed it almost in unison.

"Aide us now!" We were practically shouting now, lost in the fervor as Myena bent slowly, a lit match-stick in her hand. She gently touched the flame to the ground herbs, igniting them immediately. Shaking the stick out, she dropped that as well into the flame.

Now, keep chanting. I recognized the presence in my mind as being Arel's this time. Myena's going to start the next part.

"Fire, great destroyer, great cleanser, we call unto thee! We invoke thee! Join our circle, and lend us thy power and strength!" The flaming ring surrounding us flared up to our waists, flickering and dancing in the background. I looked around at my companions and saw them all entranced by the flame, and once I gazed into its depths, I found it near impossible to look away. The blue and oranges really did resemble dancing figures, and the yellow licked at the open air above it.

I'm not sure what happened then. I might have gone into a trance for all I know. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me. There were scents in the air from the herbs being consumed by the fire, creating an incense that was possibly effecting me more than was healthy. All I knew was that the flames were impossible to look away from. They were beautiful, powerful, all-consuming, as they writhed and danced. The air was filled with their fragrant perfume as smoke filled the room. The entire world melted away, and for all I knew, all that was left of Spira was me and that fire.

Okay, guys, now comes the fun part: we get to spin around in circles! Myena's voice jolted me back to reality. I blinked a few times, trying to orient myself with the world again. Start walking slowly to your right.

As if taking up some unspoken clue, the Angels among us started chanting in a language I couldn't understand. Slowly we started walking the circumference of the circle, our steps completely in time with each other. Our feet created a sort of natural rhythm for us to follow, sounding like the drums of war on your hardwood floor. Slowly, without realizing it, we increased our speed, until we were nearly flying. Everything blurred together, a rush of colors, with certain details standing out: the swirl of Rikku's eye, a curl of smoke from the homemade incense, the firelight glinting off Tidus's hair. These details stood out from the rest, falsifying everything else in the room. I closed my eyes in an attempt to steady my thoughts from the dizziness I was beginning to feel.

Rikku gasped suddenly, prompting me to re-open my eyes almost immediately after closing them.

"What is it?" my cousin asked all of us and none of us, her eyes wide and fearful.

Tidus also looked afraid, panic in his eyes and posture, his steps slowing.

Keep going! Myena was in our heads again, straining to concentrate on Sending to us and doing whatever she had to for the spell. I immediately took her command, hoping that it would urge my fellow Spiran to, as well, both of whom seemed to be standing in shock of something I couldn't even see.

As I ran, I squinted into the seemingly empty air in front of me. Slowly, almost painfully slowly, the air seemed to cloud in the exact center of the circle. The mist began to take form, still painfully slowly, narrowing here, widening there, until it became the outline of a young woman's form, petite and thin, hair cut short to her ears, with a figure to die for. As she became more defined, I took note of her patchwork of clothing: nothing that matched, everything seeming to be made of sewn-together scraps that were barely big enough to cover her. Her black eyes glinted with anger and confused fear, yet there was a knowledge behind them that spoke volumes into her understanding of the situation. As she looked around, sizing us up, probably calculating her odds in a fight against the six of us, those sharp eyes took on a new hardness, the sort of tone that suggested blind determination: the pointless blindness of a soldier rushing into battle alone, armed with nothing but his own confidence and patriotism against thousands of well-trained troops armed with, I don't know, flamethrowers. She stood from her crouching position and turned to face me.

As soon as the woman's eyes met mine, they took on a strange glint: something animalistic, wild, like a fiend that has just been released from a cage after many weeks of torment. Her lips peeled back to form a deranged, teeth-bearing grin.

She took a step toward me "Yuna…" She whispered my name with as much reverence as I'd once murmured Yevon's in prayer, as though I were some magnificent being she had finally gotten to meet after years of worship.

When had I stopped moving? When had everyone stopped? It was like everything was paused mid-moment. Everyone's eyes were on me, me and that blasted woman, taking in the scene about to unfurl between us. I couldn't move my eyes from those piercing black ones they were locked with. I tried to look to Tidus for help, but I couldn't move at all, not even to avert my gaze.

I felt cold hands grab my forearms. Even through the cotton sleeves of the robe I was given to wear for the ritual, I could feel the chill of her skin deep in my bones. So cold… suddenly everything was so cold. Even with the fire blazing behind me, everything seemed to be permeated with cold. I heard a rushing in my ears. So cold…

I could hardly see. Black clouds floated in and out of my vision, obscuring everything and then dissipating completely, only to reappear moments later, as thick as before. And always, this bone-deep cold…

My legs turned to rope. I had no idea how I managed to stand on them at all, when I realized that I wasn't actually standing: the woman was holding me up, and she barely even looked taxed from it. That was when I realized, through the confusion and fear, that this was no woman: this was our demon. This was Lilith.

What happened next, I'm not exactly sure on. I was so tired, everything seemed to be surrounded by a thick fog. I remember suddenly looking away from the demon's eyes. I remember falling to my knees on the cold floor. Everything was cold… so cold. I was kneeling, and I turned to look at the cold fire dancing behind me. I remember it looking so beautifully warm, so wonderfully inviting. But when I reached to my hand to touch it, there was no heat to it at all. If anything, I felt like I had just plunged my hand into a bucket of cold water.

Someone grabbed my arm. I turned to see Rikku, her hand tightly clenching my wrist. Her lips mouthed my name, but I could hear nothing. Only that terrible rushing of water in my ears, roaring louder than any waterfall I'd ever encountered, could be heard. I looked down at my hand, thinking how strange it was that the skin was so puckered and shiny, when I couldn't feel anything.

I felt as though I was dreaming. I looked around, trying to think past the dark cloud that seemed to have invaded my senses. Arel and Theo were holding Lilith by the arms, while Myena reached for the dagger they'd consecrated only moments before. The dagger in hand, she rushed across the small circle back to the demon and her partners.

There may have been a struggle. There may not have. I hardly knew at this point, could hardly comprehend the situation I had been somehow dragged into. Why us? Why us? Why did it have to be me, sitting here with Rikku fussing over my hand, a voice in my mind screaming at me to concentrate, which seemed silly, when I could barely concentrate enough to keep myself breathing, out of all the people in all of time? Why?

Dammit, Yuna, what is wrong with you? Concentrate, I said! We need you!

I tried to shove away the cloud covering my mind. Concentrate, concentrate… but on what? What was going on? Where was I, again?

Concentrate. The spell. Lilith. We had to banish her. Concentrate. Close your eyes. Concentrate. I stood, slowly, shakily, my legs still not feeling right. Rikku looked to me, confused, as though for guidance. With a smile, I grabbed her hand and helped her to her feet. Slowly, slowly, I began to walk the circumference of the circle, still grasping Rikku's hand. I lead her with me, our feet beating out a rhythm to follow. Tidus slowly joined us, cautious, knowing that none of us knew for sure what we were doing.

Myena, clutching the dagger tightly in her hand, Sent, Move faster! You have to run the circle so we have a barrier of movement. Make a wall around us.

I looked to Rikku. Her eyes met mine, and she gave me a look that said, "Well, we have to at least try."

I nodded and quickened my pace. Tidus and Rikku followed suite, faster and faster until we really were running, until our shapes seemed to blur with everything around us, lost in a circling void, a whirlpool made of bodies and air. Our feet stomped a rhythm like drums, pounding and hammering on the wood floor.

And then it happened. Our shapes had blurred in such a strange way that there was a blue-white film in the air where our bodies had been, as tall as the tallest among us was. We had created a barrier using only motion and thought. I felt the magic stirring inside me like an the call of a battle-hungry aeon, seducing me into using it for the first time since the defeat of Sin. Afraid of what could happen should I use it, I tried to shove the feelings and needs away into the very depths of my soul.

Still spinning, afraid that stopping would erase all we'd done, Rikku, Tidus, and I watched in horror as Myena plunged the dagger into Lilith's stomach. A wind rose seemingly from the floor under the Angel and demon, catching their hair and clothing, holding it away from their bodies. A look of intense concentration still creasing her brow, Myena drove the knife deeper into Lilith's stomach.

There was a rushing in my ears. A void of blackness, completely lacking in oxygen, seemed to close in around all of us. Gasping for air that didn't exist, still running as fast as we could, everything suspended in time, a single scream rang above the seemingly-all-consuming tinnitus in my ears.

I opened my eyes, wondering when I'd shut them, and saw Lilith, blood staining her bare abdomen and running from her mouth and nose. Her body sagged in Myena's grip on her neck (when had that happened?) and on the dagger stuck almost through her. Her black eyes now blank and soulless stared into and passed Myena's brown ones, accusingly silent, no longer holding any flame of passion or hatred.

Suddenly, everything was jarringly silent. The rushing noise was gone, and along with Rikku and Tidus I sank to me knees, gasping for breath. Slowly, my eyes traced the scene around me, taking in every detail. Lilith's body had disappeared somehow, leaving no trace of having ever existed. Myena's hands, covered in so much blood a moment before that it had nearly dripped off them, were completely clean and spotless, as though nothing had ever marred their perfect surface. Arel and Theo's eyes were locked, and they were apparently silently discussing something important.

Myena sighed suddenly, apparently having been allowed into their conversation, and said, "We'll have to go to Reaoren later anyway. We can see if the projection worked then."

Worked? My nervous eyes met Tidus'. "What do you mean, 'see if it worked?' Why wouldn't it?" What wasn't she telling us?

Sighing again, she poured the holy water onto the fire, muttering a prayer of thanks and dispelling. Theo, noticing his partner wouldn't be answering, explained, "The image you saw of Lilith was not really her. You see, one of her powers is the power to teleport, allowing her to move at will between dimensions. When we were chanting, we called her to Spira, but not entirely. We froze her between dimensions, so only her spirit – her soul, if you will – was present, and her body stayed in her home dimension, Reaoren. The athame Myena stabbed her with was blessed, enabling her to stab Lilith's spirit's reflection and injure her body. There is a higher likelihood that she's dead than that she's alive, but since there are ways to get around the exorcism of the spirit – say, for example, we only caught a small portion of her spirit, and not the whole thing; or she had an amulet that seals part of her soul away, but since those are very rare and usually made badly, not to mention only work while worn, it's not very likely – we still have to go and find her home in her dimension, so we can make sure her body has no life left over in it, then dispose of it."

"Oh." Of course there would be nothing to worry about. That was ridiculous. They'd been doing this a long time. They knew what they were doing. There was nothing to worry about. "But that's it? I mean… you don't have to do anything else?"

"Yuna." Myena's back was to me as she picked up the tools she'd used for the ritual. "No offense, but you weren't the one doing the hard work. While you were running around in a circle, the rest of us were meditating, and calling energies and entities. It takes a lot of concentration and discipline to be able to do this spell, and the reason it looked so simple is because we're the best in Eden. We've trained our entire lives to be able to exorcise, and, with all due respect, High Summoner, it's probably more difficult than anything you'll ever witness again, not to mention be able to do yourself."

A blush rose on my cheeks, and I looked to the floor. "I'm sorry… I had no idea." Out of habit, I sank into a little bow.

Arel sighed, placing a hand on my shoulder. Don't worry about it. Myena gets like this after particularly taxing spells. She's just worn out. Don't think too hard on it.

I smiled up at him, comforted a little. "What will happen now? Do you guys have to go back to Eden?"

"Well," Theo interjected, "first of all, we have to go to Reaoren and see if Lilith is really dead or not. But after that, we will still have a little time before we have to report back to the Nameless."

I frowned, unfamiliar with the term. "Nameless?"

"Our boss," Theo explained casually. "Sexless and ageless, to call upon its true name is to call its attention to you, and we have been taught since birth to never call on it unless we need its help."

"So you don't have to leave yet?" Rikku, who'd been quite obviously eavesdropping the whole time. At the shake of Theo's head, Rikku squealed in glee. "You can come to Yunie's birthday party!"

"Birthday party…?" Realization hit me in the face like a brick (Yes, a brick. Thrown at my face. Just don't question it). It had to close to my birthday. I groped in my mind for the date today. It had to be… May twenty-eighth? That meant that my birthday was in only nine days. Barely over a week. What with all this Lilith business, I had completely forgotten. I blushed again, for the second time in less than three minutes. "Do we have to have a party?"

Rikku regarded me with a look that clearly questioned my insanity. "Yunie. You're turning eighteen, in case you forgot. Among the al Bhed, you're an adult. You can do anything other adults can do! Remember? And since you're al Bhed, you're counted as an adult to the rest of Spira, too! No twenty-one rule for you!"

I winced at the realization. "Hence why I'm trying to forget it. I'm going to be an adult, and have responsibilities, and be expected to and grow up and marry and have and raise children! I mean, I'd love to, but I really don't know much about them." Even when I was one, I didn't understand them. I always had a mission, something I was destined to do. Besides, I had never learned how to raise a child, never had any experience. Instead of playing with dollies and learning how to cook, I was reading the scriptures and praying to the Fayth. I don't know how to change diapers, or sing lullabies, or breastfeed (thought I assume that one is pretty straightforward), or anything else mothers are supposed to know. I was never even supposed to reach adulthood. I was supposed to die for Sin. It was what my life was devoted to. This birthday was never supposed to happen.

Meanwhile, Myena was exchanging looks with Arel and Theo. "I suppose we could come back for a few more days before reporting into Eden…"

My cousin jumped happily in the air, yipping in delight. "Woo-hoo! Party! I'm so going to call everyone! We'll have music, and food, and guests from all over Spira, and Yuna, you don't mind if I invite Brother, do you? He's got even more connections than Pops does! He can get us everything we need, probably for free! Woo! This is gonna be great!" With that, she bounded up the stairs and to her room, presumably to use her Commsphere to call the Airship, Myena shouting back to her to bring down the robe she'd worn for the exorcism.

Theo turned to me. "Thank you, Lady Yuna, for your help. We could not have done the ritual without you."

I blushed. "It was nothing, really. Thank you guys for your help! So, we don't need to worry about Lilith anymore?"

The Angel grinned. "Trust me, it is all in our hands now."

-.-

OMFGS. OMFGS. I am SO sorry about how long it took to complete this chapter. A year, and only a measly eight pages? I'm so. So. So. Sorry. I love you all. :hearts:

Um. Yes. Anyone who's still reading this from before, I love you. And any new readers… welcome! XD. Don't expect updates very often, haha. The last one was a year after the one before it, and so is this one. Heh. Oops? At least I don't upload crappy, dinky little chapters with a year in between them. Yay for 4,000 word chapters!

But yes. This chapter was really hard to write, but it was a lot of fun. It really was a special experience for me. I did lots of research and lots of praying for an answer as to how to write this chapter. Because of that, I hope it turned out well.

The ritual Theo, Arel, and Myena do in this can be done in your very own home! XD But always be careful with open flames, children. While it can be done, I'd caution you NOT to try it, and if you do, for god's sake, don't be stupid XD. Don't REALLY light your floor on fire. Then I'd have to track you down and beat you with a stupid stick XD.

In response to a reviewer who said I should "question my sexuality:" I'm bisexual. I'm completely out of the closet, and I don't even attempt to be heterosexual anymore. I said that in one of the first chapters, but I guess I must have taken it out after editing the chapter a bit, or something like that.

In response to all the readers who told me to hurry my ass up: I love you, and I'm sorry. Your reviews really DID make me want to continue on with this project, though. Whenever I got a new review, I'd open up good old Microsoft Word and at least TRY to get more written. So review! I'll love you forever! AND it'll make me write faster!

So yes. There's only one chapter left. And then it's curtains for DOE. Finally XD.

Oh, and I uploaded a new fic I've been working on on and off for a looooong time, called Helpless. If it's not too much trouble, could you please read it and leave me a review? Pleeease? .;;;

So yeah. That's it. Um… bai? XDD.

Moo,

E.N.

(P.S.: I'm far too lazy to proofread this entire thing. If anything makes noooo sense at all, feel free to drop me a line, and I'll explain/fix it)