A New Saviour

Disclaimer: I own neither Final Fantasy nor Shadow Hearts and you know who does.

Author's Note: Okay, I know that the last chapter wasn't a very good comeback after my little hiatus there, but I kind of had to get back into the groove, so to speak. So obviously that chap was gonna be a little crappy. Hopefully this one is better.

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Chapter 11

The group burst into the room to find Seymour waiting patiently for Yuna to return from the chamber of the fayth. Tidus wasted no time in drawing his sword and calling out to the maester.

"Seymour! Where's Yuna?" he demanded. Seymour just kind of looked at him for a moment, the smug smile never leaving his face.

"Please be silent. Lady Yuna prays to the fayth," he said coolly. At that moment, the door rose up and Yuna stumbled slightly out of the chamber, her eyes widening at the sight of her guardians.

"Yuna!" Tidus exclaimed, relieved to see that she was all right. Yuna looked from him to the rest before returning her gaze to Tidus, the question 'why?' written all over her face. "We saw Jyscal's sphere," Tidus explained to her. "We know everything."

"Yeah, you killed him, you son of a bitch!" Yuri said to Seymour, as he placed his claws in between his fingers. Yuri's outburst only caused Seymour's grin to widen.

"Yes, what of it? Lady Yuna, you knew of these things, yet you still came here with me. Why then?" he asked, directing his piercing gaze straight at the timid summoner.

"I came… I came to stop you!" she said bravely.

"I see. You came to punish me then," Seymour replied, unfazed. "And of course the rest of you must live by the Code of the Guardian. "Protect the summoner, even at the cost of one's life." How admirable. Well, since you're offering up your lives so freely, I have no choice but to take them." Yuri laughed out loud.

"Yeah, nice try with the standard bad guy speech. I don't think you know who you're messing with here," Yuri said as he lowered himself into a fighting stance, his fists held ready in front of him. By this time Yuna had ran to Tidus' side and was facing Seymour, her staff held ready.

"They may be my guardians, but they are also my friends. There is no way that I am going to just sit by and watch as you hurt them. I will fight you to!" she declared. Tidus gave her a quick sideways glance, an admiring smile gracing his lips. Seymour closed his eyes, holding his hands in front of him.

"So be it," was all he said as he pulled out his own magic staff. Wakka seemed to be the only one still unsure at this point.

"Maester Seymour…" he said quietly. "This can't be happening." Everyone was battle ready, completely ready to take him out. Yet this only seemed to amuse Seymour as he made the first move by sending a powerful fire spell Tidus' way. Tidus dodged it and ran straight for him, leaping and slashing at him with his sword. Yet some kind of invisible force field stopped his blade from reaching the maester. Seymour smirked at Tidus' shocked expression and with a wave of his hand sent him flying into a nearby wall. Kimahri tried this as well, charging at Seymour with his lance held out in front of him. The same thing happened and Kimahri soon joined Tidus at the side of the room.

Auron was charging up his blade, hoping that the added strength would somehow penetrate Seymour's shield. Alas, the same thing happened, yet Auron was able to get out of the way before Seymour could counter his attack. Seeing that physical attacks were not working, Lulu tried to cast a thunder spell on him, but to no avail.

"Yuna, you've got to do something about that shield or else we'll never defeat him!" Lulu cried out as she watched Rikku unsuccessfully hurl a grenade at Seymour, resulting in her being hit with a powerful blizzard spell, accompanied by Seymour's evil laughter. Yuna turned to Lulu and nodded, finishing up her cure spells on Tidus and Kimahri. She then faced Seymour and cast dispel on him. It looked as if something around him shattered. Wakka had hurled his blitzball at him just then, successfully nailing Seymour in the stomach.

"The shield is gone, but I don't think I did much damage," Wakka said fearfully as his blitzball flew back into his waiting arms.

"Hehehehe, as long as that shield is gone. That's all I need," Yuri said smirking as he looked over at Tidus. Tidus nodded and the both of them rushed at Seymour together. While Yuri ran at Seymour and aimed a high kick for his chest, Tidus charged from the opposite direction, creating a spinning motion with his sword. Seymour dodged the sword, yet ended up moving right into Yuri's attack. Angrily he thrust out his hand, sending Tidus flying away from him. This left him open, so Yuri jabbed out his elbow, hitting Seymour right in the ribs before Seymour sent him flying as well. Yet as soon as those two were out of the way, Kimahri and Auron we ready to take their place while Lulu was charging up a powerful demi spell.

As the group broke off for a moment to regroup Seymour took a step back, panting slightly. "You are better than I thought. Still, you are no match for my true power," he said, chuckling. He then raised his arms into the air. "Feel my pain! Come, Anima!" he called out. A wave of fear suddenly spread throughout the group as the mighty aeon Anima was called before them. Seymour laughed. "How quickly your confidence leaves you! Let us see if you can stand up to my aeon!"

"Come on, we can do this!" Wakka called out trying to sound brave.

"Yeah, we have to!" Rikku chimed in.

"Everyone, attack together!" Auron instructed as they began to advance on Anima. Yuri was right behind them until all of a sudden a sharp pain shot through his skull. Yuri fell to one knee, his hand grasping his head. He began to feel incredibly sleepy and found he didn't have the strength to stand anymore. He fell to the ground, his eyes slowly closing.

"No! Not…now…"

Yuri knew where he was going to wake up, but that didn't make it any easier as he practically ran to the large door that the four masks guarded. Of all the times to be brought to the graveyard, why now? What was happening with the battle? Whatever the reason was for his presence here, he was going to find out quickly and get back to the real world to help his friends.

"Yo! What the Hell is wrong with you guys? Why did you bring me here all of a sudden?" Yuri demanded. "I was a little busy, you know!"

"Yes, we know of the battle your friends fight," Gold remarked calmly.

"They will be fine without you…for now," Grail added.

"It is time for you to fight your own battle," Staff informed him.

"In order to prove your worth, we have a new creature for you to battle," Sword said. Yuri was confused for a moment until he remembered his last visit.

"Wait a minute. Is this about that new fusion monster? The one that's stronger than all the other ones I have now?" Suddenly a surge of excitement flowed through him. If he could acquire this new, stronger monster, then he would be able to get back and save everyone. Yuri cracked his knuckles. "Alright then, bring it on!" The masks laughed.

"Let us hope your guardian is right," Grail said with a chuckle.

"That you are strong enough to take on this new soul," Sword added. Yuri paid no attention to their snide remarks. He was too busy pumping himself up for the battle.

"And if you do not win, your soul will be condemned to remain here forever," Staff told him.

"Are you ready?" Gold finally asked. Yuri nodded. Soon a dark mist seeped into the graveyard, surrounding Yuri and the battlefield. He immediately held his fists in front of him, waiting for this new monster to appear. It stepped out of the darkness slowly, stopping a few meters away from him. This creature was unlike anything Yuri had ever seen before. It stood before him, completely straight and unmoving, its large wings spread out on either side of it. Its skin was like black armor, covering its entire body, even its face, where Yuri couldn't detect a mouth or nose. Instead, two glowing, red eyes stared out at him. The creature then raised one arm and held it across its chest, clearly displaying the long, sharp blade that protruded from its arm. Yuri wasn't quite sure about its next movement as it dipped its head forward slightly, its arm still held in front of it, yet Yuri was sure that the creature was bowing to him.

"Well then, let's do this," Yuri said as he prepared himself for a moment before finally clutching his head and fusing into the light angel, Sandalphon. His upper body resembled a man, yet His lower body just consisted of a long tail. Blue markings covered his body while golden rings surrounded his arms, shoulders, and tail. He hovered a few feet of the ground, strange-looking wings spread out from behind him. To the demon opposite of Sandalphon, this fusion had signaled the beginning of the battle and it wasted no time in charging at him. It drew one hand back into a fist as it flew at him, thrusting it forward just as it was in front of Sandalphon. The angel held up both of his hands in front of him, creating a kind of magical barrier, which the demon's fist connected with. Sandalphon was pushed back a bit, yet he still retained his barrier.

The demon abandoned this attack once it realized that it wasn't working and leapt back a ways, ready to attack again. Sandalphon lowered his hands in time to see the demon rushing at him once again. This monster was much faster than it looked as it slashed at Sandalphon with the blade on its arm and followed up quickly by trying to drive its long claws into Sandalphon's middle. The angel dodged the blade, and then held up his tail to stop the second assault, yet he left himself open from behind. The demon wasted no time in spinning around and hitting the angel square in the back, sending it flying forward into the ground. Sandalphon got up and turned in time to see the monster charging at him once again. Sandalphon moved to the side, allowing the creature to fly right past him and used this opportunity to land a powerful blow to the back of the demons neck. However, it seemed unfazed as it turned around and slashed out with the blade on its arm once again.

Sandalphon leapt back a bit, yet not quickly enough as the blade sliced him across the chest. He winced at the sudden sting, giving the demon another opportunity to attack. Before the angel could react, it suddenly felt five long claws embed themselves in his stomach. He cried out, yet didn't let the pain stop him from pushing himself off of the demon's claws and spinning around, his tail smacking the monster hard in the side of the head, causing it to fall to the side. Sandalphon then backed away a bit before raising his hands into the air and surrounding himself with a warm light. The wounds on his chest and stomach slowly disappeared, leaving the angel completely rejuvenated. However, the battle was beginning to take its toll on the demon, whose movements and attacks began to slow down, allowing Sandalphon more opportunities to land his attacks.

Finally, the angel had the demon backed into a corner. He raised his hands into the air once again, although this time a crystal filled with pure, holy light appeared above him. The crystal then broke open and this holy light rained down upon the demon, hissing like acid. The monster staggered a few moments before falling face first to the ground and disappearing. Sandalphon lowered itself to the ground, transforming back into Yuri. He fell to his knees, panting, as the soul of the demon entered his body. A huge wave of nausea spread over him, and Yuri couldn't help but feel that another small piece of himself had slipped away. "Wow, suddenly I feel awful," he grumbled as he slowly tried to stand.

"Congratulations on your victory," the Staff mask said. Yuri squinted through the black mist as it slowly cleared away, leaving him back in front of the four masks once again.

"The soul of Amon now belongs to you," Grail added.

"Amon," Yuri repeated softly. He could feel the increase in power as this new fusion soul coursed through his veins. He held out his hands in front of him and just stared for a few moments, as if he didn't recognize what he was looking at. Yuri then suddenly remembered the fight that he had been pulled away from and quickly sprinted towards the gate leading out of the graveyard.

A low moan escaped Yuri's lips as he slowly opened his eyes. Someone, most likely Yuna, must have moved him out of Anima's way because Yuri now found himself sitting against the wall off to the side. The group was still battling the mighty aeon while Seymour stood behind of it out of harms way, laughing maniacally. Yuri stood up and walked over to the battle, taking note of how tired everyone was becoming. They were losing the fight and they knew it. Lulu was the first to notice him as he almost casually walked over and stood directly in front of Anima.

"Yuri? What are you doing?" she called out to him. He didn't answer. Instead, he just turned to her and gave that familiar smirk of his before turning to the rest of the group.

"Everyone stand back. This thing is mine," he said, before turning back to Anima. Seymour merely laughed.

"I don't know what you think you alone can accomplish what the combined efforts of a summoner and six of her guardians couldn't," he said arrogantly. Yuri returned the laugh.

"Well, I just got a little power boost during my nap, which I think you might like to see," he said as he closed his eyes. The familiar pillar of light that followed Yuri's pained screams ensued, making the others know it was time to back off. The light faded, leaving the demon Amon in his place. Seymour's smile faded slightly as this power was unknown to him. Yet he was still confident that Anima could handle whatever this creature was.

"Go on Anima, show him the meaning of pain," Seymour commanded. Anima did as she was told, crying out and sending a powerful spell at Amon. It hit him square in the chest, yet Amon didn't even flinch. Instead, he merely stood there, which agitated Seymour. "Again!" he commanded. Anima repeated the attack, still to no avail. Seymour frowned and narrowed his eyes. "Again!" The result was the same. After a bit of this, Amon seemed to tire of the game and instead raised one arm over his head, circling it round his body, which he also did with the other arm. Both of his hands came to rest in front of his chest, palms facing each other. As he did this, a bright light appeared between his hands, which instantly shot out like a laser, hitting Anima right in the stomach. The aeon howled horribly as the beam shot directly through it, hitting Seymour in the process as well.

Amon walked forward through the cloud of pyreflies that Anima had left behind, not stopping until he stood a foot from Seymour. Seymour clutched the front of his robes from where he had been hit by the attack as he struggled to get to his feet.

"That power that defeated Anima…it will be mine!" he growled as he lifted his arm to attack. With lightning fast movement that no one could detect, Amon had Seymour's forearm in a vice-like grip. Seymour grit his teeth against the pain as Amon continued to squeeze his arm until the bone itself snapped. Seymour muffled his scream as he wrenched his arm away and took a few steps back. Everyone watched on with wide eyes. It seemed as though Amon was purposely trying to torture Seymour. Before, Yuri had always finished their enemies off as quickly as possible. Something definitely wasn't right here.

Seymour once again tried to attack as he pointed his staff at Amon, attempting to hit him with a spell. Amon knocked the staff away easily with a simple flick of his wrist and once again advanced on Seymour. Seymour backed away, tripping in the process and falling on his butt. Amon raised the arm with the blade on it and prepared to strike at Seymour, until Lulu cried out to him.

"Yuri, stop!" She ran up beside the demon so she could look up into its face. "He's already beaten. You're not about torturing people, so just let him be," she said softly, as the others slowly came over. Amon hesitated as it looked down into her crimson eyes. He then slowly lowered his arm and took a step back from Seymour. Lulu let out a silent sigh of relief as for a moment there she had feared for her own life as well.

"Lulu, look out!" Yuna suddenly cried as Auron rushed forward. Seymour had taken the opportunity to try and attack her from behind. Kimahri joined Auron in an attempt to stop him, yet Amon got there first. He slashed out with the blade on his arm and this time Seymour was down for good. Seymour let out a chuckle as he looked up at them. Yuna had stepped forward, remorse in her eyes.

"Yuna…you would pity me now?" he asked weakly before closing his eyes. There was a quick flash of light and Yuri returned to his own form. He shook his head and peered around the room, as if in a daze. Just at that moment, Tromell entered the room. He looked around at everyone, and then at Seymour's lifeless body on the ground in front of them.

"Lord Seymour! What happened here?" he demanded after his mind had processed everything.

"It's not our fault!" Tidus burst out before anyone else had a chance to respond.

"Yeah, Seymour struck first! He's the bad guy!" Yuri added in, who wasn't disoriented from his fusion anymore. Tromell looked at them, accusation written all over his face.

"You did this?" he hissed.

"Yuna, send him," Auron ordered before anymore could be said. He wanted to make sure that little detail was dealt with before anything else happened. Yuna held out her staff and stood in front of Seymour's body, only to be pushed away by a few Guado guards.

"You stay away from him, traitors!" Tromell cried out as he joined the rest of the Guado, who had lifted Seymour's body from the floor. Yuna was shocked at the term.

"Traitors?" she repeated quietly.

"We're finished," Wakka said upon hearing this.

"Now hold on a minute! Seymour's the bad guy, right? We'll explain what happened to everyone!" Tidus said desperately. Auron just shook his head at him.

"It won't be that easy…Let's get out of here," he said, nodding to Kimahri. The Ronso took his place beside his summoner, and with that the group took off out of there. They had to backtrack their way through the Cloister of Trials, slowing them down considerably. They thought they were making progress until they exited the trials and ran into Tromell once again along with a whole hoard of Guado.

"Wait…how…when…wait a second! How did he get here before us?" Yuri exclaimed, completely bewildered.

"Please, give us a chance to explain!" Yuna pleaded. Tromell shook his head.

"No need," he said coldly. "I already know what I'm going to tell the masters."

"So then you're saying that you're not going to let us go?" Yuri asked.

"Let you go? Lord Seymour would never forgive us if we did," he replied. Yuri snorted in disgust.

"That's bullshit!"

"Wait, wait!" Rikku suddenly piped up. "We can show them Jyscal's sphere!" she said hopefully.

"You mean this?" Tromell asked as he held it up.

"Where'd you get that?" Tidus asked angrily. Tromell said nothing as he dropped the sphere, where it hit the floor and shattered into a million pieces. Everyone's jaw practically hit the floor along with it.

"The Guado take care of Guado affairs," he said simply.

"Away!" Kimahri suddenly yelled as he took off out of the temple, the rest of the group right onto his heels.

"Make for Macalania Lake!" Auron commanded as they ran, the group of Guado soldiers pursuing them out of the temple. As they ran, Rikku pulled out a small communication device from her back pocket. She began yelling desperate commands into it in Al Bhed, leaving a very confused Wakka who was running beside her. As they made it outside and onto the frozen lake, a large Al Bhed aircraft could be seen approaching from the distance. Rikku let out a triumphant little whoop as a voice came out over the speakers of the ship. The group couldn't make out what he said, since it was in Al Bhed, yet as the ship landed, Rikku told everyone to get on. Most of the group boarded without question, although Wakka was a little hesitant.

"How did that ship know to come here? And how come you know how to speak Al Bhed?" he asked. Rikku let out a frustrated growl.

"Now is not the time!" she practically shrieked at him. "Just get on!" Wakka hesitated again, yet soon the Guado soldiers began to surround them, leaving him little choice but to board the Al Bhed craft. Once everyone was safe on board, the ship took off to the skies, leaving the scene and a group of very angry Guado behind.

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Author: There we go, lots of action and a new fusion monster. Yuri doesn't seem to be handling it to well, does he? I think my fight scenes are getting a little better, although I'm sure that I still suck at them. I didn't want to make them too long, cause then that would be boring, right? Hehehehe, anyways, hope you enjoyed it, and if you did don't forget to leave a review, telling me what you thought of it. Thanks, luv you all!