Even In Death
AkaraUsagi
EEEEEE The story's almost over... or... IS IT? DUN DUN DUNNNNN! Hehe I have a surprise in store for you in this chappy!
Chapter 5
Yuna lifted the blade slowly, and opened her mouth to yell the name...
"Auron!" she yelled as the blade came swiftly down, plunging into his stomach. Auron flinched noticably, and began convulsing. Blood poured from him, yet nothing happened. Yunalesca seemed puzzled by this. Auron laughed, and sat up. His wound had completely healed.
"You think i'd let Yuna follow through with such an atrocious act? You think I forgot about how you killed me all those years ago? Or was it you who forgot?" Auron smirked. "The very sight of you makes me sick, Yunalesca. I came to ask you for a way to save Braska and Jecht... Yuna's father, and Tidus' father. Instead of answering, you unsheathed your blade and killed me. However, my strong emotions of anger and rage bound my spirit to this world, enabling me to live on after death without going to the farplane." Yunalesca became furious.
"Yuna!" she shrieked. "Without your sacrifice, more people will die. Choose another guardian!" Yuna simply shook her head.
"No." Yunalesca was taken aback, and asked her why. Yuna knew she needed to explain things.
"Yunalesca, just before coming into this room... I had every intention to follow through with my pilgrimage. That was until Auron told me everything- about how you killed him, about how all of Spira's leaders are in fact dead and refuse to be sent to the farplane, about all of Yevon's corruptions. He explained that the sacrifice was a waste. Then... Tidus explained about how... about how the final aeon becomes Sin... Yunalesca... is this true?" Yuna asked, enraged.
"Yes, Yuna. Sadly, it is true- when the final aeon kills its master, it fuses with Sin's body, and after many years, some times longer than others, the new Sin is hatched, and wrecks havoc upon the land. All we can do is supress Sin... for he is eternal." Yuna walked up to Yunalesca.
"I don't think so. Not with me around." And with that, Yuna began to perform the sending, while Auron moved far enough away so he was not also sent. Yunalesca pleaded as her strength began to fade away.
"My.. my father will get his revenge upon you, Yuna." Yuna looked at her quizzically.
"Your father?" she asked.
"Yes. My father. He is the same as I... dead, yet still connected to this world."
"Who is your father?" Yuna asked. She felt sympathy for this woman.
"My father... in life, he was known as Yevon. A great and powerful dictator who used his power to rule Spira a thousand years ago. When noone would listen to his ideas, he became angry. Being a summoner himself, he fused together his aeons together and created a fearsome beast- Sin. It was then that his tyranny ruled. It was amazing, Yuna. People were so afraid of him, they dared not speak bad of him... eventually, after several generations... people never even knew he was a feared dictator. He became respected. He died shortly after the war started. Even after his death people feared him, and his ambition tied him to Spira. His powers were weak from the sendings in the battles, and he knew it. It was then that he decided Sin would be his shield. Sin is, and always will be his host." Yunalesca laughed. Yuna glared at her.
"Are you saying that Sin is just an aeon?"
"Yes... to put it simply, Sin is an all-powerful aeon. Though, Sin cannot last forever. The body deteriorates. It needs new donors- new sacrifices to keep the shield in place." Yuna felt betrayed at this point.
"So the pilgrimages..." Yuna began.
"...were simply a ruse to find new hosts for Sin's body. Though killing normal citizens gave him power, only one with a strong spiritual power could keep Sin from dying. So, we set up the religion of Yevon." Yunalesca finished. Yuna couldn't bear to hear any more. She lifted her staff and began to finish the sending. Yunalesca cried out as the pyreflies left her body. She was slowly losing herself. However, she would not go down without a fight. She grabbed the blade at Yuna's feet and slashed at Yuna's legs. The cut ran deep- straight to the bone. Yuna yelped in pain, but knew she had to complete the sending. With Yunalesca finally gone, Yuna collapsed to the ground unconscious. Tidus ran over and laid her head in his lap. Rikku immediately bandaged Yuna's legs, and Kimahri cast "White Wind" to help speed the healing process. Yuna awoke, and already the pain was gone thanks to Kimahri's magic.
"Thank you, everyone." Yuna breathed. She frowned inwardly. Would they know what she was planning to do? Yuna had thought about it. She didn't need Yunalesca to create a final aeon. All she needed was her blade. But Yuna was smarter than that. She knew why the final aeon killed its master- it had no mind of its own- its first instinct was to kill the one who had killed it- Yevon only did this because it ridded himself of the evidence of his corruption. Yuna decided it would be best for the sacrifice to kill themselves. Yuna sat up and explained her theory to her guardians. They all looked at her in shock, but they agreed to continue, because after all, they wanted Sin gone, even if only for a while. Yuna explained that while she would not die, she would make sure that the person killed would be sent to the farplane to rest peacefully for all eternity. They nodded.
"However." she said solemnly. "The person cannot be..." she looked for the correct word. She did not want to say 'dead' so bluntly. "Er... the person has to be... alive..." Auron nodded, and backed away from the group. Tidus was unsure of what to do. He was neither alive nor dead. He was merely an illusion... he shook his head. "I can't be just an illusion." he thought. Yuna could see in his eyes that was unsure of his place. Suddenly, one of Yuna's guardians stepped forward.
"Yuna." It was Lulu. "Yuna, I will do it." Wakka's heart stopped.
"WHAAAT? Lu, you can't! What about... How am I supposed to..." he couldn't... he just couldn't seem to find a way to tell her he loved her like his brother Chappu did before he was killed by Sin. Lulu looked at Wakka, knowing what he wanted to say. She loved him too... but her heart would always belong to Chappu. She turned to address Yuna.
"Yuna. A long time ago, I met Chappu. We fell in love, but Sin took him away from me. I always said I would die happily because it meant reuniting with Chappu. Wakka..." she turned and faced him. "Wakka, I know how you feel. And deep down I believe that you know how I feel about you. But... my heart belongs to Chappu first and foremost..." she turned back to Yuna. "I wish to be with Chappu again." Yuna nodded sadly, and handed the blade to Lulu. "Yuna, we'd better leave the dome... we need to fight Sin somewhere safe." Lulu said. Yuna and the others agreed, and left the dome.
Once outside, Sin was already waiting. Lulu said goodbye, and with a swift motion, struck herself with the blade. Her body fell limply to the ground, and her breaths became labored. "Wakka... I love you too." she whispered. Her eyes closed and her chest stopped moving. Her body released all tenseness as she died. All of the guardians and Yuna silently paid their respects. Wakka held onto her lifeless body and sobbed.
"Why..." he mumbled softly. By then Lulu's soul had willingly entered Yuna's body as the final aeon. Yuna felt all of Lulu's hardships and strengths flowing in her veins.
"I will not let her die in vain. I will not waste her life." Yuna said as she trudged towards Sin. The large creature stood before her, seemingly waiting for her to summon her final aeon. She called forth Lulu, who was now an aeon rivaling Sin's size. The aeon had silver eyes, but no pupils. Like a lost woman with no purpose except to kill. Long black braids fell down her back as they had in life. Claws protruded from her fingertips, and fangs grew from her mouth. Black, torn wings sprung from her shoulderblades. Though the aeon resembled Lulu in some ways, Yuna knew it no longer had her heart. Yuna commanded the aeon to attack.
The aeon lunged forward with an all-out offensive attack, its claws ripping apart Sin with ease. With each slash of the claws, Sin slowly dissipated, and eventually was "killed". Yuna began to cheer along with her guardians. They were all so proud of Lulu- she had been so brave.
What happened next, however, no one could have expected.