Assault on Bevelle

We flew through the air, the wreckage of Home burning behind us. Tessa had told me many stories of her beloved city, and I had always wanted to see it. Now my memory of the place would always be that of a fortress crumbling under Guado attack, then an explosion ringing in my ears.

Leaning against the wall of the corridor, I could feel the engines rumbling behind me and the floor shaking under my feet. Flying on an airship over Spira -- who would have thought it possible? It was incredible to me. And yet, looked at with an objective eye, it was hardly the most unlikely thing I had ever done.

Tidus walked up to me, his face grim, an accusation burning in his eyes. He had learned the truth about the Final Summoning only a few minutes ago, and he had taken it badly.

"The price for protecting summoners," I said, my voice low and quiet. Too high a price. But I still couldn't betray my true feelings on that subject to him, not just yet. Anyway, I was sure he would come to that realization on his own, if he hadn't already. Certainly more easily than I had.

He shook his head. "Whatever," he muttered, and stalked away.

I watched him go, considering his burden. If Relle had been a summoner-- I stopped the thought, shuddering. I had no desire to even imagine that kind of pain.

Of course, if Relle had been my summoner, I would probably be Sin now.

In an attempt to block off these dark images, I thought back on the events of the last day. After our conference beneath the lake, I had fully intended to go along with the group's plan to throw ourselves on the mercy of Mika and Yevon. Then Sin had interrupted -- we'd been standing on its back the entire time. We all fell unconscious from the toxin and woke up on Bikanel Island, hundreds of miles from Macalania. We were all intact, except for the small problem of a missing summoner. Eventually Rikku confessed that we were in the Al Bhed homeland and that Yuna had been taken to their city. But when we arrived, Home was under attack, and Yuna was gone, stolen away by the Guado invaders.

I shook my head. Finding Yuna was our top priority, our only priority. No point making plans until we knew her location. To clear my head and to pass the time, I drew within and attempted to meditate. But the noise and the motion of the ship made the necessary focus nearly impossible to find, and I gave up after about ten minutes. With a sigh, I drew myself up and headed for the bridge. It was time for a little chat with the man who had kidnapped my charge.

Cid -- leader of the Al Bhed, Rikku's father, and commander of this airship -- turned and glared at me as I stepped through the door. "So, you're Sir Auron. The man who led my brother-in-law to his death and now does the same for my niece."

I had never met Cid before, so I looked him over. He bore almost no resemblance to his sister -- gruff, relatively tall, bald as an egg. Only the eyes were the same. He must have been at least fifteen years older than Tess, maybe even twenty. "I never led Braska anywhere that he didn't want to go," I replied. "And I didn't realize you cared so much."

His eyes narrowed. "Don't you start with me! You don't know nothin' about it. So what do you want from me?"

"After rescuing Yuna, then what?" I asked. "You want to keep her safe, correct? Would you seek to stop her pilgrimage?"

"'Course I would," he growled. "If she continues this fool pilgrimage, she'll die, sure as if you killed her yourself. No hair-brained law or teaching is sending my niece to her death. When I save her, I'll make her give it up faster 'n the desert melts ice."

"Even against her will?" I kept my tone even.

"Better than a dog's death!" Cid spat out. "And I'll take down anyone who don't agree."

In truth, I had even less interest in seeing Yuna die than he did. But I had to play this part a little while longer. I would be so glad when this charade was finished. "You are the captain," was my mild response. I turned to go and brushed by Tidus, who had observed the confrontation from the doorway. "Let him say what he wants," I muttered as I passed. "It will be Yuna's decision in the end."

I took up my post outside the bridge entrance again, and waited.

Early the next morning, we were awakened by news from the bridge: Yuna had been found, and she was in Bevelle. The last place in Spira I wanted to go. The first place we should have thought to look.

I hurried to the bridge, where all the others except for Kimahri had already gathered. The Temple of St. Bevelle appeared on the screen before us. Yuna was there, dressed in white, flanked by an honor guard, covered by a shimmering veil. Seymour was also there, and garbed in similar finery. They met on the bridge leading to the highest courtyard, where they were joined by Mika, Kinoc, and several squadrons of warrior monks, all armed to the teeth -- with machina. After Operation Mi'ihen, I probably shouldn't have been surprised, but I still shook my head at the sight.

Rikku looked at me. "What's Seymour doing there? I thought we took care of him at Macalania."

"He is as dead as Jyscal," I replied. "His attachment to this world keeps him from the next."

"Ooh, scary!" She shivered.

I considered the scene we had observed, and came to the only possible reason that she might agree to this ridiculous marriage. "Yuna must be trying to send him," I said.

Rikku looked thoughtful. "Wonder if it will work?"

I shrugged. "Perhaps he won't expect it." Rikku nodded, then went to speak to her father.

Tidus had been listening in, and I turned to him. "Bevelle..." I murmured. "It's been ten years." I looked out the window. All I could see were clouds, but I imagined the winking temple spire poking through them in the distance. I found myself hoping for a brief journey. The faster we got there, the sooner we could be gone.

Evrae. From my very first days in the Order, I had known of the guardian wyrm patrolling the skies above Bevelle, protecting the city from Sin and other unspecified threats -- such as renegade guardians in thousand-year-old airships, perhaps? -- but I had never seen her before today. Now I could claim her as a vanquished foe. Although Wakka had done most of the work in the end, pelting the monster over and over with his studded blitzball, sometimes with an assist from Lulu's magic or Tidus' encouragement or his own blinding spell. I still marveled at the enemies our party had been able to defeat. The Lady Dona had scoffed at Yuna for having so many guardians, but there was much to be said for teamwork. Maybe there was hope for a successful confrontation with Yunalesca after all.

But that would have to wait. We clung to the deck of the airship as it plummeted through the clouds, toward St. Bevelle, laid out below us in all its glory. As we drew closer to the pinnacle, I saw Seymour grab Yuna's hand and pull her to the very highest courtyard, just below the spire. Mika followed, while Kinoc stayed back with his men, shouting orders. I could hardly believe what I saw -- not only were the monks equipped with guns, there were machina warriors as well. At the moment, I was most concerned by the cannons, belching their fire into the sky.

"How we gonna get down?" Wakka shouted over the rushing wind.

The ship slowed, and Cid shot two huge metal cables down to the bridge, anchoring the airship to the city. "Everybody gettin' off at Bevelle, here we are!" he called over the intercom.

Tidus stood up and grinned at Wakka. "We slide!" He jumped onto one of the cables and rode it down, sparks showering from beneath his feet. Rikku did the same; Kimahri lifted Lulu up in his arms and followed.

Wakka looked at me skeptically. "Shall we?" I asked.

"If you say so." We each jumped onto one of the cables, crouching down to keep balance. Reaching the bottom a few seconds later, I leapt off with a grunt, then landed on the bridge. The airship broke its tethers and took off, careening into the sky.

Yuna waited in the courtyard at the pinnacle, her expression combining fear and a fierce joy. Seymour stood by her side, his face hard and angry. They were only a hundred yards away, but the might of Yevon, in the form of more than a dozen warrior monks flanked by machina, held the space between us. The only way to Yuna was through.

From the moment I had returned to Spira as an enemy of Yevon, I had known that I might have to go up against warrior monks in battle. Our confrontation with Seymour in Macalania had made the possibility a near-certainty. I did not hesitate in my attacks; I did not pull my punches or blunt the swings of my sword. But I felt a little more of my humanity die with every one of my former brethren who fell to my blade.

In a matter of minutes, we broke through their defenses, and Tidus rushed up to Kinoc, sword drawn. I was less than a step behind him.

Kinoc swung a gun into Tidus's face. "This has gone far enough," he declared.

Tidus tried to continue pushing forward. "Stop!" I ordered him, hooking my leg in front of his, imposing myself between him and Kinoc as best I could, gripped by a sudden vision of myself spattered with the boy's blood, all I had worked for ended by a single shot.

Tidus strained with anger but did not move further. Kinoc kept the machina trained on him. I felt an overwhelming urge to protect Tidus, to wrench the gun from Kinoc and kill my former comrade, right then and there. But our party had been surrounded by warrior monks, everyone threatened by at least one weapon; it would mean the end of us all if I murdered him now. So I held back and prayed that Tidus would do the same. Instead, I looked to Yuna.

Delight and horror mingled in my soul as she pulled her summoner's staff from beneath her veil. She stepped back from Seymour, holding it between the two of them, and started to twirl it in a perfect circle. I took a surreptitious step back -- I thought I was probably out of range, especially given her focus on the Guado, but I would take no chances.

"You would play at marriage just for a chance to send me?" Seymour asked. I couldn't see his face, but he sounded no more than mildly amused as pyreflies started to rise from his body. "Your resolve is admirable."

"Stop!" Mika shouted. He stepped to the top of the stairway, looking at Yuna and sweeping his hand over her guardians where we gathered at its base. "Do you not value your friends' lives? Protect them... or throw them away. The choice is yours."

Yuna looked at Mika, then Seymour, then Tidus, who growled with frustration but did not dare move, not with Kinoc's gun aimed at his chest.

Slowly, she dropped her arm and, with a terrible look of resignation, let go of her staff. It tumbled down the steps and landed at Tidus's feet.

"You are wise," said Seymour. Mika returned to his place between them and murmured a few words. Rikku cried out and tried to leap forward as Wakka let out a groan of angry resignation. Then Seymour rested his hands on Yuna's shoulders, bent down, and kissed her. Bells rang out, announcing the marriage of a maester. I could feel Tidus quivering with rage next to me and laid a calming hand on his arm.

Not soon enough, Seymour broke away from Yuna. He glanced over his shoulder and said, "Kill them."

Yuna gasped, as did Rikku and Tidus.

Kinoc looked straight into Tidus's eyes as he lifted the barrel of the gun and pressed it into the boy's neck. "I am sorry," he said, "but it is for Yevon."

"Aren't those weapons forbidden by Yevon?" I snapped.

He swiveled, changing his target from Tidus to me. "There are exceptions," he said. He leveled his weapon at my forehead, hands shaking.

I looked straight at him, letting all my contempt -- for him, for Yevon -- show plainly in my face. You wouldn't dare.

His eyes narrowed as he made his silent reply. Wouldn't I?

I wondered how badly it would hurt to be shot in the head, and how I would explain having apparently survived a wound that ought to have been instantly fatal.

"No!"

Every head, including Kinoc's and mine, turned to Yuna, who had broken away from Seymour and taken up a place on the courtyard ledge, just inches from a deadly fall to the city below. With only a few steps, she had retaken control of the situation.

"Throw down your weapons," she said. "Let them go, or else." She took a step backwards, inching even closer to the edge.

Seymour looked at Yuna for a moment, as if testing her resolve. Then, with a scowl, he caught Kinoc's eye and made a sweeping gesture with his arm. Kinoc lowered his weapon, and the squadron of warrior monks surrounding us followed suit. Tidus and Rikku raced up the steps to the courtyard, and the others of our party took the top of the stairs; I hung back to keep an eye on Kinoc and his men.

Yuna did not come down from the ledge. "Leave now, please," she told us.

Tidus wouldn't budge. "You're coming with us," he said.

"Don't worry." Her face was calm, her tone determined. "Go!"

Seymour took a step closer to his bride and held out a hand to her. "This is foolish," he said. "If you fall, you'll die."

Yuna looked straight at Seymour, her eyes flashing with hatred. She brought her arm to her mouth and wiped it clean with a grunt of disgust. Then she turned her gaze back to Tidus, who was shaking his head. "Don't worry," she repeated gently. "I can fly. Believe." Crossing her arms across her chest and closing her eyes, she tipped herself backwards and fell off the ledge.

Seymour ran to the edge and looked over, Mika and a handful of priests and monks joining him. For a few moments, no one breathed. Then we all heard a rushing sound, followed by the beating of mighty wings, and Valefor's cry filled the air. As I had expected: Yuna had summoned the flying aeon, who would carry her summoner to safety.

Tidus backed away from the ledge and from Seymour, his face uncertain. I also found myself at a loss -- we needed to get away and meet up with Yuna, but how to escape?

Rikku found our solution. "Cover your eyes," she called out, then threw something at Seymour. As I looked away, closing my good eye, I heard a clattering noise followed by an explosion, then shouts of confusion. By the time I decided it was safe to look, Rikku was racing down the stairs.

"What was that?" Wakka asked as he turned to follow.

"An Al Bhed flashbomb."

Tidus had not moved from the courtyard -- he seemed rooted to the spot. Kimahri ran over to him and, grabbing him by the arm, dragged him forward.

"Lemme go!" Tidus protested. "I'm gonna kill that Seymour."

"Yuna said leave, we leave," Kimahri growled.

Lulu hustled behind them. "We'll join up with her later," she said.

A squadron of warrior monks was quickly forming up around us. The others had all reached me now, and I turned to meet our opponents. "Break through!" I shouted, knocking one man aside with a backhand and another with an elbow to the gut. Wakka took out another with a punch to the jaw, and Rikku tossed a grenade into the group closing behind. The rest of the enemies quickly scattered, and we made our way back to the bridge, following the pathway down to the Cloister of Trials.

"It's too quiet," Lulu commented as we entered. "A trap?"

The same thought had occurred to me. I'd found our escape rather easier than it ought to have been. Either they had let us go, or discipline within the warrior monks had gone completely to hell in the last ten years.

"Who cares?" Tidus gestured with frustration. "Yuna's waiting for us." Since I was inclined to agree with him as well, I said nothing either way and looked around instead. This was not the entrance I had used when I came to the Cloister with Braska ten years ago -- we'd entered through the base of the temple, not the top. Now we gathered on a landing, a long spiral staircase disappearing into the depths.

"Hmm." Rikku walked up to a panel by the stairway and poked at a glowing button. A rumble filled the stairway as the top four stairs separated from the others and revealed themselves to be a mechanical lift.

"A machina in the temple?" Wakka was flabbergasted. "What's that doing here?"

Rikku shrugged. "I suppose it comes in handy," she said.

"That's not what I meant! The teachings! What about the teachings?"

I held back a groan, or perhaps it was a laugh. How could he still make pronouncements about Yevon's purity after everything we had seen?

"Hey, don't look at me," said Rikku.

Wakka sighed as we piled on to the lift. When we reached the bottom, another panel awaited us. This one controlled a force field that blocked off the entrance to the Cloister proper, and Rikku activated it as well.

"Another machina?" Wakka asked. "Man…"

"So this is Yevon's true face," I said, a note of perverse satisfaction creeping into my voice at this proof of my former faith's hypocrisy. "They betray their own teachings."

Wakka's shoulders slumped as he sighed again. "They treated us like dirt," he muttered.

It was a statement with which no one could argue. We made our way into the Cloister and began our search for Yuna.

Once through the Trials, we piled into the antechamber. It was empty. "Yuna?" Tidus called softly.

"Inside, maybe?" Wakka suggested.

"Then what are we standing here for?" Tidus rushed the stone door and started trying to tug it open.

"Hey!"

Tidus glared at Wakka over his shoulder. "You can stuff your taboos!" He continued lifting in vain, grunting all the while. I was about to take pity on him when Kimahri beat me to it. The two guardians working together were able to pull up the door enough for Tidus to slip underneath. I waited a moment, then followed.

Yuna was kneeling on the ground before the statue of the fayth, bowed in supplication, still in her wedding dress. A figure of a young boy dressed in purple hung before her, suspended in mid-air. Tidus stood behind her, at a respectful distance. "Wh-what's that?" he whispered, possibly to himself.

"A fayth," I told him. He turned to look at me. "The fayth joins with the summoner, and together they receive the aeon. They are human souls, imprisoned in stone by ancient Yevon rites." I shook my head. "The dead should be allowed to rest."

This was not what I had planned to say. Was I talking about the fayth, or myself?

Before I could reflect on my unguarded words, Yuna stood. The ghostly figure rotated onto its side and merged its spectral body with hers. She gasped, then fainted.

Tidus called her name and hurried to her side. I made certain she would be all right, then left them alone, slipping out into the antechamber. Which was quickly filling with warrior monks. I recognized their insignia immediately: Gray Squadron. "Figures," I muttered.

"Don't come out!" Rikku shouted, a moment too late to warn Tidus. The young guardian appeared, carrying Yuna in his arms. The warrior monks trained their guns on him as Kinoc stepped into the room.

"There's the last of them," he said. He drew himself up to his full height, such as it was, and looked us over. "You are to stand trial."

I raised an eyebrow. "I trust it will be a fair trial."

He chortled, an ugly, malicious sound. "Of course it will." And he motioned his men to take us away.