We are so close. Next week will be the final release of Final Fantasy X: the Novelization! But for now, a battle with Sin. Enjoy!
Chapter Thirty-Seven
The next day, it was time. Time to take out Sin. Time to bring peace to Spira at last. The last time they had seen Sin was at the Zanarkand ruins, so they headed in that general direction, stopping above the Calm Lands. If Tidus was right and this was what Jecht wanted, he'd be there to meet them.
The whole party was up on the bridge, along with Cid and Brother who sat in the pilot's seat.
"Well, this is it, eh?" Cid said.
Tidus nodded. He stood next to Yuna. "Yu Yevon's hiding somewhere inside Sin, and we're gonna find him."
"Well, that sounds pretty simple," Cid replied.
"Hey! Simple is the way you like it, right?" Tidus asked with a grin.
Cid laughed. "You got that right."
Rikku pointed over towards a console. "Pops! I'm countin' on you!"
"Right, got you covered." Cid walked over to the console and hit a few buttons. The Hymn of the Fayth began to play out through the ship's speakers, the sound making the floor vibrate. "How's that?"
"Oh, right on!" Rikku cheered. Everyone was silent for a minute, listening to the hymn. It sounded so calm, too calm, considering what was about to happen.
"A singing ship in the sky," Lulu murmured.
Wakka let out a sigh. "I hope everyone got the message."
The calm stillness of the hymn was broken as Brother jumped out of his seat, pointing a figure towards the windshield.
"Sin!" he shouted. That word was the same in both English and Al Bhed.
Closing in quickly over the flat expanse of the Calm Lands was Sin. Its massive whale-like body, the color of dark shadows, was dull and matte in the morning sunlight. Bright red gills ran under its front fins, rippling with the speed of its approach.
Tidus sucked in a deep breath. "All right, we're going in!"
"How are we gonna get inside?" Wakka asked. He looked slightly nervous.
"The easy way!" Tidus rolled his eyes. "How else?"
"Figures," Rikku sighed.
"Well? Let's go!" Lulu said.
Tidus locked gazes with Yuna. Her eyes, one blue, one green, were alight with determination. They always were. Whatever Yuna did, she gave it her all. Tidus knew he would need that light of resolve and hope to get him through this day.
The party took off down the corridor, but Cid stopped them.
"Hey, how you plan on getting inside?" he asked.
"If we can't get through the mouth, we'll rip open a new one!" Tidus replied. "You with me?"
Cid let out one of his disturbing laughs. "Now that's what I call a plan!"
Brother called out something to his father in Al Bhed, and Cid nodded. "Aha! Of course!"
"Of course!" Tidus echoed, hoping whatever plan Brother had was good.
"All right!" Cid turned back to the party. "We'll give that thing a new blowhole. All you gotta do is jump!"
"Roger!" Tidus called.
"I won't tell ya to be careful," Cid said with an almost evil grin. "Do your worst, kiddo!"
Roger!" Tidus repeated. A thrill pumped through him like right before a blitzball game. Forget worrying about the future! Now was time to blitz!
"Fyed!" Brother called. He had stood up from the pilot's seat and come over to the party. He addressed Tidus, speaking in halting English. "Rikku, you… guard."
Tidus grinned. "Will do!"
The party rushed out of the bridge and made their way out onto the outer hull, the flat section where they'd fought Evrae. The air thrummed with the Hymn of the Fayth, rising up from all of Spira.
"I can hear the song!" Rikku called.
"Yes, I can hear the hymn, too!" Lulu said.
"They listened to us!" Rikku cheered.
Tidus grinned. "We won't let them down!" He walked over to the edge of the airship and stared down at the expanse of plans below. It was a good thing he wasn't scared of heights.
"Yuna!" he called, spinning back around. On a sudden impulse, he pulled out her sphere, the farewell recording she'd dropped on the slopes to Zanarkand. "You don't need this anymore, right?"
"Oh!" Yuna gasped and started to search the folds of her clothing, flustered.
"Right?" Tidus asked again. Yuna stopped her search and met his eyes, a smile on her face. She nodded, and Tidus threw it overboard. The small blue sphere fell, growing smaller and smaller until it vanished, falling to hit the ground somewhere far below. Yuna's safe. I saved her. That was what I wanted, even though now I'm…
The moment was broken as the whole ship began to shake.
"Hey, guys? Guys?" Wakka jumped and pointed ahead of them. "That's not good, ya?"
Tidus saw what he meant. Sin had its head pointing up into the sky, a ball of crackling black energy forming above it. Rippling pulses of dark energy shook the ship and everything for miles around. Sin was giving it is all.
A wave of gravity pulsed out for Sin, knocking everyone on the airship to their knees. The ball of frothing energy split into six smaller one, dropping away from Sin, and flying over the ground. The energy beams cut tunnels through the earth, tearing up Spira in their wake.
Suddenly, all was silent. Tidus pushed himself back to his feet, staring out at the wave of destruction Sin left behind. Massive gouges covered the ground, spreading out in six perfect lines from Sin. Suddenly, all the power poured through the ground exploded outward, jets of fire flying through the air. They shook the airship, and Tidus nearly toppled over the edge. When the chaos and destruction was finally over, Tidus found himself lying face down on the airship's metal hull, staring into Sin's many small, glittering eyes. He gritted his teeth, anger fizzing inside of him. But there was no time for that now. Sin was right there, nose to nose with the airship.
Cid's voice fuzzed over the intercom. "Hey, I saw somethin' shine at the base of Sin's arm! I reckon it's a weak spot!"
Brother's voice sounded over the intercom in Al Bhed, and Cid barked back at him in the same language. Rikku, scrambling back to her feet, translated. "Sin's pulling us in!"
"Everybody, back inside!" Cid shouted. But it was too late for that. Sin was closing in, pulling up just alongside the ship.
"New plan!" Cid's voice echoed out of the intercom. "You guys hit Sin with all you got, and when he pulls back, we fire on him with the main gun!"
"Roger!" Tidus called back, unsure if Cid could hear him. He turned to Yuna, who had climbed back to her feet next to him. "Let's go!" he said, flashing her a grin. Yuna nodded back, smiling.
There was little time to prepare. A moment later, Sin rammed the ship with its left arm-fin, nearly knocking everyone off. However, this movement brought Sin close enough to hit, so that was just what Tidus did. Even though it seemed futile, he leaped up to his feet, ran to the edge, and started hacking at Sin's massive fin with his sword. The strikes drew no blood, only leaving shallow cuts along the creature's bulky appendage. When Sin hit the ship again, Tidus flew backward, crashing over the deck. When he finally came to a halt, everything was blurry, and his head throbbed. Yuna crouched beside him and did a quick healing spell.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"Yeah." Tidus nodded and used his sword to push himself back to his feet.
"Look up there!" Lulu pointed up at Sin's shoulder, her long sleeves rippling in the wind. A small, round, glowing core-like structure sat on Sin's shoulder, radiating with some kind of energy.
"So that's the weak spot Cid was talking about?" Tidus asked quickly.
Lulu nodded. "Assuming it is a weak spot."
"It's good enough for me!" Tidus said, smiling. The thrill of blitz was returning. This would be a piece of cake.
Sin came in closer, shoving the airship again. This time, everyone managed to stay on their feet. Now, the core on Sin's shoulder was close enough to hit. Lulu hung back, preparing to cast a fire spell, and the others closed in. Tidus swung his sword across the glowing core and left a deep wound. Dark energy rippled along his sword and arm, but he didn't stop for the pain. Sin let out a deep groan, and Tidus smiled.
"It's working!" Tidus shouted to the others. Auron, Kimahri, and Rikku rushed up beside him and hit the core repeatedly. Tidus joined back in, and they did a fine job of mauling Sin's weak spot. After a couple dozen hits, Sin shoved the airship one more time and backed away.
"Yes!" Tidus laughed. "We did it!"
"Here goes!" Cid shouted over the intercom. "Everyone, hold on to something! Here we go!"
Everyone dropped to the deck as the airship swung around to face Sin. The main gun charged, then fired with a jerk that nearly made everyone go flying. A pulse of energy surged towards Sin, making contact and knocking its left arm clean off. Tidus lifted his head up from the deck and watching with a broad grin as Sin's fin fell and landed in the green grass of the Calm Lands. Yes! We're doing it!
Tidus jumped back to his feet, the fierce wind wiping his spiky blond hair. He rushed over to where Yuna lay and helped pull her back up to her feet.
"We got it!" he said, smiling brightly. Yuna smiled back at him and nodded.
"Couldn't have done it without you!" Cid's voice echoed through the intercom. "Everyone look sharp! We're hitting the other side!"
The party barely had time to get to their feet when the main guns let out another burst off energy. This wave sheared Sin's right arm from its side, and the appendage crashed down it join the other in the Calm Lands below. The airship came forward and circled over Sin, now gravely wounded.
"Yeehaw!" Cid shouted, barking laughter mixing in with his words. "Where next?" He conferred with Brother in Al Bhed for a few moments, his voice quickly growing destressed. Out on deck, Rikku's eyes widened.
"The main gun's busted!" she said.
"Dang it!" Cid hissed. "Alright, back inside! Time for another plan!"
Tidus stayed where he was, staring down at Sin beneath him. On top of Sin's head, he could see another one of those shining cores. Perhaps it they could get that…
"No! We're going in!" Tidus shouted, pointing down at the core on Sin's back. The others crowded around, looked down where he pointed. Tidus grinned at them. "Every blitzer knows, when you got the ball, you gotta score!"
Yuna met his eyes, smiling also. "Let's go!" she shouted, not hesitating to leap over the edge and down towards Sin.
Tidus let out a laugh. "Hey! Star players first!" He followed Yuna, diving over the edge. The others came along, too, and the whole party plummeted from the airship down to Sin's back.
Maybe jumping from the airship was a bad idea, but everyone managed to land on their feet. They landed next to the shimmering core, and Tidus could feel waves of heat rippling off it. He scrambled back up to his feet and dashed at it, slashing his sword over the glowing surface. Sin let out a groan and began to rock, trying to shake the attackers from its back.
"Everyone, be careful!" Tidus shouted. He nearly lost his footing but managed to stay upright. Auron surged forward despite the shaking and hit the core again. Kimahri joined him. Tidus found his balance again and rushed to help. A fire spell from Lulu struck the core, and it made a squealing sound. Really, the hardest part was staying on Sin's back. The more they hit the core, the more the quaking intensified. After a short while of pummeling it, the airship swooped down beside Sin, flying parallel. Cid's voice shouted out over the intercom, barely audible over the rush of wind and Sin's groans.
"Hop on! NOW! Sin's going down!"
Tidus glanced over the edge and noticed with a jolt that the ground was quickly coming to meet them. Without a second thought, he grabbed Yuna's hand and dragged her with him towards the airship. The others followed. Tidus could see the edge, coming closer with every stride. He tightened his grip on Yuna's hand, crossed the last few feet, and jumped. They flew over the gap and landed with a thud on the airship's metal hull. Tidus lost his grip on Yuna's hand, and he felt a flood of panic. Where is she?
Tidus let out a sigh of relief as he spotted her lying on the deck a few feet from him.
"Hold on now!" Cid called. "We're going down!"
Tidus dug the fingers of one hand into a crevice in the hull, and he clutched his sword in the other. The shining blue blade was a gift from Wakka, and he didn't want to lose it. Tidus glanced sideways to make sure Yuan was holding on too. She was, lying on her stomach, gripping the hull. Tidus didn't have time to check on the others, because the airship's decent sharpened drastically. Wind snapped in his face so hard Tidus could barely keep his eyes open. When he did force them open, Tidus could see Sin plummeting from the heavens. The massive creature sailed over the Calm Lands and landed near Bevelle, plowing over a few small houses in the outskirts. Then it was still. Sin lay there, lifeless and still.
Did we do it?
The airship came a halt just above Bevelle, the rush of wind stopping abruptly. Tidus peeled his fingers out of the crevice and sat up, looking around for the others. No one had been blown off.
"I can't believe it…" Yuna breathed.
Tidus just nodded, still trying to get this breath back.
"Let's get back inside," Auron said, standing up. He didn't look haggard in the least. Of course not. He's an unsent.
Tidus nodded wearily, standing up and walking over to Yuna. He took her hand and helped her back to her feet.
"You okay?" Tidus asked. Yuna nodded. They stood there a few seconds, then followed Auron and the others back inside.
Tidus and the others raced into the bridge. Cid and Brother were talking in Al Bhed, and they seemed very excited. Of course they were! Sin had just come down without the Final Summoning!
Yuna glanced over at Tidus with a worried look in her eyes. "It's going to come back, isn't it?" she asked.
"I know," Tidus said with a sigh.
"What?" Cid's excitement faded as he ran up to join the group. "You're kidding me!"
"No!" Tidus shook his head. "We have to beat the guy inside Sin!" Beat Yu Yevon. Stop the summoning.
"The Crusaders would be out of the job if it was this easy, ya?" Wakka said.
"But it has weakened," Lulu added. "I'm sure of it."
"Yeah!" Rikku grinned. "We're winning!"
"All right!" Cid nodded. "I'll see what I can do with the main gun!" He walked over to the door and left the bridge. Yuna slipped out after him, trying to be discreet. Tidus was worried about her, so he followed.
Tidus found Yuna out on top, on the deck they'd fought Sin from. She stared out over the sunset horizon, her back to Tidus.
"I wonder if Sir Jecht is in pain," Yuna said, not turned to Tidus. He walked up to stand close beside her.
"Let's just end this… quickly," Tidus said. "The fayth said they would help us, right?"
"It bothers me, the way they said that," Yuna said. She looked down at the deck, her confusion spilling over her face.
"I mean," Yuna continued, "they've been fighting alongside us the whole time, but now they say they'll help?"
"I guess so…" Tidus said.
"Wait," Yuna said. "Sin is reborn when Yu Yevon merges with an aeon, isn't that right? If I summon an aeon, Yu Yevon will join with it. But at first, it'll be small, won't it?"
"Yeah…" Tidus nodded. "Then, we might be able to beat it without the Final Aeon." We beat a full-grown Sin, after all…
"I don't know," Yuna said. "What if Yu Yevon jumps again?"
"Then we'll take it down again!" Tidus replied. "We'll fight him until there's no place left to run!"
Yuna looked down at the ground, the flowing Calm Lands far below. "I never thought it would come down to this."
"Yeah, I know," Tidus said. He never thought it would be like this, either. Even after he resolved to save Yuna and Spira, he didn't know it would cost his own life to do it. "Hey, the fayth, they're tired of this whole thing, too. Let's let them rest."
"The fayth said it's pointless to keep dreaming," Yuna mused aloud. "The dream will disappear, he said. What did he mean?" Yuna turned her worried face to Tidus. "And what is that Yu Yevon is summoning from within Sin?"
Tidus knew perfectly the answer to both those questions. But he couldn't tell her. Not yet. "The dream of the fayth," he answered, hoping that was enough.
Yuna's eyes were fixed so firmly on Tidus he felt like she was staring right through him.
"You won't… go away, will you?"
Tidus tried not to let his face give it away. Of course Yuna would figure it out. She was smart enough. Tidus had no clue what to say next. Luckily, the intercom fuzzed to life and Rikku's voice interrupted before Tidus could confirm Yuna's fears.
"Yunie! Guys!" Rikku called. "Something's happening to Sin!"
Tidus spun around, and Yuna turned too. Sin was moving again. It had risen up and now perched in the tallest tower in Bevelle, facing the airship. Shimmering white, almost butterfly-like wings now adorned its back, though its two front fins were still missing. Painted by red evening light, the creature was serenely still, looking almost peaceful. Tidus and Yuna wasted no time rushing back to the bridge.
Tidus and Yuna came flying together into the bridge. Everyone was gathered there.
"Jecht… He's waiting for you," Auron said, addressing Tidus as soon as he entered the room. Tidus sucked in a breath. Yeah. Time to do this.
"Well, son, the main gun is still busted!" Cid said. "We can't give you any cover fire!"
"Hey, just take us in," Tidus said. "We'll go the rest."
Tidus spun around, facing all his friends. Yuna, Auron, Lulu, Wakka, Rikku, Kimahri… They were all here, ready to finish what they'd started.
"All right." Cid turned back towards Brother. "Take us up, flush up the mouth! No mistakes, or I'm gonna tear out that mop you call hair!"
Brother glanced back toward the group. "Eh… Trust… me. Me… take you there. No problem… ya?" Brother grinned, apparently pleased with his English.
Tidus nodded, then turned back to the others. He could feel a rush of adrenaline flood through him. It was time to play their hardest. "Let's get ready to blitz!"
Yuna nodded, and their gazes met. "Out father's wishes…" she said. "Let's make them come true!"
Out the windshield, Tidus could see Sin. It had floated towards them and now stood nose to nose with the airship.
"Here we go!" Cid called.
Tidus nodded, feelings of tension and excitement rippling through him. "Yeah! I'm coming for you, Dad!"
