The Saiyan Pilgrimage

by MegaBob452

Five years have passed since Goku gave his life to protect the Earth, and he is given a mission from the Grand Kai. Return to the living realm on a distant planet, one that spans the divide between the living and the dead, and put an end to the steady stream of death and destruction that has plagued it for a thousand years. Here, on the planet known as Spira, this is his story.

3. Crusade

Chapter 3: Crusade

It was time to get back to the mission.

Goku believed that he had waited long enough, and had returned to the Chocobo Knights in order to take part in whatever operation they had going on against Sin. All he really needed from them and the Crusaders was Sin's location, and Goku could take care of the rest from there. Commander Lucil led Goku to a small building on the outskirts of Luca, where she claimed a recruiter was available today. They went inside the building and entered a small room, followed by Lucil talking to the recruiter, and then left Goku alone with him.

Said recruiter was a thirty-something year old man with short red hair wearing brown shoulder pads and having an awful lot of chest bare. He said his name was Luzzu, and that he was relatively low in the Crusader ranks. He also had a much younger dark skinned teenager helping him, an island native called Gatta and apparently new to the Crusaders. Gatta was standing behind Luzzu and watching, content to stay out of his mentor's way. Luzzu was sitting at a desk facing Goku on the other side, while Lucil was heading out the door after being dismissed.

"So you want to join our ranks?" Luzzu asked, hands folded and elbows on the desk. "This isn't a very convenient time. We're gearing up for a big operation and don't have the time for basic training."

"I know," Goku said. "And I already know how to fight. I just need to know where Sin is so I can fight it."

"I'll admit, you look like a strong warrior," Luzzu said. "But what the Crusaders need is soldiers. Our ranks need to be able to take orders and fight together as one. Is that something you can do?"

The honest answer would be the wrong answer, so Goku gave the answer he knew Luzzu wanted to hear. "Absolutely sir, I can be a team player."

Luzzu took a moment to write something down on paper, and then handed it over to Goku. "Take this and go to the northern end of the Mi'ihen Highroad. I'll meet you there and we'll see if there's a place for you in the operation."

"Thanks," Goku said, taking the paper and pocketing it. "You won't be disappointed."

Now that he knew where to go, Goku left this small building and headed straight out of Luca. He took those large stairs to get out of the city, and a convenient signpost told him that the very first road was the Mi'ihen Highroad. Said road stretched on past the horizon, and Goku was in no mood to walk the entire length. He found a discreet spot to take off and fly into the air, getting a bird's eye view of the road and how long it really was. At a walking pace it would have taken a whole day to cross, and Goku flew across in just under five minutes.

At the northern end there was a gateway that ground traffic had to pass through, a gateway that was only allowing certain people through. Goku stopped and hovered high above it, seeing what looked like military convoys being given free passage while ordinary citizens had to stop. Those convoys were bringing in large wagons with cages on top, containing a wide variety of monsters trying to get out. Goku wanted to get a closer look, but first had to look for a good place to land. Fortunately there was an old road that connected to this one, deserted enough for him to land in without being seen.

From there Goku walked to the end of the road, stopping at the gateway and seeing it up close. Guards were turning away people trying to get through, telling them that it was for their own safety. Goku stopped and stood close enough to see the convoys being let through, but far enough away for the guards to leave him alone. He got a good look at the monsters being shipped through here, all sorts of misshapen things that clearly wanted to kill people. They almost looked like they could have been related to Sin, as if they were the bigger monster's offspring set loose on the world.

A dark skinned man in brown armor noticed Goku just standing there doing nothing. "Sir, either explain your business here, or turn back the way you came."

"Sorry," Goku said. He walked up to this particular guard. "I'm actually here to help, mister…?"

"Yaibal," he said, now eyeing Goku more suspiciously. "I don't recognize your face. Who sent you?"

"Luzzu," Goku answered. He took out the note and handed it over to Yaibal. "He said he'd meet me here as soon as he can."

After reading the note Yaibal nodded and handed it back to Goku. "It says here you're clear to join the reserve division. Head on through and up the Mushroom Rock Road to the command center. Familiarize yourself with the location and battle plan while you wait for Luzzu to arrive."

"Okay," Goku said, and started walking immediately.

Yaibal ordered the other guards to let Goku pass, and he walked through the gateway without being questioned. On the other side was another long road, but it was all barren rock that clung to high cliffs on the left and cragged shore on the right. Not far down this road there was a split in the path, the left one cutting through the cliffs and leading into a valley. Most of the Crusaders were going down that left road, so Goku followed it into the valley. There the road had many twists and turns, often spanning gaps over the deepest parts of the valley floor.

Having plenty of time to kill before Luzzu would arrive, Goku kept a slow pace as he walked down this winding road. It sort of reminded him of going down Snake Way ten years back, another case of where a straight line would have been so much simpler. He was nearly at the end of it when he glanced at the valley floor, seeing a group of people down there disappearing into a narrow path. Curious and still having time to kill, Goku walked off the road's edge and dropped to the valley floor. He followed them through the narrow path into a small gorge, all but completely hidden from the road above.

At the far end of the gorge was a cave, the entrance small but dark enough to promise a much larger interior. Standing in front of the entrance was a short bald man in yellow robes, accompanied by half a dozen armored soldiers. They were all facing the cave as if waiting for something to come out, something besides the many distant screams echoing inside. It wasn't until Goku stepped on some loose gravel did they hear him, and all the soldiers turned and drew their weapons. Half a dozen rifles were pointed at his chest, though Goku didn't notice that these soldiers shouldn't have them.

The short man was the last to turn around, eyes narrowing as he tried to identify Goku. "Whoever you are, you have five seconds to tell me what you're doing down here."

"Just wanted to see what was down here," Goku answered.

Unconvinced, the short man gave a quick order. "Fire."

The soldiers all fired their guns, each shooting a half a dozen rounds. While the bullets were faster than the eye could see, Goku's hand was even faster. His left hand whirled through the air in front of him, snatching the bullets one by one before they could hit him. Goku had three dozen bullets in his hand by the end, which he dropped on the ground. That had the soldiers staring at Goku, and the short man had one eyebrow raised. They were even more surprised when Goku did not retaliate, but the fear quickly turned into confusion.

"So what is this place?" Goku asked, figuring that it had to be important for these guys to shoot him.

The short man was even more confused now. "You're not mad that I tried to have you killed?"

"Not really, no," Goku said. "Was kind of rude though, could have told me who you are first."

"I… what… you…" the short man stuttered, at a loss for words.

"Here, I'll start," Goku said. "Hi, I'm Goku, who are you?"

By then the short man had regained some composure, though he was still confused by Goku's behavior. "I'm Maester Kinoc. I lead the Crusaders. And you've blundered your way into a sensitive matter."

"Neat," Goku said. "So… um… what is it?"

In Kinoc's mind, Goku still wasn't making sense. Given that he'd just ordered the soldiers to kill him, Kinoc had no idea why Goku wasn't hostile. "Why do you want to know?"

"Call me curious," Goku said. He looked past Kinoc and at the cave. "Is something supposed to come out of there?"

"Any minute now," Kinoc said. Although the mystery remained, Kinoc got a feeling that Goku wasn't going to hurt him. "I sent some special recruits in there to find the secrets within."

"Really?" Goku said. He pointed at the cave. "You only sent four people?"

"There were dozens," Kinoc said, turning back toward the cave. "If what you say is true, something must have happened to the rest of them."

"I'll check it out," Goku offered, already walking toward the cave before Kinoc could object.

It was dark inside the cave, though that was to be expected. Goku easily rectified that by making an energy ball appear above his hand, casting bright light into the cave for him to see. Really he only needed it to avoid tripping over something, since he could navigate the cave by sensing for the four people in the cave. There were a few side passages scattered here and there, but Goku ignored them and stayed on the main path. As he got deeper into the cave Goku saw other lights up ahead, varying colors contrasting with the light of his energy ball.

The cave opened up into a larger cavern, and it was filled with shimmering spheres of light. While each sphere only provided dim light, thousands of them were enough to see by. Goku still kept his energy ball alive, for it was still the brightest light source here. It allowed him to see all the bodies strewn about the cavern, dozens of them scattered in groups of three or four. Most of them looked like soldiers, with a handful carrying video cameras. It looked like the soldiers had turned on each other, some unseen force compelling them to kill one another.

Only four people were still alive, the ones that Goku had sensed before coming in here. The first was an athletic man with long brown hair wearing red clothes, his right arm and leg replaced with mechanical prosthetics. The second was a dark skinned man with short white hair wearing green clothing, the style formal but also practical. The third was a teenager with short blond hair and a patch over his right eye, wearing strange blue and purple clothing. The fourth was a teenage girl with short silver hair, wearing simple black clothes that left her waist bare.

The three men were wielding rifles, and were pointing them at each other. The girl had a recorder in one hand and a pilfered rifle in the other, aiming both at the three men. All four of them saw something that wasn't there, and opened fire on the unseen target. Then they aimed the rifles back at each other, only just holding themselves back from pulling the triggers again. The spheres of light were clustered around the four people here, passing through flesh and spirit alike. The light from Goku's energy pierced the shimmering spheres, drawing the group's attention to him.

Four rifles opened fire, and Goku's free hand caught every single bullet. "No need for that."

The girl seemed to come to her senses, if only for a moment. "Run. Run while you still can."

The spheres of light swarmed throughout the cavern, many of them heading straight for Goku. He readied his defenses just before they reached him, only for the lights to pass right through and into his flesh. Goku saw images of things that weren't there, felt emotions that were not his. They belonged to the dead that became the lights, their memories and dying thoughts that persisted after the end. It was difficult to not be overwhelmed by the sheer volume, and it took all of Goku's control to retain his sense of self.

One image was more prominent than the rest, and with it came intense anger and grief. He saw a gigantic machine with the visage of an animal skull, though most of the machine's body was hidden from view. He felt the pain of losing someone close to a pointless death, something that Goku knew well enough already. The person that saw this machine, the person that knew this pain, simply could not leave that moment of his life. He could not move on, he could not leave it behind, bound to this world by the pain of loss.

It wanted him to lash out, but Goku did not give in to temptation. "Leave me alone."

Goku let his energy sphere vanish and the light with it, returning the cavern to the glow of the shimmering spheres. He clenched both fists and called on the energy within, powering up with a white aura that cast away the darkness. A strong gale blew outward in every direction, and the four people in the cavern had to shield their faces from the wind. Raw power shook the entire cavern, shaking dust loose and spreading cracks in the rock, breaking off small pieces that fell from the ceiling. Between the wind and the spreading cracks it seemed like the cavern would collapse and kill them all.

The shimmering spheres were pushed out of Goku's flesh, forming a colorful veil around his body. They tried to force their way back in to no avail, unable to overcome the raw power at Goku's command. They were torn apart and dispersed in the wind, scattered back into the cavern from whence they came. Still he kept up the display of power, using it to purge the lights and their torments from the other four people in the cavern. Only when the spheres were completely gone did Goku stop, and the madness in the cavern came to an end.

All four of them lowered their rifles, and one by one they dropped them on the floor. No longer seeing the visions, all they wanted now was to get out of the cavern as quickly as they could. Yet they did not run immediately, instead staying together and leaving only as fast as the slowest of them. That was the man with the prosthetics, and the other two men helped him move a little bit better. The girl was still holding her recorder, haphazardly using it while helping her companions. The path out led right past Goku, and all four sets of eyes met his.

"Thank you," the girl said. "Whoever you are, thank you."

"It's Goku." He walked beside the four people, guiding them back through the tunnel. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that, miss…"

"Paine," she answered. Then she gestured to the other three, the man with prosthetics first and then the dark skinned man and finally the blonde teenager. "That's Nooj, Baralai, and Gippal."

Nooj nodded, that being the best he could do while the others helped him along. "Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful. But I don't remember you being there when we all went in."

"That's because I wasn't," Goku said.

"Fair point," Baralai said. He stared at a pair of corpses, people that he had known before coming in here. "We should've expected someone sent in after us."

"I didn't exactly ask for permission," Goku said. He saw light up ahead, as they were getting near the end of the tunnel. "I just wish I found this place sooner, maybe gotten more of you out alive."

"We all knew the risks," Gippal said. "There were rumors about the dangers in here. We were sent in to find out if the rumors were true."

"And now we know," Paine said. "So let's get out and never think of this place again."

It only took a few moments more for them to reach the end of the tunnel, though even that short time felt far too long for most of them. As they approached the end haste was no longer needed, and they slowed their pace when they saw light up ahead. Baralai and Gippal stopped helping Nooj and let him walk unaided, allowing him to have some measure of dignity when others would see them. Paine continued to record them all, hanging in the back of the group, centering the footage on Goku as they left the cave.

All five of them stepped out into the light together, blinding at first until their eyes adjusted. They met the soldiers that had been left guarding the cave, most of whom had not been expecting anyone to come out, though they kept that to themselves. Kinoc was still there with the soldiers, though it looked like he had been just about ready to leave. Everyone was relieved that the ordeal was over, even if many people had died in that cave. The time had come for the debriefing, for Kinoc wanted to know what was in there.

Kinoc held his hands behind his back and approached the survivors. "What did you see?"

"As soon as we went in, everyone lost their minds," Baralai answered.

"They became violent," Nooj elaborated. "It must have been the pyreflies."

"So that's what they're called…" Goku muttered to himself, finally having a name for those spheres of light. "Pyreflies…"

"They swarmed around us too," Baralai continued. "So many pyreflies..."

"We saw it," Gippal said. "That apparition, we all saw it."

"It was a machina," Baralai clarified. "An enormous machina, trembling and growling like a beast."

"I've never seen anything like it," Gippal added.

"When I saw the apparition, it got inside me," Nooj said. "It made me feel fear, regret, despair."

"Same here," Baralai admitted.

"Yeah," Gippal said.

Goku simply nodded.

"I see," Kinoc said. "Is there anything else?"

"This man dispelled the apparition," Nooj said, gesturing toward Goku. "He helped us get out with our sanity intact. Otherwise… we might have killed each other like all the others did."

"We might still have made it," Baralai said. "I'm not sure though, it could have gone either way."

"He got us out sooner," Gippal said. "I'm glad just for that."

Kinoc nodded and thought about what they had told him. "Very well, if there is nothing else, I have new orders for you. Report to the command center and wait for the arrival of Maester Seymour. You are to protect him until the operation is complete. That is your first assignment as Crimson Squad members."

That was a little surprising, and Gippal was the first to say what they were thinking. "Wait, we passed?"

"Congratulations," Kinoc said.

The mood instantly improved, and the three were ready to celebrate. Even Paine was smiling, happy for them even if she was just their recorder. "I knew you'd make it."

The only person that didn't understand this was Goku, looking on the group with a perplexed expression. "Did I just miss something?"

"This was their final test," Kinoc answered. "The failures did not come back."

Remembering the bodies, Goku understood that part clearly. "Well I hope it was worth it."

"Crimson Squad demands only the best," Kinoc said. He turned his attention back to the three survivors. "You are dismissed."

Nooj, Baralai, and Gippal saluted to Kinoc, and they quickly walked past the soldiers to head for the command center. The soldiers started to raise their weapons, but were abruptly stopped by a hand signal Kinoc made. It seemed that Kinoc had just cancelled a previous order, and soldiers put their weapons away. No one else noticed that, and the survivors walked away without ever knowing. Paine continued her recording and followed the three out of here, leaving Goku alone with Kinoc and the soldiers.

Kinoc turned toward Goku. "You've certainly proven yourself a capable man. I don't suppose you're interested in bodyguard work?"

"Not really, no," Goku said. "I'm just here for the big fight against Sin."

"Ah, Operation Mi'ihen," Kinoc said. "Well if you'll just follow me, I'll take you to the command center."

"Okay," Goku said.

With a pair of guards behind him Kinoc walked out of the gorge, heading back to up to the Mushroom Rock Road. Goku followed him up there, climbing up a series of ledges to reach the road. They walked all the way to the end of the road, where a mechanical lift would raise people up to the top of a plateau. On this side the plateau overlooked the entire road, while the other side overlooked the Djose shore and the sea beyond. A large camp had been set up in the middle of the plateau, filled with people running back and forth preparing for battle.

It wasn't just Crusaders getting ready, but a lot of Al Bhed as well. Even Goku could see that this was something unusual, for the two factions were keeping their distance whenever they could. While the Crusaders were preparing weapons of a medieval nature, the Al Bhed were setting up cannons and other machine-based weaponry. It was clearly an uneasy alliance between the two factions, one born out of a desire to accomplish the same goal. Along the way Kinoc assured Crusaders that this was the right path, and Goku gave a friendly wave to Al Bhed that looked at him.

"Here we are, the command center," Kinoc said, gesturing to the largest tent at the rear of the camp. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to."

"Sure," Goku said. "I'll just kill time until it's time to work."

Admittedly it was getting late in the day, what with the sun already setting on the horizon. But the activity here didn't stop, but merely changed faces as different people took over for drills during the night. More arrivals came through every hour, found their places amongst the Crusaders, and got to work preparing for the operation. This was the biggest military endeavor on Spira since the formation of the Crusaders, or so Goku was told whenever he commented on the sheer number of people showing up.

Night had just started when Goku sensed a few familiar people, and he walked over to the entrance to greet them. "Hey! Over here!"

Riding three chocobos, the knights Goku knew saw him waving and brought their mounts over to him. Lucil got off her chocobo first, showing off a bright happy smile. "Good to see you made it. I hope Luzzu wasn't too hard on you."

"He was just fine with me," Goku said. He saw the other two get off their chocobos, one excited for what was coming, the other apprehensive and barely concealing his terror. "I think he knows strength when he sees it."

"That is like him," Elma said. She got down from her chocobo and put her hands together. "Did he give you a place to be? I hope it's with us Chocobo Knights."

"No one has told me where to be just yet," Goku said. Truth be told, he knew he would just ignore it anyway. "How about you guys? Where should I be looking for you?"

Still on his chocobo, Clasko was not too happy right now. "We'll be on the beaches, fighting sinspawn."

"Sounds like fun," Goku said.

"It really isn't," Clasko grumbled.

"Well it's not supposed to be," Lucil said. She faced the sea, imagining the battle that was to come. "It is our job to protect the people of Spira in any way we can."

"One way or another, it will be a glorious battle," Elma said. She was looking into Goku's eyes, her smile growing brighter by the second. "And I get the feeling it will be the final battle we ever need to fight."

"If I have anything to say about it, that will be true," Goku said.

"I wish we had your confidence," Lucil admitted. She turned back toward Elma and Clasko. "Come on. We still need to report in."

"Yes Ma'am," Elma said.

The ladies got back on their chocobos and rode off with Clasko in tow, and Goku stood there and watched them leave. Once they were gone he went back to wandering around the pace, looking for something to keep the boredom away, but there wasn't much for that. He did find a comfy spot to sleep just outside the camp, away from all the noise and activity, spending the night sleeping peacefully. He dreamed of the fight he would have with Sin, but the dreams ended far too quickly, for he woke up early in the morning.

After waking up and hunting down his breakfast, Goku returned to the camp in midmorning. It was even busier in the camp now than it was yesterday, a lot more people moving around with a lot more urgency. Goku wandered around the camp just because he could, again looking for something to pass the time. It soon became clear that Operation Mi'ihen was going to take place today, though the exact hour remained unclear. It all depended on when Sin would come here, and Goku wished that it would hurry up already.

It was getting close to noon when Goku sensed a particular person's presence. "Oh right."

Luzzu was arriving at the camp right now, and he just entered when he saw Goku walk up to him. "I take it you've gotten to know the place."

Goku nodded. "I'm just waiting for a spot to be and a time to fight Sin."

"I'm sure we can find a place for you," Luzzu said.

"That Kinoc fellow suggested body guarding," Goku said.

"You met the Maester?" Luzzu questioned. "I didn't think that would happen."

"He's right over there," Goku said, pointing at the entrance to the largest tent.

"Ah good," Luzzu said. "Between the Maester and I, we'll have an assignment for you soon."

"I'll be waiting," Goku said.

Goku watched Luzzu walk toward the tent, only now noticing Gatta right behind him. He then quickly forgot the young man altogether, having far more interesting people to talk to. Already he could sense people he recognized coming down the Mushroom Rock Road, and so he headed that way to meet them. He stopped at the entrance to camp and waited there, since they were heading this way and would be here soon enough. Goku spotted Yuna and her guardians approaching, the group of seven observing everything around them.

None of them were comfortable here, each showing worry and concern though for different reasons. Yuna and Tidus looked like they knew they didn't belong here, having gotten themselves into something they didn't fully understand. Wakka was silently furious when looking at the Al Bhed weaponry, while Rikku was failing to hide surprise at the presence of those weapons. Lulu was doing her best to remain calm and composed, and Kimahri stayed closer to Yuna than usual. Only Auron seemed to be in his element, but then his gaze found Goku and remained focused on him alone.

"Hi guys," Goku said, waving to them.

"Fancy meeting you here," Yuna said. "I take it Seymour invited you too?"

"Nope," Goku said. "I asked around, found the Crusaders, and they told me about this little operation."

"On short notice," Auron said. "You must have really impressed them."

"I think they just need as many hands they can get," Goku said. "So they let me in."

Behind the others, Rikku looked like her day was getting better. "It's good to have you here. Who knows, this whole thing just might work after all."

"We'll find out, one way or another," Lulu said. She looked out at the Crusaders and Al Bhed, having a sinking feeling in her stomach. "But this whole thing feels wrong."

"It'll be fine," Goku said. "I'm sure of it."

The whole group resumed their walk into the camp, and Goku matched their pace to keep their company. All the machina weapons around them were not something they got to see very often, with one exception of course. Rikku didn't see anyone she recognized, the Al Bhed here being from a different sect than the people she knew personally. Wakka remained silently furious about it, keeping his feelings contained for Yuna's sake. Their presence didn't matter to Auron or Kimahri, both keeping focus on their responsibilities, no matter what the circumstance.

"So did you not sleep?" Tidus asked Goku, walking beside him now. "Seriously, that's got to be the only way you beat us here."

Rikku had an insightful look.

"Eh, he probably just paid for a chocobo," Wakka figured. "It would have cost us an arm and a leg to rent those birds for all of us."

"Admit it, you enjoyed the walk," Lulu said.

"Not this part of it," Wakka said. He walked over to the edge of a cliff, where Al Bhed cannons were lined up and ready for use. "Why are these things even here? They go against the teachings."

"Why are they here?" Rikku muttered. She saw the Al Bhed working here, none of whom she knew personally. "Al Bhed and Yevon followers never work together."

"There's always a first," Auron said. "This has been a long time coming."

"Everyone wants Sin gone," Rikku said. "People just disagree on how to do it."

"It's the summoners' job, isn't it?" Tidus asked. "That's the whole point of the pilgrimage, right?"

"It is," Lulu answered. "But the pilgrimage is a difficult road to walk, and few choose to take it."

"That's no excuse to violate the teachings," Wakka said. He kicked one of the Al Bhed cannons, but only succeeded in hurting his foot. "No good can come of using machina."

"It's helped me quite a lot," Goku said, thinking of spaceships and artificial gravity training. "Oh not those kinds of machines, other kinds like… oh never mind, it's not important."

"Don't tell me you're Al Bhed," Wakka said.

"Still not sure what that is," Goku said. He looked at Rikku, then back to Wakka. "Still not sure why that matters."

"It doesn't," Auron said. "Not today, when Al Bhed and Yevon are working together."

Wakka wasn't happy about that, but knew better than to argue with Auron. "Fine…"

Rikku, on the other hand, was relieved. "It must have taken a lot of work to get everyone together."

"Someone certainly swallowed some pride," Lulu figured.

That much was readily apparent, on both sides of this temporary alliance. Although the two groups were working together, they made no effort to get to know each other. Each had their own tasks to perform in this operation, and they did so without asking or receiving help from the other side. The Crusaders kept to preparing for melee combat, while the Al Bhed arranged and maintained their machina weapons, both being needed but not truly combining. Still, they wanted the same goal, and that seemed to be enough.

Auron watched the Crusaders preparing for battle, noticing how much things have changed. "Where's Kinoc? This has him written all over it."

"He's busy," Goku said. "So, are you guys here to fight too?"

"Not like we have a choice," Tidus said. "It was either come here or wait until this blows over."

"We almost didn't even get a choice," Wakka said. "It took the Maester to let us through."

"Great guy, that Seymour…" Tidus grumbled. "Letting us in right into a warzone…"

"At least he gave us a chance to help," Lulu said. "That's better than standing around doing nothing."

"You guys don't really want to be here?" Goku wondered.

"We're supposed to be on my pilgrimage," Yuna said. "But the Crusaders closed the road until this is over, so we couldn't go anywhere but here."

"And now we are stuck," Tidus said. "Whatever happens, I really hope it doesn't take long."

"Oh it shouldn't," Goku promised. "Once Sin gets here, I'm sure it will be over quickly."

"Come on," Yuna said, getting ahead of her guardians. "We better go see where we're needed."

Goku watched the group move on to the command center, where they figured was the right place to go. Afterward Goku walked over to the edge of the plateau, overlooking the bay and gazing out at the horizon. Almost straight down was a beach front, crawling with Crusaders and the Chocobo Knights. They were doing something with the various monsters they had in cages, forcing them to fight each other in larger cages. One by one the creatures were slain, their remains disintegrating into pyreflies, the victors becoming stronger with each kill.

Screams from the monsters were unsettling, even to people that hated the very existence of these monsters. Goku couldn't tell what the point was in making them fight like this, just wishing that he didn't have to hear those monsters' screams from here. He saw a particular group of people down there, watching the cages to make sure the monsters didn't escape, just to avoid an unnecessary problem. They were the members of Crimson Squad, recovered from their ordeal yesterday, put to work for Operation Mi'ihen.

Goku leapt down to the beach, surprising the four of them. "Hey there. How are you holding up?"

They were relieved to see Goku, and Gippal was first to walk over. "We're doing great. So far anyway, we'll see how it holds up when Sin gets here."

"That should be pretty soon," Nooj said. He pointed at the monsters fighting in the cage. "Those sinspawn are calling now. Sin won't be able to ignore it."

"So that's how everyone's sure it will be here," Goku said.

"Sin returns for its spawn," Baralai surmised. He sighed and looked away from the sinspawn. "We usually try to wipe them out as quickly as we can. It feels weird keeping them alive."

"They won't be alive for much longer," Gippal pointed out. He pointed to the machina weapons aimed at the cage. "Once Sin appears they're going to kill them."

Goku looked around and saw Paine further away, recording the view of the sea with her camera. "Is this really the time for what she's doing?"

Paine heard that remark and glanced at him. "Someone needs to make a record of this. If we actually pull it off, everyone should get to see it."

"Fair enough," Goku said. He glanced up at the command center. "You could probably get a better view from up there."

"Obviously," Paine said. She adjusted the camera and pointed it at the sinspawn. "I just want some close ups while there's still time."

"No harm in that," Gippal said.

"True," Nooj said. He turned to face Paine. "And I must admit, it is good to have your company."

"Oh please," Paine scoffed. "You just don't want me to get your bad side."

"Also true," Nooj said. He took one last look at Goku. "I'm sure you have better things to do. Don't let us keep you."

"Yeah sure," Goku said. "Nice seeing you again."

Goku turned around and walked away from them, leaving Crimson Squad to go about their work. He found his way back up he Mushroom Rock without flying up, making his way toward the command center while walking past many other people. Goku stopped and stood on one of several plateaus around the area, where he could see just about everything going on here. It was an impressive sight to see so many people working together for one goal, putting everything they had into one massive assault.

All around the plateau and beach the Al Bhed machina weapons were aimed out to sea, where Sin was most likely to approach from. Down the shoreline there was a machine much bigger than the others, like a tower with twin prongs near the top and pointed on the horizontal. Judging by the denser groups of Crusaders and Al Bhed around that tower, this was the weapon of choice to attack Sin and had to be defended at all costs. Goku wasn't sure what exactly that weapon was going to do, but it looked like people believed that it just might work.

"Magnificent, isn't it."

That voice got Goku to turn to his right, seeing someone standing there looking at the same sights. Immediately he stared at the person's strange blue hair, kept in a style that almost resembled horns. It took a moment for Goku to remember when he'd seen this person before, back at the stadium in Luca during the fiend attack. He couldn't think of the person's name, not remembering if someone had told him who this person was. Goku nodded to the person politely, and then looked back out at the sights ahead of them.

"Is that thing really supposed to destroy Sin?" Goku asked.

"So the Al Bhed say," the stranger said. He noticed a distinct lack of formality here. "You have no idea who I am, do you?"

"No, I do not," Goku admitted.

The stranger turned toward Goku and made the Yevon bow. "It's Seymour."

"Oh yeah…" Goku muttered, finally remembering the name that Yuna mentioned yesterday. "You made that giant thing appear in the stadium."

"And you were in the air shooting magic missiles at the fiends," Seymour said. He looked Goku in the eye. "You were right there. Everyone could see you just by looking up."

"Fair enough," Goku said. He pointed at the tower down below. "So how is that weapon supposed to work? It doesn't look very impressive."

"I believe it runs on some form of electricity," Seymour answered. He shrugged and shook his head. "It's not my business to know how machina weapons work. That is entirely the Al Bhed domain."

"I'm sure Bulma could figure out how it works," Goku said. "Still, if that thing doesn't work, Sin is still going to die today."

"Confident, aren't we?" Seymour said.

"Oh just wait," Goku said. "What you saw before is nothing compared to what I've got waiting."

"Looking forward to it," Seymour said, crossing his arms and looking out to sea. "Sin should arrive any moment now."

Goku waited for that moment to arrive, however long that would take, though wishing it would come sooner rather than later. Seymour got bored and wandered off, heading back into the command center to formally meet Crimson Squad. Goku saw him meet up with Yuna and her guardians along the way, having a conversation that he was not interested in listening in on. They parted ways shortly afterward, and Seymour got to meet his new entourage. Goku wandered around some more, ending up in another part of the command center.

He watched the Crusader and Al Bhed leadership discussing battle plans and making last minute adjustments, the idea being that they could not be too well prepared. Couriers were sent out to deliver the latest orders, hurrying to get things done while they still could. Goku saw one of those couriers heading toward him, needing a moment to remember the young man Gatta, and it seemed a little strange to see him without Luzzu around. He seemed to be frustrated about being sent on this task, clearly wanting to be doing something more meaningful in the operation.

Gatta was out of breath from running too quickly. "Excuse me, mister Goku, Luzzu found a place for you to be."

"Where is it?" Goku asked.

Gatta took out a note with the order written on it. "He wants you guarding Maester Kinoc. It seems he specifically requested you for the job."

"Uh huh," Goku muttered. It took him a little bit to remember that name, but did put a face to it. "Oh right, that guy from the cave. Got it."

Goku walked away from him and went further into the command center, following the energy of the short man from yesterday. He found the Maester inside the largest tent, standing over a long table with battle plans scattered all over it, looking everything over with his closest advisors. Kinoc looked up when he heard footsteps, and he smiled when he saw Goku approaching. He gestured for Goku to come over, tidied up his workspace a bit, and seemed a bit too cheerful given the circumstances. He even sent away some of his advisors, clearing the space for him and Goku to talk.

"Ah, Goku, I see you got the order in time," Kinoc said. "I appreciate you coming here."

"I'm told I'm supposed to be body guarding you," Goku said. "I thought I told you that wasn't my thing."

"You did," Kinoc said. He smiled and cross his arms. "But we must all go where we are needed most. And it is my understanding that you are needed most here, by my side."

"Somehow, I doubt that," Goku said.

"You did sign on to the Crusaders, so I expect you to follow orders," Kinoc said. He carefully stacked the reports and set them aside. "So please, do not stray far from where I am."

Goku sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Fine, whatever."

Kinoc nodded. "Good."

The matter settled, Kinoc walked out of the tent to tend to matters personally. Goku followed behind him, barely keeping the pace, hardly interested in this little job. It did help to pass the time, having somewhere to be, even if he wasn't really doing anything. He got to see Kinoc ordering people around, having messengers carry out his whims, looking smug and confident having others do his bidding. Eventually Kinoc stopped and stood at the top of ridge, looking out to sea and patiently waiting, having nothing left to do to prepare.

Goku stood there too and watched the people below them, all waiting for the moment that Sin would arrive. Tensions rose as time went by, the long wait starting to get on people's nerves. It was almost a kind of torture for everyone around him, knowing that Sin was coming but not knowing when. Even Kinoc was trembling a bit, doing his best to hide it, but still plagued by the thought that this entire operation might be one gigantic mistake. Only Goku remained completely calm, ready for the coming storm.

A siren was sounded throughout the camp, and everyone inside went on high alert. Sin had been spotted approaching this position, drawn to it by the creatures forced to fight each other here. Everyone was on high alert and getting into battle formation, ready for the moment they had been training for. Rows upon rows of men and women stood at the ready, committed to the cause and willing to lay down their lives. The Al Bhed redoubled their efforts to get the weapon ready, needing just a little more time.

Goku spotted a dark mass beneath the water on the horizon, certain of what it was. "Sin's here."

The dark mass entered the waters of the bay, where the shallow waters swelled ahead of the swimming monster. The water erupted as Sin's massive form emerged from the deep, the shallow depth of the bay nowhere near enough for it to remain submerged. Sin stood in the bay taller than the cliffs and plateaus, and every cannon available opened fire on the big target. Every shot impacted a defense of dark energy, like a second skin that covered Sin and shielded it from harm. Sin all but ignored the attacks, as they were so small to be below its notice.

Goku jumped into the air and flew upward, waving to Kinoc as he left. "See ya."

"What!" Kinoc yelled. He saw Goku flying away, surprised by the sight, angered by the dereliction of duty. "Get back here!"

Pieces of Sin's skin broke off and fell into the water, turning into man sized creatures that swam toward the shore. The Crusaders and Chocobo Knights charged to meet them head on, fighting the spawn of Sin to protect the Al Bhed. The dark energy field around Sin disappeared, only to return in a different form. A force field in the shape of a dome surrounded Sin, completely repelling the cannon fire fired at it. The front part of the field expanded toward the shore, with the Crusaders and Chocobo Knights fighting in the path of the attack.

Goku had already been in the air and about to strike, but stopped when he saw Sin's attack. He flew down and got in between the battle and the attack, then crossed his arms and powered up. He focused his power into a large energy barrier, which Sin's attack slammed into with full force. The respective energies cancelled each other out, creating a hole in Sin's attack that spared the people in the battle of the bay. Goku watched Sin's force field revert to its former shape, the hole being filled in and restoring Sin's defense to full strength.

Meanwhile the Al Bhed weapon had gotten ready to fire, and was nearly done charging enough power to take a shot. The twin prongs were glowing with raw power, which flowed into the space in between them. The weapon released that power in the form of an energy beam, one that impacted Sin's force field at near point blank range. The beam pushed back the field toward Sin, denting the part it struck while the rest of it shrank under the strain. Sin almost seemed to turtle up under the strain, having to put more of its power into sustaining the force field.

Spotting an opportunity Goku struck, aiming his right palm at Sin and firing his own energy beam. His struck the force field not far from the Al Bhed attack, denting the field in a second place and forcing the rest to shrink some more. Together the two energy beams nearly reached Sin's flesh, and the monster was actually backing away from them. But then Sin's force field darkened and intensified, pushing back against the beams and forcing them away from its flesh. Goku in turn put more power into his energy beam, pushing the force field back the other way.

But then Sin unleased a shockwave from the bottom of the force field, slicing through the base of the Al Bhed weapon and making the whole thing collapse. One of the energy beams ceased to be, leaving only Goku's pushing against Sin's defense. The force field expanded again and pushed Goku's beam back, but was stopped when Goku added his other hand and channeled more of his energy. In response Sin opened its massive mouth, and dark energy coalesced within that void. That energy was released in the form of a black beam, and it met Goku's beam head on.

There was more power in that attack than Goku expected, and it forced his beam back toward him. The black beam struck Goku and all that power exploded, darkening the sky for miles around. But then a bright light erupted from the epicenter, as if the sun had returned to cast away the darkness. A golden aura radiated from Goku and cast its light for all to see, and all that were here were witness to the raw power before them. They couldn't see the blonde hair or blue-green eyes, not from so far below the Super Saiyan.

After his transformation Goku faced Sin again, this time cupping his hands at his side. He saw Sin preparing to use that same attack again, so Goku quickly prepared his own. "Ka… Me… Ha… Me… HA!"

Goku thrust his arms forward and down at Sin, unleashing the power of the Kamehameha. The bright blue beam erupted from his palms and shot at Sin, right when the monster unleashed its black beam once again. Blue and black collided in the middle and clashed against each other, casting everything in shades of dark blue light. At first the two energy beams were evenly matched, until Goku started putting more and more of his power into the Kamehameha. Gradually the blue beam pushed back the black, until the time was right for a sudden surge to finish the job.

The Kamehameha doubled in size and quadrupled in power, overwhelming the black beam and pushing all the way into Sin's mouth. The whole thing went straight down Sin's throat, as if the monster was swallowing the attack whole. Sin's massive form contained the power within itself, building up as Goku kept up his attack. In moments Sin's body began to bloat, and a blue glow appeared on its skin alongside rays of light from small wounds. Goku kept firing the Kamehameha for just a little while longer, needing only to pump enough power for the whole thing to burst.

Sin exploded like the world's largest bomb, unleashing all the power that had built up within. Blinding light could be seen from several times over the horizon, accompanied by a shockwave and massive winds that blew people off their feet. Exploding at the edge of the sea threw up a massive tsunami, one that would ravage coastlines half a world away. The torso and head of Sin were annihilated, and the limbs fell into the bay and crashed against the bottom. When the light and the wind subsided the limbs of Sin were disintegrating, becoming countless pyreflies that rose up toward the sky.

As the pyreflies rose upward the air shimmered in their light, every color imaginable forming an ethereal mural in the sky. But then the colors turned and formed a distinct image, one of a person nearly as large as Sin had been. It was a muscular man with black hair held back by a red bandana, was wearing black shorts, and was shirtless to put a large J tattoo on his chest on display. This man's gaze found Goku, but didn't appear to be angry with him. If anything he looked greatly relieved, as if a waking nightmare had come to an abrupt end.

"Thank You."

The man faded away, his spirit passing on into the next life. The pyreflies thinned and faded away, clearing the skies of their light. But one pyrefly remained while the others left, larger than the rest while blacker than night with a dark red aura. Within this corrupted pyrefly one could almost see some kind of insect, taking up nearly all the space in side and branded with a symbol that Goku didn't recognize. It seemed to float there in the air, as if studying everything that happened to be in the area. It was especially interested in Goku, the one that released it from within Sin.

The black pyrefly shot straight toward Goku, and he threw a punch right when it got to him. But on contact there was a flash, and the black pyrefly entered Goku's flesh. His aura turned a dark red almost like blood, and darkness permeated his flesh all the way to his core. Black chitin formed around his fist and spread down his arm, reaching his chest and threatening to cover him entirely. When it reached his face Goku closed his eyes, clenching his other fist and focusing on the power he possessed. His aura glowed brighter, turning orange as a war raged within.

Goku felt the presence of another mind encroaching on his own, one that lived beyond death within the black pyrefly. Garbled images of things past rushed through Goku, memories of events across a thousand years. But the mind that housed those memories had long since lost the ability to reflect on them, having degraded to base instincts over centuries of solitude. There was only the mission left to this mind, and it needed a body to continue its mission. It would not be deterred, and Goku would not give in.

The black chitin covering him shattered in an explosion of power, Goku's aura returning to the bright golden light. Darkness was expelled from every part of his body, like wisps of smoke forced through a fine mesh. The darkness coalesced back into the form of the black pyrefly, which fought against the golden aura and tried to get back into Goku's body. The black pyrefly reached Goku's chest and forced its way back in, and was halfway there when Goku drew upon more power. Slowly but surely the black pyrefly was pushed back out, struggling against the power beyond a Super Saiyan.

"Get Out!" Goku commanded. His muscles bulged a little, and his aura grew even brighter. "Now!"

The power was too much for the black pyrefly to withstand, and it was expelled from Goku's body at tremendous speed. The black pyrefly quickly disappeared over the horizon, gone before the people below knew that it was ever there at all. Goku was breathing heavily after the ordeal, remaining in his Super Saiyan form even though the danger had passed. His eyes were focused on the horizon, staring at the place he last saw the black pyrefly. Goku couldn't sense it anywhere, though that meant very little on this world.

And yet that didn't matter to the people down below, the ones that survived the battle anyway. They had seen the explosion that had destroyed Sin, and with its death all of its spawn had died with it. All of them saw Goku floating in the sky, his golden light having dispelled the darkness of Sin. They cheered for him as loud as they could, even if they didn't know what name to cheer for. Goku could hear it even at his altitude, just from the sheer volume from so many people. But Goku didn't acknowledge them, still staring at the horizon.

Amongst all the celebrating people, Auron looked up at Goku. "He really did it. He defeated Sin."

Goku knew better. "No I didn't…"