Disclaimer: … For the last five chapters I have told you that I do not own Final Fantasy, but now I will tell you that I STILL don't own it!

Thank you, Nikki of Spira, Warui-Usagi, Feathered Wolf, and Little Pyrefly, your reviews got me good and motivated to write this!

I'd just like to put out there that I have not played Final Fantasies X and X-2 in quite a while. So if you see any discrepancies when I write of the plots of either, please, by all means, let me know as soon as possible so I can fix it (last chapter I conveniently forgot the name of Cid's airship when I sat down to write about it --;).

Sorry the update took so long. I thought I had most things in my life under at least moderate control, but the moment I turned my back, a million little things went wrong, so I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to fix it all … That's not a good excuse, but I hope this extra-long chapter will help make up for it!

Please enjoy.

Tears of a Forgotten Summoner

Chapter 6: Interlude of Storms

The fiend screamed as a bolt of lightning struck, scampering away as quickly as its feet could carry it, its thick fur bristled all over. But, despite the obvious terror of his companion, Tidus didn't seem concerned at all, in fact, he seemed quite content to keep standing in exactly the same spot. The wolf let loose a whine mixed with a growl, as if trying to warn the man of some imminent doom.

But Tidus already knew what was happening, he need not have been reminded.

Torrents of rainwater ran down the man's face as he turned slowly to observe the panicked animal and again, said fiend whimpered. Tidus strode toward it, but bent to pick up his cloak before he was close, clearing his throat slightly as if to speak over the rain.

"You should go, you don't want to be here when this reaches a peak."

His voice was soft, but the fiend seemed to understand and ran, ran for its life.

Tidus sighed as he wrapped the cloak about himself, the fabric barely warming his cold, wet body, but he didn't seem to care, returning to the cliff to stare out into the dark sky. The clouds swirled as if trying to make a tornado, water and dirt giving it color, the lightning wrapped about it like a sick sort of barberry's sign.

The man smiled a little, Schism was trying to come through. Tidus shook his head, at times like this he was forced to ask himself what Schism really was. It was still so early with no possibility for emergence, but still, like a savage animal, continued to butt its head against the wall.

Even though he himself had seen and been exposed to it, Tidus only knew what it had done, not what it really was.

Was it a mindless killing machine? An uncontrollable magic whose only purpose was to corrupt and destroy? The attack on Zanarkand certainly made it seem so.

But on the other hand, before the initial emergence, Schism had to have planned how it would gain a corporeal form, as briefly as it had then, but still. Was it one entity, or many? Could it think? Feel?

Tidus shook his head, as if to clear it, still, after all these years, he could not push back the curiosity about the being that had destroyed him. A wry smile stretched across his face, he would learn soon enough.

"The pawns are in place, the white rooks have arrived, trying to redeem their sorry lives by further corrupting their queen. The black bishop has come, out of control, driven only by its own instincts. The white knights and bishops stand ready to protect their queen. The black king stands ready to destroy all, even now directing his pawns."

He cocked his head slightly, the smile spreading, "The board is set up, white queen. You are the one who will move most across our world, but even you are not aware that you are being controlled by a much larger force. Poor fool."

Tidus looked out again, perhaps wondering if he was any better than the so-called 'poor fool', and sighed slightly, a barely audible sound.

"The storm brings tragedy," the man closed his eyes, shaking his head, water flying from the clumped tips of his hair, then his face, once again, took on an impassive expression. He held out one hand, as if offering a challenge, "Your move, Yuna."

---

When his eyes opened, Cid found nothing different than when his eyes were screwed shut. He had no idea how long he had been unconscious, it could have been hours, days, or even weeks and he would have noticed no difference.

He was vaguely aware of a slight throbbing in his left leg, but instead of fading, it just persisted, so like any sane person, the man twisted his body slightly extending his hand to touch the limb.

Colors burst before his eyes and the pain intensified, causing the man to gasp in spite of himself, a few curses making their way off his lips. If the debris scattered about him was anything to judge by, Cid would guess that something had fallen on his leg, or at least a part of it, but that was where the speculation ended.

The pain melded together seamlessly into a never ending drone of agony, enough to disguise his perception of what was really wrong with his limb. It could simply be stuck, could be fractured, crushed, broken, or even amputated, and the poor man had no idea how to tell the difference. Trying desperately to calm himself, something new came to the man's attention. Well, not something new, something that was mysteriously absent.

"Hey! Is anyone alive in here!" His voice sounded weak and fuzzy to his own ears and probably worse to anyone else. Cid shook his head to clear it, no use feeling ashamed now, he could do that later, but embarrassed or not, the man still listening intently for any sign of life.

And was greeted with stony silence.

Praying to any deity that the man could think of at that moment that his crew was simply knocked out or stunned by the fall, Cid inserted a hand into his pants pocket, pain lancing up and down his injured leg as his fingers brushed it ever so slightly. Finally, with a muffled gasp of triumph, the man withdrew his slightly squashed communicator, turning the scratched metal over in his palm.

The unit was beaten up almost beyond recognition, even before the crash it was that way, but now he only hoped that it could turn on at all. The screen was marred with a hairline fracture that split several times to branch all over the glass, making for a garbled view of anything that happened to be displayed, but when Cid pushed the power button it didn't matter much, he only saw the visual aspect of white noise.

He had to force down a groan of pain as his leg gave a throb, his perception of the small communication's unit blurring and distorting itself, the captain's consciousness lulling slightly into a state of half-sleep.

No! Don't pass out!

Cid's head snapped up and his eyes widened, that's right, he couldn't rest now. It would be days before anyone came looking for them, he had to get a message out, and so, with badly shaking fingers, the man punched in the code for a manual distress call, seeing as the ship's systems seemed to be failing badly. The unit fell the short way to the deck with a slight clank, as the captain's eyes again began to droop, and slowly, he let the darkness take him again.

He only hoped that the unit wasn't too badly damaged and was able to send it …

… And there was someone out there listening.

---

"Auron, tell me … tell me what's going on!" panic coursed through Yuna's veins as lightning flashed dangerously close to the island. She had no idea whether she should help the ghost to a safe location, or start shooting.

Said man surveyed her calmly, seemingly not caring about their current predicament, and answered her as if speaking to a child, "Bad weather."

Yuna bit her lip, drawing one of her guns and leveling it at him, "You know what I mean! You're dead! I Sent you! How are you still here!"

All traces of amusement left the man and his eyes gained a murderous, maddened glint that the woman had never seen before, "Someone is calling Schism … someone ruined all our work …"

"Ruined? Work?" Yuna shook her head violently as if to clear it. "I don't know what you're talking about!" The panic that had been building in her stomach boiled over and spread to the rest of her limbs, making her shake like a leaf, something she was quite ashamed of.

Auron looked over at her, instantly changing the subject with an idle comment that made the girl's skin crawl, "I'd get the people out of the village, if I were you."

"Why would I do that! … W-Why would I need to do that?"

Again that slight twisting of the man's lips made her shiver, "Schism is trying to emerge near here … it's a sort of triangle effect, I end up here, and the others are out in the ocean somewhere, I suppose, and Schism will try to emerge right in the middle."

The gun lowered almost of its own accord, "Emerge?"

"Gain corporeal form."

"In the ocean?"

"Yes, somewhere between here and Zanarkand, I suppose."

The wind howled through the break in conversation, the speed and ferocity increasing, at this rate, a typhoon was the least of their worries …

"What's going to happen to Besaid!"

Auron shrugged, "Schism most likely wishes to shy away from the ruins." He looked her in the eyes, "This island will be leveled."

If Yuna's cold hands hadn't already been grafted by nerves to her gun's handle, she would have dropped it.

"B-But—"

"Yunie!" Rikku stood a little ways up the path, bent over with her hands cupped around her mouth, as if she were putting her entire soul into the call.

"Yuna!" Paine's voice cut through the wind as she ran past her blonde companion, naked blade out and ready to cut down the man that their leader seemed so distressed by.

Auron turned slowly to survey the approaching threat, but didn't do anything to stop it.

"A-Auron!" Rikku squeaked, looking between Yuna and the dead guardian sporadically.

Paine, sensing that something was wrong, stopped short and looked Yuna in the eyes, "Auron? The guardian Auron? The one who died on Braska's pilgrimage?"

Said man looked at her, eyeing her distastefully, "Not completely accurate, but yes, I believe you're mostly correct."

Yuna stumbled forward a bit, a hand coming up as if to grasp the necklace at her throat, "Please, both of you, get everyone to the Celsius! We have to get out of here!"

Rikku straightened slightly, "What? Why the Celsius? We need to get to shelter, the Celsius is near the bay!"

"Then tell the villagers to get ready, and get the Celsius over here!"

The younger looked surprised, Yuna sounded almost panicked, shaken, but nodded, motioning to Paine, both confused Gullwings running back toward the village.

"You made the right decision, Yuna."

The girl looked back at her former guardian and shook her head. Was it right? Yuna really couldn't tell.

---

Lulu cradled Vidina closer to her chest as the creaking timbers around them groaned once again, causing the already fretting child to cry harder. She could sense painfully clear that even their house, constructed so sturdily, would not tolerate much more of this and Wakka had obviously seen that as well, because he was already stowing their most valued and essential items in a small pack.

The woman walked to him trying unsuccessfully to calm their red-haired boy, "Wakka, where should we go?"

Wakka closed his eyes, latching the case closed, "The northern caves maybe?"

She shook her head slightly, sadly, "No … the caves will not protect us for long."

"Then the temple?"

Again, the woman shook her head, "It's crumbling already … I don't think it safe."

Wakka gritted his teeth in a rare display of displeasure, his fists raising, then coming down hard on the wooden case, bringing forth a fresh set of tears from his son, "Then what can we do!"

Lulu shushed the child, laying a hand on her husband's back, "We'll do what we must, Wakka." She straightened, "But right now I'm more worried for the girls."

The man shook his head, "I knew we should have gone after Yuna … that reverse psychology crap never works."

His wife unconsciously held her child closer, "We did the right thing for her … love."

Wakka craned his neck to look back at her, his face softening. Lulu wasn't one for pet names, or any expression of familiarity, people who didn't know her would, of course, mistake this for a cold, unfeeling disposition, but that was in no way the case. As the red haired man had found, she was really a very warm person, just a little hard to get close to. But this wasn't a bad trait, in fact, it made all the small things she did for him so much more meaningful, and that's just the effect what her obviously fond words had on him, renewing his purpose.

Struck with an idea, Wakka turned to his wife, "The Cel—"

"The Celsius!" a voice screamed from downstairs, followed moments later by a very wet, out of breath Rikku. "You have to get to the Celsius right now!"

Lulu nodded to the girl, "We are already preparing. Please, go help the other villagers."

Rikku nodded, evidently heartened by their readiness, and darted off into the stormy night again.

Wakka scratched his head slightly, a little embarrassed, "She stole my idea, ya?"

---

Gippal paced slightly, gazing out the open air window at the brewing storm moodily. Reports were already streaming in from the Machine Faction about bad weather in all corners of the globe, some more severe than others, but all seemingly coming from the same source.

The blonde man sighed, similar reports from both Baralai and Nooj's divisions were coming in, they couldn't all be wrong, could they? One thing was for sure, this didn't bode well, not at all. And if the accounts were to be believed, it wouldn't be long until Bevelle was engulfed in the gloom of the infernal storm.

He shook his head, his arms first folding across his chest, then dropping to his sides only for his hands to clasp behind his back, a nervous reaction that belayed inner confusion. It didn't seem right, something just didn't fit. Maybe it was just his Al Bhed superstitions, but that tempest wasn't natural, he'd swear on it.

To top all this off, of course, there was one oddball problem in the bunch. Cid hadn't shown up on time, or even bothered to contact them.

"Inconsiderate," he mumbled slightly, leaning uneasily against a wall. Surely it was only that, nothing was truly wrong, right?

Gippal sighed, it was no use, something had to be done. A few strides and a room's length later, the man pushed open the double doors that led to where Nooj and Baralai were currently scheming, both men looking up at his arrival.

"Have you received anything from Cid?"

Baralai cocked his head slightly, "No …" the silver haired man sat back in his chair, surveying his comrade with something like bemused annoyance, "We have quite enough on our plates at the moment."

Gippal crossed his arms over his chest, giving the leader of the New Yevonites a cold stare, which prompted the man to sigh and speak again.

"Look, he's only two hours late, with all the bad weather, that's not so out of the question, is it?"

The blonde man scowled, but mostly because he didn't want to have to admit to his comrade's validity. Across the room, satisfied with his victory, Baralai went back to his paperwork, Nooj looking between them for a few moments before losing interest and poring yet again over the diagrams in front of him.

Gippal huffed a bit, and to disguise his desperate desire not to work that day, crossed to a small communication's unit he had ripped from one of his machina cruisers. He held the headphones to an ear, twisting knobs and pressing buttons, tuning into a normally inavtice channel, hoping for all the world that he looked like he was doing something useful.

As expected, white noise filtered into his senses, making him sigh slightly, white noise … there was only so long he could put up with it … but wait.

The man's eyes widened as a slightly garbled message came in, fading in and out at odd intervals. Furrowing his brow, Gippal listened for a few moments to the recording, Al Bhed words mostly, all jumbled together as if sent by a faulty device. He paid rapt attention just until he was sure he got the general gist of the message, then threw the headphones down, perhaps a little more forcefully than was necessary. But, in excess or not, it certainly attracted the attention of his companions, both looking rather annoyed at the disturbance, Nooj opening his mouth to express his irritation.

Gippal, not caring for courtesy at this moment, cut him off ruthlessly, "Cid just sent …"

---

" … a distress signal!" Brother nearly shrieked at the silver-haired woman that had just entered the Celsius's hanger, many hapless Besaidese in her wake.

Paine gave him a long-suffering look before pushing past him.

"Do you not care! Father …" Brother seemed to grope for the right words, finally settling on the caveman approach, "trouble … help … Now!"

Paine whirled, abandoning her task of directing the refugees for the time it would take to put the man in his place, "And you want me to do what about it now!"

The Al Bhed taken aback, probably thinking that she would be more cooperative, at the very least, "I … want you to help!"

The woman had to suppress the sudden urge to whack him upside the head, a hand balling into a shaking fist, "Besaid comes first. Only a quarter of the people are aboard now. We will go to your father when we can, is that understood?"

"But …"

"Is that understood?" Paine found slight satisfaction in the look of total terror that took over his face at her acid tone.

A grim smile twisted her lips as she turned back to the spooked islanders, calling over her shoulder, hoping that her flippant tone would hide her inner worry, "Beside, what about Rikku and Yuna? They're still out there, you know."

---

Rikku ran through the paths of Besaid, screaming out instructions, the muddy earth making it hard for the girl to keep on her feet. A crowd of people were already assembled at the entrance of the town, Lulu, Wakka, and Vidina among them, all there was left were several stragglers who refused to accept that they would die if they stayed.

"Go!" She shrieked at them. "Yuna's down the road! Get her to guide you to the Celsius!"

Wakka nodded, holding a hand up to guard against flying debris. The wind was again picking up speed, making for a rather spectacular and terrifying typhoon, it was all the man could do to stay on his feet, let alone walk, but somehow, he got the message across to the other villagers. The man turned one last time to the young woman, waving at her to show they understood, then they departed, moving slowly and huddled together, like so many rats trying to escape the flood.

Heartened slightly, she increased her pace toward the temple, anyone still left was likely to be there, she hoped, seeing as many of the houses were giving under the constant bombardment and were literally blowing away timber by timber. She was almost there…

She was so confused.

Why was Auron here? The legendary guardian had been Sent to the Farplane, wasn't that the end? How is it that he stands in front of them now?

The ground beneath her feet gave with a sickening squelch, the imbalance coupled with the harsh winds making the girl fall right on her rump, her whole body shaking with the chills her less than adequate clothes failed to ward off. She felt tears sting at her eyes and she beat her fist on the ground in a moment of frustration and utter dejection. It was always like this. But why? She tried her hardest, and still she almost lost Yuna on the summoner's pilgrimage and watched one of her best friends fade into thin air right before her, and now she couldn't even stay on her feet long enough to save those who needed her help.

She was so helpless.

Rikku scrambled to her feet, her legs aching with the strain as the adrenaline pumping through her veins lessened a bit, weighted down with heavy thoughts. The wind tossed her about like a small toy, her screams lost in the rush of the air. The cloth bandana about her head coming loose, and would have been long gone had her arms had not already been clamped about her skull.

Even though all her instincts screamed for her to stop, still she pressed forward, the entrance to the temple just in reach, the wind tossing the door open and closed in an eerie fashion, but she pushed through it as well, arriving in the temple, her legs finally giving out.

Sure enough, across the way, two people crouched, shaking in fear. The former guardian picked her way along the floor, crawling desperately toward the young woman and her male companion.

"It's alright," Rikku managed to croak, hoping fervently that her voice sounded more reassuring to them than it did in her own ears.

The woman cowered against the male, crying hysterically, Rikku frowned, surely she didn't sound that panicky …

"Come on, we're getting out of here," the girl said, trying to strengthen her voice as she rose to her feet and walking steadily over to the two.

When they made no move to get up, Rikku grabbed the man's wrist, pulling as hard as she could, making him stand by force. Deprived of some of the warmth she had been sharing, the young woman cried out a bit and hurriedly stood to be closer to the man.

Rikku took a deep breath and nodded as she saw that the two were now giving her their utmost attention, "The Celsius is standing by, if we can just get out of the village, everything will be alright. Will you help?"

The two looked at each other, obviously terrified at the prospect of leaving their beloved island, whether to save their own lives or not, and Rikku, impatient and starting to become a little scared herself, stomped her foot to bring their focus back to her.

"Either you help, or I will drag you off the island. When it's safe, I promise we'll bring you back here, but right now, any number of things could happen if you stay. This roof could collapse, you might drown, you could get blown away, or suffocate when this place is sealed."

The man opened his mouth, but the girl wasn't about to let him speak, "Do you understand me?"

The female stepped forward, still holding her companion's hand, the man looking at her in utter confusion, "Yes, Guardian Rikku, we are ready."

Rikku was taken aback, it had been over three years since anyone had called her 'guardian', and to be frank, it was a little disturbing … but she shook it off for the moment, "Good."

---

Yuna knew that she should be going to the Celsius now. She knew that in order to survive, she must, but, at that moment, she didn't care. Paine had passed by a little while ago, maybe half of the townspeople in her care and Rikku was still out there along with Wakka, Lulu, their baby, and the rest of her hometown, but she could only focus on one thing. She knew she was being selfish, that she should be out there helping all that she could, but she needed the truth, she needed it now. No games. No lies.

A dead man stood before as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and yet, the one she really wanted to see could not seem to rise from his sleep … She had to ask, there was no way around it.

"Auron," she began, stepping forward a bit so that her screamed plea was sure to reach him, "where is … where is Tid—"

The man cut her off as he turned away, "You will see … soon enough."

Yuna leaned forward further, "So he is alive?"

Auron looked back over his shoulder, surveying her with a surprisingly emotionless stare, "I never said that."

The High Summoner straightened, "If you didn't mean that, then what did you mean?"

A slight chuckle came from the former guardian, "Enough, Summoner Yuna. There are people who require your help."

As is he himself had summoned them, a mass of moving bodies made its way up the slope toward them, Wakka leading, both arms in front of his eyes to ward off debris.

Auron walked to the nearby cliff, not even looking back at her, "I will see you at your airship then."

Yuna realized what he was going to do just a mere split second before he did it, rushing over to the place the now falling man had just jumped from, her mouth open in horrified awe. But it wasn't long until she turned away to find Wakka struggling ever nearer to her, screaming something she couldn't make out. The girl shook her head, if she could pull herself together, maybe, just maybe, Tidus was waiting for her …

---

Paine felt a growl of displeasure grow in her throat as she stood just inside the hanger with no sign of Yuna or Rikku in sight. It was maddening.

She had already done her part, she had half the village crowded in and their luggage all in storage, and now she would only cause problems if she went out again. But still, they should have been back by now. All the instruments on the Celsius detected what the crew feared, the winds and water would continue their onslaught, and only get worse as time went on.

It was a phenomena that no one could have predicted, even Shinra was baffled at what had brought this on. This was the first time anyone had seen anything like this come up so fast, well, the first in recorded history.

The woman gritted her teeth, why did this have to happen now? They had defeated Vegnagun barely a year before and now they were to fight natural disasters as well?

Her fist connected with the closest sheet of metal and she whipped about to stare into the storm again, waiting for Yuna's silhouette to appear against the almost white haze, and as if by her will alone, a lone figure did appear, slogging through the semi-shallow water to where the Celsius was currently docked.

She almost whooped in spite of herself, reaching out a helping hand to the person and pulling when she felt their hand wrap about hers. But, instead of being greeted with the face of one of her fellow teammates, the face of that man Yuna had been talking to emerged from the gloom, staring at her with his one uninjured eye.

As soon as he was aboard, she dropped his hand and backed away, immediately distrustful of this man, whether he was Yuna's guardian or not, "Where is Yuna?" She demanded, a hand clenching in agitation, "And Rikku?"

Auron looked at her calmly and spoke with no emotion, "They are not going to make it."

---

The blonde Al Bhed pushed open the temple door, the two remaining Besaidese clinging to her as she moved forward. All around them, the houses that just this morning housed full families fragmented and blew away, trees were felled and at this rate the temple would not last much longer.

Determined, Rikku stepped off the stone foundation of the Temple of Yevon and straight into a good foot of mud that only served to further complicate her efforts. Lightning struck, igniting both a semi-standing house and her intense fear of it.

It finally hit her. She was scared, she was terrified.

Her, Yuna, Paine, and all of Yuna's guardians had done the impossible over and over again, but now there was honestly nothing she could see to do. The wind made it hard to move, the water stung her exposed skin, and the lightning kept her from thinking clearly.

The woman next to her gave an anguished cry and Rikku looked over at her, did she sense the same, did she know that there was nothing that the former guardian could do?

Rikku gritted her teeth, if she gave up now then it wasn't just her life that would end, they were helpless without her, and she'd be damned if she'd give up without a fight.

But with everything weighting the woman down, it was no wonder that when she tried to move forward she found that she could not.

She was frozen.

---

Yuna screamed instructions to the refugees, not knowing if they heard her or not, directing them with a wildly flailing arm, hoping that they understood.

She could barely move, but somehow found the strength to move forward, inch by inch, step by agonizing step. The villagers fared no better and Yuna knew all too well that they had not moved a long distance at all.

At this rate, they'd never make it to the Celsius.

The thought came unbidden to her mind and she tried to shake it away, but it persisted, like a poison, draining the hope from her body and mind.

Faintly, but still over the wind and rain, Yuna heard a sort of roaring, but in this state she couldn't tell where it came from, whether it was fiend or storm. At first, she thought it was just in her own ears, but then she saw several recoil and shriek as the clouds above them emitted the noise again, a large shadow appearing in the midst of the dark gray masses.

Yuna looked back at the people following her, trying to keep them from panicking, even though the roaring made her want to scream and run as much as it did them. Then she made the mistake of letting her gaze wander up into the clouds, observing as the shadow got closer and closer to the helpless villagers.

Wakka yelled something to her, but she didn't hear it, the roaring got louder, lightning flashed, and the rain poured down upon them harder.

---

Author's Note: I know this is not the chapter 'The Third Sinner', but the chapter just got so cluttered that I decided to split it apart, sorry about that, in the future I'll try to be a little more on top of my story.

Next Chapter (for real this time): The Third Sinner

Important Note: In this chapter, Auron says there is a 'triangle effect' between Zanarkand, Besaid, and somewhere in the ocean. If you've played either game recently, you know that Besaid is to the south and Zanarkand at the opposite end of the map, so you'd be inclined to think that this triangle encompasses all of Spira, but in fact it doesn't. I'm going with the assumption that Spira is a complete world that takes on a spherical shape, and thus, Zanarkand can be technically north, or south, of Besaid. So the triangle that is mentioned is pretty small and the effects of Schism's attempt to gain corporeal form are isolated to that small area (or are at least most severe there).

A Request from the Author: Hello, how are you? Thank you very much for reading, but could you please leave a comment for me? A review with some encouragement, advice, or anything you want to give? You see, of late, I've been getting very frustrated with this story. But don't worry, it will continue. I'm very grateful that you have left me the reviews and recommendations you have, but please, I really want to know what I should do to make the story better.

I'll look forward to hearing from you.

Rose Northe