Disclaimer: Square owns the Final Fantasy franchise, as well as Final Fantasy X and X-2 and all characters therein. I only own the plot for this fiction.

Thank you very much Warui-Usagi, Nikki of Spira, Little Pyrefly, Airemir, Hinagy, and all my anonymous reviewers! The encouragement you gave really made me want to write this! (Too bad it didn't cure me of my laziness … Sorry about that)

There seemed to be some confusion about whether or not this story will continue and I want to apologize for that. I shouldn't have complained like that, please forgive me, I'm just having a bit of trouble. But just know that under no circumstances would I ever stop this story, so you don't have to worry about yet another unfinished piece floating around.

I am deeply sorry for the misunderstandings.

Anyway, please enjoy!

Tears of a Forgotten Summoner

Chapter Seven: The Third Sinner

Rikku squeezed her eyes shut against the rain, straining once again to move forward, but to no avail. It made her want to scream, cry, do something, anything at all, but her legs were simply frozen beneath her and nothing the two panicked villagers could do made any difference.

If the girl had been in her right mind at that moment, of course she would have heard the roaring that seemed to get closer and closer as moments passed, but she couldn't, and the only thing that really penetrated her mind was the constant lightning that snaked across the skies.

The growl of the thing above increased and its sheer size blotted out the flashes overhead, finally catching the girl's attention as it lowered itself agonizingly slow, meter by meter, detaching itself from the blackened clouds. Further and further it descended, Rikku starting to fear that it would crush them. With this the girl perhaps the only option she had left to lessen the pain and impending doom.

She looked away.

Again perhaps sensing that their savior had lost the power to deliver them, the two refugees cried out, cowering near her. Rikku screwed her eyes shut, waiting for the pressure, the pain.

"Rikku!"

On instinct, the girl's neck snapped up to look at the source of the voice and saw, miraculously, that part of the bottom of the mist shrouded mass had simply fallen away to reveal Yuna. The Gullwing's leader was saying something, her mouth moving, but the blonde girl could not hear her over the rain, or perhaps it was her own disbelief at the sudden turn of events. Relief flooded the stranded girl so fast that she felt weak in the knees.

The Celsius!

---

Yuna pulled Rikku, the last person on the unfortunate island, up into the waiting maw of the Celsius, moments after collapsing to the ground, shouting weakly at the commsphere for someone to close the door. But even though the ex-summoner wasn't sure that she had even said anything, the door closed anyway, and left the two cousins in a sopping heap on the floor.

"I … I was so scared …" Rikku managed, her eyes wide and her body shaking.

Yuna nodded, trying unsuccessfully to drag herself up, "I know, Rikku."

Said girl shook her head violently, "Yunie, I have a bad feeling about this."

Yuna opened her mouth to object, but Rikku wouldn't let her.

"A really bad feeling."

"Th-that's nonsense," Yuna lied, trying to put on a brave face. "It'll be alright."

"No, it won't!" Rikku cried, on the edge of hysteria, her face was as white as a sheet as she looked up at her cousin. "We defeated Sin! We stopped Vegnagun! But I couldn't even move down there! Don't you understand!" The girl lurched to unsteady feet, swaying like a leaf in the breeze, "We're in over our heads!"

Yuna tried to hold firm even though she felt the beginnings of fear rise in her throat, threatening to choke her, "Rikku, it's just bad weather …"

"Bad weather? Bad weather!" the girl nearly shrieked. "Spira itself was trying to kill us out there!"

The High Summoner shook her head, "It's just a storm …"

"No it's not!" Rikku insisted. "You've lived on Besaid for years, Yuna! Has it ever rained! Has it ever been cloudy!"

Yuna opened her mouth just in time to close it as she realized her companion was right.

"Have your guardians ever risen from the dead?" Paine drawled from the other side of the hanger, walking leisurely toward them.

The gun wielder was silent, looking at neither of them, preferring the ground to their eyes.

"Look, Yuna," the silver-haired woman said. "You have to admit one way or the other that this isn't normal."

"I-I …" Yuna swallowed hard.

"We have to figure this out," the sword wielder said with a surprisingly soft tone. "Spira is in danger." Rikku nodded emphatically.

"When will it end?" the brunette whispered softly.

"What was that?" Paine strode to the girl.

"I don't want this," she said, louder this time. "Why can't someone else step up? Why always us!"

"Now, Summoner Yuna, self-pity is unbecoming of your position," Auron emerged from the shadows, watching them steadily.

Yuna whirled to him, her eyes wide at hearing the still familiar voice after so many months of absence. Seeing the reaction caused him to smirk.

"Does this mean you do not care for the future of Spira anymore? How selfish," he chided, his voice slightly mocking.

"You said you would explain," Paine stated, looking disdainfully at the man. "We are here. Explain."

Auron seemed to ignore her, turning and striding toward the door to the main body of the Celsius.

"I'm talking to you!" the girl snarled at him, her tone caustic and biting.

The man hardly slowed, his head turning slightly to regard her, "You don't seem to understand. You're not in control here. And besides, the rescue mission is not over."

---

Gippal cursed as the Celsius failed to respond once again. Partly out of frustration and partly out of the urgency crackling through the room, the man pressed his foot solidly onto the acceleration pedal.

"Damn!" Baralai shouted from somewhere in the back of the ship's bridge, accompanied by a crash. "Do you mind warning me next time!"

Nooj shook his head, trying to concentrate on the commsphere's feedback over the noise his two companions were making.

"Didn't I tell you to hold on?" The Al Bhed retorted with an annoyed tone.

"Yeah, you did, and then you told me to go check that everything was tied down in the cargo hold."

"Oh, I had thought you finished. Sorry."

"Like hell you are!"

Nooj sighed, turning up the volume in his headphones yet again, fast reaching the ends of his patience.

"How do you—"

"Both of you! Shut yourselves up!"

That got the quarreling men's attention, to be sure. Nooj took a deep breath, as if calming himself (Gippal would later swear that he had seen the man count to ten under his breath), then spoke again, "We're all a little surprised and distressed over this, but that isn't reason to fight amongst ourselves," The man observed Baralai, who was opening his mouth to retort, and cut him off. "Do you understand?"

The two exchanged slightly perturbed looks, but nodded nonetheless.

Nooj sighed, "Now, step on it, Gippal, we don't have all day. And Baralai, check the charts, we need to estimate Cid's course."

"Sir," Baralai said softly, sinking into a seat and immediately getting to work.

"Yes sir," the other man murmured, doing as he was told.

Finally getting some peace, Nooj sighed and tried once again to hail the Celsius.

---

Yuna, Rikku, and Paine found out fairly quickly that they had to trot to keep up with Auron's brisk gait. They could surmise from his direction that he meant to go to the bridge, but as to what purpose he had, they had no plausible idea.

The High Summoner's mind raced as she almost ran along behind him. Schism … it had been mentioned several times, but each time he had skillfully evaded her questions concerning it. She didn't want to deal with it again, a destructive force arising with only a select, close-mouthed individuals knowing what it really was.

First Sin, then Vegnagun. Now Schism?

With certainty she could feel in every fiber of her being, Yuna knew that she didn't want to handle any more of this. She was always Spira's hope, Spira's bright beam of light leading others out of the darkness. That was all well and good, of course, but when did she ever get to enjoy the peace she brought?

Would her life go on like this until her inevitable death? How would people view her when she died? Would they revere her? Ridicule her? Blame her for the threat she couldn't stop? Or remember her for the times she did save them?

She shook her head, maybe she should have just left well alone. If she had just stayed at Besaid when the call to defeat Sin had come, maybe she would have been happy. As it was, she had to struggle to get the Fayth to recognize her at all.

Yuna remembered, she knelt in front of the Fayth, her arms moving incessantly, praying over and over to the great creature and still it's form was only half there. She had started to think that her gift was too weak to summon at all, started to wonder what would become of her if she came out of the chamber, shamed beyond reason.

The woman knew that Wakka, Lulu, and Kimahri would have been relieved, they cared so much that she knew it would impact them irreparably to have one more of their friends and comrades taken away. But still, Yuna was unwilling to give up, her father had sacrificed everything for Spira, she should be prepared to do the same.

It was strange, just a few minutes before the Fayth responded, Yuna remembered a soft sort of energy flow into her, as if someone was helping from the outside, guiding her. The Fayth accepted her, the door opened and she saw … him.

Tidus had been right there, as if sent by magic to help her. Her first thought when she heard of his exposure to Sin was sympathy, he had no home, no family, and she could tell that he was confused. He was exposed to danger beyond imagination, he witnessed the destruction of Kilika, the horror of Sin, and yet, he did not turn from it, he did not run away. Tidus stayed by her, even though he knew the cost of it was his own life.

He sacrificed himself for Spira, a land he had only begun to understand. All of Spira celebrated the triumph of High Summoner Yuna. No, she wanted to scream, it was Tidus, he did this, he saved us. No one took me seriously, they told her that she was just being humble, then, eventually, that she was looking for attention.

So she returned to Besaid, but it was still there. Some sort of guilt, she supposed it was. She had been prepared for her death, prepared to take it gracefully to save her people, but it wasn't her that took the final plunge. It had been Tidus.

Even in the peace between Sin and Vegnagun, the villagers seemed to expect her to conduct miracles, something the girl just couldn't deliver. Yuna tried to be happy, she really did, but the combination of her love's death and the expectations of those around her weighed heavily and destroyed whatever budding contentment she might have had.

Perhaps that was why she was so eager to re-invent herself, so hungry and almost desperate to escape her current circumstances that she chased a shade of Tidus to the ends of the earth.

Tidus was someone no one could replace … but with the Fayth involved, she couldn't be sure if he even existed at all. He was a dream of the Fayth. That was all. And perhaps that was what kept them from finding him and instead chasing Shuyin across the world.

The man that looked exactly like her love was evil, he was a lost soul that had not found peace in the thousand years he wandered Spira. Yuna had been so sure that he was Tidus, they looked identical, how can there not be a connection between the two?

She shook her head, no sense thinking about it now, the problem at hand was more important at the moment. When the door to the bridge opened, Yuna immediately noted that Lulu and Wakka were there. The woman sat by calmly in one of the spare crew chairs, rocking Vidina and watching as her husband had a rather animated discussion with Brother. Yuna instinctively moved closer, trying to catch snatches of their obvious argument, but Auron cut her off.

"Status," he said in a tone that demanded attention and made all eyes on the bridge turn to him. The man rolled his eyes as he saw the now common looks of disbelief and horror come over them, but did not step down.

Finally, after several beats of silence, Buddy answered the command, "Moderate damage to the port engine, slight misalignment of the rudders, but no other significant harm to the ship."

"Location."

"Not sure, sir," Buddy responded, pouring over a chart and trying not to meet the other man's gaze. "From what I can gather, we are currently somewhere over the ocean to the north of Besaid."

"How—" Wakka began, but again, Auron cut off any speech beside his own.

"Save your questions for later. Brother, you have been getting constant transmissions from Bevelle, have you not?"

Brother's mouth gaped slightly, "H-How you know?"

A wry smile twisted his lips, "Let's just say one of my comrades whispered in my ear about a certain event."

"But—"

"And keep it at that."

Rikku's patience was wearing thin and the ominous mood hanging in the air was already rubbing on her nerves, "Alright, don't keep us in suspense. What went wrong?"

"Father crash—"

"Cid's ship went out of control and crashed into the ocean," Paine said tonelessly, reciting what Brother had told her half an hour ago, though with arguably better grammar.

The blonde girl's face contorted first in shock, then in horror as the reality of the new information sank in. Instead of crying out in worry, or ordering Brother to get moving, Rikku's numbed mind could only register one thing as she turned to Paine, "Y-You knew about this?"

"Yes," the silver-haired woman said emotionlessly.

"Why didn't you tell me then!"

It was obvious that Paine was taken aback at the sudden anger and frustration in her friend's voice, and, thus, didn't know what to say.

"Answer me!" Rikku demanded in a slightly shrill voice. "Why didn't you tell me that my father is in trouble!"

Paine groped for words, trying to remember her excuse about Besaid being more important at the moment, but coming up blank. Brother smirked from his position on the sidelines and the young woman opened her mouth to yell at him, but, again, found no words to defend herself. A long silence stretched between those on the bridge, no one daring to speak for fear of making the situation worse. Everyone was still until a crackle of static broke the tension.

"Celsius … cree … do you read? … shhh …"

For a moment, no one moved, everyone seemingly frozen, but then Shinra seemed to come back to himself and turned to the commsphere, toggling switches and aligning circuits to respond.

"We read," he squeaked as he worked tirelessly to adjust the volume in the hopes of confirming the caller's identity.

"This is a … garrr … follow-up transmission from Bevelle Cruiser … scree … 12, requesting coordinates for rendezvous."

Shinra frantically reached for the microphone again, practically yelling into it, "That's a negative! Negative! Bad weather, rendezvous impossible."

Yuna crept closer, looking into the sphere, which was currently riddled with static, unable to form a coherent picture of the caller.

As if sensing the confusion of those aboard, the voice answered the unspoken question, "This is Nooj, what is your current … shhh … position?"

Buddy thrust some maps in Shinra's face and the boy scanned them quickly, "Anchored north of Besaid. We're carrying refugees."

"Refugees? … schree … did you get any of our previous broadcasts? Are they from Cid's ship?"

Brother forced his way near the commsphere, shouting, "You mean tell me, you not found yet!"

Shinra frowned, slightly annoyed, and threw the maps in the man's face, "Negative. From Besaid. We received one of your calls earlier, but we don't know where to begin."

"Fly … north-north east … shhh … east of Zanarkand."

The boy waved at Brother as if he were trying to direct traffic, but the other was oblivious until Buddy snatched the charts from him and traced his finger along the most likely course. Finally understanding, both men went to work pulling up the anchors and preparing to brave the storm.

"Affirmative, we will head there. Need more room. Too many people."

"Understood … cree … rendezvous there and exchange … Nooj out …" the crackle of static ceased, the boy collapsing in his chair like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Shinra looked up meaningfully at Yuna and she nodded.

"Who's up for a rescue mission?"

---

Tidus watched the rain for a long time, not budging an inch. Finally, things out there seemed to have calmed down. The whirlwind that Schism had been trying to use was now dwindling to a summer rainstorm and the sky, while not sunny and clear, wasn't quite as violent.

He pulled the soaked cloak tighter about his form as he looked out over the ocean. It wasn't over, not by a long shot. The little hairs on the back of his neck prickled, he could feel the Three Sinners, two already fully emerged, the third still blanketed in the bowels of hell, but slowly awakening.

The man knew what was to pass; the third would emerge and bring with it the horror of a thousand years. Suddenly, he wished that he could tell them, somehow warn them of what was coming. He knew that it would cause great pain, especially to the High Summoner …

He quickly squelched the urge, shaking his head slightly. She had brought this destruction down upon them, it was only right that she suffer the consequences first-hand.

It was inevitable that one of the Sinners would come after him, probably Auron if he knew the man at all, why go to them when they would just come on their own? Beside the point, Yuna could use a little humility, she needed to see how small she was before she could help at all. She deserved it.

Tidus closed his eyes, but was that reason enough to throw her to the wolves?

---

Yuna was surprised at how clear the weather was once they had been flying for a good half hour. The sky was still black and heavy with clouds, but no tornados or typhoons ripped at the ship and it was relatively smooth sailing.

She dared not say anything, though. No one had spoken since they weighed anchor, not even to ask Auron what was going on, and said man, of course, stayed as tightlipped as always. The tension in the room was thick and almost tangible, mostly with worry, but Rikku was seething with displeasure until Yuna was forced to consider the future of the Gullwings themselves. They were in no shape as a team to help anyone and their leader was starting to seriously doubt if she could keep them together much longer. Everyone seemed to be tense, angry, or just plain helpless.

The woman knew it was selfish, knew that she shouldn't think the way she was now, but she just wished that someone else would step up and save the world. Yuna was tired and it was only getting worse.

There were due to be at the designated area in any moment and then the searching would begin. Buddy had estimated where they would be, but whether they had drowned or exploded wasn't brought into the question. According to follow-up reports from Nooj, they had lost contact approximately four hours, with the emergency signal coming an hour later. If there wasn't a substantial air leak and nothing seriously wrong with the engines, then they should be alright with plenty of air for a good while, but an infinite number of things could have gone wrong.

Even though they all acknowledged that it was just as likely for them to be dead as alive, no one spoke of it, no one asked the question. She guessed it was to bring up morale, bloody effective, Yuna had to admit. Instead of taking the question head on, they just let it hang in the air and poison everyone in the room.

Brother made a slight grunt that passed for clearing of his throat and spoke, "We are currently above the target area …"

As if waiting for a cue, Buddy spoke up, directing his voice to Shinra, "So, how should we look for them?"

The little boy shook his head, responding simply, "I'm only a kid."

Rikku's temper ignited, "Then what are we supposed to do? Start bailing the ocean? They'll be long dead by the time we—"

"You won't save anyone by yelling at each other," Auron said calmly, straightening and looking reproachfully at those around him. "Who are you? You are not the comrades I fought with three years ago." Complete silence greeted his statement, and he sighed, "Deploy sonar."

"Sonar?" Shinra asked incredulously. "This is an airship, sonar only works in the water …"

"I'm no fool, little boy," Auron said dryly. "This ship has many, shall we say unorthodox, enhancements and spare parts aboard, including sonar. So far I have counted at least two individual sonar nodes that are in working condition, attach a cord and shoot it at the right angle and we can find the ship."

Needless to say, most on the bridge were completely speechless. To everyone's surprise, it was Shinra that spoke first.

"Sir … you're a warrior monk, aren't you? H-How could you know this much about machina?"

The former guardian chose to ignore him, "The sonar can be readied in less than twenty minutes if you have the right mechanics, I trust you'll get it done in half that time?"

Shinra nodded numbly, still in shock, and immediately exited to obey the man.

Auron took a deep breath, "Yuna. You and a team of your choosing are to find Cid and help any and all crew members. There shouldn't be too many of them, probably around twenty to thirty. We will tether the ship and bring it to the surface. His ship will be unable to fly, let it sink, just be sure to get everyone off. Is that understood?"

If his voice had been less commanding, or if she were bolder, she might have questioned him, but now her heart wasn't it and she found herself nodding.

The minutes ticked by with the leaden speed of prisoners marching to their death, but finally they were ready, two tubes loaded with the makeshift sonar missiles, the guns manned by Rikku, who was adjusting the targeting device and direction as accurately as she could. Paine and Yuna loitered behind her, the brunette wringing her hands in worry while the other simply leaned against a nearby support, looking over the younger girl's shoulder.

Brother had been ordered to keep the ship as steady as was possible and was doing a pretty good job of it, everything was silent, all was waiting on the blonde girl. Rikku aimed, hoping that the angle would allow safe entry, and fired.

The small thing flew straight on the path, but warbled a bit on entry, turning on its side and exploding with a rather disappointing display, its cord, suddenly deprived of its weight, whipping pointlessly around in the wind. Rikku cursed quietly, trying to readjust the aim.

Paine leaned forward a bit, "Damn, Rikku, you missed the ocean!"

Immediately, Rikku whirled on her, anger flaring.

"Ignore her, Rikku, try again," Auron said calmly, not looking at either girl.

The girl nodded faintly, already concentrating on the target again. This time, the sonar sank effortlessly, still intact and ready to use. Taking the initiative, Shinra activated it instantaneously and sent out a signal, finding the ship in ten seconds flat. It was two miles off from their position toward Zanarkand, but they were above it in no time at all. At that moment, no one paid the clouds looming over the horizon, completely blanketing the ruins, any mind, all of them concentrating on launching the tethers without damaging the ship any more than was absolutely necessary.

Auron gave commands mercilessly, making sure they succeeded, then giving the Gullwings their final brief.

"You have twenty minutes at the most, the tethers will hold that long, but not much longer. For that time, all communications will be dead, we can't transmit through that ship's hull, too much interference, is that clear?"

All three nodded and boarded the elevator down to the hanger. Yuna was now glad for that cage that Buddy insisted they buy to run up and down the tethers in case they needed to transport supplies mid-flight, the three simply riding in the cage.

Yuna looked sadly at the now barely surfaced wreck that had once been Cid's ship. There were plenty of holes to crawl into and the woman wasn't surprised to find that the inside was half flooded.

With a few curt motions, it was conveyed that they were all to go separate ways and find whatever they could. The ex-summoner was thankful that the ship was at an angle that showed that at least some of the ship had not yet flooded.

---

Auron watched as the clouds retracted, watched as those still left in the room stared in awe and horror at the spectacle laid out in front of them. The man saw it all, took it in unflinchingly.

He sighed, closing his eyes, for it to be happening this fast … there had to be a reason … or perhaps the world was just coming to an end …

---

Instinctively, Yuna headed for the bridge, finding the room open, obviously by force, a few electrical fires still sparking. Yuna almost recoiled from the scent of death that hung heavy in the air, most of the exposed bodies were crushed or burned, limp and obviously dead. It was a few minutes of searching until she found Cid, one leg trapped beneath a fallen console, unconscious, but, thankfully, still breathing slightly. Working quickly, she freed him, noting the strange angle his leg hung at, but hoisting him up all the same, half dragging him from the room.

His dead weight kept her from her normal speed, but still, she was simply too late to help the crew members she saw. Finally, with a heavy heart and fatigued body, she headed for the cage again, finding Paine and Rikku waiting for her. Both of them had sobered to the point of morbidity, only a handful of frightened and injured men and women accompanying them.

As soon as she saw her father, Rikku was by his side, trying to make him as comfortable as possible while Paine operated the cage. Finding nothing else to do, Yuna called the bridge of the Celsius on a portable commsphere Shinra had recently given her, and waited for a response …

Strange, no one was answering.

Sensing that something was wrong, Yuna urged her fellow Gullwings to step up their efforts, laying the new refugees in their own beds and hurrying up to the bridge.

Instead of the busy place it should have been, the ship's command center was as still as death with all occupants save Auron frozen in their tracks, their eyes toward the viewport. Worried, she glanced from face to face, only finding horror and gloom in her comrade's eyes, Rikku and Paine already freezing up as they followed the gazes of the others.

Yuna looked up in an effort to distract herself from the gloom all around and her eyes fell on the cursed city laid out before them. At first, she only stared in awe, then her mouth dropped open.

There was not a collection of dilapidated ruins, but in its place a dark mass of tall buildings with pinpricks of light, but that wasn't all. A sort of darkness spread on the ground beneath it, blanketing everything in inky blackness.

The woman tore her eyes away, looking to Auron, who was looking at her.

"No," the man said softly. "Don't avert your eyes, don't look away."

Yuna forced herself to obey, looking back at the city, then to a spot just near it where the water churned and bubbled, more of the darkness surfacing, tendrils reaching from it, groping about blindly. The huge mass continued its slow ascent, the black covering melting away to show …

The woman felt as if she couldn't breathe, all the air she took into her lungs wasn't enough, and she took the last option open to her.

She screamed for all she was worth.

Before her, alive and in all its glory, was the very entity that had struck fear into Spira since the beginning of history …

… Sin …

---

Author's Note:Thank you for being so patient,I'm so sorry for the wait. Please tell me what you think so I can improve the story. Please review.

This chapter was supposed to set up internal tension, please tell me if it accomplished it.

Checklist:

Totally destroy the plots of Final Fantasies X and X-2 ... Check

Rebuild them to fit the plot I have in mind ... Check

Bring in a mysterious villian ... Check

Keep you in suspense of what Schism is ... Check

Set up tension ... Check

Make Yuna and Tidus meet again ... Not Check, hmm, it's about time I did that ...

Next Chapter: Cue Black Knight

I'll be looking forward to hearing from you.

Rose Northe