Disclaimer: Just like the meaning of the word 'disclaimer'.

Thank you to –lidOol.fantaSee.gurl-, Warui-Usagi, ThePirateJilt, final frost bite fantasy, and Iluvmoogles. This time around, there was a significant drop in reviews, and so I ask, was it because of something in the chapter or story itself, or something else? Let your opinions be heard, message me or leave a review, please.

It's been a while. Writer's block sucks. Posting on this site from me has gone down to next to nothing, the reason being that I have no time to myself and I have been having major reconsiderations on the directions my stories are taking, this one included. After a while of considering, I decided that this story in particular will continue on its intended path, the one I made with the idea for this story.

Enjoy and please review.

Tears of a Forgotten Summoner

Chapter Twelve: Souls Aren't Toys

The trio moved swiftly, if they could just find the core, Yu Yevon, it would be over in a matter of minutes…

Despite the impending fight, Yuna could not seem to keep her mind clear and focused. She knew that this was what he wanted. He wanted what was broken to be whole again, and this was the only way she saw that she could remedy it. This was the only way to repair both the world, and the relationship that meant more than everything…

Yet why was she hesitating?

There was something wrong, she could feel it, they didn't know the entire story. For a moment she entertained the notion that Auron was once again withholding information, but quickly shook it away, even if he was, what could she do about it?

Helpless.

The word flashed through her mind and she hurriedly tried to squelch it, but the damage was already done. What if what she'd been doing the three years after Tidus's disappearance really was the cause of everything, and the cause for the eventual destruction of Spira as they knew it? She had caused it all and now she was helpless to stop it.

The woman pushed it from her mind, she had to concentrate, wavering now would get her no where. To further distract herself, she readied a Dressphere, unnecessary beams of light that hurt if they were looked at too long leapt from her body, transforming her into a Black Mage.

Clutching her staff, she continued running with nary a beat. Another thought crossed her mind: What were the Dresspheres? Shinra told them that he had invented them, but she was fairly sure that he'd never been a Mascot, Black Mage, White Mage, Warrior, Thief, or any other of the occupations the spheres let them assume, so where did the knowledge come from? The knowledge in those spheres allowed them to know instantly how to feint, parry, thrust, cast spells of destruction as well as healing…

It didn't make any sense.

"He's here!" Rikku called out, breaking Yuna's train of thought and bringing her back to reality.

Indeed, he was

Their surroundings were surreal, but different from the world they had once met Yu Yevon in before. It was all soft colors, nothing seemingly solid anywhere, in fact, she couldn't even seem to feel what she was running on. In truth, Yuna didn't know where they were, it was as if they were led straight to him by some incomprehensible force. She even felt detached from her body, as if all of this were happening in a dream.

There, just as they predicted, Yu Yevon waited for them. He appeared not in the form they had encountered him in before, an indistinct ball of dark energy, but took on a more human shape. It was a middle-aged man in the robes of a summoner. He looked out of sorts, his face must have been a kind one once and his demeanor a welcoming one, but now dark energy practically crackled about him and a deranged grin made its home on his face.

It was unnerving, Yuna realized distantly as her and her companions readied for battle, he seemed to have known that they were coming, what they hoped to accomplish, and yet he took no steps to defend himself. Again, the feeling of wrongness struck Yuna, perhaps this wasn't such a good idea…

Without warning, Paine charged, Rikku on her heels. Yuna almost sighed, if they hadn't been in too deep to turn back before, they were now. Pushing aside her doubts, she immediately starting casting, mustering the power to bring forth elemental forces. It was odd not being able to feel the power she was conjuring, this place was like a dead zone, cutting off all feelings. She wondered if she could feel anything at all.

Paine's sword came down with a snarl from the silver haired woman, a grunt of challenge, but Yu Yevon didn't seem to notice her and the sword simply stopped in mid-air, not harming a hair on his head. The smile on his face widened and Yuna's mind reeled as she power in her hands died away, no longer being sustained by her will, she was frozen, and a quick look at Rikku showed the same results.

It happened so fast that Yuna couldn't have predicted it if she had wanted to, one moment they were all frozen in the relative calm of Yevon's presence, then… well there was a blinding light, and then Yuna got the answer to her question.

In this place she could feel pain.

---

Tidus knelt by the trio of unconscious women, a hand touching Yuna's hair tentatively. Inwardly, he chided himself, he had been so determined to hate her, and her part in the rebirth of Schism helped tremendously, but still he found himself caring for her.

All three of them had gone after Sin, but Yu Yevon had never actually engaged them in battle. Here they laid, on the soft grass of the Calm Lands near the shore and in plain view of the Celsius, which still hovered over the ocean, watching the stalemate between Sin and Tidus's Aeon.

Yevon had seen them coming, knew their intentions, but instead of facing them directly, he used a minor mind trick, showing them a fraction of his power in a place that only existed in their minds. It was a simple trick for him, something that required no relatively no effort on his part, but it had defeated them all the same.

In truth, Tidus actually wished that Sin had confronted them head on, not because they would have been killed (which would have been inevitable from that kind of contact), but because the monster knew that it could defeat them with its most paltry tricks.

It didn't see them as a threat.

---

Yuna's eyes fluttered as her body slowly woke, her mind returning to reality. At first, the only thing she felt was the residual panic from her encounter with Yu Yevon, but then she realized that she was once again aboard the Celsius, the only visible sign that that battle had not been a dream being the fact that she was in the Black Mage Dressphere.

As she looked about, she immediately spotted Auron, who was looking down on her, not saying anything, but his eyes saying it all, he was seething. A few feet away from him was Tidus, who, in contrast to the other man, was not looking at her, instead content to stare into space. When she heard rustling on the adjacent beds, the ex-summoner looked around, observing to her great relief that both her companions were alive, well, and waking up.

"I see you've all come around," Auron said, startling Tidus back to reality, the man looking at them once again.

Yuna swallowed, her tongue feeling impossibly thick in her mouth, "Yes."

He seemed to want to berate her, but he restrained himself, "I think what you did wrong goes without saying."

Paine groaned, narrowing her eyes, "And what exactly is that?" Her tone was bitter, biting, and Yuna would have just as soon told her to put a cork in it had she been able to.

"Well," the man's eyebrow arched. "For one you tried to be the hero and could have gotten yourselves killed."

"The world needs heroes."

"No, Spira needs calm rational thought right now," Auron snapped back at her. "If we all tried to selfishly take the weight of the world on our shoulders, we'd all die. Think about it, or are you that eager to be demoted to 'martyr'?"

Paine wisely kept her mouth shut.

The red clad man sighed, looked around at Yuna, thoughtful. If the High Summoner had any inkling of what was going on in that man's head, she would have predicted that he was going through half a dozen comments before settling on the one he would use.

"By the way," he said softly, "when did you have time to change clothes?"

"Clothes?" she asked weakly, then realized that he was referring to the Dressphere, something that he still did not know about. "Oh, it's a Dressphere."

Auron heaved a sigh, "And that is…?"

"A sphere that contains the power of the class it represents. Like this one," she gestured to herself, "is Black Mage."

"Dress … sphere?" the disdain was evident in his tone. "And they work?"

Yuna nodded, glad that she was able to present something of worth. To illustrate her point, she stood unsteadily, then, with an effort, switched back to her own clothes. Again the lights, colors, and magic swirled, transforming her back.

Both the males' eyebrows raised in unison. Auron stared and Tidus opted to look away.

A moment of silence stretched between the two parties, then Auron breathed, "Even the whores of old Bevelle were never so bold… indecent."

Tidus still didn't look at her, but instead spoke to the wall, "You could have warned us, we could have left."

A wash of shame, like cold water threatened to overwhelm her. Auron's eyes pierced her, making her feel suddenly exposed and vulnerable, Tidus hadn't even glanced at her, but she could only imagine the expression on his face.

"And do they really grant the wearer the powers of that class?" Auron inquired, but his voice sounded more like an accusation than a simple question.

"Yes, and no adverse effects except…" she bit her lip, wishing that he wouldn't look at her so, but compelled to tell him everything, the entire truth.

"Except?" he pressed.

"Well, when I wear them for too long I start to feel like a different person… my memories are muddled with that other person's… it's unnerving," she fidgeted slightly.

Auron looked at the small spheres at her belt, an unreadable expression on his face, then averted his eyes, a fist clenching. Yuna was about to ask when the man turned on his heel, walking away.

The woman was still for a moment, trying to digest what had just happened, when Tidus turned to walk away as well, though less violently than Auron. She marveled at him for an instant, then lurched to her feet, following him down the stairs.

"Tidus?"

His head turned slightly, glancing over his shoulder as he continued his stride, not giving her his full attention, but good enough for Yuna.

"What's going on? W-Why are you angry now?"

"You know why I'm angry in the long run, your negligence has almost destroyed this world," his voice was so certain and firm that she almost dropped the subject right there.

"I mean about the Dresspheres…"

He abruptly stopped, the hall empty around them, and turned to her, "You really don't know?"

She shook her head.

He sighed, but it wasn't anger that emanated from him, it was frustration, "There is no such thing as 'instant knowledge'."

"What?"

"Knowledge of any type has to come from somewhere, and most often it is from experience and teachings. The knowledge in those spheres… what allows you to take on their abilities, had to come from somewhere."

"Yes, I know that," she answered truthfully, it was obvious that this knowledge hadn't just appeared, but as to exactly where it came from, she had no real idea.

He nodded in acknowledgement, "And doesn't it bother you that these skills are not your own? Take away the spheres, and what do you have?" He stepped forward, at a proximity that made her cheeks heat. "If I were to take them from you right now, could you fight? Could you survive?"

"I-I don't know…" she straightened, determined to show him that she knew what she was doing. "But shouldn't I use everything that is available to me? To protect Spira?"

"Yes, that's true, but from what I've seen, these spheres haven't been used exclusively to this purpose, the frivolous things you do with them far outweighs their usefulness."

She gasped, insulted, "I'll have you know that I—"

Tidus didn't allow her to finish her statement, "Did you not notice that there were three distinct factions in this world that were vying for supremacy? Did you miss the fact that they were close to coming to blows? Did you not understand the threat they posed?"

"I-I… We defeated Vegnagun!"

"A paltry victory seeing as you precipitated the attack with your meddling," he snapped. "And beside the point, if you were so focused on the well-being of your people, why didn't you use the mercy that goes along with the White Mage to generate morale? Why didn't you use the knowledge of the Black Mage to avoid conflict? Why didn't you use your own abilities to lead your people?"

The woman stumbled back, her eyes wide, "T-Tidus…"

"What can I do for you?"

Yuna flinched visibly as the words filtered in from the lounge on the other side of the hall, and the door opened to admit Brother, throwing into stark relief the recording of LeBlanc's impersonation of Yuna, the dancing, the singing, everything.

"But instead of saving your people, you insist on shaking your backside for all Spira to see."

She fumbled a bit, then managed a retort, "That wasn't me! That was Leblanc! She impersonated me by stealing the Garment Grid!"

His eyebrow arched, "Garment Grid? Either way, all of Spira believed that that was you up there, accepting that this is what their High Summoner would do. How do you explain that?"

"I-I…"

"And if stealing your Garment Grid, or whatever it is, allows anyone to impersonate you? You're telling me that right now, I could snatch the stupid thing off you, 'magically transform' into anything I want, rub myself on any passing stranger, and be accepted by Spira?!"

"Well, n-no…"

"And someday the time will come when you have to ask yourself where your skills end and where the skills you've stolen begin."

She was at a loss for words, simply staring.

"Where does the power come from?" he asked, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "Just venture a guess."

"I-I… don't know."

"They're souls, Yuna. You're taking the talents, emotions, and overall identity of a person long dead and wearing them on your head like a crown."

---

Author's Note: Well, that's the end of the chapter. Like? Not Like? Loathe? Please review.

I'll be looking forward to hearing from you

Rose Northe