Chapter Thirteen: Love Conquers All

Tidus lay in a state of unconsciousness for three days before Yuna grew worried. She had quickly removed the poison from his body; however he still would not awake. He was gasping for air, and he moaned a few words every now and then, which seemed to be a name. Yuna repeated that name, thinking to herself, knowing she had heard it before.

"Shockroot.. shockroot… Ah! The plant that grows on Mt. Gagazet! Kimahri must have some!"

Miliyah was with her cousin the entire time, and she refused to leave him. He was the only family she had left. No that's not true anymore, the raven-haired woman thought. I have Yuna, Yunalyn and Zaonus now too. She turned to Yuna.

"Leave Tidus to me. You have to go and find it. You and all of Spira are doomed if he dies. He's the only one who can stop the Great Four."

Yuna shook her head, and burst into tears at the thought of him dying.

"He's going to be ok. But I can't leave Yunalyn and Zaonus here. They're still newborns Miliyah. I just can't leave them, even if it means Tidus will die. I know he would want to save his babies. There has to be another way. There has to be!"

Miliyah shook her head.

"If there was, I would have done it myself. I'm the only one who can help him medically. I feared this might happen. He's not suffering from an illness Yuna. He's in shock. We need the shockroot to snap him out of it. But shockroot has been extinct since Zanarkand was destroyed. Your only hope is to go through the portal to our Zanarkand and search the mountain summit yourself. It might be there. Please just go. I'll watch the twins too. He has maybe a day left. The shock is starting to affect his brain and nervous system."

Yuna dried her eyes, changed her clothes and nodded. She kissed her husband's cold lips, and set out the door, as Miliyah opened the portal to Zanarkand.

"Good luck. Remember, time is of the essence."

Yuna nodded and stepped through, and she was in the snowy mountain region of Gagazet. She quickly started up the trail, towards the summit, where the shockroot was supposed to grow. She passed many Ronso along the way, and most of them paid her no heed. It seemed a thousand years ago, there were many Ronso tribes. She noticed not all of the males had horns. She stopped halfway up the mountain, by the cavern entrance where she had entered three years ago. Fiends were not as plentiful as they were in her era. She could calmly relax. Remembering the hot springs, she decided to take a quick bath in the water, to calm her body and her nerves.

"I'm making good time. I've only been gone an hour. I can afford a quick bath."

And so she did, completely submerging herself in the hot springs. Minutes passed, and then a half hour. She finally surfaced from the water, and resumed her climb. After an hour, she reached the spot where Leblanc, Ormi and Logos had fought with them, near the summit of Mount Gagazet. She almost expected them to show up again, but remembered that she was a thousand years back. Taking care not to stir the snow scattered around her feet, she smiled as she took the familiar path to where the sphere on Mount Gagazet would rest in her time. In that exact spot was supposed to grow a field of flowers, roots and herbs of all varieties. She smiled at the thought of beautiful flowers.

"Maybe I can take a few back and grow them. I bet Miliyah would like that."

Her train of thought was cut short by a loud snarl and a roar. She looked up to see the keeper of the flowers. The great dragon Yggdrasil stood mouth agape, silver teeth shining in the midday sun. He was not about to give up his territory without a fight. Yuna knew she could not slay a beast of this size with her twin guns alone, so she opted for a Sphere Change, to the Dark Knight, wielding Tidus's Caladbolg as a weapon. She held her sword in a defensive stance, using her natural flexibility to her advantage. She could easily dodge such a cumbersome beast.

The great dragon guardian swung a massive clawed arm at her with blinding speed, catching her off guard, but she managed to bring the sword up at the last moment to parry the attack, and it took all her strength to keep the claws away from her body. Each claw was larger than her entire body. She knew if she took just one hit, she was finished. She had to think, and fast, for the dragon was relentless with his attacks. She hoped her armor would shield some of the damage from the claws. She would have to try a very risky maneuver to win this fight. She dashed from under the great dragon's clawed arms to his direct line of sight. She was hoping to get the spine of the dragon. Yggdrasil swung his massive spiked tail, and caught a glancing blow to her midsection, and she crumpled to the floor, bleeding. The dragon was starting to slow from overexertion. He rested his great tail next to her seemingly dead body. She saw her opening, rolled over quickly and stabbed the tip of the blade into the tail of the dragon, severing the spinal cord with a single blow; destroying its life force with a single attack. She fell back heavily, bleeding and exhausted. From the blood of the great dragon sprang a flower, and she smiled inwardly. It was the shockroot she desperately needed to save Tidus. She knew it was just what she needed. She gathered a few other herbs for medicine, and started back down the mountain.

"I did it. I just hope Miliyah knows how use this. I sure don't."

She smiled, and dressed her own wounds with the herbs she had picked, and wrapped them in strips of cloth from her skirt. She set off back down the mountain trail, and passed the hot springs.

"Tempting as it is, I have to get home. Tidus has maybe an hour to go before he… NO! I will carry through for him, for our children. Tidus will get better, and he better make this up to me. I must be strong for my family."

Arriving at the portal, she called out to Miliyah on the other side.

"Open it. I have it!"

The air around Yuna shimmered, and she saw Miliyah hunched over Tidus, gentle sobs of sadness coming from her voice. Yunalyn and Zaonus were at their father's side, playing with his hair. Yuna picked up her children, and smiled.

"Miliyah, I did it. He's going to be ok."

Miliyah said nothing, and looked at her younger cousin's pale face, and she brushed his blonde hair out of his face.

"Yuna, it might be too late. He lost all vital signs about ten minutes ago. His heart is beating, but he doesn't respond to my voice. Yuna, this goes beyond illness. He needs you, right now more than ever."

Hearing her words tore her heart to shreds, and she placed the herb over his heart, and silent tears dropped from her eyes, splashing his eyelids.

"Please don't leave me Tidus. We all need you."

Miliyah took the twins from her, and left the room. Yuna softly stroked his cheeks, crying silently. A white light was forming around them, and her tears and sobs fell to his chest. She placed a hand to his forehead, and saw the color rising to his cheeks. He opened his eyes slowly, as the shockroot slowly started to form a circle of light around them. He pulled her to him, and he kissed her softly.

"Tidus, please don't ever leave me. When I thought you were gone, it hurt so much. I wouldn't be able to live without you."

His blue eyes softly met hers, and he wiped the tears out of her eyes.

"It'll take a lot more than that to do me in. We beat Sin. I promised you I'd always be with you. And I never go back on my word. I love you."

"I love you too. Our love for each other conquers all. Nothing can stop us, as long as that love never dies. And it never will."

Tidus nodded and kissed her, and they both fell asleep, unaware that Miliyah was watching them, holding their children.

TO BE CONTINUED…