Remora sat a few feet away from the campsite, looking at the ruins of Zanarkand. She remembered her dream back at home her amazing experience in the machina city, and her unusual first meeting with Tidus. It disappointed her a little to see it all destroyed now. Her home at night seemed like nothing compared to the way that Zanarkand looked a thousand years ago. And then came Sin. If it weren't for all of the hatred that most people had in their minds, it wouldn't have been born. And once Sin is gone, The Calm would start, but it wouldn't be long until Sin comes back. Remora wished there was a way to vanquish Sin permanently, or at least keep the summoners alive in the end; She did admit that the future outcome frightened her a little, and she didn't blame Fang or Rikku for being the most frightened of it out of everyone else. They were both Al Bhed, whose missions were to originally prevent most summoners from continuing their pilgrimage, and now they both can't follow their rule. But there had to be some way to prevent all of the downfalls. Remora had heard slow, light footsteps coming towards her from behind, and Tidus later came through to her sight from the corner of her eyes.

"You afraid?" He asked. Remora didn't want to lie.

"A little. I used to feel confident back then, but now we're right on Zanarkand."

"I understand. But it'll be fine."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

Remora smiled at his answer, and Tidus smiled back at her. They then sat together to watch the sun set slowly for a moment before they felt chatty enough to go back to the campsite. It wasn't too long before the dark had hit the area. Everyone was together then, talking about their future or other types of things that happened in the past.

"Hey! There was more, right? I mean like that time...uh...anyone?" Tidus asked curiously.

"I think..." Yuna replied.

"Yes?"

"I think that we should stop...maybe. For now."

"Alright then." Fang then said. There was a slight pause, but then everyone got up, walking in the direction towards a nearby hill next to them. On that hill was where they stuck all of their weapons at, standing in the dirt waiting patiently for future use. Everyone went and took their weapon out of the ground, ready for the their next session of walking towards their fate.

"Lets go."

She could sense that Seymour was trying to come into her thoughts from time to time that day. She's either been asleep or blocking them out directly during her conversation with Remora. She was glad to have seen her again alive and well. Now Vera would give Seymour a few minutes to talk with her, since most of her tasks for the day were done. She would give him the answer to their deal, and nothing more. Putting two of her fingers from each hand on her temple, emptying everything inside and outside of her consciousness. Everything in sight had darkened and she felt a light-headed feeling as she focused strictly on Seymour's mind, and then she passed out on her bed. After a minute or two, she regained consciousness in a place she never saw before. The floor she stood on was tiled and marbled, and there were no walls to where she was around. She was surrounded with what looked like a blue and white fog, making it hard to tell if she was outside or inside somewhere. Then she focused her attention to what was in front of her. She then saw Seymour with his back to her, his head tilted as if he was listening for her to come close to him; She would only approach him by an inch.

"Made your mind up?" He asked, as if he knew that she was standing behind him the whole time.

"No deal, Seymour. As much as I'd do anything for Remora, we don't trust you enough to agree on your request."

Seymour turned around slowly, a grim smirk on his face.

"You don't trust me?"

"From hearing about things you've done in the past, and the false promises you've made to most summoners, I would never hand my life over to you."

"...What a pity." He replied, his eyes closed for a moment. "You turn down my offer for your daughter's safety?" He asked. He had begun to walk towards her at that point, yet Vera didn't feel frightened in any way.

Vera nodded. "My deals are made depending on who I'm dealing with. You, on the other hand, are not one of the people that'd make an honest offer."

"What makes you so sure I'd lie to you. I understand we've only met in person twice, but I thinking those meetings said a lot to you, did they not?" Seymour used his hands to trace along some of the scars on Vera's neck he had given her. The touch made her flinch a little since the spots were very sensitive. She then took her own hand to lower his hand off of her neck.

"Because people have told me what you do. People with experience around you. People who were hurt, betrayed, and disgusted by you. Did you really think I'd become one of those people!?" She had nearly yelled at him. Their faces were close and Vera thought that she could see a little remorse in Seymour's eyes. "I won't fall for it."

"Yet...you have nothing to fall for." Replied Seymour. His face had no expression and his eyes were staring right into hers. "For as long as you are mine, you won't need to worry about anything more."

Vera could see that Seymour's pupils had dilated, and there was a sudden flash of light that blocked out everything for a second. She felt another black out building up in her, but this time it felt a little different, more intense. It felt like more than her conscious was going blank. She felt a bit of emptiness in her veins as well. She had no feeling inside of her nerves and the sound of her heartbeat seemed to be fading. No...She thought. Oh my God, no. I'm dying...!

"S-Seymour..." She managed to strain out. Seymour was holding her up by the waist since she had suddenly lost her balance. He smirked down at her sudden weakness, and Vera suddenly understood what he had done to her. "I said no..."

Seymour had let her drop to the tiled floor. Her body had hit it and made a loud thud. Vera shook a little, giving it all she got to try and force herself to sit up, but she didn't have much strength left. The feeling of passing out kept coming and going in a pattern, but Seymour didn't leave. This time, he had knelt down onto his knee so that he could still catch a glimpse of her wounded yet well-figured body. Her body was on its side, but his hand went over to pull her over on her back and to brush a bit of hair out of face. Vera's eyes were slightly bloodshot and caught their own look at Seymour. His expression was devious, like he wasn't through tormenting her yet, and she was too feeble to try and fight back. Why did it always seem like that whenever she stuck up to him, she ended up beat up in the end? But this time it wasn't the end, and who knew what he was going to do with her next.

"Now Vera, don't you think I've done enough damage to you? It seems like you're just asking for this." He said, stroking his fingers along the side of her face. Something about his touch had put more stamina to Vera's muscle, and she slowly raised her hand to try and push it away from her face.

"What are you going to do to me?" She asked, her voice a little raspy. He chuckled a little at her question and leaned over her.

"Nothing you'd find offensive at this point." He replied. Vera disagreed with him, and tried to lift herself up again; rolling to her side, but then Seymour caught her by the hands and then pushed over on her back again. Vera's fading feeling completely vanished as she could see clearly that his face was lowering towards hers. His face seemed a little bit paler up close, and more frightening, and Vera wasn't strong enough push him back. To her demise, their lips touched, and she felt that she'd rather die than have this man touching her everywhere. The kiss was soft, but suddenly the feeling of being drained was coming back, and it was fading out this time. Her vision was darkening by each passing second, and the last thing she remembered barely before blacking out for good was Seymour pulling her shirt down a little and tracing an unknown symbol into her flesh. It was too late for her to realize that it had hurt.

Remora had gotten a tight feeling in her chest as they walked through the chamber ruins of Zanarkand. It was finally her time to prove herself worthy to Yunaleska, and from the views and battles that she had gone through so far, it'd be a tough challenge. As they walked through, there had been a number of illusions going on throughout the trip. Almost as though they were regenerated, they'd always show up whenever the group had walked along a certain point of their path. The most recent illusion was two women in Crusader uniforms.

"If it might benefit the future of Spira, I will gladly give my life. It is the highest honor for which a guardian might ask. Use my life, Lady Yocun, and rid Spira of Sin."

It was apparently a guardian and her summoner.

"What…what was that?" Rikku asked, a little startled.

"I've never seen them before." Remora said and blinked.

"They're our predecessors." Auron replied.

"She said 'Lady Yocun', didn't she?" Lulu questioned, then she gasped as if she just realized something important. "Wait! She was a guardian of High Summoner Yocun?"

Remora turned towards Auron curiously. "What does this mean?"

"This dome is filled with pyreflies. It's like one gigantic sphere." He replied, his eyes then turning towards her. "People's thoughts remain here. Forever."

So Zanarkand wasn't the only thing in ruins Remora thought. The walk continued and for each step everyone took, the more they felt close to another memory of someone. At the edge of one of the walkways, their prediction was true. What stood before them now was what looked like a woman and a little blue-haired boy, who seemed oddly familiar to Remora.

"No! Mother, no! I don't want you to become a fayth!" The boy cried out.

"There is no other way. Use me and defeat Sin. Only then will the people accept you." The woman replied, who was apparently his mother.

"I don't care about them! I need you, mother! No one else!"

"I...don't have much time left." The illusion faded at that point. This one actually caught Remora off guard.

"Wasn't that..." Wakka started off in the same amount of awe.

"It was Seymour as a child, wasn't it?" Remora asked.

They were near the end of the pathway to the other side of the dome, at least they thought they were. They did reach some amounts of twists and turns in the corrupted walkways before another illusion came around. This one nearly made Remora faint. A woman and a man stood facing each other as if they had a hard decision to make. The man looked like the person that she met at the library, and has been constantly bugging her with Spira tips till this point. It was Jeckt. The woman was what startled her the most. She had pure blonde wavy hair, back length, and slightly tan skin. Both of her eyes were purple and she had the same figure as Remora did, but she looked pregnant and a little younger, but all of her features came together in one conclusion. It was Vera, before Remora was even born. Remora looked over at Auron, who was just as confused as she was, and behind him, Tidus, looked even more puzzled. She then remembered back at Gagazet that Seymour had called him the son of Jeckt, which added on to the shocking illusion. She then even wondered when and where this happened around.

"Jeckt...do you think that...she will be just as knowledgeable as I am?" Vera asked. Jeckt nodded a yes to her.

"Of course. Anyone who is born of your blood can't possibly be feeble." Jeckt replied. That seemed like a compliment to Remora.

"But you understand what I have to do, right?"

"I know. With your own power at stake, she will be in just much trouble. It's not safe for her to be here, even with you around to protect her."

"I will go to Earth and raise her there. Only then will she be able to learn our ways safely without anyone going after her."

"When she grows up, what then? Would she rather be around the people around her, or will she stick to the tradition you'll teach her."

"You'll never know. I figure it'd be both. I was a city person too before I became a summoner."

The words that Vera said shot through Remora like a bullet. "What!?" She cried out. Vera and Jeckt turned towards her in alarm as if they had heard her, but they were looking past her to her surprise.

"They'll be coming soon. You'll have to leave now before they catch you." Jeckt said, his voice filled with warning.

"I know." Vera replied. Remora just realized that in the whole illusion, it looked like there was a black hole hanging over the two. It looked a lot like the portal she went through to get to Spira a while ago. "I guarantee our safety." She turned around then, looking up at the black hole, but then Jeckt looked alarmed about something.

"Wait!" He yelled. Vera turned around. "What's her name?"

She stood silent for a minute, as if she hadn't thought of the question till now, but it seemed as though her stalling was only to increase the tension since she smiled at him. "Remora." She said as if she were in great ease. Remora could feel something small and liquid trail down her cheek.

"Beautiful name. Fit for a beautiful girl, just like you." Jeckt replied, smirking. Vera smiled back, but then blinked in confusion.

"What will you do, once I'm gone?"

"I'm going back to say goodbye to my son. I've got another summoner to guard as well. Hopefully the outcome won't be as tragic as...you know."

"I understand completely. Tell Tidus I said hello, and I wish your next pilgrimage to be a wonderful experience." Vera replied. Jeckt walked up to her and kissed her on the cheek.

"Good luck." Jeckt replied. Jeckt then vanished, but it wasn't until Vera reached out towards the portal that she vanished as well. The illusion came to an end and Remora felt faint.

"I don't understand." She replied, her eyes slightly dilated. She Auron's hand press on her shoulder and Tidus walked up next to her. It seemed as though the trip to see Yunaleska went to a shocking pause.

"I don't either." Tidus said. "My dad knew your mom...and...what's going on?" He asked, confused. Auron looked over at both of them, mainly to Remora, who he knew that she knew that she learned another hidden secret about Vera.

"I was your age when Vera and Lord Braska were summoners. They were both High Summoners too, but Vera wasn't as well known to the common people. Just to most of Yevon and the temples."

"You knew her too?" Remora asked.

"Everyone in Spira back then knew her, just not as personally as Jeckt and the government of Yevon did. She also wasn't very fond of Seymour's mother, for various reasons that we don't have time to explain yet. And she too had betrayed Yevon's teachings at one point, despite that we know now what they've been hiding from us the whole time, and that's when she had gone to one of Spira's most wanted. At that time, she was pregnant with you; that's why she immediately had to leave to live and raise you at Earth."

"But she acts as though she's never been there before!" Remora replied.

"That's because living in Spira till this point is the only thing she remembers. All of her other experiences of what happened back then were erased from her mind. She had forgotten everything; from when she was a summoner, from Yevon's rules and teachings, to why she betrayed them. But she could never forget you, and the promise she made to you."

"That she would still teach me Spira's ways in a safe zone, with no one after me. And Jeckt was just doing his part in...protecting me too." Remora replied, remembering the discussion in the last illusion. Her head hung low and another tear fell from her eyes.

"So my old man was actually Vera's guardian." Tidus said, in just about as much shock. Yuna and Fang stepped out next to them.

"I think that's amazing, Remora!" Yuna said. "Both of our relatives were high summoners in the past. That's really amazing."

"Yeah, but she was hiding things from me." Remora replied. "Even if she didn't realize it." Fang then stepped out in front of them all looking at the spot where the recent illusion took place.

"And you think you know someone until you find a magical slideshow of their past." She said as one of her eyebrows were raised. She then turned towards Remora. "But now I know why she was so concerned about you before you left home. She was just trying to protect you, not wanting you to go through what she went through in the past, even though she no longer remembers now. But I bet something or someone rung a bell to her."

Remora knew who Fang was talking about. Jeckt has been on Earth before, and may have been giving her some vast reminders. Everything that happened so far in Remora's experience with Spira seemed similar to Auron's elaboration of Vera's. Only Remora's pilgrimage is almost over, and she wouldn't return home. Auron's hand left Remora's shoulder as he looked on forward.

"We can't keep Yunaleska waiting. We can discuss this later on." He said. A few people in the group nodded in agreement and began to walk again, yet Remora had her mind a little scrambled from the moment of seeing her mother back then. Zanarkand was pretty sacred for ruins, since she saw how it is now and in her dream the way it was when it was a city and when it was...destroyed. They had finally reached what looked like the end of the path when they reached a little door. Greeting them was another memory, but luckily, Vera wasn't in it. But Jeckt was in this one as well, and a mature looking teenager that looked a lot like...Auron? The other man was in a giant cloak that was in red, white, and blue colors (but Remora doubted he was American), and was decorated in a pattern that Remora didn't recognize too well, so she figured that he was the summoner that everyone's told her about. In other words, Lord Braska.

"Hey, Braska. You don't have to do this." Jeckt said, a little concern in his voice.

"Thank you for your concern." Braska replied.

"Fine. I said my piece."

"Well I haven't!" Young Auron shouted. "Lord Braska, let us go back! I don't want to see you...die."

"You knew this was to happen, my friend."

"Yes, but I...I cannot accept it."

Braska chuckled a little. "Auron, I am honored you care for me, so. But I have come to kill grief itself. I will defeat Sin, and lift the veil of sorrow that's covering Spira. Please understand, Auron."

Everyone seemed surprised that Auron as a boy was in the last illusion, but no one said anything. Unlike the others, the scene didn't disappear. Instead Braska, Auron, and Jeckt had walked right through the door that the group themselves were going to go through. As they entered the a new, junkier room, they saw the delusional trio run up ahead of them towards the next door. The guardians and summoners followed reluctantly.

"Are the trials ahead?" Jeckt asked.

"Probably." Braska replied.

"Here, too, huh? Gimme a break. I was expecting...parades and fireworks!"

"You can ask for them after I defeat Sin."

"Yuna, Remora...we're here." Auron said quietly. They had successfully completed the Cloister of Trials and beat another sent beast to face everyone in battle.

"The hall of the Final Summoning." Yuna said.

"We made it." Remora replied.

"Go." Auron then said.

"Yes." Yuna bowed to everyone as did Remora. They both took the lift down as a sudden echo of the past chimed through their travel, in Jeckt's voice.

"Huh? What do you mean no Final Aeon!?"

Fang was about to say something to everyone before the lift suddenly came back up, shocked faces on both Yuna and Remora.

"Sir Auron! Everyone!" Yuna said. Everyone then nodded and joined the two summoners on the lift down to the Chamber of The Fayth. Once they were down, everyone stepped off the lift and Yuna and Remora ran over to the center of the room to point out something very confusing.

"This isn't a fayth. It's just an empty statue." Yuna said. She was right too, there seemed to be nothing too mystic of about the gray figure, and the tile it was beneath wasn't glowing either. Out of nowhere, the Dome Gatekeeper had appeared.

"That statue lost its power as a fayth long ago. It is Lord Zaon, the first fayth of the Final Summoning. What you see before you is all that remains of him. Lord Zaon is...his soul is gone."

"Gone!?" Wakka and Fang cried out at the same time.

"What do you mean there is no Final Aeon?" Rikku asked.

The Gatekeeper pointed towards a door in front of them. "But fear not. Lady Yunalesca will show you the path. The Final Aeon will be yours. The summoners and the Final Aeon will join powers. Go to her now. Inside, the lady awaits." A symbol of Yevon had appeared in front of the Gatekeeper and then he vanished. Yuna and Remora took a small step towards the door, but then Tidus ran towards them.

"Both of you wait a minute!" He said. He then turned to Auron. "Auron! You knew this was going to happen, didn't you?"

"Yes." Auron replied. There was no hesitation in his voice.

"Why didn't you tell us?!" Rikku whined.

"If I had told you the truth, would it really stop them from coming?" He questioned, looking at Yuna and Remora.

"Yuna." Kimahri said.

"We're not going back." Remora then said. "We've come too far."

"Kimahri knows. Kimahri go first. Yuna and Remora safe. Kimahri protect."

Kimahri then stepped through the door to what looked like a hall; The Hall of the Final Summoning. Everyone then followed, Yuna and Remora in front of them, until they were in the center of the room. There was a soft patting sound coming from the stairs in front of them that had became louder with each beat.

"Someone's coming." Rikku said. Everyone then looked up at this steps, finding a very pale woman with a graceful posture standing at the top. Everything she wore (which was barely anything) was drenched with white and silver, as well as her hair.

"Lady Yunaleska." Yuna said. Yunaleska stared down at the two summoners with a straight face.

"Welcome to Zanarkand. I congratulate you two, summoners. You both have completed your pilgrimage. I will now bestow you with that which you seek. The Final Summoning...will be yours. Now, choose."

"Choose?" Remora asked softly. Yuna said nothing, so Yunaleska continued to speak.

"You must choose the one whom I will change...to become the fayth of the Final Summoning." Everyone gasped in shock to the news. "There must be a bond, between chosen and summoners, for that is what the Final Summoning embodies: the bond between husband and wife, mother and child, or between friends. If that bond is strong enough, its light will conquer Sin. A thousand years ago, I chose my husband Zaon as my fayth. Our bond was true, and I obtained the Final Aeon. There is nothing to fear. You will soon be freed of worry and pain. For once you call forth the Final Aeon, your life will end. Death is the ultimate and final liberation. Your father, Braska, and nearly your mother, Vera, chose this path."

And then she vanished. And the same illusion of the trio had flashed back.

"It is not too late! Let us turn back now!" Young Auron had shouted.

"If I turn back, who will defeat Sin? Would you have some other summoner and guardians go through this?" Braska questioned.

"But...my Lord. There must be another way!"

Jeckt sighed. "This is the only way we got now! Fine. Make me the fayth. I been doing some thinking. My dream is back in the other Zanarkand. I wanted to make that runt into a star blitz player. Show him the view from the top, you know. But now I know there's no way home for me. I'm never gonna see him again. And I won't hear from Vera ever again. Won't see her new daughter. My dream's never gonna come true. So make me the fayth. I'll fight Sin with you, Braska. Then maybe my life will have meaning, you know."

Auron gasped. "Don't do this, Jeckt! If you live...there might be another way! We'll think of something, I know!"

"Believe me, I've thought through this. Besides...I ain't getting any younger, so I might as well make myself useful."

"Jeckt." Braska said with sympathy in his voice.

"What? You're not going to try and stop me too?"

"Sorry. I mean,...thank you."

"Braska still has to fight Sin, Auron. Guard him well. Make sure he gets there." Jeckt said. Auron stammered a bit. "Well, let's go!"

"Lord Braska! Jeckt!"

"What do you want now?!"

"Sin always comes back! It comes back after the Calm every time! The cycle will continue and your deaths will mean nothing!"

"But there's always a chance when it won't come back. It's worth trying."

"I understand what you're saying, Auron. I'll find a way to break the cycle."

"You...have a plan?"


"Jeckt?" Braska asked.

"Trust me. I'll think of something." Jeckt laughed. Braska and Jeckt had vanished, but the younger Auron had fell to his knees in despair.