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Part Three: Sin
As they boarded the boat Gray Fox picked a spot and began to think. This was not going to be as easy as he had initally thought, from what he'd been told Sin was supposed to be massive. He would not be able to kill it with only his sword. And he knew the final summoning wouldn't work either because they told him Sin always comes back from it. Fox just didn't see how it could be done.
Then he remembered another thing the statues had said, "You will be givin our power in your fight against this this threat." What power did they offer? He didn't feel any more powerful, he didn't even have his exoskeleton anymore. He felt like he was back to regular human strength and reflexes.
He heard people at the other end of the boat cheer as Tidus did some blitzball tricks. Fox wondered how these people hoped to defeat Sin. They had no armor and they seemed much to childish to be considered warriors by his standards. With the possible execption of the ronso and Lulu, he didn't think any of them had even been in a real battle before.
Some time later, when he was still deep in thought, the entire ship rocked violently. Fox ran to others and waited.
"What do you think that was? Maybe a big fiend?" Wakka asked nobody in particular. A few seconds after he said this the ship rocked again, worse this time. About fifty yards from the ship a massive fin rose from the water and shot pods all over the deck.
"SIN!" shouted the crew in horror.
"We're close to Killika, we might be able to make it!" shouted the captain.
Meanwhile the pods began to hatch into little creatures that reminded Fox of moths, moths that couldn't fly.
The ship quickly became a battle field as the sinspawn charged. Fox drew his sword and began to carve them into pieces. He found that his body had not lost the strength his exoskeleton had provided, and guessed that this was at least some of the power the statues had spoke of. Fox weaved in between the sinspawn and easily sliced a path of bloody carnage where ever he went.
Fox saw that his group were much better fighters then he had origionally assumed. Wakka's blitzball seemed to have some magical properties and every time it hit a sinspawn the creature would have severe burns on the point of impact. Lulu was blasting the things away with tunder spells and Kimahri was impaling them without difficulty. A random crew member let out a war cry and charged into a sinspawn, blade first. He killed it, but his victory was short lived. Seconds later one scuttled up behind him and chewed trhough his leg. The poor guy screamed in shock as he was dragged to the ground and swarmed. Within seconds there was nothing left of him but a bloodstain on the deck.
Tidus was not faring so well however and he was on his back fighting a sinspawn on top of him. Fox dashed over and chopped the sinspawn clean in half before helping Tidus up. He resolved to teach Tidus how to kill effeciently sometime soon. Meanwhile, the ship was a varitable battleground as blood and gore was spattered ever where. Fox lept and kicked one of the creatures off the ship, then spun and hacked another that tried to suprise him from behind. After a few more chaotic battle filled minutes it seemed Sin had decided to retreat. Thats what many of the crew thought anyway, it looked more like it was changing targets than fleeing to Gray Fox. In no time at all the crew's victory screams were cut short as the captain yelled.
"It's headed straight for Killika!" he shouted in despair.
All they could do was watch as Sin tore the helpless town to pieces. They saw splinters of wod and bodies fly into the air in all directions. The devistation was massive, the only buildings left standing were in shambles. Sin turned and started off towards the open sea.
After spending the rest of the day helping to rebuild Killika, they made thier way to the temple. The cloister of trials wasn't difficult and they finished it quickly. While they were waiting for Yuna to obtain the aeon Fox decided this was the best time to ask some questions.
"Wakka, why does Sin always return after the final summoning?" Fox asked him. Wakka seemed like he knew the most about Yevon and Sin because he wouldn't stop talking about them.
"Sin always comes back because we have not atoned for our sins. One day, when our sins have been forgivin,
Sin will be gone for good. It's all up to us, ya. We must not forget our sins, and we must not use machina"
Wakka answered. It was not the answer Fox had expected.
Fox had assumed he was going to get a logical response. Instead he got a superstitious rant about not sining.
Fox made a mental note not to challenge the religion to much where ever they went. It was obviously very important to these people.
"What was the purpose of the sending? You never explained it to me." Fox asked them.
"The sending is meant to guide the spirits of the dead to the Farplane, otherwise they'll become fiends." Lulu told him.
"Farplane? Do you mean the afterlife?" Fox questioned her.
"Yes. The Farplane is where all those who have been sent go. If some one you know has died and been sent,
you can see them at the Farplane." Lulu answered.
"You can speak with the dead!?" Foz said taken by suprise. He had not expected this.
"Well, you can talk to them, ya. But they can't talk back." Wakka said.
"Just spirits. No voices." Kimahri added. It was the first time Fox had heard the ronso say more than one word at a time.
Fox thought this over. This world was truly different from the one he knew. Sin, the Farplane, fiends, Yevon.
This was world ruled by magic and religion. The Farplane, he wanted to know more about it.
"Where is the Farplane?" he asked Wakka.
"Its in Guadosalam. We'll pass right through there on the way to Zanarkand." Lulu told him.
Fox wasn't sure if he wanted to visit this Farplane or not. He didn't know if he was ready to see the dead.
"What about Yevon." Fox said, changing the subject. "How large of a religion is it?"
"Its the only religion, ya." Wakka said. Again, Fox did not see this coming.
"You mean to tell me that everyone in Spira are Yevonites?" Fox asked him.
"Well not everyone. The Al bhed don't, but they're all heathens that use machina, those scum." Wakka answered. Fox decided he had enough answers for now. It seemed like every question he asked raised a dozen more.
They waited in silence for Yuna to come out. After what seemed like hours on end, she finally returned.
Yuna looked exausted and they all decided they should take a days rest before heading to Luca. Fox found a cozy spot outside of town and got settled in.
He kept going over things in his head, trying to figure it all out. He knew the final summoning was hopeless,
if it hadn't killed Sin for good by now then it probably never would. There must be some other way.
He thought about what the statues had said. Fox replayed what thier words again in his head.
"Fear the beast with two faces." They told him
"We are the strands of fate, and we have choosen you." they had said.
"You are the hunter. You will be givin our power in your fight against this threat." he remembered them saying.
He decided he would test these powers, he would need to know how strong he really was before he could figure out the best COA.
Fox waited until he was sure every one was asleep and crept into the woods. Once he was well away from the town he found a small clearing and stepped into it. He didn't know what type of powers he may have so he first tested his physical abilities. He ran, jumped, dived, rolled, and did any other type of manuver you could think of before he was satisfied.
He found he was a little more agile now than he had been in his exoskeleton. He could jump farther and move faster,
he estimated about a 20 increase. Next he tried his strength, he walked to the thickest tree he could find and punched it as hard as he could. He expected pain in his hand, but instead he felt the tree give way. He looked and saw that he had punched a clean hole through it. He guessed about a 30 strength improvement over his exoskeleton.
When he felt he had probed all his physical powers, he wondered what other powers he might have. Could the statues have givin him magic as well? He had no idea how magic was done, but he had seen Lulu perform it several times and he thought he had the basic idea of it.
Lulu would always concentrate very hard before she did a spell. Fox thought that if he wanted to do a fire spell, he would probably have to focus on fire in his hand. Only fire in his hand, nothing else. He put this to the test and focused on fire.
Nothing happened, he was just standing there looking foolish. He tried again and again, imagining fire in as many different ways as he could think of. Just when he was ready to call it quits, some one spoke.
"Magic of that kind is not our power." said the voice. Fox drew his sword and searched for the speaker. How could he have not detected some one? He turned around and had his answer. Behind him a large statue had appeared, the same stone statue from that room.
"We gave you magic more powerful than that childs spell." spoke the statue.
"How do i use it?" Fox asked.
"Reach into yourself and you will find it." the statue told him.
Fox closed his eyes. He did feel something, something powerful. He found it everywhere in his body, and he focused it into his right hand. He opened his eyes and saw a swirling black ball of energy in his hand.
"What is this?" he asked the statue.
"That is our power, and its name is Lucavi. It lives as you live, and it will become a part of you as you master it. Be careful, Lucavi is quite fond of devouring the weak." spoke the statue.
Fox looked away from the pulsating black orb in his hand and saw that the statue was gone. They had indeed givin him power, he could feel the raw strength coming from the orb. He could feel it trying to exert its will on him. It begged him to use more, to let it take over. Fox would not allow it to. He would master his new power, he would force it to submit to him.
Fox knew this would be no easy task, the orb had power and it would not let itself be ruled easily. He wondered if he should tell every one about this? Should he tell them about him? They had proven themselves to be trustworthy.
Something inside him said no. The time was not right, not yet.
Deep in the woods of Killika, Gray Fox began a new kind of training.
------------------------------End of part three
If you have played every final fantasy game you'll recognize lucavi.