Disclaimer: Square-Enix Incorporated owns all copyrighted material this fanfiction may include. All other materials, such as characters, events, dialogue, et cetera, all belong to Zeshin-kun.
Author's Note:RIDRX ~ Oh, you mean Evrae? Aw, I couldn't have Seymour summon it or anything. Evrae was a fiend that guarded Bevelle's skies and it was defeated. However, I'll definitely keep in mind an air battle to rival it.
You have no idea how many times that idea has crossed my mind to put Auron and Takuma together in battle. I had cast Takuma in Rurouni Kenshin's master's light with a few derivations of universal bushido concepts, but having him mentor over Shuyin coincidentally made him fill an Auron-like role for him, didn't it? Well, I'm not sure about it as I believe Auron accepted his death in Final Fantasy X's ending so he's no longer on the roster, but I'll think about it. Takuma, on the other hand, well maybe. To be honest, that chapter in my earlier story also concluded Takuma's arc, but nothing is set in stone with OCs, right? We'll see. =)
I'm still unsure what you mean by "just his head" for X-2. In the game, you start at its tail, then fight the leg, then the torso, and finally fend off Shuyin at the top once the cannon-mode is unleashed. Still, with what is mentioned in X-2's Last Mission, I think I'll probably make my own mentions. Last Mission's storyline hasn't happened in this story yet. Remember, this fanfiction takes place almost immediately after X-2 and only a single month has passed since the start. Last Mission occurs three months after the events of X-2 so we've a ways to go. =)
I'm not sure why no one else has reviewed me, not even habbo this chapter. I had believed action was what kept my readers from being interested, but the last chapter was action and even a turning point of sorts. It makes me sad. :( Still, it doesn't daunt my confidence in you all and I know you're still reading as long as I'm still writing, which I promised to do more consistently anyway.
In light of this, Seymour met his end last chapter, didn't he? Well, his mortal life ended a second time anyway. As we all know, death never kept that guado away for long. He was a particularly annoying person in X, wasn't he? The more things change, the more they stay the same, but maybe he's still an ace up his sleeve.
Spira: The Eternal Discord
Chapter 15: The Blitzer and the Mage
Tidus
I was totally shocked. I mean utterly and completely dumbfounded, my mouth gaped wide open, eyes bulged out, and everything. Seymour was one of the biggest asses we had to deal with on Yuna's Pilgrimage and who takes him out this time? No, not me. Not that shadow guy. No, it was the sweet little fifteen year-old now seventeen year-old, hyper Al Bhed girl that did Seymour in. She literally stabbed him in the back and threw him off the mountain.
"You might wanna shut that thing. You're starting to drool and it's mixing expressions." Shuyin grumbled, rubbing the back of his head as the bunch of us gathered around where Rikku did her thing just a moment ago.
"So, did I do good?" Rikku asked him again, hanging her head like she did something wrong or something.
Shuyin had a furrow in his brow and didn't say anything, which was weird, so I decided to tell Rikku for the guy, saying, "Rikku, that was awesome! Yea, you did plenty good. Right, Shuyin?"
Still no answer, but he did take a deep breath and place a hand over his face to rub his temple, before mumbling a, "We've got other problems to handle anyway."
"Seymour's going to return as an unsent again, isn't he?" Yuna inserted, walking over to the three of us, Paine supporting her.
"No doubt in my mind about it. What happened on your pilgrimage is getting a repeat, it seems." Shuyin answered lowly, turning away from all of us.
I didn't trust him at all, well, at least I couldn't take the chance, but the rest of them looked like Sin was back. I had to do something to stop them from giving in. Sure it was way overkill already and none of us should have to keep dealing with these stupid events again and again like this. Sure Yuna's been through far more than any person should. Even so, we're living this. That's all there is to it. I didn't plan on using my new life hiding away or giving in to the dumb stuff Spira gave us sometimes.
"C'mon, guys. Lulu and Wakka are counting on us to put that whiner back in his place. Vidina need his folks back so we should just get going. Y, R, P? Um, rearin' and ready to go?" I started chanting, then turned to my com to get Brother and Buddy to get the Celsius back to us.
Together, we boarded the airship and made for the cabin. Shuyin, on the other hand, decided to head to the deck instead, still showing his weird upset face. What's up with that guy?
"So, he's unsent again. From how you're taking this, guess picnic's canceled?" Paine said to start us off.
"He was terrible. One of his incarnations was responsible for the deaths of many ronso and another killed Maester Kinoc." Yuna added.
"Doesn't sound nearly as bad as Shuyin."
"Well, he definitely takes a back seat there, but he was still very terrible and who knows what new tricks he's got this time." Rikku noted.
"Yea, I don't really know how horrible Shuyin could've been for you guys, but I know Seymour and he did some things that I'm sure I can't forgive him for." I finally got in, clenching a fist.
"Well, he's unsent now so what do you think he'll do? Before, he just followed us on my pilgrimage and tried to take his revenge on us while he waited for Sin. We just stopped him from kidnapping Kimahri, but he's still got Lulu and Wakka. I don't know what he plans to do, but we should figure out a motive as quickly as we can." Yuna suggested, walking over to the map grid.
"Hey, he started up showing up at Luca, right? Wasn't that where we first saw him back on your pilgrimage?" I asked Yuna.
"Yes, and then he went to Besaid for Lulu and Wakka before going to Mount Gagazet. What are you suggesting?"
"Well, scratch Besaid and what do we have?" I asked rhetorically before adding, "I think he's deliberately picking out spots where we had to deal with him. Some nostalgia thing, what do you think?"
"It does make sense. He's twisted enough to try something like that." Rikku nodded, "So, where does that leave?"
"We fought him in Macalania after Luca when we found out about what he did to Maester Jyscal, right?" I said.
"And then in Bevelle when we found out how Yevon really operated. Wakka was so upset." Yuna mentioned, her thoughts obviously going to the two hostages.
"That's right! Baralai and the New Yevon guys! They might be in trouble, Yunie." Rikku quickly chirped, running to the console to contact the Praetor.
It was funny. Of the adventures Yuna had while I was gone, she seemed to want to keep Shuyin away from Baralai most of all. I knew the guy possessed the Crimson Squad survivors, Nooj, Gippal, and Baralai, but ended up settling on Nooj before making the mess he made. Baralai was the last one possessed by the guy when he went off on his blow up Spira kick. Actually, of the three, the only one I hadn't really met was Baralai.
"Rikku… Sorry about Luca… Hope it was… good game. Anything… do for you guys?" He said as he came on the Comsphere.
"Hey, Baralai is it? It's nice to meet you!" I hollered into the screen, giving a casual wave.
When he looked at me, his eyes almost glazed over, but he awkwardly cleared his throat before giving a, "It's nice to meet you. You… look just like… that man…"
"Baralai, have you noticed anything out of place over there in Bevelle?" Rikku asked to get us back on track.
"No… out of the ordinary. Why?"
"No worries, Praetor! We just were curious. How've you been?"
While Rikku ran the distraction, Yuna pulled me back over to Paine, "So, not Bevelle. I guess that means he's going for Macalania."
"What's the temple like now? I mean, Shiva was sent, right?"
"I'm actually not sure myself. Shuyin took control of Shiva, too, so he might have done the same to that temple, but we didn't receive a wave when the Besaid, Kilika, and Djose Temples started flooding with fiends so we can only hope it was left the way it should have been."
"Hmm, field trip, anyone?" Paine interjected, standing up and going to give Brother the plans.
The rest of us took a deep breath to calm our nerves. Lulu and Wakka needed us to take out that jackass quick and very very painfully. Still, it was impossible to hide the fact that in the backs of our minds, we were all desperately trying to fight back ideas that they were already…
"Macalania is we being here!" Thank you Brother.
When we got off the airship, Seymour was already there, waiting for us just a few feet from it. He seemed so normal for having died only a couple hours ago. It was just like he was back in Bevelle two years ago. If it hadn't been for the fact we all saw and made him die, I know I couldn't have believed he was unsent.
"Seymour…" I hissed, staring at him intensely to make sure he didn't pull anything.
"Oh, you've arrived just as predicted. My, I guess I will owe him some gil after all. What a bother. Still, I trumped him on my passing, didn't I? Who would have guessed that sweet innocent…"
"Where are Lulu and Wakka?" Shuyin abruptly said, his voice making it seem like he was where I was back there in Bevelle.
"So direct, Shuyin. Where have your manners gone? Worry not, those two are perfectly fine. I actually felt a tinge of guilt over the blitzer fellow. After all, were it not for the true Yevon ways I harbored, he would have blindly followed the teachings for the remainder of his days. The other one, however, tis a pity."
"What did you do to Lulu?!" Yuna screamed, pushing past us both.
"Oh, twas not I, m'lady, I assure you. Still, I do estimate she'll be worse for wear a while yet."
"What are we just chit chatting for? Save the gossip for later." Shuyin stated, unleashing his sword and charging in.
Naturally, I wasn't one to miss out on a fight, especially if it could help solve the Shuyin dilemma, so I did the same. Seymour only smirked and gave a small shake of his head. See, Anima was already summoned, just waiting on us to make a move. It quickly restrained us with some spare chains and popped out of the snow in front of the ex-Maester. Meanwhile, the guy went off into the temple.
"Guys, stay back for now. Hostilities might jeopardize their well-being. Let Seymour play his game. If I can guess what's going on, Lulu and Wakka should be inside Macalania Temple." Shuyin noted, slamming his weapon into the chains to break them.
"We should go to the temple then, right?" Yuna asked.
Actually, thinking it through, I realized what Shuyin was talking about, "No Yuna, he's right. Seymour's an unsent now, but he's got hostages again, just like on Gagazet. It's too risky separating and that might be exactly what he wants. Remember, YRP has both you and Rikku and that's a deal he couldn't pass up. It's too dangerous."
While I was at it with the speech, Shuyin had gone to work on Anima, blocking the Pain's with his sword as he sliced and stabbed at it. Not letting the guy get all the credit, I focused my energy and ran to it, kicking off its arm as it tried to scratch me and getting some serious air. When I was high enough, I sent all of that energy into the Brotherhood and whipped it down into the ground. Energy Rain's power soaked into it, surrounding Anima before overloading and sending the Aeon for a ride. Before it could come back down, though Shuyin was on it, using the splintering debris as steppingstones. Getting his sword into position, he plowed right over Anima's middle, dashing across its body before yanking the thing out right at the top of the Aeon's enough, Seymour's mom didn't last long after that.
"Now for the temple." Shuyin calmly said when he landed.
When the doors opened, we saw them. Wakka and Lulu were tied up and hung over the door leading into the Cloister of Trials. Lulu was totally out of it, but Wakka looked like he was just getting up, making very weak, but definitely apparent, struggles. Seymour was facing them just like he had been two years ago, staring at the door to wait for Yuna. There were no guado around this time. The guy was all alone, except that he was an experienced unsent this time. Both me and Shuyin had our swords clenched tight and Yuna, Rikku, and Paine all got on their best dresspheres. It was a standstill for some minutes until Seymour finally addressed our appearance.
"Do you still remember this moment, Yuna?" He asked, slowly turning to us, "It was when your guardians were shown my history. This was the moment you made a choice, one that resulted in my untimely demise. How fitting then that it should be where I deal you a lasting blow."
"You won't." Yuna simply answered.
"Oh? You plan on stopping me as you did two years in our past? I don't suppose I need to remind you how it is different this time. I'm not the man I was when you defeated me here."
"We defeated you several times after."
"My mistake. I underestimated you, Lady Yuna. Just as you are now, you were my white rose, pure and innocent, but ever protected by your thorns. Regardless, I should warn you, I'm also not the same unsent I was back then, either."
"Doesn't matter." Shuyin replied this time, "Unsent is unsent. All you need is a good hacking and a sending off. I don't know how you got here or if it has anything to do with me, but that's all I need to know about how to fend you off."
Seymour let out a huff and shrugged, "Yes yes, we've heard this before. You know, the two of you shelter her far too much for her own good. And yours for that matter. It is the thorniest of rose bushes that seldom blossom. Isn't that right, Yuna?"
"Shut it, Seymour! She's done listening to you yammer!" I yelled, two seconds away from pouncing.
"Case and point." Seymour said, shrugging again, "Anyway, I guess if you're all going to give me the cold shoulder, I ought to return the favour!"
Suddenly, powder snow started to swirl around the room, coating everything in sight, but collecting mostly around Seymour. When he was done, he looked almost like what he did in Bevelle, but transparent, like his body was made up totally of ice. As expected, his trusty mortibody things were around, too, this time in the shape of living snow. Two of them latched themselves onto Lulu and Wakka and began glowing red. That could only mean one thing.
"Look, they're sucking life from them!" Rikku yelped from her machina.
"Scan's naming him Seymour Cryos. Must be from his cold disposition." Paine added, "Looks like the mortifrosts are feeding him. We should probably take those out first."
"No, they're a distraction. That's why he's surrounded by them. Go for him." Shuyin suggested, and he was right.
Those mortibodies were usually meant to support Seymour so going after them sounded like a good bet, but it just slowed things down. Taking out Seymour would take out all those things with him anyway.
"Revenge; they told me it was best cold, but I hope I'm not being too cliché with this form." Seymour taunted, hurling three large icicles at us.
"Oh no, far from it." Shuyin hollered, smashing one to bits with an axe kick.
"Oh good. I wouldn't have wanted to produce any negative publicity."
The entire temple began to shake and icicles began to rain from the ceiling. Before they hit, though, all of them abruptly shattered and fell on us as more powder snow. Shuyin, Rikku, and Yuna quickly shook it off and went to work, but me and Paine didn't get what the fuss was… until it hardened and spiked. Then, it really hurt. Luckily for the two of us, Shuyin and Yuna were on the scene, Shuyin whacking the guy a few times, while Yuna used White Pollen and hit us with a Heat Whirl to melt the ice.
"And that's why you don't trust anything the good Maester gets on you." Shuyin mocked while making trades with Seymour.
"Are you two alright?" Yuna asked, hovering toward me before disengaging the Floral Fallal.
I answered her with a nod, but that stunt had me boiling. I rushed right at Seymour and planted the Brotherhood right into his gut. It would've killed him if he was still alive. Sadly, he wasn't and instead of just dying like we all wanted, his body just expanded and froze my Brotherhood with my hand to him. Seymour had another hostage.
"However, with those two nourishing me, I find I am no longer in need of the extra weight. So, I'll return him to you." He grinned.
Shuyin tried getting to me before anything happened, but I was given a lift and a thrust along with lots of the same icy shards I was trapped in earlier. Knowing he couldn't do anything about it, he just dodged me and took Paine and Rikku to head off the enemy in my place. Yuna, on the other hand, was the one that sent them off because her dressphere was all I needed. She simply used her Right Pistil to coat all of me in some White Honey to slow me down and heal me while using a Great Whirl to take out the ice around me. The attack had me thrown for a loop, though, so I knew Yuna wanted me to stay put.
In the end, it was Paine and Shuyin that finished off Cryos Seymour. Actually, Rikku was about to jump in and blast the guy with her machina's Vajra, but Shuyin got in the way and hit the ex-Maester with his Slice & Dice… or rather, his Hit & Run. With him weak, Paine got in her Sword Dance to take down all the mortibodies and finish him off.
Yuna got to her feet and took in a deep breath. She was telling me before about how she gave up all her summoner ways as soon as her pilgrimage was over. After Seymour came back, the idea of doing sendings again crossed her mind a lot. It was crunch time for Yuna.
She slowly walked over to Seymour and spherechanged to White Mage before continuing. The steps started off awkwardly, even Shuyin seemed to notice, but eventually, the sending came under way. However, just as I began to see pyreflies start to come out of the guy, more pyreflies came in from beyond the cloister doors and piled into a cloud. Rikku and Paine blasted and sliced at them, thinning them out little by little, but when they cleared out, Seymour was gone.
From the far end of the room, my own face stared at me, but his eyes were strangely vacant. Looking downward, his mouth opened as words began to echo, "So, it seems I was his partner after all…"
Author's Note: I think by his words, you can understand what's going on, eh? Anyway, looks like Seymour's still able to summon his mom, or is he? Now that Macalania, Gagazet, and Luca have all been used up, guess that just leaves Bevelle, eh? You'll have to stay tuned to find out next time on Spira: The Eternal Discord! *fanfare!* ... *crickets* -_-;; Ookay...
I hope whoever reads will kindly leave a review. I really want to know what you all are thinking, but I can't if you don't let me know. Many thanks to new readers habbo and RIDRX for being the first to review since I've returned. Also, theories you may have might just correlate to what I had planned and that's usually a pleasant surprise. I remember back when I was reading one particular author's story who had been somewhat of an instigator in my becoming involved in fanfic writing and I was able to predict a great many of her plot developments and so could make some likewise appreciated suggestions and commentary. Of course, it's also gratifying to know when you've stumped the readers as it shows other skill in writing. Either way, I love to read any comments on my stories. =D