40 The Wages of Sin
"I cannot believe what we just did." Yuna whispered. I refused to think that we just destroyed the only way to bring peace from Sin. "Let's do something even more unbelievable. Let's destroy Sin. So it won't come back, and without the Final Aeon." Yuna looked at me, a sweet adoration in her beautiful bi-colored eyes. "Yes, Let's." Everyone voiced their agreement, and we left Yunalesca's lair. While the others left to return through the trails, Auron stopped me. "We must talk. There is something you should know." I was pretty sure already what it was about. "I know...it's about you, right?"
"I am also an unsent. You are not surprised." He confessed, but didn't really feel guilty about it. "I think I kinda knew. It was Yunalesca, wasn't it." He looked at me, unblinking. "When Braska and Jecht died defeating Sin...I just couldn't accept it. I came back here...tried to avenge them. But she struck me down. Somehow I made my way back to Mount Gagazet. Kimahri was there, hunting. I told him about Yuna, just before I died. I've been wandering ever since, never going to the Farplane.
I didn't know how to react, though. "Auron..." "Don't make that face. Being dead has its advantages. I was able to ride Sin and go to your, to Jecht's Zanarkand." "And you've been watching over me since then, haven't you? Why? What's the big idea? Why me?" "I will show you." He knelt, and a few pyreflies rose from him. Jecht and Braska appeared, presumably as seen through the young Auron's eyes.
Jecht looked at him. "Can I ask you one last favor? Uh...nah. Never mind." "Out with it!" We heard Auron's voice. "Okay. Listen good. Take care of my son. My son, in Zanarkand. He's such a crybaby." I winced. "He needs someone to hold his hand. Take care of him, will you?" Auron spoke again. "But how am I supposed to go to Zanarkand?"
"Hey, you said it yourself! There must be a way to get there, right? You'll find it." Our view shook, possibly because Auron was nodding his head. "Alright, I will. I give you my word. I'll take care of your son; I'll guard him with my life." "Thanks, Auron." Jecht approached and I think he hugged Auron. "You were always such a stiff," Jecht said, "but that's one of the few things I liked about you." Jecht chuckled at his own joke. The vision went away, and Auron rose. "That is why."
We left the dome, and outside the airship waited. We boarded, and Rikku's brother said something in Al Bhed. Cid turned around to view us. "Aren't we a happy lookin' bunch." His words oozed sarcasm. Rikku's brother bellowed the same Al Bhed words as he had before. Rikku waved at him. "Ur crid ib!" I couldn't help but notice that the siblings didn't have a very good relationship.
We all stood around, silently racking our brains for something. "Uh..." I started, still trying to formulate my thought as I spoke. "Remember, back at the Macalania temple, Sin was calm when he heard the hymn. Maybe that's one of the keys..." Eyebrows raised in reaction. I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it before.
"Yes. Sin...violence incarnate, listening peacefully." Lulu breathed. "If we attack Sin head on, we have no chance of survival." Auron was blunt with that statement...though he was always blunt. "But if he hears the hymn of the fayth, he will become docile. Then we may have a chance."
"Must learn more." Kimahri said. "Find Mika. Make him talk." "Yes!" Rikku squealed. "Dyga ic du Bevelle, bnuhdu!" Rikku's brother rolled his eyes. "Oac, ouin syzacdo!" Then he put the ship into overdrive, blasting through the air.
We took our seats on the benches around the edges of the bridge, and Yuna sat as close to me as she could without being in my lap. I smiled, truly realizing that there really was hope, and a lot of it. I decided after we beat Sin, I would propose to her. There was no reason not to. I loved her with all my heart, and it was obvious to me that she returned my love. I took off my gloves so I could hold her and feel her skin with my own. I glided my hand across her arm, not caring about pda, as we called it back in Zanarkand. She got the picture, and rested her face in the crook of my neck. I eyed the other guardians, who were pretending to not notice our display. We cuddled all the way to Bevelle, but once we arrived, we were all business.
The airship lowered right outside of Bevelle, and we entered the city. "Infidels!" One of two guards sneered at us, and both raised their guns. I think we were all pretty used to all this gun pointing, death threat kind of thing. "Man, don't these guys ever give up?" Wakka wasn't scared, he was annoyed. "You'll regret showing your faces here! We'll strike you down in the name of Yevon!" The other guard gripped his gun tighter. "Ha!" I laughed. "Yuna?" She gave me a genuine smile and pointed between the two guards, to make sure she wouldn't actually hit them. A flash of lightening came from the sky, making the guards jump. It was at that point that they actually recognized that they and they're little guns were no match for us.
"Stop!" Shelinda ran out of the city gates, waving her hands. The guards lowered their rifles. "Captain?" I laughed, trying to cover it up as a cough. If they made Shelinda, of all people, a captain, Yevon must be completely desperate. She was frail, to say the least. "Lady Yuna is not to be harmed!" Shelinda cried with her tiny little voice. "She's no traitor! That is an evil rumor spread by the Al Bhed!" "What?" Rikku shrieked. "Maester Mika himself told me." The guards were clueless. "Then...what are we to do?" One of them asked. "Stand down!" Rikku made her best impression of a command. "As she says!" Shelinda gestured for them to leave, and they did.
"What was that about evil Al Bhed?" Rikku shook her fist at Shelinda. "I...truly do not understand it myself. All Yevon is in a state of confusion. Why, yesterday, they called me out of the blue and made me captain of the guard!" Auron smirked. "Short on believers?" Shelinda motioned dramatically with her hands. "Yes, the chaos in the temples is worse than I'd imagined. It's horrible! All the priests do is blame each other! I worry of what will become of Yevon. But no! I must be the rock that stands against the swirling tides, right? Lady Yuna, I must say, your courage has been a great inspiration to me...But...actually, my lady...why are you here? Instead of on your pilgrimage, I mean?" Auron stepped menacingly forward. "That is of no consequence to you. We came to see Maester Mika. Is he here?"
She was taken aback, but she recomposed herself. "Yes. I shall arrange an audience. Please wait in the courtroom. Shelinda walked away, but Rikku called after her. "Hey, wait! What was all that about the Al Bhed lying and stuff?" The door slammed behind Shelinda before she heard Rikku, so Auron answered what Shelinda could not. "Simple. Yuna has become Mika's only hope." Rikku wasn't satisfied, but she settled. "Just what does he think he can get away with?" Lulu was just thinking out loud. "It's time to teach him some manners!" I dawned a mischievous grin. "Yes, lets!" Yuna ran into the temple, and we followed.
When we got to the courtroom, the room where our executions were decided, Mika was already there. "Why are you here? You must go and defeat Sin! You have obtained the Final Aeon from Yunalesca, have you not?" "Well we did meet Yunalesca..." I trailed off. "We fought and defeated her." Yuna was resolute in her answer. "What?" Mika screeched. "Summoners and guardians will be sacrificed for the Final Summoning no more!" Auron proclaimed with a tinge of happiness in his own gruff way.
"You have profaned and subverted a thousand-year-old tradition! Fools! Infants! Do you realize what you have done! You have taken away the only means of calming Sin!" "It's not the only way!" I stamped my foot. "Preposterous! There is no other way!" He bemoaned. "Spira has lost its only hope. Destruction is inevitable. Yu Yevon's spiral of death will consume us all! I have no desire to watch Spira die." "It won't die!" Yuna was determined. "Who is this Yu Yevon guy?" I inquired. "He who crafts the souls of the dead into an unholy armor. An armor called Sin. Clad in it, Yu Yevon is invincible. And the only thing that could have pierced that armor, you have destroyed! Nothing can stop it now!" Mike sent himself with a breath, fleeing to the Farplane for eternity. "Disappear on us, will ya? Rotten son of a shoopuf!" Wakka babbled.
My fayth appeared in front of Yuna, and I saw it to. "Come to my room." It said. We looked at each other. Yuna turned to Auron. "I must go see the fayth." She took my hand and led me without waiting for his answer. When we about to enter the trials, I took a deep breath, ready for another exhausting ordeal. We went inside, but what greeted our eyes was surprising. Instead of the maze of floating floor panels that it once was, it was simply a path of light, leading right to the anteroom, in the distance.
We jogged there, and all the while I worried about what we were going to learn next. We soon reached the chamber, and the door slid open for us. Inside, my fayth floated above his statue. "Hello." "I must thank you for the aeon." Yuna bowed to him. "So...what's up?" I was afraid to hear the answer. "Have you found a way to truly defeat Sin?" He asked. "I think we have." Yuna was almost too in awe of the possibility to speak.
"Well," I began, "First, we use the hymn of the fayth to calm Sin, Jecht, and then we destroy it, and then we fight Yu Yevon, and kill him." "Yes...If you defeat Yu Yevon, it will end. Tell me, what do you know about Yu Yevon?" The fayth was almost...hesitant. "He's what makes Sin come back." I smiled, thinking if we could conquer him, we would bring a Calm that would last forever. "Sin is his armor. It protects him." Yuna added.
The fayth continued our description, enlightening us. "Yu Yevon was once a summoner, long ago. He was peerless. Now he lives for one purpose only: to summon. He is neither good nor evil. He is awake, yet he dreams. But...maybe not forever. Even when a summoner defeats Sin with the Final Summoning, Yu Yevon lives on. He joins the Final Aeon and transforms it into a new Sin. Then, protected by this new Sin he has created, Yu Yevon continues the summoning. Yu Yevon lives inside Sin. Yuna, listen.
When you fight Yu Yevon, we will help you. Promise me you'll summon us. Your swords and magic will not be enough. Please, call us. Promise?" "Yes." Her tone was hushed. He looked to me. "But, you know...when it is all over, when Yu Yevon dies, when he stops summoning, we will wake, and our dream will finally end. Our dream will vanish."
My face twisted in grief. So we would defeat Sin forever, but for it, I would forfeit my existence. I would never propose to Yuna; I would never get to spend a single day of the Calm with her. I clenched my jaw, fighting my natural reaction, trying not to let it show. "Our dream must return to the sea, from whence it came." With those last, urgent words, the fayth disappeared, leaving us alone. I held my head high, forcing tears back.
"What did he mean, our dream will vanish? What are they dreaming about?" I waved Yuna's question off. "I think he means that you won't be able to call the aeons anymore...or something like that." I blatantly lied, and I felt even worse this time than the last. "Hey, come on! Don't make that face! We're going to beat Sin! Let's see some cheer, okay?" I did my best impression of a smile, but it was hard.
"You're hiding something." She frowned at me. I raised my hands defensively. "I'm not! Now, let's go!" I walked out, but before I left, she said to me, "You're a bad liar, you know that?"
We didn't speak all the way back to the high bridge where the others were waiting. Shelinda was there, talking with them. Shelinda left, and Rikku said to us, "We told her to tell everyone in Spira that a ship in the sky will sing the hymn of the fayth. When they hear it, they need to sing along. That way, the hymn will be really loud!" "Good." Yuna's mind was elsewhere. "Well, let's go back to the airship!"
Rikku was really happy and bouncy, obviously because Yuna wasn't going to die, after all. What was sad that though Yuna wouldn't lose her soul for the Final Summoning, I would lose my existence for the final battle. I was willing, though. Spira needed freedom, and I was willing to exchange everything I had to give it to them.
When we went into the airship, I took Yuna's hand and led her into a back room. I shut the door behind us and leaned weakly against it. "What's wrong?" She whispered. "Yuna...I can't keep lying to you. It's really hard to explain, but...well...My Zanarkand, it's all a dream...not my dream, but the fayths'. That's what Yu Yevon is summoning. And...I'm part of that dream...which means that...when Yu Yevon dies, their dream ends...and so do I." I couldn't even look at her as I spoke.
I finally got the nerve to, though. On her face was bewilderment and great sadness. Her eyes filled with tears, and she blinked, letting them roll down her cheeks. "Oh, Tidus..." She wrapped her arms around me, bawling into my shoulder. I cried too. I didn't understand why it had to be this way. It was all crashing down on me. By tomorrow, I would be no more. I would stay with her always? That was just a lie, a stupid lie. Those three, priceless words would have been so easy to say. I wanted to tell her; I even needed to. But I knew it was better that she never knew. It might make it hurt her a little less when I left.
I shook with my gasps for breath between sobs. After a long time, Yuna pushed me away for a second, then put her arms around my neck, pulling me to her. She kissed me fiercely; I could taste our tears on her lips. I put one hand on the back of her head, and the other tightly around her waist. Just then, ruining our moment, the door burst open, knocking me down. I fell on top of her, and twisted around to see Wakka and Lulu.
We stared at them; they stared at us. "Uh..." Wakka scratched the back of his neck. "What're you cryin' about?" Lulu was blushing. "Just leave." It came out little more harshly than I had intended. "Yeah, we'll do that...come on, Lu." They stumbled out of the room, gracelessly. Yuna and I looked at each other, smiled a bit, and started crying again.
Our lips reconnected, but soon I trailed kisses down her jaw to her neck. She sighed as I explored the new experience. I nibbled her ear, and she gripped me more tightly and squeaked. I went back to her mouth, softly biting her lip. After another long kiss, she giggled and played with my ear using her tongue. I inhaled sharply. It felt so good.
Eventually, I crawled off of her and helped her to her feet. "We-we should go." I mumbled, straightening my vest. She twirled a lock of her hair around her finger, suddenly feeling awkward. "Yes...you're right." We wiped the remaining tears from our faces and composed ourselves. I opened the door for her, and we went back to the bridge.
"Where've you been?" Cid hollered. "Uh...talking." Was my lame excuse of an answer. Rikku grinned hugely. "Uhuhhh!" "Shut up!" I quickly corrected myself, though. I was getting really edgy. "Sorry Rikku...I didn't mean it." "Oh, it's okay! Who couldn't be happy when we're about to defeat Sin?" She bubbled. I looked away to give myself a second to fight my tears.
"Vydran! Vydran! Ceh ec eh dra cay hayn Luca!" Rikku's brother was panicking. Cid thrust his hand forward. "Mad'c ku kad res!" Rikku sobered up. "Guys, this is it! Sin's near Luca, we're goin' to get him! Vydran! I'm countin' on you!" Cid turned some bars up on the dashboard, and a recording of the Hymn of the Fayth from Macalania Temple blared from speakers outside the ship. As we flew over Spira, people heard it, and sung.
When we passed Luca, tens of thousands of voices could be heard from the city. Then in front of us, through the front window, we could see Sin. Chills ran down my spine. I was overwhelmed. In a way, just like with the Final Summoning, I had to lose everything in this battle to win. I took in the full sight of the monster. I could hardly believe we were going to fight it. But I had to believe we would win.
"Yu Yevon is hiding inside Sin." Yuna said. "So how we gonna get inside?" Wakka looked to me for direction. "The easy way! How else! If we can't get in through his mouth, we'll rip a new hole open!" Cid laughed at me. "Now that's what I call a plan!" Sin floated in the sky above the sea. We were miles from Luca, yet we were still close, because of the unfathomable massiveness of Sin.
It floated there quietly, docile from the hymn, as we had hoped. "Alright, let's give this thing a new blowhole!" Cid pounded a large red button on the control panel. The ship recoiled, and thunderous roar sounded from Sin when the lasers connected. Sin had no shield this time, unlike with operation Mi'ihen. Strangely enough, Sin remained peaceful. I thought that maybe, somehow, Jecht was stopping it from retaliating.
The laser's target was Sin's arm, which broke off and fell into the sea below. We circled Sin, who turned with us, but eventually we got a shot at his other arm. This time, there was a reaction. Sin collected a huge ball of black energy, and was about to shoot it at us. I thought that was the end of our futile battle, but then Sin tilted its head down slightly, shooting it just below us and into the water. It tore through the sea, making a tidal wave-sized splash that grazed the bottom of our vessel, hurdling us through the sky.
When Rikku's brother got us under control, Sin's mouth was hanging open, a yellow mist seeping out. "Go! Go!" Cid waved wildly at his son, who sped us into the huge cavern. "Ed ev ujan! Tra syeh kih, ed ec pnugah!" He squawked, trying to return to open air, though our exit was gone. "Dr-dryd lyhhud pa!" Rikku held her hands on the sides of her head. "The main gun's busted!" "We have to get out!" Cid was getting reckless, pounding on the control panel. "No, stop! We got this! Right guys!" Everyone vocally agreed with me, so we went on. Cid was worried though. "If you think you can do it..."
"We will go to the deck." Auron marched out of the bridge, and we all followed suit. Out on the deck, we took in our surroundings. The air was heavy and moist, smelling of death. Brown clouds weighed down the atmosphere, and the whole area was lit with tons of pyreflies. They were not the pretty blueish-rainbow ones that resided in Spira, these were a sickly yellow-red color. Then I heard something I wished I would never hear again. Seymour's sinister laugh.
A massive image appeared in front of us, of a portion of his face. It swiftly approached, and we passed through it. I felt stinging particles brush across my skin, making me shudder. Everyone had similar reactions. "Tidus!" Yuna grabbed my arm. "Sin is reborn when Yu Yevon merges with an aeon! That's what Bahamut meant! 'Call us' We-we have to...to destroy them! The Aeons..." She bowed her head. "I never thought it would come down to this..."
