Chapter 31: Trial
After Charlene's "nap", the group wandered their way through the path of fayth and found themselves standing before the gaping maw of a cavern, and after a moment's hesitation, stepped inside. "Everyone, stay on your guard," Auron said, before drawing his sword. "They'll be upon us soon."
"Who will?" Charlie asked.
"She has sent fiends to test our summoner's strength."
"Who is 'she'?" Yuna wanted to know.
"Yunalesca," Auron replied. "In Zanarkand, she awaits the arrival of the strongest."
Charlene pondered the name for a long moment, and then said, "Isn't that that weird lady we saw in the movie at Seymour's house?"
"She is…still alive?" Yuna asked, ignoring Charlie's question.
"As much as Mika and Seymour," Auron answered.
"I see."
"Lost your nerve?"
Yuna shook her head. "No, nothing frightens me now."
"Braska would be proud," Auron said, smiling slightly.
"Then I must not let him down," Yuna concluded.
The party walked through the darkness of the cave in silence for several minutes, when suddenly, a black shadow swooped down on them from above. "All of you stay where you are!" the shadow said in a raspy voice. "I cannot allow you to pass by."
"Oh, and who the hell are you to tell us we can't?" Charlie demanded.
The shadow flittered around a moment longer, before landing before the party and taking on a solid form. It was a bat-winged fiend, black in hue, and nearly the size of a grown man, and its single scarlet eye gazed the party with a look of pure contempt. "You are quite brave, addressing me in such a manner," the fiend said, glaring at Charlie. "I am Magosha, the first of the guardians of Zanarkand. If you wish to obtain the Final Aeon, then you must pass my trial." It looked everyone over, and then paused when it saw Auron. "You have been here before," it said in surprise.
"I have," the swordsman replied.
"It has been some time since a guardian managed to come this far twice," Magosha said, giving Auron a respectful little bow. "Unfortunately for you, the command my mistress gave me clearly states that all summoners and their guardians must face my trial, no matter if they passed it before."
"I understand," Auron told it.
"Very well, then." The flying fiend turned its attention to Yuna, and said, "Summoner, as I said before, in order to pass, you have to complete my trial. If you decide not to, I will let you go back the way you came unscathed. However, if you agree, but fail, you and your guardians will most likely die, if not lose your minds. Will you still do it?"
"I will."
"Then gather your courage and face the darkness that awaits you!"
With that, Magosha launched itself back into the air, and a huge flash of light burst from its eye, completely overwhelming the party.
…Flash…
When Charlene's vision cleared, she found herself standing alone in the cave, with no indication that anyone, other than herself, was around. "Hello?" she called, peering into the darkness, "Is anyone there?"
"Everyone is gone," Bahamut said, appearing before her.
"What? Why?" Charlie wanted to know. "We just started Magosha's trial, so why would they leave me behind?"
"Because you failed," the fayth sadly replied. "You failed your trial, and now you're dead."
Charlie looked down at herself, but did not see any injuries. "I don't look dead…I don't feel dead, so how is this possible?"
"It doesn't matter how…it just is," Bahamut told her sadly. "And now that it's happened…"
Before the little fayth could finish speaking, a cloud of pyreflies appeared and swirled around Charlie in a small tornado of rainbow light, burning away her flesh. She screamed loudly, her voice echoing through the cavern, but the sound quickly turned from a high-pitched wail to a guttural roar. Finally, the light faded and the pain stopped, and she fell to her knees in limp relief. "Thank God that's over," she said aloud, sighing in relief and opening her eyes.
The human hands she expected to see, however, were not there. In their place was a pair of dark blue, reptilian claws tipped with jet-black talons. She looked up at Bahamut, who stared back at her with barely concealed revulsion, and pointed at a small puddle of water nearby. Charlene scurried toward it, peered into its depths, and let out a gasp of horror at what she saw. Instead of her reflection, the face of a monster stared back at her, its violet-grey eyes blazing in the darkness of its...her...face. "How are you going to protect Yuna now?" Bahamut asked. "How are you going to help anyone looking like that?"
"How can I help her? How can I help anyone? I really am a monster…I always was, but now the flesh matches the soul. What do I do? What do I do?"
Charlie's thoughts continued in that vein for some time, and her sanity slipped away…only to stop at the last minute as she shook her head violently. "No!" she yelled, ignoring the new sound of her voice. "I can still help Yuna! I'll find a way, no matter what!"
…Flash…
When Magosha's blinding light finally faded, Yuna found herself in the middle of the Calm Lands, with no one in sight and no evidence as to how she got there. "Hello? Where is everyone?" she called, looking around the empty field.
"No one is here but us," an ethereal voice whispered.
"Us?" The summoner was confused.
"You…me…and it."
"It?"
Yuna then noticed that the sun had faded, but when she looked up, she saw that the cause was not clouds, but Sin. Despite her earlier assurances, panic crept over her, as did the urge to flee, but she managed to fight it and regain her composure, just as the mysterious voice spoke to her again. "Sin is here, and now it is time for us to fight. Call me, Yuna, and we will defeat it together."
Without a moment's hesitation, she performed the summoning and gazed with wonder at her Final Aeon. It resembled a huge snake, but with its fins and azure hue, it clearly embodied all that dealt with the element of Water. "Go forth, Leviathan!" she cried, encouraging the newborn aeon as it swept forward to clash with Sin.
Leviathan opened its mouth and let out a huge jet of water that crashed into its opponent with tremendous force, gouging out a huge chunk of its hide. Sin, however, seemed to ignore the assault, raising its claw and smashing the aeon in one blow. Yuna let out a terrible cry of agony and collapsed to the ground as Leviathan faded into nothingness. "Why? Why didn't it work?" she cried as waves of pain and shame wracked her body.
As she lay there, another shadow fell over her, this time belonging to Rikku. "The Final Aeon didn't work?" the Al Bhed asked, looking both amazed and relieved. "You're still alive, though, so now you can give up your pilgrimage. No one would blame you, you know?"
"I could, but…" Yuna shook her head and hauled herself to her feet. "No, even if the Final Aeon didn't work, I still have to try. I will not stop until I defeat Sin."
…Flash…
The light faded, and Auron found himself in the ruins of Zanarkand, face-to-face with the one being he despised most. "You're here again?" Yunalesca asked, her amber eyes bright with amusement as she surveyed the guardian. "You do not give up, do you?"
"This is just a test," he told himself, fighting the anger burning in his heart. "None of this is real."
"Guardian, are you so sure that this isn't real?" the ancient summoner asked. "How do you know that the other place isn't the illusion?"
"Either give me your test or let me pass, but don't play games with me, Yunalesca," Auron growled. "I don't have time for this."
"Very well." Yunalesca waved her hand, and a wall of darkness rose between them. "Tell me what you see, guardian."
Auron glowered at the wall, not seeing anything at first, but felt his heart leap into his throat when Braska and Jecht appeared, followed by Yuna and Charlie. "What is this?" he demanded, holding fast against the pain welling up inside his heart.
"A choice," Yunalesca replied. "I can give you the lives of your original companions, or I can release the ones you have now…"
"That isn't possible and you know it!" Auron snapped, interrupting the summoner. "Braska has gone on to the Farplane and Jecht has become Sin…and you should know better than anyone that there is no way to bring back the dead."
"There is, if you are willing to pay for it. As I said, I can give your companions back their lives, but it will cost you the lives of the other two. A life for a life is a fair exchange, is it not?"
Auron's eye widened in shock, and he quickly turned away from the shadowy wall, only find his younger self staring back at him in desperation. "Take her offer!" the younger Auron cried. "This is your chance to save them!"
His heart hammered in his chest as all the old pain crashed down on him. "I cannot," he replied, his voice almost a whisper.
"Why not?" his younger self demanded. "Those other two…you don't really know either of them."
"I promised Braska that I would help Yuna!" Auron snapped. "And Jecht is Sin, now. There is no coming back from that until he is defeated."
"That is true, but what about the other girl, Charlie? You don't owe her anything, so you could always trade her for Lord Braska."
"Her life for his? No. Life is not something to be traded in such a manner." "You want me to choose?" Auron turned back toward the wall, slammed his fist against it, and yelled, "I choose not to play this game any longer!"
Suddenly, everything faded to black, leaving the swordsman standing in empty space with Magosha floating across from him. "Nothing hurts worse than an old wound reopened…I am truly sorry about that, guardian, but it couldn't be helped."
"I know," Auron quietly replied, not looking at the fiend. "The test is designed to attack the heart." "That doesn't make it hurt any less."
…Flash…
Kimahri opened his eyes and looked around, realizing that he was not in the cave, but back outside on the mountain. "Where Yuna? Where others?" the Ronso wondered, walking forward, despite the howling wind and snow that obscured his vision.
He walked for what seemed like an eternity, stopping occasionally to call for Yuna and the others, but never heard a response, other than the unceasing wind. Finally, however, the terrible weather cleared, revealing a fork in the path ahead. On the left-hand path, Yuna stood waiting, and on the right, a village…his village. Confused, Kimahri stopped walking, and stood at the crossroads. Suddenly, the village burst into flame, and he could hear the roars of the other Ronso as they engaged in battle with an enemy he could not see. As Kimahri started to hurry to the village's aid, something huge and dark swooped down from the sky onto Yuna, knocking her to the ground and pinning her. The Ronso guardian froze, torn between his desire to aid his kin or his summoner. "Kimahri, go help the village!" Yuna cried, struggling beneath the shadow-beast's claws.
By now, Kimahri could hear the battle cries change to roars of pain and death as whatever attacked the village killed everyone in its way. He froze again, his heart pounding and his soul burning with pain. Lose his people, or lose Yuna…all the enemies he had faced until now were nothing compared to this, and it hurt more than he could bear. Unable to take anymore, he let out the loudest roar of his life, drew his spear, and charged down the path, straight toward the fiend holding Yuna. Instead of fighting, however, the creature flew away, leaving the summoner unharmed. "Why, Kimahri?" Yuna wept, staring out at the now-silent husk of the village. "Why did you choose me? Those were your people down there!"
The pain and sorrow were still there, weighing heavily on his heart, but Kimahri swallowed them down. "Kimahri not save everyone. Kimahri know this." he sadly replied, facing that terrible truth. "Yuna important, too. Insult fallen Ronso if Kimahri abandon Yuna."
…Flash…
Lulu awakened to find herself alone in a dark place she did not recognize. Was it the cave? Was it death? She could not tell. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps behind her attracted her attention. The mage quickly turned around to see…herself? "On another pilgrimage, are we?" her other self asked, quirking an eyebrow in amusement.
"What is this?" Lulu demanded, glaring at her double. "Who are you?"
"I'm you, of course," Other-Lulu replied. "To be exact, I'm you, only better."
"How did you come to that conclusion?"
Other-Lulu sneered, and the real Lulu wondered if she had ever worn such an ugly expression. "I'm better because, unlike you, I learned when to give up. I learned that there is no point in either of us being guardians, because our pilgrimages are destined to fail!" the other cried.
Lulu felt the blood drain from her face in one icy rush. She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. "That's not true!" she finally managed to whisper.
"No? What about Lady Ginnem? What about Father Zuke?" The other mage paused for a moment, and then added, "You know, Father Zuke quit when he did because he knew that you'd fail him just like you did Lady Ginnem."
"Stop it!" Lulu shouted, turning away and covering her ears.
Other-Lulu vanished and reappeared in front of the weeping mage, and snatched her hands away; forcing her to hear what she had to say. "Pretty little mage, so full of pride in her power and knowledge…you're pathetic! Face it, you are doomed to fail, and deep inside, you know as well as I do that it's because you hate the summoners! You hate the fact that they still have more power than you, and so you let them die…or quit and become disgraced. Which one of those fates do you have in store for Yuna, hmm?"
"You're wrong," Lulu quietly replied, managing to regain her composure.
"What was that?" the other asked, eyeing her warily.
"I said you're wrong," Lulu answered, louder this time. "I have never hated any of the summoners I've guarded. Yes, I have made mistakes because of my pride, but I have never put it above the life of another person."
Instead of responding, Other-Lulu vanished, leaving the mage alone in the darkness again. "I never realized how much it would hurt to hear someone say it aloud, even if that someone was me," she whispered to the empty air.
…Flash…
When the world stopped spinning, Rikku found herself in the Calm Lands watching helplessly as Yuna engaged in a furious battle with Sin. "This isn't real!" Rikku yelled, ducking as a stray energy bolt blasted its way past her. "We haven't even reached Zanarkand yet!"
Despite her denial, however, the battle continued, and the little thief could only look on in horror as her cousin summoned the Final Aeon, which tore its way from Yuna's body and charged Sin. Before it could even begin to put up a fight, however, Sin blasted it to pyreflies, rendering all of Yuna's hard work useless. "Yunie…" Rikku whispered as hot tears poured down her cheeks. Then she noticed that Sin was leaving, and she felt the flames of a terrible, boiling rage burn in her heart. "You get back here!" she screamed, wildly brandishing her claw and giving chase.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, Rikku knew that knew that chasing Sin like this was tantamount to suicide, but her grief and anger kept her from caring. However, the great beast continued its departure, paying no attention to the little Al Bhed. Finally, Sin vanished beyond the vast scar of the Calm Lands, and Rikku could no longer keep up the pursuit. Suddenly, all of the rage drained from Rikku's body, replaced by exhaustion and blackest despair. Unable to stand, she dropped to the ground and let out a heart-wrenching wail. She had fought so hard to save Yuna, only to fail miserably. All Rikku wanted now was to lie down and die.
"Are you giving up, Rikku?" a ghostly voice whispered into her mind. "That's not like you."
"Go away and let me die in peace," the Al Bhed whimpered, not wanting to roll over and look at the source of that voice. "You're just a memory now, anyway, Mom."
"Oh really? If that's the case, then why would I be here?" Her mother asked, appearing in front of her.
"I don't know!" Rikku snapped, finally sitting up. "I don't know! I don't know! I…DON'T…KNOW!"
Her mother floated back a step, and shook her head. "It's easy to give up, you know. We could have given up when the Guado attacked Home…we could have given up back when Sin destroyed our old island…everyone expected us to give up when Yevon attacked us before, but we didn't. It's hard to keep going in the face of adversity, but we Al Bhed manage it. Rikku, can you really do any less?"
Rikku looked up at the vision of her mother, and shook her head. "You're right, Mom," she said, getting to her feet. "I can't quit yet! As long as I'm still alive, I can still fight, and keep anyone else from dying in vain!"
…Flash…
Wakka opened his eyes and looked around in amazement when he realized that he was back on Besaid Island. "How did I get back here?" he wondered aloud as he looked around.
Suddenly, a slightly younger Lulu appeared, weeping as if her heart was breaking. "He's gone, Wakka," she whispered, her shoulders shaking.
"Who's gone? Lulu, what are you talking about?"
The black mage looked up at Wakka as if he had lost his mind. "Chappu is gone, Wakka. He's dead!"
Despite already knowing this in the waking world, having to relive it instantly awoke all the pain and heartache once again and hit him like a blow to the gut. Wakka felt his knees buckle, and sat down quickly before his legs could give out. "Chappu is dead…I know that, ya?"
"It's your fault, you know," an insidious voice whispered in the back of his mind as both Besaid and Lulu disappeared.
"What are you talking about?" Wakka demanded, looking around in the darkness.
"I'm talking about Chappu's death. He didn't have to die…but you wanted him to."
"No, I didn't!" Wakka yelled, jumping to his feet. "I never wanted that!"
"Oh really? If you never wanted that, then why was it that, you were always secretly hoping that Lulu would turn to you, even before he died? You were jealous and you know it!"
Wakka felt his blood run cold at how close to the truth the voice had come. "Yeah, I was jealous," he admitted, hanging his head. "I've always liked Lulu, ya? But that don't mean that I wanted Chappu to die." He straightened up and shook a fist at the darkness. "I never wanted him to die, even if that meant losing Lulu!"
…Flash…
Everyone came to, and realized that they were finally back in the cave where they had started, with Magosha watching them from its perch on a nearby stalagmite. "Well, well, well," it began, ruffling its wings. "You all did surprisingly well."
"What did you do to us?" Rikku demanded, wiping tears from her eyes.
"I gave all of you scenarios based on the deepest truths of your heart. Not many souls have the courage to face those truths without going mad, so you should be proud of yourselves." Magosha then leapt into the air and flew away from the path. "You have passed your first trial, so now you may continue onward. Be warned, however, that there are still two more trials ahead."
With that, the flying fiend melted into the shadows and vanished. "Is everyone okay?" Yuna asked, looking worriedly at her guardians.
"We're all fine," Auron said, seeming somehow unruffled by the whole ordeal. "We're ready to leave as soon as you are, Yuna."
The summoner looked around at the rest of the party, and when they nodded in agreement, she said, "All right, then. Let's go."