Chapter 21 - Sin

The airship flew past Bevelle, headed toward the Calm Lands. Stenn expertly steered the craft so it would fly right past Sin, attracting its attention. Sin gave chase as the airship reached the Calm Lands. The airship then turned to face the monster.

"Okay," Cid barked, "What's your plan?"

"The plan," Gian remarked, "is to go out there and give it everything we've got."

Cid started laughing uncontrollably. "Now that's what I call a plan! We've been working on something that might help, so go on out there and rip that thing a new blowhole!"

Gian nodded, and made his way to the turbolift, with Tara right behind him.

"We'll be ready, Cid!"

The pair disappeared into the turbolift. Cid gave the command, and from outside the ship, a rumble was felt. Two large cannons appeared on both sides of the ship.

As Tara and Gian prepared to make their way out onto the deck, Tara stopped him.

"Gian, do you really think we can do this?"

The guardian smiled. "I know we can. I no longer have any doubts at all. You wanna know how certain I am?"

Tara watched with shock as Gian lowered himself down onto one knee. He produced a sparkling diamond ring from his pounch. He displayed it in front of Tara.

"When this is all over with," he spoke, looking deeply into her eyes, "I'd really like it if you'd marry me. You've already made me the happiest man in all of Spira. I want to make you as happy as you've made me. Will you marry me?"

Tara began to cry uncontrollably, with tears of happiness streaming down her face. She held her hand out so Gian could slip the ring onto her finger. Still crying, she looked into Gian's eyes and answered.

"You've already made me that happy, Gian. Yes, yes! I will marry you!"

Tara and Gian hugged tightly, and shared a kiss, then made their way onto the deck, where they saw the first shot fired in the battle.

The airship's port cannon found its mark, just above Sin's left shoulder. The ship moved into position as the intercom crackled to life with Cid's voice.

"That's one! Do your worst out there!"

Sin's left fin was barely hanging in place as the ship moved even closer. Tara raised her staff and cast Blizzaja to separate the limb. The monster cried out in pain as the airship began to circle around to the other side. The starboard cannon fired above Sin's right fin. Again, Tara cast Blizzaja, severing the limb.

They watched with amazement as Sin crashed down into the Calm Lands. Gian looked over at his new fiancé.

"No way," he remarked. "It can't be that easy, can it?"

"Umm..." Tara replied, pointing to Sin who had resumed its position directly in front of the airship, with gleaming white wings in place of what were once fins.

The intercom crackled to life once more. "Okay kiddos! Back inside, we gotta figure out what to do next."

Gian reached for the intercom button.

"No! We go now!" He looked over at Tara who was gazing at him quizzically. "It's something I learned from Darno. When you've got the ball, you've gotta score, right?"

Tara readied her staff. "Right!" she exclaimed.

Gian drew his sword. "Let's do it!"

Sin cast the first of many Gravija spells, draining the pair's energy. Gian responded with a regenerative spell, negating the effect of Sin's gravity attacks. Tara summoned Bahamut, who pelted the monster with his Megaflare attack. Sin bounced backward in pain. Gian kept the attacks coming with powerful sword slashes at the monster's face. Tara summoned Valefor, who struck with her energy ray. Tara began to summon her aeons in rapid-fire mode, rotating them in and out quickly, before Sin could damage them with Gravija.

Cid spoke through the intercom once more.

"The cannon's are exhausted! I can't give you any more!"

Reaching for the intercom, the guardian shouted, "That's alright Cid. We're almost there! Take us in!" He looked over at Tara. "You ready?"

"I'm ready," the summoner replied.

"Now!" shouted the guardian.

Gian cast Holy, the ultimate white magic, at the same time Tara cast Ultima, the ultimate black magic. Together, the spells rocked Sin with unimaginable destruction. The monster crashed into the Calm Lands once more, defeated.

Tara stood at the front of the deck, watching as the being known as Sin exploded into a gigantic cloud of pyreflies. She looked at Gian in a bewildered state.

"We did it!" she exclaimed.

"We're not finished yet," replied Gian. "Look!"

The cloud of pyreflies dissipated, revealing a dark vortex.

"She's waiting for us in there." Gian spoke. "She asked us to help her."

"Who?" Tara asked.

"I have a feeling I know who it is. And if I'm right, we've both seen her already."

The airship set down in the Calm Lands. Tara and Gian began to make their way into the vortex. Gian looked over at Tara.

"Everything we've endured throughout our journey. Every trial, every battle, everything we've done. It all leads to this. Let's do this, Tara. Let's end Spira's nightmare once and for all."

Tara smiled and took Gian's hand, and together they made their way through the vortex. They heard a voice crying out to them, echoing throughout the vortex.

Please! Help me!

Neither summoner nor guardian were surprised that there would be more fiends inside the vortex. They fought their way towards a large tower and entered. They found themselves on a platform similar to the one they saw in Zanarkand when they fought Yunalesca.

A young woman appeared in the center of the platform. She turned around to face Tara and Gian. She had tears in her eyes."

"Please," the woman spoke softly. "Help me."

"It's you!" Tara exclaimed, remembering the vision she saw on the outskirts of Zanarkand.

"You are Amalia, guardian to Lady Yocun," Gian stated.

"We did see her earlier!" Tara remarked. Gian nodded in response.

"Please," the woman began to sob, "Help me! End this, I beg you!"

Tara looked into the woman's eyes.

"Lady Yocun defeated Sin almost a hundred years ago! You've been trapped here all this time?"

"Yes," Amalia responded, crying uncontrollably. "Trapped. Forced to destroy, and forced to kill. Everything and everyone that ever mattered to me, gone! I wanted to destroy Sin, not become it! I wanted to end Spira's suffering, not become the cause of it! Please, I beg you, end this!"

Tara gave a knowing smile.

"We will end this for you. Don't worry. Your ordeal will be over with very soon."

Amalia managed to bring a weak smile onto her face.

"Thank you, truly" she replied. "You know what you'll have to do, right? When it starts, I won't be myself anymore. I'll be Sin, completely. I won't hold anything back. I'll do everything I can to destroy you. I won't be able to stop it. You must end this now."

"Don't worry," Tara replied softly. "We will."

Amalia ran to the edge of the platform and jumped off into the void below. The spatial area began to change colors rapidly. A large rumble was felt. A flaming female warrior appeared before them. An aeon as tall as a building. Lady Yocun's Final Aeon prepared to attack.

The aeon reared back and hit the pair with an energy ray, stunning them. Regrouping, Gian cast Curaja, and Regen, in succession. Tara summoned Ifrit, who attacked with his powerful flying tackle. Gian attacked with sword slashes against the aeon's body. Tara dismissed Ifrit, and summoned Bahamut. The dragon's Megaflare attack pierced the aeon's skin, doing even further damage. Tara then dismissed Bahamut, and called for the Magus Sisters. Their triangular attack began to rip the aeon apart from the inside. Gian cast Holy, pelting the aeon with piercing beams of divine light.

Tara and Gian were setting a pace that the aeon could not keep up with. Tara called for Ixion. Ixion fried the aeon with powerful lightning strikes. Dismissing Ixion, Tara called for Yojimbo who let loose with a devastating sword strike. Finally, Tara called for Valefor, who attacked with her energy ray. Amalia, Lady Yocun's Final Aeon, was all but defeated. She floated in front of the pair, knowing and waiting.

Gian was surprised to hear a voice inside his head. The familiar voice of the little girl inside Macalania Temple. The Fayth of Shiva.

Call me, Gian. I will help you.

Tara smiled as Gian placed his hands together in prayer formation. He then drew his sword and raised it to the sky. Large icicles rained down in a fan-like pattern in front of him. Shiva descended from the heavens, revealing herself, as she flung her veil toward the guardian.

Shiva threw forth her magic, covering the aeon inside a solid sheet of ice. Looking over at Gian, she smiled and snapped her fingers, destroying the aeon with razor-sharp shards of ice.

Gian smiled back and nodded as Shiva disappeared. The aeon collapsed onto the platform and exploded into pyreflies, leaving behind the original and mortally-wounded form of Amalia, the guardian.

Tara ran to her as quickly as she could. Amalia tried to sit up, but was unable to. She looked at Tara, then Gian, and smiled weakly, finally at peace. Tara took the woman's hand into her own.

"Rest, Amalia," she spoke, "It's all over."

"Thank you..."

Amalia closed her eyes and went lifeless. Tara gently laid the woman's hand to her side. She moved back to provide enough room to perform the sending. Moments later, Amalia dissolved into pyreflies and disappeared.

"I feel so terrible for what she had to suffer through," Tara remarked. "All that killing and destruction... forced upon her, against her will. It's so awful! Is this what Sin really is?"

Gian stared off into the spatial void, and then turned back to face Tara. He was resolute.

"Amalia gave her life to defeat Sin. That's how she should be remembered. Tara, we must keep this to ourselves. I can think of no possible good that could come from revealing to everybody what happened to her. I know it's not like me to keep secrets, but I'm comfortable taking this one to the grave. Amalia's memory deserves to be protected. And it's up to us to make sure that nobody ever again suffers like she did."

"Agreed," Tara nodded.

Tara and Gian decided to rest. Both sat at the base of the staircase in each others' arms, saying nothing – only pondering the true nature of Sin that they had just learned. It was impossible to blame Amalia for anything. Everything that she had done as Sin was forced upon her. Their true enemy had yet to be revealed. They remained silent, resting, simply holding each other. After a few moments, Tara looked up at her guardian, smiling.

"You're one with Shiva now," Tara remarked. "How does it feel? Isn't it a wonderful experience? Sharing yourself with an aeon helps to give you such an incredible peace of mind. You're sharing their centuries of wisdom and experience. It really puts things into perspective. There's nothing to compare it to."

"I don't understand," the bewildered guardian remarked. "Why me? It doesn't make any sense..."

Tara laid her head upon Gian's shoulder, as the pair continued to hold each other.

"Gian, it makes perfect sense. That little girl undoubtedly lost a loved one in the Great War. Most likely her father. I'm thinking that she sees a lot of him in you. I see how she looks at you, and I see a certain happiness in her - a happiness she undoubtedly hasn't had in a long, long time. She chose you. I'm okay with it. And congratulations on becoming a summoner. Maybe we should call you Lord Gian?"

Gian could see Tara's playful smirk.

"You're not serious, are you, Lady Tara?" Gian chuckled. The last thing the guardian wanted was more formality in his life. "Only when you are High Summoner Tara. Besides, I'm still your guardian, and that's all I want to be."

The pair spent a few more moments resting from the battle, when they saw something that stirred them back to their feet - a gleaming black demon-ghoul with a symbol on its body. An unmistakable symbol that every denizen of Spira knew well.

The symbol of Yevon.