WARNING: This chapter is extremely long, so I hope you guys like long chapters…if you have to go to the bathroom or something, then go now! LOL!
A/N: High everyone! Looks like this story is finally coming to a close…sad I know, but I am attempting to write another one as well so lets hope that one works out just as good as this one. I thought I'd better tell you guys, I have slightly altered the ending of the game, just because I had to so that it would fit in with the storyline. I didn't alter it too much though. I just wanted to say, I really love all your reviews, this story wouldn't have been so successful without all of you so thank-you. I will be doing individual thank-you's at the end of the chapter (its going to be so long because there is a lot that happens in-between entering Sin and defeating Yu-Yevon so bare with me) in the meantime though, I hope that you all enjoy this last chapter of "Please Tell Me"
By the way, I'm sorry if I confuse anyone with my jumps in-between and after battles. As I have explained earlier, I am not very good at writing fighting scenes and also I just think they draw to much attention away from the main storyline because you can have fighting scenes that go on for entire chapters and drag on making the storyline boring, so I just simply skip 'em. Sorry if you guys wanted to see a heated show down, but it isn't happening in this story…I only do romance! (I'm such a sucker…) Anyway, enjoy everybody!
Chapter 7- The Begininng Of The End
He continued his way reluctantly down towards the door, and with each step closer, Yuna's kicks and screams seemed to intensify. He was in a lot of pain, each time one of her legs or fists came into contact with his skin, his nerves flared out in agony…but it didn't matter anymore…nothing did. Soon he would be on the Farplane, completely numb to all feeling and emotion…nothing more then a hollow floating silhouette, a mere shadow of his former existence.
He sighed heavily at the thought, trying hard to push it to the back of his mind for now, realizing that he was going to have to put Yuna down sooner or later. He pondered for a moment before calling out to his friends in front of him…they had stopped to talk to Rin, obviously using common sense and stacking up on supplies and equipment before they went off to fight their final battle. This was a good opportunity to speak with Yuna alone for awhile. After all, by the looks of things they were trying to haggle with Rin…unfortunately with little success.
"Hey, do you guys mind if I talk to Yuna for a moment?" His voice sounding uncharacteristically depressed.
At first, nobody seemed to notice…until that is he saw Rikku waving a hand at him dismissively, but not really looking like she was paying much attention.
"You may as well…we're going to be here all day!" Rikku screamed at Rin, obviously trying to use that as an excuse for him to hand over his merchandise…it didn't work of course, and soon they were all yelling at each other, trying to make bargains and compromises…to no avail. Tidus quickly saw this as his chance, and dashed into the nearest room and locked the door behind him.
Yuna had stopped her onslaught of physical harm for the moment, perplexed as to what was happening. Then, she heard his voice.
"Okay…Yuna, I'm going to put you down now…but, you have to promise to say calm otherwise-"
"Otherwise what?" She interrupted rather daringly.
"Yuna…do you want to be put down or not?" He challenged her harshly, hoping that it was enough to subdue her into staying quiet.
"Fine," she snapped, rather annoyed.
He gently moved his arms around her waist and slowly went about that task of hoisting her off his shoulders, placing her down on her feet carefully and waiting for her to retain her balance.
After doing so, he stepped back slightly, only to find a furious summoner now standing in front of him.
"Why did you do that?"
'Here we go…'
"Do what?" Tidus tried to ask innocently.
"Don't start with me Tidus! You're just going to make me even angrier then I already am!"
"I thought I told you not to get upset?"
"Yeah…well I lied!" She screamed back.
"Yuna, please just stop this now!" He yelled, pushing her swiftly, and Yuna yelped as she was flung against a wall and pinned there by the shoulders. She was completely shocked and honestly…absolutely terrified at what he had just done. It took a few seconds for the initial shock to wear off before she realised what had happened. He instantly after calmed down after seeing Yuna's face, as he relented straight away, immediately regretting his actions.
"Sorry…I didn't mean to do that," Tidus whispered softly, removing his arms and turning away. Yuna stood there stuck to the spot, too dumbfounded to even hear his apology. She had never seen this side of him before. Even when they fought Seymour he was never that upset. His outburst had horrified her beyond words and although her instinct at that moment was to cry, she was trying really hard not to.
"Look, we had better go Yuna, I'm sure that everyone is waiting for us," he suggested quickly before taking one last, longing glance at her and heading for the door. His 'private time' alone with her had been dramatically cut short. But at seeing him move, Yuna instantly sprung out of her apparent daze, and instantaneously threw herself in front of him, trying to prevent him from leaving, hot tears spilling down her face, more because she was petrified of him then anything else…even her body was shaking.
"Please d-don't go…" she begged quietly, trying to control herself. Tidus looked at her only briefly and quickly tried to maynover himself around her tiny frame. All though he wouldn't ever do it, he knew how easily it could be to simply just push past her. But he knew that he didn't really want to leave. Yuna simply moved her body in front of him, continually blocking his attempts to reach the door.
"Yuna…move, come on, this isn't funny anymore! We have to go now," he stated as firmly as possible.
"No…"
"Yuna…"
"No!" She tried to say more strongly this time, all the while shaking her head violently in protest.
"No, no, no, no, no, no-"
'God you're trouble…'
Her rambling was instantly cut off by a forceful kiss placed onto her lips. Her first thought was to reject it, in hopes of showing Tidus that she didn't appreciate being blackmailed like this every time she was trying to act defiant. It aggravated her so much that it would be Tidus who would whip her up into these emotional frenzies and then suddenly expect her to comply with his spontaneous and romantic gestures. What made her even more irritated though was that it worked! Ever since his previous revelation, she found herself wanting him even more now that she knew he was eventually going to disappear. The idea of him leaving seemed to only heighten her need for him, and in turn, she generally craved whatever last minute affection he may decide to bestow upon her, no matter how great or insignificant it may have seemed.
All too soon Yuna found herself falling into the same trap, as once again she found her tangible self slowly beginning to melt into his warm embrace, defying the voice in her head. The feeling of that desperate need was again coursing through her body and had obviously decided to disconnect all bodily functions from her brain as none of the advisable, sensible actions that her brain was telling her to do were getting through. All she had to do was pull away, but as their intimacy with each other began to deepen, Yuna was finding it increasingly hard to even think let alone act upon her thoughts. It was just like every time before this. Tidus would force her to the absolute brink of an emotional breakdown with his heartless and selfish actions and then shower her with unadulterated affection…only to bring her back to the edge of insanity once more. She hated it, and Yuna wanted nothing more then to slam on the breaks rather then continue in the dizzying repetitive spiral of complete agony and anguish in which she was currently ensnared in.
Yuna was momentarily dragged out of her thoughts as Tidus pulled away and began planting trails of hot kisses down her neck. She was grateful for the short break and allowed air to flow into her lungs, but now that he had pulled away…she immediately found new strength in her resolve. Even though his kisses were creating alarming amounts of pleasure to course throughout her entire body, she tried to resist and quickly went about the task of asking him to halt before she lost control again.
"Tidus…please…stop," she managed to get out in-between gasps, trying to hide her incredibly flushed face. She would have tried to pull away, but found herself pressed up against the door tightly, unable to move with his body pinning her there.
A muffled giggle was given off by Tidus in response to her request, as he sank his lips deeper into her neck, resulting in a much louder gasp to escape from her lips then Yuna had intended as she knew that that kind of reaction would only encourage him further. Yuna had to admit, she certainly was enjoying the sensation, but this was not the right time for his annoying games. They seriously needed to talk.
"Please…we need to…talk," she tried again hoping this time for some sort of response. At hearing the staidness in her voice, he abruptly stopped and rested his chin on her shoulder.
"What's there to talk about Yuna?" He said sternly, leaning his body up against hers. "I have already told you, I'm not real, I'm going to disappear." He lifted his chin from her shoulder and put his hands on either side of her face, forcing her to look him in the eye, "whether we like it or not," he added, his voice cracking.
She paused for a moment, getting her voice under control. "We have to find someway to save you," she eventually replied, hiding the desperation in her voice.
"Yuna…you're in complete denial aren't you? You know as well as I do that there is no way to save me…" He turned slightly and buried his face in the fall of her hair, letting his lips come to rest just near her ear. The feeling of his breath on her skin was downright intoxicating as she felt goose bumps crawl up her arms, she shivered slightly.
"But-"
"No, Yuna…there are no 'buts'… believe me when I say that I want nothing more then to stay with you…forever, but I guess fate doesn't want it that-"
"Screw fate!" She screamed, violently shoving Tidus off her in the process, sick to death of his negative attitude.
"I want what I want, and I won't take no for an answer! If you really mean that you want to stay with me forever, then why are you giving up so easily?" She pleaded with him, in the hopes of shaming him into a positive frame of mind.
"Yuna…it's…just…you don't understand, I was given no choice in the matter. The Fayth told me themselves."
"But why were you so willing to fight for me, but your not willing to do the same for yourself? Don't you want to live?" She attempted to reason with Tidus, hoping that maybe he would start seeing things her way.
"That's different…your…your path could be altered, but my fate cannot. The simple truth is, Yuna, I can't stay alive as long as the Fayth keep dreaming, my fate is…inevitable."
"I absolutely refuse to believe that!" She yelled back at him in response, slamming her foot down on the floor for emphasis.
Tidus sighed in annoyance, seeing that for the moment, there was not going to be any getting through to her, and simply turned to face the door.
"Don't you walk out on me, I'm not finished!" She warned him. He stopped for a moment almost as if he considered staying, but then wordlessly shook his head and continued towards the exit. Yuna, wanting him desperately not to leave (knowing all too well what awaited her after Sin's defeat…utter loneliness and pain) immediately let slip the first thought that rushed into her head, not giving it the time it needed to marinate and be assessed for being offensive or indeed making sense.
"I-If you…walk out on me now…all that shows to me is…how little you care!" She began crying then, warm tears pouring down her face, frantically trying to some kind of reaction out of him. She did, but not the kind that she so urgently craved. Instead, he tilted his head ever so slightly and spoke, his voice but a mere whisper.
"Yuna…you know yourself that isn't true at all, despite what you may think. Deep down you know you don't mean it." He returned his gaze to directly in front of him and despite some hesitation, he managed to finally get out of the room leaving Yuna…alone. After his presence had dissipated from the room she slid down into the corner huddled in a ball, buried her face in her hands and…cried.
"I'm glad that's finally over!" Rikku sighed with relief.
"Yeah but we used up all our money," Wakka replied.
"Well, having improved healing supplies and weapons is way better then dying in battle. Besides, if we died we wouldn't have to worry about money!"
"I still think he ripped us off," Wakka mumbled back. But before Rikku was given another chance to argue, Lulu interrupted, forcing her train of thought into a different direction.
"Where have Yuna and Tidus run off to this time?"
Rikku suddenly remembered where the couple had gone and was about to tell Lulu, but quickly delayed herself wondering if she should say anything or just leave them be. She knew that this was their last chance to be alone with each other and thought that maybe they shouldn't be disturbed until the very last minute…that meant for now, pretending she didn't know where they were.
'The things I do for friends…'
"I have no idea," Rikku tried to say in the least suspicious voice possible. "Let them be Lulu, this is last time they get a chance to be with each other."
Still Lulu remained suspicious of the two, obviously expecting the worst from Tidus in particular. She didn't have to be worried for long though. As the group of guardians heard footsteps coming towards them, they wiped around to find Tidus approaching them…but with absolutely no trace of Yuna. Of course, Lulu instantly began to worry, bombarding him with questions on her whereabouts.
"Where's Yuna, I thought she was with you?" Lulu tried to sound like she was just curious, but the hint of apprehensiveness in her voice managed to snake its way into Tidus' ears.
"She's coming," he stated simply, refusing to make eye contact with the black mage. "Okay then well let's get this show on the road!" His friends were thrown of guard by his happy domineer, thinking that he would've been somewhat depressed about his unfortunate and forced departure, but didn't want to risk saying anything that may cause him to revert into such a personality. This was probably just his way of dealing with it…and to be completely honest, they weren't too far from acting like that either. They just simply tried to not think about it.
"We have to wait for Yuna though," Lulu said coolly.
Tidus simply turned to her and gave her a stiff nod in reply, "okay."
They waited for quite awhile, but sure enough eventually, Yuna emerged from the room, her head drooped in a pathetic attempt to hide her incredibly puffy red eyes that were weary from crying. Almost instantaneously, Tidus turned his back, purposefully trying to avoid any kind of visual contact with her what so ever and headed for the elevator.
Everyone followed suit, including Yuna, hoping that somehow this was all just a misunderstanding. That Tidus wouldn't disappear and that all of this suffering and pain she had gone through in the past couple of days was soon going to be nothing more to her then a bad dream. Besides, what else could she hope for? Just like Tidus, she was given no choice in the matter. All she could do now was pray to Yevon (old habits die hard…) that the Fayth could somehow hear her desperate plea. To leave her the only thing that she considered that was worth living for in her otherwise empty existence. What was the point of living a life without the one person who gave it to her in the first place? None.
And so, with one last insistent appeal to the heavens, Yuna stepped out onto the deck of the airship ready to take on the massive task at hand of dealing with the menace that had plagued her beloved Spira for over a thousand years.
As Sin's gaping mouth opened the doorway to Yu Yevon's domain, everybody soon found themselves gawking in complete awe at the scenery surrounding them. Pyreflies danced in menacingly beautiful loops of pure mystique, giant fluffy orange clouds glided across the horizon; all the while a strong but strangely refreshing breeze seemingly kissed their skin. It was a magnificent scene to behold…but they were all thrown right of guard as a horribly familiar and sinister laugh filled the air. Before they knew it, all of a sudden, what looked like some sort of ghostly eye passed right through them with such an intense and burning force that everyone was almost thrown back against the floor of the deck.
Yuna looked around quickly, swearing that she could hear someone calling to her…someone was whispering in her ear.
'Yuna…Yuna…'
She all of a sudden felt incredibly uncomfortable and cold, unable to stop shivers and tremors running mercilessly up and down her body. Suddenly, this place did seem as beautiful anymore…
Soon after however, the ship eventually came into landing in an area which would enable them to access a path to…wherever it was they were going. After making final preparations, the guardians and their summoner disembarked from the ship, the Al Bhed who were left behind waving them off and wishing them all good luck.
As they journeyed along what seemed like a never ending and unseeing path of random encounters of particularity strong fiends, Yuna found herself refusing more and more to partake in battles. She would only come if one of her comrades were either in serious danger and therefore required healing or, if a fiend was overwhelming their tactical fighting skills and her guardians vitally required the assistance of an aeon. Also as Yuna noticed, whenever she stayed out of battle, he would always be in the fray, where as if she had to go into battle for whatever reason, he would always make sure that he was off "resting" and then go back in once she came off. Once again, Tidus was going to extraordinarily extreme lengths to avoid her to ensure that he wasn't asked anymore questions…and even on the rare occasion when they would both be off, Tidus would simply pretend that she wasn't there. Try as she may to speak with him, he would simply walk away as if he had never heard a word Yuna said.
Still, she wanted to keep trying, if only to get his attention for a second that would be all she needed. The only problem was…she needed an excuse…an excuse which she didn't have as of yet. Then the simplest but most plausible idea popped into her head.
"C-can we stop and rest for a while, I-I'm a little tired," she said hesitantly.
Her request was immediately met with a loud annoyed groan from right up the front of the party, which she guessed to be Tidus who was also probably painfully aware of the fact that she didn't need rest at all and was simply using a break as an excuse to interrogate him further, so of course he tried to convince everybody otherwise.
"Come on Yuna, we're nearly there, we don't need to rest now!" He tried not to sound irritated or upset but it didn't work. His intentions became obvious to Yuna even before he had finished speaking.
"I'm sorry Yuna but I'm going to have to agree with Tidus on this one," Lulu interjected, causing Yuna to glare at her 'big sister' in surprise. "I mean, you hardly ever battled…we had to practically beg you to come in when we needed your help and expertise."
Yuna's head sank as she all of a sudden felt betrayed by the people who were supposed to support her whenever she needed it. She needed to 'rest', and her request was thrown straight back at her and rubbed in her face. She was feeling quite rejected at the moment, and at that thought, sobs began rising rapidly up into her throat.
"This…This just proves that you don't care!" Yuna croaked, trying hard to keep her sobs under control. Both Tidus and Lulu stopped walking and turned around to respond, even though her comment was directed specifically at Tidus.
"Do you think that this is my fault! Do you think that I want this to happen!" Tidus spat back at her harshly.
"Yuna, its not that we don't care…it's just that we're nearly there and don't need to rest that's all," Lulu said gently, but Yuna didn't pay attention, her eyes were glued to his.
"No, of course I don't think that this is all your fault…but you're being such a cold and heartless jerk about everything! Stop pretending that I don't exist!" She now felt incredibly flustered, and was finding it increasingly difficult not to cry.
"Do you think that I want to ignore you Yuna! Do you have any idea how hard it is to do that! I hate myself for doing this to you, but I just figured the less time I spend with you…maybe…maybe it will be even just slightly easier in the end…for both of us," he finished, instantly regretting ever speaking those words.
"It may be easier for you…but it's killing me!" The tears were now biting furiously away at the corners of her eyes and she was about ready to just let them fall when she was interrupted.
"Ugh! I can't do this anymore! No matter what I do or try, in the long run I just end up hurting the people that I love…" He eyed Yuna momentarily before averting his gaze to the ground, stray tears flowing down his cheeks.
Before Yuna could say anything though, the same haunting and eerily creepy laugh filled the air, as an all too familiar foe's presence was felt, Yuna involuntary yelped as a cold and icy hand inched its way up her shoulder. Instantly, she flinched away and turned to face the very unwelcome guest.
"Ah, Lady Yuna…it is a pleasure as always," Seymour spoke in a rather mocking tone. "But you do not seem at all enthused to see me."
Yuna remained speechless at the sight of the figure standing in front of her, words unable to form in her mouth. Seymour smiled slyly before moving his gaze over the group. When his eyes fell on Tidus, and he saw the tear trails on his face he laughed slightly before directing his line of vision back onto Yuna.
"Having trouble in paradise are we?" Once again he was speaking in a ridiculing tone of voice.
"Shut up Seymour it's none of your business!" Tidus snapped furiously.
"Well obviously it is…after all, you have hurt Lady Yuna's feelings…has he not? He's just going to up and leave you all alone. How could he do that to you if he truly loved you?" Seymour directed his gaze once again solely on Yuna once more, as he slowly made his way over towards her. Yuna's feet felt like concrete bricks, completely glued to the spot and unable to move. She wanted to run for the hills more then anything…but her body refused to work. She was stuck, and she didn't even want to know what Seymour was planning to do to her. Luckily though, in that instant, Tidus moved so fast, in what seemed like a blur and there he was, standing his ground right in front of her…protecting her.
"Don't you even think about going anywhere near Yuna or so help me god I'll slice you right down the centre!" Tidus raised his sword up to just below Seymour's chin, and kept it stationery just a few centimetres from his throat to further enforce his threat.
"Oooh, touchy…having a little trouble accepting our fate are we?"
"I just told you, that is none of your business! So shut up!" Tidus growled.
"But don't you see? Your suffering will end…and now that I am finally Sin I can end all of Spira's suffering! I will destroy Spira! I will save it! And…it is all thanks to you, Yuna…just like I said, I would become Sin with your help," He raised an arm, gesturing it over towards her friends who were ready and in position to fight.
"Although, let's not forget your guardians either…it's all thanks to you and your companions, you defeated Lady Yunalesca for me, now I shall roam Spira as Sin forever now that the Final Aeon has been destroy-"
Seymour was instantly cut off when Tidus drove his Catablog sword right through Seymour's throat, causing Yuna to immediately yelp and flinch away as she heard the sound of the sharp metal piercing his flesh. Tidus smirked as he held it there. "Not if I can help it," he announced proudly before driving it in even further through his neck until the tip of the blade emerged on the other side.
Seymour simply began to laugh at his pathetic attempt to 'kill' him. All efforts at taking his life were futile and pointless…he was an unsent, and therefore completely unaffected by Tidus' feeble endeavour. He simply slowly pulled back away from the sword, and once the blade had left his throat completely, the hole that was there simply closed over. He took another swipe at Tidus, but thankfully he dodged it and with that, all six guardians and their summoner raced over to combat the menace and send him to the Farplane once and for all…
Finally, Seymour was defeated for the final time, and Yuna began The Sending without delay. Soon, the all too familiar site of Pyreflies could be seen dancing around his ghostly shadow…unfortunately though, he refused to go until he said one final thing.
"So…it is you who shall finally send me to my fate after all, Yuna. However…you lose as well. Now that the Final Aeon is gone you cannot stop Sin…the Spiral of Death will continue until it consumes all of Spira." He laughed to himself in spite of his predicament, which lead to of course Tidus asking why.
"What the hell is so funny?" He interjected harshly.
Seymour shot both Tidus and Yuna one last, resentful look before he explained himself. "Even if you do find some way to defeat Yu-Yevon…you will cease to be, and that means that no matter what you do, you and your little friends will lose either way." He turned to Tidus just as he dissipated into a mass of Pyreflies, his manipulative voice still lingering on the silent breeze.
"The next sending you perform Yuna…you will performing it on…him…"
The instant Seymour disappeared, Yuna plunged to the ground in hysterical sobs…Seymour's final departing comment hit her already incredibly fragile emotional state with one last devastating shake, smashing it into a thousand razor sharp pieces.
Tidus bent down and tried to collect Yuna into his arms as he rocked her gently, waiting for her sobs to slow. When she was calm, he gradually helped her to her feet and began walking. Predictably, once again, he was pulled back.
"Wait," she pleaded with him, tugging on the sleeves to his shirt. Tidus sighed and turned to face the distraught summoner.
"What is it?"
"Did…didn't you hear what Seymour said? He's right…I could never bring myself to perform the sending if…if it meant sending you away…I-I couldn't do it!" She cried desperately into his chest, trying to control her feelings.
"I…uh…can't…it…I…it…hurts," she gasped incoherently between sobs.
Tidus simply ran his hand through her hair in an effort to still her and placed a gentle lingering peck on her forehead before speaking.
"I know, Yuna, I know…"
And with that, they slowly made their way towards their next destination, with Yuna grasping his hand tightly for support.
As the group stood there, bright, tall buildings surrounded them, with a diamond jewelled sky glittered above overhead…surly it was an amazing site to behold, but nobody was focused on that. Everybody has focused all there attention on what was happening before them- the incredibly unpredictable but unavoidable reunion between Tidus and his father had begun. Everyone listened intently to their forced and tense convocation. Yuna keeping her gaze locked particularly hard on her lover, watching his every move.
'What am I going to do?'
"You're late Auron…"
"I know," he said solemnly. Jecht turned around slowly as he came face to face with his former friend and the son he hadn't seen in ten years.
"Hey," he gestured slightly, waving his arm.
"Hi."
"Hmph, you got tall but you're all bones! You eating right boy?" Jecht started off rather enthusiastically. Tidus however, didn't reply.
"You've really grown," he said more softly this time.
"Yeah, but your still bigger," Tidus replied. Jecht chuckled under his breath before continuing.
"Well I am Sin you know…"
"That's not funny,"
"Dad?" He asked timidly.
"Yeah?"
"I hate you!"
"I know…I know," Jecht agreed with his son.
"You know what you have to do?"
"Yeah," Tidus mumbled rather depressed.
"I-I can't hear the Hymn so well anymore…pretty soon I'm going to be Sin completely. But when it starts, I won't be myself anymore…I won't be able to hold myself back…I'm sorry."
"That's enough! Let's finish this, okay!"
"You're right," Jecht agreed.
"Well then, let's go!" And with that, he stepped right back as he gathered two large blue balls of energy into his hands and pushed them to his chest. They burst into sparks and began to centre on his torso. Slowly, he edged his way backwards towards the swelling pit of lava below. As soon as Tidus saw this, he made a desperate run for his father's hand. Yuna also gasped in shock.
"No!"
Unfortunately, he missed his fathers grasp, and watched him slowly plummet downward to the boiling orange liquid below. As Jecht fell, the ball of energy that had accumulated on his chest, began to let out swirls of energy… however, Tidus wasn't paying attention. He was all to lost in the fact that he had just literally let his father's life slip through his fingers. An abrupt shock snapped him out of his apparent daze, as a giant fiery hand almost crushed him completely. Hr managed to jump out of the way just in the nick of time, but faced a furious looking Final Aeon. Tidus managed to push his nervousness and feelings aside now, all too aware of who the aeon was. Pulling out his blade, he pointed it directly at the aeon, ready to fight his very hardest.
"I promise this'll be quick! Give me all you got, dad!"
With one final crash, Braska's Final Aeon gave one last longing shriek before crashing to the ground, dispersing back into the form of Jecht once more. As he began to fall, Auron readied himself to catch his fallen friend…but found that his foster 'son' had beaten him to it.
Tidus caught him gently, lowering him down onto his shoulder before moving him into a horizontal resting position, resting his father's head on his arm. At seeing Jecht, his father, the cause of all of his hatred and anger on the brink of death, made him want to…cry. At seeing the expression of sadness on his son's face, Jecht just couldn't help himself.
"You're gonna cry, you always cry, see look you're crying!"
"I hate you dad!" Tidus managed to say, tears rolling their way down his cheeks. Tidus stood up and moved away from him, trying to regain control of his emotions.
"Save it for later…" Jecht whispered softly.
"Yeah…we've got a job to do, don't we?"
"Yes…that's right, you are my son after all," Jecht hoisted himself up so he could see Tidus more clearly.
"You know for the first time I'm glad…to have you as my…father," Tidus admitted so quietly that nobody heard.
At that moment Yuna stepped forward. She didn't really want to intrude on their reunion, but felt compelled to intervene, seeing now as Sir Jecht was classified as an unsent, so she knew she should at least offer to perform the sending for him.
"Sir Jecht, I should-"
"No, Yuna…there's no time!" He interrupted, and at that moment a large black orb darted furiously over their heads. Upon seeing it, Tidus immediately tried to tell it off.
"You stay away!" He gestured angrily with a flick of his arm.
"Yuna, you know what to do," Jecht began. "The aeons…call them!" and with that the Fayth suddenly appeared in its ghostly form behind her.
"Call us!" He proclaimed, and with his work done, Jecht finally collapsed to the ground and burst into hundreds of pyreflies. Tidus cringed at hearing the eerie voices of the pyreflies as they all flew off into the distance, taking his father to his final resting place…the Farplane.
Yuna turned around courageously, ready to face there new foe…unfortunately, it was all just a charade… in the inside her mind was rushing, intensely trying to find a solution that would result in them being able to defeat Sin and at the same time, enable Tidus to stay. Her mind was racing furiously with endless possibilities, but they all seemed to turn up in a dead end. She had to come up with something! But what could she do? Especially with so little time left…she had to call the aeons soon.
'The aeons…'
How ironic it was to be having to save them from their never ending cycle of dreaming and to have them take away the only person that mattered to Yuna in return.
'This is so unfair…I would give up anything…no, everything if that meant he could stay. Why me? Is it selfish to want such a high paying reward for saving everybody? All I want is to be happy…do I have to sacrifice my being happy to save Spira? What's the point of having an Eternal Calm if I can't spend it with the one person who helped me achieve it? It figures that there would be a huge price to pay for me living through my pilgrimage…'
"Yuna!" A strong scream snapped her out of her thoughts, and forced her to focus on the task at hand. She would just have to think while she was summoning…and she was really running out of time!
'I guess all I can do is hope for the best…' She thought to herself before stepping up, ready to bid a final farewell to the creatures that had helped her so much on her journey…and to also secretly blame them for taking her precious guardian away from her as well.
Tears began to form in her eyes at the thought of what was going to happen in the end but thankfully, she blinked them away, closed her eyes and shifted her focus onto summoning the aeons. She entered her summoning stance, arched her head up to the sky and silently pled to the heavens for the required presence of the mystical creatures.
'Valefor…come…'
Now that the aeons were gone, Yuna suddenly felt somewhat empty. Almost as if she had lost a piece of herself. Although she hated the aeons for what they were about to do once she started to send them, along her journey she had also grown quite attached to them as well. Not to mention that some small part of her was now grieving at the loss of so much power. The real sadness came however; from having to watch them die right in front of her eyes…all she could do was stand there. She couldn't even help them. Before she had summoned them, she was sure that she could've gone through with it and Yuna assured herself that it would be over quickly. But the battle went on for what seemed like an eternity and now she was having immense trouble coming to grips with what she had just witnessed. She tried telling herself that everything was alright now…it was over, but every time all she could hear were her aeons last, agonisingly painful screams as they faded away. However, this pain was hugely insignificant compared to the pain she would feel once he had left her…
"Everyone…you know, that this is the last time we fight together…alright?" Tidus tried to say confidently.
"No…no it's not!" Rikku cried, tugging desperately on his shirt. "You have to stay…at least for Yunie's sake! She'll die if you don't stay!"
"Please, Rikku…just let me say goodbye," Tidus whispered to his friend.
"But you can't leave Yuna," Wakka tried to reason with him, he received no response.
"You have to stay," Lulu also joined in the pleading session.
"Sorry, but you know that I can't, even if I want to…I just can't. This is the way my story is ending, I have no control over it."
All Yuna could do was watch in complete and utter horror as her lover made his way over towards the floating dark orb. He drew his Catablog and ran his hand over its smooth surface one last time before aiming it directly at Yu Yevon. Her tongue still felt like a lead weight and her throat was terribly dry.
"I'm saying…goodbye!" He said finally, the realisation crashing down on Yuna like a ton of bricks.
At his words, the whole party gasped (except of course Auron and Kimahri) and Yuna, still unable to move, could do nothing more then let out what sounded like a droning, heartbreaking cry as she collapsed to her feat.
"I'm so sorry…" He whispered in such an inaudible voice that nobody heard him. He didn't dare look back or else at seeing what misery awaited him, it may have caused his resolve to waver. Instead, he began to charge directly toward Yu Yevon, thrusting his sword out in front of him all the while wondering, what fate awaited him afterwards…?
'I'm scared Yuna…'
It was done. Yu Yevon had finally been defeated Spira's problems were finally over. Yuna's however, were just beginning…Spira may be safe for now, but her happy and secure future with Tidus was in a great deal of peril, especially when he was on the brink of leaving her forever. She didn't want to dance, but she knew she had to. That didn't necessarily mean that she would though. Still, for now she had to make sure that Sir Jecht arrived on the Farplane safely…and there was also the matter of Sir Auron as well. So she danced.
After Sir Auron's farewells, everybody slowly made their way back to the airship feeling somewhat gloomy about his departure. So far, two people that Yuna cared for had already sacrificed themselves so as to let Spira have a shot at everlasting peace…and another one was about to make his debut. Yuna stood there, in the middle of the deck, the aeons floating around her as well as Sin's shell awaiting their final sending. But Yuna wasn't dancing.
"Yuna you need to perform the sending now," Lulu informed her.
"I can't…"
"Yunie…you have to! What will happen to the aeons otherwise?" Rikku reasoned with her cousin.
"I don't care!" Yuna stated firmly.
"Yuna…" Tidus started, but was interrupted by the fuming summoner.
"Don't you 'Yuna' me! You…you…you're the one that started this whole mess! If you had told me sooner then I might have been able to save you! I-I wouldn't have had to go through all of this pain…" Yuna was on the verge of completely breaking down, and Tidus couldn't let that happen, the aeons needed to be sent now and if he didn't do something soon…something really bad could happen.
He had to do something…Yuna had to dance…then he remembered. While in the Calm Lands training, Lulu had taught Tidus about black magic. The one lesson that he remembered in particular was the use of the berserk spell. Lulu had said that although it causes you to lose control during battles…its primary function is to force the person it is cast on to do what they don't want to do at that given moment. For example, the only reason it makes you lose controls during battles is because you don't want to attack. So if you can't control yourself when you don't want to attack, could he possibly use it on Yuna to make her dance even though she didn't want to? He really didn't want to do it, but this was a last resort.
He steadied himself, ready to cast the spell…but before he did he quickly apologised. "I am so sorry Yuna…you are going to hate me for the rest of your life after this…"
"What are you talking about?"
His gaze locked with hers as his lips mouthed the words of the spell, "Berserk."
"What…what are you doing?" Yuna gasped, quite frightened at the fact that her body was moving without her consent. All of sudden, her body jerked down and picked up her staff. She then began the fluid movements that made up the dance of the dead, sending her mind into absolute terror at what was happening…she was really freaking out.
"T-Tidus what's happening…w-what did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO!" She was frantically trying to gain control over her limbs, but nothing was working. The other guardians simply stared in amazement at what was going on, unable to comprehend why she was dancing when only a moment ago she was refusing to. That's when something clicked together in Lulu's mind.
"Tidus…did you…?"
"Yes," he intercepted, not giving her the chance to finish the sentence.
"She wasn't going to dance of her own free will…you and I both know that," he continued bluntly. "The aeons have to be sent or something really bad could happen."
"But to force her? She is going to be seething with you when she stops."
"What does it matter Lulu? I'll be gone anyway," he mumbled.
"PLEASE STOP IT!" Yuna screamed as loud as she could, sobbing frantically at what was happening to her body…the whole air was filled with her anguished cries as the aeons dissipated into pyreflies around her.
"Please…make it stop," she begged her guardian in such a desperate way that he almost did, but as soon as the sending was complete, the magic would stop automatically. Simply because he wouldn't be real anymore and so he would lose his magic and any power he had over anybody else.
"Why are you doing this? Please stop…please…it…hurts. ANYONE PLEASE MAKE IT STOOOOOP!"
Tidus really hated doing this to her, he couldn't believe what he was doing actually. He never thought that he could seem this cruel. It was just that to him, nothing seemed to matter at all anymore…so the way he was seeing things now, what did it matter if he hurt Yuna? He was going to die and never see her again…so why bother? She was going to eventually forget about him (possibly even sooner after what he had just done)… his face fading away from her memory, only to be replaced by another. So why should he care?
'No…'
He mentally slapped himself for ever thinking that he should be able to even think something like that… he knew that Yuna wouldn't forget him that easily, but he seriously just couldn't help it. Really, what was the point?
The other guardians could do nothing but watch in absolute horror as Yuna was being forced to perform the sending. Tidus was right when he said that she wasn't going to do it…this really was the only way. Still, everyone shifted uneasily, all feeling unbelievably guilty that they had to ignore Yuna's cries for help. Not to mention letting a friend sacrifice himself without any sort of comforting recognition. There part to play in this show was over and all they could do now was play useless spectators in what was to be the final act.
Yuna was uncontrollably furious…at this point she knew that if he lifted the spell on her body, she probably would kill him she was that angry…and saddened. He was going to leave her and there was nothing she could do about it…and although over the past week she had been denying it, she knew she couldn't any longer, but still preferred to if that meant dodging more pain. It was then that the spell lifted from her body and she was released. But she knew why she had been released…and it wasn't because Tidus wanted to let her go either. She fell to the ground the instant the spell let her go, still weeping hysterically but she managed to quickly stumble to her feet, as she went into a combination of a lunge and run straight towards him.
"I HATE YOU!" She blubbered, raising her fists in protest, getting ready to hit him as hard as she possibly could…but something wasn't right…Tidus was…glowing. Still she ran, but received a horrible shock when she fell straight through him and onto the cold hard steel below. She simply lay there for a moment in complete and utter shock…then the reality of the what was happening finally set in. As her cries intensified, she was practically heaving and unable to breathe, groaning in utter despair…it was happening, he was…fading.
She was going to be sick and her body was going numb…her guardians rushed to her side, clamouring to get to Yuna in a somewhat pathetic attempt to console their shattered summoner, but she was already gone…
"Yunie!" Rikku cried, trying to calm her. Her heaving was increasing, not to mention she was having fits of violent tremors. Although Yuna was expecting to be upset, she wasn't planning on having a negative reaction of this magnitude…but she couldn't help it. The horrible truth was though, that right up until the final battle, Yuna had just kept telling herself that he just wouldn't fade away. It was as simple as that. The pain and the pointlessness of having a life without him were simply a burden too great to bear on her already emotionally and physically drained self. So she chose to basically try and pretend that it wasn't going to happen… even though somewhere at the back of her mind the real gravity of the predicament was itching away, anxious to get out.
But now that the ghastly reality of the situation was out of its prison…it had completely consumed her in an all out hysterical fit of sheer panic, anger and grief.
"But…but y-you promised…always," she whimpered. "You're…you're breaking your promise to me…YOU'RE BREAKING IT!" She shrieked, causing everyone surrounding her to flinch back in shock.
"Don't go…you lied…you promised me…" She whispered hoarsely.
"I'm so sorry Yuna," was all he said, tears pouring down his cheeks before heading towards then edge of the deck ready to jump of into the seemingly endless abyss that awaited him. As Yuna heard his feet clank on the metal deck, she almost felt like each time he took a step he was mashing her heart into even smaller insignificant pieces. She could almost hear the 'crush' whenever his feet touched the floor.
Instantaneously, Yuna jumped to her feet in a last fraught struggle against the laws of life in an effort to keep Tidus from leaving her. But before she had even made it half way, her guardians had literally jumped onto her in a tedious effort to try and restrain Yuna from 'accidentally' committing suicide. Whether not it would have been accidental, none of the guardians wanted to think about that possibility.
"NO!" she bawled, frustrated that she was stopped a mere four metres from her goal. Despite the fact that she was being restrained by four capable guardians, she was still proving to be a quite the test of strength as she arched out persistently and constantly towards Tidus' shadowy remains. The young summoner was insanely focused on reaching him by what ever means necessary. The problem for the guardians however was not actually restraining her, it was dodging the unpredictable biting, kicking and scratching she was using against her adoptive family in hopes that her actions would end up resulting in her release.
"Let me go…!" She implored frustratingly with her friends. But they weren't relenting any time soon. They had even skilfully worked out Yuna's pattern of random violence and in turn, at any attempt she made now, they were able to proficiency move out of her reach.
"Goodbye everyone…"
At the sudden sound of his voice, Yuna's body jerked up and came face to face with what was probably to remain the most awful and heart shattering moment she would ever witness in her entire life…Tidus jumped.
And with one last, frantic lunge, Yuna broke free of her captives and recklessly buckled over as immense pain shot through her chest. Grasping at her blouse were her heart rested just underneath she sent an unbearable, ear piercing and agonising cry out over the horizon at the loss of her beloved guardian. Tears pouring down her face and she shook violently, struggling to hold herself up.
"LIAR! YOU PROMISED ME ALWAYS!"
'You promised…you broke y-your promise to me…and now you're gone…forever.'
'Forever…'
'I hate you…'
'Liar…'
Authors Note: YAY! I'm finished…whoop whoop! Wasn't that a long chapter…man I must have re-written this chapter a million times…at one stage it was 18 pages long!I thought that was a little too long for an update and so I managed to cut it down to 15 and ¾. That's still a lot I know but I had so much to get through. I'm actually in exam block now and so I get home study! YAY, but that means I have to actually study…grrrrrrrr so I guess that I had better stop procrastinating now and get to work, I have something like 6 exams next week that go for two hours each…pfft, forget that! But by next Friday the 18th of November, I shall be finished and it's the day before my birthday! YAY ME EVEN MORE! Actually it's not that exciting…I get money THAT I AM FORBIDDEN TO SPEND BECAUSE I HAVE TO SAVE IT FOR MY JAPANESE EXCHANGE TRIP! AND I DON'T GO UNTIL THE WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS! Honestly people, I can't have $20 dollars without spending it within 5 minutes let alone $1000…grrrrrrrrrrr.
Anyway (still procrastinating about exams) I hope that you all enjoyed this last chapter so tell me what you think! You can say how much you loved it, liked it or hated it…me not care! I still get reviews! Hopefully…:P I may do a sequel if people want it badly enough…although, the new story that I'm writing is actually kind of a sequel to this one but not really (if that makes any sense) it is up now if you guys want to check it out. It's called "Her Shattered Heart" you all know who I'm talking about so yeah, there's a clue for the story. PLEASE CHACK IT OUT! NO MORE SCHOOL THEN FOR 2 MONTHS YAY! In the meantime though, I seriously need to study…so I'll see you all for my next wonderful story! BYE!
THANK-YOU TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO REVIEWED!
Secret and Strange Angle: I'm glad that you're enjoying this…I know it's sad and so here's an update (although it isn't much happier…sorry)
i laugh at you: Ummm, thank-you for your review it certainly was interesting…lol anyway I'm glad that you enjoyed my story and so here's another update for you…by the way, I still think the button is just purple. Lavender has more of a pink in it.
Crimson Okami: Yeah, this is my last update…but fear not for as mentioned above, I have another story in the works. I'll post that one for you as soon as I can! Anyway, thank-you so much for all of your support!
Cazza Cat: Man you are just awesome! Thank-you so much for everything!
Obsidean Crystal: Thank-you so much for your friendship and support and hope that you like this chapter as well!
FreshMeat: You have no idea how much I enjoyed your review…here's the chapter that I know you have been craving for, and I can't WAIT until you update…I just have to find out what happens between Lucy and Kouta!
TgIiDgUiS: Than-you so much for enjoying this story and I hope that you like this chapter all he same!
Bbychrangel: You have been with this story since the beginning and I am so pleased that you have enjoyed this…you simply asking me to update as soon as I could was enough to encourage me to write so thank-you!
Dancing Summoner: Thank-you so much, you know, if you hadn't talked me into continuing this story, it would still be sitting on the website as a one shot with only like 5 reviews. Your constant support and helpfulness is greatly appreciated so I than-you from the bottom of my heart.
Al Bhed Sweetie: Than-you for reviewing my story and I'm glad that you enjoyed it! Your welcome for the review of your other fanfic, I really did enjoy that!
Lucy: Thanks for everything, you are always one of the first people to review my story, anyone would think that you live on this website anyway, I'm glad that you like my story and here's the update that you wanted so badly.
Ffxfan: I'm glad that you are enjoying this story as well and hope that you enjoy this chapter just as much!
SUBMIT!11: heh heh, I'm glad that you "LOVED IT" you obviously paid attention to me when I asked people to review, and I hope that you love this chapter all the same.
Mayonaka: Than-you so much for all of your support…I just wanted to say as well that I absolutely LOVED your new chapter, it was AWESOME! I can't wait until they have the ceremony! Ummm, I was just wondering about when Yuna started bleeding is that because she had a miscarriage? I seriously didn't know why she was bleeding until I was watching 'Law and Order' with my mum and a woman had a miscarriage and she was bleedingdown the front of her clothes…Yuna might have a gash or something, but I thought that Cid couldn't find one so I assumed that she didn't hurt herself…and it seems like logical explanation so umm yeah see ya and Thank-you again!
Hart: Just like you said, 2 chapters max and here's the last one so enjoy!
Kiakyu: Thank-you very much for you one review, I know that you probably might not read this but in case you do, I just wanted to say than-you.
Elle: Thanks again for all your support!
Big Guv: I know that your internet isn't working properly at the moment, but I hope that it gets up and running eventually, anyway thank-you for your reviews, they really helped me out!
BballAnimeLover89: You only reviewed once but I don't care, it was still a review and I than-you very muchly for it as well!
Karlynnea: Again you only reviewed once as well but I'm glad you did so thank-you
Halestorm: Thanks for everything as well and I hope that you have gotten your sswdr by now…in your dreams anyway!
Ree: Thanks for your one review as well, I will eventually get around to editing the story but for now I won't worry about it! But thanks anyway!
FINISHED!
SO ONCE AGAIN PEOPLE PLEASE REVIEW AND I'LL SEE YOU ALL IN THE NEXT STORY! PLEASE CHECK IT OUT, (INFFX-2 SECTION) BUT BEFORE YOU DO, DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!
Warui-Usagi