Title: "Secrets"
Warnings: Gore, intense violence, excessive blood, character death.
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy, rights go to Square Enix. I only use it for my own entertainment.
Notes: I wrote this in a music-to-oneshot playlist, using the song Dragula by Rob Zombie.

No one had really taken notice of the boy's dwindling mind. He had kept it so carefully under wraps, even Auron did not see it. But it was gradually getting more difficult, the voice telling him to let it all go and to not worry about the safety of the others. He did his hardest to ignore that voice, but it was beginning to take control of him...

The first time he had been possessed was when the group was at a Rin's Travel Agency, the night after Seymour had proposed to Yuna. He had been angry that one of his closest friends had gained the eye of someone as creepy as Seymour, and needed to let loose. With a dark glint in his eyes, he told the group he'd be back in a little while before striding out the door and into the night. At least that time no one had followed him.

He ran into the forest beside them, a harsh growl escaping his throat. He sensed fiends were nearby, and did not take notice of how his senses appeared to be enhanced from the dark aura emitting from him. He charged through the brush, coming upon the unfortunate group of enemies. They, of course, attacked him immediately, intent on killing him. He had the same bloodlust, but to a higher extent.

He slammed his fist into the closest fiend, a hole going straight through his middle as blood coated his left arm. An insane giggle rose up in his throat, and he let it go as he fought the others. Blood was covering him, soaking through his clothes. He had several gashes of his own, his essence mixing with that of his dead opponents. He looked down at his blood-stained hands, and laughed once more, the sound echoing in the vast forest and sending shivers down everyone's - and everything's - spine.

The next was after the Guado leader had kissed Yuna during the wedding. He was less violent then, since he was in public, but still severely injured several Guado nonetheless. Seymour had seen him let loose his power, and now was after him. Of course, Tidus didn't really know that at the time, but he felt it. After they escaped, Tidus lingered at the back of the group, trying to make his rage die down. He was too lost in his thoughts to realize the group was well ahead of him, out of his sight. He felt a presence come up behind him and whirled around.

Seymour stood there, a sinister smile upon his lips as he gazed down at the young blitzer. Tidus stepped back, not knowing the real reason the Guado was here. The elder suddenly disappeared, startling Tidus. He looked around frantically, wondering where the Maester had gone. He was grabbed from behind and turned around, fingers wrapping themselves around his throat as his body was lifted into the air. The teen coughed, fingers clawing at Seymour's wrist as his air supply grew smaller and smaller.

Seymour had been saying things to him, things he didn't hear or understand. But then, out of the blue, the Guado made a remark that ignited the flame of his inner turmoil. He grasped Seymour wrist and yanked it off of him with inhuman strength, dropping to the ground. Seymour chuckled, looking down at him. "So you'll fight, eh... So be it." The Guado transformed, turning into a uglier beast-like version of himself. The teen grinned, his normally ice blue eyes now a pure black as his pupils completely erased his irises.

Rikku noticed something was wrong and looked around, not seeing the familiar blonde Guardian. "Hey... where's Tidus?" She asked aloud, the group turning back towards her. No one knew where he had disappeared to. Just as Lulu was about to cast a flare for the boy to respond, a loud rumble shook the ground beneath their feet. Auron looked to the sky and saw a pillar of light, electric blue energy spikes coming from it. "Let's go." He said, running off in the direction of the light. The group was hot on his heels, and none of them expected the sight before them.

Seymour was surrounded by the pillar of energy, Tidus several feet away from him. A red ball of energy left his hand, aimed straight for the Guado's chest. He easily deflected it, the ball dissolving into nothing. Seymour gave the teen a twisted smile, the boy responding with one of his own. The group could only watch as Tidus began screaming, his form hunched over as electricity crackled around him. With a strangled cry, two dark, webbed wings exploded from his shoulder blades. Seymour took a step back, not expecting this at all. The Guardians and their Summoner were also appalled, not knowing Tidus had such powers. Not even Auron knew, and he had been protecting the boy for 10 years.

An eerie laugh came from the young teen, his head slowly rising to meet the horrified gaze of the Maester. "You said you wanted to play..." He growled lowly, a sick smile etched onto his face. With no warning, he launched forward, sinking his teeth into Seymour's neck. Blood oozed from the wound, the Guado crying out in shock as the teen pulled away. While Seymour was frozen in shock, Tidus pulled back and punched him hard in the stomach, sending him flying back into several trees, which broke upon impact. Blood lingered around the demon boy's mouth, and he wiped it away onto the back of his arm. Seymour, now broken out of his trance and very much enraged, charged at his younger opponent and shoved his hand straight through the boy's abdomen, his arm coming out of the teen's back. He grinned, thinking he won.

But Tidus had other ideas. He looked up at Seymour, dark eyes alight with bloodlust and the feral hatred he had accepted long before. "That's not enough to kill me, Seymour..." He whispered, looking down at the elder's chest. This caused Seymour to look down as well, and his eyes to widen as a strange symbol lit up on his broad chest. Before he could get a single word out, a fountain of blood exploded from his lips, spewwing onto the boy in front of him. The Guado cried out in sheer agony as he was encased in flame, Tidus merely pulling the man's arms out of his stomach and lifting off, floating just a few feet above the burning Maester. The group watched this with shocked horror on their faces.

Seymour's screams of pain echoed in the dark forest, the sound bringing nearly everyone to their knees. Only Tidus remained upright, gazing down at the Guado with a look of indescribable hatred. He watched as the flames slowly died down, and he came to the Maester's side. "Memories die, Seymour... Many stories will end soon, and today... Your's will be the one to go..." The Guado didnt have time to blink before Tidus pressed his hand into the still-glowing symbol, making the Maester cry out again, drowning it out as blood dripped from his mouth and onto the ground and the young Guardian.

The group all had the same horrified looks on their faces. Auron took a step forward, an arm outstretched towards the blond, but Tidus was faster. He pulled away from the Maester's body and jumped backwards, turning on his heel and running in the opposite direction. None of them made to follow as he fled, instead watching with disturbed yet rapt attention when he let out a sudden scream, so loud it was inhuman. Little lights were curling themselves around Tidus' wings, they were burning small holes in the webbed flesh. "Those are pyreflies..." Yuna whispered, her hands over her mouth and eyes wide with shock. The others looked on with similar emotions as the boy's wings were eaten away before them.

Tidus could only feel pain, pain as the pyreflies took away his wings, burned him alive with their awful familiarity. He knew what was happening. He'd screwed everything up, slipped and lost control and now he couldn't be allowed to live any longer. Zanarkand wasn't waiting for him - the Fayth were, as patiently as they had for centuries for what they knew was the inevitable. He wasn't going home, they had other plans for him. His head tipped back and he let out a keening cry as the pyreflies turned on him, taking away the only thing he had left in this world.

Strange noises filled the air, soon distinguished by Lulu as whispers. They were voices, colliding together in a rasping melody that they knew could only be something magic. A faint noise rose underneath the crescendo of speech, the Hymn of the Fayth echoing in their ears as what remained of Tidus bled transparent, and flickered once out of sight before returning to focus. He glowed bright white as the lights converged on him, dispersing into nothing when the voices suddenly peaked. It was a single, mournful word.

"Dreaming."