Dark Summoner

They had a late start the next morning.

O'aka had, yet again, slept like the proverbial rock and Rikku and Gatta had a field day trying to wake him. They’d tried everything in the book and then some before they finally just had Auron pitch him out the window and into the freezing snow bank beyond. By the time they where all ready to go Harry had been wondering just how far Yuna was behind them. They hurried out across the barren lake of ice that lay before the travel agency and slid into the ravine. They found themselves hiding behind frozen stalagmites a moment later when the long armed form of a Guado lumbered into view. This one was much older than either Seymour or his two guards from their last encounter with the slimy bastard.

“That’s Tromell.” O'aka whispered once the green haired Guado had passed in the direction of the travel agency. “He’s the personal servant of Maester Seymour and before that he served Maester Jyscal, but what’s he doing all the way out here?” Auron gave a low growl.

“Yuna.” That gave them a jolt back to reality.

“We need to go! Quickly!” They ran for it. It was bad enough that Seymour bared their way but after the thunder plain’s showdown they didn’t want to risk an encounter with Yuna as well. Half sliding further down the ravine they found the entrance and passed through only for half of them to stop short at the sight that lay before them.

They where under the lake.

The temple stood within a gigantic cavern that looked as though it was made entirely of ice. In the center was a large pillar with the temple itself sitting atop, looking as though it was wrought out of blue ice, silver and gold. The cavern itself had been formed when the top had frozen over and the water had somehow receded to a level much lower than before, leaving the space within clear for any who might think to use it much like the bubble around the sunken temple of the oracle Cassandra at the bottom of the Mediterranean sea. A rather thin, icy walkway stretched out across the gap between the entry and the temple.

Hurry…

Harry grabbed Tidus and pulled him out on to the bridge, the other guardians following close behind as they crept up to the entrance to the temple. Surprisingly it was unguarded and only a few elderly people waited within, all looking away from the doors. After making sure they weren’t seen they rushed up into the empty cloister and right into the antechamber. The door at the other end slid open as Harry entered and he went to it right away as the Guardian’s, tense at having to pass into enemy territory, took up a tight formation around the door. Fifteen minutes Harry emerged again. The other’s where confused as to how short a time it had taken. Most Summoners spent ages convincing the Fayth to help them. Tidus understood a little more though. He’d been listening in on Harry’s conversation with the Fayth via the Summoner’s mind. Harry had entered in a moment of real need and the Fayth had responded accordingly.

Moving as fast as they dared they excited the antechamber only to freeze when a voice sounded clearly down the icy hall.

“If you’ll step this way Lady Yuna, I shall escort you to the Chamber of the Fayth my self.” Tidus backed up and it was Rikku that pulled them into a hall off the side that lead to a dark and cold room below. Seymour and Yuna passed but the hidden group couldn’t move. About an hour after there was a scream from the direction of the temple proper and about a minute after that Yuna’s guardians came barreling down the icy hall toward the antechamber. Tidus and Harry looked at each other in confusion. What the hell was going on? They poked their head around the door and watched the proceedings. Realizing with a jolt that the Fayth wasn’t singing anymore.

Seymour stood by the entry to the Chamber of the Fayth, blocking all way’s through. Two of his guards stood to attention at the bottom of the short flight of stairs.

“Seymour!” Wakka challenged, his voice giving away how nervous he was as he spoke.

“Please be silent, Lady Yuna pray’s to the fayth.” The Guado Maester intoned in a semi irritated voice.

“Oh Yeah? Make me!” Wakka said, with more confidence than the last time he’d opened his mouth. Seymour turned slowly and sent them a lofty glare. Surprisingly enough the three Guardians didn’t back down, Wakka shocking them especially given his blind faith in Yevon.

“Yuna!” Lulu’s shout brought their attention to the opening door behind Seymour and Yuna emerged. She seemed surprised to see them there.

“But why?” She asked in her confusion.

“We saw Jyscal’s Sphere.” Lulu answered and Kimahri gave a low ominous growl.

“Yeah!” Wakka agreed, glaring back at the Maester. “You killed him!” Seymour raised his chin a little higher.

“What of it?” After a stunned silence, he turned to Yuna.

“Lady Yuna, Certainly you knew of these things, did you not?” Yuna nodded hesitantly

“Well, then, why have you come here?” Yuna shut her eyes and squeezed them tight, almost as if she was trying to block something from her mind. Then at last she spoke.

“I came…” Her voice was almost to soft for the audience to hear as she trailed off uncertainly, but when she opened her eyes again there was a certain measure of resolve hidden there. “I came to stop you!” She declared loudly bringing her staff up before her.

“I see.” Seymour said, not even blinking at the threat to his own life. “You came to punish me then?” He paused to look at Yuna’s face and shook his head at the defiance he saw there.

“What a pity.” A mocking smirk formed on the blue haired Maester’s face as he watched Kimahri, Wakka and Lulu go into a defensive line before Yuna.

“Ah, of course. ‘Protect your Summoner even at the cost of one’s life.’ The Code of the Guardian. How admirable. Well, if you’re offering your lives, I will have to take them. I could not refuse such a great gift.”

“Maester Seymour,” Yuna was practically glaring at the Guado now. “I trust my guardian’s with my life. They are my friends as well as my protectors. I will not stand by and let them be hurt. I will fight too!” Seymour just smirked as his guards ran forward, casting spells on themselves. Kimahri tried rushing Seymour but was repelled when one of the guards took the hit for him. Back in the hall Harry felt the indignant anger of his Guardians at the dialogue that had occurred in the room that was now bathed in the light of Lulu and Seymour’s spells. Auron was frowning deeply and the Summoner had a twinge of something he hadn’t felt in a while.

“Let’s help.” His guardian’s stared at him incredulously.

“Why?” Rikku asked. “They wouldn’t help us!” Auron was giving him an intense look.

“Is that what you really want?” Harry couldn’t help the wry smile that spread across his lips.

“I have a saving people thing,” He said turning and taking a step out into the hall. “My last guardian’s hated it!” Tidus was quick to follow him with Auron, not two steps behind. The remaining three all looked at each other and shrugged before they ran to catch up, Rikku in the lead.

----------------------------------------------------

They where struggling.

They’d been fighting for a few minutes already but the amount of Protect and Shell spells made it difficult to land a blow that might actually count. It didn’t help that Seymour was laying down cover fire that prevented them from getting close. Yuna couldn’t Summon either since she was hard pressed keeping Wakka from keeling over when he wasn’t fast enough to avoid a strike as he retrieved his blitz ball. He’d just been hit again when there was a shout behind them.

“HEY! Don’t tell me we have to bail you out again?” The fight stopped instantly and everyone turned to look at the entrance as Tidus walked down the stairs on to their level, his red tinted blade resting on his shoulder in a similar fashion to the way Auron carried his. He lifted it and pointed it down in a ready position as a familiar Summoner entered the room behind him, bringing a snarl from Seymour. His other Guardians joined them. Auron, O'aka, Rikku and…

“GATTA!?” Wakka burst out in shock. The Crusader turned Guardian blushed under the shocked stares of Wakka and Yuna but determinedly brought up the gun he’d been given back on Leviathan. It was a slightly modified version of Ginny’s combat rifle. Back when she’d acquired it, it had been standard muggle military issue, but she, and now the Al Bhed, had added to it over the centuries, making it one of the first magical sub machine guns in existence.

“You can yell at him later.” Auron said roughly. “First we’ll take care you.” The later part was directed at Seymour who just laughed and gave him a look that said, ‘just you try’. They took the dare and Tidus nearly blurred forward.

“PAYBACK TIME!” He shouted gleefully as he charged at one of the Guado, he still hadn’t forgotten the incident back during Operation Mi’Ihen. He made a leap and the Guado didn’t move, confident in the magical shielding. Just before the blade could rebound off the shield a spell came out of nowhere and struck first. The shield dissolved before the Guado realized what had happened and the blonde’s sword came down on his right shoulder, cleaving through his collarbone before Tidus landed and pulled back, a gout of blood flowing out when he yanked out the blade. The guard’s face was screwed up in disbelief and pain as he went to his knees and fell flat on his face. Before he could pass out from blood loss he cast a protection spell on Seymour, after which Rikku promptly skipped forward and looted his body, humming as she worked. The others had ganged up on the other Guard, Lulu joining Gatta, Auron and O'aka to beat him down almost as fast as Tidus had.

Rikku just repeated her movements a second time.

Seymour took a step back as both sets of Guardians closed in and raised a hand to the ceiling.

“Feel my pain!” He cried and the ceiling was lost in the sudden appearance of clouds in the vaulted ceiling. “COME ANIMA!”

“He’s summoning!” Someone shouted and the guardians fell back as an enormous black chain shot out of the clouds and sank into the ground. Yuna began to summon something of her own as the gigantic chained Aeon Seymour had summoned at the tournament in Luca, crash landed with a screech that nearly equaled Oddish’s for volume. Yuna twirled her staff and went to one knee as five large ice crystals slammed down behind her. A transparent figure floated down and became visible under the reflections of the ice before they exploded, leaving an ice blue woman with blue hair standing there, wearing a cloak of blue and green tinted ice that was handed off to Yuna like she was nothing more than a coat stand, and tilted her chin upwards, displaying her bikini clad body for everyone to see. O'aka and Gatta gaped as the Aeon flicked a thick blue braid (one of the many) over her shoulder and surveyed the other Aeon before dashing forward and lashing out with a spectacular spinning kick.

Anima screeched in pain and retaliated, golden energy pooled up in her eye and exploded, rushing out at Shiva who took the attack head on. The ice queen Shiva went to one knee but got back to her feet with hell in her eyes. She gathered her cold energy on the tip of a finger and drew a circle in the air before her, she span around and hurled a beam of magic at the Aeon. Ice quickly formed around its feet, trapping it as the frozen death crept up its body toward the head. Shiva put a hand on her hip, the other held out and in the silence that followed, snapped her fingers. The ice around Anima exploded and the Aeon went with it. The cold having made its gray flesh far more brittle, Anima broke apart under the shards that stabbed it relentlessly and faded back to the place where it waited to be summoned.

“That power!” Everyone had been distracted by Anima and had nearly forgotten about Seymour. He stood in the same place, teeth bared as he watched both Yuna and Shiva with an insane glaze to his eyes. “That power that defeated Anima! IT WILL BE MINE!” Shiva was about to attack him at Yuna’s command when Harry gave her the command instead.

“Shiva, kill him.” Still standing proud in spite of the damage Anima had inflicted she held up a hand and brought it down in an exaggerated movement. Out of nowhere a human sized chunk of ice appeared and slammed down into the Guado. Seymour went to his knees and Yuna suddenly ran toward him with Wakka and Kimahri at her heels. She’d wanted to punish Seymour, not kill him, to kill a Maester would make you a traitor against Yevon.

‘Welcome to our world.’ Harry thought out to Tidus, getting the gist of Yuna’s thoughts as Seymour opened his eyes. He blinked when he saw Yuna.

“Yuna… you would pity me now?” Yuna didn’t have a chance to answer before he tilted backwards and crashed to the floor. His eyes stared, unseeing at the ceiling and no breath escaped his lips.

He was dead.

Yuna bowed her head, in guilt and closed his eyes but as she did so distant doors slamed open and Tromell came running down the hall, two Guado on his heels.

“Lord Seymour!” He cried in anguish nearly skidding to a halt by the body. “What happened here?” He asked the room angrily. Wakka seemed to be the hardest hit by the Maester’s death, due to his beliefs.

“What… what have we done?”

“Wait a minute! It’s not our fault at all!” Rikku protested loudly, drawing attention to the other Summoner.

“Yeah!” Gatta backed her. “Seymour struck first! He’s the bad guy!” Sweet as the gesture of trying to defend them may be, Tidus just wished they’d shut up. The Guado had been examining the body while this was being said but Tromell nearly blew his stack when he heard it.

“You did this?” He was relatively calm like he was incapable of raising his voice, but the undertone of anger was unmistakable.

“Harry, send him.” Auron said loudly. Tromell’s face contorted further as he raised a long fingered hand.

“No stop! Stay away from him you traitors!” He waved to the two Guado and they picked up the dead body before Harry could go ahead with the sending anyway. Yuna and Wakka’s faces where white.

“Traitors?” The other Summoner asked faintly.

“Where doomed!” Wakka moaned. Harry repeated his earlier thoughts aloud.

“Welcome to our world.” He repeated out loud. and rather harshly, as he walked to the door.

“Let’s get out of here.” Auron said quietly to the others, his expression was grim as he walked to the door and stood there waiting for them to pass through. He did that a lot… waiting for them to make a move he’d already anticipated long ago. Yuna and Wakka dug in their heels as Harry and his guardians went to the door. Lulu went with them willingly and turned to give her usual companions a half glare when they didn’t come with them.

“What now?” She asked in exasperation. Wakka went red faced and Harry nearly laughed at how much he looked like Ron when he was being confronted by his own Black mage guardian, Hermione… in fact the parallels he was finding between here and there where beginning to creep him out.

“We can’t go with them, Ya!” Wakka protested loudly. “You remember what they did to Yuna, right?” Lulu stomped down the stairs and grabbed Wakka by the ear.

“Yuna made that challenge Wakka.” She reprimanded him as he was dragged along behind her saying, ‘not the ear’. “She brought it upon herself.” By the time they left the cloister of trials and walked back out into the main temple a few robed priests and monks had gathered. Harry, Yuna and their guardians where quite aware of the disapproving looks they where getting and guessed that Tromell had already spread the word about Seymour’s death. On either side of their respective Summoner Tidus and Kimahri let out frighteningly similar growls, loudly declaring their discomfort over the current situation. Yuna and Auron took to the head of their group, both meaning to talk sense into the gathering crowd.

“Please!” Yuna pleaded.

“Give us a chance to explain.” Auron demanded more than said in a low rumbling voice that was tainted by indignant anger.

“No need.” Tromell emerged from the crowd and blocked their path. “I already know what I’ll tell the other Maesters.”

“Meaning…?” Auron inquired in a suddenly much calmer tone. It was obvious he already knew what was coming but he wanted Tromell to say it first, and the Guado did so, drawing himself up straighter, like a proud old war horse that refused to die.

“Lord Seymour was the leader of the Guado before becoming a Maester.” Even Wakka wasn’t stupid enough to misunderstand the implications behind that statement.

“You’re not going to let us go are ye.” O'aka broke the oppressive silence and Tromell turned toward him in fake surprise.

“Let you go?” A mocking tone in his voice. “Lord Seymour would never forgive us if we did.”

“Wait, Wait!” Wakka came forward. “Lord Jyscal’s Sphere, ya! We can show it to ‘dem!” Tidus, Harry and Auron all looked at him questioningly before their attention was forced to turn back to Tromell.

“You mean this?” He asked as he produced a blue sphere with the projector apparatus wrapped around it. Yuna’s eyes widened and nearly bugged out of her head as Tromell crushed their last hope of being proven innocent, literally. The Sphere was crushed to fragments and the metal of the projector pinged almost deafeningly in the silence that had descended over the temple. “Guado take care of Guado affairs.” He finished almost menacingly, and apparently, Kimahri didn’t like what he heard.

“AWAY!” He nearly roared, braking most of Yuna’s group out of their shocked trance.

“Run!” Auron agreed as he shouldered a path through the priests, monks and visitors. They ran for their lives and Tidus, knowing Harry would most likely tire quickly after having visited the Fayth, scooped him up as he passed, quickly taking the lead. After they re-entered the ravine the footsteps of their pursuers began to fall away but they didn’t dare stop. They charged out onto the ice that made up the roof of the lake cavern and skidded to a stop when they found the Guado waiting for them. Somehow they’d found a way to overtake them. Tidus slid slightly around on the ice before he found his balance, his shoes couldn’t grip it so he settled for a parody of skating. He had to set down Harry though as he went for his sword. The Guado weren’t waiting for them to get ready; instead they quickly concentrated on summoning a fiend. The air warped between them and out stepped a monster very different to the beasts they normally summoned. It was at least twice the size of the Ronso now accompanying them with similar characteristics, however, while Ronso resembled lions, this one looked more like a bear. It stood on two legs and its muscles bulged, as it put up its fists, ready to fight.

It was O'aka that made the first strike.

He raised his staff and cast a Bio spell that he’d been practicing on anything that moved almost as much as he had his elemental spells. The poison bubbled up underneath the Fiend who reacted badly but didn’t go down. One of the Guado guards made to give it an antidote serum but Rikku and Gatta weren’t going to have that. While Kimahri took a shot at the fiend the pair crept up on the Guado before Gatta grabbed him from behind, leaving him open to attack from the front. Rikku smacked him around before filching his potions sack and skipping out of harms way. As they retreated Harry coolly took the chance to hit the Guado with a Reducto spell. All pretense of playing nice had gone out the window with the humanoid species ability to reason. Blood spattered across the ice.

The other Guado was knocked over by Wakka’s blitz ball before being electrocuted by Lulu’s Thundra spell. Unfortunately, before he was killed by the powerful electrical shock he raised a hand and blindly cast a strange red tainted spell on the Fiend. Its eyes went blazing red and it raised its arms once more, suddenly more eager to fight as it lunged at them, in spite of the poison still corroding its health from within. Auron, Tidus and Kimahri had been fighting it the whole time, keeping it from reaching the Summoners. They scattered away from another punch and regrouped before they launched an offensive.

“What was that spell!?” Tidus called out loud in frustration as he made a swipe at the Fiend.

“It was a Berserk spell.” Auron said as they fell back again. A rapid-fire hail of bullets from Gatta swept down on the creature, temporarily driving it back. Auron forced his energy into his enormous sword and brought it down on the disoriented beast who was weakened to the point where it didn’t care what it hit, just as long as it took them all with it. So the dying creature drew back its fist and brought it down on the ice in front of it. This seemed to signal its defeat as it fell over the new crack, its heavy body seemed to much for the already stressed ice platform to handle and it gave way just as the body burst into the customary fountain of pyre flies and just a little to late. There where shouts all around as the ice fell away in chunks. Tidus didn’t even think as he grabbed Harry and held on tight as the floor of the icy cavern loomed up on them before everything went black.

----------------------------------------------------

He groggily registered two things as he became aware of his surroundings once more. One, was the warm bundle on his chest that restricted his breathing slightly and the other was pain, originating from the jagged, freezing surface he seemed to be lying on. Tidus forced his eyes to open and had to wait a moment of two for them to focus before he lifted his head of the sharp edge digging into the back of his neck and looked down to see a mop of black hair right in front of his nose.

‘Harry.’ His confused mind concluded simply. He tightened his grip slightly before trying to see more than a foot from his nose to see his surroundings. Once again his eyes had to readjust and his nose detected the people around them before his eyes did.

“O'aka?” His voice was slightly slurred. The merchant shifted in surprise and looked down at him. When he moved, the blonde noticed Gatta and Lulu standing a little off to one side.

“Hey there, you took a right knock to the head, so you did.” O'aka said, but Tidus barely heard him. The Hymn of the Fayth was reverberating loudly through his foggy head, seemingly coming from everywhere at once. Shifting Harry to his lap he struggled to get up, but in the end Gatta ended up coming forward to help him.

“Where are we?” He asked once he had some of his wits back and the song had quieted a little. He was freezing and sluggish but it probably would have been worse if it hadn’t been for Harry, using him as a mattress.

“We’re under the lake ice.” Lulu explained quietly and pointed to a spot above them. “You can see the temple up there.” Tidus peered up through the gloom and could just make out the shape of the underside of the path that lead to the temple. He followed it to the actual structure itself. Childishly he poked his tongue out at the offending structure, making O'aka and Gatta snicker. Awareness returning faster now, he began to examine their surroundings.

“So I guess that the singing is coming from the Temple right?” He asked absentmindedly as his eyes traveled over the rubble of what appeared to be old buildings that was strewn across the icy floor. He was sitting on a small island of stones that elevated him above the cold water that lay undisturbed on the ice. Lulu however gave him an odd look.

“Singing?” she asked. Tidus looked back to her and saw her faintly confused expression.

“Yeah, the hymn thingie that the Fayth sings.” Now Gatta and O'aka where looking at him too.

“Tidus… the Fayth of Macalania Temple hasn’t sung since the death of Lord Jyscal.” Lulu explained. The blonde Guardian blinked stupidly.

“Then how come I can hear it?” Lulu shrugged. She didn’t know and most likely, no one else would. Eventually, after a long silence Harry began to stir. The Summoner was equally as concussed as Tidus and could barely keep his eyes open.

“Could somebody turn down the music… I wanna sleep some more…” he said, his eyes drifting shut again. Tidus was momentarily surprised, but shook it off as he made Harry stay awake. Once he’d achieved a relatively coherent state he sat up, still in the guardian’s lap and got the same explanation about their whereabouts. After a few minutes of quiet fussing Gatta wondered off again, his combat rifle held close to his side as he scouted the area for a way out. Harry and Tidus got stiffly to their feet and followed Lulu and O'aka to a different area where Yuna lay on a large flat chunk of masonry that had remained largely intact. Kimahri stood over her like a looming statue, keeping watch, completely disregarding the cold and gloom.

Wakka was off to one side staring into space and muttering to himself, he was in shock. Tidus didn’t really blame him at all. He’d just had his entire world ripped out from under him, all in the space of a day. To have such blind faith in Yevon the way he had… Wakka had left himself open to this kind of betrayal.

Tidus may not have blamed him but he certainly didn’t pity him either.

“So, does anyone know how to get out of here?” Tidus asked aloud as everyone wondered into view once more. He looked around the loose circle they’d formed and got only negative responses. Kimahri shrugged his wide blue furred shoulders.

“We climb.” He said gruffly, pointing upwards to where the hole in the ice they’d fallen through was nearly invisible against the cloudy sky. Very little light filtered down to them and Tidus took a moment to appreciate just how big the cavern under the ice was. He frowned briefly and shivered as the cold began to get to him once more. He just wanted to find somewhere sunny and fall asleep…

The others drifted apart again as Yuna began to stir. They filled her in on what had happened but she didn’t really seem to be perturbed by their current state. She was more concerned by what would happen if they ever got out.

“I’m sure if we go to Bevelle we can explain what happened to Maester Mika and he can clear the charges.” She said determinedly, sounding more like she was trying to convince herself more than anything else. “And if that doesn’t work we can always go to my uncle Cid.” Wakka got into the conversation then.

“What? Isn’t your uncle Al Bhed? No way Yuna!” Yuna set her jaw stubbornly and was about to argue when Rikku broke in.

“Whoa! Whoa! You have an Al Bhed relative named Cid? But wouldn’t that make you…” Yuna looked up at her and for the first time realized what she was.

“I’m half Al Bhed on my mother’s side.” Yuna explained, backing down from a conflict with Wakka who looked quite put off with being ignored. “She had an argument with her brother Cid when she married my father. They never spoke again before she died but my mother always said that if I ever needed help then Uncle Cid would help me.” Rikku stared at her blankly before sitting down on the remains of a stonewall, hard.

“This can’t be happening.” She said, grabbing her hair, a pout marring her usually bright face. “I can’t believe you’re related to me!” Rikku wailed loudly and Yuna looked offended. Normally, Rikku wouldn’t have minded another cousin to play with that wasn’t male, but Yuna hadn’t made a very good impression on her, especially after the incident on the Thunder Plains.

“Cid is my father.” She explained offhandedly to Tidus and Harry. “He told me about his sister when I was little but I didn’t realize she had a daughter.” Yuna wore a hurt look still and suddenly stopped speaking. Lulu, Wakka and Kimahri all gathered around to make sure she was okay and Rikku skipped off to find Gatta in order to tell him the news. Tidus lead Harry toward a place where he could lay down off the ice and sat with him until Auron approached them. The old monk had his eyes closed as he face the direction of the temple.

“Jecht used to sing this song…” He said in his normal low growling tone. Tidus looked at him sharply, a frown forming on his face.

“You can hear it?” He asked. Auron nodded and they fell into silence. Harry put his head in the blonde’s lap and let his eyes flick between them.

“Tidus can sing it better.” He said, dismissing the singing of the Fayth with a careless wave of his hand.

“Ah… another trait you and Jecht share.” Tidus puffed up at the comment. He didn’t like being compared to Jecht, but what really bugged him was that Auron had actually heard him sing.

“What!? You where listening?” He remembered the only time he’d sung it within earshot of the man. It had been on the docks a year before he’d arrived in Spira and even then, he hadn’t even been singing it all that loudly. “Eeshh, can’t I get a little privacy anywhere?” He asked more disgruntled then angry. Auron had a small smirk that twisted his lips.

“Your singing reminded me of Spira.”

“Oh right,” Tidus gave him a slightly dirty look. “You’re not originally from Zanarkand, are you?” They lapsed into silence once more until Harry decided to break it.

“Were you homesick?” He asked innocently enough. Auron’s smirk widened.

“Are you?” He turned the question back on Harry who just shook his head.

“No.” Just then Kimahri’s loud growl reached them.

“Something wrong, something changed.” He ground out and Tidus realized with a jolt that he couldn’t hear the Fayth singing anymore. Harry quickly got to his feet along side him and Tidus gripped his hand tightly as the tight feeling of his guts twisting got worse. He’d been attributing it to hunger until now but this was different…

“There’s something here!” Wakka gasped and a tremor started as Auron shouted at the same time.

“The ground!” They grabbed for anything that would keep them from falling as the ice below them shook, Lulu being the first to realize what it was.

“Sin! The toxin! Watch out!”

After that point everything seemed to blur into incomprehensible images as the ice cracked open and the roars of the great menace echoed around them. In the confusion of movement and sound Tidus found himself alone.

‘What now?’ he thought savagely. Tidus felt like he was being sucked down a great swirling drainpipe before the feeling stopped and he found himself floating in a cloudy memory, standing above his once beloved home… Zanarkand.

“What? Zanarkand? You homesick or something?” He asked the memory around him, his father’s presence everywhere. The swirling started again and he found himself in another memory, standing by a pile of Blitz balls on the familiar deck of his houseboat. He had to fight the urge to burst into bitter laughter.

“That’s not your world anymore. You’re Sin now. Face it. You’re stuck here!” There was a feeling of regret before the memory changed once more, showing him as a child, crouched on the deck and crying his eyes out. Sin’s presence was questioning.

“Hey! I’m older then that you know, and no, I don’t miss it.” Jecht’s emotions faded to weariness, as he appeared, his back to Tidus. Seeing the man again made him think of the Sphere Recording and for a moment his irritation faded, but it returned full force seconds later.

“Oh I know.” He said in a quietly furious voice. “You want this to end don’t you? Well it will, I’ll kill you… that’s a promise.” His father’s face was blurred as he looked over his shoulder at the blonde but Tidus just glared back until the vision faded into nothing and unconsciousness took over his mind. Baring his father and everything else from it.