Final Embrace
On the Island of Besaid they where in the midst of a vigil.
All over Spira people had stopped and turned to look to the north where Sin hung over the calm lands as the final battle progressed. They’d already heard about the pursuit over Bevelle and how the Al Bhed Machina had helped to ground the beast once… but now all the people could do was wait and hope that the Master Summoner would do what he’d set out to do and destroy Sin once and for all.
Because in the end Hope was the only thing they had left to hang on to.
It had been nearly a full day since the Summoner had begun their assault on Sin and they where starting to get concerned when there was a sudden explosion of light in the distance. The Aurochs, having returned to the island after their Blitzball season finished, jumped to their feet alongside the children, the village elders slower to join them, all looking north as a corona of light caught the clouds and turned them gold for as far as the eye could see. It was as though the sun had risen early to drive away their fears and in a way it had.
But then slowly, people began to realize what it meant when they heard the final dying roars of their bane from every corner of Spira and a cheer went up throughout the village. They’d worry about their lost summoner later, but now was a time for celebration.
Sin was dead.
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Deep within the temples, unseen by the celebrating hordes of people something very different was going on. The statue’s of the fayth, that usually glowed with light had dulled and one by one they went dark, the colour leeching out of them as their power began to fade… their ties to the world going with it…
No one would find out until the Summoners tried to summon again….
Something that wouldn’t be for a long time…
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The world was falling apart around them.
After the battle with Yevon the somewhat shaky illusions of the platform where Jecht had been waiting for them returned and now they stood looking out at the ruins of Zanarkand, but all around them they where crumbling and Tidus knew that the dream of the Fayth had begun to fade with them. Harry looked up at him from where he hung from his grip, still weak from the fight and after a moment of silent communication Tidus nodded.
“Yuna!” He called out and the Girl turned around from where she’d been watching the city, lost in her own thoughts.
“Yes?”
“Harry want’s you to do the sending.” Mismatched eyes stared at him in shock and some of the others gasped as she turned her inquiring gaze on the other Summoner and Harry just nodded.
“Why?”
“I barely have the strength to stand, let alone perform the sending, you do it.” She looked at him doubtfully at the explanation but must have decided that the effort wasn’t worth it as she moved ahead and held out her staff to start the sweeping dance. The reaction to it was almost instant as the pyreflies burst into activity, swirling around her in a bright and almost gleeful dance. She was smiling slightly as she performed the sending and so caught up in the forms that she didn’t notice when Auron started to glow, but the others did. Rikku leaned away in a rush when her hand went right through him and Pyreflies broke off from his body, the old monk’s outline becoming hazy as he was revealed for what he was.
One of the walking dead.
But with his reason for staying in their world gone and his purpose fulfilled he could finally join his own friends, Braska and Jecht, in the afterlife. The others noticed Harry and Tidus’s complete lack of surprise but didn’t have the time to say anything as Auron strode past them, parting the group like the red sea as he moved toward Yuna. The girl finally noticed him and the smile she wore faltered.
“Sir Auron?” She nearly stopped sending but the man shook his head.
“Don’t stop.” Yuna looked torn and nearly protested, but the old man shook his head again.
“It’s alright. It’s been long enough. This is your world now, not mine… your father would be proud.” He added at the last second as he moved on past her and as he set foot in the circle Jecht had stood in before he burst into a billion pyreflies, floating up to join the host circling above them. Staring at the sky they finally noticed that the Ariship had found them and Tidus looked down at Harry with a nostalgic smile as he addressed the group.
“Come on guys… Lets finish this outside.”
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It was a melancholy sight that met their eyes as they found themselves back upon the deck of the Airship overlooking the external shell of Sin. Cid, had lifted off from their meeting point, finding them somewhere in the maelstrom of energy and light that the world had deteriorated into and navigated their way back to the living world once more. Now they hovered in a sea of golden clouds that blocked out the view of the world below, and broken only by the airship and the towering remains of Sin.
Even so…. Only the present guardians where there to witness Sin in the last minutes of it’s existence as standing back on the large painted crest of the Al Bhed Yuna continued to send. There was endless swirls of power radiating from her that left the others wondering how she could still stand when she’d been repeating her Holy spell over and over again during the final battle.
Currently, she was on her third run through the dance.
The deck of the airship had a chill breeze that made them all shiver as they rose out of one of the many fissures that had formed in Sin’s outer shell. The sight that awaited them was truly one to behold as they rose above the clouds to see Sin floating like an Iceberg in a golden sea. Around him though, where the figures they’d forgotten about in the aftermath of the battle.
The Aeons floated in an orbit around sin, each radiating with their own light and each one purified of the taint Yu Yevon had laid upon them during the battle. As each drifted past they offered a smile or a bow and the faint hope Tidus had that they might actually let him stay died as his skin glimmered softly, the magic that held him together slowly fading. In his mind’s eye he could see the spells atop Mount Gagazet breaking down and pouring into nothingness as the dream’s fayth began to sleep for real.
It was then, while Yuna continued to perform the sending on the Airship that Sin and the Aeons finally gave into the pull of the afterlife, exploding into pyreflies that stained the clouds an even darker gold.
“Goodbye, old friend.” Tidus murmured as Bahamut drifted past and broke into Pyreflies.
Tidus couldn't help but feel somewhat alone as the Aeons began to fade into the endless mass that was the remains of sin. This was really it... he was going to fade away, just like the dream he'd been spawned from.
But he didn't want to go.
The pain in his chest only grew as he turned away from the awe inspiring sight and walked to the end of the deck. He couldn't stand to say goodbye. That would only make the feeling worse. Even so, he was aware of the movement as Harry parted from the guardians and crept up quietly behind him, sliding his arms around the blonde that had practically stolen his heart the moment they'd met. Tidus didn't say anything and Harry frowned against his guardian's back, he was still a head shorter than the other teen.
"Tidus..." He whispered, knowing his guardian could hear him. "I know what you're thinking... and I won't let you fade..." The blonde's head shot up as he stepped out of Harry's grasp and turned around to face him. Green eyes where bright with repressed tears but the Summoner wasn't crying, at least not yet. Tidus felt a chill run through him and looked down to see his arm shimmer and fade to transparency. Harry didn't even seem to notice it as his hands glowed with magic. He grasped the transparent hand in his own and held the blonde's gaze with an intense emerald stare.
"Harry...?" He croaked in confusion. The boy gave him a tiny smile as he stood on his toes to kiss him. Tidus let his eyes slide shut and bent into it, hoping to at least take the feeling with him to where ever it was dreams went, he put everything he had into it, hoping it was enough of a goodbye. He opened his eyes again when the kiss ended only to find tears slowly making their way down Harry's face, he tried to brush them away with his free hand but was prevented from doing so when his hand went right through Harry. He couldn't help it, he gasped as tiny pyreflies began to appear from Harry's skin to swirl in the air around them. The Summoner gave him a sad smile and held on tighter with glowing hands as Tidus's mind tried to grasp what was happening.
"What...?" Harry shook his head to stop him from speaking.
"Tidus... please... just live, okay... live as long as you can, just for me." Then it hit him. What Harry was doing.
"No." He said flatly. "No... you can't!" The glowing hands reached up to his face and warmth began to seep into his skin as Harry became paler and paler.
"It's to late... to go back now..." Hands slipped away from his face as their owner stepped back. Panicking, Tidus reached out desperately but stumbled when there was nothing there to catch. Pale and transparent Harry went to one knee beside where he had fallen. "You wouldn't let me die, I wouldn't let you fade... believe me... this is for the best." The blonde's eyes burned as Harry gave him one last smile.
"Remember... I love you." Then his body gave way, falling forward, but before he could hit the deck he burst into a cloud of tiny green and gold Pyre flies that swirled through the air then darted toward the guardian, sinking through his skin and settling deep inside his soul.
‘It’s your turn to be the dreamer.’
It was his broken shout that alerted the others to the events that had occurred behind their backs. They turned, looking for Harry, only to find Tidus, kneeling on the deck staring out at the gold stained clouds blankly. Rikku rushed over and caught sight of an object lying on the ground in front of the unresponsive guardian.
"Tidus...?" She asked, staring down at the staff. "What happened...?" Tidus didn't look at her or anyone else for that matter as Harry's remaining guardians gathered around... no, they where former guardian's now...
"He's gone..." He whispered in response to the question that sounded a million miles away. "He's gone and I couldn't stop it." O'aka, Rikku and Gatta all looked at each other over his head.
"He’s gone..." Everyone felt the air of confusion that swept around them as the blonde got unsteadily to his feet and didn't even flinch when the harness that held his blade suddenly disintegrated, allowing Caladbolg to clatter on the deck, lying across Harry's staff with some kind of twisted symbolism. Then without warning he took off, blurring slightly as he raced over the deck. Rikku finally managed to shout but it was to late. Tidus vanished below the glowing clouds, blending into the golden mass with no disturbance to say he’d even passed through…
…And so their stories had all ended as quickly as it had begun, with the Master Summoner and the Blitzballer from Zanarkand.