2023-03-31: Ronde
- Log: Ronde
- Cast: Leon Albus, Tidus, Lily Keil, Citan Uzuki
- Where: Sin
- Date: March 31, 2023
- Summary: Tidus has what is, it happens, one last time to speak with the Black Wolves.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
There is a set of stairs, which lead up into barely lit towers. The shape of them can only sort of be seen; the round, metal buildings resemble those of Zanarkand, but there are no lights. There are only stairs, leading up into the darkness.
And a platform at the base.
Those who made their way through the city are gathering there. Those who went through Sin are taking a moment, before the climb. It may be the final climb; there is no other path forward.
Leon is sitting on the ground. He had a rough time through that last stretch. He took a wound, though it has mostly healed. He takes a drink from a Hi-Potion, and then lets the glass bottle clink against the stone of the platform. His silver eyes are on the stairwell.
He stays quiet, for the moment, even with his companions.
<Pose Tracker> Tidus has posed.
Tidus and his friends have of course gone through the maze that is Sin... but there's no need to rush into the final confrontation. In truth, Tidus is a little reluctant to make that final plunge, even if he knows and is prepared to do it. It's just...
Going to be the last time. That's all.
For a time, he walks off by himself, not far and not picking any fights with any Fiends--as strong as he's grown over this journey, that would just be dumb, and understanding that is one of the ways he's grown--and when he returns, there's Leon on the platform at the foot of those stairs.
"Oh, it's you," he says, and although there's some distaste in his voice, there isn't any of the rancor it might've once had. Case in point: he walks over and, seeing Leon's remaining wounds and him drinking that Hi-Potion, he adds, "You all right?"
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily has attended to Leon's wound as best she can; that's not at her best, though. She hasn't been doing well since they were in that strange room...
But she comes back from where she'd left the platform to scout aroun, seeing Leon and Tidus both. "...Hm. Didn't expect to see you two together, much."
She seems distracted, though; she's obviously agitated. Her hand twitches at her side, though she shows no signs of casting spells at least.
"There's a lot of things in here I didn't expect, though."
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
It would be accurate to describe what they'd seen as something unexpected. But to be honest, there is nothing at all within Sin that can be labeled as 'expected'.
Leon had insisted that he was well enough, that he needed but a moment's rest before carrying on. Though evidently skeptical, Citan had joined Lily on her scouting foray rather than stick by his side.
This has everything to do with his faith in Leon's ability to stay out of trouble (at the moment, at least) as well as everything at all to do with Lily's...
Well, herself, since that room.
Still, by the time they make their way back -- as short as it had been -- they find that Leon is no longer alone.
"...I had wondered whether we had fallen behind or had come out ahead," he remarks, looking Tidus over. "I assume your friends are not far behind?"
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Tidus," Leon says, looking at him for a moment. There isn't the dismissiveness he once would have had for him. It is because Tidus has grown -- though, it's also because Leon has grown. He wipes at his face with his coat's sleeve, making sure there isn't any of the potion in his heard.
"A bit of bad luck, getting up here. I'll be fine, though... I may need a moment longer than we have," Leon says, eyes glancing up the stairs. "But someone has to stay back and watch for fiends."
He looks sideways, then, peering at Lily and Citan -- then he nods omnce to them both. "Everything clear?" he asks.
Then, he looks to Tidus. "...Are you ready, for what's to come?"
<Pose Tracker> Tidus has posed.
"Hey, I only just got here, don't go thinking we're buddy-buddy," Tidus tells Lily with dry humor. It's a little subdued, though.
He looks over at Citan as he approaches. "Yeah, they're around," he confirms. "Paine's a little worn out so she's taking a break, and I just needed to walk off some nerves."
He looks back at Leon and nods. "Paine might end up that way too. Hopefully not. But you're right. And--" He pauses a bit. "--I'm glad it'll be someone as strong as you. It'll make the fight easier if we don't have to worry about our backs."
Is he ready, though? "Ready as I'll ever be. I'm not thrilled about it, but it's gotta get done. ...I've got to see my story through. All the way to the end." He looks from Leon to Lily and Citan. "How about you guys?"
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily didn't object to Citan's presence. It made up for how distracted she was; it probably wouldn't have been a good idea to go on her own in the moment.
"Hmmmm," Lily answers Tidus. "Then I guess I won't go picking out a new mug for you at camp."
It might've been a joke!
"I plan to stay with Leon of course," Lily answers, so her magic will be at their backs, too. "...But the pyreflies are getting to me, anyway. Or I assume that's what the problem is."
For... what's to come, hm?
"Everything's clear," Lily finally says to Leon, and then regards Tidus. "...'The end'," she repeats, thoughtfully. "...I'm still agitated. The things we saw on that 'ship'... I feel like I know something. But it's just on the edge of my awareness. And all the damned emotion around here is making my skin crawl."
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
They had come to no mischief, fortunately -- but they had not encountered much in the way of hazards since they parted from Leon. Either there are fewer Fiends here, or...
How is he, though?
"Well enough, I should think. Though..." Citan takes a moment, gazing at the lot of them; rubbing at his chin, he furrows his brow as if in thought. "It may be a good idea to pause for the moment and consider our next steps, particularly after the 'road' we have traveled. Of course, we should not tarry!" he continues, gesturing broadly. "We do not have much time to spare. Yet, to rush on in haste..." He shakes his head.
"Still, you are not the only one, Tidus. Fei and the others are similarly, ah, walking off their nerves. I suspect none of us had expected, well... any of this," he finishes, gesturing at their surroundings.
"To think that so many Pyreflies in one place would... well, it does align with what we know," he admits with a slight sheepish smile. "Yet, to see it for oneself...! Without question, this is 'awe' in the original sense of the word."
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"We'll be sure nothing gets through," Leon tells Tidus, with a nod of his head. He doesn't argue about being strong. He hasn't ever lacked for strength; other things, perhaps.
"We'll keep an eye on Paine, if needed," he adds. "As long as you get through. And Yuna, and the rest of the Guardians," he adds. "I don't envy you, for what you have to do. But..."
He trails off for a moment.
"I'm glad you'll see it through," he says. "For the sake of Filgaia and Lunar both. But for yours. And Yuna's. And Cid's. I owe Cid a debt, after all he's done for the Wolves."
Then, Leon looks to Citan. He considers, for a moment, before he nods.
"Clearly... the pyreflies can do some amazing things. To construct... all of this. An entire world, it almost seems," Leon says. "But it seems like it is evidence our worlds are linked. Which makes doing this all the more important. For all of us."
<Pose Tracker> Tidus has posed.
Tidus makes a face at Lily. "Yeah, don't." It might've been a joke, but when it comes to people like her, you don't take chances!!
It tracks that she'll be staying with Leon, at least. Of course you'd stay with your partner. The pyreflies, though...
"Yuna had some problems with that too. Well, she always has--well, not always," he amends, "but when the pyreflies get real thick like this, sometimes it gets to her too." Not Lulu, though, and Lily's no Summoner, so Tidus couldn't begin to guess what the common factor is. Maybe it's just a coincidence. He does nod to Citan and Leon as they weigh in on it.
What he says is about Citan's comment on not rushing or dawdling, though: "Yeah, that's what we're figuring, too. Yuna and us. Everything's riding on what happens next, so we can't mess around, but we can't rush in, either." He snorts, the corners of his lips turning up. "Reminds me of something Auron said once: 'hurry up and wait.' Basically, it means what you just said, Citan." He gives him a curious look. "Weirdly, I feel like you and Auron have some things in common, even though you're not all that alike."
So Fei's off walking, too. Tidus nods in sympathy. "Yeah... We had a talk recently, and it sounded like he's been worried. Elly, too. Still, I'm glad you guys are here. You guys've always been a big help. ...Thanks."
Lily knows something, though? Tidus's expression turns confused but curious. "Like what?" he wonders--but he quirks a half-smile at Leon next. "Hey, we've all been helping each other out as we've needed it for a while now. No point in talking about debts." As for the rest, both guarding the back and potentially looking out for Paine: "Thanks. You know, you're not as much of a jerk as I always thought you were, Leon."
He smiles as he says it, so clearly he's not being too serious, but...
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"Heh." Lily will not. It's better not to take the chance, though.
But hearing she has something in common with Yuna is not something Lily particularly expects. Lily looks thoughtfully at Tidus. "Hm. It makes sense that she'd be sensitive to them, given how she uses them. For me it's just... the emotional resonance. I sense things about how people feel. It's a pain in the ass."
There's the difference, though.
"...Hmmm." Of the similarities, that is. "We're relying on you all," Lily chimes in with Leon. And they way they worry... Hm.
"Well, you're welcome," she says. "But..."
"Hmmm. Leon, I think your image is slipping. Maybe we should demand some cash for this job after all."
Then to Citan, "...I guess that's what pyreflies do. I don't know; my magic doesn't touch them at all."
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"Yes, even should you choose to remain here for now, Captain... I believe it likely we will need assistance when all is through." In other words, it may be just as well that Leon -- and Lily -- remain behind: escape is like as not to be as daunting as the journey inwards.
"Pyreflies carry the weight of memory. It is... not a surprise, then, that the presence of so many memories might carry with it such feelings," he says, regarding Lily. "When one is in a place of importance to us... does it not spur the recollection of what had been? Not simply of that place, either... but of all those things that place might touch in our memory."
Tidus, though, remarks that he and Auron are not terribly different. "Is that so...?" Citan muses, tilting his head to one side as if in thought. "I believe we have not met," he says, as if to also say, 'therefore I wouldn't be able to tell you if that's right or wrong'. "Still... that is the essence of it," he finishes, glancing back at the phantom of Zanarkand. "We must not delay, yet we cannot act rashly."
If they fail, there won't be a second chance.
"...You are welcome, Tidus," he tells him, bowing ever so slightly. "This is not our home, yet... Leon is right. We owe much to Cid." Even the time spent salvaging the talks does not quite settle the score. "Yet, it is not simply the matter of our debt, either." Though he smiles, shaking his head when Lily speaks of Leon's 'image' as a mercenary.
"...There will be no 'Calm' again, as Spira has known them. Even if there were, I do not think Sin is something we could simply ignore." In time, would it have set its aims elsewhere?
A Clysmian was a threat to all humanity... as the Emperor had said.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon looks between Citan and Tidus for a moment. Do Citan and Auron have something in common? From what little he knows of the Guardian -- and much of that from the couple of times they crossed swords -- he can see it. "They have a certain gravity to them," he says. "Though... they're different sorts of gravity."
He glances sideways at Citan, then nods. "I intend to be ready," he says. "I know that we're not done. Not by a long shot, yet." Then, he hesitates a moment, before he nods.
"Sin can't be ignored," he says. "And as we played our part in exposing the lie of Yevon... it falls to us to fix it, as well."
Leon glances sideways at Lily. He cracks a smile. "Nonsense, love," he says. "Letting them think I'm not a jerk merely makes it all the more cutting when they realize I still am one."
Then, he looks back at Tidus. Leon smiles at Tidus, too. "I am still a jerk," he says. "I simply have a way of being endearing, if I must. But... I've come to realize that I haven't always been fair to you. It was tempting, at times, to notice only who you seem to be at a glance."
His head tilts. "And not who you show yourself to be. Or what you stand for. Or who you seek to protect."
<Pose Tracker> Tidus has posed.
"Huh," Tidus utters at Lily. "Yeah, it sounds like it." Understanding people's feelings isn't a bad thing, but if that was on all the time, it seems for sure like it'd be a headache.
He nods at Citan as he weighs in on why that might be. "Yeah, good point. That might be it." He smiles when Citan and Lily offer their welcome back, though it's soon followed by a snort. "Okay, maybe you should remember your debt a *little* bit," he says dryly.
He nods at Citan. "Yeah. Sin's already left Spira and gone to other parts of Lunar. There's no going back now, either, with the Final Aeon gone." The way to make a Final Aeon gone, that is. He nods at Leon and adds, "We've got to finish it, here and now. All of us."
He peers at Leon. "'Endearing' is WAY too strong a word. I didn't say you were 'not a jerk,' I said you were 'not as much of a jerk as I always thought you were.' Looks like that part of you that thinks you're right when you're not hasn't changed any!"
He pauses, though, when Leon admits he's been unfair to him at times. Tidus rubs the back of his neck. "...Heh, well, thanks. Right back atcha, honestly."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"...Rear guard is fine with me," Lily says to Citan.
Pyreflies, though... Tidus at least seems to understand what she means. And Citan mentions a way that it at least makes sense. "...Like the city," she reflects. "Memory... and emotion."
"I can only get a vague sense of what Jecht must be feeling--I can't... tell it apart, from the other energies in here--but it must be a lot."
Lily grins back at Leon. "Good point," she says. "I should've remembered you had the practical matter already thought out..."
"I agree about Sin, though. We need to help."
She actually laughs a little, despite herself, at Tidus's retort.
"...Well, that's nice," she says, and looks between the two of them. "...But jokes aside, I feel the same way. You can tell a lot about a person by what--who--they choose to protect. And that says all I need to know about you, Tidus."
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
The escape will be the other part of the trick, should they succeed. But in that, he has not only faith in Leon and Lily, but also those who had got them in here in the first place: Cid, the Al Bhed. All the people of Spira, at that, who must surely still be singing.
"Hmm..." Citan folds his arms over his chest, considering Leon's own assessment of their similarities. "Well, if that is your assessment, Captain..." he remarks at last, trailing off.
"We may as well consider strategy. Do we have any knowledge about what we are about to face? It will be the very 'heart of Sin'..." He glances over at Tidus. In a sense, they aren't unaware of the nature of Sin's core, but...
There is a difference between that and what it might be capable of. This is no longer Jecht the man, whatever might remain of his mind. And then there is the matter of Yu Yevon, lingering somewhere within.
"Though... if it is anything like what we have seen of Sin's 'exterior', then perhaps... we have some idea."
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Ah, yes, and I see you can still be a mouthy upstart," Leon sighs, in that somewhat refined way of his. He smiles, though. "I suppose we did get off on the wrong foot. But... I'm pleased that we can see eye to eye, now."
His expression becomes more serious, then, and he looks at Lily. "We do. And... you're correct. Who and what someone protects is important," he says. "And knowing it's your responsibility, too."
Then, he looks to Citan -- who is considering strategy. That prompts a smile; he seems focused, at least. Leon frowns, before he shakes his head. "I can't say I do," he says. "And with what we've seen in here... I'm not sure we can rightly know what to expect. I doubt that Jecht is the same fighter he was, years ago, after becoming an Aeon. And... then Sin."
<Pose Tracker> Tidus has posed.
"Jecht never was the kind of guy to hide how he felt," Tidus says dryly. "Maybe he gave up the sauce, but he ended up becoming a Clysmian instead, so I gotta think that must be way worse for bringing out his bad side."
(Tidus doesn't notice that this is an implicit acknowledgement that his old man has a *good* side.)
He smiles more sincerely at what Lily says about protecting others. "Yeah. You and Leon too, actually." He looks from her to him. "When I realized you were trying to protect the Summoners too, that was when I realized I didn't understand you guys at all."
Leon's wisecrack back gets a laugh of his own too. "You know it!" He settles a bit, though he keeps smiling. "On both counts."
Citan suggests strategy, and then functionally asks him what his dad is like. Tidus heaves a deep sigh. "I got no idea what Sin'll be like on the inside. I bet nobody knows that." He nods to Leon, who weighs in similarly. "But Jecht..."
He pauses. Then he pulls out a sphere from one of his pockets and hands it over to Citan. "...Well, he left this behind. Made a bunch of recordings while he was traveling as Braska's Guardian. It'll probably tell you more than I could. The Jecht I knew... was from a long time ago."
And that sphere will tell Citan, and Leon and Lily too if they choose to watch, quite a bit. The way Jecht agreed to become Braska's Guardian without even knowing what a Summoner was; the way he chased after the Chocobo Eater and nearly got stomped; the way he attacked a Shoopuf in a drunken stupor and was so ashamed afterwards that he swore off liquor for good; and... a final message, about how there isn't any way home for him and how it'd be understandable to cry but after a while you have to stop crying and start moving--directed to his son.
Tidus has watched them all quite a few times. He doesn't feel a need to watch them again, and walks off a few steps.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"...That would be pretty bad," Lily agrees with Tidus. She doesn't have much to say about 'loving your father'; Tidus's situation is rather different from her own, she knows.
But the way Tidus smiles about it... That, at least, is nice. "Heh. We're very mysterious," Lily agrees with him, and scritches Dog behind the ears, because Dog has suddenly shown up.
But Sin's 'heart'... "I guess you'll find out. There's things no one in Spira has ever seen happening here. ...Makes me wonder what Hesiod would think..."
She shakes her head. "A Sphere of Jecht, huh?" Lily says then. "...All right. I'll watch."
And she'll learn the story of the man who would become Sin. ...A story that will resonate with her a great deal, for all that their situations differ.
"...The Colonel," she murmurs eventually. "...Would he ever want to say something like this to me...? Is there anything left of the father I knew?"
She shakes her head. "...Doesn't matter. Focus on the mission."
And on Jecht. "We'll free Jecht. We will."
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
It is an unfortunate thing to ask a son how best to defeat his own father. And yet, for the sake of Spira -- and the twin worlds -- he cannot remain silent on the matter. Any advantage, no matter how slight, will be key to their victory.
And there is much they do not know. The shape of their enemy, within. The powers it might possess, of which Sin's exterior can only hint towards.
He can but remain stonefaced as Tidus mulls it over, as he says that it had been a long time since he had last seen his father--
And hands over a sphere.
"Your father's recordings... thank you," he tells Tidus, as the young man turns away. Holding it in both hands, he turns towards Leon and Lily, and if they will join him...
...then they will learn quite a bit about who Jecht had been in Spira.
"..."
He is a father himself. He has even been an absent father, gone for four years from his daughter's life since Lahan, even if it was not by his choice alone. Jecht was not a 'good' father -- that much is clear from the way Tidus speaks of him. But it is not all that dissimilar from...
"I see. So that... was his final message."
It had not meant that he had not loved his child.
"I think that I understand now." He glances sidelong at Lily, a daughter herself with a wayward father. "Then... we know what we must do."
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Mm. Quite the trade," Leon says, about trading a vice for becoming a Clysmian.
Then, he he looks to Tidus. He nods. "We were. We could have been more forthright... but, that was Cid's battle, more than ours, and it would have been his secrets to reveal. Which I couldn't do -- it wouldn't be right, when he trusted us."
Then, there is the matter of Jecht.
Leon is quiet as they watch. His brow furrows, as he sees the truth of Jecht -- an impulsive man, a person who could change, a person who was perhaps not the best at expressing his feelings. But, he still had them; he still tried.
Leon sees a bit of himself in that.
"A man," he says. "Like any other." His voice is quiet. "I don't know that it helps us make a strategy... but I can see that, despite where we are, we'll be fighting someone... very human. Or someone who was very human, once."
If Sin hasn't consumed Jecht utterly.
He looks sideways at Lily -- then glances downward. His expression is weary, then. "I can't say," he says. "But... one thing at a time. The Colonel's day will come later. Jecht's is here now."
He looks at the sphere, now dull and quiet. "He is owed that, I think."
<Pose Tracker> Tidus has posed.
"Yeah. It's okay. I get it, now," Tidus tells Leon. To Lily, he gives a curt nod. "Yeah. I think... no, I know Jecht's still in here. He hasn't completely faded. But I don't know how much that'll help us while we're fighting him." 'I guess you'll find out,' in short. As for Citan, Tidus doesn't hold the request against him. If he did, he wouldn't have handed over Jecht's sphere. But... some things are hard, or at least complicated. Tidus knows he won't have time to sort out how he feels about his father anymore. There's too much to do, and too little time left.
And so he walks off a short distance, letting the three of them watch the recordings. Once they're done, he walks back. He gives the sphere itself a long, troubled look; he'll take it back a moment later. "So did that help?" he asks the three of them. He glances at Citan in particular. "It sounded like it did."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily nods, when Tidus comes back. She doesn't have much to say about what they were discussing even moments ago; it is Jecht's time, and she agrees that he is owed that.
It just makes her think...
"Yes," Lily answers Tidus, and regards Citan, who seems to understand something more. He, too, is a father--better than her own, for certain.
"...It was helpful. We're more committed rather than less."
"...It might be presumptuous," Lily says. "To think our situations are at all the same."
"...But even so, I hope laying him to rest will give you peace."
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
Citan is quite familiar with the nature of things being difficult and woefully complicated. Some things cannot be expressed with words, and only actions suffice.
He cannot know what is in the universe that lies dark and hidden behind Tidus' eyes, but he can guess -- it is difficult, but it is difficult and it is necessary. Only through what comes next can there be peace.
...Even if there is so much left unsaid and undone. But that is ever the way of it. Fate rarely offers the chance to do otherwise.
This, Citan knows well.
"Yes," he tells Tidus. "I believe so. I have some understanding of what... and who we shall face."
It will be Sin -- it will be Yu Yevon's unending will. But it will also be whatever is left of Jecht. Perhaps that might be enough.
"Thank you," he tells Tidus, as he hands the sphere back.
<Pose Tracker> Tidus has posed.
'I hope laying him to rest will give you peace.'
For a long moment, Tidus is silent. More than long enough for Citan, Lily, and Leon, perceptive as they are, to cotton on to the idea that something is wrong. Even so, he takes the sphere back. For a moment, he grips it tight as he gazes down into its hazy depths. Then he tucks it back into his pocket.
"Thank you too," he says quietly. "All of you. For everything."
If it sounds a little like a good-bye...
...well, soon enough they'll understand why.