Soul mate dry your eyes,

Soul mates never die.

Sleeping with Ghosts – Placebo

The bitter winds of Gagazet whipped the snow up around the group, lashing exposed skin with ice and cold without mercy. They huddled together for warmth, weak jokes and regurgitated tales adding to the faked joviality intended to bolster their spirits. The mood was sombre, the realisation of how alienated they were from the people reinforced by Kelk Ronso at the foot of the mountain. It was as if they were travelling and fighting without cause or purpose. Shadows moved about them, stalking their movements with alacrity that was alarming. Their Ronso guides had left them long before and desperate loneliness, even fear had settled on the troupe. The mountain was a hard taskmaster, claiming lives with reckless abandon and the ever-watchful eye trained on Yuna was hard pressed to honour its duty in the harsh conditions.

Graves were strewn across their path like so much litter, sending a shiver down the spines of Guardians and Summoner alike which had little to do with the sub zero temperatures. Frost clinging to her braids and her skin tinged blue from the chilled air, Lulu explained the markings to Tidus. Auron nodded to himself as the boy glanced over at Yuna worriedly, barely listening yet still understanding the intent of the mage in pointing out yet another burial site. Lesca's mouth was set into a grim line, the scene so foreign yet so familiar, the next act too close for comfort. The stage was set and time had passed too quickly. They trudged on, the thinning air and fierce storm spurring them into sudden haste, so great was the need for shelter.

The two who had braved the mountain before in pursuit of Sin's demise led the group toward the caves, the stronger fiends and winding road was a small price to pay for the relative warmth and haven from the elements. Auron cast an eye back, frowning at the absence of Tidus and Rikku. He placed a hand on Lesca's arm, motioning silently to indicate the missing party members. She turned, biting her lip as she raised a questioning eyebrow. "Where are they?"

"They were bringing up the rear. Muttering about ways to save Yuna if I recall correctly."

She lowered her eyes in deference to the subject. "Their hearts are in the right place. Maybe we should -"

"Auron!" Lesca was cut off by Rikku's anguished plea and they spun to face the panicked Al Bhed. The blonde girl waved her hands in the air maniacally, her eyes wild as she stuttered in her haste. "Auron, it's Seymour!"

~*~*~

"Now is your time to die. Prepare yourself, son of Jecht."

Lesca cringed at the voice as it rasped the threat, urging her unwilling feet forward and into the fray. She heard Kimahri growl as he reached the boys side, brandishing his spear menacingly at the Maester. The Guado cast a glance over the group, his eyes alighting with malice as they fell upon her. She took a step backward, bumping into the warm, solid mass of Auron. He pulled her behind him, narrowing his eye at the unsent before him. Seymour giggled, pointing a clawed finger in Lesca's direction. "So you know then, Sir Auron? I am surprised, I didn't think you one to so easily forgive."

Auron snarled, his hand tightening on his blade. "I have nothing to forgive her for."

"She betrayed you." Seymour exclaimed, smiling as the memory of that night rushed over him. He revelled in her pain, the unbearable anguish and the unspeakable torment. Blood, sweat and tears had mingled to create something, which in his mind had been truly beautiful. She had been the mortar to his pestle, his music a symphony of his own inhuman grunts. His vile art.

The red robed man stepped forward, the tip of his sword aimed at the Guado's throat. "She betrayed no one. I'll see you dead for what you've done to her, I will have my revenge."

"I grow bored of your petty threats." He looked to Yuna as she prepared to send him and laughed. "And you! A sending so soon? Allow me to say something to the last Ronso before I leave."

They grew silent as his terrible barrage of words continued. "Yours was...truly a gallant race. They threw themselves at me to bar my path. One...after another..." He smirked, bringing his hand down with a finality that could not be mistaken. Yuna watched, stricken as Kimahri struggled to comprehend the reality he was facing.

He shook his head, unwilling to believe the words. "No…"

"You could end the suffering of this poor Ronso." Seymour offered to Yuna.

The summoner cried out in anger. "I don't understand you!"

Seymour shrugged gracefully. "Allow Kimahri to die, and release him from his pain. Spira...is a land of suffering and sorrow caught in a spiral of death. To destroy - to heal - Spira, I will become Sin. Yes, with your help. Come with me, Yuna." He eyed Tidus and entreated him. "Once I have become the next Sin, your father will be freed again."

Tidus struggled to release his words and make verbal his anger. He hung his head, before rushing forward with renewed resolve. "What do you know?"

Behind Auron, Lesca checked her gloves, flexing her fingers in preparation for the battle ahead. "He knows more than you think." She whispered.

~*~*~

"Don't let her know, keep it from her. It's for the best." Lesca was begging, she knew she was, but still Auron agreed. He nodded, squeezing her hand to let her know he would honour her request.

Yuna walked as if in a daze, thinking about what the madman had told her. "He will become Sin…with my help." She looked at Auron, searching his face for a reaction.

His visage remained blank, his answer abrupt. "Lies. Forget them."

"If he becomes Sin, Sir Jecht will be saved." She continued.

"We're leaving."

Yuna rounded on her eldest Guardian, exploding in a rare fit of temper. "You know something! Tell me!"

He stayed silent, meeting her accusing glare calmly. Tidus hung his head; unaware of the warning looks both Auron and Lesca were sending him. "Sin's…my old man."

Wakka, quiet for most of the journey, burst out unbelievingly. "You hit your head?"

"Sin is my old man. My old man became Sin! I don't know how or why he did it. I felt him, inside, and when I did, I knew it was true. My old man is Spira's suffering. Sorry."

Lesca massaged her temples, the worry of how Yuna would react and her own thoughts of her son's death at the hands of Sin haunting her. So many had died, Aleron, Auron, herself, Chappu…her eyes snapped open, realising what this could mean for the company if the Besaidian realised the connection. She needn't have worried. "Uh...'bout your old man...You sure this ain't some kinda bad toxin dream or something? Then, Chappu...I, uh...I think I'll just pretend I didn't hear nothing. I'm getting a little confused, ya? Why... Why'd all this have to happen?"

~*~*~

The sunlight reflected off the rock face, bathing their descent into Zanarkand in honeyed light. They stopped as Rikku tried to sway Yuna from her fate, listening but not really paying attention to the scene. It was futile; her mind had set long ago on this path. Rikku's vain attempts to slow the pilgrimage were nothing short of useless. Tidus shielded his eyes from the sun, trying to scan the road ahead. "We're nearly there, aren't we?"

Lesca nodded. "Zanarkand lies just over the summit. And then…" It was too hard to say.

"We've come a long way." Wakka observed casually, trying to fill in the uncomfortable gaps in conversation.

Auron smirked, his arm tightening around his wife's waist as they looked toward the ruined city. The youth from Zanarkand eyed him warily. "What's so funny?"

"You remind me of myself. Before, the closer I came to Zanarkand, the more I wondered...when we arrive, Braska will call the Final Aeon...He will fight Sin, then he will die. I thought my mind was made up long before. But when I stood here, my resolve wavered."

Wakka grinned, lightening the mood. "Huh. Never would've figured. Legendary Guardian's choke sometimes too, ya?"

Auron turned, his smile tinged with sadness and regret. "Legendary Guardian? I was just a boy. A boy about your age, actually. I wanted to change the world, too. But I changed nothing. That is my story."

~*~*~

Zanarkand lay before them, the ruined streets of the ghostly metropolis stretching out into the distance toward their ultimate destination. Lesca drew herself closer to Auron to combat the shiver running up her spine. This was where they'd both met their fate; it hurt to think of it. Tidus looked out over the city, a faraway look in his eye. Lesca turned to Auron, speaking quietly. "He's going to leave her, isn't he?"

He swallowed thickly. "I think so, yes."

"What is the truth about him and Jecht? Tell me."

"I think…they are but dreams of the Fayth. The Zanarkand I visited was alive, it was this Zanarkand but it wasn't at the same time. The Fayth on Gagazet, they dream of Zanarkand and as they dream they're used to summon Sin. Jecht told me that he encountered Sin in his Zanarkand and that's how he came here, the same way I went to Tidus. When they touched Sin…they became more than a dream."

"But when the Fayth stop dreaming, when we defeat Sin for good…" She trailed off as he nodded slowly.

"If they stop dreaming, he goes."

"Where?"

He looked at Tidus and Yuna as they whispered together and felt his heart contract painfully. "I don't know…"

Tidus laughed at some private joke he and Yuna were sharing, Lesca's frown deepening. "Does he know?"

Auron sighed wearily. "I think he suspects what might happen, but to say it aloud…it's too hard to face. He's hoping against hope that he's wrong. So am I."

"Have you talked to him about this?"

"How can I? We may be worrying for nothing, it might all right itself." He finished feebly, unable to convince even himself.

"Maybe." Lesca remained unconvinced and stood, brushing the dust from her skirts. She screwed her eyes up against the setting sun and pointed toward the horizon, turning to address the group. "If we head out now we should reach the dome before nightfall. We should leave."

"Leave? But Lescy…" Rikku looked close to tears.

"No buts. Get going. Yunalesca's waiting." She looked pointedly at Yuna who nodded slightly.

"I understand. We should make haste."

~*~*~

Lesca stumbled backwards, feelings sick to her stomach as the pyreflies buzzed around them, enacting scenes of the past.

If it might benefit the future of Spira, I will gladly give my life. It is the highest honour for which a guardian might ask. Use my life, Lady Yocun, and rid Spira of Sin.

"Lady Yocun and her Guardian…" Yuna breathed.

"Our predecessors." Auron explained to Tidus. "High Summoner Yocun."

No! Mother, no! I don't want you to become a Fayth!

There is no other way. Use me and defeat Sin. Only then will the people accept you.

I don't care about them! I need you, mother! No one else!

I don't…have much time left.

Wakka started. "Hey, wasn't that…?"

"Seymour?" Rikku finished. "No wonder he's messed up."

Auron felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle as his younger self rushed past him on the heels of Jecht and Braska.

"Hey Braska. You don't have to do this."

"Thank you for your concern."

Jecht folded his arms over his chest. "Fine. I said my piece."

"Well, I haven't! Lord Braska, let us go back! I don't want to see you…die!"

Braska eyed Auron sadly. "You knew this was to happen my friend."

Auron studied his feet. "I know but I…I cannot accept it."

The summoner laughed; glad his daughters were in such caring hands. "Auron, I am honoured that you care for me so. But I have come to kill grief itself. I will defeat Sin, and lift the veil of sorrow covering Spira. Please understand, Auron."

Auron remembered his thought at that moment perfectly. How can I understand? How can I accept your death when I promised to deliver us all safely back into her arms? He shook his mind free of the thoughts to see the final stages of Lesca's pilgrimage flickering in front of the summoner's troupe. The colour drained from the former summoner's face as the familiar scene played out.

Lesca shook her arm free of Luzzu's tremulous grasp. "Please, Luzzu. Let me go. The Fayth await me."

"Why should I let you go to your death?" The monk rage; his face contorted with misplaced anger.

She smiled sadly, running a soft finger down his cheek. "Because I ask it of you. I told you not to accompany me back in Besaid if you meant to hinder us. Why did you not heed my warning?"

He flung his arms in the air, frustrated at her inclination toward a futile death. "I thought you would change your mind! I thought…"

Cid prised him away gently. "I know what you thought, kid. I told you it wasn't gonna happen. We have to resign ourselves to it, ya know? Let her go, don't make it harder for any of us."

Rikku reached out to touch the ghostly figure of her father, turning to her elder cousin. "Lesca?"

Visibly shaken, she brushed passed the group. "You heard what the man said, she's waiting. Now is not the time for needless delay. We move on."

~*~*~

"That statue lost its power as a Fayth long ago. It is Lord Zaon, the first Fayth of the Final Summoning. What you see before you is all that remains of him. Lord Zaon is... his soul is gone."

The group reeled, stunned from the news. Lesca and Auron exchanged knowing looks, their calm unnoticed by the others as they panicked. Finally, after the sceptre had suggested they consult the Lady Yunalesca for the answers to their question, Tidus turned, squaring up to Auron who eyed him impassively. "Auron, you knew this was going to happen, didn't you?"

His reply infuriated the youth with its simplicity. "Yes."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Rikku wondered aloud.

"If I had told you the truth, would that really have stopped you from coming?" He shot back.

The man beast spoke but one word. "Yuna."

Yuna steeled herself defiantly. "I'm not going back."

Auron thought he could see a slight slump in Kimahri's posture, a feeling of defeat and helplessness that he himself had experienced over ten years ago. "Kimahri knows. Kimahri goes first. Yuna is safe. Kimahri protect." Her protector entered the portal first before being followed by the summoner herself.

Lulu scooped her doll into her arms, not daring to look anyone in the eye. "This is it, isn't it?"

Wakka could only lay a hand on her shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. Try as he might, the words would not materialise. They stepped into the grand hall; the air seemed to hum with a power of sorts as pyreflies illuminated the gloomy chamber. Rikku shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, the antechamber setting her nerves on end. As a faint figure descended the stairs, she yelped in surprise before regaining her wits enough to form a coherent sentence. "Someone's coming!"

~*~*~

Auron sliced his hand through the air, venting his frustration. "It is not too late! Let us turn back!"

Braska eyed the young man sympathetically. "If I turn back, who will defeat Sin? Would you have some other summoner and his Guardians go through this?"

He hung his head, before meeting his father in laws gaze defiantly. "But…my lord, there must be another way!"

Jecht, quiet up until this point, stood before the younger man, resignation in his eyes. "This is the only way we got now!" He turned to Braska. "Fine. Make me the Fayth."

He walked over to the stairs with his back to the others, looking up to the heavens as if seeking an answer. "I been doing some thinking. My dream is back in the other Zanarkand. I wanted to make that runt into a star blitz player. Show him the view from the top, you know."

He clenched his fist, sorrow in his eyes. "But now I know there's no way home for me. I'm never going to see him again. My dreams never gonna come true."

Jecht turned back to face his comrades, the men he called friend. "So make me the Fayth."

Taking Braska by the shoulders, he looked into his eyes, the sincerity shining through. "I'll fight Sin with you, Braska, then maybe my life will have some meaning, you know."

Auron cried out in anguish, "Don't do this Jecht! If you live…there may be another way! We'll think of something, I know!"

Jecht grinned, his eyes belying his woe. "Believe me, I thought this through. Besides…I ain't getting' any younger, so I might as well make myself useful."

He began to climb the stairs toward his destiny when Braska interrupted hesitantly. "Jecht."

The scarred man turned back, rolling his eyes. "What! You're not gonna try and stop me, too? Braska, it's him or me, we all know that. I can't go back to my life. Auron's got a job to do, he's gotta look after little Yuna and he's got to take care of his wife. He's got his whole life in front of him Braska, I'm not gonna rob him and Lesca of their time together. They don't need to suffer like we did."

Braska understood, berating himself silently for forgetting the needs of his children. "Sorry, I mean…thank you."

Jecht turned to Auron; "Braska still has to fight Sin, Auron. Guard him well. Make sure he gets there.

Auron tried to speak, tried to argue with man as he had countless times before. Only a strangled cry surfaced from his throat, emotion swelling within his chest so he could not breathe. Unshed tears threatened to spill and he turned from the scene, unable to watch.

Jecht addressed Braska softly. "Well, let's go."

They headed toward Yunalesca slowly, every step closer to death before a voice stopped them one last time.

"Lord Braska! Jecht!"

Jecht punched the air in frustration. "What do you want now?"

The terror was evident in Auron's eyes as he pleaded with his friends. He held his arms out to them, begging them to listen. "Sin always comes back. It comes back after the Calm every time! The cycle will continue and your deaths will mean nothing!"

Braska smiled, "But there's always a chance it won't come back this time. It's worth trying."

Jecht tried to calm the distraught youth. "I understand what you're saying, Auron. I'll find a way to break the cycle."

Auron looked up, tentative hope beginning to surface. "You have a plan?"

Braska looked confused. "Jecht?"

The man from Zanarkand laughed heartily. "Trust me, I'll think of something."

The scene faded, no one bar Lesca noticing the tears that shone in Auron's eye. "And the cycle went on."

Tidus grinned confidently. "We'll break it!"

"But how? What, you got a plan now?" Wakka looked at his friend curiously.

Lulu was more realistic. "If one of us has to become a Fayth, I volunteer."

Not wanting to be outdone, Wakka added hastily, "Me too, Yuna!"

"That still won't change anything, you know? You'd bring the Calm, and then what? That won't break the cycle!" Auron smiled at the youth's words. He's learned well.

Lesca stood back in the entrance to the hall, badly shaken by seeing herself, her father and her husband all rush headlong to their deaths. Auron joined her, watching as the pyreflies formed another memory.

Lesca turned to leave the antechamber, her path barred by her uncle. "Don't be a fool! I don't want you to die! We leave now. I rue the day I contemplated this death." She hissed.

He stared her down. "You think all this time on the pilgrimage I was happy escorting you to your death? I don't want you to die either, Lesca, but you yearn for it. It will consume you."

Lesca scuffed the ground, the hair falling over her face hiding her tears from the men. "You're right. I want this…Uncle, thank you."

Auron swallowed the lump in his throat. "You nearly lived."

She nodded. "Nearly." She raised her eyes, noticing Tidus waving them over. "They're going to see her, try to reason with her. It's futile."

"I know." He allowed himself a grim little smile. "She never was a reasonable woman."

~*~*~

"Sin is an inevitable part of Spira's destiny. It is never ending."

Wakka struggled to grasp the concept that the teachings he had followed so devoutly were false. "Never ending? But…but…If we atone for our crimes, Sin will stop coming back, ya? Someday, it'll be gone, ya?"

Yunalesca sighed. "Will humanity ever attain such purity?"

The normally staid Lulu cried out in despair. "This…this cannot be! The teachings state that we can exorcise Sin with complete atonement! It's been our only hope all these years!"

"Hope is…comforting. It allows us to accept fate, however tragic it may be." The sceptre explained.

"No!" Tidus charged forward, surprised to hear Auron's voice lending strength to his cry. Beside him stood the image of the younger Auron, his sword brandished at Yunalesca in the memory. But Auron and Lesca did not see the impassioned young man charge to his doom. Instead, they watched as Lesca confronted the keeper of the Final Aeon, the scene from years before carving through them like a knife through butter.

"…I cannot allow the Final Summoning to be lost to the winds of time because of one mans foolish, romantic delusions."

"You killed my husband?" Lesca whispered in disbelief.

Yunalesca shrugged. "I believe so, he left Zanarkand badly wounded. I doubt he still lives. After all, he never returned, did he?"

Lesca dropped the staff that she had been grasping so tightly her knuckles were as white as the peaks of Gagazet. It bounced slightly as it hit the ground, rolling on the craggy floor toward Luzzu with the soft grating of metal against granite. She stumbled as she tried to remain upright, her knees weakening from the shock. Lesca spoke quietly, repeating her question. "You killed my husband?"

Yunalesca nodded silently. Lesca's eyes burned as she tried to contain her rage. "You deprived my son of his father, you deprived me of my life, my happiness for four years?"

Again, a nod before she smirked at the young woman. Cid and Luzzu took up their places at her side, glowering at the very woman who had turned Lesca onto this road. Yunalesca laughed at the pitiful sight the three made as they stood against her. "Pathetic fools. You would rather destroy yourselves than live in woe? I'll give you the death you so crave summoner. You can join your husband on the Farplane, reminisce with him about what an honour it was to die by my hand."

The wavering restraint Lesca had been grasping to snapped, and she dashed toward the woman who had caused her grief, screaming in protest against the wrongs that the spirit had committed. Her fists connected briefly with the sceptre's torso, scoring a single, glancing blow before Yunalesca tossed her carelessly aside. Lesca landed heavily, the wind knocked from her lungs as her back rasped agonisingly against the cool, pitted rock. She gasped in agony as she felt the tender flesh rip from her body, a deep wound in her chest slowing opening before her horrified eyes to reveal a twisted distortion of bloodied muscle. Her body retracted on instinct into a foetal position as her two Guardians watched on in horror, unable to move their feet to help her as she lay there, broken and bleeding. She scrunched up her eyes, not wanting to watch as her destroyer neared her. The room was still, the only noise the shallow, ragged breaths of the injured woman, punctuated by low, intermittent whimpers.

Yunalesca moved toward her, her slow, deliberate steps sounding like a death knoll in the hush. The unsent looked down upon Lesca with contempt. "I expected better of you. Too much like your husband." She shook her head, dismissing her with a wave of the hand. "May you find your salvation on the Farplane."

Auron looked at her, wide eyed with shock. "This…"

"Is how I died." She finished quietly, never removing her eyes from the image of the first High Summoner. "I'm sorry you saw that."

He shook his head. "I'm sorry it happened."

"My father... I loved him. So I...I will live with my sorrow, I will live my own life! I will defeat sorrow, in his place. I will stand my ground and be strong. I don't know when it'll be but someday, I will conquer it. And I will do it without...false hope." They watched as Yuna defied Yunalesca's logic, their hearts swelling with pride.

~*~*~

Yuna and her Guardians stumbled to one another, disbelief keeping comprehension at bay for a short while. Lesca smiled as the others laughed and joked, a slight but welcome reprieve, which added to the high sprits induced by the realisation that Yuna was safe. "We need to tell him."

"What?"

She rolled her eyes. "About us, our…condition. It'll make things easier."

"Alright." He agreed grudgingly. As Wakka led the summoner and her Guardians from the Dome, Lesca and Auron cornered Tidus. The red robed man was direct. "We must talk."

Tidus' eyebrows knitted together. "What?"

Lesca giggled as Auron shot her a look. "There is something you should know."

The youth looked from one face to another. "I know…it's about you, right?"

"I am also an unsent." The elder man paused, waiting for a reaction and receiving none. "You are not surprised?"

"I think I kinda knew. It was Yunalesca, wasn't it?" Tidus asked softly.

Auron's eye took on a faraway look. "When Braska and Jecht died defeating Sin...I just couldn't accept it. I came back here...tried to avenge them. But she struck me down. Somehow I made my way, crawling, down Mount Gagazet. But my strength left me just outside Bevelle. That's where Kimahri found me. I told him about Yuna... just before I died. I've been wandering ever since, never going to the Farplane."

"Auron…"

He snorted. "Don't make that face. Being dead has it's advantages. I was able to ride Sin and go to your Zanarkand."

Lesca ruffled Tidus' hair fondly. "He's right you know. Don't feel bad for us."

"You knew?" He asked incredulously.

She smirked. "We traded. I told him how I died and he reciprocated."

Tidus scratched the back of his head. "You're unsent too? This just gets better and better. How did you…"

"Die?" She offered. "Yunalesca was my undoing too. She told me what she'd done to Auron and I went a bit nuts. She's got that effect on people I suppose. I tried to kill her and she killed me instead. I died in Guadosalam. That's how Seymour knows what I am, he tried to send me all those years ago."

The blitzer exhaled sharply. "Wow. So, you went into hiding and Auron went to Zanarkand." He pointed an accusing finger at the man. "You've been watching over me since then, haven't you? Why? What's the big idea? Why me?"

Auron looked at Lesca for support, drawing strength from her smile. "It is one of those things that is difficult to explain. Very well, I will show you." He crossed the room, kneeling down as several pyreflies escaped his body, his form becoming transparent. "My memories." Tidus watched through Auron's eyes as his father stood nervously in front of the young monk.

"Can I ask you one last favour? Uh…nah. Never mind."

Auron stepped forward, "Out with it!"

Jecht grinned. "Okay. Listen good. Take care of my son. My son, in Zanarkand. He's such a crybaby. He needs someone there to hold his hand, see? Take care of him, will you?"

Auron frowned, "How am I supposed to go to Zanarkand?"

The older man laughed, his confidence in Auron obvious. "Hey! You said it yourself! There must be a way to get there, right? You'll find it. Bring him back here, raise him with Lesca to be strong like his old man."

"All right, I will! I give you my word. I'll take care of your son. I'll guard him with my life."

Jecht stepped forward with a sad smile, embracing the younger man tightly. "You were always such a stiff, but that's what I liked about you."

Auron stood, his shape solid once more. He slipped his hand into Lesca's, smiling as he saw that at last she understood his reasons for not returning. He nodded cordially to Tidus before walking away. "That is why."

A/N: thanks to everyone for their patience. Writers block is a bitch. List of thanks:

ShadowFox7

GG Crono 4

Darami LX

Wi11

Katago42

Cherrie6

Vincent Kinneas

Fallen Dreamer

Auron's Biggest Fan

Dream Shadow 1

Pikachu 612

Ref

Yunalesca78

Pierson

The Angel of The Lion annnnnnnd

The Great Skippy

Wow. That is so cool, many thanks! thank you all!