The Coven are back. Yes, I know, you can't get rid of us. Anyway, another tri-collaboration, this time an AU FFX fic. Things are messed up big time. Your Coven members for this evening are Refugee, Rin and Yunalesca78. Let the craziness commence.

Is there no pity sitting in the clouds

That sees into the bottom of my grief?

~ Romeo and Juliet

"No. Don't do this. Don't go."

"I must. You knew it would come to this. You always knew what loving me meant."

~*~*~

Yuna stared out over the metropolis of Zanarkand, snatching a few moments of solitude before the crowds of admirers drew near. Running a hand through her hair, she sighed, wondering how her life had come to this. A never-ending blitz game, one opponent merging into the next, faceless well wishers hoping to catch a glimpse of the girl legend, the daughter of the great Braska. She snorted softly; using a hand to bat at the water she had been staring into, the water that held her reflection and in doing so held him. The fabled blitzer of days gone by. The reason for her melancholy.

~*~*~

"Is it so wrong to love you? To have your love in return?"

The woman shook her head. "Yevon says it is so. You have so much time to live, you don't need to be held back by my memory. Live on and forget me."

He crossed the room in a stride, holding her close as her small frame began to shake. He smoothed her hair, feeling the tiny body dwarfed in his embrace. "Never. I could never forget."

~*~*~

"Tidus, please! Don't do this, huh?"

Tidus raised an amused eyebrow at his cousin, rolling his eyes at her pleading. "Rikku, you knew this was always my plan. I'd rather die and save Spira from Sin's wrath than see you sent to my fate. You know they won't take you if I go. You and dad'll be safe, at least for a little while."

The spunky blond screwed up her nose, scratching her cheek as she thought. "Tidus…I don't want to loose you too."

"You won't loose me, I'll always be up here." He pointed to her head. "Just think of this as my last gift to you."

"How about you don't go and buy me a chocobo instead?" She offered hopefully.

He threw up his hands in frustration. "Rikku, you know what the Decree of Yevon said! It's you or me!"

"Why us?" She shot back. "Why don't they go and do their own goddamn dirty work?"

Tidus slumped into a chair, scratching the back of his head. "You know why us. It's our punishment for our crimes against Yevon. We're the reason Sin's here, it's only right that we should be made to pay for the transgressions that led to it's birth. One day, we'll have paid enough and we'll all be free. Then we'll be welcomed back, I know it. I hope I can do that, for all our people."

Rikku gritted her teeth. "Are you trying to tell me you really believe a few measly machina are the reason that Sin appeared a thousand years ago? That you really believe all that 'we Al Bhed are heathen scum' shit?"

"We are heathens, we used machina that went against the teachings. We don't worship their God. An infidel by any other name…" He trailed off, smiling weakly.

She slammed a fist on the table. "That's enough! I won't let you do this! It's bad enough that Pop's had to die for this stupid cause, but you too? I won't allow it! Yevon is wrong! Why should an Al Bhed be sacrificed for their safety? Why?"

"Rikku, leave it."

The deep voice rumbled in the hallway, startling both teenagers into silence. Jecht stretched, cat like as he entered the small hovel in the place they called Home. Rikku blushed, hanging her head. "Uncle, I'm sorry. I just…"

"I know." His eyes travelled over the face of his only son, and he felt his heart contract painfully. His tone softened to a whisper as his gaze fell on the summoner's staff propped in the corner of the room. "I know."

~*~*~

He fell to his knees in despair, unable to believe the words as they were offered to him apologetically. "No…she can't be!"

Jecht placed a hand on the broken mans shoulder, offering him the small comfort of human touch. "She loved you, you know. She wouldn't have wanted you to stay here and die a fool's death with us. She wanted you to live, advance within Yevon."

Copper eyes shot up to meet Jecht's, disbelief only just keeping the rage in check. "She was your sister and she died because Yevon willed it so! How can you ask me to return to them, knowing they killed her?"

"It's what she wanted, Auron."

~*~*~

She strode purposefully through the masses, the throng parting in awe to let her pass easily on her way to the stadium. Somewhere, a loudspeaker announced the reason for the all-important game that night, the commentator sharing his memories with the city. The night he had left them, the night her mother had began her slow ascension to death. Yuna balled her fist and continued onward, humming a tune that was both familiar yet foreign to try and drown out the praise of the man whom was her father. She smiled weakly at her teammates as they offered her sympathy tonight as well as their usual wishes of luck. Nails dug into soft flesh, tiny wounds flowing red as she narrowed her eyes, trying to focus on the sphere pool as she stepped up to its side. She hated him.

She closed her eyes of jade and sapphire, concentrating on slowing her breathing to combat the ire flooding her veins. The water lapped softly around her middle, the cool sensation soothing her turbulent emotions. The crash of cymbals and roar of a barely tamed guitar made her start, her eyes snapping open as she followed the Abes into the depths of the pool. The game was afoot. Yuna grinned, snatching the ball from a Duggle before slamming it into the back of the net. Kaela glanced over at her, gesturing to her his approval of her skill. The young blitzer blushed, a smile playing about her lips. Nothing can go wrong tonight. Tonight I'll be free of his damn legacy and they'll see me for who I am, not just as the daughter of Braska. This is it, it all begins here.

~*~*~

The red robed man stood high upon a precipice, watching as the creature neared the city. He lifted the tokkuri to his lips, the sting of the alcohol burning its way down his gullet a comfort as he contemplated what had to be done. The stadium glowed against the night sky, a beacon in the dark. It was almost as if Zanarkand welcomed its destroyer. He shook his head, sighing as the beast paused for an almost imperceptible second, fixing him with a glassy stare. He rubbed the bridge of his nose between a forefinger and thumb, closing his eye in defiance of the burden he had been charged with. "I know, Braska. I know what has to be done. I will not fail you this time."

He held the jug up in a salute to the harbinger before turning from it to return to the city arena. People moved from his path as he scowled, lost in his own thoughts and regrets. Yes, I know what has to be done. Failure is not an option. He shook his head, running a hand through the salt and pepper hair. No more. This time, the battle shall be won.

~*~*~

Frightened faces swarmed like ants in the metropolis, frenzied by the unseen evil that was terrorising their home. Yuna frowned as she caught sight of a familiar flash of red standing calmly in the sea of hysteria. She ran over to him, wincing as she tried to recover her breath. "Auron? What are you doing here?"

"I was waiting for you."

She gestured to the devastation behind her. "Did you know this was going to happen?"

The wry smile was hidden from her behind the tall collar. "We leave now, it is not safe."

He stalked off, leaving her standing with her hands on her hips. "You didn't answer my question!" The girl paused, waiting for a reply. When she sensed one was not forthcoming, she growled, sprinting to catch the mysterious man.

~*~*~

Time seemed to stop, the air suspended in one moment of existence. Auron knew it well. The Fayth approached.

~*~*~

"Don't cry."

Yuna spun round from her reverie of the still scenery, an event unheard of in the ever-bustling Zanarkand. A small, hooded boy stared up at her. "It begins."

She crouched down to his level, feeling slightly uncomfortable as his eyes pierced her own. "What?"

"There is time enough. The answer will seek you out."

He vanished; time resumed and her confusion grew at an exponential rate. What the hell is going on?

~*~*~

"You are sure?" Auron looked back at the beast, seeking its approval as he held the girl in his grasp. Though she heard nothing, Auron nodded in satisfaction, turning his attention back to the blitzer he was gripping tightly. She thought she saw the ghost of a smile as he addressed her, cryptic to the last. "This is it. It all begins here. This is your story."

Wow. Incredibly jumbled. It will come together, promise. The idea has potential I think. Please be kind and review to let us know what you think, like it or loathe it, we want to know.