Final Fantasy X Part #106 - Episode XCVI: Our Final Hope

Part 106: Episode XCVI: Our Final Hope

Hey, guys! You all really need to stop just wandering off together and leaving Tidus behind. It's like the thirty-eighth time. It's rude as hell.

Yes, Rikku. Someone is coming! Perhaps it is Yunalesca, who the ghost attendant in the previous room said would meet us in this chamber. Do you do this every time you are meeting someone new and are nervous? This is why you cannot hold a job and have to salvage old wrecks for money.

You might not remember, but we have briefly encountered Lady Yunalesca in the past... kinda. Back when we visited Seymour Guado's mansion and he showed us his Zanarkand holodeck and then a weird bedroom scene of Yunalesca and her husband, Zaon. It was right around the same time he decided marrying Yuna and using her to become the next incarnation of Sin was high on his fetish bucket list.

“I congratulate you, summoner. You have completed your pilgrimage. I will now bestow upon you that which you seek.”

Turns out that bedroom scene of Yunalesca from 1,000 years ago wasn't just an awkward moment saved in time. Yunalesca is just simply not big on the whole clothes thing. I suppose if I was a millennium old zombie-ghost that only received visitors once every couple ~~centuries~~ ~~decades~~ years, I'd probably stop caring about formal attire as well.

In fact, I'd probably make it a point to be as disheveled as possible. Oh? What's that? You made your grueling journey across the lands and suffered greatly to finally reach the ends of the earth to reach me? Well nobody told me and it's 5:00 AM on a Sunday. So you're just going to have to deal with me in my boxers and a wife beater. Take your lousy final aeon and the hell off my lawn.

...And here's the catch for receiving the Final Aeon. Who'd a thunk?

“...to become the fayth for the Final Summoning. There must be a bond, between chosen and summoner, for that is what the Final Aeon embodies: the bond between husband and wife, mother and child, or between friends.”

“Brother and sister. Cousins. Duty bound comrades in arms. Blitzball teammates – whether competitively or fantasy league participants. I have not tried a loyal pet and its master. I... am uncertain if that one will work. But any bond is worth a try. I have nothing but time for those who have completed the pilgrimage.”

“If that bond is strong enough, its light will conquer Sin. A thousand years ago, I chose my husband Zaon as my fayth. Our bond was true, and I obtained the Final Aeon.”

“You will soon be freed of worry and pain. For once you call forth the Final Aeon, your life will end. Death is the ultimate and final liberation. Your father, Braska, chose this path."

”Hold a moment. What time do we have here? I believe it is nearly half past six. The pyreflies' memory should be conjuring up right around now. Six in the morning, the woeful tale of that crying boy and his mother appears. It is... an unfortunate alarm clock of sorts.”

Music: Revealed Truth

"If I turn back, who will defeat Sin? Would you have some other summoner and his guardians go through this?"

"But... my lord, there must be another way!"

“Fine. Make me the fayth. 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.”

“There were chicks falling all over you. Free booze all the time. I never had to wear a shirt. I could get into any restaurant. No shirt? No shoes? No problem. They didn't say dick. I got a house boat and just parked it on a dock near the blitz stadium. I didn't have a permit or anything. Just planted it there one day and nobody said boo. I was the best and it was great! Wanted to show that crybaby how the good life was but meh...”

“I'm never gonna see him again. My dream's never gonna come true.”

”Never gonna see my old lady again either... Man. She was like 7 on the hotness scale and that was pushin' it. But man. MAN! That broad was into some awesome, freaky shit. Never gonna get that again either...”
_{_{”Oh god I don't need to hear this...”}}

“So make me the fayth. I'll fight Sin with you, Braska. Then maybe my life will have meaning, you know."

“If you live... there may be another way! We'll think of something, I know!"

”What am I gonna do...? Ride the stupid ass doom whale Sin back to my Zanarkand?”
“...It's possible still. You can't give up here.”
“No it's not, Auron. That's dumb! I was drunk as shit and tried to carve up a goofy elephant to make into a sailboat and then went and tried to ride some mush-mouthed Dr. Seuss reject across a river when I came up with that plan. Shut up. It's not happening, man. The dream is dead.”

“Besides... I ain't gettin' any younger, so I might as well make myself useful."

”Mid-30s ain't the age to be starting over as a rookie on some podunk blitzball team and the only other jobs in Spira seem to be weirdo dickhead church or being miserable. Ain't making it into Spira's blitz hall of fame, but this is a close second.”

"Jecht."

"What! You're not gonna try to stop me, too?"

”Gonna be a real big dick move if you waited for me to say all that before telling me you're on Team Auron here, man.”

"Sorry. I mean... thank you."

“Guard him well. Make sure he gets there.”

”Tell everyone about how rad whatever the hell electric dinosaur or fire centaur or some shit I turn into to stomp Sin was.”
“...”

"Lord Braska! Jecht!"

"What do you want now?"

"Sin always comes back. It comes back after the Calm every time! The cycle will continue and your deaths will mean nothing!"

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

”You never know. It might be something as simple as defeating it five times and poof! It is done. Spira is free from Sin. That would be splendid.”
“Yeah man. Dumb thing could just have like five forms and you beat 'em all and the credits roll.”
“That seems incredibly unlikely and... credits? What does that even mean, Jecht?!”

"I understand what you're saying, Auron. I'll find a way to break the cycle."

"You have a plan?"

"Jecht?"

*grin* "Trust me, I'll think of something. Hahaha! Heh-hahaha!"

*side-eyes Tidus*
_{_{”Goddammit, dad...”}}

Welp. Things didn't go so hot with young Auron. Braska went off to get his self-termination summon, Jecht went to become the final aeon and that obviously went real bad. And young Auron got kinda just left on the side to watch it happen. I guess that's why there is usually only one or two recommended guardians at most.

Present day Auron is not at all happy to see the performance of his past self.

“What, you got a plan now?"

”Your dad did the winging it thing and ya... Didn't work out so well.”

"If one of us has to become a fayth... I volunteer."

"Me too, Yuna!”

*turns away to hide “ehh” expression*

“That still won't change anything, you know? You'd bring the Calm, and then what? That won't break the cycle!"

”What is there gonna be like a three-day weekend without Sin? None of this seems worth it or solving anything.”

"Listen... You wanna defeat Sin and keep Yuna alive... You don't want Sin to come back, ya? That is just not gonna happen, brudda, you know?"

"If you want everything, you'll end up with nothing."

"But I want everything!"

"Now you're being childish!"

"I give up! So what would an adult do, then?”

”I'm sure Lulu has all the answers being born the beginning of time a whole five years before me.”

“They know they can just throw away a summoner, then they can do whatever they like. You're right. I might not even have a chance. But no way am I gonna just stand here and let Yuna go. And what Auron said about there being a way... I think it's true."

”I mean he started the whole 'your story' junk and if the only ending is 'and everyone dies while the bad guy came back the next Tuesday'... it's a lame frikkin' story, alright. So... Sooo...”

“Yes...”

”I'll think of something. But for real... Not like my old man. Who couldn't. Thanks for bringing that up, Rikku. Good teamwork. Really helping out my case there, pal.”
“...”

"I'll go ask Yunalesca. She's got to know something."

"You really think she'll help you?"

"I don't know, but I have to try.”

“It'll go the way I want it... or I'll end it here."

“Wait.”

”Would you just stop it for a minute like I am not even here...”

”It is *mostly* my story, if we are getting down to it.”

“It would be so easy... to let my fate just carry me away... following this same path my whole life through. But I know... I can't. What I do, I do... with no regrets."

Welp. Good discussion. Nice debate... Pro-tip: Go save your game. You're probably about to see the next scene again. Possibly multiple times. It might be the last scene you make it to in Final Fantasy X.

Music: Hymn of the Fayth ~ Yunalesca

So did you know there is a void leading to oblivion nestled in the back of Zanarkand's blitzball stadium? Yep. There is never a reason given why The Darkness at the End of Time is occupying the former locker room of the Zanarkand Abes. Entering the menu here just names this as “The Beyond.”

Lady Yunalesca fades into existence again...

"Have you chosen the one to become your fayth? Who will it be?"

”The Ronso perhaps? I haven't done one of those before.”
“...?!”
“As a final aeon, obviously.”

"Might I ask something first? Will Sin come back even should I use the Final Summoning to defeat it?"

"Sin is eternal. Every aeon that defeats it becomes Sin in its place... And thus is Sin reborn."

_{"So that's why Jecht became Sin."}

And there we have it. Sin is actually an aeon that gets morphed into a doom whale. Which would probably mean that yes, if you could destroy Sin with a fantasy nuke of some sorts it would, in fact, be dead for good. Probably... maybe... Eh... Maybe we need more details before top Al Bhed men set out to split the atom.

“But... but... if we atone for our crimes, Sin will stop coming back, ya? Someday, it'll be gone, ya?"

"Will humanity ever attain such purity?"

"This... this cannot be! The teachings state that we can exorcise Sin with complete atonement! It's been our only hope all these years!"

”Was literally nothing about Yevon on the level?”
“I am afraid I cannot comment. I am actually not at all affiliated with your Yevon church. Their goals and my purpose merely were a happy coincidence.”
“Oh... come on!”

"Hope is... comforting. It allows us to accept fate, however tragic it might be."

”Ergh?!”

“Braska believed in Yevon's teachings and died for them! Jecht believed in Braska and gave his life for him!"

“Raaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhaga!”

That looked like it kind of smarts. I guess we know how Auron lost that eye now. Sadly, where he obtained that sweet pair of shades shall forever be a mystery. Unless they make a Final Fantasy X-0. In which case Auron's sunglasses will undoubtedly have a long and storied history where they are a family keepsake passed down from generations by a introduced character who will tragically die, entrusting them to Auron before any events in the original game intersect.

Music: Revealed Truth

“Without hope, they would drown in their sorrow. Now, choose. Who will be your fayth? Who will be the one to renew Spira's hope?"

“...”

“I would have gladly died. I live for the people of Spira, and would have gladly died for them. But no more! The Final Summoning... is a false tradition that should be thrown away."

“Your father sacrificed himself to give that hope to the people. So they would forget sorrow."

"Wrong. My father... My father wanted... to make Spira's sorrow go away. Not just cover it up with lies!"

"Sorrow cannot be abolished. It is meaningless to try."

”No that is...
“St—“
“Stupid.”
_{_{”Right on!”}}

"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 will be but someday, I will conquer it. And I will do it without... false hope."

"Poor creature. You would throw away hope.”

*cracks neck* “I haven't had to do this in a while...”

”I will free you before you can drown in your sorrow. It is better for you to die in hope than to live in despair.”

Music: Challenge

Well... This is certainly a paradigm shift. Hold up. I need to run some numbers here...

The numbers don't lie.

”Kimahri stick lance in any unsent that mess with Yuna.”
“Yes! That has yet to be effective, but I like the spirit behind it!”

”I have NO frikkin' idea who this lady is or what in the heck is happening. But I am pretty sure we're fighting now... Right?”
“Now is the time to take up arms and fight this corrupted cycle.”
“...Gonna take that as a yes.”