Since I didn't talk to anyone on the airship last night, I didn't do it again! Once again, it was an accident. I'm terrible at this.
If you leave the cockpit, the ship begins to shake. Rin calmly enters the room to inform us that some of the guado made it onto the vessel. Before Cid can say anything, Rikku stops him. She thinks he was going to say he'll blow up the shit. She and Tidus team up when they agree they'll finish the guado off. We then proceed through the airship, talking to everyone we missed earlier, until we come to an observation deck. Out the window is a massive flying enemy. Lulu points out that that's the Bevelle Sacred Defender, Evrae. This means we've gotten close to Bevelle! Auron says the red carpet has teeth. Cid tells us we're going to attack it, so out to the deck we go!
Evrae isn't too hard, but it has some unique trigger commands. We can fight it from afar, but only Lulu, Wakka, and Lancet are effective from that range. The airship also gets an attack, represented by Cid's face. It fires a volley of missiles at it that does a decent amount of damage but is limited to only three times. If we're up close, Evrae can cast Stone Gaze or Poison Breath on us. Poison Breath takes two turns to use, so, using Rikku or Tidus, we should order Cid to back away. You can cast slow on it, but it casts haste once it reaches an HP threshold. Plan those movements around Cid's turn. It was tricky, but I didn't find it terribly hard.
As the battle ends, pyreflies swarm from the body and onto the wedding below. Maester Kinoc is there, and he knows what's up. He then orders military personnel, all decked out with forbidden gun machina, to stand ready. There are also floating mobile mortars... Some religions teachings, huh? The airship launches sky anchors that land on the skyway over Bevelle, and the team grinds their way down on the cables. It doesn't make any sense, but it made twelve-year-old me super pumped. To be honest, it makes thirty-one-year-old me excited, too. Fun fact, Lulu isn't in this cutscene because her dress was hard to animate. We then fight our way through monks with guns and robots until we reach Yuna and Seymour. Or, at least until we get surrounded. Yuna uses this distraction as an opening to perform The Sending, but Maester Mika stops her. Mika has no problem with Seymour being dead. Not only that, but he uses us as hostages. If Yuna doesn't marry Seymour, he'll kill the rest of the team. Yuna drops her magically appearing staff and finishes the ceremony. The whole team sees the two of them kiss. And it's a very long kiss.
After that, Seymour tells the monks to kill us. Kinoc and Auron have a discussion about guns, but it's stopped short by Yuna, who's slowly walking backwards... She tells everyone to let us go, "or else." At this point, she's standing at a high ledge, and we all know what's to come. It works, and Seymour calls it off. Tidus and Rikku run forward, wanting Yuna to come back, but she tells us to go. She says she can fly, and then she falls. As she does so, she summons Valefor to save her. Rikku throws a flashbang, and the group runs off. Kimahri has to hold back Tidus, but they don't stop until they reach the temple, where Yuna probably went.
The temple has more forbidden machina, and Wakka continues to have a faith crisis. The group says it's too quiet, and Lulu thinks it could be a trap. As for the Cloister, it's a floating platform maze. The Destruction Sphere is mandatory here, so don't worry about it. When they reach the Chamber, Tidus tries to pry open the door that only summoners can venture through. Before Wakka can say anything about taboos, Tidus shuts him down. He can't lift the door alone, but Kimarhi is there to help, and the two of them can open the door. Inside, we see Yuna and the Mysterious Kid from Zanarkand. Auron tells us that this is a fayth: a person frozen in stone 1000 years ago to fight Sin. The Kid flies into Yuna, and she passes out. This explains why she was missing for a day in Besaid. We can now name Bahamut. Tidus picks her up and carries her out, only to find that this whole thing was a trap. We see Kinoc and several guards waiting for us. We surrender, and they take us off to trial.
We only see Yuna's trial. It's proceeded by the ronso Maester, Kelk. The whole thing is a farce, of course. Everyone knows that Symoure is dead, and no one cares. Kelk is shocked that Seymour admits to killing his own father but is, otherwise, still loyal to Yevon. Yuna asks Mika if she can send him anyway, but Mika reveals that he is also an Unsent. "Even in death, he is invaluable to Spira." "Enlightened role by the dead is preferable to the misguided failures of the living." "Life is but a passing dream, but death is eternal." "...only the power of death truly commands in Spira." When Yuna wonders about her point in life, everyone says she brings hope to the people and isn't in vain. "Never futile, but never ending," as Auron sums it up. Mika officially declares us traitors, and we cut to Tidus and Auron in jail.
They agree that Yuna will survive, and Tidus asks why everything in Spira is about people dying. "The Spiral of Death," as Auron calls it. Sin brings death, and summoners kill him. In doing so, they die. Guardians die on the pilgrimage, and even the leaders of Yevon are dead. The fayth are the souls of the dead. "Only Sin is reborn, and only to bring more death." Kinoc shows up to execute them, as only he would do to a friend. This part is a little strange. It seems everyone gets one of two death penalties. Wakka, Rikku, and Tidus are thrown into an underground lake, and everyone is taken to the Via Purifico labyrinth. Before we do anything, we see three of the Maesters in the courtroom. They insult the missing ronso Maester and conspire to make sure we die. Seymour tries to save Yuna, but Mika won't have it. He then offers to make sure she dies, to kill his bride, but Kinoc wants to come along. Seymour doesn't want him, but they go anyway. If they really wanted us to die, why not throw Yuna, who can't swim, into the lake with Tidus?
We then cut to Yuna, alone in a dungeon. She must travel the labyrinth of the Via Purifico. Along the way, she can find Lulu, Kimahri, and Auron. Lulu is on the left side, Kimahri is on the right, and Auron is near the exit. Even if you miss one, they catch up in the end. At the exit, we see Issaru. He's been hired by the Maesters to kill us, and he challenges Yuna to a summon fight. His first is Ifrit, with a full Overdrive gauge. Shiva's Diamond Dust makes quick work of him. Next, he summons Valefor, who lost to Ixion. Last was his Bahamut. He did nothing for five turns but charge up Mega Flare. Guard when the countdown is at 1, and Valefor will be fine. I was really disappointed in Issaru's Bahamut... After Yuna wins, we leave, and Auron tells the loser that his pilgrimage is over.
Next, we cut to the Team Swimmy. Their dungeon is a quick but annoying swim through the waterways. After the second save sphere, we notice the number of pyreflies down here. They quickly form into Evrae. or Evrae Altana, to be precise. You only need to worry about Stone Gaze, which is absolutely stupid. The game doesn't even give you a chance to heal it! Take advantage of the Zombie Status it's inflected with. Use two Pheonix Downs and casually swim out the rest of the dungeon. Apparently, there are two good weapons down here, but guess who didn't find them?!
Once back on dry land, we meet back up with Team VP. The celebration doesn't last long as Seymour, Kinoc, and four guards block our exit. When they get before us, one of the guards drops a dead Kinoc at our feet. Seymour offers to join Yuna on the pilgrimage to reach Zanarkand. He then says something about becoming the next Sin because he sees the futility in life and how great death is. Is Seymour Kefka? Kimahri runs up to stab him, but it doesn't phase the Unsent. The rest of the group reluctantly run off. At the end of the road, Yuna stops. She doesn't want Kimahri to fight Seymour alone. Tidus reminds her that her guardians will follow her anywhere, and the two of them run back to Kimahri. Everyone follows. We now have to run back, in real time, to the battle. O'aka is nearby to top up our items, and there are a few save spheres along the way. When we reach Kimarhi, he shakes his head, and we fight Seymour Natus.
I focused on his shield guy thing, Mortibody. It won't die, but it will drain HP from Seymour when its HP drops to zero. That drains drops as the battle goes on, and it eventually starts healing Seymour, but it's an easy way to do 4000-1000 damage to a Protected boss. Seymour likes to cast Break on characters, which the Moribody will destroy, removing them from battle. O'aka has softs back on the bridge. Customizing a Stoneward/proof armor will help too. Otherwise, Haste up and use Reflect. Don't buff the whole group, as Morti will use a move to purge buffs from time to time. If it weren't for Break, this battle would be easy. Seymour will one-shot aeons, so try not to bring them in too often. I used Ixion to remove Protect and brought in Bahamut for Mega Flare. Mega Flare in the first move in the game to break the damage limit. This makes it a great way to get the Overkill bonus when Seymour drops to under 10K HP. During the fight, Tidus, Yuna, and Auron can talk to him. Auron says that he and Kinoc were friends, even if the Maester wasn't the man he once was. I don't remember if we ever get an explanation of what happened between them all those years ago?
After the battle, the team flees back into the Macalania Woods. Yuna is alone near another crystal tree with Kimarhi watching her. The rest of the team is really eager for Tidus to talk to her, so we might as well. Tidus, finally knowing the truth about the summoner dying, apologizes for preparing for a post-Sin world. He hopes it didn't make her sad. Yuna responds that it actually made her happy. The two then consider ending the pilgrimage and running off to having a boring life. Everyone else would be easily swayed but Auron, but whatever, right? They then think about going to Zanarkand, Tidus' Zanarkand. They'll watch the Blitzball games, party all night long, and see the lights go out at sunrise on the sea. Tidus gives a really beautiful description of his home during this, and it makes Yuna really happy. At least, we thought so... Yuna begins to cry, knowing that she can't stop. Unsure of what to do next, "Suteki Da Ne" begins to play, and Tidus embraces Yuna. The two float around the water, kissing. The way the tree petals float about, the moon and stars reflecting off the water, and two people who care for each other try to come to terms with their lives makes this a stunning scene. Graphically, it's amazing. Especially when you remember this was the early PS2 era!
The making out worked, as Yuna says she'll continue the journey with a much more chipper vocal inflection. Tidus says he'll go with her, "Not to the end, but always." Kimarhi finally leaves, and the two of them begin to return to camp. Yuna says Tidus should go first but quickly catches back up to him. The two hold hands as they get back to the others. Yuna states the plan, apologizes, and Auron tells her to rest before she finishes her next thought. The next morning, we all wake up and prepare to enter the Clam Lands, en route to Mt. Gagazet and Zanarkand.
...tomorrow...
Yuna didn't send Seymour again...
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