Dark Summoner

The Al Bhed said that it would take four hours to navigate the ruins of the sunken city in Leviathan so everyone not working on the ship had settled down to wait. Harry had sealed himself in his ‘Room’ shortly after they’d cast off and wasn’t opening up for anyone. Since Tidus was also missing everyone else just assumed he was with Harry… an assumption that was probably correct.

Auron stood alone in the observation sphere that was built within the hull of the submarine. It was larger that it appeared from the outside, as if the magic had made them smaller when they entered. Auron had heard about ancient spells that could enlarge spaces like this, but they’d only ever been mentioned in passing and never went into detail. The observation deck he was in wasn’t really external to the ship. Instead it was charmed to look like the passengers where surrounded by nothing but glass as the Submarine moved through the water at what seemed to be a sluggish pace. In reality it was moving as fast as a boat could above, but underwater time almost stopped.

There was a quiet hiss behind him as the pressurized door to the chamber opened and Auron nearly sighed with disappointment. He’d come down here to think in peace, without the chattering of the Al Bhed and the loud conversations of the other guardians. He was slightly curious to know who it was when the newcomer didn’t speak, but refused to turn around to find out. Soft footsteps, nearly inaudible on the carpeted floor moved closer until the teen finally leaned on the railing that held the people back from touching the outer edges of the sphere. Auron’s eyes flickered to the side to see the Summoner resting there.

Harry noticed and sent him a vague, ‘I’m alright, just a little tired, so don’t worry’ smile and turned back to the spectacular underwater landscape around them. Auron took a moment to study him, after all, he’d been locked away for the last three hours. His clothes where different for starters, they where a full set of dark, ornate robes that gave him a commanding and rather intimidating appearance. The under layer of clothes where solid black and held tight to his body, a simple shirt and pants. Over that was a full black robe made of heavy material with enlarged sleeves that not only just brushed the floor but nearly engulfed his hands, leaving only his finger tip’s visible. This robe was fastened all the way to his neck before it was layered over by a floor length vest. It was the only thing with colour in the outfit. The base colour was black, naturally, but it also had embroidery in silver and blood red thread that depicted a number of creatures. Two of which Auron recognized as Athena and Oddish, Harry’s Aeon’s, after that it was simple to conclude that the others must be the rest of his Aeons and he easily found the griffin and the snake from the vivid descriptions Rikku had given him, but the rest seemed to elude him.

“Can’t sleep?” The teen spoke up after a long while of looking at nothing. Auron looked away from him and stared out at the river bed as a school of fish swam past them.

“I don’t sleep.” He said in a gruff tone. Harry nodded absently. He could understand that well enough. Silence reigned around them for a long time and they where lost in their thoughts for almost as long, before Harry decided to brake the silence once more.

“So the next place we visit is Guadosalam…?” It was a hesitant question, concealed under a blank facade. Auron nodded, knowing the Summoner would see it.

“It is the home of the Guado, Master Summoner, I don’t advise you to enter their city. They take Maester Seymour’s word as law and we are walking on thin ice as it is.” Harry let out a sigh at the use of his old title.

‘No rest for the wicked.’ He thought to himself, even as he spoke up.

“I don’t want to go either Auron.” He reassured his Guardian. “But at this point we have little choice but to pass through Guadosalam. The map doesn’t indicate another way to Macalania and none of the Al Bhed can help us in getting through the forests around the city.” Auron’s face was equally blank.

“I still don’t like it.” He said in a low grumble. Harry let out a short laugh and let his body slump from when he’d unintentionally tensed. The silence this time was comfortable one as they patiently looked out over the bottom of the river. Eventually they noticed the signs that they where approaching the other side when the beautiful ruins became sparse and the riverbed began to slope upward. Harry sighed again as the sounds of Al Bhed rushing around rose up behind the door.

“I’d best get back.” He said slowly, pushing away from the railings and stretching out his limbs. “Tidus was asleep when I left after training and he’s gonna go berserk if I’m not there when he wakes…” He shook his head in exasperation, talking more to himself than Auron as he turned around and walked out the door, into the chaos beyond. The older man couldn’t conceal the smirk that danced across his face as the Summoner left.

Tidus… now there was another enigma.

The blonde he’d brought from Zanarkand had begun to prove him wrong over and over again. In the time between giving him over to Jecht and meeting up with him in Luca, the teen had grown up. Changing his outlook radically into the kind of single minded focus to protect Harry it was now… The little boy that Jecht had always told him about was long gone.

He’d be so proud.

Auron’s smirk grew wider as he turned and made his way to the door. Life would be no fun if there weren’t any challenges to keep you busy, and the time he was going to have to spend in making sure the Summoner and his guardian didn’t go wondering off together would certainly keep him busy far longer than anything else. The people of Spira where resting their hope in Harry now, even if those who should have known hardly cared, and he’d be damned if he didn’t make sure that their faith was rightly placed.

But first stop… getting through Guadosalam.

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The Al Bhed left them on the bank of the river under the cover of darkness and rowed back out to the Leviathan once more. Harry, still dressed in the large ornate robes he’d retrieved on the sub, watched sadly as the Leviathan sank beneath the still waters and vanished from sight, leaving no real sign that the great Submarine had even been there…

“We need to move.” Auron’s monotone voice broke him out of his dark musings and brought him back to the land of the living where he nodded.

“Let’s go.” Without words the group set off once more. All falling into step around Harry as they walked through the trees, avoiding the main paths and roads that lead through the forests. Fiends leapt out at them in the beginning but as they progressed the attacks tapered off, the beasts of the forest becoming wary. But that was only a temporary relief, the worst was yet to come.

When they got within a hundred meters of the entrance they began to split up. Rikku went into the city first with Gatta, under disguise, O'aka and Auron made up the second team, before last came Tidus and Harry. Harry had been heavily layered in spells that made him appear as an old priest of Yevon. Tidus had stolen a warrior monk’s uniform back on the road and was accompanying him under the guise of escorting him to Bevelle. So far their deception was working and none gave their groups a second glance. While they where there, Gatta and O'aka wanted to visit the Farplane.

“Farplane?” Tidus whispered to Auron as he came closer to them.

“The place where the dead are sent by the sending.” The older man explained. “In reality it’s a place maintained by the Guado where pyreflies take the shape of the dead conjured up by people.” Tidus made a little ‘Oh’ sound, not sure what to think about it. Auron went to speak with Rikku as she was left alone and after a few minutes Tidus and Harry found themselves drifting in the direction of the farplane. Passing through the portal like structure it took nearly everything they had not to gasp in awe of what lay beyond.

“Outside of space and outside of time.” Harry muttered offhandedly as they took in the view of the Farplane from their tiny suspended platform sitting in nothing. A great waterfall framed an enormous valley below where the most beautiful flowers they’d ever seen bloomed. The vibrant colours where slightly obscured by the mist cast by the falls but it did nothing to dampen the effect it had on them. Pyreflies, the light alternatives of the Boggarts, danced gracefully through the air, reminding Harry of the fairies from back home. Slowly they made their way up the stairs toward the platform proper and looked around that those who stood there.

O'aka was standing before the image of an older woman dressed in green robes, with her hair shoved under an oddly shaped hat, but a few wisps escaped, revealing hair in the same shade of red-brown as O'aka’s. Gatta was, predictably enough, looking at a shade of Luzzu, but the thing about the Farplane that stood out was the summoner and her guardian’s standing on the other side.

“Yuna.” Harry whispered. Tidus looked around and had to resist the urge to growl. The dark haired teen beside him discretely poked him toward one edge of the platform and looked back in time to see Lulu looking at them quizzically. Her eyes widened when Tidus’s helmet slipped slightly and she got a glimpse of his face. She crossed the platform toward them and stood a respectful distance away as she conjured up an image of a red haired man who looked remarkably like Tidus in the face.

“There’s news.” She said discretely, “I fear for Yuna’s future.” Harry tipped his head to one side as Tidus’s thoughts turned to his mother making the pyreflies go into a frenzy in order to create an image of the woman that he’d fought to gain the attention of while his father was around.

“What happened?” Harry asked, his spells making him sound like an old man. Lulu let out a huff of air that blew her bangs away from her face momentarily, revealing her other violet eye.

“Maester Seymour asked Yuna to marry him, and worse, I think she’s even considering it.” Harry counted himself lucky that no one could see his face when his jaw dropped in shock.

“Merlin…” He croaked.

“I’ve tried talking her out of it, as much as I could without openly going against it, but she sees this as her duty to Spira. She may be self centered, naïve and serious to a fault but she wants to defeat Sin as much as the next Summoner.” Harry nodded. He could relate to the need to defeat Sin well enough, but the reminder of Seymour still gave him the chills.

“Seymour is an evil man.” He said a moment later making Lulu give him an incredulous look. “Absolute power corrupts absolutely and that… Guado is being corrupted further that humanly possible, even as we speak.” It was common knowledge that power was the driving force behind the young Guado-human hybrid but to hear the words spoken gave Lulu the chills. With Harry, on the other hand, Seymour brought back memories of Voldemort. It wasn’t until a few seconds later that he realized his mistake in thinking about his old nemesis. The pyreflies went into a frenzy once more and gathered to the point in front of him before taking on a familiar shape. Long spindly limbs with bone white skin connected to a sickly thin torso where covered by plain black robes while glowing red eyes slit like a snakes glared down at him, an evil and deranged smirk decorating the skeletal face of the deceased Lord Voldemort.

Lulu recoiled from it with disgust and fear, as did anyone else who stood nearby. Harry however, managed to stand his ground and the illusions wrinkled face glared up at the floating evil mirage.

“Go back to hell.” He growled out at one of the demons of his past. “You died millennia ago and have no place in the world any longer.” A sudden burst of accidental magic forced the pyreflies to disperse and the image of Voldemort exploded, but the whole experience had left Harry shaking. A few more specters popped up in the shapes of his old guardians before he managed to get his mind under control once more and blocked the pyreflies out. He looked up at Tidus and nodded toward the exit.

“I think… its time to leave.” The guardian disguised as a warrior monk gave a return nod and helped him back out under the stares of everyone present. Once outside the Farplane Harry nearly collapsed from the sudden mental strain.

“We need to get out of here now. Signal the others and we’ll head out toward the Thunder Plains. I don’t want to stay here.” To tell the truth they’d already lingered here far more than intended and every second they stayed the higher the danger became that they’d be spotted and singled out to the Guado. So finding the errant members of their group they crossed out of the temporary shelter of Guadosalam and out into the endless storms of the thunder plains.

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Lightning crashed violently as they walked out onto the plains and it only took Harry a few seconds to realize that something was wrong. He turned around and saw Tidus sneezing violently while Rikku was cringing badly as she crouched on the ground and tried to fuse herself to O'aka’s leg. Feeling a growing headache Harry dispelled his illusions and a wave of his staff replaced the Warrior monk clothing with the blonde guardians normal garb. He addressed Tidus first.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, clearly referring to the sneezing that had subsided for now. Tidus sneezed again and shook his head.

“There’s this smell everywhere.” He said with a sniffle. “I just can’t ignore it.” There was a flash and on instinct the group scattered, narrowly avoiding electrocution via lightning bolt. Harry identified a faint residual smell of ozone as his vision cleared and his guardian went into another violent attack of sneezing. The summoner put his head in his hands.

“It’s the ozone.” He concluded with a sigh. “Your senses are hyper sensitive and its everywhere, with our luck you’re probably allergic to it.” Tidus gave him a helpless look and shrugged. Harry brought up the staff and performed the bubble head charm. Almost immediately after that the sneezing stopped. Tidus gave him a very grateful look. Harry smiled in return before crouching down beside O'aka’s leg. Rikku sat there shivering and flinched when the lighting above decided to crash down on the nearest lightning tower.

“I don’t like lightning!” Her frightened squeal softened to a whisper as O'aka attempted to pry her off his leg. Harry had to resist the urge to smile at the sight but took her hands away from her face and pulled her to her feet.

“Plains of lightning, plains of thunder, those who cross are torn asunder.” Auron muttered the old rhyme to himself and the rising Rikku sent him a dirty look.

“You’re not helping!” She snapped before squeaking when a bolt of lightning struck near by and latched onto Gatta’s arm.

‘At least she isn’t crawling up people’s legs.’ Harry thought to himself as they quickly made their way toward one of the great lightning towers. The structures stood above the barren wasteland, drawing the great forks of electricity toward themselves so that those who traveled beneath wouldn’t be fried. Harry could appreciate how they worked, having seen something like it in the muggle world. The space beside the first tower already had an occupant when they arrived. A bent old man wearing what looked like a green and yellow pope’s hat and a large poncho peered at them shortsightedly through his round glasses as they approached.

“Ah! Fellow travelers.” He said absentmindedly. If he recognized them as fugitives of Yevon he gave no indication of it. He just stared out at the endless storms, unflinching as the lightning struck the towers. “I’ve been wondering all around Spira, hoping to uncover it’s secrets and write them all down so others may read it… would you like to hear about the Thunder plains?” It was obvious he wasn’t stupid… or doddering, he was merely ignoring their identity for a chance to tell what he knew.

“Alright.” Tidus said, getting the gist of Harry’s internal rambling. The old man gave them a smile and began to speak.

“Very well, let me tell you about the Crossing. A long time ago, this place was a travelers’ nightmare.” Rikku shuddered.

“I can see why.” She muttered, making Gatta laugh. Maechen smiled wider and went on.

“Then a man by the name of Bilghen appeared. Using machine, he built towers that served as lightning rods across the plains. Finally, travelers were able to cross in safety. Bilghen was building that tower over there…” He pointed to a half finished tower across the plains that had fallen into disrepair. “When he was struck and killed by lightning. Bilghen was an Al Bhed. Our history books never mention him… a pity really.” He got an absentminded look as he stared off into the distance, his attention no longer on them. The group took that as their cue to leave and began to cross the open space between there and the next tower. There was a brief incident when a fork of lightning lanced down toward them, but they scattered to avoid it. For whatever reason Auron nearly laughed as they dashed for the relative safety of the tower. Tidus gave him an odd look when he noticed the smirk and didn’t even need to ask why.

“Braska crossed the Thunder Plains on his pilgrimage.” He said simply. “Jecht paid no attention to the warnings and was hit. The sphere made of the incident might still be around.” Tidus couldn’t contain the urge to smirk triumphantly at the thought of ‘Mr Perfect Jecht’ getting tossed about by nature’s elements. They made their way to the next tower at a run, narrowly avoiding being hit no less than twice before they reached safety. Once again the area around the tower was occupied, this time by a ginger haired woman in a green acolyte’s uniform of the priests of Yevon.

“Ah, good day!” She greeted them as they came to a stop nearby. They gave her nods of acknowledgement but didn’t speak. She was wearing a priests outfit after all.

“Did you hear the news?” She asked excitedly. “I was told by the Guado that Maester Seymour and Lady Summoner Yuna are to be wed! It’s such great news isn’t it! I’ve been telling everyone that’s passed so far. Everyone is just so excited!” She looked around at them all when she noticed their reactions… or lack there of. It took her a moment before her eyes fell on Harry and the staff in his hands.

“Are… are you a Summoner?” She asked almost fearfully. They all turned to look at her then. Harry watched her, equally as wary as he nodded.

“Yes. I am Summoner Harry.” He offered calmly as he could. Around him the others tensed. Shelinda gasped as the name rang alarm bells in her memory.

“You… you’re the ones who made all the fiends appear in the stadium in Luca!” Tidus scowled at the false accusation and Harry had to fight not to do the same.

“I can assure you… we had nothing to do with that debacle.” He said, slightly strained and Tidus moved behind him, sliding one arm discreetly around his shoulders. “If anyone is to blame for that it was the Guado. Sin was nowhere near Luca that day and they have displayed the ability to summon fiends before.” Shelinda looked taken aback.

“How could yo say that about the Guado! They are good people and they’re loyal to Yevon! Why would they want to do that to the people?” Her protests where punctuated by a loud crack of thunder. Harry took a look up at the sky and then back at his already crackling staff.

“We don’t have time.” He muttered, the bad feeling about the day growing. “Believe what you want.” He said, directed at Shelinda. “But don’t blame us for things they say we did without all the facts.” He was being harsh now but that couldn’t be helped. At that point, Auron, who had been keeping watch behind, grabbed their attention.

“I suggest we leave.” He said calmly, gesturing back in the direction of Guadosalam. “Summoner Yuna isn’t far behind us.” That got them all moving. Without a second thought as to what they where doing they plunged toward the next tower, Shelinda yelling out behind them. They got to the last tower before the crossroads when footsteps raced around them. Suddenly there was a familiar blue Ronso blocking their path and a righteous Summoner behind.

“Stop right there!” Yuna yelled bringing up a staff of her own. Harry’s guardian’s put their backs toward Harry, watching outward as they where stuck between the proverbial rock and the hard place. Even Rikku was putting up a brave face in spite of her fear… not that she didn’t flinch when the lightning struck the tower above.

“This isn’t right.” Tidus muttered, his eyes flicking to Wakka and Yuna before settling on Lulu. She was standing a little behind the two with a vaguely apologetic look on her face. She hadn’t intended for this to happen either. The blonde noticed Auron give an almost invisible nod to the black mage, laying no blame on her for this. Yuna marched right up to them and looked Harry right in the eye.

“I challenge you!” She said regally. “To a contest of Aeon’s!” Tidus felt a flicker of disbelief as she spoke those words and it wasn’t from him alone. Harry wore an unreadable look.

“Even if I loose…” he said slowly, setting his terms. “Let my guardian’s go.” Yuna looked for a moment like she was going to object but then stopped.

“Fine then! The guardian’s go on ahead! We will stay here and fight.” Tidus was about to protest when Harry nodded and sent them all a look that clearly said, ‘Just go.’

‘Trust me.’ He thought and understanding struck the blonde like a blitzball to the head. He grabbed the red faced O'aka and the torn Rikku by the back’s of their shirts and hauled them toward the nearby travel agency with surprising strength. Auron and Gatta following as Lulu did the same with Wakka and Kimahri. They took one last look at the Summoners standing out on the plains before they head inside.

‘I hope you know what you’re doing.’ Tidus thought as he sat on one side of the Inn with Rikku.

‘I do.’ Was the distant reply.

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Yuna was the first to brake the stand off between them, raising her staff and calling her first Aeon. She twirled it around in front of her like a baton and flames dripped from her hands like water to fall to the ground and burn away the rock in a perfect circle around her. A red spell circle formed under her feet and she crouched as the ground surged up in a tower beneath her. From the center of the pillar exploded a squat looking beast with a mane of flames and a pair of wicked horns curving out the back of its head. Powerful muscles bunched as its tattooed arms reached out to grab Yuna from the air before landing with a heavy thud and letting her jump lightly to the ground. Without prompting, Ifrit, the infernal demon of fire, leapt forward and lashed out at him with it’s long claws. Harry dodged it by a hairs breath and hurriedly settled on his own. Reaching within for his connection to Ixion and bringing it forth.

The sky above reacted and lightning pillars circled around him before the same circle he’d seen last time formed in the air. With his movements more confident Harry wielded his staff and Ixion exploded into reality once more, just like he had outside the Djose Temple.

“IXION! SHOW THEM WE’RE NOT TO BE MESSED WITH!” He yelled over the thunder and the proud creature leapt into action. It put its head down and charged at Ifrit who span to get out of the way but Ixion circled back and reared, flailing diamond hard hooves at the fiery Aeon. They found their mark and the beast reared back only to retaliate, gathering fire around its hand before hurling it at the thunder Aeon. It screamed like only a horse could as the attack made contact with its hindquarters and charred its tail, but here, on the Thunder Plains, this Aeon had the advantage. The fight had strayed beyond the safety of the lightning towers where Harry and Yuna still stood, therefore they where vulnerable to the unpredictable weather patterns of the plains. A bolt of lightning lanced down and hit Ixion squarely but instead of damaging the Aeon it had the opposite effect. Ixion glowed, newly energized, and launched itself back into the fray. Rearing, it tossed its head and the pressurized air swirled out like a blade, ripping into Ifrit like a hot knife through butter. Ifrit roared in fury before bounding into the air. Harry’s eyes widened when he realized what was happening, but he wasn’t fast enough to pull Ixion out.

Large balls of flame appeared around Ifrit’s fists as it hung, suspended in midair. Claws gripped them before hurling them at Ixion, snaring the other Aeon in a web of fire. Ifrit crashed back to earth before opening wide it’s jaws and spewing out another fireball that sent its panicking opponent into the air in the midst of a raging firestorm. Then it clawed into the already charred earth and pried up a bolder almost twice its size. Heaving it above its head Ifrit sent it flying right into the growing fireball.

The air exploded.

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In the travel agency Tidus had been getting more and more agitated as the fleeting sounds of battle reached his ears. He’d taken to pacing as the explosions came to a lull but when a blast outside rocked the agency he snapped.

“Screw this!” He swore violently as he grabbed his sword and dashed outside, much to the surprise of the others. The rock outside was hot, nearly melted with the residue heat but Tidus paid it no real heed as he darted across the open areas toward the tower where he’d last seen his Summoner. He skidded to a stop by the entrance to the low lying groove where the agency stood and took in the sight of the battle grounds. A new charred crater had been formed just off the path. To one side of it was Yuna, standing protected under a flaming Aeon while Harry knelt on the other, shielded by a glowing spell that filled the air around him. Tidus moved forward and looked down into the crater to see what Harry was looking at.

There at the bottom was Harry’s badly burnt Aeon. It twitched in pain and gave a pathetic whiny before it burst into a cloud of pyreflies that quickly vanished. Although he knew that they would always come back the next time they where summoned, Harry felt as though a part of himself had been torn to pieces.

“Oh now I’m mad.” He muttered, green eyes blazing. Ifrit moved before Yuna as Harry brought up his staff. It crackled with blue lightning and formed a solid beam of light that lanced up into the clouds above, connecting the earth and sky. The energy beam turned yellow and a large and ornate spell circle blossomed into life under his feet. The wind on the plains picked up and a darkness settled around them, shrouding everything in a veil that not even the lightning could pierce. Then, a mist began to seep out of the ground around Harry before taking the form of someone shadowed in the large folds of a cloak. It’s cowl hung low over its face and the only visible limb was a hand that extended from the black robes beneath holding a burning branch that cast the dark world into even deeper shadows.

“Demeter…” Harry whispered and the Aeon gave and eerie nod. Already anticipating the Summoner’s request. It turned toward Ifrit and reached out with its other bony, wrinkled hand, making a beckoning gesture. A chill ran through the bones of Tidus and Yuna as Ifrit gave a desperate roar and just like that the life was ripped from its body, just as if Demeter had cast the death spell. The grey mist raced through the air and formed into a sphere in her grasp before the Aeon turned to Harry once more. Harry dismissed it and it bowed before it dissipated into the darkness. When the shroud lifted the dancing shadows of the lightning felt unreal and fake. It didn’t bother them anymore… only the cold left behind by the Aeon’s presence.

Tidus was still in mild shock when Harry grabbed his hand and started leading him away from the battle sight. His expression was stormy and hurt as he concentrated souly on getting away from there. The blonde threw a look over his shoulder and caught sight of Yuna sitting on the ground and staring at where her Aeon had been, to caught up in her own nightmares to notice that Harry was leaving. He’d won that round.

As they passed the agency the other guardian’s who had been gathered by the door flooded out. Harry’s ran after them to catch up while Yuna’s went in the other direction. The dark haired Summoner had nearly dragged them half way to Macalania before he finally came to a stop in a covered rest area and collapsed. A deep look of pain was etched across his face as Rikku and Tidus instantly crouched down beside him.

“What was that?” O'aka asked a moment later. “Everything went dark suddenly and then it went really cold, like all the life had been sucked out of the air.” For a while the only noise came from the endless storms raging around them then Harry spoke.

“That was an Aeon… my Aeon… Demeter.” Everyone looked at him, even Auron who, until that moment had been keeping watch behind. “Demeter has two forms.” He explained. “When she is summoned with good intentions she carries a child and stands in the light, when the Summoner is angry or hurt she appears in darkness and rips the souls from her opponent.” Tidus wasn’t the only one who shivered at the thought.

“Where I come from, there are these creatures known as Dementors. Legend says the real goddess Demeter made them in her rage toward Hades when he stole her daughter and took her to the underworld.” His guardian’s only had a vague idea of what he was talking about but listened intently anyway. “They live, sucking the happiness out the air and leaving you with only your nightmares and the side of yourself that mocks you from the darkness.” It was obvious he was speaking from experience as he curled in on himself. Rikku gave him a sisterly hug before drawing away.

“We’d best continue on to Macalania now.” Auron once again was the voice of reason. Harry nodded blankly in agreement and nearly fused himself to Tidus as they made their way out into the storms and off toward the distant forests.