Dark Summoner

Their breath formed crystals in the air before their faces as they stepped away from the small cave network that tunneled through the gorge, opening the path to Mount Gagazet for anyone to travel. Soft white snowflakes drifted around them and Tidus drew his cloak closer to his body in an attempt to stave off the chill as the presence in the back of his mind complained in soft growls, vocally expressing its discomfort. Snow banked up on either side of the path under great monoliths. Their gray stone faces where carved with images of the Ronso, depicting the battles of their past and proclaiming the proud history of the mountain for all to see. Beyond them was the mountain itself, lording over all who stood at it’s feet. The wind howled wildly through its peaks and Tidus couldn’t help but feel a little cowed by the sheer unmovable force of nature.

Beside him in a conjured cloak of his own Harry trudged along the path, his eyes distant as he stared off to their left where the rock rose up beside them. There was nothing to see but that didn’t stop Harry. The Summoner wasn’t looking at the stone anyway. He was looking back into his mind, but for once, Tidus couldn’t see what he saw there. It was odd, to be blocked out of Harry’s mind when the Summoner had never really cared about the intrusion before. Kimahri was in the lead if the party for once since he knew the way to the mountain gate better than everyone currently present. The small blue furred Ronso was beginning to get dirty looks as they got closer to their destination.

Even if there was no real danger in their expressions of discontent, Tidus still moved closer to Harry’s side. As he gently bumped into him the Summoner was drawn out of his thoughts and he looked up at him, a faint, sad smile lighting his features. The blonde felt his heart flutter and not for the first time a thought ran through his mind.

‘Oh god, I’m in love.’ It was still somewhat disbelieving and Harry’s eyes crinkled in genuine amusement as the gloomy shroud was cast off and he reached out to take his hand. Tidus clasped it firmly and they continued up the path toward the next stage of the journey.

The sloping path leveled out and widened into a small valley that was sheltered by steeply sloped walls of stone. At the other end was a large gate made of the same carved gray material. Two cylindrical pillars carved in the same manner of those that lined the road up until this point held a third, solid slab of stone high in the air and Harry froze the moment he saw it. Although it wasn’t quite the same and certainly larger, the green eyed teen could quite easily imagine another arch in its place. For a moment there was a gray veil superimposed over the area before he blinked and it was gone, leaving the way eerily clear but for the slightly hunched form standing firmly in their way.

“Maester Kelk Ronso…” Wakka breathed in faint awe from somewhere behind them. They began the walk toward him and the closer they got to the elder the more Ronso appeared ranging along the slopes that enclosed them within relative safety. When they stopped a respectful distance away from the Maester no one spoke and the two Summoners took another step closer. Oddly enough they once again mirrored each other. Yuna, having produced her own winter traveling garments, wore a white coat normally favored by white mage’s while Harry was shrouded in his normal black.

Since no one was going to move Yuna took it upon herself to break the silence and stepped forward, making the prayer to the Maester. The Ronso rumbled somewhere deep in his chest.

“Two Summoners…” He ground out in a voice like stones. He was weary of all that had occurred and it showed. “The two who where sentenced to death in Bevelle none the less! Leave here at once, Gagazet is Ronso land, the sacred mountain of Yevon. The mountain will not bear the footsteps of infidels.” He was getting old and the treachery in the court of Yevon was just too much. He wanted nothing to do with it anymore; he would just retreat to the mountain and live out his days protecting it instead.

“Enemy of Yevon is enemy of Ronso! Leave Traitors!” Even as the voice spoke from above Kimahri was jumping back and Tidus, without really thinking had dashed forward, pulling Harry closer to Kelk as a spray of frozen stone went up from the place Kimahri had been standing. Biran Ronso straightened from his crouch, the fire in his eyes more than making up for the lack in the elder. He probably would have charged him but the familiar yellow form of Yenke appeared on the path behind Kelk and ordered him sharply away. He gave a solemn glance to one side and noted Harry’s presence, as well as that of Tidus, his eyes straying to where the other blonde hadn’t taken his hand from the Summoner’s shoulder. Both humans got the impression of approval as he promptly began to ignore them and took up a guard position near Kelk.

The few among the Ronso and the guardians who had noticed the silent exchange just blinked in confusion and looked to where the confrontation was happening between Yuna’s party and the Ronso leader. Harry and his guardians had been effectively shunted to the side and ignored. Yuna was clutching her staff in slightly trembling fingers as she drew herself up with a look that Tidus translated as she was going to do something rather foolish.

“I have cast aside Yevon.” Yuna said in a loud voice and the blonde had to repress a laugh when Harry projected the mental equivalent of slapping his forehead. “I follow the temple no more!”

“Then you will die by those words.” Kelk said in growing ire. Yuna however, didn’t look as though she was ready to back down.

“So be it!” She proclaimed stubbornly. “Yevon has warped the teachings and betrayed us all!”

“Nothing but a bunch of low-down tricksters, ya?” Wakka added his two cents with a rather strained expression, getting a small whoop of agreement from Rikku who couldn’t help herself. At this point Auron, Gatta and O'aka had sidled along the outside edges of the argument and joined the pair off to the side.

“Well that was interesting.” Auron murmured in his low baritone from the corner of his mouth. Behind his dark tinted glasses his eyes flickered to the blonde and then to Yenke who was now getting into the argument as Kimahri charged up to Biran, stopping just a few inches short of the other Ronso but still glaring in defiance. Tidus hummed vaguely and pulled his cloak in tighter.

“What is?” He asked, half not paying attention.

“The Ronso aren’t concerned with us.” The older man commented offhandedly, giving a small gesture to the Ronso lining the slopes on either side. The majority of them where looking away from them with the exception of a few members of the younger generation who peered curiously around their mothers legs. That simple fact put the others on their guard but Tidus didn’t feel any real threat as the Ronso Maester and his cohorts finally relented and let Yuna pass. Yenke and Biran turned sharply and followed them, their eyes set on Kimahri.

Once they where gone the majority of the Ronso present dispersed and Kelk turned in their direction. Rikku, O'aka and Gatta still eyed him warily.

“Master Summoner.” Kelk said in way of greeting and Harry’s eyebrows shot up. The Maester noticed the look and frowned slightly. “Biran and Yenke are honored hero’s among us Ronso. When I returned to the mountain they tell me, ‘Don’t stop the Dark Summoner’.” Kelk shifted and moved a few steps closer.

“I left Bevelle and returned to the mountain because of the chaos within Yevon. Everywhere I go, I hear of the Master Summoner. Crusaders speak of him, People speak of him. I know now that you are the Dark Summoner, the Master Summoner. You command strange Aeons, but I believe you have the power to defeat Sin.” Harry looked somewhat stunned by the speech. The Ronso’s voice held absolute conviction as he bowed low and the others gasped. A Maester was highest rank in the clergy of Yevon and they bowed to no one.

“Please, stand.” Harry stepped forward and tugged on Kelk’s arm, drawing him back up. The Maester did so, looking a little bewildered and Harry just backed away, shaking his head.

“You shouldn’t bow to me.” He said quietly. Kelk backed away also and set him with a measuring gaze.

“Very well.” He said a moment later, respect in his eyes that Harry was sure he didn’t really deserve. The Maester backed away and held out a paw toward the gate.

“The Great Mountain Gagazet awaits you.” At that Harry gave him a smile and nodded before taking the first step. As they passed beyond the arch and out into the blizzards of the mountain they heard two cries go up into the sky behind them.

“SACRED MOUNT GAGAZET! BIRAN HONOURS THE NAME OF STRONG WORRIOR WHO DEFEATS BIRAN. REMEMBER ALWAYS, GAGAZET! THAT NAME IS KIMAHRI!” The Ronso call echoed through the mountain and a much more powerful and ancient voice took up the cry after him.

“SACRED MOUNT GAGAZET! I KELK HONOUR THE MASTER SUMMONER AND HIS GUARDIANS! LET THEM PASS MOUNT GAGAZET SO THEY MAY SAVE THE PEOPLE OF SPIRA!” The very mountain seemed to respond as the Ronso began to sing the Hymn of the Fayth, their voices coming from all over the mountain instead of just from behind. Yuna appeared from a side path looking dazed as her guardians as they where lead to the main path by Kimahri and Tidus couldn’t keep his own smug grin off his face when he noticed that Kimahri was nearly purring. He wasn’t sure what had happened but it looked as though the Ronso had finally found some peace at last. Harry stood back and let their group take the lead as the gate vanished into the storm behind them. A few distant strains of the Ronso’s tribute echoed behind them but as the Summoner looked up at the mountain they suddenly sounded foreboding.

“…Ha sa te ka na e…
…Ku ta ma e…”

Then, like the gate the music had faded and they where left with only the screaming wind.

Harry drew closer to his guardians and gulped.

----------------------------------------------------

“Ten years ago I looked up at Gagazet from where we are now.” Auron looked up at the mountain from an outcropping to the side of the path. He’d strolled out there as they’d passed and Tidus had followed him. For a moment they could just see the outline of the peak through the storm but then it was concealed again behind the veils of snow.

“What where you thinking then?” Tidus took the bait and asked the question that was just waiting to be asked. Auron just gave him a ghost of a smirk.

“I was trying to think of a way to save Braska from his fate. At least this time we might have a chance.” Their eyes wondered to Harry who was walking between Rikku and Gatta, his head bent slightly to hear what they where saying over the wind. Tidus and Auron joined the procession again as they passed.

“What do you have in mind?” Tidus asked, wondering just how much thought Auron had put into this. The older man was silent for a long time as they struggled along through the snow, their resident Black Mages occasionally casting Fira or Firga spells to help clear the way.

“We should start with Her.” The grizzled former monk said after taking down what could have been his twentieth Grat. Tidus gave him a quizzical look.

“Her?” Auron nodded.

“She waits in Zanarkand amid the ruins, waiting there to test the Summoners before granting them the Final Summoning, Lady Yunalesca.” Tidus couldn’t help but stumble slightly hearing the name. He’d been talking to Maechen a while back and he had told him about the first Summoner to defeat Sin.

“Isn’t she dead?” He asked loudly and Wakka half turned ahead of them, obviously suspicious. A whispered thought later and Gatta became the distraction as the younger islander tripped and fell in front of him, most likely on Harry’s prompting. Something that was confirmed when Tidus felt him drifting curiously on the edges of his thoughts. For a moment Auron looked nearly amused before he focused on the path ahead that had taken a turn into a tall crack that took them through the mountain. It was a good place to rest out of the wind while they caught their breath. The pair took up a guard to the rear, looking out at the way they’d just come.

“Hmmmm, Yunalesca is an unsent.” Auron answered the blonde’s earlier question. “She was the one…” He abruptly cut off his sentence and a moment later he had regained his composure.

“She’s a powerful foe and we will need to be rid of her before we can think of a way to defeat Sin.” Tidus was sure there was something there that he was missing. Something Auron wasn’t going to tell, at least, not yet. However, he let the subject drop waving a hand as if to dismiss everything, he left Auron standing by the entrance to the crack and walked back to Harry who latched onto him the moment he was in range.

“I don’t like this mountain.” The dark haired teen murmured out loud and Tidus accepted a vial of potion that Harry had brewed nearly a month ago when they where camped out by the Djose Temple. He’d made whatever he could with the ingredients the forest and O'aka could supply and one of those was something he called the pepper-up potion. Tidus didn’t really like it all that much because of the steam that poured out of his ears when he drank it, but with his animagus form’s dislike of the cold it was a necessary evil. Tidus made a face and Harry cracked a small smile before it promptly vanished.

Soon enough the party was ready to go again and they all trooped out the other side of the crack onto a natural ledge of the mountain, surrounded on three sides by rock walls it was mostly protected but for the paths leading off it in opposite directions. The forth side however was a cliff where the ground just dropped away into the clouds, leaving nothing to show where it finally hit bottom. Yuna and her guardians had moved on and the others where right behind them when Harry suddenly faltered and stopped. His frown was more than enough to indicate something was wrong, even before the Blonde’s senses began to scream danger. He span on the balls of his feet, eyes darting back and forth as he looked for the danger when a figure he knew all to well stepped from the crack they’d just left. Harry gasped softly and hurriedly shook of his surprise, giving a vague wave of his staff that appeared in his hands, probably summoned by magic. A mist like, silver being burst from the emerald and raced off after the other guardians.

“Seymour…” Tidus ground out and the Guado smirked. “When the hell are you going to die and STAY DEAD?!” As he said this one hand drew Harry closer to his side while the other gripped the hilt of his sword in a white knuckled grip.

“Ah yes… the Son of Jecht.” Seymour purred a wicked gleam in his eyes as they flickered to Harry and the hold Tidus had him in. The smirk turned into a truly evil smile and he met the blonde’s gaze squarely. “How daring.” He all but drawled, “Such a relationship between Summoner and Guardian is unique. Even so, feel grateful that you are to die together, for I can not allow you to go through with your plans to destroy the Final Summoning.” It was quite the wrong thing to say and Tidus drew his blade. The sword was radiating a weak aura of it’s own in response to its wielder’s emotions.

“Not if I can help it.” Tidus snarled the challenge and Seymour nodded, having expected such resistance from the beginning.

“Very well, now prepare yourself to die, Son of Jecht, Master Summoner.” Tidus retracted his arm from around Harry and the Summoner immediately began to gather a spell when a shout signaled that back up had arrived.

“Save some for Kimahri!” The Ronso yelled out as he approached, taking up a guard stance with his weapon in hand. The others fanned out and Harry was quickly pushed to the back of the group along with Yuna, Auron standing between them and the others, but that didn’t prevent them from being noticed. In fact, Seymour’s eyes went straight to Yuna’s making it clear she had been his target all along and the others where just a bump in the road.

“Lady Yuna, it is a pleasure.” He gave her a slight bow but the girl did nothing in return. Her expression showing signs of the still lingering betrayal before it hardened into resolve. She stepped out from behind Auron and brandished her staff before her in clear statement of intent. However, Seymour retained his faintly amused expression.

“A sending? So soon?” His voice was mocking as he smirked at her. “Well, if you must, but allow me to say something to the last Ronso before I leave.” Everyone froze at those words and the first emotion that wasn’t determination, irritation or a blank mask flitted through the Ronso’s eyes.

It could only be described as Horror.

Seymour laughed shrilly and a moment later began to speak in a mockingly sorrowful tone, eyes never leaving Yuna’s face as he addressed Kimahri.

“Your’s was a truly gallant race. They threw themselves at me to bar my path. One…after another…” He emphasized his words by bringing up one arm and then the other before slashing them down and letting out another short laugh. “They where determined not to let me past, their battle cries for the Summoners.”

“No.” Kimahri said bluntly in denial, but the shaking of his weapon betrayed the grief.

“Kimahri…” Yuna breathed out and both Harry and Tidus felt a fleeting Sympathy for the creature. They knew what it was like to have everything ripped out from under their feet. Seymour, appeared to become more serious after that.

“You could end the suffering of this…Poor Ronso.” His words had an eager edge to them that put everyone back on guard. Yuna was nearly glaring now, she was getting more and more disillusioned and with that, anger and confusion came hand in hand.

“I don’t understand you!” She said loudly, her hands clenching convulsively around her staff. Seymour waved a hand in a lofty gesture.

“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…” He suddenly cut off his speech as he realized his words but picked it up again flawlessly but a spilt second later. “…to heal – Spira, I will become Sin. Yes, with your help. Come with me, Yuna.” He held out one long fingered hand to her but she shook her head and glared all the more.

Seeing that the approach wasn’t going to work he turned his speculative gaze to Tidus. “You do know, that once I have become the next Sin, your father will be freed again.” The words where soft, almost gentle as he spoke them but to anyone who understood the blonde and his feelings toward his father they where the magic words that set off a raging tide of hate behind his glowing blue eyes.

“What do you know!” Tidus snarled and lashed out with his blade in a violent and unfocused response. The blow fell short as Seymour fairly glided back and swiftly began to change into the metallic floating form he had worn when they’d fought him back in Bevelle. Tidus prepared for another swing and stopped as a large Machina like structure rose from below the edge of the cliff. Seymour stepped back onto the front and it closed around him like amour, leaving him extended from the front to the monstrous living machine.

“Pitiful mortals.” Seymour spoke in his metallic omnipresent voice. “Your hope ends here… And your meaningless existence with it!”

“Them’s are fightin’ words.” Harry couldn’t help the remark as it slipped from his lips but no one really noticed as everyone went into action. Seymour used mechanical extensions of his body to produce a lance, swinging it as Kimahri as he charged recklessly into the fray. The Ronso easily sidestepped the hit and leapt high in the familiar jump attack. The spear made contact and cut through the machina’s outer shell but he was thrown off a moment later when a magically propelled arm grabbed him and hurled him past the others into the rock wall in a move eerily similar to the last battle. Before their eyes though sparks emerged from the gash and all of a sudden the Machina was repaired.

‘It’s like the parasite.’ Tidus thought to Harry as he dashed in at high speed, delivering multiple attacks from different directions, all the while dodging the flailing lance that finally found a victim when Gatta wasn’t fast enough dodging. The gunner froze up as the inflicted wound began to ooze black and he could almost feel the infection spreading through him but his world exploded into pain as Seymour cast a bright healing spell and Gatta was down for the count, the zombie virus serving to make the Full-life spell lethal.

“KEEP AWAY FROM THE LANCE!” Auron dodged it himself as he recognized the effects. He raised his blade and grabbed the bottle that usually hung from his side. Taking a swig he quickly let it drop back on it’s string and spat it toward the sword. As it sprayed across the rune carved metal cleaver it ignited in to a blood red ghost of flame. Archaic seals span through the air around it and the power stored into the blade was released as Auron made a powerful swing in Seymour’s direction. The red and black shadows leapt from the blade and quickly turned to orbs of pure darkness that penetrated Seymour’s defense to hit the unsent monster head on.

The entire Machina shuddered as if in pain and Seymour raised a hand, manifesting a Protect Shield before himself. As their physical attacks began to have less effect Lulu and O'aka where pushed forward but Rikku skipped past them and in a shocking maneuver she grabbed onto Seymour himself. Using his face as a foothold she scrambled atop the Machina that bucked in an attempt to throw her off. Seymour was distracted by a water spell that seemed to slide off, barely making a dent in the machine but it was enough to Irritate the former Guado, Rikku yelped as two giant blades where pulled out of slots on either side of her and she cried out to the others as they where slashed out in an X pattern. Wakka, who had been pelting his electrified blitzball at Seymour repeatedly, ducked and the top of his red curl was nearly cut off. O'aka, hindered somewhat by his pack, was lucky not to be split in two as the blade slashed across his stomach.

Harry cried out in panic and rushed toward him, already casting spells that could save the ex-merchant’s life. Rikku, still on her lofty perch worked quickly, like any Machina there was an access hatch and the Al Bhed ripped it away, flinging it into the empty air below as she plunged in her clawed gauntlet. There where sparks of the electrical kind as the machina’s systems responded, giving out an almost human like squeal as the wiring was removed completely in the most violent manner possible. Seymour dropped a foot or two in the air and a faint trail of smoke began to rise from somewhere behind but it remained floating… barely.

Rikku dropped down and ran to the side as Yuna began to glow with the power of the summoning. The orbs of light twirled around her and her first Aeon, Valefore, rocketed down from the clouds. Even at the pace it was flying Valefore only had time for one attack on Seymour before the former Guado turned toward it and lashed out with an arm.

“BEGONE! Only death awaits you!” The avian Aeon screamed as it exploded into a cloud of pyreflies, signaling it’s return to the Summoning plain and its exit from the battle. Both Summoners felt the ugly heave that meant neither would be able to summon Valefore or Athena a second time. Tidus took the moment after the incident to change and with far more freedom was able to take off in draconic form. He began to attack from behind while Seymour retaliated with a wave of spells that crashed into every available target. A Thundaga spell shot down Rikku and a Firga intended for Harry hit Auron instead. Lulu and Yuna had been protected at the time but both where looking worn as their magic began to dwindle. Tidus provided another distraction and Seymour directed his full attention to him, turning away from the cliff to pursue him with the lance and swords. Harry, having managed to heal O'aka, tottered to his feet and took in the scene with growing anger.

“This has to end now!” He ground out as Kimahri finally shook himself awake and limped over to them. Harry reached back into his mind and mentally began looking for an Aeon he could use. Then he settled on one, drawing his staff close to his chest he looked around for obstructions before he closed his eyes and stood stock still before he leapt into motion.

The Summoning was almost like a dance as he took a lunged step forward and span in to a tight circle as the first foot landed. His head lolled to one side, following behind his body as he turned again and lashed out to one side. In his mind’s eye the staff smashed into a gong and in reality the sound rang out across the mountain. As the strike sounded he reversed his momentum and repeated the tight twirl in the other direction, mentally hitting a second gong that joined the throbbing ring of the first. After that he stepped away and the ringing of the invisible gongs continued on their own. The deep resonating waves shook the mountain and a huge crack seemed to open in thin air where Harry had once stood. It gave the impression of hellfire and screams as a gigantic black… thing stepped through. Black lightning flashed in the darkening sky and flashed across the horrifying visage of the dragon.

Unlike Tidus it was pitch black and its hide sparked silver and red as it shoved itself from the dimensional rift. It towered above even Tidus as it let out an immense roar that could be heard as far away as Bevelle. Unable to really think after finding a creature even larger than himself Tidus blindly followed Harry’s call and transformed on the fly, using his momentum to fling himself behind the dragon that barely heeded him as Harry directed it to attack.

The dragon turned blood red eyes on Seymour and the golden crest that marked it as an Emperor Horntail began to glow. It opened its gaping maw and the energy began to take form between jagged and stained teeth. Then as it reached its maximum charge the dragon king let it go and the power exploded toward Seymour. The beam remained steady as the black lightning lanced down, adding to the destructive power. Then as the beam faltered off it took off with a gust of wind that sent all the people on the ledge still upright, flying back into the rock wall. It charged at Seymour and as its jaws closed around the thoroughly defeated unsent, man and machine alike burst into a multicolored cloud of pyreflies that was quickly dispersed into the darkness.

Its target gone the Horntail turned almost lazily and flew back to the dimensional rift that had remained open and passed through. The beating of the gongs that had continued throughout the attack stopped and began to fade as the rift closed. Then as absolute silence fell over the mountain the wan gray light returned to reveal their party sprawled across the ledge in varying states of awareness, but one thing was for certain, Seymour was well and truly gone.

Tidus slowly dragged himself to his feet, shaking off the effects of his crash landing and limped over to the edge of the cliff, peering down just to make sure that Seymour wasn’t just hiding beneath the rim waiting to pop back up.

“And stay there.” He yelled for no real reason other than to make himself feel better in the wake of such a terrifying creature. Behind him, once again bent over O'aka, Harry snorted and began to laugh. It shook the others out of their varying states of shock and they slowly began to move around. Those that could helped as an exhausted Harry began to heal them but he was forced to stop moments after when Tidus pulled him away, letting Yuna take the brunt of the work. He fought to stay awake as they settled near Auron once again. The older man’s skin was raw from his recent healing and there where still traces of the burn healing balm on his face and shoulders where his clothes hadn’t taken the brunt of the attack. Harry was force-fed an elixir by O'aka before he was allowed to repair their clothes from spell damage.

Farrl, the Dragon he’d called, had never been his favorite for a reason. They’d researched the Fayth in order to find their temples all those centuries ago and the Fayth had been the very spirit of Rebellion, going as far as to create an Aeon that would probably one day turn and kill the Summoner. Harry guessed that it was a good thing that those Fayth could no longer be found…

“I figured it out.” Harry muttered to himself and Tidus looked at him in curiosity.

“Figured what?” He asked, but Harry didn’t answer, he just smiled and shook his head before carefully getting to his feet.

“I think we should get going.” It had been nearly an hour since the battle and the others where just about ready to travel again. Leaving the shelter of the crack for a second time they drew their coats tighter around themselves once more and ventured toward the other path when they realized one of their group wasn’t following. They stopped, first Lulu, Wakka and Kimahri but one by one Harry and his guardians halted. They half turned and looked over their shoulder’s to see Yuna standing there with a stubborn frown on her face that did not bode well for them. Personally, Tidus had liked her better when she was the shy back-island-bumpkin who bowed too much, at least then she wasn’t so annoying.

“He will become Sin…” She murmured, her eyes moving from face to face as she spoke, “With my help.” Auron turned fully to look her in the eye.

“It’s just the dreams of a mad man.” The ex-monk intoned, but Yuna didn’t appear to listen.

“If he becomes Sin, Sir Jecht will be saved.” Her eyes settled on Tidus who felt a brief flare of annoyance. He opened his mouth to put the subject to rest when Auron beat him to it.

“We’re leaving.” His expression was shuttered and not a single emotion was showing through the stone-like mask he’d created and that alone was enough to betray how much this had shaken him up. Yuna whirled on him immediately and glared at the back of his head as he moved past Tidus and Harry.

“You know something! Tell me!” Auron steadfastly ignored her and kept moving so she turned to Tidus. “Tell me!” She demanded of him instead. The blonde looked down at her like she had grown a second head.

“You are not my Summoner.” He said in a deadpan tone and everyone seemed to wince as they remembered that they where not one big happy family.

‘Cold.’ Harry murmured somewhere in the back of his mind but the feelings behind it where agreement. Even if Auron had been her Father’s Guardian, he had no reason to tell her, and Tidus, as Jecht’s son and Harry’s Guardian, had no obligation to do so either. Yuna was only there because they had agreed that it was mutually beneficial to both parties to remain together for the duration of the trip to Zanarkand. Besides, Harry’s guardian’s already knew what was going on and why they had set out to destroy sin in the first place. Even Gatta who hadn’t been there when they’d first heard for themselves who and what Sin was. Leaving Yuna standing in the path looking desperate and confused they began their trek once more, following the way that Auron had gone a few seconds before. It was long and winding, with the carved pillars that lined the path at the bottom of the mountain, rising up on either side. It continued to that theme for a few hundred meters before it eventually began to give way and it opened out to a sight that shocked them to hell and back.

Bodies lined the walls, half embedded in the stone of the mountain and covered by a haze of blue light that spread out from large seals painted where the rock had been smoothed away. Opposite them, in the center of the crater like structure there was what appeared to be a pool of water that defied gravity by flowing up into the air where it hovered as a ball of water. Their group fanned out as they took in the amazing sight, slowly coming to realize that the people, men, women and children, embedded in the stone where only statues.

“What are these…?” Tidus breathed out in awe as he turned a full circle and let his gaze settle on the pillar of water.

“These are Fayth…” Harry said slowly, looking around and realizing what they where. “A Summoning?” Yuna asked in a faint voice, coming up behind, still not quite sure about how they would react.

“Someone is drawing energy from all of them.” Harry didn’t even appear to acknowledge her as he nodded to the haze that surrounded them.

“This many?” Rikku asked as she examined the statue of a woman, getting as close as she dared.

“Who do ye think needs all this?” O'aka added his two cents. “An’ what do ye suppose they’re summoning?” No one really answered as Harry went into deep thought.

‘Maybe…?’ Tidus looked at him when he heard that single drifting word but was distracted by Rikku a moment later when she turned on Auron who was standing ahead of the group, staring blankly at the pillar.

“Hey! You know something don’t you!” She yelled out. “Spill the beans!” Like with the incident a few minutes ago Auron didn’t even turn to look as he began to drift toward the next bend in the path.

“Look not to others for knowledge. This is your journey, too.” Rikku pouted calling him a meanie before stomping back to Gatta. Tidus, having become used to Auron’s cryptic and often moody behaviors, just shook his head and walked over to the wall.

“Auron’s right you know.” He said just loud enough for the others to hear him. “This is our story. All of us have to make the journey.” He lifted a hand and ran it through the blue mist of energy when Harry suddenly snapped out of his thoughts and looked at him, his face a mask of pure panic.

“No! Tidus don’t….!” He never had time to finish the sentence when something grabbed hold of Tidus’s mind and dragged him away. To the others, it was as if he had just blanked out and Harry ran over to where had fallen only to have his eyes roll back into his head and pass out, his body sprawling across Tidus while everyone else began to panic around them. Not far off Auron waited, watching with no little surprise as Harry went down too.

“Interesting.” He murmured and continued to watch.