Dark Summoner

The cave was dark and dank with poisonous jets of gas and pyreflies that where drawn by memories and death, flitting around between half exposed fossils of centaurs, Unicorns and other creatures that had dwelled in the forbidden forest centuries ago. They made halting progress, killing the fiends as they went and quietly sliding past a few of the larger ones when they where to big to kill on their own. Eventually, Harry and Tidus reached the back of the cavern where an innocent looking teleportation pad awaited them, half buried in the sand. Without a word Harry stood on it and the blonde joined him before it activated. Light blossomed around them as they passed out of phase with the real world and rushed at blurring speeds through the rubble wall that had stood to one side of the chamber.

When they finally rematerialized Harry stumbled and fell getting off the teleportation pad. It reminded him somewhat of a portkey… well at least it felt like one. Dusting himself off he examined the room they’d been transported to. Behind the rubble wall was a naturally hewn stone room with hastily placed seals and glyphs crisscrossing the glowing amber stone at its center. Harry peered down at it and all his thoughts where confirmed when he saw the stone samurai amour embedded in the depths.

Completely ignoring protocol Harry leaned out over it and struck the stone with his staff, making it ring.

“Ron, get out here right now!”

Okay, maybe he was still more than a little pissed off at him.

Slowly, almost as if he was trying to avoid appearing at all, Ron became visible, floating in the space above the stone.

“Hello, Harry.” He said quietly as the ghostly version of Sirius’s animagus form zipped around him, barking loudly before attempting to jump out of the stone’s field of influence to slobber on him before it finally planted itself as close to his feet as it could get and peered up at him with big blue, unusually human eyes.

Harry had to fight the urge to start crying.

Instead, he channeled all his emotion into rage and set Ron with a dark glare that made the red head look down, his ears slowly burning red. He could deal with Harry raging on in a dream, but here, faced with him in real life it was much harder to rise above emotion.

“So what do you have to say for yourself?” Harry asked, and Ron flinched at the ice in his tone.

“Harry, I’m so sorry but it couldn’t be helped!” He started out loudly, trying to keep the pained look off his face and failing. “After we died they gave us a chance to keep going, possibly as your Summons, but then you went missing and even we didn’t know where you’d gone. Hermione, Luna and Ginny took the offer too, but Neville and Remus refused and passed on. It had been so long since you’d vanished that we began to loose hope of ever seeing you again, and then Sin came. Yu Yevon started to use us like Voldemort tried to…” He trailed off and looked at him, somewhat helpless. “We had to stop him, and the dream was our only way, but we honestly had no idea that you where there the whole time…that you…” With that said he went silent, eyes flicking momentarily to Tidus before staring down at his own prison once more.

It was quiet for a long time before Harry took a slow breath and spoke.

“Bahamut, confirmed as much.” Ron’s head shot up at the words, but Harry just crouched down, examining Padfoot and ignoring his reaction. “But I wanted to hear it from you.”

“Neville reincarnated, I think.” He went on, still steadfastly looking away from Ron as the red head’s jaw dropped. “There’s a guardian in my party, called O'aka. He was born on Besaid, and wanted to be a merchant, but when I looked at him it was just like seeing into Neville again. His magic had been sealed away and I unsealed it. Ever since, it’s been like Nev was there, more and more. I really missed everyone, after the battle, you all just left me there on my own.” He sighed heavily and stood up straight, ignoring the painful tingle of pins and needles that came with kneeling like that. “But I don’t hate you for it. I was mad at you, but now I’ve spoken with Bahamut again I’ll be okay, and with that I need your help.” Ron perked up again slightly as Harry explained to new plan and for a moment the youngest male Weasley looked as though he was going to be difficult.

“Weelllll…” He drew out the word, his tone unsure. “… I usually charge about two million, five hundred thousand Gil up front for my services… and more based on the individual attacks… uhhhh…” He trailed off, eyes widening when he noticed Harry glaring at him poisonously.

“Ron.” He growled out a warning. He chuckled nervously.

“Uh heh, why don’t I give you a discount, how about just two million Gil instead?” The green eyed teen crossed his arms over his chest and tapped his foot impatiently in a fairly good imitation of Hermione.

“One million, eight hundred?” Ron tried for the final time.

“RONALD BILLUS WEASLEY!!” The red head nearly jumped out of his skin when Harry started channeling the Weasley Matriarch, practically roaring his displeasure. “THE WORLD IS GOING TO HELL AND ALL YOU CAN STILL THINK ABOUT IS MONEY?! WHY WOULD A DEAD MAN NEED ALL THAT GIL FOR ANYWAY??!!” Thoroughly cowed Ron flinched as the telling off Harry had been saving up since arriving in Spira suddenly burst forth.

“Alright! Alright, already! I’ll do it for free!” Ron called pleadingly, sending a dirty look at Tidus who was once again snickering in the background. Harry abruptly stopped his raging and stared at his best friend with a small smile.

“Good.” He said boldly and Ron could only stare incredulously as he realized Harry had been manipulating him all along.

“That was real low Harry.” He glowered faintly and the Summoner grinned unrepentantly. With a huff Ron turned to light and burst forward, hitting Harry’s chest with a little more force than necessary before the dog followed, licking Harry sloppily before it vanished.

“Euughh.” Harry scrubbed his face clean of the slobber and turned to stare disdainfully back at the teleportation pad. “Alright, lets go find the girls.” Tidus nodded and they left the rubble-enclosed room, Harry thinking once again of the irony of Ron’s situation as a memory of second year flashed through his mind. His friend had been on the other side of a rock fall then too.

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

“So you want to go to Remiem?” The lady climbed down from her Chocobo and watched it for a moment as it trotted off to join the flock before turning back to them.

“I’m afraid with all the refugee’s from Bevelle I don’t have any trained Chocobo’s for you to use, but if you want to go badly enough I’ll let you train one of the wild one’s yourself.” Tidus and Harry looked at each other.

“I’ll train one.” Tidus took a step closer and the woman nodded.

“Alright then, first step, catching one.” She waved a hand behind her to the wild flock. Tidus grinned and easily walked closer before offering his hand to the nearest bird. It blinked at him and ‘warked’ softly before others trotted over and Tidus picked out the healthiest looking one there, carefully drawing it back toward the older woman, who was waiting with a set of reins and a harness. The bird shrugged uncomfortably as they wrestled on the reins and the woman stood back. “Alright, now, there’s a number of exercises that you can do to bring it under control, but I was wondering… when you get the hang of riding, will you race me? It’s so hard these days to find any challengers.” Tidus shrugged and agreed before Harry wondered into the outpost they’d stayed in on their way through the Calm Lands the first time.

There were far more people here than before.

As the Chocobo Lady had said, most of them where refugees from Bevelle, the honest families that had nothing to do with the political maneuvering and didn’t feel safe with all of Yevon in Chaos. On the other hand, at least a third of the people there where Al Bhed and with the number of people, the single tent in the middle of the grassland plain, was starting to look like a village instead. Harry moved through the tents, greeting the occasional Al Bhed that knew him or stopping to play with the children that had banded together to run around the camp. Eventually he came across a familiar form seated by one of the campfires, a wooden mug of tea steaming in his hand.

“Maechen?” The old scolar jumped, nearly spilling his drink.

“Oh, Summoner Harry?” He inquired once he’d recovered from the surprise. “Oh it is good to see you again.” He muttered on like an ailing old man. “You haven’t managed to defeat Sin yet I don’t suppose?” Harry shook his head and gratefully took a seat nearby.

“Pity, oh well, I’m sure you will do it eventually. You know, there was once another Summoner with the name Harry.” He mused more to himself than anyone else, obviously forgetting that they’d had a similar conversation before in almost exactly the same place. “I knew him well… I think. He was a very good Summoner and inspired many to follow in his path. Why, I myself gave it a go, but as it was, I had a far better memory for history than spells. You know, it was odd, because for most of my Youth, I spent my time sleeping through history classes, as opposed to memorizing them. In fact, the only person ever recorded to have remained awake during one of those lessons was none other than the Legendary Guardian Hermione Granger, the black mage who protected the Master Summoner, I knew her too… once…”

It was then as he trailed off and began to stare into the fire that Harry realized he was talking to.

“Collin?” He whispered, his voice to low to really carry. Speaking louder he got Maechen’s attention once more.

“Dennis said to tell you he said hello, and that he’d see you on the farplane.” He commented offhandedly, it sounded lame to his own ears, and the last part had been mostly made up, but Maechen…no, Collin didn’t seem to notice that he’d changed the subject of the conversation.

“Ahhh? Oh yes, my brother.” Collin’s mind seemed to wonder away again. “It was nice of him to send word. I’m afraid I don’t get to visit him as often as I used to. The mountain it so difficult to climb this time of year.”

Harry had never felt so out of place as he had right then.

Collin barely remembered him as more than a figure in history and it was strange not to be recognized in some form or another. Adding to the fact Collin had probably been his most avid follower all those years ago and he couldn’t help but feel the sting. He lapsed into silence and only half listened as Collin launched into a story about the history of the Hymn of the Fayth.

It had started out as the song of Merlin and the Fayth before it became a public anthem of sorts to the people of Zanarkand when Summoning became their specialty. Yu Yevon, who had been a resident of Zanarkand, had absolutely detested the song and had banned it before he had used the Armour of Immorality. After that his order had spread and the Al Bhed had taken up singing the song as a form of rebellion against the order of Yevon before in an attempt to suppress the use of the song, the order had adopted it as part of their faith, thus the reason why it was so popular today.

“Hey! Someone challenged the Chocobo Lady!” Harry was shaken out of his musings a couple of hours later when someone yelled from the edge of the camp and he looked up to see a man pointing off in the direction of Macalania. Following his gaze to the cliff that overlooked the immense grasslands he could only just make out the specks of gold that represented a pair of Chocobo’s and wondered how the man had even seen them in the first place. He got up from his seat, wincing at the numb feeling garnered from sitting down so long he made his way back to the edges of the camp where a crowd had gathered.

“Hey! Hey! Betting here!” One Al Bhed shouted as he passed. “Odds are 1:5 on the Chocobo Lady!” Seeing them all run to watch made Harry move a little faster and soon he broke away from the edge of the crowd, only now able to see the course that had been set up in the last couple of hours.

Balloons where everywhere while there where people stationed on the edges of the Balloon clouds all holding mechanical looking birds that chirped with clockwork.

“It’s the Chocobo Lady’s obstacle course.” A man had moved up beside him, clad in a long blue coat that told he was used to the cooler climates of Spira. His eyes were squinted in a smile and his face was lined with age, the kind of premature wrinkles that appeared on the short-lived adventurers. He made himself comfortable standing and leaned closer.

“I’ll tell you something… This obstacle course is special, because even though a rider might come last, there’s still a chance that they could win!” Harry looked at him as the man gave him a conspiratorial smile. “The secret to it is to win, while popping as many Balloons as you possibly can and avoiding the birds.” He pointed to the people on the course. “They hold them until the racers get close and release them. If they get hit, it’s another eight seconds on their overall time, while popping the balloons takes time off.” He broke off grinning as somewhere on the wide plain there was a thunderous crack and suddenly they where off! The two Chocobo’s raced neck and neck until the one bearing the Chocobo Lady suddenly veered off course. She shot toward a balloon and her bird deftly popped it with its sharp beak.

‘Oh…’ Harry thought as he watched Tidus pass another balloon. ‘She didn’t tell him! Cheater!’ With that little indignation in mind he concentrated through the yelling and cheering around him and sought out Tidus.

‘… what is it?’

The blonde was obviously distracted by the race.

‘Go for the balloons!’ Harry thought hurriedly. ‘Make your Chocobo pop them as you pass and avoid the birds!’ The blonde brought his focus back to the course in time to turn the bend from the cliff he’d been running on out onto the plains and pull his Chocobo sharply to the left to avoid the mechanical avian that nearly bashed into his head. Harry didn’t need to be able to hear thoughts to know that he was cursing.

From then on Tidus was all over the course, his Chocobo darting erratically from one side of the track to the other as it popped the bright balloons and dodged the birds. Shouts became louder as they approached the finish line and suddenly, the bird holders didn’t seem to be holding back. They let go of a continuous barrage and both racers where hit at least twice as they charged toward the end. Then before Harry could blink it was over. The Lady had crossed the finish line first at 44 seconds and Tidus had only been a few steps behind her, having taken 2 and a half more. Their Chocobo slowed to a stroll and they made their way back toward the camp as a group of the bird holders huddled together discussing something.

Harry was just about to look for Tidus again when one of them seemed to jump and staggered back in shock.

“Oh, that don’t look good.” The man who had explained the race to him squinted harder to see. Harry finally looked back to Tidus who had been closer to the cluster of people.

‘What was that about?’ He wondered and the distant blonde turned back to see, replying a moment later.

‘Harry! I won!’ Even in his thoughts Tidus sounded incredulous and he relayed the scores that had been hastily jotted down. Even though he’d come second with 46.5 seconds, the number of balloons he’d popped far outnumbered those of the lady trainer, and she had been hit at least five times by the mechanical birds, compared to his two. To make matters more unbelievable he’d managed to accidentally smash the time record, by negative 3 seconds.

Needless to say, the trainer had been shell-shocked, watching numbly as Tidus suddenly began to dote over his Chocobo like a proud parent bouncing slightly all the while. One of the bird handlers turned and made a hand sign to the camp and the adventurer in blue couldn’t help but let his jaw drop.

“Oh my…” He breathed out. “The Chocobo Lady lost!” Some of the people around him groaned when he said that, reluctantly handing over gil to pay for their lost bets and others began to cheer and clap, having done the exact opposite.

“Never! Never in my life have I seen my wife beaten at her own game.” The adventurer suddenly grinned. “I guess I can still be surprised from time to time.” That done he started out across the plain, closing the gap between the contestants and himself. As he reached them Tidus broke away from the small gaggle of people and his Chocobo streaked across the grass to where Harry was still waiting. The moment he arrived he was swamped with well wishers until he finally pulled away and trotted over to Harry.

“Did you see that!” He was grinning from ear to ear as he vaulted off the enormous yellow bird and swept him up in a bear hug. Harry just hung there limply until his Guardian finally put him down.

“I saw it.” He assured him. “Now, don’t we have a Temple to get too?” The blonde sobered slightly at that but the cheer didn’t completely vanish from his demeanor as they gathered up everything and said their goodbyes to the people in the camp before getting back up on the Chocobo, who was preening under all the attention it was getting.

“G’yup.” Tidus clucked to the bird and tugged on the reins, turning it around and heading for the place the Chocobo lady had said the entry to the temple was, leaving the camp and it’s people to vanish into the horizon.

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

The first thing Harry noticed, looking out at the twisted honeycomb shaped spires of Remiem temple, was the soft breeze that blew through the valley surrounded entirely by cliffs and mountains.

The second thing he noticed was the drop.

Amazingly enough the temple was suspended above a hole that went down so far gloom obscured the bottom from sight long before there actually was anything to hit. Harry swore it was deeper than the chasm he’d created with Gaia’s final attack. The building itself hung from a number of enormously thick chains that hummed with old power, preserving their integrity and keeping the structure aloft. It was a marvel of architecture and engineering and the Summoner couldn’t help but feel awed that his friends had been placed in a temple like this.

The wide rope bridge that connected the Temple to the gap in the mountains they’d crossed through, swung slightly as their Chocobo padded across it, heading for the temple proper. Other wild birds where gathered around the balconies, chirping loudly to each other as they wound through the paths that where suspended under and around the enormous building. Almost as if they where racing themselves.

Harry shivered and drew his robes tighter around himself as they passed into the shadow of the building. The temperature dropped still as they dismounted before the doors. Acting on instinct Harry approached them and held up his staff, channeling his magic through it and in turn, into the door. Three large symbols appeared and glowed brightly before the seal on the door broke and the stone slid apart. They peered into the darkness for a moment before stepping inside, the Summoner flinching slightly as the doors slammed shut behind them. For all of a second they stood there in absolute darkness, then soft light blossomed into being and they found themselves standing in a large circular room. Statues, almost insect like in appearance, lined the walls where the floor dropped away into darkness and all held a large basin that glowed with magical fire. But, it wasn’t them that held their attention riveted. It was the person standing in the center of the room, amid the large looping circles that ran across the floor.

The green clad figure raised their head and revealed the slightly rounded face of a woman, framed by brown hair that peeked messily out from under the rim of her hat.

“Welcome, Summoner. I am the Lady Belgamine” Her voice was soft, but at the same time, it sounded hardened by experience. Harry shifted nervously, wondering how long she had been down here in the dark… alone. As if she could hear his thoughts she smiled gently, letting the shape waver for just a moment as pyreflies scattered into the air.

“I see you know what I am.” She said after a moment. “I do not wish to harm you, only to test you.” She signaled them closer and they approached, noticing something familiar in her face as they went, but they couldn’t place the resemblance.

“Test me?” Harry asked as they stopped a few feet away. The woman continued to smile.

“For years now, I’ve waited here. This is the place I died, never having reached Zanarkand, but in my failure to reach the end of my journey, I swore myself to take on a new role in Sin’s defeat.” Her eyes wondered and her smile became more strained as she remembered.

“It is a lesser known fact, that the power of the Aeon, comes from the Summoner themselves. The stronger the Summoner, the stronger their Aeons. I reached the pinnacle of my strength before my death and remained there afterward. Now, I challenge those who come seeking this Fayth’s power, for those who can not defeat me, will never have the power to defeat Sin.” Her gaze focused back on the present.

“As the trial of this temple, I propose a Contest.” Harry’s attention snapped to her.

“A Contest?” He queried.

“A Contest of Aeons.” Belgamine confirmed, lifting her hands, palms upward. “Are you ready? The first to exhaust their resources will lose, so choose your Aeon’s wisely.” Her hands twisted in a graceful motion and the summoning magic burst into life around her, taking the shape of Valefore’s Summoning Circle as a strong gust of wind came out of nowhere, forcibly blowing Tidus away from the playing field, even as Harry remained unaffected.

Valfore soared into the chamber through the layers of reality and pulled up short of the stonework. Hovering above the ground, patiently awaiting the Summoner’s next command.

Committed to the course Harry took a deep breath and stepped forward, raising his staff to chest level and easily spinning it around his fingers. Sparks formed as a result of friction and grew as they fell from his hands, giving the impression of a waterfall of fire. As it hit the ground it began to burn away at the stone and as it formed a glowing pattern in the molten circle, the ground cracked. There was a rumble and the ground shot up to reveal Ifrit. The fire demon flexed and roared before landing on the ground, catching Harry and setting him down. He’d only just taken a few steps back when Valefore swooped at it’s fiery counterpart. Ifrit let out another berserk cry and latched his claws onto Valefore’s legs as it pecked him in the face. The Avian panicked and beat its wings wildly to free itself and suddenly glowed, casting a blizzard spell that sent Ifrit reeling, forcing him to let go in the face of the opposing element. Growling he cast a spell of his own, except the fire spell was directed at himself. There was a noticeable change when the dulled flames that encased his limbs brightened again in time to take the next swooping attack from Valefore.

Ifrit rolled aside nimbly and charged up a meteor attack that he promptly hurled through the air. Valefore took the hit and gave an ear splitting screech as its feathers where set on fire. Ifrit tried to take advantage of its distraction to finish it off when Belgamine’s voice echoed throughout the chamber.

“Stop, that is enough.” Valefore’s cry’s silenced as it was dismissed from the field of play and Ifrit let out a roar of Triumph before he stalked back to Harry’s side.

“Well fought, Summoner.” She acknowledged, “But Valefore was only the first. Choose another Aeon for the next round, or keep the one you have now, the choice is yours.” Ifrit looked back at Harry and Harry made a stay gesture with his hand. Grunting with satisfaction the Fire Aeon settled back on his haunches in a relaxed stance. Belgamine noted the action and nodded.

“Very well.” She lifted a hand again, waving it sharply through the air and there was a rumbling noise as five enormous icicles formed above her and slammed into the earth behind her. Then a glassy form appeared, floating down from the heavens to possess the crystals before they shattered and sprayed the room with ice. The now fully formed ice queen discarded her over robe and smirked at her opponent as she took her traditional stance.

The living Summoner’s face crumpled with a frown as he suddenly regretted keeping Ifrit out on the playing field. He made to dismiss the beast but there was a sudden resistance and Ifrit growled at him. Suddenly, he could feel what the Aeon was feeling and more than ever, Ifrit wanted to continue his battle with his other half. It was a legendary tale, even Harry had heard. The Aeon’s Ifrit and Shiva where exact opposites, but at the same time one would never be able to exist without the other, as lovers, as siblings or as rivals, what ever way the story was told they where meant to be together, even if the only time they saw each other now was in the heat of battle.

Harry let his hands drop and backed down from that argument. Ifrit wanted to fight.

With his participation decided Ifrit charged head first into the fray, small clouds of boiling steam springing up where he stepped on the piles of Ice left over from Shiva’s initial summoning. The icy goddess blurred out of view in response and appeared beside her counterpart, delivering a well-aimed uppercut at the underside of Ifrit’s muzzle. Ifrit moved with the blow and rolled over backwards, his powerful hind legs lashing out as he went, catching Shiva and the stomach and sending her flying back into a pillar. The fire Demon followed up by casting fire after her and the first spell hit, but his second attempt at the same tactic was thwarted by a Nul-Blaze spell that appeared virtually out of nowhere.

Shiva retaliated, the tinkle of moisture becoming ice sounding throughout the air. A boulder the size of Ifrit himself formed in the air above her head and she propelled it at him with enough force to splatter him against the closed door, forcing Harry to leap out of the way in the process.

Ifrit groaned weakly as his dwindling flames tried to burn away at the ice, but it was doomed to failure as the boulder leaned against him. He’d lost this round.

This time when Harry made the move to Dismiss Ifrit didn’t protest.

“Choose again Summoner.” Belgamine prompted from across the room. Harry gave her a dark look before a shield of energy sprang up around him just in time to protect him from the sudden violent burst of lightning that crashed down around him. He swung up his staff to catch the chain of lightning that extended from the large Summoning circle behind him. This time, pulling Ixion free of the Summoning realm wasn’t even a challenge as he broke through and pranced slightly in place before him, wearing no sign that he’d even suffered that defeat at Yuna and Ifrit’s hands in the past.

“This time Ixion won’t lose.” Harry promised to himself as he gestured for Ixion to attack first. The Lightning Aeon didn’t waste a second, manipulating the air around him for an Aerospark. The vacuum blades made by the attack raced through the air and impacted with his opponent. Where as Shiva and Ifrit had been on relatively even grounds in terms of power and size, Ixion was a different species all together. The equine couldn’t be punched or grappled with like Ifrit and it’s horn would probably mean Shiva’s death if she got close enough to gore. Still that didn’t stop her from opening up a barrage from a distance. Blizzard spells soared through the air and Ixion charged, lowering his horn and grazing her side with the tip as he thundered past, Shiva having dodged at the last second. Skidding to a stop, Ixion wheeled around on his hind legs and lashed out at the Ice Aeon, delivering a powerful, blow to the side of her head.

Dazed, she stumbled and flipped, her feet becoming her weapons as Ixion landed and she kicked the incoming horn aside, falling on her hands as her other foot followed up the attack, creating a sickening sort of crack as it caught Ixion in the neck. The equine stumbled but the damage wasn’t serious enough to slow it down. In fact, the next spell it cast was one Harry had taught it with the idea of never being caught in mind.

“Haste!” Harry prompted from the sidelines and Ixion vanished in a blur of energy and lightning. Shiva was thrown for a loop, her speed not nearly enough to keep up with her opponent and paid the price when Ixion tossed her into the air and impaled her on the jewel-tasseled horn. There was a quiet gasp from Belgamine as she was dismissed, sparing Ixion the chore of shacking off the corpse.

“It seems I underestimated your determination to win.” She exclaimed quietly and without any movement on her part the air above her was suddenly filled with clouds. A large Summoning circle appeared and Harry stepped back further as more gusting wind announced the arrival of one of Spira’s greatest Aeons.

Bahamut, King of Dragons and the Aeon of Bevelle.

Unlike the others on the playing field so far, Bahamut wasn’t aligned with any one element and his power, even un-enhanced by the abilities of the Summoner, wasn’t anything to scoff at. It took raw power to overwhelm this Aeon and even Harry had to admit that was something Ixion might not have.

“Quick!” he spoke into Ixion’s ear as the dragon advanced, filling the space of the chamber like a looming cloud. “Overdrive!” The Aeon tossed it’s head in understanding and charged. With a loud whinny it stopped and bucked lightning extending from it’s horn and charging the air around Bahamut, lifting the dragon of the ground and forcing it to hover helplessly in a spherical prison of pure energy. Ixion braced himself and sent another powerful charge up the connection that combined with the existing energy in the cage, could fry anything that got caught in the sphere.

Bahamut roared and Ixion ended the attack, circling back to Harry. The twitching dragon couldn’t find the ability to control his own singed wings fast enough and went slamming head first into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. Everyone waited with baited breath to see what would happen next, but just as suddenly four balls of dark energy shot out of the dust cloud and impacted on Ixion who gave a shrill scream and fell. Seeing that he couldn’t fight after that attack Harry quickly dismissed him and settled on the last Spiran Aeon he had in his arsenal.

Ron.

“You better not screw this up, mate.” Harry muttered as he waved his staff, plunging the room into darkness. From there came the illusion of a moon followed shortly by a Cherry Blossom tree that nearly glowed in it’s light. Harry’s thoughts in that second where along the lines of “Why had Ron picked something so… girly.”, when he heard the bark behind him. He span around in time to get bowled over by a dog that wore so much amour you would swear it was just a big metal foot stand.

“Padfoot?!” After one slobbery lick he pushed him off and got to his feet and the Aeon himself stepped out from behind the tree, his amour clanking in time to his steps. It swamped him like it did Padfoot and not even an inch of the real Ron was visible behind the mask and multi colored cloak. His old friend nodded to him and strode past, settling in a familiar defensive stance he’d used in the past, when he’d once been his guardian.

“Good to have you back.” He murmured and he could swear Ron was grinning at him before his attention returned to Bahamut. In spite of the use of Ixion’s overdrive he didn’t look all that worse for wear. Only a little singed and bruised. Ron, sometime’s known as Yojimbo, raised a hand, two fingers up and he gathered energy for an attack and came out right away with one of the most powerful. In a flash he’d drawn his blade and with a spin to build momentum, brought it down on Bahamut’s head. The dragon managed to rear back, avoiding the loss of his head, but the magics in the blade weren’t so easily thwarted. There was a sudden drain on Bahamut’s energy and it crashed to one knee, fighting to remain upright. Yojimbo flicked the blood off his blade and re-sheathed it all in one practiced movement.

As he did though, Padfoot leapt up and rushed at their opponent, changing the distribution of his weight at the last second to deliver a surprisingly powerful kick to the leg supporting Bahamut’s bulk. Then Yojimbo made the final blow of the battle, pulling out a handful of throwing knives that sank deep into the fleshy parts that weren’t covered by Bahamut’s exoskeleton.

It was obvious almost immediately that the blades had been poisoned and Belgamine spared him the pain by dismissal.

“That is enough, Summoner Harry.” She murmured and Harry nodded in understanding.

“Time to go Ron.” Yojimbo bowed awkwardly and walked back into the darkness, Padfoot reluctantly running after him.

With the Aeon’s no longer there to sustain the effects of their attacks, the damage to the temple started to reverse, leaving the floors and walls in a state that gave the impression that they’d never even seen a battle in their long existence. To the same effect, Tidus was no longer barred and he quickly moved back to his side. Belgamine gave them a faint smile as they approached.

“It is comforting to know, that their whispering has been true.” She said, making the pair stare at her in confusion.

“Who?” Tidus was the one who voiced the question and Belgamine’s smile seemed to widen.

“Why the Fayth of this Temple.” She explained. “They stopped singing long ago, but only recently I have heard their voices again. They whisper how they loved their Summoner in life, enough to die for him, and how he’d come back for them once again… and you did.” She closed her eyes.

“My time here is over… you would see their spirits finally laid to rest and there would be no need for me to remain as their guardian. I simply have one last wish, of the one who has at last defeated me.” She opened her eyes to meet Harry’s questioning gaze before he nodded taking a few steps closer and beginning the familiar steps of the sending.

“Good luck… and tell my little brothers I love them. Even in death, I never left their sides.” It was then they managed to pin the resemblance. Belgamine, reminded them of O'aka. It was ironic, how the dead never wanted to leave their loved ones. They lingered as shadows to watch over them… to keep them safe… they’d all been waiting for the day when they’d no longer be needed to protect them, to save them from the ravages of Sin.

Dennis… Belgamine…

When he sent them, they passed on the torch… their hope for the future and their love.

Amazing, how humanity could destroy their world and redeem themselves after with such simple emotions.

It was an awe-inspiring fact.

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

“I ye yu I…”

“No bo me no…”

The air was ringing with song as they walked down the passage that had been revealed with Belgamine’s sending and out into the dimly lit chamber of the Fayth. Harry wasn’t quite so surprised to see that instead of calling out the Fayth, he wouldn’t have to. Three, familiar figures waited there, one blonde girl in white robes with a bottle-cap necklace, another in black robes with bushy hair and smaller redhead in an equally red outfit with a gun clipped to her belt. Their song continued, even when they stopped and smiled at him, expressions of relief on their faces, lit by recognition.

“Harry!” Hermione was the first to rush forward, followed by Ginny. Seeing as the amber stone was set at floor level and not below it like Ron’s had been, Harry stepped onto it. Even though they weren’t solid in any physical sense they still tried their best to hug him. After a while Ginny drew back and whacked him in the arm, a small addition of magic making the area sting.

“Why didn’t you came sooner.” She demanded to know, even if there wasn’t any true vehemence in her voice. Harry shook his head.

“I didn’t know.” He admitted softly. “I missed a lot when I moved forward through time, and I missed you all so much.” They gave him watery smiles, surprisingly understanding.

“Well, you’re here now.” Hermione backed away as well and went to stand beside Ginny and Luna. “And that’s all we ever wanted.” Harry stepped back onto the stone walkway as they turned to energy, not unlike the way Ron had, and twirled around each other before joining together and moving toward him. Warmth filled him as they each found their places in his soul beside the other Aeons. He managed to turn around and smile at Tidus before all the Summoning’s he’d done that day finally caught up with him and the integration of two more.

His legs gave out and his eyes drooped as Tidus caught him but the feeling he had when he drifted off was more than enough to comfort him.

With the exception of one, they where all together again…