Chapter 4: Summoner
That night in the inn had to be the most restless night Jr. could remember. Well, most restless since he'd taken on the name Jr. The beds of the tent were all in one room, sorted in neat rows. He slept on the right side, second to last bed on that row. Blondie got the last bed. Blondie, it seemed, was having almost as hard of a time as Jr. was. Almost. At least he didn't have to listen to himself.
Between the odd mutterings about "the Ject shot", "Zanarkand", "Rikku", "Auron", and "blitz ball", Jr. decided he was not sleeping tonight. But it wasn't just Tidus keeping the ruby haired boy awake. It was Gaignun. It was Mary, Shelley, Tony, Matthews, Hammer, Helmer, and every single 100 series realian on the Durandal. He missed them all. He would never admit it though, it would make him seem weak, which he refused to do. So, just for tonight, blondie took the blame.
Sleep finally came to Jr. late into the night, and it felt like only a blink when the sun began to shine through the flaps of the tent. Everyone else was gone, besides the inn keeper. After a brief look at his surroundings he slipped on his overcoat and dashed out the "door" to see if he could locate his friends.
They were just outside. They appeared to be in some sort of meeting, without him…
"I figure we should try and explore the planet outside of this island," Jin could be faintly heard as Jr. approached the group, "So, I bought us some tickets for the next boat off the island." Jin was up since dawn investigating the island, studying everything he could find. He probably knew more then any of them about where they were, and he even managed to make a little bit of money from the loot he found in the surrounding forest.
"Sounds like a plan to me, it appears we have no other choice." Ziggy added, as Jr. was approaching.
"Hey old man, what are we going to do about the ES'? You think I'm just going to leave Asher here to be looted for parts?" Jr. remarked, he wasn't too concerned for them in reality, he just wanted in on the conversation. But he didn't get a reply before a familiar voice interrupted him.
"Heyy dare!" it called. The group all turned their heads to see Wakka practically dragging Tidus toward the temple stairs.
Momo stepped up from her seat to reply. "Ohh hello Wakka! We were just discussing our next plan, what's going on?"
"Listen, you guys should go and pray at de temple, present yourselves to the priest dare." Wakka smiled at Momo mainly, "I have to go check on da summoner…"
"Is something wrong…?" Blondie asked the questions this time. He was just as clueless as they were about this place, and it was a relief for him to ask something for once.
"The summoner, well apprentice summoner was praying in the room beyond the cloister of trials. If the prayer is heard, the apprentice becomes a fully fledged summoner." He spoke as they were walking into the temple.
"So…someone is in there somewhere and they haven't come back out. Right, I got it."
"A day has already gone by…"
They just sat and watched, some concern appeared on their faces as the rooster man and blondie spoke of this summoner.
For some reason that struggle disturbed Jr. He didn't quite know why, but it sent him into a fit of rage. "Hey. You know if someone is in there… why the hell don't you help him? Is he just supposed to struggle on his own?" He didn't know the summoner, or what it was summoning, or why, he just know the summoner was in trouble.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you gotta calm down brudda. Da summoner has guardians, they're already in there. Besides it's forbidden." Wakka was walking into the door in the middle of the temple, Tidus was approaching the stairs.
"Yeah but what if something happens… what if the summoner dies?" Blondie had stolen the words from the red dragons' mouth. He was already half way up the steps too. Sharp.
"THE PRECIEPTS MUST BE OBAYED!" The priest shouted just before being shoved down the stairs. The whole religious gathering was in awe of the taboo they had just witnessed. Tidus ran inside the large door neither paying attention, nor caring about the priest words.
"LIKE I CARE!" Tidus shouted once more before disappearing trough the open door. It was at that moment, Jr. decided that he wasn't letting blondie show him up. Just as the priest was gathering himself off the floor, Jr. pulled out one of his Makarov's and shot high summoner Braska's rod twice, causing it to fall on top of the unsuspecting priest. Jr. took his created opportunity and ran through the door, stepping on top of the man as he ran inside.
"JR.! Just what do you think you're doing?!" Shion chastened like a disappointed mother.
"Sorry guys, I'll be back in a little bit!" With that remark, Jr. dashed through the door.
It was bright inside the cloister, in contrast to the dark décor of the temple's main hall. The area was narrow and lined with grey bricks, and at the back of the room there was a huge wall with a round cavity and many glowing symbols surrounding it. Tidus stood there, examining the symbols.
"There has to be a way through this wall. There's no summoner in here… there has gotta be another room somewhere." Tidus was talking to no one in particular.
"Hey you!" Jr. caught Tidus' attention. "A little stuck are we?"
"Hey! Uhh… Wait why are you here? Wakka said it was dangerous and kids shouldn't be coming in here…" Jr. didn't like that comment. Not one bit. He was older than this guy by a long shot… probably wiser too.
"I wasn't about to let you hog all the glory for saving this summoner," Jr. explained walking toward the side wall and grabbing the spherical object from its table. "Besides," he continued, walking past Tidus now and placing the sphere in the back walls' cavity. "you wouldn't even be able to get to him without me." The wall shifted behind the blonde, startling him. Jr. just smirked.
Tidus wasn't sure weather to be grateful or smug. "Well I was going to do that before you showed up!" Was his simple reply.
Jr. crossed his arms and triumphantly sauntered past Tidus. "Sure you were…"
"Alright, alright you win! Sheesh! Let's just get to this summoner before those priest come back and cook our goose!" It was too late to turn back now. If they didn't save this summoner, who knows what the punishment would be. Of course, the kid would probably get off easy, Tidus, on the other hand would be tried like a man. Well, Tidus thought to himself, It's do or die time now.
"How could he be so reckless!" Shion panicked inside the temple halls, "We're already in a strange place, who knows how they'll punish us when he gets out of there. If he gets out of there!" She was starting to sound a little like Allen. But she couldn't help it. If they don't punish him, I swear to god I will! She thought to herself as she paced around the darkly lit room.
"Shion, you need to calm down. This is no time to be loosing your head." Advised chaos, he was right too. Jr. ran in there because he lost his head. Shion didn't need to travel down that same road. Of course that blonde fellow influenced him. She was sure of it. "He's just doing what he believes is right. That's all we can do now, here, in this place."
"I know chaos! I know. But I'm sure that the summoner would be alright, Wakka said he had guardians in there helping him. This was entirely unnecessary!"
Jin coolly strode in Shion's direction, placing his hand on her shoulder, "What is unnecessary" he began, "Is for you to panic. The damage has already been done. Whatever happens in there will happen. There is no sense worrying about it until we hear further news."
"Well I'm worried about Jr. I know he's just trying to help the summoner, but what if he gets hurt in there too? Who will help him?" Momo was a bit disheveled. Jr.'s sudden act of rebellion took her by surprise. If the summoner was in danger, he was in danger. Jr. had saved her so many times before, she wished she could run in and be his back up now.
"Perhaps Momo," spoke Jin, gazing a briefly at Momo before turning to one of the shrines, "perhaps, all we can do is pray. Just pray for now and maybe some divine spirit will guide us." Jin bent himself before the idol in front of him. Shion always wondered why he was so religious. Back home, he had wanted Shion to pray for their parents, to pay her respects. Shion never saw any point in that, they were dead, what more could she give them? In fact, Shion saw little point in anything after his death. The only thing she lived for now was KOS-MOS. Kevin was gone, her parents were gone, Feb was gone, and these days everyone else pretty much annoyed her. Except her robotic daughter who was leaning against a wall, trying blend in among the temple goers, even though she stood out so much. KOS-MOS had hardly spoken a word since they entered Besaid, yet just looking at her made Shion feel like she was home.
The duo had walked quite a long time when they saw Wakka standing in front of a large door at the end of the winding puzzle hall. Well here comes the first round of punishment.
"What's gotten into you two?" Tidus just frowned at this statement. He wasn't sure what had gotten into him. Jr. couldn't be to sure either, he just felt like it was the right thing- his gut told him to follow Tidus.
"Uhhh… well.." Tidus stuttered, unsure of how to assess the situation. Jr. just watched hoping he would come up with a good explanation, and fast.
"Hey, it's okay brudda! You didn't know." Wakka stared at the little man and almost man in front of him as he took in a breath, he must have been considering how save them from the boiler, "Only summoners, apprentice summoners, and dare guardians can enter here. It's a tradition. Very important."
"Then why are you here, huh?" Jr. wanted an explanation for that. He had a feeling what it might be.
"Ohh me?" Wakka pointed his thumb at himself, "I'm a guardian."
"What's a guardian?" Tidus was taking his turn asking the questions.
"Summoner's go onna pilgrimage all across Spira! Dey prey at every temple, and de guardians protect 'em." Wakka explained, "Da guardians are in there now… one of dem has a short fuse, and who knows what de utter is thinking!"
"Well no turning back now I guess. Let's do this thing!" Jr. gripped his vintage guns tightly, expecting some impending doom on the other side. Tidus wasn't worried about doom, but the guardian with a "short fuse"… he could handle doom, but how would the other guardians react to this? But he had no choice but to go through the door and down the temple elevator, and there the guardians stood, waiting for their summoner.
There were two of them. The first one to catch Jr.'s eye was a strange, almost gothic looking woman. She had long braided black hair, dark purple eyes, and pale- almost grayish skin. Her dress was low-cut, showing quite a bit of her ample bosom. The top was furry and the bottom was made mostly of belts. She was scowling at Wakka, probably for bringing uninvited guest. In an odd way, she sort of reminded Jr. of Shelley, but he couldn't place his finger on why. Must be the purple lipstick.
The other Jr. almost mistook for a statue. He was a blue lion man. At first he thought it must be some sort of tribal costume, but the realism of the fur, the way his muscles moved and how his tail swayed, made him believe the fantasy that stood before his eyes. He thought Betty had been the strangest humanoid he'd observed. The lion man, stood quietly against yet another massive door. That must be where the summoner is, Jr. thought to himself.
"What are you doing here? Didn't think we could handle it?" The gothic lady asked, glaring straight at Wakka. Wakka gulped as he tried to muster a come back.
"No uhh, it's just…" So much for a comeback.
"Hey, that summoner better be okay in there! I don't know where he is, but you guardians don't seem to be doing much to help him." Jr., disrespectfully reminded, catching the black haired woman's attention. All the while the blue lion just watched.
"Who, Who are you?" To Jr.'s surprise she paid no attention to his comment. She was looking at Tidus, looking at him as if he were a ghost. All she received for a reply was the rumbling of the large door.
What stood in that door shocked and surprised he and Tidus. A beautiful young lady, covered in sweat was staggering her way from the other side. She tripped as she tried to catch her breath, and the lion man sprung to catch her. She whipped the sweat from her brow and opened her multi colored eyes- one blue, one green. She whisked some of her reddish-brown hair from her face and breathed deeply as if to announce something.
"I've done it. I have become a summoner!"
Author's Notes:
Hey guys! TOO here with another gigantic chapter! Well maybe not so big, but big for me. I did it in three sit-ins. As you can see there was quite a bit to cover. I had to get that event out of the way so I could have a decent length for the next chapter, which should mostly be original content and not rely on FFX as much. Anyway three more introductions down, and two more to go. But at least I won't have to worry about them for a few chapters. Cat, you're special chapter is the next one! So please review so I can write it. That goes for anyone reading this. I need to be pushed, and your comments do the trick every time!
Toodles,
--TOO (aka Jessi)
