"Man, that Dona certainly was rude," Ranma said. "And her big muscle-headed guardian didn't even speak."
Kimahri growled. Ranma quickly decided to drop the matter.
"Well, I think you could say: Every world has its Kodachi, right?" Ukyo joked around. Akane had to giggle about that.
They entered a small room with an elevator. "Below are the trials, I think," Akane guessed. "Kimahri, Wakka? Ready?"
"Strength, everyone," Yuna said.
Akane, Wakka, Kimahri and Akane were stepping on the circular platform, and Kasumi and Ukyo were waiting next to the door. Ranma and Tidus also wanted to enter the platform, but Kimahri's mighty paw pushed them back.
"Hey, what gives'" Ranma shouted.
"Hey, you two are no guardians yet," Akane reminded them.
"Um, we'll be back as soon as we can, okay?" Yuna said.
The elevator moved down.
"Oh right, like 'tomorrow' soon I bet!" Tidus yelled after them.
"Well, sorry if our presence is that boring for you," Ukyo huffed.
"Hey hey, I didn't mean it like that," Tidus quickly answered.
Ranma sighed. "Well, I guess we just haveta wait here." He leaned against the wall.
Ukyo was polishing her mini-spatulas, Kasumi was practicing a few dance-steps and Tidus was walking around bored.
Then someone entered the room. It was the same woman they met in the main hall, the dark-skinned summoner Dona and her heavily muscled guardian, Barthello (who looked like he didn't have any brains in his head).
Dona looked around the room. "Where's Yuna?" she asked. Ranma nodded towards the elevator shaft.
"Then why are you here?" she frowned.
"Hey, we are no guardians, so we're not supposed to go in, right?" Tidus said. He really didn't feel like talking to that woman.
"Hmmm, no guardian, you say?" Dona mused. She mentioned with her head. The burly Barthello quickly picked up the smaller Tidus and threw him over his shoulder.
"Hey!" Ranma quickly went into his battle stance.
"What's the big idea?" Ukyo wanted to know. Quickly, she drew her battle spatula. Kasumi took a step back as a precaution.
"Yeowch," Tidus yelled from Barthello's shoulder. "Lemme go!"
"You better let him down right now," Ranma said sternly. Dona looked his way and laughed. Barthello copied her.
"How amusing! Do you really think that a skinny little boy like you can stop my Barthello?"
"Watch me!" Ranma snarled. He quickly grabbed Tidus and put him on the ground, then, in the same motion, grabbed Barthello by his arm and swiftly threw him out of the room. From the main hall there came a loud 'crash' as Barthello landed.
"You have anything more to say?" Ukyo snapped and stepped towards Dona, firmly gripping the handle of her weapon.
Dona paled. "You'll pay for this," she finally hissed and left.
Ukyo put back her spatula while Tidus got up from the ground. "Phew," he said. "I wonder what their problem is!"
"I can tell you their problem," Ukyo growled. "She is a snobby little bi, and her little friend apparently has no brains."
"Hopefully she learned her lesson," Ranma said while leaning back against the wall.
"Oh my," Kasumi said with a worried look on her face. "I hope Barthello-san is all right..."
Tidus stared. "She... she's kidding, right?" he asked the others quietly.
Ukyo shook her head. "I'm afraid not! Kasumi would probably be worried about a fiend that tripped while attacking her and in the process broke off a few of his claws."
Kasumi pretended not having heard their little conversation.
'They're right, you know?' Lenne mused.
'Quiet, you, or tonight you'll be sleeping on the couch!' Kasumi mocked. Lenne giggled.
----
After several hours of waiting (or so it seemed to Tidus and Ranma), the elevator came back up again. It was Akane... but she was alone.
"What's up?" Tidus asked. "Where are the others?"
Akane grinned towards Ranma. "Yuna asked me to fetch you," she told him. "She said she had a surprise for you!"
"For me?" Ranma asked confused. "What did she mean? And I thought only summoners and guardians could enter."
Akane smiled. "You're a summoner, are you not?"
He shook his head. "No, not really! At least, not in the way Yuna and Dona are summoners."
Akane seemed to lose her patience. "I said you're a summoner, so get your butt on this platform right now!"
Ranma gulped. "Yes, ma'am..."
He followed her. Akane waved to the others. "Just a couple of minutes. We'll be right back!"
----
Ranma followed Akane through the Cloister of Trials. The spheres in the sockets seemed to burn from within, and everywhere they could see stone lanterns with brightly burning fire.
"Yuna said this was the temple of fire," Akane explained. "But as fire and magma flows through the depths of the earth, the secondary function of the temple is the temple of earth. Not many people of Spira know that, though..."
"Aha, and how does she know?"
"Someone told her, what did you think? Ah, here we are!"
They entered the antechamber. Kimahri and Wakka were standing on the left side of the room, while Yuna was waiting for them next to the open door to the Chamber of the Fayth.
Wakka grumbled: "I still say it's a sacrilege that he's here!"
"Shut up, Wakka," Akane told him. "Go on, Ranma, go with Yuna!"
Ranma scratched his head. "With her? But... where?"
Yuna smiled. "Into the Chamber of the Fayth, of course!"
"But... I thought only summoners could enter there!"
"You are a summoner!"
"I'm not," he said.
"Believe me, Ranma, you are one," Yuna explained patiently. "The Fayth told me to invite you. You see, most summoners of our time really have abilities like me... Performing a sending, being able to do White Magic... but that doesn't mean you are no summoner." A summoner is what the word itself says: A person who can summon Aeons! And you are such a person!"
"Um, if you say so..." Ranma still wasn't too sure about that. "But if the Fayth invited me..."
"Yes! So come on, I'll show you!" While the guardians stayed behind, Ranma followed Yuna inside the chamber of the Fayth.
In the middle of the room, on the floor, he could see some sort of stone figure that resembled a mythical beast. Strange voices could be heard, singing a mystical sounding hymn that Ranma hadn't heard before.
"What's that?" he quietly asked and gestured towards the stone figure.
"That's the Fayth," Yuna said. "The fayth are people who gave their lives to battle Sin. Yevon took their souls, willingly given from their still-living bodies. Now they live forever, trapped inside statues. But when a summoner beckons, the souls of the fayth emerge once again. In their death-like trance they came into contact with mysterious beings that possess elemental powers. By conjoining, the fayth and the summoning spirit become one. That's what we call an Aeon!"
"So... Carbuncle is no real Aeon, is he?"
"No!" Yuna shook her head. "He is what is called an Esper! If he had joined with a fayth, he would be an Aeon... But now, let us pray to the fayth, so we can speak to it..."
She knelt down and Ranma copied her movements clumsily. "Just do everything like me," she whispered. She stretched out her hands, moved them around in a circle and brought them together with cupped hands.
Ranma did the movements as well and bowed his head.
Finally, the silhouette of a person appeared above the stone figure. It looked like the body of a man, dressed in medieval garb. He was floating and was transparent, like a ghost.
"Ah, you are Ranma Saotome?" he asked the boy.
"Um, yes, I am," Ranma answered.
"Good, good... I am the fayth of the Kilika Temple, the spiritual partner of Ifrit, the Esper of Fire! And I have a message for you from the Great Gilgamesh!"
'Gilgamesh is the messenger of us Espers,' Carbuncle explained. 'My employer must have send him!'
The fayth continued: "The message is: 'Greetings, young mortal! In every temple of Spira, the fayth will offer you a gift, which will help you to directly summon one of us! This gem will contain the Esper you will be able to summon from now on. Good luck, mortal!'"
The fayth smiled. "That was the complete message. And this..." He opened his hand. "...is the gem he was talking about. Take it! It is yours!"
He handed Ranma a gemstone that looked similar to the ruby in which he found Carbuncle, back in Nerima! But this one wasn't a ruby, it was an opal!
"Ummm... thank you... I guess..."
"In each temple, a different fayth awaits," the spirit continued. "And each one of us will have a different stone which contains an Esper." The fayth lowered his head. "Farewell, Ranma Saotome! May the sacred fire shine your way!"
After these words, the fayth disappeared.
Ranma took a look at Yuna. She smiled. "I'm happy for you, Ranma! That means, you're a full-fledged summoner now, just like me... only without the additional liabilities I have to endure..."
"Great, but also without your extra powers... but that's okay! I'm glad I got another summoning spirit... I mean, Esper!" He hold up the gem to take a closer look at it. Like the first time, he could feel the life force inside the jewel.
'Hey, Carbuncle,' he privately asked his friend. 'What Esper does this opal hold?'
----
When Ranma, Yuna and the guardians finally returned, Ranma proudly showed the others his new gem. But he didn't tell them which Esper it contained... yet! He didn't want to spoil the surprise.
When Yuna once again returned to the temple's courtyard, several temple visitors went towards her and congratulated her.
'Yuna sure does carry a lot of responsibility,' Ranma thought. 'I mean, I'm also out to finish Sin, but it's not like everyone in this country is depending on me. They don't expect that much from me. They only see in me what they see in Akane and Wakka: Just another guardian.'
Ranma sighed and walked towards the stairs, while Yuna and the others still were busy talking to the people. 'Am I glad not to be in the center of attention like her? Or do I envy her a little bit?
At that point, Tidus interrupted his thoughts by yelling out loud:
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!"
Ranma nearly fell off the balustrade he was sitting on, while Akane madly giggling came out of the courtyard.
"What the...?" Ranma stuttered. "What the heck was that? Did Tidus finally flip or something?"
"No, no," Akane giggled. "It just, well... He told Yuna he felt like screaming... I guess she didn't think he would mean it literally!"
----
While he escorted Yuna down to the Cloister of Trials, Wakka had ordered his team to pray in the temple, then to return to the large, circular platform in the middle of the long stairway, for some training.
Ranma believed that they must have been tired by now and desperately waiting for their return.
What he didn't expect was that they were came running towards them in a wild panic, as if they were fleeing from something.
"Whaaaah!" Letty screamed.
"Look out," Datto screamed. "Sinspawn!"
They all ran up to the platform, where the ugly monster just stuck his heavily armored head out of the ground, thereby cracking the stone floor. At two other locations on the platform, its tentacular hands were coming out of the earth.
"Hey," Ranma called. "That thing looks just like the one that attacked me while I was riding Sin's fin!"
"Lemme at it," Ukyo shouted and ran at the beast, spatula raised above her head.
CLANG!
The spatula almost got knocked out of Ukyos hands while it harmlessly bounced off the Sinspawn's armored body shell.
The spatula was still shaking after Ukyo took several steps back to safety, making her body shake as well.
"W-W-W-Well, t-t-t-that c-c-c-could have g-g-g-g-gone bet-t-t-t-ter!"
"We have to take out the tentacles first," Wakka said. "They're protecting the main body!"
"Well, It certainly is a good time for me and Yuna to try out our new summons, right? Ready, Yuna?"
She smiled. "Ready if you are!"
She then spun around her rod and created some kind of fiery portal on the ground. "Hear me, beast of hellfire! Appear before me, Ifrit!"
Ranma raised his hand containing the sparkling opal and yelled: "I command thee! Wild beast of mother earth... Come, Fenrir!"
The fiery portal under Yuna's feet erupted in flames that didn't seem to harm her body. Molten rocks crashed down around her, and Ifrit appeared, carrying Yuna on his shoulder. He safely put her down on the ground and roared at his enemy.
The opal seemed to vanish while gleaming brightly. The earth in the middle of the platform seemed to break apart as a giant head made from rocks pushed itself out of the earth. It's eyes were gleaming in a green light, and on its top stood the fierce wolf, Fenrir! He howled at an image of the moon that seemingly appeared above his head.
The Sinspawn just growled at them and lashed out with his tentacles. They hit the rocky structure and did nothing.
"Come on, Fenrir," Ranma shouted. "Let's take out these tentacles first!"
The mighty beast snarled and his eyes seemed to glow. Mentally, he commanded the earth formation under his feet to form two stone hands that erupted next to the tentacle hands of the fiend. Brutally, they grabbed the flailing appendages, squished them and ripped them out of the ground.
The Sinspawn squealed in pain as his tentacles disappeared in two clouds of pyreflies. The hard armor of the monster split open and revealed its ugly face.
"Now it's our turn to finish the job," Yuna commanded Ifrit. The red-furred devil of flames snorted while exhaling flames out of his nostrils. He created two huge fireballs in his hands and threw them at the enemy's face, one after another. When they hit their target, they caused a huge, fiery explosion. Ifrit took a deep breath and spit a third, even larger fireball at the fiend. The explosion grew even bigger. Afterwards, Ifrit stuck his claws into the earth and ripped out a stone disk, which he hurled at the Sinspawn.
The stone disk cracked apart in a bright flash, and the flames seemed to engulf the entire creature.
When the fire once again went out, the fiend lay collapsed on the ground, only twitching a lot. Afterwards, it disintegrated.
Ifrit and Fenrir proudly roared into the sky, while their summoners excitedly cheered.
Let's see if anyone is going to stand in their way now!
----
Seymour Guado once again entered the secret lair inside the mansion of his family.
He smiled. 'Lair.' That word had style. Fitting for a sinister mastermind like himself.
Meanwhile he got used to the screaming of his prisoners. They were several of them now, but most of them were just there to test the qualities of his newest plaything, or, as he liked to call it: His pet project!
Most of those worthless beings were either Guado that planned to defy him - or those who he suspected of such - or homeless people, wandering across the roads. Therefore scum that no one would miss.
He entered the main lab of his servant, Goba Guado.
"Ah, Master Seymour! Good of you to come! Project No. 1437 is almost finished. All is going according to your plan!"
"Excellent," Seymour smiled. "Tell me the details of the progress!"
Goba flipped through several memos before answering: "The physical transformation is almost complete, mylord! What makes the progress so difficult are the mental capabilities of the subject... It certainly got some excellent training to endure pain. I believe the brainwashing will be affecting our schedule, it takes far longer than I expected..."
Seymour's face darkened visibly. "That doesn't affect my plans, does it?" he coldly asked.
Goba grew visibly nervous. "N-no, of course not, mylord! We will double our efforts! Everything is going to be ready when your lordship will arrive in Luca with Maester Mika!"
"Good, excellent!" Seymours eyes glinted with excitement. "You know, my plans were certainly brilliant on their own, but with the assistance of my latest project, nothing will be able to stop me from reaching my goal! This creature will contain the best abilities and attributes from every fiend that ever existed on Spira... It will respond to every situation and adapt to its opponent's style of battle accordingly. Nothing... nothing will be able to stop it."
He spread out is arms in a dramatic gesture. "Behold, Spira! Behold... the arrival of my creature:
The ALPHA FIEND!"
In the next room, the cries of the tortured girl increased in volume, as they took on an unearthly tune and transformed into savage growling and snarling...
----
After returning to Kilika, they boarded another ship, the S.S. Winno. They would spend the night on board, and when the ship reached Luca in the morning, the great tournament would begin.
Ukyo remembered her promise and cooked dinner for everyone. Luckily, she found a little portable grill on board which the captain allowed her to use. After all, this WAS one of the machina that the people of Spira were allowed to use. Ukyo brought several fruits and ingredients from Kilika, and it was enough for everyone. Soon, everyone was enjoying her 'Okonomiyaki à la Kilika'!
Ranma was sitting at the front of the ship and enjoyed the breeze. Next to him, Carbuncle was floating in mid-air and munching on some okonomiyaki. On the ground, Fenrir lay curled up.
'This food is really good,' Carbuncle said while munching away. That was one of the benefits of being telepathic: You could normally talk while eating! He swallowed, then added: 'You know, it's really a shame that most of the other summoners are only calling us in battle, then sending us away again. We could never enjoy the simple pleasures of life, if it weren't for summoners like you!'
'You can say that again!' Fenrir agreed while grooming his white fur like a cat.
Ranma snickered. "You two are really something, you know that?"
'You better believe it,' Fenrir said. 'After all, you could have ended up with some other earth elemental than me.'
"Huh? What do you mean?"
'There were several Espers that liked to be in your services,' Fenrir explained. 'But because in Kilika there was the temple of fire and earth, not everyone was available. Finally, Gilgamesh decided it would be best if one with the powers of earth would aid you his help.'
'Who were the other candidates?' Carbuncle asked curiously.
'Bah, only that big oaf Titan! He wouldn't be smart enough to tie his own shoes - even if he would wear some! Thank goodness he didn't pass the test.'
"What test?" Ranma asked.
'I drew a longer straw than he!'
"Oh!"
'And what about the Brothers?' Carbuncle asked. 'Didn't they want a chance to serve our new hero?'
'Sacred was sick! And Minotaur had to take care of him!'
"What about you, Carbuncle?" Ranma asked. "Was there anyone that wanted to take your job as well?"
'Well, there were several candidates...'
---- (flashback)
'Please, can't I be the first summon of Lord Ranma?'
'No!'
'Please, I beg you! I'll be good!'
'I said NO!'
'But I'll be extra careful! That was only that once when I tipped over the explosives when working for my last master!'
'Stray, this isn't about your usual stupidities, this is about Ranma! You know he would be deathly afraid of you, do you?'
'Oh... right!'
----
(end flashback)
"Well, after all, I'm glad to have ended up with you guys! I like you two, really!"
'That's good to hear,' Fenrir said, while stretching out on the ground.
Then, Yuna came up to them. "Hello, Ranma!"
"Hey there, Yuna!"
Carbuncle made a short bow. 'Greetings, Lady Yuna!'
'Whatever...' Fenrir yawned.
'Don't be so impolite,' the little imp admonished the earth wolf.
"Why didn't you send them back?" Yuna asked curiously.
"I think they just wanted to hang out with me for a little while," Ranma said, shrugging. "They can return into my mind every time. And besides, it's not like it's an interesting place in there!"
Yuna giggled. "Well, I haven't seen a summoner do something like this before, but why not? I think I will do it sometime as well, with my Aeons, but I'm afraid they're a little... big!"
'It's all right, Yuna!' Valefor's voice sounded from inside her mind. "We don't mind! It's pretty relaxing in here!'
'Speak for yourself, birdie,' Ifrit growled. 'I think it's mighty cramped!'
'Oh yeah?' Valefor mocked. 'Then wait until Miss Yuna will have even more Aeons to summon. Until then, you should be happy for the room we have!'
"Hey, why can I hear them as well?" Ranma asked.
"I think it's because summoners have the same wavelength," Yuna pondered. "That's also the reason why they are able to communicate with their Aeons while they aren't present! Wakka and the others probably think we were talking to ourselves, if our Aeons weren't present.
Ranma was about to say something else, but then he saw Tidus approaching a blitzball that was lying nearby. He seemed to ponder something, then he scooped up the blitzball with his foot and kicked it through the air several times.
While he made some special moves, Ranma heard Yuna mutter: "Isn't that..?"
And then Tidus spiraled himself up in the air and hit the incoming ball with a mighty kick that sended it flying through the air.
The he said: "The best? Yeah, right!"
Afterwards, a shocked Wakka and the Besaid Aurochs, who have watched the little spectacle as well, were approaching him.
"Hey... show us that trick again!" Datto demanded. Tidus was happy to comply.
When he was done, he came over to Yuna, Ranma and his Espers/Aeons.
"Hey everyone," he cheerfully greeted them.
Yuna smiled at him. "That was.. the Jecht shot just now, wasn't it?"
Tidus was taken aback. "Hey, how did you know that?"
She giggled. "Sir Jecht showed it to me when I was a child! He called it the 'Sublimely Magnificent Jecht Shot Mark III!"
Tidus sighed. "Stupid name, huh?"
"Not as bad as yelling something about roasting chestnuts while pummeling an enemy with punches," Ranma muttered.
"You know what?" Tidus said to them, while he sat down. There is no Mark I or Mark II shot! My old man just said the name Mark III to hook up the crowd! He said they'd come back every night expecting to see Mark I or Mark II! And, they really came... I used to get so mad..."
'Well, if it worked, can't blame him,' Fenrir said. 'Who knows what's going on in the head of stars?'
"Is he alive, you think?" Ranma asked Yuna. She shook her head. "I don't know! But, Sir Jecht was my father's guardian."
"So he was famous here, too," Tidus mumbled.
"Yes," Yuna replied. "So if anything happens to him, I should think word would get around fast."
"What would you do if you saw him?" Ranma asked curiously.
"Who knows? I thought he died ten years ago. Well... I'd probably smack him one. After everything he put Mom and me through. And because he was famous, and I was always... Well, you should know, Yuna! Your father's famous, too. Everyone if Spira knows him, right? Ain't it tough?"
Yuna hesitated. "It... is hard to follow in his footsteps as a summoner!"
'I can imagine!' Carbuncle's voice sounded concerned.
"But the honor of having a father like that surpasses all that, I think!"
"Well," Tidus said. "There wasn't much to honor about my old man, that's for sure!"
"Yeah," Ranma agreed. "Same here!"
Yuna frowned. "You shouldn't say that about your fathers!"
Then, Tidus got hit with a blitzball. "Ow!"
"Show me that move again!" Wakka called.
