Standard Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy. How's that for blunt?
Author's Notes: Hmm…no new reviewers. I can deal with that.
Wait…no new reviews either! AAH! (rolls over and dies)
(Hirum pours a Phoenix Down on author)
Oy…oh well. Perhaps the lack of reviews will be remedied with this chapter!
(halts; suddenly notices AOF's new review)
Ooh! Happy day!
Anime obsessed fan: Yes, I WILL explain what happened to Luca. This is gonna be a huge fic, and sidequests WILL be included! Blitzball won't come into play just yet…and as for Aaron…well, read on. ;)
xxxx
Tomasto.
Fried Mi'hen potato sticks.
A match made in the Farplane.
xxxx
Chapter 9: The Gales of Luca Temple
xxxx
/11:32 ST, Hirum's House, The Outer Edges of Luca/
Hirum sighed as he looked at the musty old ceiling. It had been a long time since he had been home.
Hirum's house was almost on the border between Luca and Mi'hen. It was small, dome-shaped building that stood alone in a grassy field…for about fifty feet anyway. A dirt path led from the house's front door towards the main road; from there, it was only a short one-minute walk to the Northern Luca gate.
Unlike one thousand years ago, the Mi'hen Highroad was fully furnished. Yes, the Highroad now had a layer of gray, shimmering metal running across the former dirt road. Now, with the sun shining down on Mi'hen most of the time, one would assume the road would become rather scorching hot, right?
Wrong.
A Luca construction company had been the one to weld the metal onto the road, but along the side rails ran a series of pipes that had refrigeration vents every several meters. These pipes all lead to a building near the Mi'hen Sea (the sea one could see from the cliff near where Rin's was in FFX), where water was pumped into a large plant. First the seawater would be filtered and desalinated before being pumped into a cooling unit (the leftover salt would be packaged and shipped as 'Mi'ihen Salt' to most markets). The cooled water would then be circulated along the Mi'hen Highroad before being shot out of the aforementioned ventilation exits as a fine spray. The spray would keep the metallic road cool during the day, and the spread of freshwater also meant more precipitation for the plantations and fields throughout Mi'hen.
But that facet of the trip will be discussed later. For now, let us head back to Hirum's house.
The outside of the house was fairly regular looking; a metallic dome painted yellow with two blue stripes running across the top and bottom. There were two circular windows on each side of the house, and as for the front door…well, there was no front door.
The inside was relatively furnished. An old wool couch and a wooden rocking chair served as the only pieces of sitting furniture in the living room. On the opposite side of the room was a gray pedestal with a large blue sphere sitting on top of it. That sphere served as a way to watch numerous shows and movies over a global network. The Sphere Net set – or SN set – served as one's gateway to the outside world from home. Using an upload module (sold separately), one could put up shows, movies, and programming for viewing by anyone with an SN set. Of course, some companies devoted their business to broadcasting high-caliber shows and movies. However, a lot of 'blue-collar spheremakers' (as the elite members of the broadcasting community referred to amateur moviemakers) attracted a lot of attention by casual show watchers or talent seekers (in short, an SN set is the Spira equivalent of a TV.).
A lot of rugs adorned the floors and walls; many of them had intricate designs. A lot of them came directly from Bevelle. Even though they were quite expensive, Hirum had a little deal with Aaron; half of any money Aaron made at the annual Dalr Crub convention in Bevelle (a hidden convention of course, judging from what Aaron had told him about it) would go to him. Hirum spent a lot of money on furnishing his house…the rest was spent on food or books. Not to mention the occasional table.
The kitchen was pretty standard fare; a stove, oven, and a heatwave module (similar to our microwave). There was also an icebox for storing food. However, the iceboxes all over Mi'hen and Luca were interconnected by a series of parts that led to a cooling unit similar to the one near the Mi'hen Sea. However, this cooling unit was much larger, and water was pumped into it from the Southern Ocean. Pipes led away from the cooling unit to cooling stations that re-cooled the water and sent it off to various substations. These substations were no more than large, underground tanks that chilled the water yet again before sending it off to the numerous iceboxes connected to each substation. These pipes carried the cooled water and circulated it throughout the entire icebox, keeping the inside chilled the entire day. Water that rose above a certain temperature was expelled through a separate pipe that led the water away from the icebox's location (in the case of Hirum's icebox, the excess water was dumped outside into the field).
As for bedding…the couch served as that. A beat-up feather pillow served as Hirum's headrest.
In case you hadn't figured it out yet, Hirum lived alone. Which meant that he was an orphan.
Why was he an orphan?
Blame Sin for that.
His life as an orphan…
One could say it influenced him to become a summoner. Not just to avenge his parents…but because he had no other place to go.
And now, Aaron and Teela were over. Aaron was over just to hang out with Hirum like the good old days. Teela was there because…well, she didn't really have a choice in the matter due to Maejin Meekra's spell of bonding.
Well, it's nearing sundown. Let us return to our trio of odd characters…
"Hirum."
Hirum removed his gaze from the ceiling and looked lazily at Aaron, who was sitting on the opposite side of the couch. "What is it Aaron?"
"Remember this show?" Aaron pulled out a small, rectangular device with a transparent blue loop sticking out of its end. On it were several different buttons and knobs. Aaron pressed one and the SN set suddenly flared a brighter blue. In moments, it turned a clear, crystal blue with a very cartoon-ish Chocobo on it.
Hirum's eyes suddenly glimmered with glee. "Manga Chocobo! They still run this show!"
Aaron nodded. "During a spat of reruns two years ago, this old show regained a lot of popularity. They're actually making new episodes."
Hirum's mouth dropped. 'Manga Chocobo' was an old cartoon show that had been a big hit many years ago…well before Hirum was born. Hirum had seen it on a channel dedicated to old shows, and Hirum had been completely entranced by it as a child. The show involved a very, VERY fast Chocobo being chased by a clever Chocobo Eater. It involved numerous hijinks, wacky stunts, and its total lack of reality-based physics made it a comedy made for children, yet appealing to adults at the same time; a true accomplishment for when it first appeared over one hundred years ago.
Hirum giddily fixed his eyes upon the sphere, eagerly waiting for the show to start. The credits were rolling past…
A white plate with golden-brown sticks suddenly found itself sitting on the table in front of the couch. Hirum looked at the strange concoction with a mixture of confusion and disgust. "What…is…this?"
Teela turned around as she handed Aaron another plate of the same sticks. Both of them looked at Hirum quizzically before the brown-haired girl finally groaned. "Oh yeah, he wasn't here when these things were made."
Now it was Hirum's turn to look at her quizzically. "Huh? What are you talking about?"
Aaron held one of the sticks up and said, "These are fried Mi'hen potato sticks. They're a new food that's become quite a hit around Luca. I'm still surprised the whole thing hasn't gone global yet."
Hirum looked down at his plate with some wariness. He had had Mi'hen potatoes before…a lot. But fried? And shaped like sticks? And Teela had been the one to make them! What if they were poisoned? "…are these poisoned Teela?"
SMACK!
"OW!" Hirum winced as he rubbed the spot on his forehead where Teela had smacked him. Teela harrumphed as she stomped out of the room. "I may hate your guts, but I've got standards too, you know." Hirum's face was one of sarcasm as he gingerly picked up one of the sticks. Since when?
Sighing, Hirum finally took a bite.
He chewed the crunchy morsel apart, sloshing the fried potato around his mouth, tongue, and teeth. Finally, he swallowed.
Then he ate another…then two…then four…then seven…
Aaron looked at Hirum oddly as the summoner chomped on handfuls of potato sticks at a time. "Okay…I think he likes them."
Teela just rolled her eyes as she plopped down on the chair.
Hirum looked up at Aaron and managed to say, "Where'd these things come from?"
And Aaron told him.
xxxx
Two years ago, during the year 998 A.S.D, a culinary entrepreneur named Rodiger Nuros. He had been working hard for most of his 34 years of living to create a food that would create an uproar in the world of cuisine. To say his great creation was a stroke of genius would be an understatement.
It had been an accident, really. Rodiger had been experimenting with a finger food for Mi'hen potatoes…but the best he had come up with were nothing more than slices shaped like sticks that tasted horribly raw.
Rodiger had decided to throw them out. He gathered them on a tray and turned around…and tripped. The sticks flew away and into a pan full of boiling vegetable oil.
Now he had been boiling the vegetable oil to fry his gazelle meat. Gazelles were swift quadrupeds that were very plentiful around the Moonflow and Mi'hen. They were herbivores…and they were feasted upon by both fiends and men. They made for tasty meals…and they really tasted good when fried.
Rodiger had nearly cursed when the sticks had fallen into the oil. The splash of oil had made a complete mess, and his oil was ruined…
But, he decided to let the sticks fry. After all, many foods had been created through mistakes. He had waited until the sticks were golden-brown before taking them out. Upon finally tasting his 'accident'…he nearly whooped with joy.
He had found his food.
Wasting no time, Rodiger began marketing his newest culinary invention. Finally, he had been given the funding to create his own restaurant. The restaurant was titled, 'Rodiger's Fries'.
Rodiger's fried Mi'hen potato sticks were quickly given the nickname of 'fries' after the restaurant appeared. Profits began pouring almost immediately after the restaurant opened (no doubt due to the massive marketing blitz his benefactors had put into motion during the restaurant's construction).
The public began clamoring for the recipe. Rodiger kindly refused; both because he enjoyed the profits and the businessmen funding him refused to let their cash cow slip away.
Then…the lone piece of paper that Rodiger kept with him – in case he ever forgot his recipe – was stolen. Days later, a paper production factory had a large stock of paper sheets stolen. Days after that, leaflets were spread throughout the entire city, being dropped like rain from the sky. On those leaflets, the recipe was written on them in bold lettering.
And guess who had stolen the recipe…
xxxx
"YOU STOLE THE RECIPE?" gabbed Hirum, his finger pointed accusingly at Teela.
Aaron nodded. "Yup. She had her name on the bottom of all the leaflets. I should know…I got one myself. Soon after that, Rodiger's Fries had to add new food items to its inventory to stay in business. Rodiger's fries still taste the best - because he invented and perfected the taste over two years -but the amount of people that went there decreased a bunch once she spread those leaflets."
Teela chuckled as she swiped a few fries off of Hirum's plate. "So? What's so bad about letting everyone know a recipe?"
Hirum snorted as he grabbed the swiped fries back. "Because it was his recipe, and you had no right to steal it." Still, good stuff…these potato sticks.
Teela snorted back as she swiped the fries back and ate them posthaste. "Who says?" With that, she left the house. She hopped on top of the roof and just sat there, looking at the sky above her as the sun set. The Luca skyline glimmered and shimmered as the sun's light reflected off of the chrome buildings. Their glow became even brighter as the night-lights turned on.
Teela sighed as she watched the sight. With the bounty that had been put on her head four years ago (no thanks to Hirum, she thought with a scowl), she hardly ever got to enjoy the scenery anymore. But even now, the skyline of Luca still looked beautiful. Well, at least that's one thing right in the world.
Once the sky had become dark, Teela heard footsteps. She leered over the roof's edge and watched Aaron walk away towards Luca. The girl frowned; she had expected him to sleep over at Hirum's. Shrugging, Teela laid back on the rooftop and went to sleep.
Aaron replayed the conversation in his head. Manga Chocobo had just ended. An ad for Rodiger's Fries had just come on when Hirum had turned to him and said, "I want you to be my guardian."
Aaron's ears had twitched at that? Him? A guardian? "Well…I'm not exactly a tough fighter. I wouldn't really be able to protect you that much."
"Nonsense!" retorted Hirum. "You've got a whole bunch of technological stuff. You can probably hold off anyone with those robotic arms of yours!" Hirum leaned back as he picked away at the crumbs left in his teeth. "Besides, I need someone to protect me from Teela. After all, she might try to kill me one day."
Aaron chuckled as he reminisced over that line. He had only answered with an 'I'll think about it.'
Truthfully, he wanted to go.
But he had to square things away with his employee first.
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/12:51 NT, Dalr Crub, Luca/
The bald, heavyset man sighed. He spoke in a gruff, scratchy voice as he asked, "Okay…tell me that again?"
Aaron's shoulders slumped as he said, "Okay sir, one more time. I was asked by a summoner to be his guardian, and I want to join him. But I wanted to ask you first Garin…so can I?"
The previously named Garin sighed as he rubbed his temples. He was the employer of the Dalr Crub…as well as the manager and the all-around head honcho. "Of course you can…but…" He looked around, as if making sure nobody was watching. "Oui ghuf dryd dra pucc fuh'd pa bmaycat."
Aaron nodded in agreement. "I know. Can't I bring something along to keep in communication with you?" To keep up pretenses, if nothing else.
Garin looked under the counter and pulled out a gray square that was two centimeters thick, one foot long, and ten inches wide. Garin pressed a switch on the front and pulled up a flip-up screen. The screen was paper-thin, and it was made of a translucent green material. "This communication module will help you keep in contact."
Aaron nodded. "Thanks." He grabbed a backpack and placed the module inside. "Now…can I take the R-1 Battle Arms with me? I could use them to help protect the summoner…and it'll be a great opportunity to test them even more."
Garin shook his head. "Sorry pal…these things are top-of-the-line. And you'd need an official pass to field test these parts from the ABTC. Plus…you'd need to buy the arms first. 100,000 Gil." Of course, considering the circumstances that applied to Aaron, the 'pass' thing was just a ruse; Aaron didn't need one. It was just second-nature for Garin by now.
Aaron's mouth dropped. "WHAT! 100,000 Gil?!"
Garin chuckled as he looked at a wrinkled paper that detailed the prices for all items at the Dalr Crub. "Sorry. That's the retail price for one of our most expensive and high-tech items. No Gil. No sale."
Aaron sighed as he put the backpack over his shoulders. "Oh well…at least I still have this," he said as he tapped the metallic plate on his wristband. "And it'll have to do."
Garin smiled as he patted the boy on the back. "Hey hey…just be careful okay? I'd hate for one of the Dalr Crub's best workers to get killed."
"Gee, thanks a lot," muttered Aaron as he walked out of the Dalr Crub. Garin frowned as he immediately made a beeline for a sphere-com. The sphere-com was a handheld device that was basically a blue sphere and an orange sphere connected by a golden rod. The blue sphere was on the superior side of the rod, while the orange one was on the inferior side. A set of wires filled with the liquid-like matter that the spheres were made of connected the spheres together; all the wires were within the rod. Like the Sphere Net set, the sphere-com could communicate with any other sphere-com all over Spira. However, one had to literally speak the name of the person they wanted to speak to into the orange sphere. The sphere-com would then seek out other registered sphere-coms that were similar to the name said. One would speak into the orange sphere, and one would hear the other person's response through the blue one.
However…Garin's call was different. He looked once more around the room before saying, "Without order is chaos."
There was a small, serene tone as the call was connected. An automated message began. "Please enter password."
"Business is war."
"Password approved." A few more moments of silence passed before someone with an annoying squeaky voice answered, "What do you want? You know you're not supposed to use this line unless it's an emergency!"
Garin growled; he hated the receptionist who answered this line. "I know that."
The man on the other side paused. After a remorseful sigh, the man replied, "Okay, what?"
"I need you to tell him this."
The receptionist knew what Garin meant by 'him'.
xxxx
/Next Day, 12:01 ST, Hirum's House/
Hirum yawned as he sat up. He rubbed the back of his neck slowly as he muttered, "Good ol' couch…good ol' back aches…"
"Aren't you going to say hi to your new guardian?"
Hirum spun around to the voice that came from the front door. Standing there was Aaron with a backpack slung over his shoulders. "My employer said it was okay. Now you have someone to stand between you and Teela when she gets mad."
Hirum chuckled at that comment. "Ain't that the truth!"
Teela, however, didn't. As soon as Aaron had walked inside, Teela had hopped off of the roof and onto the ground behind the Al Bhed. Right as Hirum said 'truth', Teela jumped into the air and kicked Aaron in the back. This sent the young boy to the floor in a heap. Hirum's jaw dropped as he shouted, "WHAT THE HECK DID YOU DO THAT FOR!"
Teela brushed her hands together as she replied, "Pay back for sending me through a wall."
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/1:24 ST, Elevator 2, Transportation Junction: City-Temple/
Hirum and Aaron watched as they rose steadily higher and higher above the Luca skyline. The elevator they were on consisted of nothing more than a rocky platform held up by several foot-thick pillars of blue light. As they went up, the air began to decrease in temperature…but the two boys didn't mind.
Neither did Teela. Instead of going on the elevator, she had summoned the Divebeak's wings. Right now, she was flying upwards alongside the elevator. However, she was wearing her gray cloak again; after all, she still had a bounty on her head.
When the elevator slowed to a stop, Hirum and Aaron stepped forward, taking a glimpse at the huge habitat the temple sat on. Up there, the air was noticeably cleaner, and there was a feeling of serenity high in the clouds. Perhaps that's why the Temple of Yevon-Luca was built on a habitat.
Teela set down beside them and dismissed her wings. Hirum backed away from Teela; the cloak made her features totally invisible to the eye without a close inspection. And he didn't want to get any closer. "Well," he finally said. "Shall we enter the temple?"
The inside of Luca Temple was similar to Baaj Temple in a few ways. The statues of Mia, Braska, Gandof, and Seevo Guado were there in similar spots. The symbol of Yevon adorned the floor, the walls, and the ceilings. The differences came in the colors; instead of dull orange, everything was colored in differing hues of blue and turquoise. There were also numerous slots in the wall that had streamers attached to them. The wind poured in through the slots, causing the streamers to flow eloquently and endlessly. Four hallways began at the corners of the room; each hallway led to one of the smaller domes outside of the main temple.
Teela walked towards the lone door standing at the opposite side of the dome. Above the door were two statues exactly like the ones she saw in the Baaj Temple. Who are they…?
"From the look on your face, I take it you've never seen Sir Tidus and Lady Yuna."
Teela whirled around to see a priest speaking to her. Her eyebrow rose in curiosity. "Hm?"
The priest smiled as he gestured toward the two statues. "Lady Yuna was the last summoner to defeat Sin before the Second Dawn. In a way, she ultimately defeated the first Sin…however, it gave way to a more terrifying nightmare. Nonetheless, Lady Yuna is fondly remembered…probably more so than any other summoner before or after her." He gestured toward the statue of a young woman with shoulder-length brown hair, complete with a ponytail that twirled around her statuesque body.
"As for him," said the balding, robed priest as he pointed at the statue of a man with unkempt blond hair in a bodysuit of sorts. "He is Sir Tidus, Lady Yuna's guardian, lover, and husband. The two were inseparable! What is even more remarkable is that Tidus is the son of Sir Jecht, guardian to Sir Braska, who is Lady Yuna's father! Two legendary men gave rise to even more prominent characters…a story truly worth being told."
Teela leered at the man, her eyes indicating her amusement…and boredom. "Yeah, yeah whatever. Is that the door to the Trials?"
The priest growled at the cloaked girl's cheekiness, but he placed himself in check. "That door."
Teela looked at the door right beneath the statues of Sir Tidus and Lady Yuna. Right where they were last time. "Hirum. Geekoid. You two coming?"
Aaron sighed at Teela's last comment. Hirum just shook his head. The two walked up the stairs alongside her towards the door, which was guarded by another priest. "Hold it…which one of you is the summoner?"
"I am," answered Hirum as he stepped up in front of the priest. He pointed to the golden Eye of Baaj on his chest. "I'm an official graduate of the Summoner's School of Baaj. I am Summoner Hirum."
The priest nodded out of understanding. "One of the recent graduates I take it…very well. I will let you and your guardians pass." The priest opened the door and stood aside; Hirum walked inside, with Aaron and the cloaked Teela on his heels. Once they were inside, the priest closed the door behind them.
xxxx
Luca Temple's Cloister of Trials started out simply enough. In the center of the cube-shaped room was a pedestal with a turquoise sphere in it. At the opposite side of the room was a slot for the sphere. Hirum smirked. "This doesn't look too hard." He picked up the turquoise sphere and set it into the slot.
The outline of a door suddenly appeared around the slot, which now had an intricate design glowing above it. The design was like a flower; four petals stretched away from a circle that had the symbol of Yevon etched into it. With the floors were numerous wave lines, each of them adding to the complexity of the design. The door split down the middle…and opened.
Inside was a rather more complex puzzle…of sorts. The room was arranged in a 45-degree slope the moved downward towards a seemingly dead-end. Upon closer inspection, one could see five trenches wide enough for a sphere to roll down. The center trench, however, had one difference – a slot in the bottom. Along the sides of the room were stairs that led all the way to the bottom, and there were also switches that lined the walls alongside the stairs. There were five switches on each side.
Hirum frowned. "Okay…maybe this'll be harder." He looked to his right and saw another turquoise sphere embedded in the wall. He placed it on the center trench and watched it roll…then blinked as he watched it turn into the next trench. It came to a stop at the wall. "……okay, what just happened?"
Aaron walked along the left stairwell and pushed one of the five switches; part the leftmost trench's wall split off, connecting it to the one next to it. "Ah…so we have to push the switches until we get a combination that'll result in the sphere getting into the slot."
Hirum sighed as he went down the right stairwell to retrieve the sphere. "This might take a while…"
Click.
Hirum and Aaron paused at the sound. They looked down at the slot to see the sphere sitting in it…and Teela was standing on the trench walls. "There. Problem solved."
Suddenly, the entire floor turned into a slippery 80-degree slope. The wall at the bottom opened up, and Hirum, Aaron, and Teela slid into the darkness within. Their screams could be heard as the wall closed behind them.
xxxx
In hindsight, Teela made a mistake.
Had the puzzle been solved normally, and had the sphere been rolled down into the slot like it should have, a door would've appeared. A door that led straight to the Chamber of the Fayth.
However, they now had to deal with a far more rigorous trial.
Part of the wall opened up, and out fell Hirum, Aaron, and Teela. They landed on the ground with a thud as the wall immediately closed behind them.
Aaron growled as he rubbed his sore behind. "Any more bright ideas?"
Teela simply sneered. "Hey, it wasn't that bad. Besides, look at what we have to deal with."
The last part was said with sarcasm. The room was large…but all it consisted of was a trench ten feet in width. On the other side of the trench was a door with the Temple of Yevon-Luca's symbol on it. Teela gestured toward the trench casually. "All we have to do is jump over!"
Aaron peered over the trench edge…and gulped. There was nothing at the bottom of the trench. Nothing except the air the floated between them and the city, which sat far below. "Long drop though…" Internally, he was going into a frenzy over the fact that such a potentially fatal Trial even existed! I know there's had to be at least a few who have failed, given that statistical odds. He would've heard of such a thing by now, surely. So why not?
Hirum didn't seem so concerned. A ten-foot jump was definitely doable…what the heck. "Well, we've got to take a risk!" Hirum took a running start…and jumped.
That's when the wind came.
It was sudden. It was unexpected. It was loud. And it was STRONG.
For five seconds, a torrent of wind came out of nowhere. Within that five seconds, Hirum was pushed away from his intended destination…and now he was in a free-fall above the city.
Aaron gasped as Hirum fell. "HIRUM!" Teela just stood there, watching with what seemed to be an undisturbed casualness as her protégé fell. But in her eyes…one could see what looked like…concern?
Then, Maejin Meekra's spell of bondage activated once Hirum was 100 yards apart from Teela.
And he stopped in midair as a green orb glowed on his chest. The same happened with Teela.
Then Teela went down…and Hirum went up.
Her mind recovered quickly from the shock, and she summoned the IG-Sword. She then promptly stuck into the wall, slowing her descent…and finally causing her to stop, two feet away from the trench's bottom. Hirum, however, kept rising.
Then, his back collided with Teela's, and the backs of their heads collided with a deafening smack. Pain danced through their bodies and dizziness swept through them. The sting was so sudden and so painful that Teela nearly let go of the sword's handle. Man! That Neru guy wasn't kidding when he said that girl's spell would be painful! Indeed, Neru had said that they would be in extreme pain until they reunited…but he didn't say how the pain would come. Teela had suspected some kind of burning sensation…but this was much worse. Forced back into range, eh? How funny, she grumbled.
Seconds later, the spell wore off. Hirum, in his dazed state, nearly fell back down…and would have, had Teela not immediately grabbed him. She groaned with effort as she kept one hand on the wall while holding Hirum with the other. She quickly summoned something else to help her get back out of the trench…the hand of an Iron Giant. The extra strength and grip that the armored hand gave Teela enabled her to actually bore finger holes into the trench wall. With the pain buzzing around the back of her skull, Teela threw Hirum over the side before climbing up herself.
When she looked back across the trench…she saw Aaron. Hey, how'd he get over there?! Upon looking behind her, she realized she was mistaken; she had climbed up onto the opposite side.
Aaron breathed a sigh of relief – Hirum was okay, thank goodness – but now there was a problem…how was he going to get over there?
Teela sighed as she dismissed the IG-Sword and the Iron Giant hand. She glanced over at Aaron…and morphed her left arm into the gooey substance of the Palido fiend. "This'll help. Blizzard!"
She swung her arm horizontally, causing a splash of ice magic to wash across the trench. When it dissipated, a bridge of ice had formed! Aaron blinked; that had actually been a clever trick. "Okay…" He backed up…and ran.
Instead of jumping, he slid across the bridge! With his feet actually gripping something, he wasn't blown away…but when he reached the other side, the wind came on at full speed. It completely blew the bridge away. "Man…that was close!"
Teela shook her head out of exhaustion. "Sheesh…you boys can't even look out for yourselves…"
Hirum had finally shaken off the effects of his head colliding with Teela's…and he had heard her insult. "Hey!"
Aaron sighed. Time to play peacekeeper again. "Look guys, can't we just go in?"
Deciding to leave it at that, Hirum walked towards the door and shoved it open. His guardians were close behind him as the door closed.
After walking up a set of stairs, the three found themselves in a dome-shaped room. Four torches glowed brightly with turquoise fire, illuminating the room brightly. Slots in the wall allowed the wind to come through, and there was another door behind the stairwell. However, the only thing in the room that Hirum saw was the elliptical door at the end of the room…the door that led to the Chamber of the Fayth.
Teela grinned with anticipation. "Okay…it's time to take it to another Aeon."
Surprisingly, Hirum held his hand in front of Teela. "No. I have to do it alone…besides, having you help me last time resulted in the Council voting for you to become my guardian." He walked stoically toward the door, his mind focused and aware. His rivalry with Teela was all but forgotten now; he had work to do.
With a shudder and a thud, the door opened and closed behind him. Teela scoffed once the door closed. "The little twerp wouldn't have beaten the Aeon last time without me."
Aaron frowned at Teela before looking back at the door. Give it your best shot Hirum.
xxxx
At last…
At last? What do you mean?
He means that we'll finally see how capable Hirum is when battling alone.
Oh…why's that such a big deal?
You know that in the future, he will have to fight his own battles. Sometimes, at least.
They all will.
I know that.
Man…you guys are too deep for this time of day! I'm taking a nap.
…
Hmm hmm hmm. You have to admit, he has a certain kind of charm to him.
You must be joking.
Difference of opinion, old friend. Difference of opinion.
…hrm.
xxxx
To be continued…
Next time…
Chapter 10: Dullahan
xxxx
Author's Notes: It may seem like it's been 20 days since my last update…in a way, that's true. Since my last update of THIS story…but remember, I'm working on another story as well! And I updated that 10 days ago. That means only ten days to write and update this story! So there.
See you next time!