"Kimahri…" Tidus said.
"Hello, old friend." he replied.
"You guys know each other?" Leon asked.
"They were both one-time guardians to Yuna." I said, standing up again. Kimahri looked at me, puzzled by my knowledge. "Chief, it's hard to explain…" I started. Tidus sharply elbowed me in the ribs.
"Let me handle this, bro." he whispered. He stepped closer to the Ronso.

"You've been after us for a long time, Kimahri. I'd like to know... Why?" he asked.
"Yuna should know you alive." he replied. Tidus seemed surprised.
"But it'd hurt her. You can't wish that upon your friend, can you?"
"Kimahri knows." He responded, sounding a little conflicted.
"Then why?"
"Duty, Tidus. You stop tribal warfare. Reunite all clans and races, like you and Father's actions split them."
"You mean Sin, not me." Jecht interrupted. Kimahri nodded in reply.
"I didn't mean to cause that, how was I supposed to know our hiding would set off a civil war for power amongst the Ronso?" Tidus said.
"Civil war caused split. Segregated Ronso. Must reunite before we destroy all Ronso."
"But how can I fix it?"
"You disappear, Ronso fear Sin's return with no saviour. Certain Ronso wanted to become stronger, civil war began. You reappear, fear subsides. You reunite Ronso, Tidus. But…"

"What?" Leon said.
"First, Tidus and others must fight Beast," he said.
"What! But…" I started.

"You, caught by Kimahri son, correct?" he said to me, snapping.
I hesitated, but figured that since the little bastard that got me was a younger looking Kimahri Ronso, he must have been, so I nodded.
"Then you all must fight. Talking over," he said.
"What! You can't let us fight the Beast! You want to show Yuna I'm alive, reunite the clans, but kill me before you can! It doesn't…" Tidus shouted.
"Tradition. Live captures must fight for freedom. Can't break tradition, even for Kimahri friend. Sorry… You'll survive. Always do…" He walked away. The gates behind us closed. Kimahri and the others left through the other gate and it closed behind them.
"Now what do we do, Tidus?" I asked.
"We wait for the Beast of Macalania Basin, the Kasrami Clan pet." he replied.
"What the heck is that?" I replied. Suddenly, the floor started to shake and rumble, and a flap in the floor of the dome opened up.
"Here it comes…" Jecht said.

A large snowy lizard stomped its way out of the floor. It had to have been at least 40 foot tall, breathing deathly cold air. "That's abloody big reptile…" I said, holding Scythe-mode Persephone tightly.
"We need an attack plan before this thing can eat us…" Leon said.
"Let's just go up to it and twat it in the happy sacks, it'll go down like anything else…" I said. The others just stared at me as the lizard began to turn towards us.
"Kid, I have no idea what you just said." Jecht replied. I shrugged.
"Earth humour, I'll explain it to you sometime." I replied. The lizard noticed us and made a strange noise, not quite a roar, but something along those lines.
"It's seen us…" Tidus said, stepping back. Suddenly, a sword and a ball were thrown through the gate behind us, skidding to our feet. A Ronso was stood there.
"Leader apologises for forgetting. Here are weapons," he said to Tidus and Jecht.
"What about me?" Leon asked. The Ronso pointed to the wall beside us. There was a hook upon it, and from the hook hung a Gunblade.
"Already considered. Leader wishes luck." he said. Squall ran to the hook and took the weapon down. He swung it downward and slung it onto his shoulder.
"Alright, guys, it's no good just waiting for it to eat us. Let's just face up against it and fight." I said. The lizard began to walk slowly towards us.
"You're right." Tidus said, picking up the sword and throwing the ball to Jecht. I finally recognised it as a Blitzball.
"Let's do it." Jecht said.
The lizard suddenly picked up speed and charged towards us. We jumped out of the way and it collided into the wall. It grunted and backed away. "Oh man, this guy is quicker than he looks." Leon commented.
"Hmm… Nice mastery of understatement, Leon." I replied, swinging Persephone back. I swung it at the lizard, but its icy breath lashed at my hand, causing me to lose my grip of it. It slid across the floor and narrowly missed Leon's legs. "Damn, that's cold!" I shouted, blowing onto my hands to warm them up.
"Watch it! I need my ankles!" Leon said, picking up Persephone again. He threw it at me and I caught it.
"Sorry, Leon, that was my bad." I said, ready to swing again. The lizard turned around and threw us along the arena with its powerful tail. "Whoa!" I shouted, flying through the air. I crashed into the side of the dome and slid down it. "Ouch." I said, falling to my knees.

I saw Tidus jumping onto its back. "Alright!" he shouted, standing up. Jecht kicked the Blitzball into the Lizards ribs, but it didn't affect it.
"Goddamn, this lizard seems invincible." Jecht said.
"I don't think so." Leon said, confidently. He ran at the lizard from the side and jumped, slashing at his stomach, the move I recognised as the Rough Divide. The lizard recoiled, but it only seemed to be a scratch. Tidus was slashing at its back to no avail.
"Bleed you damn Lizard!" he shouted. I got back to my feet.
"This tactic isn't working, guys…" Jecht said. Leon sighed and backed away. Jecht followed suit.
"You're right." Tidus said, jumping off. I joined them. The lizard turned towards us, and I realised something…

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Somewhere else, as my battle began...

"Hmm, seems Alexis is in a pickle..." Ariel said, as the Watchers again gathered around the viewer they watched us with.
"Perhaps." the scarred watcher replied.
"Come on, Ariel. We both know the odds are going to be stacked against him on his quest; this is going to be only a taster of what he has to come. You should be cheering him on," the winged watcher said.
"I'm trying, Shiva. But he seems lost without his friends… At least, subconsciously." she replied.
"I know, I can feel it too… But he's got a good brain on him, he'll figure this out." Shiva replied.
"He's tired. He's gone through a lot in such a little timeframe. He's taking time to recover, mentally and physically, but I think he's perfectly capable of picking himself back up," the scarred watcher said, walking away.
"Ever the optimist, Raijik…" the pale watcher said, hiding in the wings. Raijik stopped in his tracks and clenched his fist.
"Again with the attitude…" he muttered under his breath. He turned as Ariel and Shiva saw the Lizard charge at us.

"Whoa, that's a damn speed-demonic dinosaur…" Shiva said.
"Come on, Alex!" Ariel shouted.

"What the heck is your problem?" Raijik shouted.
"Oh, you know EXACTLY what my problem is. Leaving the fate of life in general in the hands of an inexperienced young pup as Alexis Edmenton, A snot-nosed brat, is suicide," the pale Watcher sounded off.
"Oh, you will not let this lie, will you? This is all in the past, North. Or would you're retro-self prefer you're real name…"
"Don't you dare say it, Raijik! I have eternally disowned that name!" North snapped.
"And you lost all of the other rights that went with it!"

"Ouch, that lizard doesn't play fair…" Ariel said.
"That icy breath could make Popsicles out of them." Shiva replied.
"Says you, Ice Queen." Ariel laughed. Shiva playfully pushed her and laughed. As the Scythe blade narrowly missed Squall's legs, Shiva flinched.
"God, he can be so clumsy sometimes…" she said, shaking her head.

"Face it, North; you have lost all of the things you have tried to keep yourself alive to have…" Raijik told him. North stayed quiet, with his head hung low. "And you know I'm right…"
"I just wish that none of it ever happened…" he replied, angry, seemingly with himself.
"We all do, but it was taken out of our hands…"

"Ooh… That had to hurt…" Shiva said, as I slid down the wall.
"COME ON, ALEXIS! GET BACK UP AND STOP THAT BULLY!" Ariel shouted.

"And what of our operative?" Raijik said, asking Shiva and Ariel.
"…Hang on a second…" Ariel said, performing a spell. Another viewer opened alongside the other and it showed Alice, Sam and Pippa being directed to the Ronso camp by Lulu, Yuna's friend, with a magic charm. "Looks like they are on their way to rescue them." she said. She ran her hand over the viewer and it closed up and disappeared.
"They're huddled up, now… I think Alexis has figured out something…" Shiva said.

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"My god, why didn't I realise that earlier…" I said, smiling, huddling the group together.
"What?" Leon asked.
"The lizard… It's icy, right?" I responded, gripping Persephone tightly, ready to spring into action at any given moment.
"Yeah, so?"
"Come on, I just play the games, you live it… What does Ice hate most?"
"Fire!" Tidus interrupted.
"Heat." Jecht replied. Leon smiled.
"Good thinking." he told me. It seemed as if he was being sarcastic. Meanwhile, we watched in silent horror as the Ice lizard reared up on its hind legs for some type of attack. We readied ourselves.
"Alexis, thanks for the idea, but maybe it would work if we had any fire?" he continued. I cursed myself and slapped my forehead with my palm for being so foolish, but I couldn't respond, because the Ice beast suddenly flung itself into the air. We were scattered by the sudden force of its leap.

I gripped Persephone even harder than before. When the lizard landed, I barely avoided the front legs of the massive creature. It lashed its tail at me, and I was forced to do nothing but wait for the impact. At the last moment, something in me made my legs move with a speed that even surprised me. And, for some reason, Gabriel Fisher's name popped up in my mind, and I had a vision of the Heartless, the unrelenting determination of the dark beings. They had returned, but something was different... Their eyes seemed to portray an eternal fury that resided within them... Snapping out of the bizarre vision, I managed to dodge the width of the tail, but got caught by the tip. It stung like hell, propelled through the air again by the sheer force. I flew towards another wall at high speed, still trying to get my head around what had just happened.

Leon got up from the ground, seeing that he was completely intact. "Shit… That was lucky." He thought. He saw me flying through the air, with a fixed look on my face. Despite that, and the pain he felt in his chest, he ran forward to see me do something, in his opinion, remarkable.

I saw the hook that only the moments earlier Leon had taken his Gunblade off, that were about two feet from each other, and I reached for them. Grabbing them, I kicked against the wall, stopping the impact. Suddenly, I felt my whole body plunge downward, as if gravity's pull intensified on me. I landed on the floor with a thudding shock that hurt my back. "Ow…" I sighed. Convinced that my arms had pulled out of their sockets, I sat there watching the tail swish back and forward, and I saw Tidus keeping the creature at bay, though I couldn't see how or why.

Leon stopped in his tracks half way across to the lizard; he didn't even notice he was running, holding the Gunblade square against his chest. The lizard snapped his head up and reared up onto his hind legs again. Something was bothering it, and Leon realised that something was around its neck. Whatever it was, it was wrapped around his neck to prevent it from escaping, and Tidus was pulling on it.

The creature bent his legs quickly, and prepared to jump, only to feel Leon's Gunblade hack at the muscles of its back legs. It squealed in pain and it stumbled back. The front legs came crashing down and they caught Leon, sending him flying. The Gunblade was flung to the side of the dome. He felt the intense pain, nothing like he had felt for in a long time. Perhaps it was because he was too adept with the sword, had gotten TOO good… These were his last thoughts before he blacked out.

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In the stands, the Ronso watched on uncomfortably.

"This not right. The Beast has been tainted. He's too vicious... We should stop this fight." Kimahri said to himself. His guards shook their heads.

"Even though that is true, Kimahri can't. Not only would you seem weak, beast could escape. Lose-lose situation." One of them spoke up. Kimahri growled, acknowledging the fact.

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The lizard started to swish its tail violently, inches from my head. As it swung the tail back far enough away from me, I used the hooks to jump to my feet and flipped back, putting my legs against the wall and balanced myself so I hung in the air. As I did, the tail lashed back violently at the exact spot my head was seconds earlier. It would have taken it off had I still been there. I sighed in relief as I jumped back down. I saw Leon knocked out on the floor, and realised that the lizard was turning his attention towards him.

Tidus started sprinting towards the fallen man. He turned his head and saw the creature rear back again, its feet ready to crush him. He yelled at Leon, but his voice was drowned out by the lizard's sudden roar.
He got to Leon and started dragging him aside. I ran to help, and Tidus looked up, seeing the ice creature turned its attention to me. "ALEXIS! LET ME HANDLE IT!" he shouted.
"No, we're in this together…" I replied. Leon's chest was oozing blood. I raised my head to see the lizard above us, his eyes evidently focused on Leon's bleeding wound, and my head.
"Damn it, he wants you!" he replied, dropping Leon. He stirred at the impact on the floor, and the first thing he saw as he opened his eyes was the creature making a mad dash forward to Tidus and me.

I had a split second to take in what was going on. I realised Jecht had apparently gone missing. The second thing I noticed was that we were close to the wall of the dome, which I hadn't studied real well. The third thing was that Leon's Gunblade lay parallel to Leon and the creature. I brought up Persephone to my head. Luckily, it was still with me, but I didn't notice that I brought it back into its original rod form. The ice creature saw this, and changed its course to bring its head about to the rod.

Leon observed that there was a wide black mark on the bottom of the neck, one he half-recognised. It was very similar to a symbol he knew, but something had changed about it. However, he was too out of it to tell the rest of us. He hadn't got up even with the coldness bearing down on him.

"Shit!" I yelled as it bit down onto Persephone. And I felt something else, an impaling pain. I saw that the face of the lizard was actually pretty small, but it made up for that trait with massive teeth, two of which were bearing down onto my right hand. "Argh!!!" I screamed in pain. The lizard seemed to smile, and locked its jaw in place as it breathed.
"Cold!" I managed to stutter, through the pain and sub-zero breath that were currently heading my way. With my other hand, I instinctively moved over and touched the scythe button on Persephone. The creature pushed me further against the wall and was trying to breathe over me. I pushed back, but I could feel myself getting weaker and weaker. Leon was still lying down.
"LEON!!! GET UP AND HELP ME OUT, MAN!" I shouted at him. He didn't react.
I looked back at the would-be-scythe, but it didn't even open up, I could see the glimmer of the wide blade, but it wouldn't come through. I vaunted a second try to rouse Leon.
"SQUALL, I'M HURT UP HERE! I NEED YOUR HELP!!!" I shouted. He still had no reaction.
"Damn it!" I shouted at myself. A strange smell started to fill my nostrils, but I couldn't place what it was.
I pushed Persephone further inside the mouth of the creature. I saw the scythe open up, and then I felt a sickening coldness come over me.
"No! Not now! I'm almost done…" I said, losing consciousness.
The final move of the Scythe, before it becomes fully functional, is to bring the blade out of its sheathe of metal it resides in, around the tip of Persephone and propel it forwards, sending the blade across. I saw the scythe go thought the side of the creature's mouth where it went through the front part of the skin. The blood that oozed from it was amazingly warm… Or was it my blood? I was pinned down, and I had nothing else to do, for the teeth were preventing me from moving the blade further to the throat. I couldn't hold on anymore, so I closed my eyes.

Strangely, I couldn't see black… I saw myself, Leon, Tidus and Jecht, who was hanging from the top of the dome structure, retrieving something from it; at the very instant I closed my eyes. We were still moving, but I could see everything at some other point of view. 'Am I dead?' I thought, assuming this I was seeing my spirits' point of view.
NO, ALEX. IT IS MY EYES YOU SEE FROM. A voice inside my head told me. It sounded like the voice that told me that I 'should find my light', back on Earth... I couldn't be sure in this state, and it seemed so long ago to me.
'Who are you?'
I'M JUST A MAN WHO WANTS TO HELP YOU.
'Do I know you?'
NOT PERSONALLY. I'M JUST HERE TO FULFIL A PROMISE I MADE TO A… FRIEND.
'Oh great, you're another one who's tangled in my destiny, aren't you?'
YES. WE ARE DESTINED TO MEET. AND THAT MEANS YOU CAN'T DIE. SO, OPEN YOUR DAMN EYES AND FINISH THIS!
'I wish I could…'

Leon put his hands onto the ground and pushed himself up. "I'm coming, Alexis…" he said weakly. He got to his knees and turned. He saw that my eyes were closed, and contrary to the situation, the enemy's eyes were wide open, and it was making strange noises. He saw the Gunblade, and jumped up, although the cold made him fall back down. "Damn!" Leon rolled out of the way, and he saw that the Scythe had gone through the left of the creature's mouth, and he brought his Gunblade alongside his own head.
A window of opportunity had been made...

YOU CAN DO IT, ALEX. YOU AREN'T DEAD, NOT YET.
'Tell that to my body. I'm going numb…'
YOU DID THE GROUND WORK. YOUR FRIENDS CAN SAVE YOU.
'I… just met them… How can they be my friends?'
The other voice went quiet.
'You there, dude?'
TRUST THEM, ALEXIS. THE CHOSEN ONES MUST ALWAYS HAVE FRIENDS BESIDE THEM, WITHOUT THEM, THEY ARE NOTHING. NOW, OPEN YOUR EYES, ALEX…

"ARGH!" Leon yelled as he brought his Gunblade across the tear that Persephone had made. The cut made the lizard's jaw unlock as I opened my eyes. My hands dropped out as I stumbled back, and Persephone fell to the floor.
"TIDUS! NOW!" Jecht's voice bellowed. Apparently Tidus and Jecht had been coming up with a plan.

Tidus ran up to me and stood facing the lizard. His sword had reeds from the beams of the Dome wrapped around it, and they had been set alight. Tidus brought the blade across its neck. The flesh tore away and it bled profusely. The lizard retched back, howling loudly. The howl quickly dropped to a whimper, and it collapsed. It was dead.

I fell to the ground, my right hand bleeding horribly. My other hand seemed blue, and no blood seemed to flow to that section of my damaged body. 'Oh god… I can't feel it…' I thought, before I blacked out.
Leon saw Tidus grab me, and he saw Jecht hobbling over, his leg badly strewn with scratches.
"I think that was a close call. Good teamwork. Now, let's get Kimahri and a Medic for Alex, before its too late…" Leon said, exhausted.

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Raijik looked along with the others, seeing that the boy was very hurt.
"My god, didn't you see that? Alexis survived that onslaught." Raijik said.
"Now wait a second Raijik! It wasn't his doing! If it wasn't for Tidus, Squall and Jecht's help, he'd be dead!" North replied
"No! He had the power and will to keep himself alive, and that proves that he is ready!"
"No, he isn't!"
"Stop it, you two!" Ariel shouted, getting in between them. Shiva sighed as she listened to the others ramble, taking this into an argument that has no REAL relevancy to the situation at hand.
'Poor boy', she thought, 'I hope that he will be able to face the next challenge. The way this is going, he'll give up before he even gets close to fulfilling his destiny…'

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I woke up in a hut, surrounded by humans, possibly Al Bhed, looking after me. I saw Kimahri standing over me. "You fight well… Alexis?" he asked, making sure he had the right name. I tried to speak, but I was too weak. I nodded. He smiled at me. "You hurt, but will live. Like Kimahri said."

I lifted my left arm up to look at my hand. It had changed back to a healthier colour, but it was still numb. I couldn't feel it at all. "Hand damaged. Doctors say feeling never come back." Kimahri told me, his face solemn. I sighed.
'That's all I need…' I thought. A tear rolled down my cheek. I wiped it away with my good hand.
"Hey, is he awake?" I heard Leon's voice from outside the hut. Kimahri nodded. He walked away and Leon walked up to me. He was holding Persephone in its Rod form.

"Believe this belongs to you," he said, placing it next to the bed. He smiled. "You did well kid." he said, ruffling my hair. I tried to speak again.
"where… Tidus and Jecht…" I managed to say. I tried to wet my lips, but it didn't work.
"They're alright. They are meeting the other Ronso Tribe leaders, trying to bring some peace amongst the tribes. You've been out for a while. You had a few other visitors while you were out…"
"who?"
"You're friends from Earth." I was surprised that they found us, and I tried to sit up. "Take it easy… They left to inform Yuna and the others about what had happened… Tidus was a little upset about it, as you'd probably guess… Sam and Alice didn't want to leave your side in case you woke up, but it was the best for all involved. They left me to apologise in case you did…"
I managed a smile. Suddenly, an explosion sounded outside, followed by loud growling and noises of battle. Leon looked outside. "Aw hell…" he said, taking his Gunblade from his back holster. "We've got company, Alex… It's a gang of Savage Hearts…" he said, looking at me in the eyes.

A small, but sudden, adrenaline boost rushed into my veins as I heard the name. Slowly, I picked up Persephone and threw off the covers. I sat up on the edge of the bed, and carefully stood up. "I'm not ready to fight… But I'm good for getting out of here." I said, wheezing. My voice was still pretty weak.
"But your hand? It might get permanently damaged…" Leon said, concerned.
I activated the Snake Sword on Persephone. "Already is... Let's just make sure everyone… can get out of here alive, ok?" I said. Leon smiled at me.
"You've got more guts than sense, kid. You've been knocked out for only 1 whole day…"
"I lived through that lizard… I'm not going out lying down against something... I know I can defeat..."
Squall sighed. "I guess if you want to make sure everyone is safe, I better make sure you stay safe. Come on, let's go," he said, leaving the hut.