Balamb Temple was as impressive as Yuffie made it sound. The cave passage Cloud, Tifa, Yuffie, and the SeeDs followed opened up into an enormous cavern. There stood the temple. The outside was decorated with torches and bonfires that lit up the cave. The temple itself had a long staircase leading high to the entrance, which sat atop many tiers of brick levels.
"So, you guys were hired by that Seymour guy?" Tifa asked, as they all started up the steps. "To protect people?"
"Uh, yeah… sort of…" Zell answered.
"Our contract with Seymour is… not on solid foundation," added Squall.
"And you fought with someone named Lady Yuna… Where have I heard that name before…" wondered Yuffie.
"It was that woman at the Baaj Temple," Cloud said. "She was trying to tame or calm that monster."
"So, she was trying to get the Aeon… I guess Seymour wasn't lying about everything, huh?" said Irvine.
"What, is Seymour not trustworthy?" Cloud asked.
"Well, he kind of tried to kill us," answered Rinoa.
"Seriously? And you're still working for him?" asked Tifa.
"Like I said," Squall answered. "Not on solid foundation."
"Regardless of what Seymour might think we're doing, we're here to make sure Yuna doesn't have control of the Aeon here," Quistis added.
"Well, that's a good thing to hear," Cloud said. "I don't think anyone should control these things, even if they can."
"I hope these guys don't try to stop us from drawing this GF," thought Squall.
The group walked up the rest of the stairs without speaking further. At the top of the staircase, they were greeted by Vincent, who stood by the entrance to the temple.
"What's the situation, Vince?" asked Yuffie.
Vincent gave the SeeDs an ocular-once over. "The Fayth is intact. No damage to the temple's interior," he said. "Whatever happened at the other temples hasn't happened here… Yet."
"Alright. Let's head inside," said Cloud.
"Who're they?" Vincent gestured toward the SeeDs.
"Don't know yet," Cloud answered. "Figure we introduce ourselves when we're all together."
"Great," thought Squall. "There are even more of them."
They all entered the chamber of the Fayth. Like Vincent said, the Fayth was intact, the first one they had seen. It appeared to be secured under a clear, but dense material. The Fayth looked just like a person, with red and orange hair, dark skin, and adorned with decorative beads and carvings from black horns and tusks.
The chamber was circular, open and spacious around the Fayth. Stone support pillars outlined the area, with a dark walkway around the room just beyond them. The ceiling had a fairly large hole leading straight up out of the temple. In the chamber of the Fayth, Barret, Red XIII, and Cid stood around, inspecting the room for any detail or clue they may have missed. When the rest of the group and the SeeDs entered the room, they walked over to each other.
"How's ya head, spikey?" asked Barret.
"Messed up, I guess," said Cloud. He and the rest of his party turned to Squall's group.
"I guess we'll start," Squall began. "I'm Squall. This is Selphie, Irvine, Rinoa, Quistis, and Zell."
"Why'd you introduce me last?" whispered Zell.
"My name's Cloud. You met Tifa, Vincent, and Yuffie already," Cloud said. "The rest are Cid, Barret, and Red XIII."
Rinoa kneeled down in front of Red XIII and started to rub his head.
"Awww. Who's a good boy, huh?" Rinoa said in a playful voice.
"I take it you mean me…" replied Red XIII.
Rinoa froze. The rest of the SeeDs froze as well and looked over at Red.
"He's perfect!" squeaked Rinoa. "I want one!" she said, turning to Squall.
"Rinoa. Stop. Please," said Squall. He turned to Cloud. "So you guys are some sort of temple caretakers? Is that right?"
"Um… We're investigating the strange occurrences at the temples over the past couple of weeks," Yuffie fibbed. "We've been all over the place analyzing the destruction, interviewing temple-goers, helping plan temple reconstruction, stuff like that… It's pretty amazing if I do say so myself."
"Is that right?" said a familiar voice.
The two groups turned to see Seymour step out of the shadow of a stone pillar.
"Funny. As leader of Bevelle and overseer of the temples for this past year, I should have heard of such a group from Bevelle, making official visits to the temples," Seymour said. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were lying. What are you really doing here?"
"Listen, Blue," said Barret. "I get that you're a big deal or whatever, but we ain't gotta answer to you."
"Regardless of what you're doing, you are trespassing. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave," Seymour said.
"And if we don't?" asked Vincent.
"Then the SeeDs will see you out," Seymour answered.
"Actually, Seymour," Squall said, drawing his gunblade. "Consider our services terminated."
The rest of the SeeDs drew their weapons as well.
"I see you're done with your charade then," Seymour said, turning to the SeeDs. "I suppose really you're here to kill me?"
"If we have to, we will," answered Squall. "But if you step aside, hand over the GF, and never show your face again, then you can walk away."
"Ah, you're after the power of the Aeon," Seymour said, intrigued.
"Squall, what are you talking about? These things are dangerous," Cloud said. "You can't take it."
"We need it," Rinoa said. "It's safer in our hands than anyone else's."
"If the Aeon's unleashed, you kiss this temple and probably a ton of people in the town goodbye," Cid said. "And I for one don't want a mountain comin' down on my head."
"We're here to stop that from happening," Tifa said. "And if that means we have to stop you, too, then that's what's going to happen."
"My my my," interrupted Seymour. "As much as I enjoy the conflict building, I must get my business underway. Are you ready, Seifer?"
"Just about," Seifer said, stepping out of the shadows with his hand out toward the Fayth.
"Seifer?! What's going on here?!" Squall said.
"He's going to draw the GF! We have to stop him!" Quistis shouted.
"Too late, kids," Seifer said.
The Fayth began to emit a blinding light. Everyone shielded their eyes. When the light dissipated, Ifrit stood in the middle of the chamber. Its form took on features similar to what the Fayth had shown; Ifrit had long black horns and claws, red and orange fur, and stood on all fours like an animal.
"Now's our chance, everyone! Let's take this thing out!" commanded Cloud, drawing his sword.
"No!" yelled Squall as he charged Cloud, clashing swords with him. "You have to let us take it."
Cloud pushed Squall back. Barret, Tifa, Yuffie, Red XIII, Cid, and Vincent all prepared for a battle. Seifer and Seymour drew their gunblade and wand respectively, and took a defensive position in front of Ifrit, who seemed docile at the moment.
"Red XIII, Barret, Cid, Vincent, and Yuffie, take down the Aeon and anyone standing in your way," said Cloud. "Tifa, back me up."
"What do we do, Squall?" asked Zell.
"Rinoa, Quistis, Irvine, and Selphie, you have to get the GF and protect it. That's the priority," ordered Squall. "Zell and I will deal with Cloud and Tifa."
"You know, Seymour, you might have been right," Seifer said. "I think I will enjoy seeing this all unfold. Bring it on, SeeD!"