Author's Note: I do not own Finial Fantasy X or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong to their respective owners.

Ch.49 Strength

We finally arrived on Mt. Gagazet, which turned out to exactly the snow-topped mountain I thought it would be. "Yeesh! Is this place cold or what?" Tidus complained, rubbing his arms. "No kidding!" Rikku agreed, doing the same. Disregarding their opinions, I stepped forward and sighed, tilting my eye back, closing my eyes and spreading my arm like I had done on the Thunder Plains. "I don't see what you're complaining about. I lived in the snow as a child; I love it even more than the rain! Let it snow, let it snow," I said, singing that last part. "I don't see how anyone could live in this!" Tidus said. "Ronso live here in the mountain. Elder Kelk may be with them," Kimahri reminded him.

"Do you think he'll let us pass now that we are traitors?" Lulu asked. At that I lowered my arms and opened my eyes, turning to look at her. "I certainly hope they don't. We've made enough enemies, staining this snow red with the blood of Ronso will hardly win us any favors with them," I said, but if things came down to it I know I would do it. The idea of fighting should have bothered me, yet to my own curiosity it didn't as much as it should. Traitors didn't survive by being pacifists. Deiru grunted. "Let's hope we can get past without fighting, shall we?" he asked. I nodded; that sounded just as good to me, if not better. Save us all the trouble. We kept going, Tidus and Rikku muttering about the cold the entire time while I basked in it.

Eventually we reached a small passage with cliffs on either side, and ahead was a large stone gateway. So far we had seen none of the Ronso, but when we neared the gate one suddenly jumped down in front of us. It was one of the Ronso the picked on Kimahri, Biran. Behind him Kelk Ronso walked forward, with Yenke behind him. "Summoner Yuna and guardians leave here at once!" he demanded. As if on command dozens of other Ronso, male and female, appeared above us and the cliffs and behind, barring any escape. I sighed and was about to draw my sword when Auron stopped me, shaking his head almost imperceptibly. "Gagazet is Ronso land, sacred mountain of Yevon. The mountain will not bear the footsteps of infidels!" Kelk continued.

"Enemy of Yevon is enemy of Ronso! Leave, traitors!" Biran called. "I have cast aside Yevon! I follow the temple no more!" Yuna declared. "Then you will die by those words!" Kelk threatened. "So be it. Yevon has warped the teachings and betrayed us all!" she replied. "Nothing but a bunch of low down tricksters, eh?" Wakka added. "Yeah! Yeah!" both Tidus and Rikku said, pumping their arms. "We have no regrets," Yuna said. "Blasphemers!" Yenke yelled, and Biran ran forward. Kimahri rushed ahead and stood in front of him, both staring at each despite their apparent difference in height. "A summoner and her guardians…" Kelk muttered. "Lord Kelk Ronso, if I may. Have you not also turned your back on Bevelle?" Lulu asked.

"But still, you guard Gagazet as a Ronso, not a maester. Yuna is much the same," Auron said. "Elder Kelk! Let Biran rent them asunder!" Biran requested. Yenke ran up next to him and said "No escape! Not one!" "No, we will not flee. We will fight, and continue on," Yuna said. I smiled and said "I'm with my sister on that!" and grasped my sword, ready to unsheathe if needed. "You have been branded a traitor, but still you would fight Sin?" Kelk asked, incredulous. "Lost to the temple, hated by the people, yet you continue your pilgrimage? Everything lost! Tell me, what do you fight for?" he asked her. I looked at Yuna, wondering the same thing. She was silent for a moment, before speaking.

"I fight for Spira. The people long for the Calm. I can give it to them. It's all I can give. Defeating Sin, ending pain… This I can do," she told him. Kelk shook his head. "Even sacrificing yourself?" he asked. Without awaiting an answer he turned around and walked away. Eventually he stopped though, and he called "Ronso, let them pass! Summoner Yuna, your will is stronger than steel. Tempered steel that even the mightiest Ronso could not hope to bend. Yuna, we bow to your will." He turned back towards us and raised his arms. "Now go! The sacred heights of Gagazet welcome you," he declared.

I smiled and sighed with relief, while Yuna bowed and said "We thank you." We all broke off to take care of some last minute things before departing, and I talked to Lulu. "That was impressive. I knew Yuna was strong, but not that much," I said. Lulu nodded. "You have to be strong if you want to keep going on this journey. Yuna is one of the strongest people I have ever seen. Even more so than me," she said. I blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?" I asked. She smiled. "If the roles were switched and she was my guardian, it would only be with her support that I would even think of going. But above all us, Yuna has faith in her own beliefs, not including Yevon. And her beliefs are even stronger than mine," she admitted.

I was surprised; it was rare to see Lulu speaking so humbly. We all got our things together, items fully stocked, and walked past the gateway. We had just made it when we heard Biran call "Halt!" We saw him and Yenke walk forward, and stood in front of us to block our path. "Haven't you bothered us enough?" Tidus asked. "Summoner may pass. Guardians may pass. Kimahri not pass! Kimahri shame Ronso brothers. Kimahri forget his birth," Biran said. "Forget his people, forget his mountain. Little Ronso! Weakling Ronso!" Yenke taunted. "Mountain hate the weak, hate the small. If you climb…" Biran began. Kimahri waked forward. "Then I must prove my strength!" he finished.

"Think you will win? You not forget who took your horn. Never forget!" Brian reminded him. "Kimahri never defeat brother Biran! Never win!" Yenke said. I bared my teeth and was about to rush forward, Tidus beside me, when Kimahri held up his arm to block us. "This some kind of Ronso thing?" he asked. "Kimahri problem," Kimahri replied. I grunted, before smiling. "Then do me one thing: kick their asses into the snow," I said. He didn't say anything, but smiled while walking forward. He drew his spear and the two of them were still for a moment, before Biran used Bulldoze and ran forward, smashing into Kimahri and stopping once he was behind.

"Biran rent you sunder!" he said, and Yenke added "Hornless! Hornless!" Kimahri growled and looked at Yenke, stretching out a clawed hand and, to my surprise, cast Fire. A ball of flame shot from his hand and hit Yenke in the chest. He shouted in surprise and I looked at Kimahri. "How the heck can you cast magic?" I asked. Rather than him answering I heard Lulu chuckled beside me, and I turned to her as the penny dropped. "You taught Kimahri how to cast magic too?" I asked. She shrugged and smiled. "The most basic elemental spells. He wanted to learn them after the events at Bevelle," she explained. Yenke ran forward and used Bulldoze as well, ramming into Kimahri and stopping beside Biran.

Kimahri ran forward and tried to swing his spear at Biran, but Yenke ran in front of him and blocked the blow. "Not good enough, Kimahri!" Biran said, and he cast Thunder. A bolt of electricity shot down and hit him, but when it did the shockwave was absorbed by his armlet. "What?!" Biran yelled, and Kimahri chuckled, holding up his armlet. "Treasure from Kilika Temple. Repels magic," he said smugly, before casting Thunder in turn and hitting Biran with it. He grunted as the bolt electrocuted him and singed his fur, while Yenke tried to use Aqua Breath and failed.

"Hey Sofia, I just thought of something," Tidus whispered. Not wanting to take my eyes off the fight, I leaned back and asked "What?" "You know how Ronso can use Lancet to learn other fiends' abilities?" he asked, and I nodded. "And you know how Ronso are also supposed to be able to fight like fiends?" he continued, and I nodded again. "Then, shouldn't Ronso be able to use Lancet on other Ronso and learn the abilities the others have already copied?" he wondered aloud. I stiffened realizing that he was right. "Hey Kimahri! Use Lancet!" I called. He looked at me but nodded, using that very ability on Yenke. I couldn't tell if it worked, but he abruptly smiled and used Aqua Breath.

"Aargh!" Yenke yelled, hit by his own attack along with Biran. "Pitiful goatling!" Biran roared, and cast Blizzard. This spell failed as well, and Kimahri responded again by successfully casting the spell himself. Yenke cast White Wind on himself, healing all his injuries, and Biran used Bulldoze so that he was behind Kimahri. Kimahri used Lancet, this time on Biran. The moment he did Kimahri called "Doom!" and pointed at him. The same figure that appears whenever Lulu casted Death appeared then, and laughed sinisterly before waving its hand and a glyph appeared in the air.

The figure faded and an ornate number twenty appeared in the air. "What the heck? What does that do?" Tidus asked. "Doom, a most frightening spell. When that counter reaches zero, it will cast Death without a chance of failure," Lulu told him. Biran sneered. "I will defeat Kimahri before that happens!" he called, casting Mighty Guard on himself. Instantly he was bestowed with Protect, Shell, and one-time immunity to all of Kimahri's spells. He grunted before turning to Yenke, using Lancet and unleashing Fire Breath. A massive ball of fire shot out and hit Yenke straight in the chest, so hard that he was sent back a few steps. "You shall pay for that!" he called, and used Bulldoze.

The constant tackles were starting to get to Kimahri, and he used Lancet to copy Yenke's White Wind. Biran ran forward and tried to land a massive kick to the gut, but he dodged and cast Blizzard, freezing Biran's fur together until it hung on him like a block of ice. Instantly his movement was hindered, and Yenke had to use Fire Breath to free his ally. He was about to hit Kimahri when he copied Yenke's Mighty Guard, nullifying the fire attack. Then Kimahri cast Aqua Breath one more time before casting Thunder and Blizzard. The water from the first move acted as a conductor for the second, making Yenke jerk and spasm uncontrollably before he was frozen solid by the Blizzard spell.

The ice shattered automatically, but the deed was done and Yenke fell to the ground. Biran roared in rage and cast Berserk on himself, using Bulldoze over and over and tackling into Kimahri. I watched worriedly as Kimahri just stood there, taking it all without even trying to block. "Why not defend, Kimahri?! Fight!" Biran yelled. But he just smiled, and pointed. "Because of that," he said. He and us all looked up, and saw the Doom counter hit zero. The figure appeared and plunged his hand into Biran's chest, pulling out his heart and crushing it. Biran fell to one knee, gasping, and said "You win… Kimahri Ronso."

He smiled and walked back to us, and while Yenke was able to stand back up he clutched his side. "Yeah!" Tidus cheered, and Rikku called "Way to go, Kimahri!" I looked at him and smiled, saying "Thanks for doing me that favor." "Not problem. Kimahri enjoyed it," he said, before turning back to Biran and Yenke. "Strong is Kimahri. Biran is happy," Biran said. With great force of effort he hauled himself to one knee, before turning and walking towards the mountain peak. "Sacred Mount Gagazet!" he said loudly. "I honor the name of strong warrior who defeats Biran. Remember always, Gagazet! That name is Kimahri!" "Mountain knows Kimahri strong. Kimahri may pass," Yenke said.

"Summoner!" Biran called "We Ronso will stop pursuers from temple." I gasped, and Yuna asked "Truly?" "Penance for breaking Kimahri's horn, long ago," he replied. "We crush enemies following behind. Kimahri crush enemies standing before," Yenke said. "You are most fortunate summoner," Biran told her. "I thank you," she said, and I nodded in agreement. "Ronso will shine your statue brightest," Yenke declared. "Thank you. But I fear that no one will make a statue for a traitor such as I am," Yuna pointed out. "Then Ronso will make!" Biran promised, and Yenke added "With grand horn on head!"

Yuna smiled. "That… would be wonderful," she said. We went on ahead, and when I looked at Tidus I could see that he and I were thinking the same thing. Both of us wanted to see Yuna's statue too. But we wanted to see it… with Yuna by our side.

xxx

Boo-yah! Kimahri defeats his life-long rivals, and the gateway to Mount Gagazet is opened! But along the way they face Seymour once again, and can they survive this encounter?

Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding… or am I?)