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THE THIRD GUARDIAN

Chapter 53

Elder Kelk stood outside on the Summoner's Path, his luminous pale-blue eyes staring into the darkening sky, inhaling the cold air, thinking.

It simply didn't seem real. How could that fiend have escaped notice by any of the guardians who stood watch in many so many high places around the sacred mountain?

He knew that technically the tribe was not responsible for the Summoner's party at that point but, in his heart, he felt responsible somehow. Maybe it was the result of his personal involvement with the Summoner and his Guardians.

It had happened so quickly, in the flash of a moment. The Guardian hadn't hesitated for even a split second. Her lightning-fast response had saved the life of the man she had sworn to protect at all costs and the cost was high.

Her heroism before so many witnesses in the tribe would secure her place in their lore and history forever. Her monument would never be allowed to disappear into rubble in the centuries to come.

After the initial shock, his people had responded admirably, getting the white-faced, shocked Summoner and his two Guardians back into the chamber they had left only a short time before.

Young Kimahri had acquitted himself especially well, directing others with quiet confidence. The youngster knew these humans better than any of them and his knowledge would be invaluable. They were in deep, deep shock.

The stunned Summoner could barely speak. His blue eyes stared into nothingness.

Sir Jecht wasn't any better off. He sat with silent tears streaming non-stop down his pale, grief-stricken face.

Sir Auron concerned him the most. Standing too far away to be able to help or save his mate, his horrified eyes could only watch as the huge beast slammed into her, sending both of them over the side of the mountain.

His knees had simply buckled and he had dropped heavily onto them in a patch of wet snow, a scream still lodged somewhere in his throat, his right arm extended out toward the place where she had last stood.

He now sat unmoving in the Summoner's Chambers where two of the mountain guardians had all but carried him. His tanned, young face was as gray as the stone walls surrounding them, his eyes unseeing, his senses all but completely shut down.

The Elder sighed. He wondered if the three of them would be able to continue. From all that he had been told and had observed for himself, the four had been extraordinarily close, with unbreakable bonds of dedication to each other.

And he understood their feelings. Even in the short time that he had spent in the company of Lady Raiel yesterday, he was drawn to the charm of her warm, lively personality and her open honesty.

There was great sadness in his heart.

Everyone in Spira has lost someone.


Dorky hat on his head, Collin stood at the wall surrounding the city, arms folded and resting on its wide top, just watching the water. He seemed to be spending more and more time here – not really thinking, not really seeing anything, just standing here, leaning against the wall.

He had noticed some concern in the eyes of his men. He would never let them down and they knew it, but at present his attention was definitely not focused the way it had been for more than a year now.

He had to get himself back together quickly. But how? He couldn't get his precious sister out of his mind. Day after day spent waiting, each day feeling longer than the last. Thankfully, the legitimate part of their operation, the security company, all but ran itself, paying them well for their services, but he needed to stay on his toes and give his full attention to their primary mission.

In some ways, he wished he hadn't known that Raiel had returned to Bevelle, hadn't seen her, talked with her, laughed with her, held her - or watched her walk out of the city, leading her party to the forest and from there – eventually to Zanarkand.

Damn Yevon!


Before sunup the next morning, the two gleaming hovercraft were fueled, loaded, warmed up and waiting outside the doors of the cozy, comfortable Inn.

The craft that Rin would drive was loaded to the maximum weight it could carry. Bardoc, bundled up against the cold morning air, was again carefully checking proper weight distribution, clips and fasteners, satisfying himself that everything was safely secured and properly loaded.

Leita and Ty'a had prepared and served a good, hot breakfast with steaming cups of coffee to the men in the Inn's beautiful dining room before they left. Afterward, Bardoc stood between them out in the snow as they watched their boss and guests depart.

He missed the shy glance that Ty'a had sent him as his arm momentarily brushed her shoulder when they turned to reenter the Inn. Inside, he noted her pink cheeks, but credited the cold morning air. Such a lovely, sweet woman would never be interested in someone like him. He kept a pleasant smile on his face.

Leita's blue eyes never noticed as her own attention was focused one particular departing guest.

The three turned to their duties in various parts of the Inn to maintain the level of perfection for which Rin's Travel Agencies were known.


Rin kept a close eye on the hovercraft behind him but the Commander was handling it quite well. Even when he had gradually increased the speed higher and higher, the CO controlled his craft with a smooth, sure, steady hand and calm confidence.

Rin had smiled to himself. Some men were simply born leaders, born with a gift that couldn't be taught and the Commander was one of them, the type of man who would be extremely competent in anything he tried.

Macalania Forest was far behind them and, at last, the terrain beneath the machines began a gradual upward slope and the Al Bhed knew from his previous trips here that it wouldn't be long before they reached the southern-most edge of the Calm Lands.

Less than a half-hour later, Rin reduced speed steadily, bringing his craft to an easy stop at the top of the long, long incline. The Commander brought his machine up beside Rin's and the Spirans got their first look at the land they would be exploring and mapping in the coming weeks and months.

As their eyes slowly scanned the vista below them, they were struck by the sheer emptiness, the loneliness of the place, that sent unacknowledged chills down their spines.

The silence was broken only by the soft purr of the idling engines as the eyes of the four men studied this alien place. As far as was known, they would be the first people not in a Summoner's party to enter this land.

Mikel removed the map from his pocket, glanced at it, then passed it to Rin who looked at it a moment before handing it back.

"Commander, you are much more familiar with the map than I so you should take the lead from here."

Tucking the folded map back into his pocket, Mikel nodded as his sharp, gray eyes swept across the Calm Lands one last time, then slowly increased engine speed until his craft rose gently into the air and turned to the left in response to the controls. Increasing the speed to as high as he was comfortable with, he guided it along the long, rocky shoulder of land that would take them down to the prairie itself.

When they finally reached the bottom, he brought the craft to a halt once again and shut down its powerful engine; all of them needed a chance to stretch their legs and move around a bit before continuing.

Alert for any signs of enemies, the soldiers stood ready with hands resting on the hilts of their blades. In addition to being excellent swordsmen, they were also superior archers, their crossbows now worn on their backs. Hopefully their combined skills would keep them alive.

As they looked around, there was only ringing silence to greet them. Never before had any of them been in a place where there were no other human beings. Only a light, gentle breath of air brushed their faces.

Though the air was chilly, the sun, now well above the horizon, was bright and the sky had few clouds. There was no hint of inclement weather which was good news. Apparently it could change pretty quickly here.

The Commander took note of the rolling landscape around them that extended nearly as far as the eye could see in almost every direction. Looking in the distance for landmarks that Auron had noted, he saw them exactly as the Guardian's hand-drawn map depicted.

Each of them took a few minutes to eat a food packet from the stash that Rin and his staff had prepared and washed it down with cool water from a nearby small pool. Their short break over, they mounted the hovercraft and resumed their journey to what would always be called The Rock.

Landscape flashed by with few enemies sighted. Those they had seen seemed to be frozen in astonishment, whether by the sight or sound no one knew, but the humans were quite content to leave them be for now.

As the yellowing prairie grass flashed beneath the machines, the unmistakable shape of The Rock was rapidly becoming discernible, growing to full size as the craft quickly ate up the distance.

Arriving on site, they took a little time to reconnoiter the surrounding area at low speed, checking for places where enemies could hide, checking out the closest water source shown on Auron's map, and familiarizing themselves with their surroundings, before returning to The Rock itself.

Parking the machines close to the trees, the soldiers ventured into the thick grove and checked it out thoroughly, then approached the open side of the cave.

Joined by Rin, they just stood looking at the place where the Summoner's party had been sheltered during the blizzard. A neat stack of firewood had thoughtfully been left for whoever might come here. The wooden frame that had held their make-shift wall was still in place, as well as a stack of the fibrous vine they had used to tie the whole thing together.

Feeling almost as if they were intruding on a holy place, they just stood looking in silence. There were foot prints here and there in the grove and in front of the cave. One set was much smaller than the others.


Time had passed but he had no idea whether it was hours or days. He could hardly bear to see the faces of his two remaining Guardians.

She had died to save him. His gut twisted within him. Was his life worth that of any of his magnificent Guardians?

No. No! Especially not them.

It had happened so fast. At first, he wasn't even sure what had happened. He had felt the sudden jolt of Raiel's powerful shove that had sent him sprawling backwards into a left-over patch of snow.

He recalled hearing terrible, ferocious, harsh snarling – and Raiel's scream. By the time he got himself up on an elbow to see what was happening, there was nothing to see. The place she had been standing was empty. One part of his mind had half-expected to look around and see her impish grin.

The scream he had heard had stopped suddenly and all too well he remembered the sounds that had followed. Acid in his stomach found its way up into his throat, burning it raw.

'Oh, dear Raiel. Our treasure. I'm so sorry.'

Everyone in Spira has lost somebody.


Kimahri had stayed with the Summoner and his Guardians around the clock. He and Kelyn had decided that none of them would want a meal, settling on one of the soups in the Summoner's Book.

He had first tired spooning a little of it into the mouth of the Summoner with a little success. The warm liquid was swallowed silently, automatically.

Sir Jecht was about the same, though the Guardian whispered a very small "Thanks."

Sir Auron swallowed nothing, most of it running out of the corners of his mouth, dribbling onto the clean white towel Kimahri had placed under his chin. The young Ronso was very worried about him.

As he carried the bowls back to the kitchen, Elder Kelk stopped him in the corridor, inquiring into the status of each of their guests. Kimahri answered thoughtfully, as honestly as he could assess at this point in time. It had only been roughly thirty-six hours since – .

The Elder grunted a sound, then nodded and said somewhat distractedly, "Thank you, Kimahri." He turned back the way he had come and disappeared around the curve.

Kimahri and Kelyn discussed the food plan for the next day, deciding that more of the same nourishing hot soup would do as well as anything else. None of them knew what was put into their mouths anyway.

Kelyn was tired. She had barely slept since – it had happened. She sighed as she thought to return to her home and hopefully to be able to get some sleep, then stopped to look at the attendant a moment. "Kimahri, have you eaten?"

The young Ronso just blinked at her, not recalling if he had or not. She pointed to the kitchen stool with the undeniable authority that only a mother has.

"Sit. Torec brought some food earlier; there's plenty left."

Kimahri sat as directed, feeling a rush of gratitude toward her. She didn't seem to mind that he was less than a full-fledged member of the tribe. Even his own mother paid no attention to whether he was fed or not. For Kelyn to do this in spite of her own fatigue and waiting family, caused him to feel both very good and very lonely at the same time.

When he had finished, he looked at her saying quietly, "That was very kind of you to do for me, Kelyn. I 'preciate it very much."

As she began gathering the things she was taking home with her, her face took on the expression that passes for a small Ronso smile, responding softly "You're welcome, Kimahri. You're doing a really good job; I want you to know that."

She started to leave but looked back, "You haven't had any sleep. Will you be in your rest station tonight?"

He shook his head. "No, I'll catch a nap or two in the Summoner's Chamber. I may be needed during the night and want to be close at hand."

Kelyn's eyes studied him thoughtfully, then she nodded, saying softly, "Good night, Kimahri."

"Good night, Kelyn."


Jecht didn't want to think. Didn't want to remember. Didn't want to see the scene that relentlessly played over an' over in his mind like some sphere that was stuck on 'Play'.

He had glanced at the anguish on Lord Braska's face a time or two but didn't say anything. What was there to say? He doubted the Summoner would have heard him anyway.

He looked at Red. He wasn't even connected to this world right now. It was prob'ly better for him right now 'til some more time passed.

Would they be able to pull themselves together enough to make it through to Zanarkand? He mentally shrugged. Dunno. Don't really care right now.

With a big hand he wiped the tears that still trickled down his face, sighing. Didn't know a person had that much water in him. Visible or not, he knew that the tears would never stop.

'I love ya, little girl - '

Everyone is Spira has lost someone.


Rin had helped the soldiers unload the hovercraft and everything was neatly organized and stowed inside the cave except the spare tanks of fuel which were just outside against the rock wall.

The large, heavy-duty tarpaulin they had brought with them was finally wrangled into place and secured, forming a wall as the Guardians had created with their tents.

Shaking hands with the Al Bhed, Mikel felt uneasy about him returning alone through this strange land, completely unarmed.

Rin had chuckled. "Thank you for the thought, Commander, but I'm rather used to it now from all of my travels around Spira. There seems to be something about a hovercraft that intimidates them – and, I can handle a machine at top speed if necessary. But, so far, that hasn't been required."

The Commander smiled but his eyes said he wasn't satisfied with that since they were in new, unexplored territory with mostly unknown enemies about.

He turned to his subordinates, "Sergeant, have you and the Corporal had enough of machinery for the day or would you like to try your hands at driving for a while?"

Dailon and Dickson exchanged grins.

"Oh, I think we might be up for a bit more, sir! I'll drive one way, the Corporal can drive the other."

The CO nodded and grinned at them, "Have a nice trip then – and don't wreck the machine!"

Rin laughed. "They'll do just fine, Commander."

His eyes still held some of his laughter, but he was sincere as he added, " - and, thank you, Mikel."

The CO's gray eyes were now at ease and smiled. "Have a good trip back. See you in a few weeks or so."

The hovercraft slowly backed out the places in which they had been parked and moved away so quickly and quietly that Mikel again appreciated the engineering and work that Bardoc and Rin had done on them.

He turned back to the cave, sat on one of the packing cases and leaned back against the rock wall, just thinking. Most of the precious footprints that had been left in front of the cave were obliterated now and replaced by those of the new occupants.

After a while, he walked to the edge of the grove and looked north. Gagazet was only a faint smudge on the horizon at this distance. Or, he assumed that was Gagazet. It was just too far away to tell.

He wondered how long it would take one very fast hovercraft to cross that distance. Maybe one day he'd find out. First he had to get the campsites along the way set up and supplied. There was a lot of work to do.

He sighed and returned to the cave to complete the setup, start a fire and get water. The air was definitely chilly here at this time of year. He looked closely at the coarse prairie grass around his boots. It was turning yellow and gold as the winter season rapidly approached.

He wondered if it really was a good idea to begin this venture just as winter was descending. Well, he just didn't have time to wait for spring or summer. He didn't know exactly how long it took to get to Zanarkand and back here, but he was going to have as much done as possible. He hoped it would be enough.

He did a little additional scouting, finding what little firewood there was here and there and brought it back to The Rock. He looked closer at some of the trees in the grove. Some were obviously minus a few limbs, undoubtedly the primary source of the firewood that kept Lord Braska and his party warm during the blizzard.

He knew that Auron had been injured at the time, so Jecht would have been the one cutting it. He reached up and touched the rough stub left on one of the trees, his fingers gently brushing over it.

He and his two subordinates would scour the countryside and find as much wood as possible before resorting to cutting down trees, but if it had to be done, it would be.

His men should be returning shortly. He started heating water in one container for coffee. They would be hungry and thirsty by the time they got back.

Not long afterward, the silence was broken by the low-pitched purr of an approaching hovercraft. He stepped out of the protective grove to meet them and direct them to the hidden parking place he had found on the opposite side of the rock. Dickson nosed the craft into the empty spot the CO had found on the edge the grove, providing perfect protection and cover for it.

Bright eyed and happy, his men had thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to drive the beautiful black machine. Mindful of Bardoc's instructions, Dailon checked a few things before he and Dickson topped off the fuel tank. It would be ready to go at a moment's notice.

The three of them ate, had their coffee and each picked out a spot for himself in the cave as the sun began to set. The CO decided that it would be prudent for them to keep watch since they were unfamiliar with this land, and let Dailon and Dickson decide who wanted which watch and he took the one that was left.

The fire in the enclosure kept enough of the evening chill at bay that Mikel decided that he would just stretch out on top of his sleeping bag, using it to provide some cushioning on the stone floor.

He sighed and closed his eyes. A soldier can sleep anywhere.

Tomorrow their real work would begin.


Raiel sat up, shaking her head. She had never felt so strange in her life. She glanced around and gasped as she saw the narrowness of the ledge she was on. She pulled her feet tightly against herself and pressed as hard as she could against the hard wall behind her. A nauseous feeling swept through her stomach and she turned her eyes away from the terrifying emptiness of the edge that was so close to her.

What happened?

How did she get here?

Where is Auron?

She attempted to look up the side of the mountain but a wave of dizziness ended that quickly. She tried to dig her shaking fingers into the hard rock beneath her, eyes tightly closed, her chin resting on her chest, breath ragged.

"Auron! Where are you? Please, come get me!"

Her plea ended in a sob, but then she swallowed as she tried to get her breath. She knew he would come. He'd never allow her to be here one second longer than he could help.

She tried to calm her breathing. He would come. He would come get her. She only had to hold herself together until he could get here.

Forcing her head back against the solid rock side of the mountain, her eyes opened and looked out at the blue sky and the surrounding mountain peaks. How could everything look so normal and undisturbed?

She blinked and tried to force herself into as much calmness as possible.

Control.

Self-control.

Breathe.

Just breathe.

Just breathe.

Panic was simply not an option. She had to keep her terror under control.

What had happened? She had no memory of getting here – in fact, her mind felt so foggy that she couldn't remember much at all, right now.

Valefor. Yes, Valefor was going to - - what?

She must have hit her head or something.

Did she fall from the Summoner's Path? No way, because she'd never get close enough to it!

She took another deep breath. She wanted to look up to see if she could tell where she was but didn't dare.

As loudly as she could, she cried out, "AURON!"

She continued repeatedly until her raw, dry throat could call no more.

His name rang out in echoes across the sky, then - nothing. Only the light touch of the passing breeze sighed in sympathy as it quietly passed.

The sun was still high in the sky. Whatever had happened, she knew that Auron was on his way to take her to safety. All she had to do was be still and wait.

He would come.

He would come.