The young Summoner and his Guardians steadily made their way across a road. The scenery had already begun to change a bit. There were still grassy meadows filled with wildflowers and the such, but now the horizon was cascaded by mountains in the distance. The path that they were on was actually leading towards a mountain range it seemed.
Anthony walked ahead of the group, minding to himself mostly. His three Guardians were only a few steps behind him.
Julie smiled as she breathed in deeply and carelessly, "Ahh…The air is nice."
"I guess it's not so bad being outdoors like this," Andre added, "It's really refreshing, you know?"
"Maybe it's because of these mountains…" Jesse suggested.
"That could be it," Andre agreed.
"Is that where we're headed?" Jesse inquired, facing Julie. He really relied on her the most to answer all of his questions. She seemed so mature, and responsible, and ever so knowledgeable about things.
Julie nodded to him, pointing forward to a mountain range, "Up above in the Blazing Mountains lies the Town of Arjuna."
"Blazing Mountains?" Jesse asked, "Is there a reason for that?"
"Actually, there is. It's a pretty interesting story too," Andre spoke up, "You see, inside the core of those mountains lies a large lava pit."
"Huh?!" Jesse gasped, "It's a volcano then?!"
"Not quite," Andre reassured him, "It's a mountain like any other. The steam and the heat that rise from the magma pit is what keeps that town going. It's what makes Arjuna one of the most unique places on the Earth."
"Wow…" Jesse said, impressed.
"And, inside, near the magma pit is where the Temple of Rebirth lies," Julie added.
"Oh, another temple? Then, that means another Aeon for you Anthony?" Jesse asked him.
Anthony did not reply. He continued to walk, gazing off into the distance. He seemed very much distracted and lost in his own thoughts.
"Anthony?" Julie asked.
With that, he snapped out of his spacey state of mind, "Huh…Oh! Sorry…"
"Something on your mind?" Andre wondered.
Anthony turned around, walking backwards, to face them, "N-Not really…"
"Are you sure?" Julie asked him, "If there is something bothering you, you know that you can come to us."
"Yes…I know…" Anthony said, not too confidently. He thought to himself for a moment, "I really should cherish the time I have with them…I shouldn't hold back anything that I'm thinking about or feeling. Every second does count, doesn't it?" He decided to speak to them, "Well, actually…to tell you the truth…"
In that moment, from Anthony's side, some creature leaped at him and knocking him to the ground.
Anthony screamed as he looked up to see a dog-like beast pinning him to the ground. It was the size of perhaps of Labrador. Its coat was the color of light gold, with a hint of copper. However, its eyes had no pupils nor iris, simply a distant white color. And to top off that, its fangs were as sharp as they could possibly be, dripping saliva from each point.
Anthony could not move, even if he wanted to. His eyes grew with fear. He was helpless to stop it.
"You're just like…" he said nervously.
"Anthony!!" Julie cried.
Just as the Guardians were about to assist him, they were surrounded by a pack of other beasts and monsters. They were two more of the same kind of dog-like beasts and two new species.
One was of a distinctive form. It wasn't a beast like the rest of them. It was a bunch of jewel-like pieces that floated near one another to form a shape. There were sphere shapes and crescent shapes that rotated around a bit. They were the color of auburn and emitted an orange glow.
The second was a larger beast; a much larger beast. It seemed to be the size of an enormous black bear. However, this creature had a dark jade colored skin. It breathed fire through its mouth, and had two colossal brown horns coming out of its upper-back as it stood on all fours.
The three Guardians stood together, back to back as they were encircled by the horde.
"What the hell are these things?!" Jesse shouted.
"These are fiends!" Julie answered.
"Fiends?!" he gasped.
"Andre! We're going to need any knowledge on fiends species!" Julie told him, "And we need it quickly! Anthony needs us!"
Jesse looked over to Anthony who was still on the floor pinned by the fiend. Jesse could see the dead look of fear in his eyes. He knew something wasn't right. "Why isn't he fighting back?" he asked himself.
"Okay, okay…I'll try and remember what I can!" Andre replied, beginning to panic. He looked over to the dog-like species, "Okay! Those are Fangs! They are extremely agile and vicious!"
"All right!" Julie nodded, "Leave them to me!" She hurried off towards the other two Fangs.
"Ok…" Andre said, trying to hurry. He then looked to the horned fiend, "That's a Dual Horn! They aren't the quickest, but have incredible power and strength!"
"I'll do my best!" Jesse told him, running off in the Dual Horn's direction.
"I guess that leaves me with this…" Andre said to himself. He analyzed the remaining fiend and couldn't think of too much about it, "You're an…Element, right?"
In that second, the Element let out a wave of fireballs in his direction.
"Whoa!!" he shouted. He leaped towards the side and rolled to the ground, dodging the on-wave of flames.
Anthony stared into the dismal eyes of the Fang that was on top of him. He began to remember things that he had not thought about in years. His emotions were preventing him from doing anything.
"You…You're the same as they were…" Anthony said, frightened.
Flashes of memories from the past began to fill his head. He saw the day, when he was younger, when he went to the beach to find his family lying dead on the beach's white sands. The colored lights began to form from his family's lifeless bodies, transforming each and every one of them into Fangs.
"You attacked me that day…" Anthony whispered.
"Thunder!!" Julie shouted, striking her right arm down. A lightning bolt hurled down from the sky quickly to attack one of the Fangs. However, the Fang was way too nimble and leaped out of the way of the magic attack. "Fire!!" Julie yelled another spell. She pointed her palm forward, unleashing a sphere of flame at the other Fang. Once again, it was too quick and was able to maneuver from the attack.
The two fangs snarled at her with bloodthirsty eyes.
Julie was determined not too give up, however. She began to wave her right arm left and right, up and down, releasing different types of spells at the Fangs. First it was Water, then Blizzard, followed by a Fire spell, then Lightning, Water, Blizzard, Fire, and continued in that pattern.
Nevertheless, the Fang were still too swift for her magic. They leaped from side to side, dodging each and every one of her attempts.
"I can't believe this!" she gasped.
Andre stood in front of the Element, his lance pointed towards it. He grounded his feet into the dirt, ready for the next move. The Element fired another wave of fireballs towards him.
Andre was prepared this time around. He first ran forward, shifting from one side to the other in order to dodge some of the fire. Then, he leaped forward into the air in the direction of the Element. He pulled his lance high above his head and struck down. He swiped down on the Element, striking it, and landing in front of it. He then swiped across, twirled the lance behind him, and swung upwards. When he looked at the fiend, he realized he had done nothing to phase it, "What the…?!"
The Element was smart and took the opportunity. Andre stepped back a few steps, when the fiend fired another fireball at him. It landed right in front of Andre's location. The impact from the blast was so strong that it blew him back a few feet. He landed on the ground, covered in dirt.
Andre, using his lance for support, helped himself back up. "I don't get it…" he said to himself.
Meanwhile, Jesse hit the ground hard with a large thud. He grimaced a bit in pain, looking up towards the Dual Horn. He snarled, and continued to breathe flames. Jesse could feel the heat.
"I've got to do something different…" he thought. He got back onto his feet, and leaped straight into the air. He pulled his blade back while shouting, "Gusting Wave!!!" He spun around once, swinging that very blade, and releasing a wave of intense wind at the Dual Horn.
The Dual Horn stood its ground and took the attack. It seemed to affect him, but only very slightly.
Jesse landed onto his feet and was stunned, "What's going on?!"
"Our attacks aren't having any type of affect!" Andre added, "Something's not right…" He looked around the battlefield, analyzing each type of fiend's specialty.
Jesse looked over towards Anthony, still pinned by the Fang. The Fang seemed to be getting more vicious. "Andre, we don't have time!" Jesse yelled.
"Anthony is in trouble!" Julie shouted, as she threw her right arm down once more, firing an onslaught of ice at the Fangs. And, of course, the Fangs dodged.
When Andre saw her perform the Blizzard spell it all made sense, "That's it!!"
"What?" Jesse asked.
"Jesse, go help Anthony!" Andre told him, "Hurry!!!"
"O-Ok!" he agreed, rushing to the Summoner's aide.
"Julie, we need to switch!" Andre yelled, "Let me handle the Fangs! This is a Red Element! They're only weak against Ice Magic!"
Julie smiled, realizing the pattern, "Leave it to me!"
The both of them ran across from each other and headed for the opposite enemies.
Julie stood her ground in front of the Red Element. She crossed her right arm in front of her, and then swung it forward while shouting, "Blizzard!!!" She released an intense cold wind filled with magic that engulfed the Red Element. Without any hesitation, the spell worked, dematerializing the fiend into the colored lights.
Andre used his lance as a pole to vault himself upwards into the air above. He raised his mighty weapon above his head as it emitted an orange glow. "Breaking Slice!!!" he shouted, as he swiped his lance downward. The orange energy was released from his weapon, and pulsated through the ground and to the two Fangs. The attack hit them hard, exploding. They met the same fate as the other fiend.
Anthony continued to stare into the eyes of the Fang. He continued to remember scenes from that dreadful day.
He remembered when the three Fangs that use to be his family, lunged at him and were about to kill him, when three blades struck through each one of them before his eyes. For villagers from Orlami had come to his rescue, and destroyed them in order to save his life. It was the one memory that Anthony had tried to repress, but this one fiend had brought it all back to him.
"I-I…can't…move…" he said softly, barely able to speak.
The Fang opened his jaws and was just about to mangle Anthony, when a blade struck through its body, killing it.
Standing above Anthony was Jesse. He had come to help. He lent his hand to Anthony, "Are you all right?"
Anthony got himself up all the way to his knees. "They turned into that…" he said.
"What?" Jesse asked.
"My family…they turned into those things," Anthony replied, "If only I had…"
Jesse knelt down in front of him and grabbed him by his shoulders, "Anthony! There's nothing you could've done!"
"But, I…" he began to say.
"No! You have a chance to bring down the very thing that has caused you and so many others pain! But that can't happen if you don't overcome your fears and help us! We need you Anthony!" Jesse yelled.
"Agh!" Andre cried as the Dual Horn bashed into Andre's chest with its head. Andre fell to the ground hard.
Julie rushed over to him, and knelt by his side.
The Dual Horn began to approach them.
"Anthony, please! You may not have been able to do anything then! But now you can!" Jesse told him. He did his best to encourage Anthony.
"Jesse!" Julie shouted.
Jesse stood up, and gave one last look to Anthony, "Please…" He turned around and ran over to his friends.
Anthony sat there, thinking about what Jesse had told him. The only question was, did it make any impact?
Just as the Dual Horn was about to bash into both Julie and Andre, intense winds hurled down from the skies, pushing him back. Jesse leaped down and landed near his friends. Both he and Julie helped Andre back up.
"This thing is way too strong…" Andre stated.
"I don't know what we can do," Julie added. It did seem like there was no way out of this.
"We can't give up!" Jesse told them, "There's still a chance!"
"But how?!" Julie asked him.
"Raarghh!!!" the Dual Horn roared. It began to sway its head from side to side as massive flames began to come out like an enormous flamethrower.
"Watch out!!!" Andre screamed. The three of them covered their faces, waiting for the worse. However, in those short few moments, they felt nothing. When they uncovered their faces, they looked up to see the back of the Aeon, Valefor.
He had used his wings as a shield against the attack.
"Valefor!" Julie cried happily. She was extremely pleased to see him.
Jesse turned around to see Anthony, standing tall and proudly with his staff in hand. He smiled to himself, "I knew you could do it."
Anthony looked determinedly on at the Dual Horn, ready to make his move, "Valefor…Finish him with your Overdrive!"
Valefor nodded its head, and lifted into the air. He pulled his head back, as beams and rays of purple and golden light began to come together within his beak. He then jerked his head forward, releasing an immense beam at the Dual Horn. A huge explosion occurred, leaving the Dual Horn completely destroyed as the colored lights flew off into the sky.
As the Aeon completed his task, he flew back and landed next to his Summoner. He lowered his neck as Anthony petted him in gratitude.
"You've saved me once again," Anthony smiled.
"Actually, I believe that was someone else," Valefor grinned, looking over to Jesse. In that moment, the Aeon spread out his wings and flew off into the day sky.
"You came through for us," Jesse smiled proudly.
Anthony looked away ashamedly, "I almost got you all killed…"
Julie hurried over to him, "Anthony…you are only human. Such a tragedy from your past was going to come up, sooner or later."
"I wasn't ready to face it…" Anthony said, as he then lifted up his head and smiled towards Jesse, "…But, you helped me to overcome it."
"I only told you what you already knew in your heart to be true," Jesse replied, a bit bashfully and modestly, "You did the rest. You overcame your fears, and your past."
"Hey! And we worked together today!" Andre shouted optimistically.
"That's right," Julie smiled.
"We're…really a team, aren't we?" Anthony asked.
Jesse nodded, "Yeah."
"Ha ha! Of course!" Andre replied in his usual cheerful way.
Julie smiled to Anthony, "Yes."
"Thank you," Anthony stated, "All of you."
Julie put her arm around her good friend, "Now, come. Arjuna awaits us."
"Yeah…" Andre grimaced a bit in pain, rubbing his head, "…And I need some rest."
Jesse laughed.
"Let's push on then," Anthony agreed as the four of them began to continue on. Anthony ran over to Jesse really quickly. "Thank you Jesse," he smiled.
Jesse blushed a bit, not really knowing what to say. But, one thing did come out, "Y-You're welcome…"
And so, they walked along the path with new understandings, growing friendships, and pasts overcome.
A single tree stood back at the side of the path. Behind a silhouetted figure stood. It seemed to be the figure of a male for it showed many masculine features. This man was very tall and his eyes glowed like a wicked amethyst.
"You have shown strength to me young Summoner…" the man said. His voice was extremely deep and filled with power. "But that is not enough to stop 'it'," he ended.
It was already later in the afternoon, as the sun slowly began to set behind the pointed peaks of the rocky Blazing Mountains. They were jagged, and rough all the way through. Nevertheless, there was a constructed pathway that ascended upwards towards the center of the mountain range. There were long flaming torches that were hammered into the ground. They led the way towards the Town of Arjuna.
The four heroes were already upon the path making their way to the village. As they walked, others passed by them. Mighty steeds pulled carriages filled with hay and other supplies. At the same time, other travelers that were coming from the other side of the mountains made their way down.
Andre steadily made each step up the path, breathing heavily, "This…is tougher…than it looks…"
"Oh come on, Andre!" Jesse smirked, "You should be in better shape if you are a true Guardian!"
"And you're telling me that this is easy for you?" Andre replied.
Jesse took in a deep breath, "Not in the least…Just trying to stay strong, you know?"
"Now look at this. The rookie teaching the so-called expert…" Julie grinned.
Anthony giggled from behind her.
"Hey!" Andre shouted, "I'll show you…" He stopped for a moment, and then stood as straight as his body would let him. He took large, powerful, masculine strides as he walked up ahead of everyone else.
"Andre! Do not over do it, or you'll hurt yourself!" Anthony shouted to him from behind in his usual caring manner.
"Stubborn as always," Julie sighed to herself. However, she looked up as she watched Andre walk off. She smiled. She knew that was the way she wanted Andre to be: himself.
"Some things never change," Jesse laughed.
"Oh, no. He could hurt himself," Anthony said worriedly, "I'm going to go check on him." He started to run off when he stumbled upon a rock on the ground. He started to fall backwards, when something caught his fall. Anthony looked up to see himself in Jesse's arms.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Uh…" he struggled to speak. He couldn't help but turn red while staring into Jesse's eyes. It was the strangest feeling for him.
Julie was confused at the way he was acting, at first. She then noticed what was beginning to happen. Her face soured, as she rushed over to them. She helped Anthony up onto his feet and out of Jesse's arms. She was very quick about it.
"He's fine," Julie told him. For whatever reason, she wanted Anthony out of the compromising situation.
"A Summoner, though accompanied by his Guardians, must be able to stand on his own two feet," a woman spoke.
The three of them turned to face forward, where a woman stood before them.
She was a tall, slender woman. She seemed to be in her early thirties or so. She had chocolate colored hair, that was wrapped in a unique style. At each side of her head, the hair was curled up into a donut shape and wrapped in a circular accessory. It was mostly a yellow-golden color, with a green dot in the middle. She wore a V-neck, dark turquoise gown. It had lime green trimmings and décor all about it, as well as golden embroidery at the ends of the wide sleeves and the bottom of the dress.
"Hello young Summoner," the woman smiled warmly.
Anthony was a bit perplexed, and at the same time apprehensive. He didn't know whether or not this woman was ally or foe.
"Step away from him!" Andre yelled from behind the woman. He had his lance pointed at her, ready to strike at a moment's notice.
The woman turned her head to look back at him, "Do not worry. I shan't hurt him."
"Who are you?" Julie inquired.
"I am Belgemine," the woman answered.
"Belgemine…" Anthony said to himself.
"I am a fellow Summoner," Belgemine told them.
Andre put his weapon away and rejoined his friends. He looked at her concernedly, "Prove it."
"Very well," Belgemine agreed. She walked over to them all and turned her head to the right. On her neck was a symbol, very much like a tattoo.
(Okay, the Yevon symbol is kind of hard to describe, but if you remember it from the game you'll know what I'm talking about)
At the top of the symbol was a horizontal oval shape. Inside it was a circle. Right beneath it was a rare shape. There was a small round circle, that then had two curvy lines going downward. At each side of that shape were two curved, bold, thick shapes that could be mistaken for wings of some sort.
Jesse observed this symbol. It looked so familiar to him somehow.
"The Mark of Yevon…" Andre stated.
"Yes," Belgemine nodded.
"Lady Belgemine…what brings you here?" Anthony wondered. He was actually pleased to see that this woman was a Summoner. It was the first other Summoner he had ever met. It was nice to really know he wasn't the only one.
"I have come to you now to ask you to a duel," she replied.
"A duel?" Julie gasped, "But, for what purpose?"
"I have heard that there is great promise for you, Summoner Anthony," Belgemine explained her intentions, "Some say that you may be the one that saves the Earth. I only want to test your skill. That is all."
"Is this really necessary?" Andre asked.
"It is the Summoner's decision," Belgemine told him.
Jesse stepped over to Julie's ear and whispered, "What's a duel?"
"A battle between Summoners, where only Aeons are used to fight," Julie replied, whispering.
Anthony was quiet, thinking to himself. He was a bit apprehensive to Belgemine's request. Nonetheless, he felt so pressure. He felt that he needed to battle her in order to prove himself worthy of being chosen as a Summoner. But, he wasn't sure if he could win.
"Do you accept my challenge?" Belgemine asked him.
Without another thought, he answered, "Yes. I accept your challenge."
"Are you sure about this?" Andre asked him.
Anthony nodded, pulling out his staff, "Yes."
The three Guardians stepped back.
Belgemine walked a few more steps backward to give them more space.
Julie bit her lip, showing her nervousness. She wanted so badly for Anthony to win.
Jesse couldn't wait to see the duel. A battle between Aeons seemed so intriguing.
"Very well. This duel will consist of one Aeon, and one Aeon only," Belgemine stated, "I will choose my Aeon. I choose…Quezacotl!"
The female Summoner raised both arms into the air. The clouds in the midday sky began to grow gray and conform together. The flashes of lightning and howling of thunder raced across the sky. Out of the center, enormous bolts of lightning hurled down and crashed into the ground. And from this electricity, a being began to spin around and emerge from it. It was a winged Aeon. It looked very similar to that of a bird, only no feathers. It had very light, smooth skin. Its head was in the shape of a beak, but had no eyes nor mouth. Its wings were long and had whip-like shapes hanging from the end. There were black, swerving lines all over its wings and chest. It had a multi-pointed tail that had shades of orange and opened like a fan.
"Choose your Aeon well Summoner," Belgemine told him.
Anthony nodded, "I choose…Valefor!" Anthony held his lunar staff, with both hands, in front of him, as he closed his eyes. He then pulled his arms separately away from another; the arm with the staff held high into the air as the other pointed forward. In that instant, four round violet colored magic circles appeared, rotating around him. Magic was emitting from the ground below him. Out of the four circles, four comets shot up straight into the sky, coming together as it hit the clouds. They created an opening in the clouds, where Valefor flew downward. He landed right in front of his Summoner, ready for battle.
"Ah, Valefor…the winged lord of the skies," Belgemine said to herself, "Now, show me what you can do!"
"Go Valefor! Attack!" Anthony shouted, pointing his staff.
The Aeon spread out his mighty wings and flew towards the sky.
"Match him blow for blow Quezacotl!" Belgemine ordered.
Quezacotl followed Valefor into the sky as they both began to defend one's self. They flipped, dodged, swerved, and flew around one another. They tried using their beaks, their wings, and their claws to attack each other.
"Come on Valefor!" Andre cheered while he watched, "You can do it!"
Julie watched on nervously.
Jesse just couldn't believe what he was witnessing. It was a match between two marvelous and magical beasts. It was like something out of a storybook.
"Quezacotl! Thunder Shocker!" Belgemine yelled to him.
Quezacotl flapped his wings once, unleashing a wave of lightning bolts. They hit Valefor, pushing him back.
"Oh no!" Anthony cried, "Valefor, use Sonic Wings!"
Valefor retaliated by also flapping his wings, sending an immense gust of wind towards the opposing Aeon.
However it didn't work for Quezacotl used an interesting tactic. He placed both wings in front of him, shielding him from the attack. And then in that split second, uncovered himself with immense force, sending the attack back at Valefor.
Valefor was hurt, and pushed back once again.
"What?!" Anthony gasped, "How did he…?!"
"It's a shielding skill," Belgemine explained, "It is something that my Aeons and I have been able to acquire! It is something we have learned from our opponents!"
"So she used a skill she learned from someone else…" Anthony thought to himself, "She probably caught them off-guard like she did with me…"
"My lord, what should you have me do?" Valefor asked him.
The truth was Anthony wasn't quite sure what to do.
"Quezacotl! Finish him off! Use Overdrive: Thunder Storm!!" Belgemine shouted to him.
Quezacotl nodded as he began the command.
"Oh no!!" Julie cried.
"No!" Anthony thought, "I have to do something!"
Quezacotl pulled his head backwards as bolts of lightning and electricity began to gather together at the tip of his beak. There was so much power that was beginning to form that it was larger than the Aeon himself. He spread it out his wings while at the very tip of them, more lightning began to come together. He was preparing to perform his most devastating attack.
"What should I do?" Anthony asked himself, and then remembered something, "That's it! If she learned that skill from someone else…" She looked up to Valefor and shouted, "Valefor! I need you to shield and then deflect the attack!"
"What?" the Aeon asked, "Are you sure that this will work?"
"Do you trust me?!" Anthony asked him.
Valefor thought about it and then nodded, "Yes!"
"Oh, I can't watch!" Julie shouted, turning her face away.
"Come on, you can do it Anthony," Jesse thought to himself.
At that moment, Quezacotl released the onslaught of lightning at Valefor. Valefor quickly used his wings as a shield. The lightning crashed into his wings and tried to force their way through. Valefor was struggling to keep them at bay, and not to let them overcome him.
"I know you can do it Valefor!" Anthony tried to encourage him, "I trust you!!!"
"Trust?" Belgemine asked herself.
"You…trust me?" Valefor wondered. Anthony's supporting and caring words were only but gasoline to Valefor's fire. Valefor used all of his strength to push the attack back and deflect it to Quezacotl.
The lightning crashed into the Aeon, and doing quite some damage.
"Now Valefor! Overdrive!" Anthony hurried to shout.
"What?!" Belgemine gasped.
Without another breath, Valefor pulled his head back as the energy conformed in front of his beak. He unleashed the ray of light at Quezacotl, hitting him right in the center.
Quezacotl then weakly landed in front of his Summoner. He was badly injured.
"Dismiss, Quezacotl." Belgemine said, as Quezacotl transformed into lightning bolts and returned to the sky.
Valefor then landed in front of his own Summoner. He was also injured, especially from the last attack. Anthony hurried over to him, and rubbed his neck.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"I will be fine," he replied happily.
"You did so well today," Anthony told him.
Valefor smiled to him, "It is only because of your trust."
Anthony embraced him.
The three Guardians hurried over to Anthony to celebrate.
"Wow Anthony!" Andre shouted cheerfully, "You did great!"
"Yes you did!" Julie added, then looking to Valefor, "And of course you too."
Valefor nodded in acknowledgement and appreciation.
"Congratulations," Jesse smiled.
"Thank you," Anthony replied, "But, it really was all Valefor. Today is his victory."
Belgemine approached them, "But it is not just his victory. It is a victory for you as well, for you have shown me something that I have not seen in so long."
"What do you mean?" Anthony wondered.
"You have shown me not only can you adapt your own battle skills to that of your opponent…but you have shown me that having trust and faith in your Aeon can win you the battle," Belgemine explained, "I am happy to see a Summoner with such skill."
"Yes. I do trust Valefor," Anthony smiled to him, "With my life."
"And that is what truly won you the duel today," Belgemine told him, "Now, I bid you farewell." She began to walk past them, while saying, "Do not forget what you have learned today. I foresee use of it in the future." She stopped to look at Anthony closely. She smiled to him, "I think you have much potential. And with such great friends and Guardians at your side, you very well may be the one to save the Earth."
They all smiled to her as well, appreciating her support.
Belgemine looked at each and every one of them, but stopped suddenly when she saw Jesse. She looked at him much different than the others. She slowly began to walk by them all, stopping by Jesse's ear and whispering, "Do not worry young Guardian…For your role is the most important of all."
Jesse didn't quite get it at first. He had no idea what she meant by that. "Wait, what do you…?" he began to ask, turning around to speak with her. But, when he turned around, she was gone.
"She's quite mysterious," Julie stated.
"But…she has a warm heart," Anthony said.
"I'm sure we'll see her again in the future," Andre added, "That I know."
Jesse simply stood there, looking beyond the mountains and across the fields. He couldn't help but think about Belgemine's words. They were somewhat unsettling and ominous to him.
"Well, Valefor. I think you've earned yourself a well deserved rest," Anthony giggled, "Dismiss, Valefor."
Valefor transformed into the purple lights that he had came here in and returned back into the clouds.
Anthony was much more chipper than usual. Having won the duel gave him great confidence. "Now, shall we go?" he smiled.
"Yes. Arjuna shouldn't be too far away," Julie replied.
"Let's head on out," Andre said. They all started walking when Andre looked back to see Jesse standing there. The other two continued on, while he went back to check on his friend. "Hey, Jesse!" he called.
Jesse heard him, but still gazed off into the distance.
"Hey, man, is everything all right?" Andre asked him, a bit worried.
"Yeah…" Jesse replied softly, "It's just that…a lot of things are starting to surface. Things that I was always so confused about are starting to come into play…"
Andre looked at him, not sure by what he meant. But he could tell that there was much resting on Jesse's plate than he had realized. There was more to him now than he had thought.
"Could it all…be connected somehow?" Jesse thought to himself. There was much to his past than others had realized. There was much about the years that he had been gone. Jesse thought that it was behind him now, but now it seemed that it was beginning to come back.
Little did Jesse know, that this journey and his confusions were all connected in the entire big picture.
