Chapter 6: Acquiring a new Aeon
The next day, as I was walking through Kilika I thought about Sin. Kimahri, Wakka and Lulu were with me, but Tidus wasn't. [I]He must have overslept. I'm sure he'll find us.[/I]
Soon, we got to the stairs leading to the forest. I took one last look back to check Tidus really wasn't coming, and then went into the forest.
Even entering the forest though, I was worried Tidus really wouldn't come. I kept looking back until my guardians got annoyed.
"What is it Yuna?" Lulu asked in an annoyed tone.
"I...want Tidus to be with us."
"Yuna, we're going to the temple. I think you may have to think more about your pilgrimage than a boy."
"But, I want him with us. And I won't go until he comes Lulu." I said stubbornly.
I heard Wakka sigh, and watched him walk off.
"Oh alright. I'll go find him, okay?"
I nodded happily, and waited while Wakka went off.
"Why do you want him with us Yuna?"
"Oh, no reason." I said hastily. "It's just, I think he would make a good guardian."
" Well, first he has got to prove himself."
"Oh, yes I know that. But, I would still like him with us."
Soon, I heard footsteps, and smiled as I saw Wakka and Tidus walk toward us.
"Yuna says she wants ya with us Tidus."
I nodded, and smiled at him, looking into his eyes. He stared at me for a moment, giving the a questioning look.
""I would like you to be my guardian." I told him straight away. He looked surprised at me, but not as surprised as Wakka.
"Yuna! No jokes eh?"
"No joke." I replied, shaking my head.
"Well, he's not as good against fiends as he is at blitzball you know..."
I felt annoyed that Wakka was trying to stop Tidus from becoming a guardian, but I quickly thought of an answer.
"Well, he can just be near me then. Not a guardian.
They seemed satisfied with this, so I watched as they walked off, and then ran to Tidus.
"Hi! I was wondering whether you'd show up!"
"Oh, well, I think I overslept."
"It's okay. I just, wanted you to be with us, with me. I think you'd make a great guardian."
"You, wanted to be with me? Me, a guardian?"
"Yes!"
I laughed, and grasped his arm.
"Come on, we've got to catch up!"
Suddenly, I heard the pounding of feet, and I whipped around causing me to twist Tidus' arm. It was Wakka's team.
"OW! Be careful Yuna!"
I stifled a laugh, and used a cure spell on him. Then, I called to Wakka.
"Wakka! Your teams here!"
I saw Wakka turn around and grin when he saw his fellow Aurochs. He waited for them to come over, and then they started walking. I grabbed Tidus' arm again, and pulled him over to my guardians.
"Hey, try not to fall behind."
"I will Wakka. Hey, look! The temple, over there!"
I pointed at a big shape in the forest, the temple. It wasn't too far now to go now, but it seemed like a long way.
**************************************************
Finally, we were there. I ran up the steps leaving everyone else behind, and gazed at the temple. It was made of white marble; at least that's what it looked like. There was a big open space in the middle where a few people were then. I stopped and waited for the others.
Wakka came first, and a close second was...[I]What? That's strange. Why are the Luca Goers here?[/I]
"Well ! What do we have here? Oh, if it isn't the Besaid Aurochs. What are you gonna do this year? Oh, I know, do your best, aren't you?"
Tidus stepped out.
"No, now its..."
"VICTORY!" The Aurochs chorused.
"Hah! Victory eh? Well sometimes, words aren't enough."
The Goers turned their backs, but Wakka held them back for a minute before letting them go.
"Hey, aren't you going to pray at the temple?"
The team leader, Bickson, turned around and sniggered.
"We don't need to! We'll win against whoever we play."
Sniggering turned into laughing as the Goers walked away. Wakka sighed, and turned to Tidus, who was glaring at the backs of the Goers. He ran toward them, but was held back by Wakka.
"Ah, don't take it seriously. This happens every year. Course, won't happen next year."
"Why?"
"Cause Tidus, I'm retiring. After the tournament, I'm becoming a full time guardian."
We all walked down to the entrance of the trials and saw the elevator. Before we could go on, two people, a women and a muscular man appeared in the hallway.
"Another Summoner, hmm?" The women asked. She was quite scantily clad.
"My name is Summoner Yuna from the Isle of Besaid." I replied, nodding.
"Ah, High Summoner Braska's offspring..." The other Summoner smirked. "Quite a name to live up to...oh, I'm Dona by the way." Dona said, and then carried on. "Quite a lot of guardians you have there...I seem to remember your father relied on only two. Myself, I have one, Barthello."
"Yes, but all these guardians I trust with my life!" I exclaimed, a little annoyed at this "Dona".
"Fine..." Dona sighed. "Barthello, we'd better be leaving now." She said, and the two left without another word.
We walked toward the elevator, and all of us stood on it. Kimahri immediately pushed Tidus off. I hoped he hadn't pushed him too hard.
"Hey, what gives!" He said, obviously annoyed.
"Um, seeing as you're not a proper guardian, you can't come down." I replied, biting my lip, and hoping he didn't get too angry. "But we'll be back as soon as we can."
I waved to him as the elevator went down, and stopped as he disappeared. When it reached the floor I got off the elevator and walked down a narrow corridor. At the end, I waited for my guardians, and then opened the door. As soon as it shut, we had started the trials.
It was quite dark in the first room, and I had to watch where I stepped. But soon, my guardians got the door open, and we went into the next room. It was lighter than the first, but still quite dark. Another door was open, and as soon as I stepped through, I had to shield my eyes. Fire was blazing from the middle of the room, and already sweat was emerging. I moved back into the second room, where I heard footsteps. Cautiously, I walked into the first room and saw Tidus walking along.
"What are you doing here?"
Tidus looked forward and saw me.
"Whoa! Sorry! Um, well,"
I folded my arms and went over to him.
"Well? How did you get down here?"
"It was Dona. Her guardian...Barthello.... he pushed me down here."
"Well, you're here now I suppose. There's nothing I can do about it."
Tidus nodded, and I walked back into the third room only to see the fire was gone. I went back to Tidus and told him to come with me.
When I got back, the door to the chamber was open, and my guardians were waiting inside. I went in, dragging Tidus along with me, and when they saw us, they got angry.
"What, is HE doing here?" asked Lulu.
"He got pushed down by Dona's guardian." I explained.
"But, he can't be down here! It's taboo, ya?"
I nodded, let go of Tidus' arm, and went into the fayth. The door closed and I sighed.
"Oh, why does all this happen to me?" I muttered as I walked toward the middle of the room.
I knelt down at the big yellow circle in the middle of the room, and looked up at the big sign on the wall: the sign for Ifrit. I prayed for a few minutes, and the circle glowed and from the edges flew fire. I felt a few beads of sweat run down my face, but I ignored them and prayed again, whereupon the fire drew apart and a young fayth appeared. It had red clothes on, and spiky brown hair. From its hands came sharp nails. It had big muscles and broad shoulders. I prayed again, and then waited.
The fayth hung where it was for a second, and then joined me in a ball of fire. My body burned for a minute, and then cooled down. Yet another powerful aeon acquired.
The next day, as I was walking through Kilika I thought about Sin. Kimahri, Wakka and Lulu were with me, but Tidus wasn't. [I]He must have overslept. I'm sure he'll find us.[/I]
Soon, we got to the stairs leading to the forest. I took one last look back to check Tidus really wasn't coming, and then went into the forest.
Even entering the forest though, I was worried Tidus really wouldn't come. I kept looking back until my guardians got annoyed.
"What is it Yuna?" Lulu asked in an annoyed tone.
"I...want Tidus to be with us."
"Yuna, we're going to the temple. I think you may have to think more about your pilgrimage than a boy."
"But, I want him with us. And I won't go until he comes Lulu." I said stubbornly.
I heard Wakka sigh, and watched him walk off.
"Oh alright. I'll go find him, okay?"
I nodded happily, and waited while Wakka went off.
"Why do you want him with us Yuna?"
"Oh, no reason." I said hastily. "It's just, I think he would make a good guardian."
" Well, first he has got to prove himself."
"Oh, yes I know that. But, I would still like him with us."
Soon, I heard footsteps, and smiled as I saw Wakka and Tidus walk toward us.
"Yuna says she wants ya with us Tidus."
I nodded, and smiled at him, looking into his eyes. He stared at me for a moment, giving the a questioning look.
""I would like you to be my guardian." I told him straight away. He looked surprised at me, but not as surprised as Wakka.
"Yuna! No jokes eh?"
"No joke." I replied, shaking my head.
"Well, he's not as good against fiends as he is at blitzball you know..."
I felt annoyed that Wakka was trying to stop Tidus from becoming a guardian, but I quickly thought of an answer.
"Well, he can just be near me then. Not a guardian.
They seemed satisfied with this, so I watched as they walked off, and then ran to Tidus.
"Hi! I was wondering whether you'd show up!"
"Oh, well, I think I overslept."
"It's okay. I just, wanted you to be with us, with me. I think you'd make a great guardian."
"You, wanted to be with me? Me, a guardian?"
"Yes!"
I laughed, and grasped his arm.
"Come on, we've got to catch up!"
Suddenly, I heard the pounding of feet, and I whipped around causing me to twist Tidus' arm. It was Wakka's team.
"OW! Be careful Yuna!"
I stifled a laugh, and used a cure spell on him. Then, I called to Wakka.
"Wakka! Your teams here!"
I saw Wakka turn around and grin when he saw his fellow Aurochs. He waited for them to come over, and then they started walking. I grabbed Tidus' arm again, and pulled him over to my guardians.
"Hey, try not to fall behind."
"I will Wakka. Hey, look! The temple, over there!"
I pointed at a big shape in the forest, the temple. It wasn't too far now to go now, but it seemed like a long way.
**************************************************
Finally, we were there. I ran up the steps leaving everyone else behind, and gazed at the temple. It was made of white marble; at least that's what it looked like. There was a big open space in the middle where a few people were then. I stopped and waited for the others.
Wakka came first, and a close second was...[I]What? That's strange. Why are the Luca Goers here?[/I]
"Well ! What do we have here? Oh, if it isn't the Besaid Aurochs. What are you gonna do this year? Oh, I know, do your best, aren't you?"
Tidus stepped out.
"No, now its..."
"VICTORY!" The Aurochs chorused.
"Hah! Victory eh? Well sometimes, words aren't enough."
The Goers turned their backs, but Wakka held them back for a minute before letting them go.
"Hey, aren't you going to pray at the temple?"
The team leader, Bickson, turned around and sniggered.
"We don't need to! We'll win against whoever we play."
Sniggering turned into laughing as the Goers walked away. Wakka sighed, and turned to Tidus, who was glaring at the backs of the Goers. He ran toward them, but was held back by Wakka.
"Ah, don't take it seriously. This happens every year. Course, won't happen next year."
"Why?"
"Cause Tidus, I'm retiring. After the tournament, I'm becoming a full time guardian."
We all walked down to the entrance of the trials and saw the elevator. Before we could go on, two people, a women and a muscular man appeared in the hallway.
"Another Summoner, hmm?" The women asked. She was quite scantily clad.
"My name is Summoner Yuna from the Isle of Besaid." I replied, nodding.
"Ah, High Summoner Braska's offspring..." The other Summoner smirked. "Quite a name to live up to...oh, I'm Dona by the way." Dona said, and then carried on. "Quite a lot of guardians you have there...I seem to remember your father relied on only two. Myself, I have one, Barthello."
"Yes, but all these guardians I trust with my life!" I exclaimed, a little annoyed at this "Dona".
"Fine..." Dona sighed. "Barthello, we'd better be leaving now." She said, and the two left without another word.
We walked toward the elevator, and all of us stood on it. Kimahri immediately pushed Tidus off. I hoped he hadn't pushed him too hard.
"Hey, what gives!" He said, obviously annoyed.
"Um, seeing as you're not a proper guardian, you can't come down." I replied, biting my lip, and hoping he didn't get too angry. "But we'll be back as soon as we can."
I waved to him as the elevator went down, and stopped as he disappeared. When it reached the floor I got off the elevator and walked down a narrow corridor. At the end, I waited for my guardians, and then opened the door. As soon as it shut, we had started the trials.
It was quite dark in the first room, and I had to watch where I stepped. But soon, my guardians got the door open, and we went into the next room. It was lighter than the first, but still quite dark. Another door was open, and as soon as I stepped through, I had to shield my eyes. Fire was blazing from the middle of the room, and already sweat was emerging. I moved back into the second room, where I heard footsteps. Cautiously, I walked into the first room and saw Tidus walking along.
"What are you doing here?"
Tidus looked forward and saw me.
"Whoa! Sorry! Um, well,"
I folded my arms and went over to him.
"Well? How did you get down here?"
"It was Dona. Her guardian...Barthello.... he pushed me down here."
"Well, you're here now I suppose. There's nothing I can do about it."
Tidus nodded, and I walked back into the third room only to see the fire was gone. I went back to Tidus and told him to come with me.
When I got back, the door to the chamber was open, and my guardians were waiting inside. I went in, dragging Tidus along with me, and when they saw us, they got angry.
"What, is HE doing here?" asked Lulu.
"He got pushed down by Dona's guardian." I explained.
"But, he can't be down here! It's taboo, ya?"
I nodded, let go of Tidus' arm, and went into the fayth. The door closed and I sighed.
"Oh, why does all this happen to me?" I muttered as I walked toward the middle of the room.
I knelt down at the big yellow circle in the middle of the room, and looked up at the big sign on the wall: the sign for Ifrit. I prayed for a few minutes, and the circle glowed and from the edges flew fire. I felt a few beads of sweat run down my face, but I ignored them and prayed again, whereupon the fire drew apart and a young fayth appeared. It had red clothes on, and spiky brown hair. From its hands came sharp nails. It had big muscles and broad shoulders. I prayed again, and then waited.
The fayth hung where it was for a second, and then joined me in a ball of fire. My body burned for a minute, and then cooled down. Yet another powerful aeon acquired.