I'd like to thank Chaka, Insane Child, LadyMercy, Kiki, and Xmaster for their reviews. I want everyone to keep in mind that Bob isn't a human, so things that would bother a human don't faze him. It doesn't occur to him that mating is not a suitable topic for conversation with humans, and he's young, so of course he's going to be curious. Anyway, here's the next chapter.

Chapter 17: Aeon Duel

Ria walked into the hotel room, arms laden with Chinese takeout. Auron sat in one of the chairs, busily repairing his coat. He was wearing a pair of black pajama bottoms and nothing else, and the sorceress couldn't help but stare at him. The swordsman set down his work, pushed his ponytail over his shoulder, and asked, "Ria, are you okay?"

…Flash…

Ria sat up in the steely predawn light and barely suppressed a growl of frustration. "Why the hell did I dream that?" she muttered to herself.

"Because," another part of her slyly replied, "You liked what you saw, and you know that you'd like to see more."

"There's no time for that, now," she quietly admonished, "Maybe after this is over, but not now. There are more important matters at hand."

That niggling little voice of truth became silent, and the sorceress stood up. "Well, I'm not going to fall asleep again, so I might as well go for a swim."

She quietly left the camp and walked out to the lake. Leaving the open expanse of the path, the sorceress walked among the trees, removed her clothing, and dove into the water. It was cold, but not frigid, so it wasn't unpleasant. Ria swam several laps, letting the beauty of her surroundings temporarily sweep away all her worries.

Suddenly, something wrapped itself around her ankle and tugged, pulling the young woman under. It let her go, and she quickly resurfaced, spluttering and gasping. Something touched her back, and she let out a small scream and turned around. It was Bob. "Did you think I was a fiend?" was the cheerful question that greeted her.

"Bob, you ARE a fiend," she told him, trying to look angry, but failing.

"Oh, yeah…"

"What are you doing out here?" she asked.

"Well, I saw you come out here, and it looked like you were having a lot of fun, so I thought I'd join you."

"Bob, I'm not wearing any clothes!" the sorceress shrieked.

"So?" he shrugged, green shoulders rising from the water. "Neither am I. Clothes just get snagged on stuff and slow you down, anyway."

The Tonberry turned around and quickly swam away. He moved surprisingly fast, using his tail and big feet for propulsion. "Come catch me, Ria!" he called, waving a little arm at her.

They played tag for quite some time, and it occurred to her that Bob wasn't really a pervert, just different. He really had no idea that human society was not the same as his own. She grabbed him by the tail and crowed, "HA! I caught you!"

"Having fun, are we?" called a voice from the water's edge.

Ria whipped around and saw Auron standing there, a big smile on his face. It was the first one that the sorceress could remember seeing. "Auron, what are you doing here?" she blurted.

"You two were making enough noise to wake the dead, so I thought I'd come check on you." He raised an eyebrow. "I see that you're okay, though."

"Hey, why don't you join us?" Bob brightly suggested. "Tag is a lot more fun with more people, and…"

Ria blushed furiously, and shoved the Tonberry under the water. "No, I'm finished now," she squeaked.

"I see…" was Auron's only reply.

Bob swam to shore, shook himself dry, and put his robe back on. "Ria, I thought you were getting out?" he called when she made no move to the shore.

"I am! I just don't want an audience, that's all," she replied.

"You don't have an audience; it's just me and Auron out here, and…oh." The little fiend started giggling.

"Yeah, I'm not dressed, you know, so either leave or turn around," she ordered, her face turning redder.

Finally, Auron chuckled and walked away. We'll be back at the camp when you're finished, Ria."

The sorceress got out of the lake, retrieved her clothes, and quickly put them on. Once finished, she returned to the camp, where Rikku was just waking up. "Ria, what happened?" she yawned, "You look like you fell in a lake."

"We went swimming and had a lot of fun," Bob told the thief. "I invited Auron to come swimming with us, but Ria's face turned bright red for some reason."

"Don't worry about it," Ria said, when Rikku gave her a questioning look. "Well, what are we waiting for? We're leaving, aren't we?"

A little while later, the group broke camp and left the Macalania Woods. They emerged from the crystal forest and saw a vast, open plain before them. "What is this place?" the sorceress asked, her eyes full of awe.

"The Calm Lands," Auron replied. "The summoners used to battle Sin here, and bring on the Calm."

"Yeah, and in one battle, Sin ripped up the ground, creating that gorge over there," Rikku included, pointing at the canyon beyond the prairie.

The four of them started to make their way across the plains, when the sound of steel on steel caught their attention. "Look out!" Bob shouted, dropping to the ground.

An explosion of force knocked Auron, Ria, and Rikku off their feet. They heard another clash of steel, and then the fighters appeared. One was a masked samurai, garbed in blue and white, with an odd-looking blue dog at his side. The other warrior wore dark armor, and had a pair of antlers branching from his head. He was mounted on an iron gray, six-legged horse with fiery orange eyes. "That's Odin!" Ria gasped.

"Who is he?" Rikku asked. "I've never heard of him."

"Odin is a god that a warrior race worshipped on Earth centuries ago. Some people still pray to him, but I don't know what he's doing here in Spira," the sorceress explained, watching the two fighters' staring contest. "I don't know who the samurai is."

"His name is Yojimbo," Auron told her. "He is an aeon whose fayth once resided in a cave not far from here."

"Yeah, I remember him!" Bob cried, "I used to go see him sometimes, but he was wearing orange back then."

"Maybe he's been corrupted like Bahamut?" Rikku wondered.

No one answered her, as all of them were mesmerized by the imminent battle. Odin dismounted his horse, keeping his broadsword trained on Yojimbo. The samurai drew his wakizashi in response. The two warriors slowly circled one another, their eyes calculating.

Suddenly, the blue dog lunged at the deity, but the six-legged horse intercepted him. Daigoro barked and snapped at Sleipnir, while he responded by rearing up and lashing out with his front hooves. Finally, the dog hamstrung one of the horse's back legs, but Sleipnir retaliated by kicking out with his remaining leg, catching the canine in the jaw and breaking his neck.

As Daigoro slumped to the ground, Yojimbo drew a trio of daggers and threw them at Sleipnir, where they buried themselves in the horse's throat. Odin let out a scream of rage and lashed out at the samurai with his black broadsword. The aeon barely dodged the blow and returned the strike with his narrower blade, but he only scored a minor hit. The two of them traded blows, ducking and slashing, but neither of them seemed to be able to inflict a mortal wound. The crash of steel echoed throughout the Calm Lands, and the sheer force of the aeons' blows ripped up large tracks of the landscape.

"If this keeps up much longer, they're going to completely obliterate this entire area!" Ria shouted, staying low to the ground.

"How much longer could they possibly fight?" Rikku shrieked, covering her head with her hands.

Auron, who was the only one still standing, did not take his gaze from the titanic struggle. "They're too evenly matched," he said, mostly to himself. "The only way this will end is if they kill each other off."

Yojimbo and Odin continued their struggle for dominance and the ground began to tremble violently. Finally, the horned god caught the samurai off guard and struck him with a massive overhead strike. His Zantetsuken attack cleaved through the aeon's left shoulder and stopped short of his right hip. Odin's victory was short-lived, however, because Yojimbo drove his wakizashi straight through the deity's heart. The two warriors fell to the ground and exploded in a near-cataclysmic wave of pyreflies and pure force.

Everyone hit the dirt again as the shockwave washed over them. The blast rocked the Calm Lands and the ground collapsed in several places. Finally, the earthquake subsided, and the four of them got to their feet. "Well, that was an earth-shaking experience," Bob said with a sigh.

Rikku and Ria groaned at the pun, but Auron continued to watch one part of the Calm Lands in silence. "What's wrong with you?" the sorceress asked him.

He turned around and gave her a look of concern. "There is a monster arena in this area, where you can battle fiends from all over Spira," he told her.

"I remember that place," Rikku said. "Why are you worried about it?"

A series of loud roars rang out over the prairie, and Auron replied, "That explosion freed the monsters…ALL of them."

"Even the ones that he created?" the thief's voice quavered.

Just then, what looked like a gold Chocobo Eater, in hot pursuit of one of the wild birds, passed by in the distance. "Does that answer your question?" he retorted.

Wasn't that a great chapter? I know I cut it kind of short, but I'll update soon. I hope everyone enjoyed the fact that Auron got to pick on Ria in this chapter, along with the battle between Yojimbo and Odin. Anyway, keep those reviews coming. Bye, now.