Only 2 reviews this time, I'm kinda sad about that. Anyway, first to the replies.

Iron-Reaver: I've already explained to you, but I'll re-explain for everyone else about Shadow Blitz. Shadow Blitz is not Ben's true 2nd finishing move, that will be revealed in this chapter. The reason he used it was simple. Pure emotions. Unfortunately, his mind and body couldn't handle the strain of using it, and so he blacked out after he finished. When he gets it in natural sequence, though, he'll be able to handle it.

anbu713: It's okay, I understand about internet problems. (Glares at computer) That part had always confused me, as I wondered how they got in, when the Crusaders are supposed to be protecting the stadium. The only thing that left, is the inside. And no, there won't be any more OCs in Destiny's Call.

Well, now, on to the actual chapter! Kind of major plot twist at the end, so get ready!


Chapter 14—Confusion

"As if I could sleep!" Tidus says, once again waking me up. As Tidus walks out of the room, I sit up, grumpily.

"With people like you, who needs an alarm clock." I mutter, pulling my shoes back on and leaving the room. "May as well follow him...he's gonna wake me up, I'll spy on him." I decide, walking out the front door of the travel agency. It's sundown now, and I look up, noticing the orange sun setting over the horizon. For a brief moment, I feel at home, as I often would walk outside to watch the sunsets. Shaking my head, I smile, looking towards the small overhang Yuna is standing on. She seems to be recording something, and memory kicks in at that.

"Oh yeah. That sphere at the end..." I say to myself, laughing softly. Tidus walks over to her, as I watch intently.

"Whatcha up to?" he asks, and Yuna jerks, scuffling with the folds of her summoner outfit for a moment, before turning around and smiling. Tidus smiles back, walking over to her, the two of them sitting down at the cliff's edge.

'Someone got busted...' I think to myself, amused by Yuna's actions.

"Pretty..." Yuna says, staring at the sunset. Tidus nods slowly.

"Sure is." he agrees.

"I wish I could live in a place like this." Yuna says, sadness creeping into her voice. "Peaceful...living with a smile on my face every day."

"You can, once you beat Sin, right?" Tidus asks, a slight breeze blowing his hair around.

"But then a new Sin will be born anyway." she says, her hair also wafting gently in the wind.

"Well then, you can just beat it again." Tidus says, optimistically. Yuna stares at the ground at that, speaking softly.

"I wish I could."

"Hey, you can! Trust me! You are the best summoner out there!" Tidus says, trying to cheer her up. "Yuna, why does Sin always come back?" he asks after a moment.

Yuna looks up at him, a solemn look on her face. "Sin is our punishment for our vanity. And it will not go away until we've atoned."

"How do we do that?" he asks, thinking a moment. "What did we do that was so bad in the first place? Was it using lots of machina or something?" he says, suddenly realizing he just answered his question. "Oh...wait, was that such a bad thing, really?"

"It's funny." Yuna says, the same expression that was on her face a moment ago now mixed with thoughtfulness. "Ever since I was young, I never questioned it. But, now that you ask me if it is that bad or not...I don't know. There are so many things I don't know."

Tidus smiles at that statement. "Well, then, we're the same!" he says, excitedly, standing up. "Such thinking is very unbecoming of a summoner." he says, imitating an old man's voice. "Sound like Mika?" Yuna giggles, standing up as well.

"That's not very nice, you know!" she says, still laughing.

"You know...during a game, you have to think of blitz, and nothing else, you know?" he tells Yuna, who nods.

"Okay."

Tidus pauses for a moment, apparently trying to get his thoughts together. "You can't think, 'That's a cute girl in the fifth seat from the right.' And you can't be thinking about where you're going to go on that date, because the minute you do, that's when you lose!" he says, Yuna looking mildly confused at Tidus' odd statement. "You see, uh, Yuna, what I mean is, you really shouldn't worry, you know? After we beat Sin, that's when you can worry about the future."

"I guess." she says, still uncertain. Tidus is silent for a moment, before he speaks up again.

"But Yuna, how are you supposed to beat something big like that?" he asks, turning to her again. Yuna stares out over the horizon, apparently transfixed by the sunset.

"The Final Summoning. It's the only way to defeat Sin. The only way. With it, we can call the Final Aeon. That's the goal of the pilgrimage. The Fayth of the Final Summoning lies waiting in the far north, to greet summoners who complete their pilgrimage." she says, doing the prayer gesture. "At the world's edge...in Zanarkand."

'If only you knew how wrong you are, Yuna...' I think, as Auron walks towards the two.

"In Zanarkand?" Tidus asks, hopeful.

"She means the ruins of a city destroyed a thousand years ago." Auron says, causing them both to turn to him.

"You sure it's ruins?" Tidus asks Auron, who simply stands there, unmoving.

"That's what I've heard." Yuna says, as Auron nods.

"You'll see it for yourself soon enough. Yuna, come back inside." he says, turning and walking back towards the inn.

"You will go with us...to Zanarkand?" Yuna asks, turning to face Tidus, who stares at the ground.

"Yeah, I'll go. I'll go to Zanarkand to see it with my own eyes." he says, walking back towards the inn, Yuna right behind him.

Walking back inside, the two of them not far behind me, I walk back to the room, laying down on the bed again. Night has fallen now, and the shop is about to close. Funny, in a whole evening, I haven't seen anyone except the girl who gave us our rooms. Little strange to me, but nothing I can do about it. Tidus walks in now, still looking slightly saddened from his talk with Yuna.

"Feeling okay?" I ask, Tidus not saying anything, simply walking over to the bed and laying down, much like myself.

"It can't be my Zanarkand..." I hear him mumble, causing me to sit up on the bed.

"Something wrong, Tidus?" I ask again.

"Do you really think that Zanarkand was destroyed?" he asks me, and I quirk an eyebrow, unprepared for the question.

"I don't know. I haven't been there." I say, cautiously. Tidus nods, and lies back down, apparently trying to go to sleep. Deciding that may be a good idea for me too, I turn off the lamp beside me, and drift off into a peaceful rest.


Waking up in the morning, I notice I'm up before Tidus. "Well, that's new." I say to myself, pulling on my shoes and heading downstairs.

"Kuut sunhehk." a man says to me, and I raise an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?" I say, not understanding the man's Al Bhed.

"I'm sorry. It means, good morning. I didn't mean for that to come out in Al Bhed. I am Rin, the owner of this establishment. Hela du saad oui." he says, and I nod.

"I'm Ben, one of Summoner Yuna's guardians. Hela du saad oui, Rin." I say, using what little Al Bhed I know, outside of 'sorry.'

"If you are interested, Al Bhed Primers can be found all over Spira. It may be fun to learn our language." he says, reaching behind the counter. "Here, I happen to have one here that you may have." he says, handing me another of the magazines.

"Dryhg oui." I say, using the only other phrase I know.

"Oui'na famlusa." he replies, walking into one of the back rooms.

"I am seriously considering learning Al Bhed now." I think out loud to myself, as Tidus walks downstairs.

"Where is everyone?" he asks, and I shrug.

"I guess outside, I haven't seen anyone." I reply, walking towards the door. Suddenly, I hear a girl scream, coming from outside.

"Someone, help! The chocobos!" Auron runs in, looking at us.

"That's our cue. Let's go!" he says, running back out the door. Nodding, I go to run out, but am stopped by Rin.

"Thank you for your help. Please, use this." he says, handing me two bottles with 'Mega-Potion' written on them. I smile. "Dryhg oui." I say, running out the door behind Tidus.

When we get outside, Auron and Lulu are waiting. "To the chocobo corral!" Lulu says, pointing. I nod, and we run down the small path towards the corral. As we run, several chocobos run away from the agency, frightened by something. I turn to look, and see the Chocobo Eater holding a chocobo in its massive right hand. It jumps down from its spot on top of the agency, where we hadn't noticed it hiding, and loosens its grip, the chocobo fleeing in terror. I draw my sword, preparing for a tough fight.

"Haste!" I yell, using the skill on Auron this time, instead of myself. He has a tougher sword, so he will do more damage than Tidus or myself would. He puts it to use right away, using Power Break on the creature, lowering the damage it can deal to us.

The creature roars, and swipes at us, knocking us back with a shockwave. My face pales for a second, as I look back, and notice that we're near a cliff, just like your characters are in the game.

"Oh, no you don't! Not knocking me off! Slow!" I yell, using the Time magic to slow its actions, as Tidus and Lulu attack now.

"Blizzard!" Lulu yells, the shard of ice slamming into the creature's tough hide. Tidus tries his luck next, swiping twice where the icy blast connected, but not doing much more than the spell did.

"Armor Break!" Auron cries, darting back in and slashing down again, dealing a fair amount of damage to the creature and lowering its defense as well.

"Take this!" I yell, slashing over the spot the other attacks have hit, finally opening a small wound in the creature's side. Unfortunately, the thing nails me with its enormous hand, sending me back several feet. "Cure!" I yell, healing myself before rejoining the battle.

"Stand back!" Yuna says, and we all follow her lead, as her staff begins to light up with fire, and she twirls it around, before the flame travels down the length of the staff to the ground. Crouching, the rock under her rises into the air, Yuna still crouched on top. The rock column explodes after a moment, and Ifrit leaps into the air, catching Yuna and landing, who hops off of Ifrit's shoulder.

Giving a mighty roar, the aeon charges, flipping before delivering a powerful slash to the shoulder of the creature, who howls in pain and smashes Ifrit in the face, sending the aeon stumbling back a few steps.

"Meteor Strike!" Yuna calls, the aeon forming a ball of energy in front of itself, and ramming it with its head. The ball crashes into the Chocobo Eater, sending it onto it's back.

"Now, while it's vulnerable!" I yell, Yuna nodding.

Yuna gives a hand signal, and the aeon leaps over to the downed fiend, slashing it twice in its vulnerable underbelly, a screech of pain from the creature being heard as it flips itself back upright.

Roaring, the creature punches Ifrit twice, before slamming its head into the aeon's stomach, sending it stumbling back once more. Ifrit gives a low growl, and rises up again, as Yuna calls out the next command.

"Hellfire!"

Growling, Ifrit jumps into the air, and summons two balls of flame into its hands, throwing them at the Chocobo Eater. The fiend disappears into a tornado of flame as the balls strike. As Ifrit falls, it charges another ball of energy in its mouth, firing it at the fiend, which screeches in pain as the second attack connects. Landing, Ifrit digs his claws into the ground, ripping up a large piece of the earth and hurling it into the flame tornado, which explodes, sending the Chocobo Eater down to the ground, badly injured from the attack. The fiend, though badly hurt, isn't finished yet, and leaps at the tired Ifrit, smashing it 3 times in the head with its large fists. The aeon falls and fades away, unable to sustain any more damage.

"Uh-oh. What does it take to beat this guy?" I yell, slightly scared by the creature's resilience. "Renzokuken!" I yell, my emotions triggering my Overdrive, as I launch myself at the creature, slashing twice in the chest area, before jumping up and cutting twice across the head. Landing on the ground, I cut it three more times across the chest and arms, before jumping back and preparing a finishing move. As I prepare to use Rough Divide, another move catches my attention, and I decide to try it. It sounds interesting.

"Overdrive Reels!"

Standing there, still, everyone watches me, as I concentrate for a moment, the effects of my finishing move taking place in my head. After a moment, my eyes snap open and go wide, as I realize what I'm about to do.

"I don't believe this...everyone, get back!" I yell, dropping into a familiar position. Smiling, I hold my sword parallel to the ground, raising it up over my head, before bringing it down and up sharply, 4 beams of light rising up from around me. As the lights connect with each other in the air, a large figure descends from the sky, revealing itself to be Valefor, as it lands beside me. I pat it on the head, before calling out my command, a look of shock on everyone's face at what I have just done.

"Energy Ray!" I yell, calling out the aeon's Overdrive move. Valefor growls, and flies up, charging a beam of energy in its mouth, before firing it at the ground in front of the Chocobo Eater, carving a smoking line in the ground. The ground then explodes, energy and bits of earth striking the fiend, who can no longer take the punishment, and falls onto its back, arms falling limply to its side, as it begins to dissipate into pyreflies. I pat Valefor once more, before dismissing the aeon, and turn to everyone else.

"What?" I ask, looking at the startled expressions on everyone's faces. Even Auron looks a little awed.

"You...just summoned an aeon. Ben, you're a summoner?" Yuna says, looking at me. I stop and think for a moment, not really remembering that much about aeons.

"Am I?" I ask, unsure of the answer myself. Lulu steps forward, turning to Yuna.

"He must be. If what I know is correct, aeons will only come to a true summoner. The fact that you summoned one is proof enough. Had you not been a summoner, you would not have been able to do so." she explains, my eyes going wide at the information.

"But, how can I be a summoner? Summoners and aeons don't even exist where I'm from!" I say, more confused about this than anyone else.

"Well, somehow you were able to summon an aeon, so that makes you a summoner. I don't know how, but you are." Lulu says.

"I...need some time to think about this..." I say, sheathing my sword and walking away from the group. Walking towards the Travel Agency, I find a secluded spot in the small, grassy field behind it, and sit down, thinking to myself.

'I don't get it! How in the world can I be a summoner? Summoners are just something out of the game! They don't exist in my world.' I think to myself, before something hits me. 'Wait a minute...is this what the fayth was talking about? Is this how I'm a boon to Yuna's pilgrimage? This has to be it...there's no other explanation!' But then, what does this all mean? Do I just act like a summoner, or continue being a guardian, or what? Will I go on my own pilgrimage? Will I...die?'

"You sound troubled." the fayth says, suddenly appearing beside me.

"Wouldn't you be? I just found out I'm a summoner, something that shouldn't even exist from my world! I don't know what to do!" I yell, distraught by my newfound knowledge.

"I understand. When we brought you here, we sensed that you would be important, but did not know exactly how. Now, we know. It's your destiny to do this, Ben. You mustn't let your unsure feelings cloud your judgement. Go, and continue with Yuna's pilgrimage. It will all sort itself out in time." he says to me, disappearing.

"Right...in time..." I say to myself, standing up and walking back towards the front of the agency.


So, Ben's also a summoner. Wonder just what his role will be, now that this piece of information has been revealed? As always, please review! I was saddened byhaving only 2 reviews for the last chapter.