Well, I was slightly inspired to write this chapter, although it's mostly just an interlude before the plot kicks up again. Anyway, the replies!

ShadowStar05: The little kid, was actually the fayth for the aeon Bahamut.

Daniel Wesley Rydell: Yes. Indeed it is. This chapter...is beginning.

MysticSuperSaiyanGohan: Thanks. I was going to change Bahamut, but I thought about it some, and realized, there was no possible, coherent way that I could've changed Bahamut's looks. It just wouldn't have made sense.

desert-tiger: Well, enjoy this one. The battle with Seymour Natus. (insert overly dramatic music here)

Gester: I tried to. Honestly, that scene was one of the ones I felt I'd be the most outspoken at, and I tried to show that. There will be some others later, you'll see for yourself.

And now, on with the semi-interlude!


Chapter 29—Brave Advancement

"Kinoc!" Auron yells, watching his old friend's body hit the ground, the Farplane the only calling for the Maester now.

"Why, you!" Tidus yells, glaring at Seymour, with his hands balled up into fists.

"I have saved him. He was a man who craved power. And great power he had, but he feared losing it. Trembling at unseen enemies, he spent his days scheming petty schemes. Chased by his fears, never knowing rest." Seymour speaks, looking down at the floor. Looking up, he turns his back to us. "You see...now he has no worries. He has been granted sleep eternal." Turning back to us, he smiles, crossing his arms. "Death is a sweet slumber. All the pain of life gently swept away...ah, yes." he breathes, and I narrow my eyes, appalled at Seymour's fascination with death. "So you see...if all life were to end in Spira, all suffering would end. Don't you see? Do you not agree? That, Yuna, is why I need you. Come, Lady Yuna. Come with me to Zanarkand, the lost city of the dead. With death on our side, we will save Spira, and for this...I will take from you your strength, Yuna, your life, and become the next Sin. I will destroy Spira! I will save it!"

"You're totally nuts!" Tidus exclaims, staring at the deranged, maniacal Maester, who stands there with a smug look on his face.

"Nice monologue, Seymour. Now, here's something for you to chew on. As long as we're here, you're not destroying anything. Ever. Know why? Cause we'll be here to stop you. Every step you take, every move you make, we'll be right there beside you to foil it. And you know what else? Personally, I'll see to it that you end up on the Farplane, if I have to send you myself to see it done!" I say, ready to end Seymour right here and now. Kimahri growls, not being able to take it any longer, and charges Seymour, stabbing the end of his spear into Seymour's chest. The point goes in deep, no blood flowing, and Seymour looks at Kimahri. Kimahri stares back, neither breaking the gaze, before Seymour looks down at the spear.

"Unpleasant..." he muses tiredly, seemingly unperturbed that there's a six foot spear lodged in his chest. "Very well. I will give you your death. You seem to want it so." Yanking the spear out of his chest with a grunt, he shoves Kimahri back, before holding out his rod. Dark energy radiating from the staff, the four soldiers and Kinoc's body burst into pyreflies, which Seymour draws to his body. Standing up straight, Seymour begins to glow, before suddenly transforming into a white being, purple armor covering his body, and a set of large wings in the back, having an odd shape and form to them.

"Oh boy...Seymour's second form. Natus." I mutter, drawing my sword. Seymour makes a series of hand gestures, and a strange being suddenly appears from a mass of pyreflies, floating above Seymour's head. A spiny body and face, with two long, clawed front legs, and no back legs, along with a spiked, scorpion-like tail, makes the Mortibody a somewhat fearsome looking creature. Of course, after just seeing Bahamut, the Dragon King himself, it looks a lot less intimidating. Floating in the air, Seymour gives an angry look at us, Kimahri turning to face us.

"Run! Protect Yuna!" he growls, and Auron nods.

"Go!" he cries, Tidus shaking his head and drawing his sword.

"No way! I'm fighting!" he yells. By the time he gets his sword unsheathed, however, Auron has the point of his sword in Tidus' face, causing the blond boy to stop.

"I said go!" Auron yells, and Tidus looks at Yuna. Yuna looks back at him, and they both nod, as we all run back towards the way we came, Kimahri staying behind and confronting Seymour. Yuna looks unsure of this decision though, and after a few dozen feet, she stops us, turning to all of us.

"I won't leave Kimahri behind!" she exclaims, looking back at the Ronso.

"He is a guardian. Protecting you is everything." Auron states, Yuna turning to face him.

"Auron!" she pleads, Tidus looking at Auron as well.

"That's right! We're all guardians!" he says, looking at Auron, who gives him a solemn look. "Yeah, and you know what that means?" he continues, looking over at Yuna. "Yuna...anywhere you go, I'll follow!"

"Anywhere I go?" she asks, seeming to see what Tidus is implying.

"Yeah, anywhere!" he says, confirming her thoughts, as Yuna smiles.

"Well, then!" she says, looking back at Kimahri. "Let's go!" they say, simultaneously, before sprinting back towards Kimahri.

"Hey, Kimahri! Save some for us!" Tidus yells, and Wakka runs after them.

"Hey! Wait for me!"

"Me, too!" Rikku yells, also following.

"I'll go, too!" Lulu says, following the four of them.

"Auron. We have a Maester to vanquish." I say, running back towards Seymour, as Auron smirks, and follows me.

(Play FF8 theme Premonition)

"Seymour! Your time is up!" I yell, casting a Fira spell in front of me, which fizzles out in front of the Maester harmlessly, as he points a hand at us.

"Fira!" he yells, the attack shooting out three times in the span of a blink, striking Tidus, Yuna, and Kimahri, sending them stumbling back as the powerful fire blasts slam into them.

"Silence Buster!" Wakka yells, the blitzball flying out and striking Seymour, but failing to Silence him.

"He's immune to just about everything, I think..." I mutter, thinking a moment. "Alright. Hastega!" Using my newest spell, I smile, as everyone begins moving faster than before.

"Blizzaga!" Lulu cries, Wakka throwing the blitzball as well, Rikku and Tidus also moving into melee range to attack. Holding out a hand, Seymour swats the blitzball away,lessening the damage ofthe Blizzaga with a Shell, before calmly swatting Rikku and Tidus away.

"You did not just...that's it. Renzokuken!" I yell, running in and slashing away at Seymour, only to have every single one of my strikes either dodged or deflected. Stepping back in shock, I quickly pick a finishing move, hoping it'll work. "Overdrive Reels!" I cry, focusing a moment, before running up to Seymour, and bouncing off of him, holding my sword high in the air, then swinging it out, a series of beams flying down and going into the ground below Seymour, before they explode, the Energy Rain attack causing some damage.

Kimahri stands up straight, as beams of light flow from Seymour to himself, the Lancet move restoring some of his health and magic power, before he roars, blasting from his spot and landing a powerful kick into Seymour's stomach, the Thrust Kick knocking the wind out of the Maester. Growling, Seymour points a palm at Kimahri, and my eyes go wide when he calls out the spell.

"Flare!"

The non-elemental attack slams into Kimahri, sending him skidding across the floor, coming to a stop after a minute, his body unmoving.

"Kimahri!" Yuna yells, pointing the staff at him. "Life!" The White Magic spell flows to Kimahri, quickly healing his body up from the powerful spell, and enabling him to get back to his feet. Having turned to watch the Ronso, I'm unprepared for the next thing to happen.

"Blizzara!" The ice attacks fire at Auron, Wakka, and myself, and as I turn back, I hear two grunts of pain, signaling the two hits on those two. But before I can move, raise my sword to block, or do anything, I feel a numbing pain in my chest. Stopping, and looking down slowly, I see a large icicle, speared completely through me.

'I'm...going to die...' I think, looking down at my bleeding chest, as my body starts to go numb, my sword falling to the ground. The last thing I hear, as I slump to the floor, is a cry of shock from Rikku and Yuna, and a cry of rage from Tidus.

My eyes are assaulted by bright lights, as I open them to see the battle continuing to rage.

'Wait...I should be dead...' Standing up and grabbing my sword, I realize that I had died, but must've been brought back to life with a Life spell or Phoenix Down. Looking down at myself, I see no trace of any wound, and I run a hand over it to be sure, before turning my attention back to the fight.

"Mental Break!" Auron yells, running in and slashing upwards with his sword, the attack having no effect other than a small cut. The Mortibody, which seems to have been dormant the entire time, suddenly casts a spell, a Cura spell working it's way over Seymour's body.

"Oh...uh oh." I mutter, seeing that, and quickly I turn to Yuna. "Yuna, Reflect Seymour, now!" I yell. Yuna seems a bit startled by the idea of making magic attacks useless, but complies, casting the magic on him. Nodding slowly, I run back in, cutting furiously with my sword, Kimahri and Rikku beside me.

"Thundara!" Seymour cries, the bolts of lightning blasting the three of us away from him, and back onto the floor.

"Ugh...this guy wasn't this hard the last time..." I mumble, standing back up and downing a Potion. Rikku and Kimahri do the same, before Kimahri roars again, shooting a barrage of water bubbles at Seymour, each one popping and damaging the Maester a little, but not very much.

"Take this, ya!" Wakka yells, spinning his blitzball on his finger, as it takes a fiery glow, before he kicks it at Seymour, the Element Reels attack blasting into Seymour and exploding in a gout of flame, causing a howl from the Maester. Tidus and Auron quickly follow up the attack, bringing both their swords down in a powerful arc, the attacks cutting into Seymour. The Mortibody looks at Seymour, and casts a Cura spell, but it bounces off the Reflect, and hits Yuna instead.

"Heh, sucker." I mutter, Tidus taking a stance, before pulling a hand back, then runing up to Seymour and cutting once, running past, then twice, from another angle, before repeating the slashing and moving technique four more times, running back over to us as his Overdrive finishes.

"Outta the way!" Rikku yells, grabbing something from behind her back, lobbing it at Seymour, before a chain of fire blasts hit him, Rikku's Overdrive inflicting a good bit of damage as well.

"Ifrit, come forth!" Yuna says, beginning the summoning, but as Ifrit appears in front of him, Seymour smirks.

"Be gone!" he yells, waving a hand, and suddenly, Ifrit just fades away.

"What?" Yuna gasps, looking at the spot where Ifrit had just been.

"He banished it!" I yell back, looking over at her. "Aeons won't work!"

"Blizzara!" Seymour yells again, the ice spears flying through the room, smashing into Kimahri, Tidus, and Auron, Tidus being cut severely by the spear, and falling to the ground, Kimahri's spear knocked out of his hands by the blow as well. Auron staggers back, the spear having broken on his sword, but not inflicting any damage on him.

Lulu suddenly steps forward a bit, pulling something from one of the folds of her dress, throwing it at Seymour, a bolt of lightning striking him in the head, causing him to bellow in pain, and thrust a hand forward.

"Flare!" he yells, and my eyes widen again, as the attack heads for Lulu.

"Get outta the way!" I yell, running over, intent on pushing Lulu out of the way, but the Flare is faster than I am, slamming into Lulu and doing much the same as it did to Kimahri, Yuna screaming at the sight of her friend being struck down. Running over, I pull a Phoenix Down out of my pocket, throwing it over her, the magical item healing her wounds and restoring some of her energy, as I help her to her feet. Yuna seems mad now, and gives a death glare at Seymour, before pointing a palm at Seymour, and yelling out a spell.

"Dispel!" she cries, the Reflect vanishing, and I'm about to ask why she did that, when she suddenly answers my question.

"Holy!" she yells, and I watch as several white orbs of light hover around Seymour, before flying high up into the air and streaking back down towards him, connecting with a tremendous flash of light. Seymour's roar of pain is quite loud this time, the offensive White Magic spell taking a toll on his body, and Yuna quickly puts the Reflect back up, just as the Mortibody casts another Cura, it bouncing off and hitting Wakka this time.

"Wow..." I mutter, channeling my anger into another attack. "Renzokuken!" Running in, I take the moment of distraction to slash Seymour in the chest and the face several times, a guttural roar coming from Seymour, before I jump back, energy lacing over my body for my finishing move.

"Phase Shift!" Running towards Seymour again, my body phases out of the material plane, becoming ethereal, as I run through Seymour, and re-materialize on the other side, a long cut appearing across Seymour's chest, as he staggers back from all the attacks inflicted on him.

"Be gone!" Auron yells, running in and swinging his sword like a baseball bat at Seymour, the blade biting deep into his chest. Seymour cries out in pain, smashing Auron away, before falling to a knee.

(End FF8 theme Premonition)

"You...are powerful indeed...Lady Yuna...we will meet again..." he says, before bursting into a cloud of smoke and pyreflies, vanishing. Looking around, I take the time to cast some Cura spells over everyone, wincing slightly from the magic use, before pointing towards a door at the other end of the hall.

"There!" I yell, and we all run towards the door, running out of the temple, back out onto the grounds of Bevelle. Looking skyward, we all look for the airship, before finding it hovering around the main temple. Running towards it, we all wave our arms, and after a moment, the airship flies over towards us, dropping a rope ladder that we climb up, and back on board the massive vessel.


As soon as we're back on board, I head towards the bridge, already knowing where our next destination should be. "Well? Where's Yuna?" Cid says, walking towards me as I enter, and I motion behind me, everyone having followed me. Cid's eyes light up at the sight of his niece, and Yuna walks towards him, grabbing him in a hug, as the two embrace, each happy to see the other okay.

"Uncle...I..." Yuna starts, but Cid stops her, looking at his niece.

"Yuna, you're quitting your pilgrimage." he says, bluntly, and Yuna's eyes go wide.

"I'm what?" she says, Cid looking at her with a stern face.

"You heard me. I can't let you go out there and get yourself killed over nothing!" he tells her, and Yuna's eyes narrow.

"Uncle...it's not nothing! I'm doing this for the good of all the people of Spira! If you don't like it, I'm sorry...but I'm not quitting my pilgrimage." she says, turning and walking out of the bridge before he can say another word.

"Yuna!" he yells, but Yuna is already gone.

"Not to say I told you so, but..." I mutter, Cid shooting me an annoyed glance.

"Crid ib." he tells me, and I smirk.

"I think I know where we need to go next." I tell him, Auron walking up beside me as well.

"Oh? And where might that be?" he says, giving me another annoyed look.

"Back to Macalania. We can take a rest there, and head on to the Calm Lands later. Right?" I say, looking at Auron.

"He's right. It would be beneficial for us to rest before continuing, but, that is Yuna's decision." Auron agrees, looking at the Al Bhed, who sighs.

"Alright, alright." he says, and suddenly, I stop, snapping my fingers.

"No, wait!" I say, turning to Auron. "Sir Auron? I have a better idea. What if we gather the legendary weapons?" I say, giving him a hopeful look.

"That isn't for me to decide. That is also for Lady Yuna to determine." he tells me, and I sigh.

"Alright. I'll go ask her." I say, walking out of the bridge, and down the hall.


It takes me a minute to find the room that Yuna is in, but I finally do, and I knock lightly on the door, hearing a faint acknowledgment from inside. Walking in, I see Yuna, sitting down on the bed.

"Yuna? Is something wrong?" I ask, already thinking I know the answer.

"It's nothing..." she trails off, before looking at me. "He doesn't understand." she says, and I nod.

"I know. He will though, he just needs some time to think." I tell her, sitting down on the bed beside her. "Yuna? I have a question to ask you."

"What is it?" she replies, and I take a deep breath.

"As crazy as this sounds...would it be okay if we tried to obtain the legendary weapons?" I ask, and she gives me a strange look.

"Why? We don't even know where all of them are...they've been lost for hundreds of years now." she replies.

"That's the thing, though...I know where they are. Don't ask how, I just do. They might be the key to beating Sin." I tell her, hoping to convince her. She looks down at the floor for a moment, before looking back up at me.

"Okay...I'll go along with it. My uncle Cid, though..." she says, and I nod.

"I think I can handle that, don't worry. Just think. We may be the ones to beat Sin, once and for all." I say, standing up and walking out of the room.

'Better we find these now, and not need them, than be in the middle of fighting Sin and find out our weapons don't work...' I think to myself, walking back towards the bridge. Entering, all eyes turn to me, and I ignore it, as everyone goes back to their conversations. Walking up to Cid, I tap him on the shoulder.

"Eh?"

"Cid. Have you heard the story of the legendary weapons?" I ask him, and he nods.

"Known it since I was a kid! Why?" he replies.

"Because. I just asked Yuna if I could do this, and I have her permission. We're going to find them." I tell him, causing his eyes to go wide.

"You're out of your mind! Those things have been lost for ages now!" he yells, and everyone looks at us. Inwardly, I shiver, hating all the attention, but I continue.

"Well, they aren't completely lost. I happen to know where they are, and I plan to use them to beat Sin. So, can you just please trust me on this one? I know what I'm doing." I tell him, and he gives me a skeptical look.

"Well...if my niece is willing to go along with this hair-brained plan of yours, then I guess I am too." he says, reluctantly, and I smile.

"Trust me. It's not hair-brained. You'll see." I say, walking over, and taking a seat at the computer panel, pulling up the map system again.


And so...the next chapter starts the quest for the seven legendary weapons! The second half of the interlude, so to speak. Another small note, to my reviewers. If anyone happens to notice a spelling error of any sort, or just something that is a little off, please tell me in your review, and I'll go back and fix it, as I want this story to be relatively well written.Until then, please read and review!