Good bit of reviews this chapter...interesting. Anyhow, on to the replies!

Daniel Wesley Rydell: Alright, Auron.

Bracey Face Anime Gurl: Alright, Brother.

Gester: He wasn't being serious, twas meant as a joke. And yes, it was shorter than usual.

Auron's Fan: Well, I decided from the start that Yojimbo/Anima wouldn't be shown, so that explains that. The second question? I dunno WHAT he does with all that Gil. As for updating at 1 AM? The inspiration struck me. It happens at odd times sometimes.

Iron Reaver: ...You know, I should hire you. (ponders)

beastboy-had-a-brain: Good, then you'll understand the ending. (grins) Still around...10 or so chapters till the end though.

locko: Welcome to Destiny's Call, locko! As for your question, no, Yojimbo will not be acquired. Sorry.

desert-tiger: You'll see...you'll see. Just give it another chapter or so. (grins)

FFfanboyX: Seymour will catch utter heck in the fight on Gagazet. Trust me. De nada, senor.

SS5Matt: Thanks for the compliment. You'll have to wait to find out.

Kyela: If it was you who left an anonymous review with only question marks for the name, then yes, I was referring to you. Thanks, here's the next chapter. Enjoy.

raiden no onna: Welcome to Destiny's Call, raiden! Glad to see another reader. Thanks for the compliment, as well.

Phew, finally. Anyhow, onwards to Gagazet!


Chapter 33—A Test Of Will

The frigid highlands of Mount Gagazet. Perfect home for the Ronso. One small problem, though. There doesn't seem to be any Ronso around.

"Where are all of the Ronso?" Tidus asks Kimahri. "I thought this was your home?"

"Kimahri not know. Ronso protect sacred Gagazet. Ronso not abandon duty." he says, looking out over the base of the mountain. Suddenly, a figure descends to the right of us, jumping off a low hill to land in front of us. The figure is revealed to be Biran, and as he seemingly glares at us, former Maester Kelk Ronso and Yenke walk up behind him.

"Summoner Yuna and guardians, leave here at once!" he yells, and now I notice many Ronso on the hills surrounding us, watching. "Gagazet is Ronso land, sacred mountain of Yevon. The mountain will not bear the footsteps of infidels!"

"Enemy of Yevon is enemy of Ronso! Leave, traitors!" Biran yells, staring us down.

"I have cast aside Yevon! I follow the temples no more!" Yuna replies, standing firm before the Ronso.

"Then you will die by those words!" Kelk yells, looking at Yuna. I put my hand on my sword handle and tense, ready for a confrontation as Yuna speaks again.

"So be it. Yevon has warped the teachings and betrayed us all!" she yells, Wakka stepping up beside her.

"Nothing but a bunch of low-down tricksters, eh?" he says.

"Yeah! Yeah!" Tidus and Rikku yell, facing down the Ronso.

"We have no regrets." Yuna says softly, and Yenke growls.

"Blasphemers!" he says, and Kimahri runs up to stand in front of Biran. Biran looks down at the smaller Kimahri, giving a small growl. Kimahri does much the same, looking up at Biran as Kelk continues to address us.

"A summoner and her guardians..."

"Lord Kelk Ronso, if I may." Lulu cuts in, looking towards the Ronso. "Have you not also turned your back on Bevelle?

"But still, you guard Gagazet as a Ronso, not a Maester. Yuna is much the same." Auron states, as Kelk gives them a thoughtful glance.

"Elder Kelk!" Biran yells, turning to the Ronso elder. "Let Biran rend them asunder!"

"No escape! Not one!" Yenke says, moving up beside Biran.

"No, we will not flee." Yuna says, shaking her head. "We will fight, and continue on."

"You have been branded a traitor, and still you would fight Sin? Lost to the temple, hated by the people, yet you continue your pilgrimage? Everything lost! What do you fight for?" Kelk asks, looking at Yuna. Yuna thinks for a moment, lowering her head, before she raises it again and looks at the Ronso elder.

"I fight for Spira. The people long for the Calm. I can give it to them. It's all I can give. Defeating Sin, ending pain...this I can do." she replies, and Kelk shakes his head.

"Even sacrificing yourself?" he asks, before turning and starting to walk away. Before he gets far, however, he stops and turns back around. "Ronso, let them pass!" he orders, the Ronso all looking at him in disbelief. "Summoner Yuna, your will is stronger than steel. Tempered steel that even the mightiest Ronso could not hope to bend. Yuna, we bow to your will! Now go! The sacred heights of Gagazet welcome you."

"We thank you." Yuna says, bowing, as she nods to us and starts to walk towards the heights of the mountain. All of us follow, headed along the path to Zanarkand.


After a minute of walking, a low growl comes from in front of us. Stopping, we look around, before a voice breaks the silence.

"Halt!" Looking ahead, we see Biran and Yenke walking towards us.

'When will they leave us alone...' I think, as they approach us, looking towards Yuna.

"Haven't you bothered us enough?" Tidus asks, clearly fed up with the two.

"Summoner may pass. Guardians may pass. Kimahri not pass!" Biran says, turning his gaze towards Kimahri. "Kimahri shame Ronso brothers. Kimahri forget his birth."

"Forget his people, forget his mountain. Little Ronso! Weakling Ronso!" Yenke taunts, as Kimahri simply stands still.

"Mountain hate the weak, hate the small. If you will climb..." Biran starts, but gets interrupted by Kimahri stepping up to face them.

"Then I must prove my strength!" he says, staring the duo down.

"Think you will win?" Biran says, looking at the smaller Ronso. "You not forget who took your horn! Never forget!"

"Kimahri never beat brother Biran! Never win!" Yenke adds, laughing at Kimahri.

"This time, I win. I will win!" Kimahri declares, and Tidus moves up beside him. Kimahri moves an arm to stop him, causing Tidus to look up at Kimahri.

"This some kind of Ronso thing?" he asks, and I groan.

'Well, of course, Tidus. What else could it possibly be?'

"Kimahri problem." he states simply, as Biran and Yenke drop into fighting stances, gripping their spears tightly. Kimahri growls and rushes the duo, intent on proving his worth.

(Play Star Ocean 3 theme Influence of Truth Appearance)

Roaring, Kimahri swipes his poleaxe across at the duo, aiming for the chest. Biran and Yenke roll out of the way, and stand back up, bringing their spears across in a double jab at each of Kimahri's sides. Kimahri leaps forwards, before slashing the spear out in an arc to catch Biran across the chest with the dull end.

"Biran rend you asunder!" Biran shouts, before unleashing a great gout of flame from his mouth, the Fire Breath snaking out to burn Kimahri on the leg slightly. Growling, Kimahri turns to charge Biran, but is hit in the back by Yenke's spear, having turned his back on him.

"Hornless! Hornless!" he taunts, before Kimahri holds his spear out, lines of energy snaking from Yenke to himself. Roaring, Kimahri unleashes a burst of seeds from his mouth, striking Yenke and knocking him back, before spinning and bringing the spear up to deflect an overhead slash from Biran. Kicking Biran in the chest, Kimahri brings the spear down towards his shoulder, only to have the attack arrested quickly by Biran's own spear.

Yenke takes this chance to attack, unleashing a torrent of water bubbles from his mouth which strike Kimahri in the side, causing him to turn to Yenke. With a low growl, Kimahri jumps into the air and brings the spear down on Yenke, the flat side of the blade striking Yenke's head and knocking him down.

Biran charges in now, the spear whizzing around in the air as he brings it towards Kimahri's chest, who deftly blocks it before knocking the spear upwards. Growling, Kimahri brings the blade of his poleaxe across Biran's chest, drawing blood and causing Biran to step back. Yenke charges in again now, having recovered from the earlier attack, and brings a blinding blow down on Kimahri's left shoulder, causing him to grunt in pain. Swinging the spear around with his good arm, Kimahri lands a blow on Yenke's side which also draws blood, before he knocks the Ronso down with a shoulder charge. Biran stops, then kneels down on one knee, as Yenke slowly gets back to his feet, walking over to Biran while clutching his side.

(End SO3 theme Influence of Truth Appearance)

"Strong is Kimahri. Biran is happy." Biran says, walking away from us a moment and looking up at the mountain, before beginning to shout. "Sacred Mount Gagazet! I honor the name of strong warrior who defeats Biran. Remember always, Gagazet! That name is Kimahri!"

"Mountain knows Kimahri strong. Kimahri may pass." Yenke says, looking over at Kimahri.

"Summoner!" Biran yells, looking over at Yuna. "We Ronso will stop pursuers from temple."

"Truly?" she says, clasping her hands.

"Penance for breaking Kimahri's horn, long ago." Biran replies.

"We crush enemies following behind." Yenke says, and Kimahri nods.

"Kimahri crush enemies standing before." Kimahri replies, looking over at the duo.

"You are most fortunate summoner." Biran tells Yuna, who nods.

"Thank you."

"Ronso will shine your statue brightest." Yenke says, walking back over towards Yuna, Biran walking back towards us as well.

"Thank you. But I fear that no one will make a statue for a traitor such as I am." she says, causing Biran to clench a fist.

"Then Ronso will make!"

"With grand horn on head!" Yenke agrees, causing Yuna to smile.

"That...would be wonderful." she says, as the duo gives a final nod, and walks back towards the base of the mountain.

"We should go now." I say, facing the heights of the mountain. Everyone nods, and without any further words, we start walking along the mountain path again. Before we get very far along the path, however, we're confronted with a yell from behind.

"Summoner Yuna!" Biran yells, walking back towards us, Yenke beside him.

"What is it this time?" Tidus says, obviously annoyed with the Ronso. Approaching us, Biran begins to sing the Hymn of the Fayth, Yenke joining in a moment later. Other Ronso begin to approach, all singing as well. After a moment, we all look at each other, and join in the singing of the Hymn.

"Thank you." I tell the duo, as we all nod and start along the path once again.


The path along the mountain is beginning to get harder to travel now, steeper and rockier than before. The fiends along the path aren't helping much, either. Muttering, I cut through a Grat, as World Champion and Tidus' Caladbolg strike a Bashura fiend simultaneously, making it burst into pyreflies. Pulling out my Sphere Grid, I examine it for a moment, before smiling.

"Finally." I say, pulling out four Ability Spheres, and inserting them into the grid. "My third level spells at last." Looking around, I notice the others doing much the same.

"Hey, what's that?" I hear Rikku say, and I turn to see her pointing to a small pile of rocks, with a spear driven into the ground in the middle. Everyone walks over, as Lulu turns to us and begins to explain.

"These mark the graves of summoners and guardians who failed." she says, and I look down. That must be the reason for the fiends.

Moving on, we come to yet another grave site, and I stare at it for a moment.

"Summoners that die up here aren't sent to the Farplane." Lulu says, and Tidus turns to her.

"Why not?"

"Who would send them?" she replies. "They die alone."

"So that means..." he trails off, Lulu nodding.

"Many have become fiends, and they may want Yuna's company."

"Well, Yuna will be fine." Tidus says, looking over at Lulu.

"You're right." she says. Walking up to the grave, I kneel a moment before standing up and pulling out my staff. Beginning to walk a short distance away, I close my eyes, preparing to do something I've seen done many times before.

"Ben, what are you doing?" Rikku asks, walking over to me.

"I'm going to send them, Rikku. They deserve it." I say simply, and Rikku looks at me for a moment longer before walking away. Focusing, I take a deep breath, before beginning to perform the sending dance I've seen done so many times in the past. As I dance, I can see pyreflies floating upwards into the sky, and I feel sadness for the summoners and guardians who have fallen. But at the same time, I feel glad that I made a difference, that I was able to let them rest in peace. Finishing the dance, I walk back over to the others, giving everyone a small look as I approach. With a small nod from Yuna, we all follow along the path once again.


The farther we go, the worse the path gets. Now, it's windy and slightly snowing, in addition to being cold and snow-covered already. Shivering, I pull my jacket out and put it on, hoping to shield myself from some of the wind. As we walk, we come to another grave site, and we all stop for a moment to look at it.

"All this way, only to fail. It must have been tough." Lulu says, shaking her head. I just bow my head in reverence for a moment, before beginning to follow everyone up the trail again.

After a few more minutes, we come to a small ledge, looking out over the area below. Stopping, we all decide to take a break, before we finish the trip towards Zanarkand.

"Zanarkand is on the other side, you know?" Rikku tells Tidus, and I walk over to listen to their conversation.

"I know."

"Yunie is gonna get the Final Aeon, you know?"

"I know."

"I still haven't thought of anything." she says, and Tidus nods.

"Me neither." he replies.

"What are we gonna do?" she asks, a slight bit of fear creeping into her voice.

"We'll do something!" Tidus says, looking at the Al Bhed girl. "We just don't know enough yet. Until we do, we can't really help Yuna. Let's go to Zanarkand. We'll find something there. It'll all come together. I just know it!"

"Hey...just now, you sounded like a leader, you know?" Rikku says, smiling at Tidus.

"Star of the Zanarkand Abes! Didn't anyone tell you?" he replies, grinning, and I just sigh. Rikku bows before walking away, towards the ledge. Suddenly, she screams, and Tidus and I turn around quickly, running towards the ledge. When we arrive, the first thing that greets us is the smug face of Seymour, standing near the edge of the cliff.

"So, we meet again." he says, looking at me.

"Can't say it's a pleasure. How about you just give up, go to the Farplane, and save yourself the embarrassment of having your tail kicked by us yet again?" I say, glaring, before turning to Rikku. "Rikku, get the others, now!" I say, drawing my sword.

"You're not fighting him alone!" she tells us, and I shake my head.

"We'll be fine for the moment, just go, now!" I yell, and she nods, running back down the trail. Turning an eye to Tidus, Seymour begins to speak again.

"Now is your time to die. Prepare yourself, son of Jecht." he says coldly, and Tidus clenches a fist, drawing the Caladbolg.

"Not if I can help it!" he says, and another voice chimes in from behind us.

"Save some for Kimahri!" Kimahri yells, running to our side with his poleaxe in hand. The rest of the group is right behind him, and they all step up to meet us, weapons drawn.

"Lady Yuna, it is a pleasure." Seymour says, a false air of kindness in his words. Lulu just looks at Yuna.

"Yuna!" she cries, Yuna nodding and stepping forward to begin sending Seymour to the Farplane.

"A sending, so soon?" he says, looking at the summoner, who stops. "Allow me to say something to the last Ronso before I leave." Seymour gives an evil chuckle, before continuing. "Yours was...truly, a gallant race. They threw themselves at me to bar my path. One...after another..." he says, trailing off into another bout of evil laughter.

"No..." Kimahri mutters, Yuna turning to the Ronso.

"Kimahri..." she says, looking at him sorrowfully.

"Seymour...you would resort to attempted genocide to stop us? That tears it...I'm making sure you don't leave this mountain! You're going straight to the Farplane this time!" I yell, determined to make sure he does no further harm to anyone.

"I don't understand you!" Yuna shouts, looking up at Seymour.

"Allow Kimahri to die, and release him from his pain." Seymour replies, walking over to the edge of the cliff and looking over. "Spira...is a land of suffering and sorrow caught in a spiral of death. To destroy—to heal—Spira, I will become Sin. Yes, with your help." he says, looking over at Yuna. "Come with me, Yuna." he says, before shifting his gaze to Tidus, who has his sword in hand. "Once I have become the next Sin, your father will be freed again." Tidus looks like he doesn't know exactly what to say, hanging his head for a moment, before suddenly snapping his head back up to glare at Seymour.

"What do you know!" he yells, charging at Seymour. Seymour simply smirks, and ascends into the air, as a giant machina rises from behind him, off the edge of the cliff.

"Pitiful mortal." Seymour speaks, floating back towards the machina. "Your hope ends here." he says, as he collides with the thing, a flash of light blinding everyone. When it dims, we can see Seymour now merged with the machina, making him immensely more powerful than he was. "And your meaningless existence with it!" he finishes, before floating towards us, intent on ending all our lives.


Ooh...another cliffhanger. What will happen in the fight with Seymour? You'll have to read next chapter to find out! Until then, please review!