The waves of the sea lapped against the side of the boat as it sailed from Besaid to Kilika. Lulu and Wakka were alone in the cabin they shared… (Sorry, uncontrollable urge, couldn't stop myself!) and Tidus and Yuna were laying on the upper deck staring at the cloud formations.
'Kilika sighted, Captain!' yelled one of the lookouts. The captain asked how far off, and the estimated reply was 'about twenty meters distant, sir!' Tidus and Yuna stood, gazing towards Kilika, then almost fell back in shock. The docks of Kilika were shattered, and many dead floated in the water, wrapped in white cloth and kanji-covered talismans, the blessings of Yevon for the dead. The boat beached itself (on the beach, obviously!) and Tidus leapt off with Yuna, the rest of his guardians following close behind.
'Lord Summoner, are you going to perform the sending before going to the temple?' one of the men asked of him. Tidus' shoulders slumped in grief of death and dying. He nodded, and the men around wept in relief. He walked out onto the water, swinging his staff in the mystic pattern of sending, praying to Yevon for the souls of the dead. Many people stood on the beach watching.
Pyreflies poured out of the bodies, and sent to the Farplane. The guardians gasped in awe at the large amount of them. A robed figure appeared in the crowd as the sending was complete, and Tidus collapsed on the beach. His guardians grouped around him, and Lulu led them to the inn. Luckily, it was still standing. They all got rooms, and as soon as his head hit the pillow, Tidus fell asleep.
The sun glaring in the window woke him up as it hit his eyes. He pulled back the blankets, then hurriedly re-covered himself when he discovered his clothes were on the floor, and Yuna was sleeping beside him, her arms wrapped around his waist and her head resting on his chest as it rose up and down. Yuna looked over behind Tidus and her eyes widened in shock. He looked around, and his eyes grew large. Lulu had spent the night in their room, and was sitting up, her face frozen, her jaw hanging slack. She seemed to recover for a moment, saying "Gee, that I definitely did not want to see." She glared at Tidus. " I thought I made it clear that I didn't want you to do this, that you should control yourself. Must we separate you two?"
"No, you don't! It's a free country, crazy lady!" Lulu's magic doll appeared at the end of the bed and crawled towards Tidus. It grabbed him by the shoulders and shaking him, said "Don't do it don't do it don't do it! Control yourself!" Tidus screamed in terror and curled into the fetal position, rocking back and forth with his thumb in his mouth, whimpering. Yuna and Lulu got dressed and went to find some food, and Tidus lay shivering on the bed. After making sure everyone was gone, and looking for the doll, he climbed out of bed and started dressing.
An object shot out from under the bed and up his back, perching on his head. The doll grabbed him by his hair, yanking back and forth, and yelling "controlcontrolcontrolcontrol! Hahahaha!" Tidus screamed in terror loud enough to wake the dead, and the doll jumped down and ran out the door, laughing maniacally. He lay on the floor, breathing hard, and after he was sure his heart wouldn't explode, he finished getting dressed and went to find his guardians.
A small robed figure was standing by the common room door that he walked through, and it followed him. He looked around, and they pulled their hood back. A feminine face was uncovered. She appeared to be a cleric.
"I wish to join you on your pilgrimage," she said. "Sin must be defeated. At this time, my name is unimportant." The girl waited for his answer. As he looked around, he caught sight of Lulu, and motioned her over.
"This girl is freaky. She appears to be a cleric, and wants to join us on our journey, but didn't give her name. What do you think?"
"As a cleric, she takes vows to never harm a living thing that is not truly evil. She cannot harm us. She would also be a nice person to have around." She walked off, still looking for food. Tidus turned back.
"You may travel with us if I am told your name," he told her.
"The name you may call me by is… Tal." She turned away, content. Tidus walked outside after his guardians.
Wakka and Yuna stood waiting, ready to go to the temple on the other side of the forest with him to pray to the fayth. It was reputed to lay inside of a semi-active volcano, hence its name, the Fire temple.
Once in the forest, many monsters attacked them, but were easily defeated. Before long, they approached the long stairway up to the temple. At the first landing, they stopped to catch their breath.
"Fiend! Fiend!" two figures ran down the stairs shouting loudly. Seeing Tidus and his guardians, they stopped, breathing hard.
"What's with the screaming?" Tidus asked.
"There's a fiend at the top! You should turn around, before it gets you!" One of the men said to him. The other one nodded vigorously. After a few minutes, they started back down the stairs, headed towards the forest below. Tidus and his guardians continued up the stairs, and as they got to the top, they heard a roar. Cresting the top, they saw the fiend in front of them. It was armored, and had large tentacles which were waving in the air. Everyone stopped as Lulu stepped forward, arms raised, preparing to cast a spell. Lightning shot from the sky, but before it hit the fiend, the tentacles deflected the bolt and sent it back into the sky. Tidus drew his sword and ran towards the fiend with Wakka and Yuna close behind. He started to slice into a tentacle, and Yuna was striking them while Wakka was throwing a blitzball at them. After they got the tentacles destroyed, Lulu was able to use her magic to help destroy the fiend, and soon they were watching it fade into pyreflies.
They went into the temple, and with the spell Yuna cast to protect against fire, the way to the cloister was mostly uneventful. Outside the large door, everyone stopped, and Tidus walked through the door, which closed behind him. The pool before him rippled, and he knelt at the edge. Water rose, and the figure of a young adult formed, clad in the clothing of an ancient people known as Firewalkers. The figure spoke.
"Do you want to be strong, summoner?" the figure asked.
"Yes I do," Tidus answered. The figure nodded.
"My name is Talon Balefire. In life, I was the strongest Firewalker ever to live. No one was stronger. To summon me is to summon the demon of fire, Ifrit. You must be strong to summon me, in body, mind, and spirit." With that, Talon let himself be absorbed, and about an hour later, Tidus woke with a slight headache. He stumbled a little as he walked towards the door, and he and his guardians went to board the ship for Luca.