Chapter 3: Altima

"I am Altima, the guardian of these seals. Since the Fayth were freed, I have been assigned to watch over the temples of Spira in the case of Sin's revival. Since you have found me, I am guessing that Sin has returned?" the woman standing in the middle of the Chamber of the Fayth said.

"Indeed," Lukas began, "and then we followed the pyreflies leading into here, and met you."

"I assume that you are going to find a way to stop Sin?" Altima questioned.

"We can't allow Sin to devastate the land, ya?" Vidina replied. "It no longer belongs in Spira."

"That's too bad," said a voice coming from the shadows. "Sin should be allowed to rule this land, and I'm going to stop anyone who wishes to make the situation otherwise!" A shadowed figure stepped forward, just stopping short of a beam of light. "So, Altima, it would seem that you've reached out to anyone who was willing to protect Spira."

"Who are you?" the guardian replied. However, before she could find out an answer, the light in the center of the room faded, and she along with it.

"This temple is finally sealed in darkness," the voice continued. "However, if you wish to defeat Sin, then I have no choice but to finish you off right here!" The figure raised an arm into the air. "Dark Valefor! I summon you now! Finish off these weaklings!" With that, the figure faded, and all was dark.

"Um… Lukas," Vidina began, "are we in trouble?"

At that moment, a loud screech filled the air.

Lukas looked worried. "I'd say we are." He raised a finger to point in the direction in front of him. "Look!"

Vidina followed the path his friend's finger pointed out, and just ahead of them, in the dim light of the chamber, stood an enormous creature, spreading its wings. Its ruby red eyes glowed in the darkness, glaring upon the two boys.

"Is that a phoenix?" Vidina wondered.

"I don't think so," Lukas replied. "I remember hearing about this thing from my mom. This is one of the aeons!"

Vidina's eyes widened as the creature flapped its wings and lifted itself into the air, causing the air in the room to rush about. Covering his face with his arms, he cried out, "Which one!"

"I think it's Valefor!"

Valefor screeched again and flew about the cavern and swooped upon its prey. Lukas and Vidina tried to dodge, the giant bird missing them by mere inches.

"We can't keep this up!" Lukas cried out. "We're too slow to dodge its attacks for too much longer!"

The bird made one final swoop, driving the boys into a corner. Finally, Valefor swooped up into the air, faced its prey, and spread its wings wide.

"No! It's the Sonic Wings!" Lukas cried.

"The Sonic Wings?" Vidina asked. Lukas had no time to answer; as the bird flapped its wings so hard and swiftly that the air formed a swirling vortex which headed straight for the boys. They tried to stay in place, but the force of the wind was too much. They were both flung into the wall, crumpling to the floor in a heap.

"It's too strong…" Lukas cringed, looking up at the bird. In that moment, however, he wished he hadn't looked at all. Valefor had opened its beak, and a ball of light had formed, and was now growing brighter with each passing moment. This is it, he thought. That's his Energy Cannon. No way can we survive that! He closed his eyes tightly as he heard the sound of the beam being released…

…and hit the upper walls of the chamber. Realizing that the aeon had missed, Lukas opened his eyes. Something had made it miss, but what?

"Hey birdbrain!" a voice yelled, "Why don't you pick on someone who can fight back?"

Lukas craned his neck towards the entrance of the Chamber of the Fayth, where Tidus and Wakka stood, defiantly facing Valefor. Wakka had blasted his blitzball at the bird, causing it to miss its target. Tidus jumped between the aeon and the boys, unsheathing his Brotherhood sword, and pointing it at Valefor. He then turned his head to the entrance. "Yuna! Do it!"

Yuna had appeared in the doorway, carrying her staff. She began to dance in a circle, and pyreflies began to appear from the floor. Valefor screeched in what seemed like a mix of agony and anger. Within a few seconds, it burst into a mass of pyreflies and vanished. The light in the chamber returned to normal.

Tidus walked up to his son. "Lukas," he began. "Are you okay?"

Lukas crawled to his feet, holding his arm against his torso. "I think so. He turned to face Wakka, who had rushed over to help Vidina. "Is he okay?"

Wakka smiled. "A couple bumps and bruises, but nothing bad. I think he'll be fine, ya?"

Suddenly, the beam of light reappeared in the chamber and Altima appeared. "I apologize," she began. "I couldn't guard this seal when I needed to. What happened?"

"That thing…" Lukas began.

"That thing…" Yuna interrupted. "…was an aeon; a being that had the power to fight Sin long ago. At one point, however, they had been possessed in the fight against Shuyin. But we had freed the Fayth again, so the aeons were also freed."

"What exactly is going on?" Wakka exclaimed.

Altima shook her head. "Even I do not know. However, it would seem that the other temples in Spira have had the seals corrupted again. In order to defeat Sin, we must unlock the darkness imbued on each seal." She turned to Lukas. "Are you still willing to accomplish this?"

"Like Vidina said, Sin can't be allowed to roam the land anymore. We need to stop it if possible." He turned to Yuna. "Mom, you were on the pilgrimage that the summoners followed. Where is the next temple?"

"Even with all this danger, you're still willing to take on this journey?" Yuna asked, exasperated. "Alright, I can't stop you two, it seems. The next temple is to the north, in Kilika."

"Kilika? You mean the place that was rebuilt after Sin destroyed it?"

"It's near Kilika, in the woods."

"Indeed," Altima began. "The Aeon of Fire, Ifrit, used to dwell there. Then I shall await you at that seal." With that, she disappeared once again.

Vidina grinned. "Well, Lukas, shall we get going?"

Wakka glared at Vidina. "What are you talking about? No way am I letting you go without punishing you first!"

"Punishing me?" Vidina gulped.

"Oh ya, I'll make sure of it! Why did you run off into the temple in the middle of the night, young man?"

"Well, um… Lukas put me up to it!"

"What! Hey now…" Lukas waved his arms frantically. "Don't you dare get me involved!"

"What do you mean!" Vidina fired back. "YOU'RE the one who got ME involved, remember? You should be punished too!"

"Darn right!" Wakka roared. "I'm making sure the both of you are held back from your journey for one day! You're both going to make sure the arrangements are taken care of for yourselves!"

Vidina and Lukas groaned.