AN: I got a review! Hooray! It's nice to know that at least one person is enjoying this story. Thank you so much Naru. This cloister is dedicated to you.

Cloister Five

It wasn't often that Isaaru came across someone that he hated, or that he couldn't at least find some redeeming quality in. He was still trying to work out what Beclem's redeeming quality was though.

Every single thing about Beclem got on his nerves. Isaaru still had yet to hear a single nice word come out of Beclem's mouth, and if the man had any social skills whatsoever, then he had yet to show them to the ex-Summoner. Isaaru remembered the kind face he had seen beneath Beclem's mask, and wondered if there wasn't a kinder side to Beclem that he had yet to show. Isaaru ended up deciding that it was best if he didn't get his hopes up in regards to the other man.

It was a very curious situation though. Maroda seemed friendly enough with the man and usually Maroda was a relatively good judge of character. Isaaru decided he would talk to his younger brother about Bevelle's newest arrival.

"Beclem?" was Maroda's immediate reaction. "Well, I'm not exactly his friend as such. He doesn't really have any close friends at all as far as I can tell, and he treats pretty much everyone like shit, so don't worry; you're not alone there. Elma and Lucil seem to know a bit more about him, but neither they nor Beclem ever really talk about it."

"Talk about what?"

"There's something about his past I think, but I wouldn't have a clue what, and for some reason he absolutely hates Summoners, although I've heard he's become sort of friends with Lady Yuna."

"Sort of friends?" Isaaru laughed.

"Well, acquaintances I guess, but that's as close as he ever gets to anyone really. He never lets anyone get close enough to be any more than that."

"Really?" Isaaru said. He stopped to think for a while, before coming to a decision. "Maybe I've judged him a little too harshly. We are going to be spending a lot of time together after all. Perhaps it's better if I attempt to become well… whatever it is the two of you are. 'Sort of friends,' perhaps?"

"Good luck," Maroda sighed, shaking his head at his older brother's refusal to believe that Beclem was just unreachable. "You're going to need it."

Isaaru stood at the door to Beclem's room, ready to face nearly anything he found inside. The man had been living in the Palace for a couple of days now, and had been given plenty of time to change his room to suit him.

When Isaaru opened the door however, he found that the room and its contents had barely changed at all, apart from a scattering of guns and ammunition that had appeared on Beclem's bedside table. Beclem himself was sitting on the bed with his back facing Isaaru, his attention focussed on something the ex-Summoner couldn't see.

"Beclem," Isaaru said, announcing his presence.

"Hello Lord Isaaru," Beclem said, a little cheerier than Isaaru was expecting. He turned around on the bed so that he was facing Isaaru, and what he held in his hands made the leader of Bevelle scowl.

"What is that!" he growled, pointing at the monkey in Beclem's hands.

"They make great pets," Beclem said as he held the creature out closer to Isaaru. He was smiling, and Isaaru was sure that beneath the mask Beclem would be wearing an evil glare. "I called this one Isaaru since he reminded me of you. See, he has your eyes."

All thoughts of settling their differences were forgotten.

"You…" Isaaru scowled, realising now what made many people often resort to curses. "You're so… argh!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in defeat and storming out of the room.

"Why does that man have to be so annoying?" Isaaru complained as he stormed towards Via Infinito, catching the attention of a passing priestess as he did so. He smiled at the nervous looking woman, trying to pretend that he wasn't as frustrated as he appeared, and began scowling again as soon as he had passed her.

He pitied the fiend that came across him when he was in a mood like this.

"Well, that was an even better reaction than I was hoping for," Beclem said after Isaaru had stormed from his room in annoyance. "I think that was a bit harsh of him though. You're not that bad."

Isaaru the monkey looked up at him, one ear twitching to the side as though he was listening to every word Beclem said.

"You should probably stay here," Beclem said, placing the monkey down on his bed. "If that Summoner finds you he'll probably kill you."

Isaaru's tail twitched behind him, and he settled down on Beclem's bed, finding a little place for himself in a fold in the covers.

I must be going insane, Beclem thought as he shut the door behind him, effectively locking the monkey inside his room. I'm actually thinking of keeping that thing. Not only that, but I was talking to it.

Bevelle was most beautiful in the middle of the day, when the sun lit up all the golden features of the city, sparkling off its many water fountains and canals and creating a beautiful shining vista. It was through this picture of perfection that Beclem walked that afternoon. He was supposed to be further acquainting himself with the layout of the city, but he found his thoughts constantly straying from the streets of Bevelle to focus instead on Isaaru.

The ex-Summoner was a puzzle to be sure. Beclem felt that he was an incredibly complex person, and wondered what secrets the leader of Bevelle was hiding, for everyone had secrets, and those of a man in a position of power such as Isaaru were bound to be good.

It was only when he realised that he had been thinking of nothing but Isaaru for the last half an hour that he began to wonder why the man fascinated him so.

He couldn't possibly be falling in love with the ex-Summoner could he? Of course not, Beclem thought, shaking his head as he did so. Isaaru wasn't his type. He was admittedly one of the most beautiful people Beclem had ever laid eyes on, but good looks were not all that was required to make a person attractive. He was too proud, and too falsely polite. Isaaru's kindness seemed far too generous for it to be completely genuine. On top of that, Isaaru was a Summoner, and Beclem had never like Summoners; they were all far too righteous and self-sacrificing, and yet if they had defeated Sin only one year earlier, Chappu may have been standing beside him right now.

No, love certainly wasn't the answer, or even attraction. What then? Was it just because Isaaru had such a unique personality? Was it simply because he was so different to Beclem that the Youth League ambassador found Isaaru so remarkable? Maybe it was only because part of him wanted to know what secrets the ex-Summoner was hiding.

He followed his feet where they would take him, and soon he found himself back at the entrance to the Palace. He looked over in the direction of the area that had been called Via Infinito. There was one of Isaaru and Bevelle's most suspicious secrets, just waiting to be discovered.

Well, it couldn't hurt to just take a look, could it?

He entered the chamber and stood there, looking at the glyph for a moment, debating with himself. The Youth League and the people of Spira had a right to know what New Yevon was hiding in there. If it was potentially dangerous then that only made Beclem want to know about it more.

He looked behind and around him quickly to make sure that no-one was watching. If no-one knew that he had been inside Via Infinito then it certainly couldn't hurt, and if it was as harmless and Isaaru had made it sound, then he could leave straight away.

He stepped onto the glyph and relaxed, letting it take him where it would. It seemed to be asking him something. He never was good at working these things, but felt as though it was something about how far into Via Infinito he wanted to travel.

He put his foot forward. Usually this was the correct sign for travelling straight forwards or to the farthest point away from the user's current position. He felt the sickening sensation that came when travelling by glyph, as though his stomach was being pulled up through his mouth, and when he next opened his eyes, found himself in the middle of a chamber far larger than anything he had been expecting.

The entire room was made of the same pale white marble. Every surface was carved with intricate detail. He couldn't see the end of the tunnel he was standing in, and on the floor just beneath him he saw a glyph inscribed on the floor. 'Cloister 63'. He wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean.

The most disturbing thing about this place was that there were pyreflies everywhere; flying overhead, soaring beside the floating path in the middle of the room, and trailing around him in lazy circles. Where there were pyreflies, there were soon fiends. Beclem was suddenly very glad he had his guns with him.

Beclem looked behind himself, expecting to see a glyph similar to the one that had brought him home, but there was no return to be found that way. It was straight forwards then. The path broke in several places, and Beclem found himself having to leap over gaps in the floor. He looked down between these gaps, looking perhaps for another part of Via Infinito, but could see only darkness, lit only occasionally by a pyrefly or two.

There was the sound of a battle around the first turn in the path, and Beclem drew his guns, ready to fire upon whatever enemy he found.

He turned the corner to find Isaaru; busy in a fight against the largest Helm Beclem had ever seen. It was easily twice the height of a normal human being. Isaaru dodged the Helm as it moved to slam against him, retaliating with a powerful burst of fire magic which made the Helm scream and collapse on the floor after what must have been a long match judging by the way Isaaru was panting and sweating.

So, the Summoner had known how large this place was and hadn't told him. Beclem found he was suddenly very annoyed with Isaaru. If there were Helms like that down here, then this place wasn't just 'potentially dangerous'. It was deadly.

"Beclem?" Isaaru asked, noticing his presence for the first time. "What are you doing down here? I thought you were told it was off-limits."

"You have no right to hide something like this!" Beclem roared in return. "From the Youth League or from the people living above this place!"

"You have no right to be down here in the first place!"

"Well, I suppose that makes me just as bad as you then."

Isaaru's slight frown turned into an angry scowl at that last comment; an expression which looked most unusual on thenormally peaceful ex-Summoner's face.

"No," Isaaru said, his voice full of an unexpected power and venom. "I could never be as bad as you."

Beclem was a little taken back. He had never expected Isaaru to show so much strength or bitterness.

"I try and find the best in everyone," Isaaru continued. "But I think I'm about ready to give up searching for it in you."

"Fine then," Beclem said, pointing his guns at Isaaru. "If that's the way it's going to be."

He fired off two perfectly aimed shots; one from each gun, but Isaaru blocked them just in time with a shielded protection spell, stopping the bullets in their tracks.

A cold burst of ice hit Beclem quicker than he thought it was possible for Isaaru to retaliate, bursting through his clothes and making him feel the strangest mix of cold and pain.

He fired another shot, and this one connected with Isaaru's shoulder. Isaaru grimaced, but moved out of the way of Beclem's next round of fire.

Beclem's guns clicked as he ran out of bullets, making the ex-Crusader growl. There was no time for reloading in this battle. Instead he charged towards his enemy, hoping to knock him from his feet.

Isaaru twisted out of the way just before Beclem reached him, and Beclem realised what he hadn't before; the path ended just behind Isaaru, and he found his weight falling off the edge. He reached out for Isaaru's robe as he fell, bringing the ex-Summoner with him.

There was a couple of seconds of complete darkness, then the two of them landed with a thump on hard, cold marble.

Beclem scrambled to his feet, quickly reloading now while he had a chance. Isaaru groaned, and then picked himself off the floor, dragging his staff up with him, coming face to face with one of Beclem's pistols as he did so.

Isaaru smirked confidently, then before he knew what was happening, Beclem felt a sharp pain in the stomach as he was struck by Isaaru's staff. His finger curled around the trigger of one of his pistols as he fell, accidentally letting a shot fly harmlessly just above Isaaru's head.

Beclem tried to pick himself off the ground, but before either of them could make another move, a loud roar echoed throughout Via Infinito, and they suddenly found themselves being attacked by a fierce-looking dragon.

Isaaru and Beclem looked at one another, wordlessly communicating, before agreeing simultaneously that their own fight could wait until this was taken care of.

The dragon charged at Isaaru, who dodged it, countering with a quick blow from his staff. Beclem opened fire, sending a complete round from both of his guns into the beast, but that barely made any difference to it as far as he could see. The dragon barely flinched.

Beclem felt a strange tingling sensation, and looked down his discover his wounds from his fight with Isaaru had been completely healed. He nodded his thanks to Isaaru, just before the creature charged again, this time slamming into Beclem and throwing him back several feet. Beclem felt the blackness of unconsciousness starting to creep up on him, but a warm sensation flowed through him as Isaaru healed him once more.

Isaaru raced towards the beast, getting in a couple of hits with his staff and giving Beclem enough time to reload, this time with much more powerful ammunition.

The fiend was becoming more and more frustrated with Isaaru, as the ex-Summoner continued to evade its attacks. It was so focussed on Isaaru that it almost completely forgot about Beclem, and the ex-Crusader was able to fire several shots into the dragon before it thought about turning around and attacking him instead.

Beclem thought he might have been about to die as the creature charged towards him with all of its might, but a shield was placed in front of him just before the creature connected, softening the blow a little.

The dragon once more became angry with Isaaru and charged towards him; sending him across the hall before he had a change to dodge.

Beclem reached into his pockets, pulling out one of the Phoenix Downs he kept just for unlikely situations like this. He threw it in Isaaru's direction, hoping that it would work.

Beclem fired another complete round into the dragon, and it fell to the ground with an almighty roar. The body burst into a dozen pyreflies as it hit the ground.

Beclem and Isaaru turned to face one another once more; Beclem aiming his guns and Isaaru ready with his staff. Beclem told himself to shoot, but he could still feel the warmth of the shield Isaaru had placed around him, and he lowered his guns.

Suddenly, their earlier fight made very little sense. Isaaru lowered his staff as well, rather thankful that Beclem had chosen not to continue their battle. He had been enjoying the prospect of beating some sense into the man, but after defeating the dragon he began to wonder why it was he had been so frustrated with Beclem in the first place.

"We make a good team," Isaaru commented, his eyes not looking at Beclem but guiltily staring at the floor. Beclem seemed to be pre-occupied with a spot on the wall, choosing to stare at it rather than risk meeting Isaaru's eyes.

"Yeah," Beclem answered quietly.

Every tiny movement either of them made now seemed awkward and potentially peace shattering. Even the tiniest of sounds seemed too loud in this nervous quiet. Isaaru finally broke the silence with a loud sigh.

Bringing his staff around to once again stand in front of him, he made a few movements, and soon a glyph appeared on the floor, reading '64' in large blue letters.

"So, does that mean there are sixty-four rooms like this?" Beclem asked.

"So far," Isaaru answered. "We have no idea how deep these chambers go, but as we travel deeper they grow larger, and the fiends become more and more dangerous."

Isaaru created another, more intricate glyph next to the number.

"I do not know about you," he said, "but I think I am ready to return to the surface."

Beclem nodded, and moved to stand beside Isaaru.

"This will take us back to this room," Isaaru explained, "but something in these chambers interferes with the accuracy of the transportation glyphs. When you try and return here, it will only take you to the correct level, not necessarily to the same spot as the glyph."

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Obviously you are going to come down here whether you are permitted to or not," Isaaru answered, still looking guiltily at the floor. "I would rather you were prepared. It would not do anyone any good if you were to die down here."

Beclem moved to stand beside Isaaru on the glyph, unable to think of a response to what Isaaru had just said. As he felt the familiar tug at his stomach, and soon found himself back in the surface world, he couldn't help but wonder why it felt that something substantial had just changed between the two of them.