A Generation of Aeons
Chapter Twenty-Two
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy X or X-2
Last Time:
Lenne groaned as she strained to get up and open her eyes. "You can try all you want, but you're never going to be able to kill Kiron."
Two men in particular stood in front of the mass of Bevelle soldiers standing at attention. One taller than the other, he leaned down to look at Lenne. "So, you must be that female summoner that travels around with the rat."
"I don't know, can't say I know any rats, unless I make your acquaintance. Then I can easily say at the next party I'm at that I know a rat. This is your second time trying to kill Kiron, and I still don't see the one giving out the orders, probably a sewer rat instead of just a regular rat."
"I beg to differ," the soldier said, "our lord's schedule was just too full of Zanarkand rat hunting. I hear overpopulation can be a real problem."
"You can't kill Kiron," Lenne repeated. "He has too many powerful friends looking out for him. He's stronger than you think."
"Powerful friends, eh?" the soldier asked eagerly. "And you would be one of them, wouldn't you? A summoner who has three of the four aeons needed in order to become a high summoner. That would be considered powerful, wouldn't it? Well, we can't have that. Tursel, would you be so kind as to take care of our little problem?"
"Yes, sir," the other replied, pointing a rifle at Lenne.
From above, three forms landed onto the platform, one of which slammed down on the soldier whose aim was at Lenne. The figure's deep blue hair falling in front of his eyes as he glared at the soldiers
"Looks like your friend had some bad luck," Kiron remarked, "but if you want to pick a fight with me, you pick it with me, not my friends." The prince of Zanarkand closed his eyes and fists angrily as he slammed his arms together. One half of his summoner's brand appearing on each arm, and Kiron's face cringed as the two halves united. "Suzaku, Byakko, Genbu, and Seiryu, lend me your strength!"
Kiron's eyes shot open, his green eyes seeming to flash. He breathed out deeply as he pulled out his staff, which seemed to be surrounded by an aura of red, white, hunter green, and an icy blue. "So, still wanna pick a fight?"
From the second floor of the temple, everyone looked up to hear someone yelling. From a height that seemed impossible to jump from, Takoire jumped down and landed gracefully near his friends. The Bevelle soldiers all turned to each other in awe, including Kiron and his guardians. Lenne had managed to get up on one knee, but she still kept her head down.
The commander watched Takoire lean over Lenne and sit down next to her with his face covered in guilt and worry. "This is your last chance; no one else will give you the opportunity I am giving you now!" the commander yelled.
The guardian only glared while he ran a hand over Lenne's slightly bleeding head. "Cheribum, look at you. This-This is all my fault," Takoire said, his voice filled with pain. "Lenne, I'm so sorry. I-I didn't know this would happen. I would never have left you…"
Lenne grimaced. "I'm fine."
"He was going to kill you," Takoire whimpered. "If Kiron hadn't come in time…"
"Takoire," Lenne attempted a smile, "don't worry about it. You can't always be there, and I understand that. Don't blame yourself. I'm more than capable of taking care of myself," but the daughter of High Summoner Yuna strained only to stand.
"Don't try to get up yet," Takoire said, holding her up.
Slowly getting up and leaning against her guardian less and less, Lenne tried to give her friend a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine. I'll shake it off. Just worry about Kiron, he's the one they're after."
"Takoire!" the commander continued to yell out. "I'm warning you! We will still allow you and your summoner safe passage out of here. You can still join us! Take your place by our side, Takoire!"
Making sure she could stand on her own and giving her a nod, Takoire closed his eyes and breathed out deeply. They suddenly shot open, filled with hatred. Takoire looked at the commander of the Bevelle soldiers straight in the eye. "Bite me," he replied and turned to Kiron. "Looks like you're ready to kick some ass."
"Damn straight," the prince responded.
Without another word, everyone began their assault. The Bevelle soldiers charged at the group of summoners and guardians while the other side of the field began likewise. Kiron launched himself with his staff, the aura still surrounding it as well as gleaming from behind the prince's eyes. Seru and Zaon both wore a stern look of determination, while Takoire, the cheerful former blitzball player Lenne knew, had completely disappeared. The man Lenne now saw was not her guardian at all. This man knew only hatred; it consumed everything he was; it fueled him.
Lenne watched guiltily as her friends fought without her. She barely had enough energy to stand, let alone fight. Kiron was fighting with a ferocity that Lenne had never seen. Gone was the egotistic Zanarkand prince Lenne had met in Besaid, but here was Kiron, a newly christened high summoner who should not be trifled with as he threw soldier after soldier out of his way.
Some soldiers seemed to slow to a point where they were barely moving while others were frozen in ice. Lenne watched Seru cast spells as quickly as she could while trying to heal the others as Zaon, the soldier and Zanarkand hero that he was, took down soldier after soldier with his sword.
But it wasn't enough. Lenne watched the soldiers fall, but more came to take their place. She had to do something. There had to be something she could do.
The daughter of High Summoner Yuna lifted her head and unsheathed her sword from her back. Twirling it in her palm, Lenne let slice through the sky.
The ground beneath them began to tremor. Everyone seemed to pause for a moment, a gut feeling telling them that something powerful was coming. The clouds above them parted as a dark figure came hurtling towards the temple. At the last minute, it unfurled its wings and landed on the platform, raising a giant cloud of dust. The aeon's skin was outlined in gold while its wings spawned every color imaginable. Its arms were crossed, and it roared so loud that Seiryu's temple seemed to shake in fear.
The dark form commanded a sense of respect just by standing, and the Bevelle soldiers reflected nothing but terror in their eyes; but Lenne couldn't help but see something similar in her friends. How could they not?
A small, soft voice spoke in Lenne's head and urged her to speak. "Bahamut," Lenne said, her voice straining to be heard, "Mega flare!"
Sensing something different in Lenne, Takoire yelled to the others, "Kiron! Seru! Zaon! Get out of the way!"
The three quickly glanced at Lenne and Takoire before diving to the ground just in time.
The aeon Bahamut anchored itself into the temple ground; the blue tiles crushed under the enormous weight. A ball of energy formed in front of it, and Bahamut launched it at the Bevelle army. Another cloud was left in its wake, and the five young men and women were left to stand alone.
As the dust settled, everyone looked to see the temple platform. Tiles were crushed everywhere, and the Bevelle soldiers were nowhere in sight.
Lenne collapsed on the site, too tired to move. Kiron, Takoire, Seru and Zaon all ran and ended in the prince barely catching her. "You okay?"
She shrugged. "I could use a nap."
Takoire brushed the hair from her face and attempted to give his summoner a reassuring look. "But you already sleep enough! You always fall asleep! Jeez, why don't you just bunch it all up and call it hibernation!"
Bahamut moved back, spread its wings, and began to fly off with a nod towards Lenne.
She only lectured her guardian back. "I save you and everyone else with Bahamut's help, and you can't lighten up on the sarcasm?"
Seru gave Lenne a skeptical eye. "This is Takoire we're talking about."
"'Course," the young man replied, "but you still look like you'd fall on your face if I poked you. I'd carry you, but I'd fall on myface. So, unfortunately, you'll just have to lean on me."
"Right," Lenne answered weakly.
"I am sorry it took so much of your strength to summon me. Unfortunately, I require your help to be summoned from the Farplane."
Standing a little ways from the group was the form of a small boy adorned in deep, royal purple clothing and a similar hood covering his face.
"Bahamut?" Lenne asked in disbelief.
The fayth nodded. "Are you all right?"
"Fine," the summoner responded, "but how are you here?"
"Wait," Takoire interrupted, "the aeon you just summoned you called Bahamut. And this boy, he's called Bahamut too?"
Lenne shook her head. "Careful, I made the same mistake, and I regret that now. Bahamut did just save our lives."
"So you arethe aeon that just saved us," Takoire said.
Bahamut turned to Lenne. "More your summoner than I. It takes a great amount of power and energy to summon my kind from the Farplane, Takoire."
All of Lenne's friends looked at each other in disbelief, and Takoire looked almost baffled. "You know who I am?"
"I know who you all are," the fayth responded. "Takoire, Kiron, Seru, and Zaon." Bahamut turned his head slightly. "I must go soon. Lenne, your journey here is almost over, but there are still things left for you to do here, and unfortunately, the fayth cannot help you much longer."
Lenne tried to ask another question, but the fayth just faded away, leaving her with even more questions than she began with.
A chilly wind passed through the temple, and a large dragon emerged from the cliffs surrounding the temple and the city beneath. Its body was covered completely in icy blue scales, and its wings doubled its body's width.
The dragon gave a glare as icy as its scales.
"I am the aeon, Seiryu, and you are the Summoner Lenne."
Takoire helped Lenne stand up, although she continued to lean on him for support. "I'm ready to take your test."
The aeon remained unreadable. "I think it not, summoner. Besides, the means of summoning me is my test. And, you, summoner, need no test."
"What?"
"I have been watching you since you first arrived. You care for your friends and would not let them fight without you no matter how injured you already were. Your compassion and loyalty are traits crucial to high summoners."
"Look," Takoire said, "I mean no disrespect, but my summoner is in no condition to receive your power. If we could wait until tomorrow, when she's had a chance to rest…"
"Your concern is understandable, Guardian Takoire," Seiryu spoke, "but do not trouble yourself. Neither of you will feel any pain."
A light as icy and chilling as their surroundings, yet warm and comforting, seemed to lift both Lenne and Takoire into the air, encompassing them whole.
"What-What's going on?" Takoire asked, slightly panicked as he looked to see where he was.
But the aeon didn't answer. The summoner's brand on Takoire's shoulder started to glow, but the guardian felt nothing. Lenne was going through a similar situation: the brand on her wrist had appeared and was glowing with her chokin necklace.
Lenne felt something terribly peculiar. There was power, without a doubt, but it was also a friendly force that engulfed both Lenne and Takoire. Their feet touched back on the ground and Seiryu spoke, "Lenne, you are now a high summoner. I have given you my power. Suzaku, Byakko, and Genbu have all bestowed you with their power, and something has passed that I feel will not occur in some time. The power within you will eventually come to manifest itself, you need only find the way how."
The newly christened high summoner leaned against Takoire, looking down on her necklace, an image of a dragon left behind.
Seiryu folded his wings and bowed his head to Lenne and Kiron. "It is done. Two high summoners have been born; I pray you will fulfill your duties honorably in the name of the aeons who have entrusted you with their power." The dragon proceeded to spread its wings and fly off, leaving behind the exhausted and tattered group.
The glow around Kiron's staff and eyes were gone, and his summoner's brand had disappeared once again. His prominent blue hair clung to his face where beads of sweat had been, and Kiron's summoner garments were torn; a large particular rip in his cloak. A large cut on his left arm was dripping blood, but the prince didn't seem to notice.
Seru was short of breath, her light blue dress coated with dirt and sweat while Zaon looked equally disheveled. He held his sword still, slightly tainted with blood, and the bracer on his arm was scratched so severely that it appeared it would fall apart at any moment.
Takoire seemed particularly bashed. His Zanarkand Abes uniform looked like a tornado had taken him and thrown him back. His eyes were bloodshot and a large bloody gash was bleeding heavily below his right eye, but the summoner's brand on his shoulder was no longer glowing.
Lenne still leaned against Takoire, but she looked as if she hadn't seen any of the action her friends had with the exception for the small cut on her head from where the soldier had hit her but still seemed too tired to move.
"Hey, Lenne," Takoire said, sounding uncomfortable to even his own ears, "about earlier… I didn't really have the chance to apologize properly and-"
"Save it," she interrupted. "I already told you, I forgive you even though there's nothing to forgive."
"Right," he replied, still sounding unsure, surprisingly, he looked to Kiron, "thanks, for saving Lenne. There was no way I could have gotten here in time."
"Don't worry about it," Kiron replied casually, "that's why we look out for each other."
Takoire smiled and looked down. "Look, Kiron, we got off on the wrong start. I just wanna say sorry for being such a jerk to you."
Kiron shook his head, "I wasn't any better. It was the first time out of Zanarkand on my own, and I was just too cocky. I thought because I was a prince, I could have anything I wanted in the way I wanted. Then after Kilika and today, I realize, that's not how life works."
The former blitzball player looked at Kiron, smiled, and held out his hand. "I'd be honored if I could call you a friend, Prince Kiron."
Looking down on Takoire's hand, Kiron returned the smile. "Kiron's just fine. I'm just a guy who's lucky enough to have some good friends to watch out for me."
And the two shook hands.
Author's Notes:
Final Revision