I almost forgot to update, but here it is!
I still remember how long it took my brother and I to get through the Djose temple. The Djose Trial was the only one we used the guidebook for. We didn't even use it in Bevelle! But these trials got us.
Anyways, read and enjoy, and please do leave a review. I'd greatly appreciate it!


Chapter Seventeen

The group continued down the path towards the Djose temple, and Tidus did his best to smile.
"Hey!" he called out. "How much longer till Zanarkand?"
"Still a ways," Wakka replied.
"First down the Moonflow to the Guado city of Guadosalam," Lulu explained. "Then we cross the Thunder Plains to the temple of Macalania."
"Oh, boy," Tidus said with a sigh. That far, huh?
Yuna let out a giggle. "And before that, we get to pray at the temple in Djose!"
"We can't just skip all that, can we?" Tidus asked with another sigh.
Yuna shook her head. "I have to pray to the fayth in every temple in order to earn the Final Aeon."
"That's a summoner's training," Wakka continued. "She's gotta prepare mind and body, all just to get ready for the Final Summoning."
"Must be tough, Yuna," Tidus commented.
Yuna looked back to face him with a smile. "I'll be fine with you here!"

The group continued on, and Tidus was about to follow when a voice caught his attention.
"Hey, new guy," Auron beckoned.
"Uh… me?" Tidus asked hesitantly.
"Who else?" Auron asked, walking up to stand beside him.
"Well, what can I do for you, boss?" Tidus replied with a scoff.
Auron grew serious. "Don't tell Yuna about Sin and Jecht."
"Eh?" Tidus had thought they were done with that topic. Why did Auron have to keep bringing it up?
"You know her…" Auron turned to face the group, his eyes on Yuna. "She would… distance herself from you. We do not want that."
"Uh, I see, I think," Tidus answered tentatively. He really didn't understand at all, but he'd pretend if it made Auron move on to a different topic.
"Yeah, but even if I did say something," Tidus continued, "no one would believe me, you know?"
Auron turned back to Tidus. "Yuna would."
"Ah… you have a point," Tidus agreed. "Come to think of it, did I really have to know about Jecht? What about my feelings?"
"Better than you finding out at a critical moment, becoming emotional," Auron said. He turned and started slowly back towards the others.
"What? Me, emotional?" Tidus asked.
Auron chuckled. "I heard you were quite the crybaby."
Tidus clenched his teeth. Yeah, maybe when I was a kid. Maybe a little now. Just a little.
"Hey!" he called after Auron. "I still don't buy your story, you hear?"
Auron didn't answer. He'd already reached the main group, and Tidus followed with a sigh. It seemed like Auron would tell him everything except what he really wanted to know.

In the distance, Tidus could see a large building rising out of the path. The party had crossed many bridges and pathways to reach this point, and he was just about ready for a moment's rest. The temple seemed to be carved out of rock. Like both temples before, it was a unique structure, specially carved and carefully constructed. As the group approached, the ground began to rumble; the rocks surrounding the building's walls split off, suspended in the air by bands of crackling electricity.
"Whoa!" Tidus halted abruptly. "Is that the Djose temple?"
The rocks surrounding then temple continued to swirl through the air, surrounded by sparkling light.
"Awesome!" Tidus breathed.
"The Lightning Mushroom Rock," Lulu explained. "It only opens when a summoner is addressing the fayth."
"That means another summoner's already in there," Wakka added.
"Another summoner?" Yuna tilted her head as she watched the rocks float through the air.
"What if it's Dona?" Tidus asked, remembering the summoner they'd met in Kilika. How could he forget a person like that?
"We have to hurry," Yuna said firmly.
"Right!" Tidus agreed. "In we go!"

The party was just climbing up the stairs when Tidus spotted something among the rocks beside it. At first, he thought it was just a shrub or something, but then he realized…
"Hey guys!" he called, stopping the party. "Down there! It's Gatta!"
The last Tidus had seen of the young Crusader, he'd been crouching among the corpses, completely unresponsive. Now, he slumped against the wall, hugging his knees to his chest. Wakka pushed through the rocks and shrubs surrounding him and crouched over the young man.
"Luzzu, he's…" Gatta started shakily. He seemed close to tears but had a far greater hold on his sanity than when Tidus had seen him last.
"Where is he?" Wakka asked, suddenly worried.
"I found him, but…" Gatta sucked in another shaky breath. "He was… torn in half. I…" He broke off with a stifled sob.
"Idiot…" Wakka hissed under his breath, standing up. Tidus could see the sorrow reflected in the others' faces. Sometimes Tidus found it hard to remember than Luzzu had lived in Besaid, and that Wakka, Lulu, and Yuna had all known him growing up, but now he could see it well. They all mourned the loss of their friend. Tidus hadn't known Luzzu well enough to call him a friend, but he could still see that he had been a good man.
"I can't do this…" Gatta buried his face into his knees. "I'm going back to Besaid!"
There was a moment of silence. Wakka stood back at a distance, looking at anything but Gatta.
"Let's leave him be," Auron said, starting up the stairs to the temple.
"But…" Yuna tried to protest, but broke off. Tidus could see Auron's point. There was nothing more they could do for the boy, so the best thing to do was carry on. Still, it feels wrong to just leave him like this…
"Sir Auron is right," Lulu spoke up. "Come on, Yuna; let's go."
Yuna nodded silently. The party moved up the stairs, but Yuna lingered for a moment. She made a prayer bow to Gatta and said something Tidus couldn't hear before following the others.
"Come on," she said, a smile on her lips. "Let's go."

As the party entered the temple, Tidus could see that it was pretty much the same as all the others, only the torches were lit with crackling electricity instead of fire. The pulsing balls of energy cast a blue haze over the room and filled the air with static. Tidus could feel his hair standing on end.
Another party emerging from the Cloister of Trials, a summoner and two guardians. The man in front whom Tidus assumed was the summoner wore a heavy blue cloak. His two guardians, a tall sun-tanned man and a little boy, followed behind.
"I beg your pardon, but may I ask your name?" the summoner asked as the two groups met.
"I am Summoner Yuna," Yuna replied, "from the isle of Besaid."
"As I thought!" the summoner replied. "The daughter of Lord Braska. You have the look of your father."
"My father?" Yuna seemed surprised. "You knew him?"
"No, I have never met the man," the summoner replied. "Ah, my apologies." He made a deep prayer bow. "I am Isaaru. I am a summoner, like you."
"I'm Pacce," the boy said, jumping to see everyone's faces better. "Pleased to meet you."
"And I'm Maroda," the other guardian said. "I'm guarding my big brother here."
"Since I was a child, I've always looked up to Lord Braska," Isaaru said. "I wished I would someday become a high summoner like he was." He smiled at Yuna. "You must have some of your father's talent in you! I believe you might someday defeat Sin."
"I… I'm not really…" Yuna stammered uncomfortably, "I've only just become a summoner."
Isaaru smile again. "Of course, I've no intention of losing, either. So perhaps we should race to see who can defeat Sin first, no?"
Yuna smiled back, her nervousness vanishing. "Very well, then. I accept your challenge."
"Isaaru!" Maroda caught his brother's attention.
"Yuna, I beg your leave," Isaaru said with a slight bow. "Good luck, to both of us!"
"Yes," Yuna replied, still wearing that same smile. Isaaru's group proceeded to disperse around the room.
"Yuna, we should head to the Cloister of Trials," Auron said sternly.
"Already?" Tidus let out a sigh. "We've been walking for a while."
"Um, why don't we rest up for a few minutes first?" Yuna suggested.
"Alright," Auron consented. "We'll meet at the stairs in five minutes,"

Tidus stood near the bottom of the stone steps, watching the crackling blue strands of electricity jumping back and forth atop one of the torches. He wondered what kept it going. Probably the same thing that makes the rocks float. Probably something that I wouldn't get.
He turned his eyes towards the door as another group of wounded Crusaders entered the temple.
So many injured… Well, at least they're alive.
"Hey, you." A voice broke through Tidus' thoughts. He turned to see Isaaru, the other summoner.
"Me?" Tidus asked.
"You are Yuna's guardian, no?" Isaaru asked. Tidus nodded.
"Maroda's heard a curious rumor," Isaaru continued. "I thought you should know."
Maroda came over. "I heard it from those Crusaders. Seems that summoners have been going out on pilgrimage and just… disappearing."
"It could just be that the fiends got them," Isaaru added, "but not so many so quickly."
"Sorry I don't know more," Maroda said, "but… watch your back. Ain't much future for a guardian without a summoner, eh?"
Before Tidus could reply, Pacce inserted himself into the conversation.
"What? What?" he asked, hopping up and down. "Whatcha all talkin' 'bout?"
Maroda turned to the little boy. "We're talking about doing your job as a guardian!"
"Hey, I'm doing good!" Pacce gave another little hop before turning to Isaaru. "Right, big brother?"
Isaaru smiled at his little brother and nodded. Then he turned back to Tidus. "Please, be careful."
"Will do!" Tidus answered with a nod.
The group turned and headed for the door, only Pacce stayed behind.
"Pacce!" Isaaru turned around and called for his little guardian.
"Oh… What?" Pacce called back, as if it wasn't obvious.
"We're leaving!" Isaaru replied.
"Be right there!" Pacce called. He turned back to Tidus before leaving. "See ya!"
Tidus watched Pacce run back to the others, then all three of them left the temple. He turned back around to see the rest of Yuna's party gathered by the stairs.
"Oh! Hey, guys," he said rather awkwardly. "You hear all that?"
"Yeah," Wakka replied. "We'll watch ourselves on the road."
"But for now, the Cloister of Trials," Lulu said.
"Alright!" Wakka stretched and turned towards the staircase. "Guardians, at attention!"
"We're ready," Yuna said.
Wakka smiled. "Alright… Let's do it!"

This Cloister of Trials wasn't solved for him. Tidus was no longer surprised Yuna had gotten stuck in the one at Besaid. By the time the group had made into the second room, Tidus' brain was pounding.
If only there was some sort of guide or something to help us through these places. Though, I guess that would sort of defeat the point.
The goal of the trial was to light up a large symbol scrawled on the floor, or so Lulu said. That meant they had to channel power to it, which translated to a lot of sphere placing, pedestal shoving, and general confusion. Tidus nearly got fried by a blast of lightning that was supposed to run power through a pedestal, and Wakka and Lulu got in multiple arguments. Auron hung back for the most part, only helping to shove particularly heavy objects. Yuna, too, distanced herself from the major group, thinking where she wouldn't be disturbed by bickering. Kimahri said nothing, as usual. After hours that felt like eons, the party made it through to the chamber of fayth.

Inside the chamber, the group waited for Yuna to finish with the fayth. The waiting was harder than Tidus had expected. Still, it was nice to sit down and let his brain take a rest after solving that ridiculous Cloister of Trials.
After a few minutes, the door to the Cloister swung open. Entering from the Trials, Dona and her guardian Barthello came walking in.
"Well, well," Dona said with a sigh, "you again. Still traveling around with quite the crowd, I see."
Before anyone had time to respond, Barthello walked up to Auron, his eyes wide.
"What is it, Barthello?" Dona snapped. "You know this riffraff?"
"You are… Auron, no?" Barthello asked, still wide-eyed.
"What of it?" Auron asked dismissively.
"Can… I shake your hand?" Barthello asked, looking like he might faint at any moment. "Auron- no, Sir Auron. You're the reason I became a guardian!"
Auron let out a chuckle and offered his hand.
"Thank you, sir!" Barthello shook Auron's hand vigorously. "This means so much to me!"
Meanwhile, Wakka and Lulu had rounded on Dona.
"Calling the personal guardian to Lord Braska riffraff?" Wakka asked.
Lulu scoffed. "And you call yourself a summoner?"
"Yeesh." Tidus decided it was best to hang back from that exchange. Things are getting hot out here. Hurry up, Yuna!
"Barthello, enough!" Dona called to her guardian. "Get back here!"
"Hang in there, buddy, eh?" Tidus called to Barthello as he passed. The big man didn't answer.

Dona and Barthello settled down in their own little corner while they waited for Yuna to finish.
"She sure is taking her sweet time," Dona complained once more. "How much longer?"
"Yuna will be ready when she's ready," Lulu replied. It was obvious to Tidus she was struggling to keep her cool.
A creak sounded from across the room, and every turned to see Yuna staggering out of the chamber of the fayth. Kimahri rushed over to her and caught her just as she fell over. Everyone moved over to the young summoner, and this time Tidus came with them. For maybe the first time, he felt like he was really a full-fledged part of the group. He really was Yuna's guardian now.
Dona broke the moment.
"You owe much to your father," she said with a scoff. Yuna looked up to face Dona but said nothing.
"All these guardians…" Dona continued. "Sir Auron, too? And I hear Maester Seymour's quite taken with you. The world must look different when you're the daughter of Lord Braska."
"This had nothing to do with my father!" Yuna defended, though she still hadn't found the strength to stand. "I am traveling on my own, as a full-fledged summoner!"
"Oh, is that so?" Dona said with a mocking tone. "Then try standing on your own two legs for once."
With a shake of her head, Dona approached the door to the chamber of the fayth. Before entering, she looked back on last time.
"Your guardians won't be able to protect you when the time comes."
With that, she disappeared into the chamber.

Walking back through the Cloister of Trials was a lot easier than getting through it. Still, the sight of all those glowing spheres and sliding pedestals brought back bad memories. Tidus was sure he would have nightmares about it.
The group reached the exit and reentered the temple's main room.
"It's getting late," Auron said. "We should think about finding somewhere to sleep."
"Right," Yuna nodded slowly. "Can you all look into it? I'm going to see if I can be of use to the monks, healing the wounded Crusaders."
"Alright," Lulu said. "Just make sure you do come to bed."
Yuna nodded and left the group, headed for a door that led farther into the temple.
"Now, off to find some beds," Tidus let out a sigh. "Was the inn on the Mi'ihen Highroad really the last place we slept?"
"I know what you mean," Wakka answered with a chuckle. "Seems like a lifetime ago."
So much has happened since then, Tidus thought, sighing again. To think it only a day ago I watched the sun set over the sea with Yuna…