Here's the next chapter! I feel like it's a little short, but it's not the shortest I've released by far.
I hope you continue to enjoy your journey through Spira! I'll also remind you I'm currently working on another fanfic, a redesigning of FFXII. I've worked long and hard on that story, and I think you'll enjoy it even if you haven't played the game. I know some who are reading this have come and checked it out, and I'm oh-so grateful to you! I will always endeavor to bring you enjoyable, quality literature!


Chapter Thirty-Two

The party continued up the path. Very soon, the air began to grow cold, and in no time at all, the trails they were walking on were covered in snow. After a short time, they reached a large stone gate. Beyond the gate, a steep trail that led up the mountainside, making the paths they had come from look flat. Tidus had a feeling that this was where their real climbing began. All was silent except the endless howling off the wind.
Without warning, a figure leapt from the cliffs above and landed with a thump on the snowy ground. It was Biran, the Ronso that was always terrorizing Kimahri. Kimahri narrowed his catlike eyes at the taller Ronso, but he held his ground.
From behind Biran, Kelk Ronso, one of the maester the party had seen in Bevelle, approached. The bitter wind brushed his blue fur, causing the long pale hair on his head to move. Yenke, Biran's partner, followed him.
"Summoner Yuna and guardians," Kelk addressed them, "leave here at once!" Up on the cliff above, a large company of Ronso revealed themselves. They all held spears and looked ready to attack. Tidus let out a sigh, his breath frosting in the cold air. Really?
"Gagazet is Ronso land, sacred mountain of Yevon," Kelk continued. "The mountain will not bear the footsteps of infidels!"
"Enemy of Yevon is enemy of Ronso!" Biran called. "Leave, traitors!"
Yuna stepped to the front of the group. She held her staff at her side and looked forward with unshakable determination, the quiet, gentle determination that Yuna had always had. Though frost clung to the end of her brown hair and her cheeks were flushed with cold, she stood firm against all those who would try and stop her.
"I have cast aside Yevon!" Yuna called, a cloud of frosty fog rising from her lips. "I follow the temple no more!"
"Then you will die by those words!" Kelk spat back.
"So be it," Yuna answered. "Yevon has warped the teachings and betrayed us all!"
Waka joined in Yuna's defense. "Nothing but a bunch of low-down tricksters, eh?"
"Yeah!" Tidus affirmed, and Rikku echoed him.
"Blasphemers!" Yenke shouted, hoisting up his spear. Kimahri raced towards him, but he stopped in front of Biran. The other Ronso was significantly taller than Kimahri, and he had to looked up to meet his eyes. While Yenke and Biran were hostile, Kelk looked thoughtful.
"A summoner and her guardians…" he mumbled.
"Lord Kelk Ronso, if I may," Lulu spoke up. "Have you not also turned your back on Bevelle?"
Auron, too, joined their defense. "But still, you guard Gagazet as a Ronso, not a maester. Yuna is much the same."
"Elder Kelk!" Biran suddenly shouted, not breaking his gaze with Kimahri. "Let Biran rend them asunder!"
Yenke walked up to join Biran. "No escape! Not one!"
"No, we will not flee," Yuna said. Her eyes, one blue, the other green, glowed with resolve. "We will fight, and continued on."
"You have been branded a traitor, but still you would fight Sin?" Kelk seemed astonished by this. "Lost to the temple, hated by the people, yet you continue you pilgrimage? Everything lost! What do you fight for?"
"I fight for Spira," Yuna said simply. "The people long for the Calm. I can give it to them. It's all I can give. Defeating Sin, ending pain… this I can do."
Kelk shook his head. "Even sacrificing yourself?" He walked away a few steps, then stopped, calling up the Ronso on the cliffs. "Ronso, let them pass!" Kelk turned back to Yuna. "Summoner Yuna, your will is stronger than steel. Tempered steel, that even the mightiest Ronso could not hope to bend. Yuna, we bow to your will! Now go! The sacred heights of Gagazet welcome you."
"We thank you," Yuna said. She bowed deeply. Tidus couldn't help but smile. Yuna, whose will had bent the mountain.

The party walked past Kelk and the others, headed up the steep pathway. On either side, great walls of stone rose, as if this path to the mountain's heights had been carved from the rock face.
They had barely made it more than a few meters up the trail when Biran leapt out to block their path, Yenke coming behind him.
"Halt!" Biran shouted in his rough voice.
"Haven't you bothered us enough?" Tidus said with a groan.
Biran narrowed his yellow eyes. "Summoner may pass. Guardians may pass. Kimahri not pass! Kimahri shame Ronso brothers. Kimahri forget his birth."
Kimahri walked forward a few paces to face Biran. He clutched his spear in one massive hand.
"Forget his people, forget his mountain," Yenke mocked. "Little Ronso! Weakling Ronso!"
"Mountain hate the weak, hate the small," Biran rumbled. "If you will climb…"
"The I must prove my strength!" Kimahri finished. His large shoulders were tensed, spear ready.
"Think you will win?" Biran scoffed. "You forget who took your horn! Never forget!"
Tidus never really paid much attention to Kimahri broken horn. Since Kimahri was the only Ronso he'd ever spend much time around, it seemed normal. But all the Ronso had a horn, one long, white one in the middle of their foreheads, and Kimahri's was the only one broken.
"Kimahri never beat brother Biran!" Yenke called. "Never win!"
"This time, I win," Kimahri said, almost to himself. "I will win!"
Tidus pulled out his sword, the crystal blue blade glittering in the cold air. He stepped forward, ready to help Kimahri, but Kimahri held out a hand to block him. Tidus stepped back with and exasperated sigh.
"This some kind of Ronso thing?"
"Kimahri problem," Kimahri rumbled. He took his spear in both hands and charged at Biran.
Tidus had seen Kimahri fight plenty of times. He always had a sharp wildness about his fighting, but also strategy. He moved quickly, dodging and attacking with precision, but Biran was a lot bigger. Kimahri soared above Tidus' five foot ten, but Biran made even him seem small. The two Ronso dueled it out, throwing each other against the rock walls. It pained Tidus to just sit back and watch, but he knew getting involved would only cause trouble. This wasn't a death match, after all.
Biran and Kimahri's brutal combat lasted for who knew how long, before Biran dropped to one knee, panting. Kimahri stood over him, spear in hand.
"Strong is Kimahri," Biran panted. "Biran is happy." Biran rose with effort from the snow. He walked a few paces up the pathway and bellowed into the sky.
"Sacred Mount Gagazet! I honor the name of strong warrior who defeats Biran. Remember always, Gagazet! That name is Kimahri!"
Yenke walked up to Kimahri. "Mountain knows Kimahri is strong. Kimahri may pass."
"Summoner!" Biran called, walking over to Yuna. "We Ronso will stop pursuers from temple."
"Truly?" Yuna asked, looking astonished.
Biran nodded. "Penance for breaking Kimahri's horn, long ago."
"We crush enemies following behind," Yenke affirmed.
"Kimahri crush enemies standing before," Kimahri said.
"You are most fortunate summoner," Biran said to Yuna.
"I thank you." Yuna made a slight bow.
"Ronso will shine your statue the brightest," Yenke said. His feline face twisted into what could have been a smile.
"Thank you," Yuna said quietly. "But I fear that no one will make a statue for a traitor such as I am."
"Then Ronso will make!" Biran said.
"With grand horn on head!" Yenke added.
"That… would be wonderful," Yuna said with a slightly nervous smile. Tidus wanted to laugh at the thought of it; a great big statue of Yuna up in the snowy mountains, with a great big horn stuck on her head. But he could stop thinking that… she wouldn't be there. Tidus wanted to see Yuna's statue, but he wanted to see it with Yuna by his side.

The party made it up to the top of the path, and now Tidus could see the real Mount Gagazet. Stony paths bathed in thick snow rose forever into the sky. He shuddered at the thought of days spent climbing over this massive, frigid mountain.
"Summoner Yuna!" Biran called, stepping into their path.
Tidus let out a groan. These Ronso were starting to get really annoying. "What is it this time?"
Biran started to sing the hymn of the fayth. His low, deep voice echoed off the snowy cliff faces. Several other Ronso emerged from the rocks around and joined in. The choir of deep, rumbling voices filled the air, paying homage to Yuna and Kimahri.

The party left the grounds of the Ronso and climbed the peaks of Mount Gagazet. Snowy trails reached up forever, so far Tidus wondered how many days it would take them to get to the other side. The wind was bitter and relentless, tossing clouds of snow like sugary powder through the air. The trail wound around the mountain side, with a rock face at one side and a sheer drop at the other. Near the edge of the cliff stood some sort of marker, a stone shape covered with snow and ice. Lulu walked up to the marker and stared at it. Her black dress and hair made her look like a splotch of ink against the white snow of Mount Gagazet.
"These mark the graves of summoners and guardians who failed," Lulu said quietly. She bent down, trying to read the hasty inscription on the stone.
"Summoners that die up here…" Lulu continued, "aren't sent to the Farplane."
"Why not?" Tidus asked.
"Who would send them?" Lulu asked. Her tone was sad, sadder than Tidus would have thought. "They die alone."
"So that means…" Tidus let out a breath.
"Many have become fiends." Lulu stood back up. "And they may be wanting Yuna's company." Lulu turned her amber gaze to Yuna.
"Well, Yuna will be fine," Tidus said. No way was he letting anything happen to her. He'd keep her safe.
"You're right," Lulu said with a sigh. Her gaze drifted back to the weather-beaten gravestone, standing alone amidst the whistling winds of Gagazet's heights.
"Let get going," Auron said, striding a few paces down the snowy trail. "It's getting late. We travel until we find suitable shelter. Then, we rest for the night."
His plan laid out, Auron set off. The other followed.

It was a several hours later that the party finally stopped for the night. The sun had already set, and the dangerous trails had only grown more treacherous in the dark. Eventually, Kimahri had spotted the cave where they would spend their night. It was really less of a cave and more of a large dent in the cliffside, but it was enough to keep them out of the wind and snow for a night.
The party managed to squeeze all their bedrolls into the tiny cave, and Auron took the first watch after their skimpy dinner of travel rations. Outside, Tidus could see the weather taking a bad turn. Gale force winds whipped billows of snow through the black night air. Tidus was glad for their shelter, even if it was crowded.
Tidus sat down next to Yuna, stretching out his hands towards the fire to warm them. It had been a struggle to get the stash of sticks they'd gathered in Macalania to light, but now a healthy blaze was crackling. Even though the freezing winds raged over Gagazet, inside the cave it was warm and homely. The party crouched around on their bedrolls, Auron leaned against the wall by the entrance, all lit by the orange glow of the flames.
Tidus looked over at Yuna, who knelt on the stone floor beside him. She stared into the twisting flames, lost in thought. Tidus could guess what she was thinking about: Zanarkand, just on the other side of the mountain.
"You okay?" Tidus asked. Yuna jerked in surprise, and Tidus laughed. She didn't even notice me sitting next to her?
"Oh, I'm fine," Yuna replied quickly with a firm nod. She turned back to the fire; her eyes glittered with the reflections of the fire. Tidus could tell she wasn't going to say anymore without prompting. Tidus pulled his hands away from the fire and leaned back.
"Whatchya thinking about?" he asked.
"I was just wondering…" Yuna answered slowly, "what my father felt… as he climbed these peaks." She lifted her gaze to stare into the storm outside. "I might ask Auron about it."
"Good luck with that!" Tidus said with a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood. "He never tells me anything!"
Yuna giggled. It was good to see her gentle smile again. A knot formed in Tidus' gut at the thought of living without it. But I'll save her. Somehow…
"We're near Zanarkand," Yuna said. She must have seen the shadow pass over Tidus' face. "Do you think… It'll be your home, Tidus?"
Tidus shook his head. "I guess… I know my Zanarkand is real, but I don't think it's your Zanarkand."
"Then… where is it?" Yuna cocked her head slightly.
"Honestly? I've got no clue." Tidus chuckled. He closed his eyes and summoned up the painful memories of his home. It seemed so long ago now, and his once burning desire to get back there insignificant. How could he go back to Zanarkand now, when his friends were going to face Sin? When Yuna was going to die facing Sin? But then again, she wouldn't die, not if Tidus had anything to say about it.
Neither of them said anything for a while. Tidus just watched the others. Kimahri sat on his bedroll near the entrance, watching the storm, and Rikku was sound asleep, curled up inside hers. Wakka and Lulu sat against the wall, talking quietly about something. Auron hadn't moved an inch, still leaning against the wall, watching the exit warily.
"Yuna…" Tidus said quietly, putting one hand on her shoulder. "I won't let you die, okay? We'll find some way you don't have to die." If I say it enough, maybe it'll come true.
Yuna nodded slightly, barely enough to be noticed, her eyes still glowing in the firelight.
"I'm going to go to sleep," Yuna said quietly after a few moments. She stood and moved over to her bedroll. Tidus went to sit on his. He could see all the others from his place near the back of the cave. Yuna, across from him, had lain down in her bedroll, eyes closed. Wakka and Lulu were still talking, their faces and hushed tones serious. The air was filled with many soft sounds; the fire's crackle, the distant rush of the wind, Wakka and Lulu's whispers, and Rikku's soft snoring. Tidus laid down in his bedroll. The floor sloped up to meet the roof, making it less than comfortable, but Tidus was exhausted from the day's climb; he could sleep just about everywhere. As he closed his eyes, he thought about just how far they'd come. How long had it been since they won the tournament in Luca? Since he woke up on Besaid beach?
And now our journey's almost over. Almost to Zanarkand. Oh, Yuna, how am I going to save you?