Disclaimer: Not mine

Chapter 10

It took another day to reach the frozen lake, a day in which Tidus dragged Harry and Yuna into chasing butterflies, the three of them running around in the eerie light of the forest, laughing. Lulu was taken aback seeing Harry acting so young and carefree, but it was also good to see them all so cheerful.

"Do you know of any other lost Fayth?" Yuna asked when they were nearing the lake, the three of them walking together and talking quietly.

Harry thought about it. "It depends what's been destroyed. For example, I have no idea about the Calm Lands or Mt Gagazet. Zanarkand and the surrounds should have several due to how many people in the city became Fayth during the war, depends on how many survived the destruction. There used to be one near Bevelle, town called Midgar. It was almost as big as Bevelle once but was destroyed early in the war. The Aeon is Knights of the Round, a group of thirteen Knights who attack all of your enemies. A very powerful and useful Summons but one that was rarely granted back then. The Fayth is…I guess you could call him picky."

"Picky?" Tidus asked and Harry shrugged.

"I know of only one summoner he has ever granted Knights to. Her name was Mikaela and she fought at the beginning of the Machina Wars," Harry grinned. "She was one of a kind, a real spitfire. The Fayth is Corrin, he was a soldier in life, in a war when Zanarkand was nothing but a tiny fishing village. A very proud man, great soldier and powerful Mage. If his stone still exists it would be worth seeing if he will agree to let you Summon him."

Yuna nodded, he sounded like a very powerful Aeon, something she would need if she wasn't going to attain the Final Aeon. "Are you going to tell the others?" Yuna asked after a few minutes of thinking.

"Eventually, probably," he shrugged and then grinned. "Race you to the lake?" he asked, and Yuna laughed but took off, Harry on her heels and Tidus scrambling to catch up.

Yuna won the race, Kimahri having quickly followed her. Harry came out of the trees a few seconds later, Tidus behind him.

"Wow," Tidus stared at the frozen terrain in awe before feeling the cold of the wind.

"Lake Macalania is frozen over all through the year. It stays frozen even on the hottest of days. It is said that the temple's Fayth is the cause," Yuna whispered, remembering her lessons.

Harry chuckled, "Yeah, for such a motherly woman she became an ice-cold Aeon."

"You knew her?" Tidus asked and Harry nodded.

"She was my many times great niece. My first wife, Daphne, had a younger sister Astoria. Astoria married an old school rival and they had three children. Shana was descended from their eldest son. She was born a few centuries after World War III. She was five hundred and seventy when she became a Fayth." Harry suddenly grinned. "She was such a prankster, always looking to make people happy. She was travelling here with her two children when they were attacked, this frozen wasteland is the result of her avenging her children."

That changed how they both looked at the lake before them. Tidus found himself wishing his Mom had cared that much for him and he knew he would do the same for those he cared about. For Yuna, these stories made the Fayth so much more real to her. She had a bond with them, but it wasn't like she could just sit and talk about their pasts with them. Both teens shivered and Harry dug in his bag, surprising them by pulling out two warm cloaks which he settled over their shoulders. Suddenly they were warm, and the wind wasn't bothering either of them.

"Thanks," Tidus snuggled into the cloak as the rest of the group joined them. "So where's this Temple anyway?"

"Down there, under the ice," Auron pointed out their path.

As they were all there they headed out onto the ice, following the path to another of Rin's Travel Agencies. They went inside to get out of the cold for a few moments and to stock up on supplies.

Maechen stepped up beside Harry, inkling his head in respect. "I've heard Lady Yuna is to wed Maester Seymour. It is great news. I'd like to congratulate her. But…it is a pity. I'd hoped Lady Yuna would defeat Sin and bring the Calm to Spira," he admitted.

"Yuna isn't marrying Seymour. He asked and then left before she could give her answer, the Guado have been spreading the news despite that," Harry answered the unsent historian whose eyes widened.

"I see…be careful Lord Harry, the Maesters hold all the power in Spira," this was not the world it had been when they first met. Harry just smirked at him and he sighed, he knew that look. Lord Harry was planning something the Maesters definitely wouldn't like.

They soon left and began the journey across the ices, only to be intercepted by Tromell and Harry fought down the urge to hit him with a spell. "Lady Yuna, we've been expecting you. We were surprised you decided to come so soon. Pleasantly surprised, of course. Lord Seymour sends his apologies for having left without notice," he bowed to her in respect.

"It's quite all right. I need to speak with Maester Seymour to give him my answer."

"Well… We must follow Guado tradition. I'll have to ask you wait here a little while longer. I'll send someone to escort you," he went to guide her, and she stepped back into her Guardians.

"No Sir, I will speak with the Maester and that is all that will happen," she stated firmly. Hearing Harry's stories of the past…she knew Yevon was no deity so what did that make the Maester's who practically ruled in his name? It made it easier to stand her ground though.

"My Lady…" Tromell trailed off as snowmobiles flew over the snow towards them all.

"Al Bhed!" Wakka spat in anger as they moved to better defend Yuna.

"Get out of here!" Auron snarled at Tromell.

"Thank you!" He grabbed Yuna to pull her away, but she jerked free and joined her Guardians. "Lady Yuna!"

They readied for a fight, but the Al Bhed suddenly scattered as one stood above them on the hill.

"Rikku! Don't interfere or you get this!" A battle tank lumbered forward. "Your precious magic and aeons are sealed!"

"Oh, no!" Rikku gasped.

"Did he say what I think he did?" Tidus was getting pretty good with the language but he wasn't fluent just yet.

"He's gonna use an anti-magic field on us!" She answered in horror.

"Get them!"

Weapons were quickly drawn as Lulu and Yuna fell back to let the more physical fighters deal with the tank. Harry and Tidus were quick to move in, slashing at the tank while Wakka attached the anti-magic floating device. Auron backed them up with slower but more powerful blows. It didn't take long for the tank to implode under their attacks and they turned to guard against the Al Bhed in case they decided to attack themselves.

"My lady!" Tromell lead her away, he needed to get her to Seymour as quickly as possible.

"Rikku! I will tell Father!"

"I am the guardian of Yuna, you see? Yuna is safe! We will guard her! She is safe!" She yelled back defiantly.

"You do this alone, sister!" Brother snarled back angrily.

"Leave Yuna alone! She does not plan to use the Final Aeon," Harry called after his retreating form.

Rikku laughed nervously. "I told him I was a guardian. Well, guess I had to, really." Tidus gently clasped her shoulder, offering support and she smiled shakily at him.

"How come you speak Al Bhed? Why?" Wakka looked between Rikku and Harry.

Harry shrugged, "I've travelled a lot, picked it up here and there."

Rikku hesitated but then squared her shoulders. "Because I'm Al Bhed. And that…was my brother."

"You knew?" Wakka demanded of the others and they all nodded. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"We knew you'd be upset," Lulu told him.

"This is great. I can't believe I've been travelling with an Al Bhed! A heathen!" he threw his arms up in disgust.

"You're wrong! We have nothing against Yevon," Rikku snapped at him.

"But you Al Bhed use the forbidden machina! You know what that means? Sin was born because people used machina!"

"You got proof? Show me proof!"

"It's in Yevon's teachings!" he folded his arms over his chest. "Not that you'd know!"

"That's not good enough! Yevon says this, Yevon says that. Can't you think for yourself?" Rikku demanded angrily.

"Well, then you tell me! Where did Sin come from, huh?"

"I…I don't know!" she admitted.

"Hmph! You bad-mouth Yevon and that's all you can come up with?" Wakka sneered and Tidus looked at Harry to break them up.

"If anyone here is a heathen it would be me, Wakka."

"What?" Wakka turned to stare at Harry in confusion.

"Yevon is no god, Yu Yevon was the last leader of Zanarkand during the war. To save his people he became what you call Sin. So no, I will not worship him or obey his so-called teachings," Harry answered coolly.

"W…wh…at?" Wakka stammered, eyes wide. "That's blasphemy!"

Harry just rolled his eyes. "Learn to think for yourself Wakka. Don't just parrot the corrupt men who would see Yuna die for a short peace."

"Sin will be gone once we atone for our past mistakes!" Wakka yelled at him.

"When? How?" Tidus asked calmly.

"If we keep faith in Yevon's teachings it will be gone one day!"

"Why do I even bother?" Rikku shook her head and turned away.

"Rikku!" Auron called and they turned to see him at the abandoned snow mobile.

"Hm?"

"Will this move?"

"Yes!" She ran over to fiddle with it while Harry and Tidus moved to one each as well and went to work getting them running.

"We're not using that, are we? Wait… Sir Auron isn't an Al Bhed too, is he?" Wakka stared at them as they worked, utterly shocked and dismayed.

"Come on, Wakka…" Tidus shook his head.

"What?"

"I mean, getting angry just 'cause you found out Rikku's an Al Bhed… You guys got along just fine till now, didn't you?"

"That's different. I mean…"

"Well, I don't claim to know that much about Spira. And I probably know even less about the Al Bhed, but…I know Rikku's a good person. She's just Rikku!"

"Lu?" Wakka turned to her plaintively.

"Just think of this as an opportunity to learn more about the Al Bhed," the Black Mage offered and Wakka stormed off.

"Let him go. Give him time to think," Auron told them and Rikku bowed her head.

"I'm sorry."

Lulu patted her shoulder. "You've done nothing to apologize for."

"All right! Let's ride!" Tidus grinned and hopped on.

"You sure you know how to drive this?" Rikku asked in concern and they watched as Kimahri got on one as well and started off, not in a straight line.

"Better than Kimahri does!" Tidus winced as the Ronso nearly hit an ice pillar.

Tidus glanced back as weight settled behind him to find Lulu on the back. He nodded and started off, watching as Auron got on behind Rikku, Harry hanging back to wait for Wakka.

"I hope that you're not too mad at Wakka," Lulu said after they began their descent towards the Temple.

"Hey, not at all."

"Thank you," she sighed in relief.

"Say, what do you think of Rikku?"

"Me? She's…fun to be with."

"Heh! That all?" Tidus wanted to look back at her but couldn't take his eyes off the thin path as it wound its way down.

"Well, I can tell she's not a bad person."

"Yeah. You know what the problem is? She's just another Al Bhed to Wakka. Wakka's head is as hard as a rock. I bet it's because of Yevon. Or, you know, something like that."

"Well, there's more to it than that," she admitted softly.

"Hmm?"

"Wakka…doesn't like the Al Bhed because of his brother Chappu."

"Oh…he used a machina weapon, right? And got killed by Sin." Tidus took a deep breath, anger at his Old Man swelling. "Killed by my old man. Damn you, Jecht," he muttered.

"What?" Lulu frowned, all she'd heard was something about killed and Jecht which didn't make any sense.

"Oh, nothing! Hey… Can someone like a human become Sin ever?" he asked hesitantly.

"I can't say that I know, but why?" Lulu looked at him, confused.

"Just a thought," he shrugged.

"Sin is the punishment for, and the incarnation of, crimes we have committed."

"Hmm. So, no one really knows what it is?"

"There's no need to know, so no one asks. You run or you fight. That is really all you can do. There's no sense brooding over it," she shrugged slightly.

"What, that's all? I mean, you don't even wonder?" he couldn't believe it, if something was forever trying to kill him, he'd want to know as much as possible about it.

Lulu chuckled at his reaction. "You really do come from a world where there is no Sin, like you say."

They fell silent as they reached the bottom and got off, joining the others. Soon the last snowmobile came into view, an angry Wakka on the back with Harry easily driving. They moved up to the entrance only to be stopped by the Monk there. "Halt! The likes of her are not welcome in this hallowed place."

"She is a guardian," Auron stated firmly.

"An Al Bhed, a guardian? Preposterous!" he sneered at Rikku and she glared back defiantly.

"I've decided to be Yuna's guardian now, and that's all I want."

"And that's all one needs to be a guardian," Harry smirked.

"Very well…I will hold you personally responsible if anything happens." He stepped aside, allowing them into the Temple.

Shelinda ran up to them, looking excited and Tidus wondered how she kept getting ahead of them. "Ah! There you are!" she was very happy to see them. "So Lady Yuna is getting married. You shouldn't kid around about these things."

Tidus frowned, "I wasn't, Yuna has no plans to marry him."

"Tidus is correct," Auron agreed.

Shelinda frowned, looking at the other Guardians who all nodded. "But the Guado…"

"Where is Yuna?" Harry asked and Shelinda glanced up the stairs.

"I believe…she's gone to the Cloister of Trials with Maester Seymour."

Harry nodded his thanks and they headed for the stairs only for another Monk to bar their way.

"Entry is not permitted. Lady Yuna is on her way to the Cloister of Trials."

"Guardians are allowed within the Trials," Lulu pointed out, eyes narrowed.

"Maester Seymour's orders."

Before they could press further a nun ran out of a side room and collapsed on the floor. "Lord Jyscal! A sphere in Lady Yuna's belongings!" she cried in fear and they quickly ran past her, Harry mentally cursing himself for not destroying that thing, it could only cause trouble. "Why would the lady have such a thing?" the poor Nun whispered as they moved past her.

They entered the room and Auron saw the sphere immediately and reached out to turn it on. "This may well answer a few questions."

The image of Lord Jyscal appeared from the sphere. "What I am about to tell you is the unclouded truth. I swear it on my honour as a Guado. Listen to me very carefully, for I shall tell you the truth about my son, Seymour. His mind is closed even to me, a Maester of Yevon. But I can feel flames of darkness burning in his heart. He is using Yevon, the Guado, and even the summoners. If he is not stopped, he will surely bring destruction and chaos to Spira. I will leave this world soon, killed by my own son. But I do not fault him. Because I was not wise enough, he has suffered, and become twisted. I could not protect him and his mother from the world and its cruelty. I will accept death as punishment for my deeds. But whoever is watching this… I implore you to stop Seymour! Stop my son," he begged before vanishing.

"Wonderful," Auron deadpanned.

"Will Yuna be all right?" Rikku demanded and Harry sighed.

"Without us, no," Harry shook his head, her heart was in the right place, but this was a dangerous move. He'd warned her and now he just hoped she would be safe. He ran with Auron, Kimahri and Rikku on their heels.

"Where you goin'?" Wakka called after them.

"You saw, didn't you? Seymour's bad news!" Tidus snapped, really wanting Wakka to get his head out of his..well….

"But he's a Maester!"

"Hmph. Fine! Stay here if you want!" Tidus snarled before running after the others.

"Come on, Wakka. Let's at least hear him out," Lulu ushered him out of the room.

"This can't be happening," he moaned but he went.

Harry almost ran into the merchant O'aka who smiled happily. "Oh, I hear Lady Yuna is still going to continue her journey, ah? I wonder if that means she and Maester Seymour will fight Sin together? Just like Lady Yunalesca and Lord Zaon!" he called, and Harry hesitated, something about his words…he shook it off and kept going, seeing a Monk down where Kimahri had forced his way through. The trials had yet to reset, allowing them to run down the ice tunnel.

They came out in the inner chamber where they found Seymour waiting with his two bodyguards. "Seymour!" Tidus yelled angrily.

"Please be silent. Lady Yuna prays to the Fayth," Seymour admonished him.

"Make me," Tidus responded, hand drifting towards his sword. Seymour walked down the steps, between his bodyguards. Tidus glared and Seymour smirked. Harry stepped forward to stand with Tidus, lightning crackling between his fingers. Next to Flare, Lightning spells were his favourite and no, it wasn't because of his scar. He just loved storms. The door opens to the Cloister opened and Yuna stepped out, not as exhausted as anyone expected thanks to Harry, telling her about Shana. "Yuna!" Tidus called in relief.

"Oh! But why…?" she rushed down the stairs to join them.

"We saw Jyscal's sphere," Tidus told her as he quickly checked her over. Yuna smiled sadly at him.

"You killed him," Auron glared at Seymour who shrugged.

"What of it? Lady Yuna, certainly you know of these things, did you not?" Seymour asked and Yuna nodded. "Well then, why have you come here?"

"I came to stop you!" She answered, head held high.

"I see. You came to punish me, then," he held his hand out to her, but she backed away and he sighed. "What a pity." He sneered as the Guardians closed ranks around her. "Ah, of course. "Protect the summoner even at the cost of one's life." The Code of the Guardian. How admirable. Well, if you're offering your lives, I will have to take them."

"Maester Seymour, I trust my guardians with my life. But they are also my friends. I will not stand by and watch them be hurt. I will fight you, too!" she readied her staff, prepared to heal or summon as needed.

"Maester Seymour!" Wakka called, unable to believe what was happening.

"So be it," Seymour stated coldly, his bodyguards moving forward.

Harry immediately cast the Thundaga he had been holding back, taking one out before he could prepare himself. As Tidus and Auron attacked the second Rikku darted in, snagging his belt pouch, grinning when she found his potion supply within, adding it to her own. Harry was hardly going to say anything about her sticky fingers when they came in handy and even he'd picked a pocket or two over the centuries. Without the ability to heal himself he went down fairly quickly. They moved in on Seymour, but he stepped back and began Summoning.

"Feel my pain! Come, Anima!" he cried, and Anima was pulled from the ground. Harry felt that same feeling around it…her?

"Yuna! The new aeon!" Tidus grinned and Yuna nodded.

Yuna raised her staff, reaching for Shana and was surprised to feel her glee and rage. Beside her, Harry smiled and she realised Shana knew he was there and wanted to protect them. "O Fayth, lend me strength!" she called out, Summoning Shiva for the first time. It felt so easy, she practically flew from the other dimension to appear in theirs. Shiva made short work of Anima and Seymour stared in pained disbelief.

"That power that defeated Anima… It will be mine!" he whispered before collapsing and Yuna ran to him. "Yuna…you would pity me now?" he asked before his body stilled. Yuna reached out and closed his eyes.

"Send him Yuna, quickly," Harry told her, and she nodded, standing to do so but the doors opened and Tromell entered with several attendants.

"Lord Seymour! What happened here?" Tromell demanded in anguish as he saw Seymour lying so still.

"What…what have I done?" Wakka moaned and Tidus glared at him.

"Wait a minute! It's not our fault at all! Seymour struck first! He's the bad guy!"

"You did this?" Tromell demanded in rage.

"Yuna. Send him," Auron repeated Harry's earlier command, this was getting out of hand and becoming very dangerous.

"No, stop! Stay away from him, traitors!" Tromell blocked them, allowing the others to drag the body from the room.

"Traitors?" Yuna whispered.

"We're finished," Wakka shook his head.

"Now hold on just a minute! Seymour's the bad guy, right? We'll just explain to everyone what happened!" Tidus looked around and Harry sighed.

"It won't be that easy. Let's get out of here. Be ready for a fight," he warned, shifting his weapons. Yuna quickly healed their wounds and Ether's were handed around to help top up their magic. Of course, the trials had reset themselves but before they could begin solving them Shana's ghostly form appeared and waved at Harry before reforming the ice tunnel for them. She offered a cheeky grin before disappearing and they moved on. They reached the doors back to the main Temple and Auron and Kimahri moved into the front, pushing them open.

TBC….