Agrona: Female name meaning battle or slaughter. You will see why I pointed this out soon.

Disclaimer: -in bored tone- Gin does not own the rights or characters of Final Fantasy X. I use them for entertainment purposes only.

--

It was evening in the middle of the week as the boat pulled in. Two people stepped off as they joined in with those who had come to visit the small island. Nobody cared to notice them as they seemed to be just another couple coming to visit the temple as most did.

But the first place they went wasn't the temple, it was the inn. The blue haired male smiled to himself as he gazed over his accommodations. "Acceptable." He noted.

"Seymour, is this where we will be staying?" The younger female asked.

"Yes, but only for a little while. I know it's not what you are used to, but bare it for me." He answered in a soft tone.

"You know I would, but I just don't understand why we are here."

"You will in time. Now come, Rikku, we have much to prepare for."

--

Cid had invited Auron on board the airship where he would be able to discuss options with the warrior. They gathered together in the meeting room where Rikku's brother had also joined them.

"So, what's first?" Cid began the impromptu meeting.

"To tell the truth, I don't have a clue. This is all new to me. All I know is that we must first find Seymour and Rikku. After that we can perhaps decide on some course of action where we will be able to retrieve Rikku from his hands." Auron replied.

"What?" Aniki shouted in shock as Auron's answer. "You mean, you want us to find them, yet you don't even know how?"

Cid turned on his son. "Will you just sit down and relax? Let us deal with this. Just listen while we think!" With a roll of his eyes, he faced Auron once more. "My sources say that two people boarded a boat heading for Kilika and Besaid. It could be the couple we are searching for."

"Perhaps. We must investigate just to be sure. Do you have anyone in that area now?" Auron leaned over the table in front of him where a map of Spira had been spread out. He studied the paper in front of him as he waited for Cid's answer.

"One or two teams perhaps. Not much more then that. You think you know what he may be planning?"

"Not sure. But there are temples on both islands. Knowing Seymour, he would attempt to enter both. The man is power-hungry, but not foolish. He will find a way to enter even if we find a way to stop him directly."

As Aniki sat off to the side, he began to think on what Auron had just said. He remembered his cousin Yuna when she had been able to summon greats beasts to fight for her. He wondered if that was Seymour's goal as well. "Vydran, I know what we need to do!" He spoke up loudly. Both of the older men turned to him. Suddenly feeling awkward, Aniki almost backed down. "You remember Yuna when she had control over those summons? Seymour must be after the same thing. I also recall a report that was the spheres yesterday about a lab in Zanarkand being broken into. There has to be a connection!"

The other two glanced to one another in thought. He did have a point. "Alright, suppose you're right." Cid began. "But did you happen to hear what was taken from that lab?"

"I did. They mentioned something called an 'Aeon's Soul.' Whatever that is."

Auron's eyes widened in fear or shock. It was hard to tell within the room. "Tell me you are not serious. If that is the case, it may already be too late for Spira."

--

Tidus sat on the floor stoking his wife's fine brown hair. They had come back from the farplane where she had been able to hold back the tears long enough for them to reach the room at the inn. It was there that she broke down and lost it completely. That was two hours ago.

"I don't understand. Why didn't she appear?" She asked for the tenth time at least.

"I'm not sure. But don't worry. I'll figure it out somehow. If we work together, I'm sure the answer will show itself eventually." He tried to reassure her. "Maybe we should ask your Uncle for help. He would know what to do!"

Yuna wiped the last traces of tears from her eyes. "Okay, I'll do it."

Tidus pulled her closer to himself for a moment and kissed the top of her head gently. "No, you rest. I'll call him."

She nodded once before standing and laying down on the bed. After he could hear her relaxed breathing, Tidus left the room and went into the main foyer area. If was from here that he tried to get into contact with Cid.

It took several attempts before he was able to contact the flying ship. The signal was weak at best, but he could hear the man on the other end.

"So gramps, we just got back from the farplane about two hours ago. Yuna is resting now, but she's a wreck. Not seeing her cousin there was a lot harder on her then she thought. We need to know if you might have any ideas on what to do from here."

"Funny you should say that." Cid responded in a cryptic manner. "I'll be there in an hour. Head for the Moonflow River. I'll pick you up there." Disconnecting the transmission, Cid turned to face his guest. "Looks like we are about to get a little more help."

--

Tidus gave Yuna an hour to rest before waking her up and telling her what the small plan was so far. It took them another hour just to walk to the Moonflow River where Cid said he would be arriving. By the time they got there Cid was standing and talking to a man dressed in black. He had his hair pulled back into a ponytail that reached down to the middle of his back. Since his back was to them, they were unable to see his face. Yuna tilted her head slightly in thought before running up to her uncle. "Uncle Cid." She called out. He held open his arms for her. The other man didn't face them as of yet.

"Hey, Yuna. So I understand you two went to visit the farplane. If only you would have come to me sooner. I could have told you myself Rikku was not there."

"What?" Tidus shouted. "You knew and didn't tell us?" He accused.

"Hey, calm down! I just found out not too long ago myself. If it hadn't been for him, I wouldn't have a clue." Cid pointed a thumb behind him at the man they had been ignoring.

As if he knew he was being addressed, the other person turned and greeted the couple. "Lady Yuna, Tidus."

The two of them gasped in shock before becoming elated. "Sir Auron. This is wonderful. But I don't understand. Why have you come back?" Yuna was the first to question.

Tidus walked up to him and poked him as if not believing that he was real. Auron grabbed hold of his wrist in warning.

"If you don't mind..." He began with Tidus first. After his apology, Auron continued. "I am sorry to be the barrier of bad news, but I am not back for a pleasure trip. Something has come up and the fayth have asked for my help." He winced slightly at the casual wording he used when in fact it was more like they tricked him. "But now is not the time or place to discuss this matter. Allow us to enter the ship."

He turned to go not waiting to see if they were all behind him. He knew they were. Once they were all on board, Aniki started the take off procedures. They followed Cid as he led them back to the room where Auron and he had been talking before. Right away Yuna took a seat as her nerves were so bad she was unable to stand any longer.

"Okay, so what's going on now?" Tidus started off. He was rather pissed by this point and wasn't going to wait for an answer any longer.

Auron took a deep breath before telling them everything there was to tell.

--

No one paid any attention to the two figures who approached the temple doors early in the morning. It was a common sight for visitors to visit it and want to see what was inside. The taller of the two gracefully led his companion inside with the appearance of showing her just what was so exciting about it.

Rikku tried not to let her mouth hang open as she took all the sights in. The rooms was so huge it was hard not to. Above them hung a statue from the ceiling of a woman and a man. The woman wore little more then a bikini, but she could swear she had seen her somewhere before. Before she could dwell on the matter, Seymour was leading her off to the side.

"Kneel down as if you are in prayer." He whispered in her ear.

She nodded before doing so. A priest who watched her as she kneeled came over.

"Have you also come to pray for those that have been lost to Sin?" He questioned.

Seymour smiled as he answered. "She has. Ever since the death of her father, she has been mute. Unable to even utter a single word because of the grief she must bare. I brought her here in hopes that perhaps the fayth may be able to heal her."

"There have been many such as her. I will pray the fayth give you the strength to continue your journey." He bowed before walking away to greet another couple that had entered.

Seymour watched him go before helping Rikku to her feet. "Come with me now." He ordered.

Unsure of what was going on, Rikku followed him knowing that he would explain everything in time. She was surprised when he began climbing the stairs in the back of the room. No one seemed to notice them as they climbed. Before it completely registered what they were doing, the doors were closed behind her.

"Now, use the Aeon Soul to tell us what to do next." Seymour ordered her once more.

Covering the place where it was stored in her chest with a hand, Rikku reached her other hand out and touched a wall. It fell away in a sparkle of light.

"Excellent." He praised more to himself then her. "Keep going."

Seymour smirked several more times as Rikku led him through the short trials. They were at the end before long. It was a large room, not as big as the one they first entered, but she could hear singing coming from beyond the door at the top of another set of stairs.

"That is where we want to go. Inside the fayth await for you."

"For me? But why?"

"Do not question it. For to question my words, is to doubt me." He took her hand and dragged her up the stairs not giving her a chance to regain her balance. "Go, now."

The leaves that made up the door parted before another stronger door was lifted into the top of the frame. Rikku watched it move in awe before entering the main chamber. Under a glass dome was a stone statue. She held her hand back over the spot where the Aeon Soul was as she watched the dark brown stone become filled with color. First it began with yellows and oranges, then reds and other darker colors. As soon as the stone was full of color, a woman appeared hovering over top of the statue.

Rikku would have run as soon as she began speaking. But Seymour held her firmly.

"Sin seeks to destroy.

Sin wants nothing but death.

If Sin is allowed to be reborn,

then Spira will be the one to be punished."

"Pray, ask for guidance." Seymour told her quietly. He had only seen the woman, but did not hear what Rikku had been told.

Rikku nodded before getting to her knees. She closed her eyes as if in a deep trance. As soon as her body straitened up, she felt as if a new entity had entered her. She glanced up to see Seymour looking down at her and smiling.

"You have done it." He told her. "You are Spira's newest summoner." He helped her to her feet before leading her out.

As soon as the main doors opened and they exited from the trials he could hear gasps and other cries of surprise. Ignoring them for the moment, Seymour proudly tried to led her back outside.

"You there! Stop!" The priest who had talked to them before was calling out to them. But Seymour continued walking. "You should not have gone in there!"

"Once was are outside the temple, I want you to show them what that aeon can do." Seymour leaned over as he whispered in Rikku's ear.

She nodded in understanding as he let her go. Rikku tilted her head back enjoying the feeling of the afternoon sun on her face. People gathered around her trying to see who she was and what she was doing. Once she opened her eyes again, she looked around and smirked. She held one hand out in front of her and a staff appeared. Her other hand was spread back behind her as light began to circle her body. People stepped away in fear. Even the priest had stopped yelling at them.

The light that was surrounding her suddenly shot up into the clouds breaking them and making room for a huge winged beast to fly down. It landed next to Rikku in a show of flying rocks as it landed. "Agrona, destroy all who would appose your master." She commanded the winged beast.

The summon rose high in the air before bringing her wings together and snapping the very air in front of the villagers around Rikku and Seymour. Dust and debris filled the air and people tried to run. Fire began rising into the sky next as spell after spell hit the village. Seymour watched with an almost childish glee as Rikku commanded the summon. People fell to the ground unable to escape the wrath of the winged beast.

Two people came running to see what was happening. The stopped short when they saw who was doing the destruction. "Wakka, go home and take care of Vidina. I'm going to try and stop the summon."

"What? You can't! A child needs his mother, Lu. What are you thinking anyway?"

"It's time to fight fire with fire. Then we can save Rikku."

Still not sure if he really liked the idea, Wakka ran off to get his son to a safe place. Lulu waited until he was gone before making herself known.

"Seymour, release Rikku at once!" She stood her place as he turned to face her. A scowl crossed his face next as he seemed to remember who she was.

"You. Yes, I remember you. You were the one to try and lead me astray."

Lulu took a step back in fear. She had not thought he would know who she was. Her lips parted slightly before she found the determination to continue. She brought her hands above her head as she shouted the name of her spell. "Fira!" It missed by mere feet.

Seymour placed one hand on Rikku's shoulder before leaning over and whispering into her ear. She listened close before turning to face Lulu as well. The summoned beast above her hovered for a moment before Lulu was the first to try and attack. She tried calling upon fira again only to have the spell reflect off Agrona and back to its caster.

She gasped in surprise as she fell to one knee forcing herself to continue casting. Each time the spell would bounce off the invisible barrier. "How...how can this be? You should not even be alive!"

"Silence! You will say no more of that!" Seymour warned while an aura of fury swirled around him. "Rikku, kill her!"

Silently Rikku moved to obey. Agrona began to pull her wings together to snap them back. Before it could connect with Lulu, something rushed in and pulled her out of danger. Together they rolled into the underbrush just outside the village.

When they stopped moving, Lulu sat up and saw Wakka next to her. "Sorry, Lu. Like I said, a kid needs his mother." Before she had a chance to say anything else, lightning began cracking down around them. "Quick, many of the villagers managed to escape. They have a boat waiting for us on the other side of this forest." He grabbed her hand and pulled her along behind him.

While back in the village Seymour was not happy at all. Even watching the small village burning down to nothing did not seem to bring him any pleasure. "Destroy it. Destroy it all! Don't leave anything untouched."

As flames consumed Besaid, the two of them left it behind while bound for Kilika next.

--

"There it goes." Cid commented sadly as he entered the bridge. Three sets of eyes turned to see what he was talking about. His head was down, and they could see how his shoulders seemed slumped even as he walked. "They were in Besaid." He clarified.

"Then you know where to find Rikku." Tidus exclaimed not yet seeing a problem.

Cid lifted his head to look at the boy. "Afraid it's not that easy, son. They were in Besaid. As in, not no more."

"So they moved onto Kilika then?" Yuna asked as she clasped her hands together.

"Most likely. However, it seems Besaid didn't fare so well from their visit." He faced Auron knowing the man would understand the meaning.

"I don't get it." Tidus said as he scratched his head.

Auron did the answering as Cid looked away. He couldn't bare to see the pain in his family's eyes when they find out. "He means that Besaid is no more. The island has been destroyed."

The younger couple stared at him as if he were crazy. "No way! I can't believe that it could have happened. There has to be be some mistake!" Tidus shouted.

"Believe it son. Auron is right. The team in Besaid barely made it out before it was completely burned. The only traces of a village left is ash."

Yuna gasped as tears began filling her eyes. She refused to allow them to fall as she asked her own question. "What about our friends? Lulu, Wakka? Vidina?" Her voice strained as she struggled not to think about something happening to them.

"I'm sorry." Cid shook his head. "I have no idea."

--