18 Trial by Fire
I blinked open my eyes, and the moment I realized I was awake, I jumped out of bed, combing my fingers through my hair as I stepped quickly out of the room to the central one, where there was already a mini feast waiting for us on the table.
I tried to move as quickly as possible, blocking out of my mind what were about to do. I have to admit, I was scared. I was really scared. I didn't want to lose my friends, I just had to hope and pray that we would all survive the Trials. Only moments after I began to eat, Kimahri came out, soon followed by Lulu, then Wakka, and finally Tidus.
Surprisingly, he was the most nervous looking, and he was shaking slightly as he sat down. We all only gave curt nods to each other, eating quickly, but not with the same desperate starvation of the night before. I don't think any of us had appetites anyway, but we needed our energy. Tidus reached across the table, knocking over a glass of water, spilling it all over himself.
He took a deep breath, righting the cup, and getting the fish he had been reaching for. When we were finished, I was standing up when Tidus spoke for the first time of any of us this morning. "Wait. Can't you just think about this? I mean, you might…" His pained expression said what we were all scared of. Burning to death. Burning forever.
A chill ran down my spine as the fear of it gripped me all over again.
"I must." I said, looking straight into his eyes, begging him to understand. He moved his eyes to each of my guardians in turn, but they stood, following me to the room's exit. I gave him one last glance as we closed the door.
The sun was barely up, its light just beginning to flood the area. I paused for a few seconds outside the main temple's large, stone door, breathing quietly, before pushing them open, and stepping all went to kneel by the statues of the high summoners past, praying to Yevon for safe passage and protection. I prayed for several minutes, and when I rose, I saw Tidus standing in the shadows near the door.
I gave him a smile, trying to be confident. Just then, there was a loud sound, and we all looked toward the entrance to the Trials. A woman stepped out, her feet dragging slightly, she was in absolutely terrible shape. Several areas of her body where completely blackened, she had cuts and bruises all over her body. She was followed by a man so completely covered in muscles that it was disturbing.
He wasn't doing any better than she was. They seemed in somewhat of a hurry, and the door closed as soon as they had exited. Seeing that she had an audience, she stood up straighter, placing a hand on her hip, taking us in with a smug expression. I could only guess that this was the other summoner who was unable to heal me.
"A summoner, are you?" She asked scornfully, as if I was just a wanna-be child. I was taken aback by her air of unkindness, but I replied calmly. "My name is Yuna. From the isle of Besaid." She swaggered down the steps, though I noticed her falter several times. "So, you're High Summoner Braska's daughter." She circled me like a wolf sizing up its prey.
"That's quite a name to live up to." She smirked as she looked around at my four friends standing near me. "And all these…people are your guardians? My, what a rabble! I have only need of one guardian." She glanced flirtatiously at her body-builder guardian. "Right, Barthello?" He nodded, letting out a grunt. Kimahri stepped forward, getting in Barthello's face, but I gave him a little motion with my hand, asking him to stay calm. I didn't know why this woman wanted to attack me, but I wasn't going to let it get to me.
"I only have as many guardians as there are people I can trust. I trust them all with my life! To have so many guardians is a joy, and an honor." I paused, realizing that I had just annoyed her, somehow.
"Of course, I would never think of questioning your ways, either…So, Lady Dona, I ask of you, please leave us in peace." She rolled her eyes and motioned at Barthello.
"YOU do what YOU want. Barthello, we're leaving!" She sauntered out, leaving us in the quiet of the temple, with only the sound of the fayth's song. I glanced at each of my trusted, beloved guardians, and finally, my eyes rested on Tidus. He had just finished scrunching up his nose at Dona, and then crossing his arms and scowling.
His eyes darted back and forth around the temple, repeatedly at the entrance to the cloister, and I think his anger was just a cover up for some other emotion-probably fear. Not that I blamed him, I am pretty sure that all of us were scared. Still, summoners have to face their fear, or there is no way they can do what they have to do.
"Well, are we ready?" I looked to my guardians, all of them nodding. I led them up the stairs, and Tidus followed us. At the doorway, I turned back to him.
"Um…we'll be back as soon as we can…okay?" His frown deepened, and he tilted his head slightly down in a feeble nod. I smiled at him, took a deep breath, and pushed the door open. We entered, and walked straight forward to the elevator which would lead us into a pit of fire, danger, and death.
"The fayth is below. Let's do it!" Wakka attempted to be upbeat, and encouraging, but I could hear that his words were forced. Lulu, calm as always, spoke with an even tone. "But, first, the Cloister of Trials. Kimahri, Wakka, ready?" They both nodded. I bowed, saying,
"Strength, everyone." We all took deep breaths as the lift lowered us into the cloister. As soon as we entered it, even while we were still in the air, we had to duck the dozens of flaming pyreflies that swarmed us. My hair caught on fire, but I managed to squelch it before it did any damage. As the lift landed, we all hurried off it, being attacked by a flaming wolf fiend. Lulu vanquished it quickly with a stream of ice, and its burning pyreflies floated away, only to form again later, when another summoner comes. Constantly dodging the burning pyreflies which flew around us like circling sharks, we each split off to a separate wall. "Feel along the walls, search for a glyph!" Lulu commanded, rubbing one hand up and down the wall, and shooting ice with the other.
"Found one!" Wakka shouted, and we all rushed over to him. The flashing symbol showed up with touch, but took a summoner's prayer to open. I pressed my palm hard against the stone wall, praying with as much concentration as I could muster as I felt the pyreflies flying past me.
There was a grinding sound as the wall opened, a wave of heat coming up from within as it rose. Smoke filled the room as it opened, leading us to the real danger. We cautiously entered the room, crouched over, alert and ready to dodge any oncoming attacks. The heat was oppressive, sweat beaded up on my face, trickling down, and I could feel moisture being sapped from my body.
There was a roaring sound, a huge fire which burned almost constantly in the center of the trial, only extinguishing briefly for summoners to pass. I coughed, trying not to breathe too deeply as the smoke filled my lungs. Kimahri bellowed as a group of fire wolves came upon us. Lulu and Wakka did their thing, vanquishing several, while Kimahri fought another, and I kept on dodging the pyreflies and put in my own piece by killing one of the wolves with my own ice. All the time, we were jogging, knowing the faster we get through the trial, the more likely we are to survive.
"Find a fire sphere!" I said, spying a recess in the wall, which needed to be filled. My eyes were watering from the ash and smoke, and when I spun around, I thought I was imagining things when I saw Tidus.
"Tidus?!" I exclaimed, almost not expecting an answer. He dove forward, knocking me over as a wolf landed where I'd been, half a second before. Lulu shot it with ice, and we both jumped up, moving quickly through the stone maze. He coughed, before answering.
"Had to come." he coughed again. "Couldn't just stand there." He sliced at a fire lion, adding to Kimahri's attacks, and then it finally dispersed when Wakka's ball hit it in a splash of melting ice. Through the smoke, I saw a bright red, small, round object.
"I found it!" I shouted, running towards it, and snatching it up. I had to juggle it between my hands, the stinging pain almost too much, but I sprinted to the wall's recess, my skirt catching on fire. I slammed the sphere into the wall, dropping to the floor, and rolling, to extinguish the flames. There was a shriek, and I turned to see Lulu's shoulder and the side of her face burning.
"Waaaakkkaaaa!" She screamed. He ran to her, swatting at the flames, as Tidus cut off one of her braids, which had caught fire. When it was out, even through the smoke, I could see an angry red, blistering wound forming. She grimaced, pointing forward.
"Go!" We rushed through the new doorway, even more heat meeting us inside, the smoke thicker than ever before. I tripped, falling hard on the hot stones below. Kimahri helped me up, and we kept moving. Wakka shouted,
"Over here!" He pushed a pedestal to an alcove in the wall, yet another door opening. Through the black smoke was an intense bright red glow, the roaring of the hungry flames now very loud. We hurried into the room.
"Find a purple sphere!" I shouted, thinking it would be an almost impossible task in all this smoke. We searched, until I could barely breathe at all. "Sphere!" Kimahri shouted with a raspy breath, holding up the purple orb. "Over here!" Lulu called. Just then, a group of wolves came upon Kimahri, and he shouted, "Catch!" throwing the sphere to me as the rest ran over to help him fend the animals off. While they fought, I ran to the small hole in the wall, shoving the sphere in. There was a blinding flash, the sound of an explosion, and I was thrown backwards, towards the wall of flames at the center of the room.
Debris showered around me, I screamed, taking in a large breath of smoke as a rock fell on my leg, and I heard a sickening crack. I almost didn't feel the pain, all my senses dulled from the smoke. Sweat ran into my eyes, a thick layer of ash coated the inside of my mouth, I saw the world floating in a glowing, blackness. I pushed the rock off my leg, hobbling to the wall, groping along to find the gaping hole I'd created, vaguely knowing that my guardians were all still fighting against the pack of wolves. In the corner of my eye, I could see Tidus running from a huge fire wolf, towards me, being flanked by two others.
I shot one of the two at his sides and successfully sent it up in pyreflies, but then I focused on my destination, there was just one more sphere I had to get. Then I would be able to put out the flames, and we could escape the wolves, but I never got to it. There was a deafening crash, and large pieces of debris and flames fell from the roof, pinning me to the ground.
I heard the cries of my guardians, shouting my name. "YU-" Lulu's cry was cut off, changing to an agonized scream. I didn't hear Wakka at all, and I only heard sounds from Kimahri that indicated he was still fighting with something. My skin felt like it was melting against the scalding floor, the wood beam which had fallen across my stomach was crushing me.
I couldn't see, I couldn't breathe, I could barely think. I was about ready to give up, but I forced myself to try. My muscles strained against the beam as it caught fire. I rapidly lost hope as it refused to budge, but then two gloved hands appeared out of the smoke, pushing up against it. I felt the pressure lifting off of me, and I looked to the side, seeing Tidus gritting his teeth, caked in blood and ash and sweat through a dark haze, lying on his stomach, his wounded belly flat on the ground. I squirmed out from underneath the beam, looking towards what had been my destination.
"It's blocked!" I shouted, seeing a pile of rock covering the entrance to the hole which contained the key to our survival. His expression was panicked, and then he had an idea, crawling away, motioning for me to follow. My head was swimming, my body felt like I had been cooked, but I followed through the mess.
With every movement, the heat became more unbearable, until we were right next to the roaring flames, which had already consumed much of the fallen debris. He stood, looking down at me, our eyes locking for a second, before he threw himself into the flames. I screamed, covering my mouth in horror, before hearing him call through the wall. "Come on!" I looked back towards were my guardians were, to see a flood of wolves coming towards me. I squeezed my eyes shut, screaming as I dove through the flames, the heat consuming me for an instant, before I crashed to the ground on the other side, tearing my tender flesh on the rough ground.
Tidus helped me up, and I looked around panicked, wondering if the wolves could get through, and if the others were even still alive. I looked around, seeing a staircase which led up to a door, and I ran towards it, but my leg gave way beneath me. I started crawling, but Tidus swept me up, hugging my to his chest, stumbling blindly up the steps, and falling at the door.
I pushed myself up on my knees, sliding my hands across the door, until they found a glyph. It lit up, extinguishing the wall of flames as the door slid open. The relief from some of the heat brought instant new life to my weak body, as I scanned over the room through the fire fiends, in search of my guardians.
Kimahri and Wakka stood on either side of Lulu, who was laying on the ground, the lower part of her legs completely destroyed from flames, and most of her face and neck also charred.
She seemed alive, but I wasn't sure. Wakka and Kimahri both had serious wounds, but nothing like Lulu's."Lulu!" I screamed, trying to stand, but I couldn't. I kept fighting, and I had alerted the wolves of our presence, and they were quickly coming towards Tidus and me. I shouted again, trying to crawl down the stairs, my whole rational mind gone. Tidus pushed me back, rushing into the fray.
"No! Wait here!" He hacked side to side with his sword, quickly arriving through the clearing smoke to the guardians, just as Wakka was knocked over by two fiends. He pushed Wakka up, supporting him with one arm underneath the larger Blitzer's shoulder, while Wakka lifted Lulu's burned body, and Kimahri fought off the fiends as best he could, as the made their way to me. I struggled to concentrate, shooting more ice at the fire wolves, which were quickly closing in on me, but I only defeated a couple.
As my four friends stumbled up the steps, we all moved as quickly as possible into the doorway, and it began to lower as soon as I had passed through, successfully closing out the fiends, smoke, and for some reason, the pyreflies didn't enter the room either.
I crawled over to Lulu and tried to heal her, but nothing happened. I was panicking, but I shakily looked around, seeing the entrance to the chamber of the fayth. I crawled over, placing my palm against it. As soon as I touched it, it began to lift, like a cloud rising from over me, I felt hope again, as the fayth's song became louder, more beautiful. As fast as I could, I threw myself at the feet of the statue as the door closed behind me, and soon, a ghost-like fayth appeared above his statue. "Please, my friend, she's dying!"
No doubt, he was used to summoners begging his healing, and he bowed his head, relieve flooding every nerve in my body. Oxygen flooded my lungs, the pain in my leg and all over me faded to nothing.
"Your friends have been healed." He said in a voice that sounded like crackling flames mixed in with a rich song. I took in several deep breaths, letting calmness settle over me.
"Ifrit. Aeon of Fire. Will you help me?" He bowed his head, smiling slightly, though there was no joy in that smile. "Yuna. Daughter of High Summoner Braska. Summoner from Besaid. You are special. There is much power in your heart. Yunalesca, she became high summoner to honor her family. Gandof became high summoner because he had nothing left. Ohalland became high summoner because he had everything.
Yocun became high summoner because she wanted honor. Braska became high summoner because he loved the only thing he had left. You." He paused, giving me a second to drink in the information. I had never realized the summoners had motives other than the safety of Spira, other than my father.
And what family did Lady Yunalesca want to honor? I was unaware of who her family was, it was never mentioned in the teachings of Yevon. I frowned, looking up at the fayth for understanding.
"You, Yuna, became a summoner because you love Spira. You love people, you love children, you love peace. May you bring it. I will help you, but first, you must learn something."
A fire flared up in the back of the large circular room, revealing a young man's body which had been crushed, but was mostly unburned, indicating that he had not burned to death. I stepped toward him, confused.
"You can send people on water. Now, you must learn to send on fire. You will be immune to burning, as long as you are sending, and maintaining concentration. I have been able to keep this guardian from becoming a fiend for eight months, since he died here, and his summoner brought him to me, but he was too far gone to heal.
You must now send him. Put his body in the fire, and dance. But you must move quickly, or he will burn." I took a shaky breath, everything I was about to do went against what my instincts told me to, but I obeyed. I pushed the man into the scalding flames, stepping onto them, my staff forming in my hand.
At first, it hurt, but I forced the thoughts of fear and pain from my mind, focusing instead on the fact that if I didn't go quickly, the man would burn forever. I performed the sending quickly, but as smoothly as I could. When I finished, the flames extinguished, and the man's body formed pyreflies, floating away, through the ceiling, towards the farplane. I wiped sweat and grime from my brow, sinking to my knees, breathing slowly. After a moment, I returned to the fayth, who bowed to me.
"Well done. You are indeed special. Bahamut was right." On my knees, I bowed to him, and his fayth form flew to my heart, forming a spirit bond, so I could call him when I am in need. I then rose, shakily leaving the chamber. I could already tell, I was not as weak as I had been the first time I received an aeon.
As the door opened, revealing my friends, tired, worn, clothes half destroyed, but alive and well. It was all a blur as they congratulated me, and we rushed backwards through the trials, things reverting to their original state each time I passed through a door. As we rose on the elevator, a heavy concentration of hundreds of fire pyreflies threatened to drown us.
I could feel my skin burning from their close proximity, but we soon rose out of the pit of death, escaping through the tunnel, and entering the main temple. As we stood on the steps of the empty room, breathing hard, amazed that we were all still alive, I knew that I wasn't going to wait a minute longer.
Tidus had saved my life too many times to be overlooked. As my guardians watched, I walked too him, standing directly in front of him. He looked straight into my eyes as I spoke.
"Tidus, I have something to ask you."
TidusxYuna Always
