Chapter 8: Fiery Tempers

Kilika Temple looked similar to its counterpart in Besaid, though its element was obviously Fire. Bright orange flames flickered everywhere as the group took their first look around the courtyard, making it seem like daylight, despite the fact that night had obviously fallen. As they stared, a young-looking priest stepped out of one of the side doors and said, "You are a summoner's party, are you not?"

"Yes. My name is Yuna, and my guardians and I have come from the temple in Besaid," the young summoner replied with a respectful bow.

"I…see." The priest winced slightly as he studied the party. Everyone had multiple scrapes and bumps from various injuries, and strangely colored stains from the blood of the Sinspawn they had just recently battled. "Well, you're welcome to clean yourselves up and rest for the evening, if you'd like."

Yuna looked around at her disheveled and weary guardians for a moment, and said, "Yes, we'd really appreciate that."

…

Feeling refreshed after a cleanup and a decent night's sleep, during which Charlie had a nice dream of throwing a brick at Auron, the group returned to the now sun-drenched courtyard and met up with the Aurochs, and then headed for the large door leading into the temple. Suddenly, the door opened and three men in blue uniforms stepped out. The leader, a redhead with an oh-so superior expression approached Wakka, who asked, "You here to pray for victory, too?"

"Us? Pray?" the stranger smirked. "Who needs to pray? The Luca Goers always win!"

"Oh yeah? Then why are you here?"

"We've been praying for some competition this year!" said the blond Goer that stood on "Red's" left.

"So what's your goal this time? You gonna 'do your best' again?" taunted the redhead.

"Ha!" scoffed the black man on the right. "Too bad your best isn't good enough! Why even bother showing up?"

"You miserable bastards!" Angry, Charlie pushed her way to the front of the group and stood nose-to-nose with the redheaded jackass. "I hate to disappoint you, fellows, but this time, we play to win!"

"Red" looked surprised for a brief moment, probably because a girl just told him off, but he quickly recovered and sneered, "Ooh! Play away! Just remember even kids can play."

"See you at the finals!" Wakka called, as "Red" and his two cronies strolled away.

The confrontation over, everyone, save Charlene and Yuna walked into the temple. The two girls stood outside the door and watched the three jerks vanish in the distance, and Charlie said, "We'll beat those losers! We have to!"

"You know that team?" Yuna was curious.

"I hate people like that!" the disgruntled girl exclaimed. "They try to hide their own insecurities by making other people feel lower than dirt! Rotten bastards."

Yuna, not really knowing what to say, just gave her one of those "cheer up" smiles as the two of them joined their companions in the temple. The interior looked exactly like the temple in Besaid, and Lulu and Kimahri stood off to one side of the stairs, while Wakka knelt before one of the four great statues. "Lord Ohalland, guide our feet," he intoned while repeating the prayer gesture.

The four of them watched the blitzer for a while, but then turned around when the door to the Cloister opened. A dark skinned woman in a rather revealing outfit stepped out, immediately followed by a brawny man whose neck was bigger than his head. The dark woman gave Yuna a snide look, and said, "A summoner, are you?"

"My name is Yuna…from the Isle of Besaid," the young summoner politely replied.

"Dona," The older summoner answered as she strutted down the stairs. "So, you're High Summoner Braska's daughter…that's quite a name to look up to." Then, she peered over Yuna's shoulder at her guardians, and gave a disgusted sigh. "My, my, my… and all these people are your guardians? My, what a rabble. As I recall, Lord Braska had only two guardians."

Already in a bad mood from her run-in with the Goers, Charlie barely managed to stop herself from punching Dona on the nose. The rude summoner's next comment, however, really pushed the limits. "Quality over quantity, my dear, whatever were you thinking?" she asked with a shake of her head. "I have need of only one guardian." She looked over at her overly large protector. "Right, Barthello?"

Barthello nodded stupidly and struck a pose as Kimahri drew close and sized him up. "Fifty bucks says that man has the I.Q. of a head of lettuce," Charlie thought as "Muscle-Head" stared back at the Ronso, his eyes frighteningly devoid of intelligent thought. "Another fifty says that man manages to lose Donut, or whatever her name is, halfway through their trip!"

Just then, Yuna stepped forward and said, "I only have as many guardians as people I can trust. I trust them all with my life, and to have so many guardians is a joy and an honor…even more so than being my father's daughter."

"You tell her, Yuna!" Charlie silently cheered.

"Of course, I would never think of questioning your ways, either," she continued, when she saw the sour look on Dona's face. "So, Lady Dona, I ask of you: please leave us in peace."

The older summoner glared at Yuna, but finally said, "You do what you want." With that, she turned to her guardian and barked, "Barthello, we're leaving."

The two of them ran out of the temple while the party watched, and Charlie growled, "What a bitch!"

Yuna sighed, shook her head, and then headed for the Cloister of Trials, her guardians trailing along behind her. At the end of a long corridor lay an elevator with a large symbol engraved on it, and Wakka hurried onto it, turned around, and said, "The fayth is below, so let's do it!"

"Wait, what's the fayth?" Charlie wanted to know.

No one answered her, however, and Lulu said, "But first, we go through the Cloister of Trials. Kimahri, Wakka…ready?"

"Strength, everyone!" Yuna intoned while performing the prayer.

Then, the group, except for Charlie, joined Wakka on the elevator, and Yuna turned around and said, "We'll be back as soon as we can, okay?"

"That's fine. I'll just go wait in the temple since I'm not a guardian or anything," the young woman replied.

After the elevator descended, Charlene turned to leave the corridor, but stopped when she ran into something solid. "Where's Yuna?" demanded an all-too familiar voice.

"Oh great! Donut and Brain-Dead are back! Can this day get any worse?" She silently pointed at the elevator and tried to brush past, but Barthello stopped her. "Well, if she's down there, then why are you here?" Dona rudely asked.

"I'm not a guardian, so I'm not supposed to go down there," Charlie replied, just as rudely. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go wait in the temple."

Barthello stopped her again, however, and his summoner's expression grew sly. "Not a guardian, you say?"

Dona nodded at her burly guardian, and he started to reach for Charlene, but the girl quickly backed away onto the platform and took on a fighter's stance. "I wouldn't recommend coming any closer if I were you," she threatened, her voice slightly shaky. Then, she noticed that the summoner stood near the switch to activate the elevator, a wicked grin plastered across her dusky features. "Hey, what the hell are you up to?" she demanded.

"Oh, it's just a little game," the bitch sweetly replied as she threw the switch.

Suddenly, the elevator came to shuddering life and began its slow descent into the darkness. "HEEEEY!" Charlie shouted in dismay, but it was too late.

"Give my regards to Yuna!" Dona's laughter echoed through the elevator shaft, and then faded into the shadows.

Finally, the elevator came to an abrupt halt on a long walkway that led to a massive pair of doors. Charlene, after unsuccessfully attempting to get the elevator to move again, trudged over to them, but didn't open them. "This is definitely a bad idea, but since the elevator won't work, I guess I have no other choice!"

…

The Cloister of Trials in Kilika Temple was like a suburb of Hell. The walls of fire added to the sticky heat of the jungle, making it hotter than any room had a right to be, and the strange flaming spheres didn't help matters, either. Charlie eyed one of the blazing scarlet orbs carefully before gingerly lifting it out of its resting place. It didn't burn her, but a strange heat flowed from it into her body. ::So, you've finally arrived, have you?:: asked a light male voice.

"What the…oh God, not this again!"

The voice chuckled. ::There is much fire within you, Charlie. Do not let it burn you, but do not be afraid to share its warmth with others, either…::

"Dude, I have no idea what you're talking about," the young woman muttered when the voice finally faded.

Charlie wandered through the temple, praying under her breath that no more voices would pop up, but eventually made it to the end, where a flight of stairs lay before her. She headed up the stairs and into the next room, where Lulu, Kimahri, and Wakka all turned around to stare at her. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" the blitzer exclaimed, running up to her. "You're not supposed to be down here!"

"It was Donut and her big goon!" Charlie explained.

"Yuna will be the one to suffer the consequences!" Lulu hissed.

"Wait, what consequences? It wasn't her fault!"

"It don't matter," Wakka replied with a shake of his head. "Yuna could be excommunicated for this!"

"See? You really ARE nothing but trouble…" Before that annoying voice of doubt could say anything else, however, Charlie shoved it away and concentrated on listening to the song echoing throughout the room. It was the same one she'd heard in Besaid Temple, only this time, the singer was a man. The lyrics were in a foreign language, but were still oddly comforting, and she wondered why she didn't take the time to listen to them before.

Ieyui
Nobomenu
Renmiri
Yojuyogo
Hasatekanae
Kutamae

After a few minutes, Charlene pulled her attention away from the song, and walked over to Wakka. "Just wait," the blitzer said when she showed signs of impatience.

The girl turned her attention toward the door on the far side of the room. The singing seemed to be coming from behind it. "Hey Wakka, what's inside that door, anyway?" she asked.

"The fayth, remember?"

"Oh yeah…" She waited in silence a moment longer, and then asked, "What's a fayth, anyway?"

"The fayth are people who gave their lives to battle Sin," Lulu explained, her expression neutral. "Yevon took their souls, willingly given from their still-living bodies."

Charlie blinked in astonishment. "What?"

The mage ignored her amazement, and continued to speak. "Now they live forever, trapped inside statues, but when a summoner beckons, the souls of the fayth emerge once again. That's what we call an aeon."

Charlie's eyes widened even more, and she turned to Wakka and asked, "So, what does Yuna do while she's in there?"

"She prays with all her heart for a way to defeat Sin." He said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Still confused, the young woman stared at the door a while longer, wondering what the fayth might look like. Lulu apparently noticed her curious expression, and glared at her. "The chamber beyond is a sacred place. Only summoners may enter."

"What, so none of you are allowed to go in, either?"

"It's taboo!" Wakka vehemently replied.

After that, the group waited in silence, and Charlie found herself lost in thought yet again. "Jeez! Everything around here is taboo, or forbidden, or against the precepts! They've got so many rules here that they can't even scratch their damn noses without permission!"

Suddenly, the door opened, and Yuna staggered out, looking as exhausted as she had when she first emerged from the chamber in Besaid. The summoner dropped to her knees, and all three of her guardians quickly rushed to her aid. Charlie would have helped, but she knew that her assistance wasn't required, so she just stood and watched. "Wow, they all practically mother hen the poor girl! Is this trip really that dangerous?"

A few minutes later, the five of them reemerged in the courtyard, where all the priests and townspeople started cheering wildly and repeating the prayer. Then, as if summoned, a memory of a dear friend rose to the surface.

…Flash…

Charlie stood with Marcus in the parking lot of the soccer field after practice. "You did a good job out there today," she told him. "You guys are gonna cream the Devils at the game next Friday!"

He pushed his auburn bangs out of his face and said, "I should hope so! God knows Coach Ryan is about to give himself a heart-attack over it!" He stopped, and almost shyly asked, "Hey, did you want me to give you a lift home?"

She shook her head. "Nah, it's not that far from here." Then she made a face. "Besides, it looks like your fan club is waiting for you, anyway."

Charlie, who didn't really like crowds, managed to step back just in time to avoid the gaggle of squealing girls that swarmed over poor Marcus like piranha on a side of beef. "Hey, I'll see you tomorrow, all right?" she shouted, hoping that he would hear her over screams of "You're so great!" and "Can I sit next to you in class tomorrow?"

…Flash…

"Damn idiots!" she thought bitterly as she tried to shake off her memory. "They wouldn't have anything to do with him if he wasn't the star of the soccer team… Just like how these people wouldn't give Yuna a second glance if she weren't a summoner! If this is the bullshit famous people have to put up with, then I'd rather go be a hermit! Man, I just want to go home already!"

Finally, the crowd dispersed, and the group headed back for the village so they could catch a boat to Luca, their next destination. Suddenly, Charlene stopped and gritted her teeth in an attempt to restrain the frustration that threatened to overwhelm her. "Damn it all! Why did they have to drag me here? Couldn't Auron and that little purple kid have picked someone else?"

Just then, a voice broke through her angry musings. "Are…are you okay?"

It was Yuna, and she had a slightly worried expression on her face. "No, not really," Charlie replied, trying her best to keep her voice level.

"Well…what do you want to do?"

"Honestly?" When the summoner nodded, the irate girl answered, "In all truth, I'd just like to scream my head off right about now!"

Yuna just stared at her for a moment, and then giggled. "Aw, what the hell… These people already think I'm nuts so it won't really matter what I do." Charlie then tilted her head back, and at the top of her lungs, shouted, "THIS…REALLY…SUCKS!"

Kimahri, Wakka, and Lulu all whipped around to stare at the shouting girl as if she had lost her mind, but none of them actually said anything. Once she finished venting, Charlene sighed and said, "Wow, now I feel better. I'll have to do that more often."