Trying to keep the momentum going here. Playing FFIX has really put him in a Final Fantasy frame of mind. It helps to motivate me :)

From next year I'll be working from home, so I should hopefully have more time for stuff like this. Also, I'm on holiday from next week. Who knows, maybe I'll wrap this up by the end of the year.

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The next morning Tidus awoke to find Wakka, with whom he was sharing a room, already up but still sitting on the edge of his bed staring at the ground between his feet. The younger blitzer sat up, blinking the sleep out of his eyes.

"You okay?" he asked.

Wakka looked up in surprise. "You're awake," he observed pointlessly. He shrugged at Tidus' question. "Yeah, just thinking about stuff. When I was guarding Zuke...I already told you this, ya? 'Bout when I was too into the game to be a good guardian?"

Tidus nodded, remembering their conversation when he'd first been washed up on Besaid.

"So when Father Zuke said he wanted out..." Wakka went on. "Tell you the truth, I was kinda glad."

Tidus nodded slowly. "Yeah, I get that," he said in agreement, thinking of Yuna. "What about this time?"

Wakka looked uncomfortable and stood. "Yuna's made up her mind," he said stoically.

"But you want her to give up too, right?" Tidus insisted.

Wakka paused in the act of shrugging on his shirt. "Doesn't matter what I want," he said quietly. "Come on," he added in a louder voice. "We'll miss breakfast."

Tidus watched the older blitzer leave the room then heaved a sigh and climbed out of his bed to get dressed. When he eventually entered the foyer of the travel agency, he found the others already up and sitting around a long table. After a quick breakfast, the group gathered their belongings and left the travel agency. Upon exiting the small building, Kimahri looked toward the towering mountain of Gagazet in the distance, where the sun was only touching the very peaks, and sniffed deeply.

Tidus glance up at him and was surprised to see nostalgia on the Ronso's face.

"Gagazet is Ronso land," Kimahri said out loud, sensing the blitzer's gaze without looking down.

Tidus raised his eyebrows in surprise. "We might meet your family," he said with a smile.

The Ronso shook his head. "Kimahri has no family," he contradicted.

"Oh," Tidus let his face fall. "Sorry."

"But, Kimahri not alone," the Ronso went on, looking down at the blitzer finally. Tidus almost expected him to smile, but he didn't and instead headed off across the plains.

The party's second day on the plains was much like the first, with very little to break the tedium of their march. According to Auron, the path that would take them from the Calm Lands to Mount Gagazet was to the North East of the plains and it reminded Tidus that, unlike Wakka and Lulu, Auron had previously completed a pilgrimage and knew what awaited them on the other side of the mountain. Not that he was giving much away. As they walked Tidus let his gaze wander to the mountain looming ever closer and cast this thoughts back to the city of Zanarkand, his Zanarkand. It had been backed by a snow capped mountain range but Tidus had never been beyond it. In fact he couldn't remember anyone who had.

After many hours of walking, around the time that Tidus judged to be mid afternoon, a gap in the one of the cliffs became apparent before them and Auron made a beeline for it, leading the party toward what was clearly the path out of the Calm Lands. Beyond the crevice was a small sandy area enclosed by tall cliffs. To the North, two paths lead away, one downward into a valley and the other upward toward the mountain. Before the upward leading path was a wooden bridge which was being blocked by two Guado guards. Behind them was a large stone object, which looked like some sort of machine to Tidus' eyes. He dismissed it to focus his attention on the two Guado, who watched the party as they approached.

"Halt!" one of them called.

With little choice, the party obliged and Tidus let his hand stray to his sword.

"Summons from Lord Seymour," the Guado went on. "You are to come with us."

"We have nothing to discuss with Maester Seymour," Yuna told him with a frown.

"Yeah," Tidus agreed, stepping up next to the summoner. "So out of our way."

"Lord Seymour's commands must be obeyed. You will come!" the second Guado demanded, his expression furious.

"I warn you, the Maester doesn't need you alive," the first Guado said, stepping aside. Without warning the stone object behind them, which Tidus had taken to be a machine, unfolded itself with a grinding of stone against stone to reveal a tall, imposing Golem with arms longer than its own body, ending in fists larger than a full grown Chocobo. With surprising speed for its bulk, the Golem charged, swinging its huge fist at the summoner.

Tidus reacted instantly, wrapping an arm around Yuna's waist he leapt backward, easily taking her clear of the danger and depositing her next to Lulu who had already raised her hands in order to cast magic. Tidus drew his sword swiftly, exchanged a glance with Auron who drew his own blade with a nod, and sped forward to the right, while the legendary guardian mimicked him on the left. As they circled behind the Golem, there was a crash of purple lightning and the monster stagger briefly before turning its attention towards the source of the magic. Before it could start forward however Rikku leapt forward and waved her arms in front of the Golem's face.

"Over here!" she cried, then easily cart wheeled away as a fist came crashing down.

As the monster turned to pursue her, it received a well aimed Blitzball to the head, distracting it yet again at which point Tidus and Auron attacked it from behind. The legendary guardian scythed his blade towards the creature's legs while Tidus leapt onto its back and jammed the point of his sword into the base of the Golem's neck, hoping to dislodge its head. At the same time the blitzer was doing this, Kimahri charged between flailing arms and drove his spear into the Golem's middle. Auron's attack managed to destroy one of the legs which led the creature to topple slowly following their relentless assault. Unable to wrench his spear free in time Kimahri let go of his weapon and instead ran toward Rikku who was in the path of the falling monster. The Ronso scooped her up over one shoulder and carried her clear, despite her protestations of being manhandled.

Tidus also had little choice but to relinquish his hold on his weapon before leaping clear of the falling monster. Being so high up off the ground, he braced himself for the impact expecting it to hurt but just an instant before he landed he felt the unmistakable feeling of magic being cast on him. The blitzer hit the ground and rolled, but regained his feet almost instantly not even winded. A crash from behind him, told him the Golem had had a less graceful fall.

"Is it dead?" Rikku wanted to know, from where she was still perched on Kimahri's shoulder. The Ronso shook his head as he placed the Al Bhed girl on her feet.

"Never alive," he contradicted.

"Golems are animated clay," Lulu supplied upon seeing Rikku's confused face.

The Al Bhed rolled her eyes. "Alright, then is it defeated?"

"I believe so," Lulu replied, inspecting the fallen monster. "Look, the clay is starting to fall apart."

True to her word, the magic that had held the Golem together was gone, resulting in the monster's slow decay.

"What happened to those two Guado?" Wakka wanted to know, looking around.

"Headed back to Bevelle no doubt," Auron replied simply.

"I have a question," Tidus said, as he retrieved his sword from the disintegrating monster and sheathed it. "Why am I not writhing around on the ground in pain?"

"No need to sound disappointed," Lulu quipped quickly much to the general mirth of the rest of the party.

Yuna smiled both at the laughter and at the blitzer. "I cast a protect spell on you," she explained. "It lessens physical damage."

"Really?" Tidus grinned. "Neat."

Yuna laughed. "You said the same thing when I healed your arm in Kilika," she observed.

Tidus chuckled and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment then paused as something occurred to him. "If the protect spell only lessens the damage then does that mean curing magic can only heal certain wounds?"

Yuna blinked in surprise at his perspicacity. "Yes, that's right," she replied. "A graze can be healed in a moment, but more serious wounds take time to heal. White magic can only do so much."

"I see," Tidus said thoughtfully.

Wakka took a step forward and caught the blitzer's head in the crook of his arm. "So no more jumping onto the backs of Golems, ya?" he said teasingly.

"Hey, it worked," Tidus protested, trying unsuccessfully to free himself.

"I believe that was me," Auron pointed out blandly heading toward the downward path.

"You're going to wrong way, old man," Tidus called after him by way of reply. The legendary guardian ignored him and continued down the path to the valley.

"That way leads down into the valley," Lulu told him before following.

"I kinda figured but why are we going this way?" Tidus wondered as the rest of the party followed.

"I'm sure they know what they're doing," Rikku told him as she passed by.

Tidus watched them go for a moment then shrugged and jogged to catch up. Upon arriving at the bottom of the path with the rest of the party, the blitzer saw Lulu and Auron standing before the mouth of a cave. Within was dark and the air coming from it was stale.

Rikku peered around the edge, squinting her eyes. "Where are we?"

"The fayth is inside," Lulu told her. Tidus looked at her in surprise and he wasn't the only one. Both Rikku and Yuna looked equally astonished.

"As are fiends," the black mage added, her expression tight.

Wakka made a sharp noise of realisation. "Hey, is this were...?"

Lulu took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes," she confirmed.

"Where what?" Tidus wanted to know.

"The summoner I guarded on my first pilgrimage...died here," Lulu told him softly.

The blitzer went utterly still at this news, his face mirroring his shock. The death of a summoner, any summoner, was not something he wanted to contemplate at that moment. Yuna drifted closer to the black mage and put a comforting hand on her arm. Lulu smiled gratefully.

"Let's go," she told her young charge. "The fayth awaits."

"We don't have to-" Yuna started to reply.

"It's okay," Lulu replied, cutting her off. "I am stronger now. And we will need all the help we can get to defeat Sin."

The summoner hesitated then nodded her assent. The interior of the cave was gloomy as they entered but not completely dark. Despite the dark walls and strange mist that wrapped around their ankles as they walked, occasional gaps and crevices in the ceiling allowed light to enter. As they moved deeper into the cliff wall, the cave began to meander and form a path of sorts. Rikku rubbed her arms unconsciously as they walked, even though the air was not cold.

"What's a fayth doing in a place like this?" she questioned.

Tidus shrugged, wondering the same thing. "Don't ask me," he said by way of reply.

"They say it was stolen from a temple long ago," Lulu told them from the front of the group.

"Why?" Tidus wanted to know.

"With no fayth, summoners cannot train," Auron explained. "Without training, they cannot call the Final Aeon. Without the Final Aeon, they cannot defeat Sin. That is why."

Tidus slowed his pace, his eyes automatically drifted to where Yuna was walking ahead of him.

"And then the summoner won't die!" Rikku concluded suddenly.

Wakka nodded his agreement. "That must have been what the thief was thinking," he surmised.

Silence greeted this statement as each party member had their own thoughts on the matter.

"I kind of agree with him," Tidus said suddenly, choosing to voice his out loud.

No one replied to this but neither did they contend it. The group continued through the dark passageways with little to mark their passing. With only one direction to follow they soon exited the tunnel into a larger cave that was brightly lit by a large hole in the ceiling. At the opposite end was a familiar metal doorway which clearly led to the Chamber of the Fayth. Before it, pyreflies were swirling it a tight bunch with contracted as they approached. Before long the pyreflies began to take a humanoid form.

Wakka stopped short. "Another Guado fiend?" he wondered, readying his attack ball.

"No," Kimahri shook his head in contradiction as the form solidified. "An unsent."

Lulu took a quick step forward, her face showing her alarm as the form became recognizable as a woman, dressed in robes. "It's you...is it not, Lady Ginnem?" she stuttered, her face pale. The form remained silent and translucent, either unable to take to take on a solid dorm or unwilling. The black mage look down. "Forgive me," she murmured. "I was too young."

Behind her Auron gave Yuna a significant look which the summoner correctly perceived. She bit her lip and raised her staff to start performing the sending but before she could continue, the unsent summoner raised her arm and brought it down abruptly causing a sudden gale to blow. Yuna stopped with in surprise and shielded her face.

Lulu looked up at the figure of Ginnem. "There's no human left in you now..." she said softly.

The spectre before them simple stared at the black mage in silence, offering no insight. Lulu took another unsteady breath, "Very well, then," she said, her voice hitched ever so slightly as she spoke. "Allow me to perform my last duty to you. My last as your guardian."

The black mage raised both her arm above her head and crossed her hands. At the same time, the image of Lady Ginnem spread her arms wide and the symbols of a summoning etched themselves into the air around her. Lulu's eyes widened slightly even as she whispered Firaga and brought her arms around in a sweeping motion. Fire engulfed the space where Ginnem stood, swirling around like a tornado. Tidus watched in wide eyed amazement at the powerful spell and there was a gasp from Yuna. By the time the fire cleared, Ginnem was gone and in her place stood an aeon unlike any Tidus had ever seen.

To his eyes the aeon appeared almost humanoid, although his face was anything but. The blitzer couldn't make up his mind whether or not the birdlike features were a mask or the aeon's actual face. His colourful robes did little to diminish his menacing appearance and at his feet an equally colourful dog stood, leaning back on its haunches and eyeing the party suspiciously. As the last of the flames from Lulu's fire spell subsided, the aeon drew his sword, a thin deadly looking Katana and raised it.

"Yojimbo," Lulu said, naming the aeon from memory. "The Bodyguard."

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Thanks for reading :)