"What the is wrong with this?!" Lesca screams, dismissing the sphere made of pyreflies just inches from her face. The sphere was showing her whatever happened in the Land of the Living, mainly Jimin's pilgrimage to Zanarkand, but it looks like her plans are falling apart.

Irvirian cringes as she slams her hand down on the soil, some of the flowers surrounding her disappearing into pyreflies before reforming again as flowers, but of different colors now. He found his lady hot whenever she got mad, but don't get him wrong. Irvirian doesn't like his lady to get mad. 

"What is he doing there?" she hisses, jabbing a finger at Irvirian's direction.

"He's...angry," Irvirian finishes lamely.

"Oh, no sh*t, Sherlock," Lesca huffs. "He's ruining my plans!" 

"Ah, the plans," Irvirian drawls. "I'm bored, Lesca. Let's not keep to the plans." 

"Shut up or get out, Irvirian," Lesca pulls the older down by the collar, so that their lips faces are inches apart and he's down to her eye-level. "Stop being an *sshole and get him out of there before he gets himself killed!" 

Irvirian nods, smiling as Lesca lets him go. Partly because he was happy he has something to do now, instead of staring wordlessly at his mistress the whole day while she's doing work (not that he's complaining), and partly becaused he wants to hide the embarrassment on his face from thinking such thoughts about his mistress.

"Yes, mi'lady." 

With that, Irviriain vanishes, almost as if he was never there to begin with. 

Lesca groans as she leans back against the ground, lying amongst flowers. She closes her eyes, basking in the scent of the flowers she's been bathed in for half a millennia. When she opens her eyes, she sees a hooded boy looking down at her. Valefor.

"What are you doing here?" Lesca asks, sitting up abruptly. Valefor pulls his hood down over his face. "Jimin's been targeted by the Grand Maester." 

"I know that," Lesca's tone is irritable. "What makes you think I can do something about it? I sent Irvirian." 

"And what is he going to do? Bahamut isn't happy, Lesca." 

"Isn't happy about what?" 

"About the fact that Lord Jimin's going to get killed," Valefor's voice rises an octave. "Didn't you consult the Wheel of Fate today?" 

Come to think of it, it had totally slipped Lesca's mind. Ah, and just when she thought she could have some peace and quiet. The Wheel of Fate tells Lesca about who exactly is going to die at any given time, all she'll have to voice out to the Wheel of Fate is the time, and the pyreflies will show her the people about to die then. Or she can ask a name and the Wheel of Fate will show the time...even the death itself if Lesca is lucky. She comes to the Wheel of Fate once a day to see the predetermined deaths. If there are many at any given point in time, it will mean that a Sinspawn or even Sin itself will launch an attack somewhere...or something.

Lesca drags her feet over to the Wheel of Fate, made up of pyreflies, at the edge of the field of flowers she's standing on. Suddenly, to her right, a girl manifests. She has blue locks of hair, and doesn't look too happy to see Lesca, especially with her arms folded and her furrowed eyebrows. 

"What do you want, Shiva?" 

"Bahamut isn't the only one getting mad," Shiva says, tossing her hair over her shoulders. "Ixion and Ifrit are getting impatient too." 

"What, and you're their errand girl?" 

"I was bored," Shiva answers simply. "Mindy, Sandy and Cindy are taking a break--I mean, no one's been there in so long they kind of got bored. Yojimbo's still in his abode, as always, with that dog by his side growling at anyone that walks by, including me. Anima...let's not talk about her. She's all curled up in her temple refusing to talk to us. She's an old lady, and she'd need a replacement fayth soon." 

"You don't replace fayths because they're old, Shiva," Lesca argues, though she has to admit that the old lady is getting on her nerves. Anima never comes out of her temple ever, not even to the regular meetings she calls in the Farplane, in which Yojimbo grudgingly comes to and Mindy, Cindy and Sandy are missing half the time.

"And I heard that li'l Summoner's calling me Monnie. Seriously, what kind of name is that?" Shiva grunts. "Ixion rather likes his name--Minnie, even though that li'l is a guy, and that b*stard Ifrit actually likes his one-lettered name. I mean, it's a little easier now. Just V rather than I-F-R-I-T." 

"Yeah, yeah, watch your mouth, Shiva," Lesca frowns as the Wheel of Fate begins to turn. 

"Park Jimin of the Besaid Isles," Lesca says to the Wheel. The pyreflies come together and form an image, almost like a motion picture--those types you see on spheres. Lesca recognizes the young Summoner's face as Jimin comes into view. She watches in anticipation as Jimin and his Guardians fight through throngs of guards, until it comes to the point where they, after rushing through numerous rooms, find a burning room and Namjoon inside it, covered in blood, seen through the flames.

Lesca watches the silent picture of Jimin screaming for his Guardian, before managing to get out of the Ronso and the Al Bhed's grip as he rushes towards the burning room, running into the fire. 

It is then that a piece of debris collapses on the entrance. She sees the rest of his Guardians stare at the blazing picture before them, as guards run around. Funny how the motion picture should have stopped already, since Jimin should have died., but the picture still continues on. She watches as suddenly, the debris, a piece of flaming concrete, shatters into a million pieces, and a figure, silhouette black against the flames, walk out, piggybacking someone else.

She notes that the man is that Guardian that Jimin ran in for earlier, Namjoon, and he's piggybacking Jimin. From the burns inflicted on Jimin's face and limbs, it looks painful. She shudders as she watches Namjoon lay Jimin gently down on the ground, before the rest of the Guardians are yelling at him. Jimin is barely breathing, almost as if he isn't. Even if he is, he's taking way shallower breaths than a normal human being would.

Lesca watches as the one named Seokjin yells something to Jimin, as the Ronso picks the Summoner up, running along the corridors while guards block their way. They managed to make it out of the building when suddenly, a tentacle grabs Namjoon's leg and the warrior plummets to the ground, dropping Jimin while he's at it.  

That's when the screen blacks out.

Jimin must have died while they are trying to get him out of there. Must be the concussion.

Lesca waves the pyreflies away. "If he was meant to die, then he will. The only thing that may change is the circumstance in which he dies in." 

"Yeah, and he's your little prized Summoner. What are you gonna do about it? A chance like this comes in only ten years, you know, and besides, we can't fight Sinspawn forever. We need a little time, ten years, to prepare for Sin's return," Shiva says. "Hey, Valefor, say something." 

"There is nothing to say. I've aided the boy as much as I could, but it looks like our efforts will go to waste," Valefor shrugs. "We'll just have to find another Summoner to defeat Sin, and we'd better hurry. I don't know how much longer the fayths can hold out. We're tired of dreaming, Lesca." 

"Yeah, I know. I don't need two kids standing here reminding me what I need to do but can't!" Lesca's starting to grow impatient. 

"But the only beings that can change Fate are those who've been dealt Fate's hand," Valefor continues. "If you want Jimin to live, only the dead can help you here." 

"What about you? Aren't you dead too?" Lesca looks over at the boy incredulously.

"But I'm a fayth." From under Valefor's hood, Lesca can see the boy's eyes sparkling. "I've got a job to do. Besides, there's another Summoner coming down in ten years. I gotta prepare for that, you know." 

"Riiiiight," Lesca rolls her eyes. "Prepare for a Summoner that's coming in ten years. What's his or her name?" 

"Braska," says Valefor. "He's just a little boy now, but one day, he'll become a Summoner." 

"Okay," Lesca nods. "I'll do something about it--Jimin's death, I mean. I chose him to be a High Summoner for a reason." 

"Didn't you send Irvirian?" Shiva asks. "Isn't he dead? Can't he do something about it?" 

"I don't really rely on Irvirian for much--just recon," says Lesca. "But there's someone I really can rely on." She glances behind her, a shape of a woman already materializing. 

"I heard, and came," the woman says. Shiva's eyes widen as Lesca beams at the woman. 

"Ah, Belgemine..." Lesca smiles at the woman. "I have need of you." 

**************************************************************************

Namjoon looks about--he's incapacitated the guards in the main lobby--there'd be no one else to get at him; the only ones who can ever find him will be the four Maesters in the palace, one who he intends to kill, and will not leave without doing so. 

Now, what is the most likely place Kinoc will be? His office, of course. Namjoon smiles to himself. He walks past the bodies lying on the ground--not quite dead, but wishing they are, that is, until he comes across a man standing across him in the hallway, dressed all in red and looking not older than fourteen. Jungkook's age. He watches as the man brandishes a broadsword, the same type that Namjoon uses.

Namjoon recognizes the boy--how can he not? Especially since this is the boy Namjoon had spent years coaching to be a Warrior Monk. The boy's name is...Auron. That's right, Auron. Auron is holding out his sword, black hair tied back in a short ponytail, just like how samurai do.

"Get out of the way, Auron!" Namjoon shouts, sword held in hand. "I won't go easy on you." 

Even from where he is standing, Namjoon can see the boy shaking in his boots. "N-No! I'm not going to! N-Namjoon! This is wrong!" 

"I don't care!" Namjoon grits his teeth. He knows that when it comes down to it, he can't do it. Not this junior whom he trained for years and developed a close bond with. 

"No! I'm gonna stand here and fight you! I won't let you get to any of the Maesters! I dunno what came over you, Namjoon! This isn't you!" 

"You'd better get used to it," Namjoon replies coldly. "This is me now." 

********************************************************************

"We gotta hurry!" Jimin turns the bend, leading him into the city of Bevelle. He immediately comes to a stop as he stares at the scene in front of him. Bevelle is practically a city of machina. B-But...didn't Maester Mika forbid at least half these machina? He notices airships parked in aerodomes, with humanoid machina jumping about, helping the guards with duty and patrol. This isn't how he pictured Bevelle. This is orderly, but not in the way he expected it. 

"T-This can't be!" Seokjin looks around him, voicing out Jimin's exact thoughts. "Didn't the Maesters...?" 

"Looks like Mika's words are bullsh*t," Yoongi mutters. 

"I don't believe it," Taehyung looks happy. Of course, being surrounded in machina is an Al Bhed's dream--it runs in their veins. There's the sound of an explosion coming from the Parliament House, and Hoseok visibly cringes as the group turns in that direction, seeing the fire try to consume the Parliament House.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Jimin looks towards Jungkook. The youngest nods. 

"Namjoon's in that place, and boy is he stirring up attention." 

*****************************************************************

Namjoon grunts as he blocks Auron's sword, the little boy's frenzied attack is no joke. He never knew the runt had that much in him. Namjoon bites his lip until he can taste blood, and pushes the boy back, Auron landing hard on the ground, back hitting concrete. Namjoon holds his sword at the younger's throat, but he'd never kill his junior. The moment Auron finds out Namjoon's just doing this for show is the moment Auron will find his weakness, and the boy is good at that. 

Namjoon growls, "Come after me, and you'll join your friends." 

"What happened to you, Namjoon?" Auron looks up at him, eyes pleading and betrayed, making Namjoon feel like a he's kicking a puppy. "You aren't the Namjoon I know!" 

"That Namjoon you know is dead," Namjoon says. He sees a door at the end of the entire corridor, with the words "Maester Wen Kinoc" embroidered in gold on the brass. He grits his teeth as anger boils up in him again. That man will pay for what he did to Sairah. How he left her to die to save his cowardly *ss. Namjoon rushes towards the door, intent on smashing it down. 

And this time, there are no obstacles. 

Namjoon hits the door down, eyes blazing and looking for the man of his nightmares. And there he is, sitting at his desk, with his legs kicked up on the poor table. Namjoon growls as he raises his sword and points it at Kinoc. Kinoc looks up, and he smiles. "I don't think you have an appointment, Namjoon." 

"Your Maester rights aren't going to protect you forever. You Maesters are all the same. You just want what benefits you. When it actually comes down to combat, you Maesters just hide in your little offices and expect people you barely even know to protect you," Namjoon isn't going to let up. This is it. It's time now. He jumps towards the Maester, who immediately rises from his seat and dodges the attack, screaming. He slams his fist into a button on the wall, and Namjoon curses. He doesn't have much time before the guards from outside the palace comes...not to mention Mika, Kelk and Jyscal. Besides, the building is on fire. Who in their right mind won't realize something's wrong. There won't be much time before the building burns down anyway.

Namjoon is just about to severe Kinoc's head--the cowering b*stard's head--with his sword...and he did. Sever something, that is. Except when he looks back down, he sees Kinoc still alive and kicking. Something thumps to the ground, alright. A head. A Guado's head. Namjoon turns his attention away from the fallen body of the Guado sacrifice that he just killed, and now anger...no, fury, is blazing like a fire as strong as the one burning the building now.

"You let an innocent Guado be killed, you ing b*stard!" Namjoon runs forward, but the other Guado, who has appeared by Kinoc's side, is quick, and blasts Namjoon back with a Flare spell. Namjoon barely blocks the fire with his sword as he tumbles to the ground, breathing ragged. 

"I'll see you later, Namjoon!" Kinoc laughs, a nightmarish laugh that Namjoon knows will stay in his dreams forever, as long as he lives. Namjoon growls as he rushes forward, but Kinoc and the Guado disappears into thin air, leaving Namjoon all alone in the burning room. Fire has began to burn down Kinoc's office, the papers catching fire and burning away, the couch, chairs and desk no different. Pieces of rubble is tumbling down on Namjoon, and he just manages to dodge it just before the the rubble hit the ground where he was a couple of seconds ago. 

Namjoon breathes a sigh of relief, but he must get out of here, and fast...

"JOON!" 

********************************************************************

"What are you doing there, Namjoonie?!" Namjoon hears Jimin's voice. Oh, in the name of Yevon, did his idiot Summoner actually come all this way to Bevelle to search for him? 

Namjoon coughs and his eyes sting when the smoke hits him. He failed again. Sairah's face flashes in his mind, but this isn't time to be sentimental...and furious. He needs to get out of here...nah, scratch that. He needs to get Jimin out of here. Why in Yevon's name did he come here anyway? 

"Get out, Jimin!" Namjoon shouts. He can barely stand after that Flare attack, and he's sweating so profusely he's wondering why his shirt isn't soaked by now.

"I can't! You're my friend! I'm not leaving without you!" Jimin calls back. "Just come on out, Namjoon!" 

"Easier said than done!" 

"Stop being so stubborn!" Jimin's getting impatient. "Or I'll get in there and drag you out myself!" 

Jungkook looks worried at the burning room--the corridor they're in is fine at the moment, but any second now, the fire will spread and they've got to evacuate. Seokjin, Hoseok and Yoongi are handling the men near the lobby, but Jungkook's got no idea how long they'd last.

Another piece of burning concrete falls into the doorway connecting Kinoc's office to the hallway, and Taehyung has to pull Jimin aside, as the two stumble to the ground. "Namjoon!" Jimin tries to run into the room, but Jungkook grabs his wrist.

"Are you crazy, Jimin? It's a burning r--"

"No! I'm not crazy! Namjoon's my friend! You don't just leave a friend behind!" Jimin tries to wrench himself from Jungkook's grip. "Let me go!" 

"No, Jimin! I'm not! Haven't we had this conversation before about you getting into tr--Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!" 

Yup, Jimin has never thought he'd ever do it. Kick Jungkook in the groin, that is. The Ronso reels over, releasing Jimin, and Taehyung doesn't have any time to react before Jimin runs into the burning room. 

"JIMIN!" 

************************************************************************

"Da h*ll are you doing here, Jimin?!" Namjoon cries, nostrils flaring when he sees Jimin. Is his idiot Summoner actually idiot enough to run into a burning building just to save him? 

"Yah shut up and--!" 

There is a rumble as debris rains down on the doorway, and Namjoon grabs Jimin by the fabric of his shirt, hissing in his ear. "Are you crazy? I don't care if you're my Summoner right now, this is lucid!" 

"Well yeah, coming in here and single-handedly killing all the guards outside counts as not crazy," Jimin retorts. He can feel beads of sweat on his forehead, perspiration already forming from the heat of the flames, but now, their doorway and escape path is gone--blocked by flaming pieces of rubble and concrete. 

"Okay, I planned on getting out of here anyway," Namjoon sighs, holding out a hand to Jimin. "You have to do as I say, alright? Or else...Look out!" 

Before Jimin can even react, a piece of concrete hit his head--not large enough to kill him, but big enough to cause a concussion. Jimin stumbles forward, landing head-first onto the ground, fire burning all around him. Quick as a fox, Namjoon picks Jimin up--the boy in one hand and his sword in the other. He points his sword at the opening, and he'd better hurry. Jimin's face has a few burns on it, but not so bad as to be first-degree burns. Most likely second-degree, if you have to ask Namjoon, though he isn't an expert on burns.

"Shooting Star!" 

The concrete bursts open.

*****************************************************************

Jungkook shields his eyes from the blast as he sees Seokjin, Yoongi and Hoseok running up towards them.

"Yah! What's happening?" Yoongi blocks a piece of concrete as it hurtles through the air towards him. 

"Namjoon!" Seokjin shouts, over the roar of the fire. He watches as Namjoon walks through the doorway, past the shattered pieces of concrete and cement, carrying an unconscious Jimin. 

"Jimin!" Taehyung is the first by Namjoon's side, looking at Jimin.

"We have to get out of here, quickly," Namjoon says, as if it's the least obvious thing in the world, not even pausing to put Jimin down. The group runs, Seokjin, Yoongi, Taehyung, Jungkook and Hoseok battling off guards that seemed to rush their way, until they reached outside. 

Jungkook squints--he can see something blurry floating in the sky, its wings spread out and its eight, giant eyes are moving around, not darting, just moving. The little group stares in horror at the thing in the sky, heading straight for them. 

"Get out of the way!" Guards run out from behind the group as they ignore them now. They're more focused on that thing in the sky, the thing which children, since young, were taught to recognize, fear and hate. 

"It's Sin..." Jungkook breathes.

"There's something else!" Yoongi cries, looking up, and barely having any time to dodge a tentacle as something slashes in his direction, cutting his cheek, and Yoongi slices off the tentacle that attacked him with a spike of his blitzball. 

Namjoon's foot is grabbed by the tentacle, and he drops Jimin as the boy hits the ground, hard. Taehyung runs towards Jimin and hauls him up--there's blood gathering near his forehead--from a gash when he hit the ground. Jungkook runs up to them now.

"Jimin!" Jungkook carries Jimin now, bridal-style, as they run. Away from the Sinspawn that's attacking them. Sinspawn Spydra--a giant spider with tentacles. Another tentacle dives towards Jungkook and trips the Ronso. This time, Jungkook falls over the edge of Bevelle's corridor. His arm shoots out and grabs the railing, and the other hand grasps Jimin's in an iron grip, refusing to let his precious Summoner and friend fall to his death.

But the thing is, his hand is slipping.

"Tae!" Jungkook bellows, trying hard to keep his grip tight on the railing and on Jimin's wrist. Is it just him...or is Jimin getting colder and colder? Nah, it must be the wind.

"Kim Taehyung!" Jungkook roars again, when Taehyung doesn't appear. Out of the blue, Taehyung appears and grabs Jungkook's arm, managing to hoist the Ronso's hefty body (filled with muscles, mind you) over the railing and onto the hallway suspended in midair, hauling Jimin up as well.

"Come on, let's go!" Jungkook cries, starting to run again, and Taehyung turns around, watching as Bevelle falls apart, the Parliament House splitting as fire burns it--Sinspawn Spydra leaping off the Parliament House and onto the suspended hallway. Taehyung can see Yoongi, Hoseok, Seokjin and even Namjoon fighting the giant spider, but with those wounds on them, it's impossible to win. 

But something snaps him out of his thoughts. Taehyung looks up at the sky, and sees a dark form appearing from within the clouds, swooping straight towards them. For Yevon's sake, let it not be another Sinspawn...Jungkook has also stopped, and he's looking up at the dragon form in the sky. The dragon roars as it readies energy in its mouth, before blasting it straight at the spider. The spider screeches as the dragon rains hits and hits upon the Sinspawn's body, buying time for their friends to escape.

Who's this ally, Taehyung wonders. Who'd be kind enough to possibly sacrifice their lives for outlaws? 

"Are you alright?" someone approaches them, and Taehyung turns to see a woman walking towards them. 

"Yeah, we're alright," Jungkook nods. "Are you a Summoner?" 

"That I am," the woman says, nodding. "That dragon is my Aeon, Bahamut."

"Hey!" Hoseok runs up to them, and he gives the woman a once-over. "Who's this?" He sniffs the air, a knowing look crossing his face. "Y-You're..." 

The woman nods, confirming Hoseok's suspicions, before turning to Jungkook, "Are you sure all of you are alright?" 

"Y-Yeah, but Jiminnie's got a really bad head wound..." Taehyung scratches his head. "What's wrong?" 

The woman's expression is grave. "No, it's just that...why not you check for your friend's pulse?" 

Heart heavy, Jungkook bends down,where he's laid Jimin down on the carpeted marble. He presses two fingers to Jimin's neck, trying desperately to feel for a pulse. When he feels nothing, Jungkook starts to panic, and Taehyung can see it in the youngest's eyes too. Jungkook holds a finger where Jimin's nostrils are, desperate for breathing, but he feels nothing. 

Eyes welling up in tears, he looks up at Taehyung. 

"Jimin's not breathing!" 

*************************************************************************

Omg the longest chappie I've ever written. By the way, for people who are confused, more will be explained in the chapters to come, and why Valefor, Shiva and Bahamut are actually people...this is concerning the lore of Spira itself and its past, and I'll be sure to explain on all this in another chapter. Meanwhile, enjoy the suspense!