"Where am I?" 

Seokjin opens his eyes to find himself in a sunlit room, his chest filled with pain. He tries to sit up, but winces when pain arrows through him. He turns his head, and finds his comrade, Namjoon, still sleeping on the bed next to his. He turns his head to look up at the ceiling, then as much of the room as he can see. His sword and Namjoon's are propped up against the wall.

Namjoon groans and turns with his back to Seokjin. 

"Ah, you're awake," an orange-haired boy looks at Seokjin upside-down. Seokjin had to stifle a scream. He reaches up to rub his eyes. 

"Lisa said the potion was supposed to work," the boy scratches his head. "Anyway, you're on the lonely shore of Besaid. I'm Taehyung, nice to meet you." 

"Uh, we're on Besaid?" Seokjin blinks, unsure of what to say after being bombarded by these pieces of information.

"Yeah," Taehyung nods. "Jiminie's in the Cloister of Trials right now, with Jungkook."

"Huh?" Seokjin looks confused.

"Stop annoying him already," another voice comes from the other end of the room. "And besides, I'm trying to sleep so keep it down. Call me when Jimin summons." With that the voice ceases and is replaced with snores in three seconds max.

"That's Yoongi," Taehyung says. "Say, where are you from?" 

"Uh...Kilika," Seokjin says.

"Ah, so where's your boat headed, anyway?" Taehyung questions.

"Bevelle," says Seokjin, then remembers something. His Summoner, Ontio, was on that ship! Seokjin sits bolt upright, his wounds almost reopening as he does so, and jumps off the bed, grabbing his sword. "Ontio was on that ship!"

"Ontio? Who's that?" Taehyung scrunches up his nose. "You two were the only ones who were still alive on that ship." 

Seokjin stops in his tracks. Ontio was dead? That can't be. He was on his way to get the final Aeon he needed before heading to Zanarkand to get the Final Aeon. Bevelle was the final temple in which they had to visit. And Ontio was still making jokes aboard that ship, and he didn't even know the fate that would befall him should he summon the Final Aeon. He kept talking about going back to Kilika and being welcomed with cheers from the people. 

"Ontio can't be dead," Seokjin half-whispers to himself. He grabs Taehyung's shoulders. "Ontio can't be dead!" 

"Whoa, stay down. Who's Ontio?" Taehyung asks. 

"My Summoner!" Seokjin grits his teeth as he slams Taehyung's head into the wall. "Where is Ontio?" He looks closer.

"You're an Al Bhed, who'd forsaken Yevon's teachings. You've no right to be here," Seokjin glares at him. Taehyung, still in shock, slides to the ground after Seokjin releases his hold on his hair. 

"Jin, you're still here," Namjoon groans as he sits upright.

"Ontio is gone," Seokjin mutters, but was loud enough for Namjoon to hear. Namjoon stares at Seokjin. 

"Dead?" Namjoon looks incredulous. 

"Yeah," Seokjin nods. "What are we going to do now?"

A spiked Blitzball whizzes past their heads. Seokjin unsheathes his sword, looking around for the person who tried to attack them.

"No messing with my friend," the owner of that other voice his head to one side, catching the Blitzball as it whirls back to him. The spikes puncture his skin and blood flows freely, staining the bandages that are already there in the first place.

"Either you accept our hospitality, or you get the h*ll out of here," Yoongi shoots them a glare so fierce Seokjin actually stops in his tracks. He sheathes his sword again, and Namjoon stands up. "I apologize on the behalf of my comrade. He's still distraught over our Summoner's death, you see." 

"There can be no reason valid enough to attack an innocent person," Yoongi says, the spiked Blitzball still in hand.

"No one's innocent in the world,," Seokjin leers. "Each and every one of us has a blemish on our purity. Another one of Yevon's teachings." 

"Right, stop," Namjoon steps between them. "I do admit that we are in the wrong, and we will leave as soon as possible." 

"H-Hey, wait!" Taehyung jumps up from the ground. "You guys are Guardians, right? That means you must have experience. Do you wanna be Guardians for Jimin?" 

"Jimin? It's an odd name," Seokjin mumbles to himself. 

"Yeah, Jimin's our best friend. You wanna meet him?" Taehyung grins, grabbing Namjoon's hand and evidently missing Seokjin's for a reason. "He's gonna come out of the Cloister of Trials any moment now." 

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

"This is Besaid's Cloister of Trials," Taehyung says, introducing Namjoon and Seokjin to the biggest building in the whole of the smal village. It wasn't a tent like the other buildings in the village. It is constructed out of cement and bricks. The fayth must be residing inside this building sacred by Yevon. 

"Is the summoner inside?" Seokjin asks coldly. 

"Yeah. Jiminie's gonna get the Aeon and go on his pilgrimage," Taehyung says, voice a little scared. "Come on, let's go in. Jungkookie and Hobi are in there too." 

"Hobi? Jungkookie?" Namjoon questions, as he's pulled by Taehyung.

"Yeah, Jimin's Guardians," Taehyung answers. 

The temple is not as fancy-looking as the one in Macalania, let alone the one in Bevelle. In fact, it's quite small, with statues of past summoners who've completed their pilgrimage and brought the Calm onto Spira, the most recent one being a summoner by the name of Lady Yocun. Summoners such as Jyscal and Ohalland, who'd already beaten Sin, have their statues chiselled out from pieces of marble and placed in every temple in Spira.

The temple's no different than the last time we visited...Seokjin looks around, remembering the statues of other lesser fayth, which had not enough strength in itself to grant any to the summoners, but if prayed to, they'd do their best to grant the wish of the prayer. 

"I can't go in," Taehyung says, gesturing towards the doorway to the Cloister of Trials. "I'm an Al Bhed, and the priest knows it. You can go in if you like." 

"I'll go," Seokjin says, honestly not being able to stand Al Bhed anymore. They'd forsaken Yevon's teachings and have decided to use forbidden machina to fight Sin. There's no way the forbidden machina will ever beat Sin.

"I'll wait out here," Namjoon says, waving as Seokjin enters the Cloister of Trials.

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

Cloisters of Trials are in every single temple in Spira, which are the tests summoners have to go through before receiving their Aeons in each of the temples. They have to place orbs in various locations to open up walls, etcetera, to proceed with the trials. Different temples feature different orbs, or spheres, as they are called, such as Besaid's Cloister of Trials featuring the Besaid sphere, and Kilika's featuring Kilika sphere. 

Seokjin remembers the route through Besaid's Cloister of Trials, and gets past it easily, inserting spheres in the correct locations and finally finding himself at the very end of the Cloister of Trials.

"Who're you?" 

There are two men...or boys, sitting outside the Chamber of the Fayth, waiting for their summoner.

"Kim Seokjin, the Guardian of late Summoner Sir Ontio," Seokjin bows and introduces himself. 

"Well, sorry but the summoner in there is Jimin," the Ronso says. "You got the wrong guy." 

"Sir Ontio...is deceased. I have met an orange-haired boy and he offered me the position of Guardian for this...Jimin." 

"Oh, really?" The Ronso looks impressed...and a little sad. "Yeah, sure, why not? The more the merrier!" 

Seokjin's eyes flit to the other boy in the room, leaning against the wall. He's a Guado, as they can obviously tell, with his green hair and pointed ears, apparently asleep. How is it possible that someone can sleep in the middle of their summoner gaining their Aeon? 

"That's Hobi," the Ronso points to the Guado. "He's got a bit of narcolepsy, so yeah." 

"And you are?" Seokjin asks.

"Jungkook," the Ronso says. "I needa wake Hobi up. Jimin should be out already..." he squints his eyes as he looks at Seokjin closely. "You're that guy from yesterday, right? The one on that ship." 

"Yeah," Seokjin nods. 

"You were a Guardian?" Jungkook continues to question.

"Yeah, until that ship crashed. Now I've no Summoner to protect." 

"Yes you have. You have Jimin," Jungkook says.

Right after he says that, the door to the Chamber of the Fayth opens up, and Jimin, stumbling on his steps, come out, nearly tripping on the stairs, in which Jungkook rushes up to catch him.

"You really exerted yourself in there, huh?" Jungkook grins, helping Jimin out of there.

Awakened by the loud rumbling of the opening door, Hoseok blinks awake and jumps to his feet. "Oh, sh*t! Sorry, Jimin!" 

"Nah, it's...okay," Jimin smiles, eyes tired. The first Aeon is always the hardest, after that, it gets easier. "I'm gonna take a breather, then perform my first summoning ever!" 

That thought hypes him up, and Jimin manages to walk normally without Jungkook's help.

Seokjin looks at the three boys as they exit the Chamber of the Fayth. It's very obvious Jungkook and Jimin had a history with each other, but Hoseok? He seems a little...out of place.

Whatever. 

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

"Hey, they're out!" Taehyung yells, waving to them.

"Jiminie needs some rest," Jungkook says. 

"Yeah, then I'll summon...my first Aeon," Jimin looks like he's in a dream as he wanders towards his tent not far from Besaid--it was in the outskirts, but still...not far.

"Rest up," Namjoon says.

"Hey, you're that guy from yesterday," Jimin squints at him. 

"Yeah," Namjoon says. "Seokjin and I...we're going to become your Guardians." 

"Whoa, really? I don't even know you though," Jimin grins. "Say, what's your name?" 

"Kim Namjoon, and my partner's Kim Seokjin," Namjoon says. "I'm from Bevelle, and he's from Kilika." 

"Kilika, eh? We're going there next! Tae's already planned the whole trip out," Jimin says, throwing an arm over his eyes as he lies on the bed, marvelling inaudibly at the softness of the pillow.

"I see," Namjoon nods. "Well, we'd like to join you, if you don't mind." 

"A bit sudden, but sure!" Jimin says, fighting off waves of nausea from the intense praying he did earlier. If he's going to get through his pilgrimage, he's got to have as many trusted companions as possible...right? After closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths, he finally has enough strength to push himself off the bed.

"Come on, I'm gonna summon my first Aeon!" 

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

Jimin takes another deep breath. The villagers have all come out to witness his summoning.

"Isn't that boy that thief?" 

"He's never going to beat Sin." 

"Mummy, that's the boy who always stole stuff from us, right?" "Hush dear, we don't need someone hearing you." 

"His first summoning's going to be a failure." 

Jungkook clenches his fists, restraining himself from trying to hit anybody. They have no right to talk about Jimin like that! Jimin's fighting for the sake of Spira! 

"Hey, Jimin's fighting for Spira, you know! If all you can do is stand there shaking in your boots, then you have no right to talk about Jimin like that!" 

"Jungkook, it's okay." Jungkook feels a warm hand on his shoulder. He looks back to find Jimin.

"Hah! A Ronso, a Guado, and a few injured people, and a blitzball player. Oh..." one of the men sniggers. "Not to mention an Al Bhed. You guys are never going to make it. You'd die in Kilika!" 

"SHUT UP!" Jungkook roars, and some people step back.

Suddenly, there is a burst of light from the ground around Jimin, and the villagers' had to shield their eyes from it. The lights burst into the sky--a summons for the Aeon that Jimin just obtained. A large bird soars through the clouds, its beak a silvery color, and its wings purple with a pale orange hue. It's body is huge, a bright golden color with purple legs.

It lands beside Jimin, and Jimin reaches up to pet it. The Aeon angles its head down and rubs its head against Jimin's hands. Patting its head a little, Jimin sends it into the sky. The giant bird screeches as it flies into the sky, roaring at the villagers. They stand back in fright, as they watch the bird hover in the air, its tail swishing back and forth.

"Alright, Valefor, I dismiss you."

Valefor screeches one last time before it flies back into the clouds. 

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

"Where are we headed to tomorrow?" Yoongi asks, walking into the room, looking at everyone except Seokjin and Namjoon. He seems to have a personal grudge against them.

"Kilika," Taehyung replies. "We need to get the Ifrit Aeon first, before going to Djose and getting the Ixion Aeon." 

"Of all people, why does an Al Bhed have to be a part of this?" Seokjin growls, eyes narrowing when he looks at Taehyung. 

"Stop it, Jin," Namjoon places a hand on his shoulder. "He's a good guy."

Hoseok, meanwhile, is silent as he sits in a corner.

"Yeah, well, rest well, everyone," Jimin says, lying on his bed. "We're gonna catch the first boat to Kilika."

"Right," Yoongi nods, squaring his shoulders.

"Oh, and Yoongi?"

"What?" Yoongi looks over at Jimin.

"Change your blitzball, would you? You're gonna get hurt every time you hit a fiend," Jimin smiles, winking.

Yoongi opens his mouth to protest, but doesn't. Instead, he walks away, silent, back to his room.

"He's not really talkative, is he?" Hoseok asks.

"He's had a hard life," Taehyung says. "He came to this island and said he wanted to form a blitzball team for Besaid called the Besaid Aurochs, but then again...I guess losing every single year has taken a toll on him, huh. He came three years ago, formed the team, and never won since. Other than that, we don't really know much about him." 

"Hey, Jimin?" 

A series of snores sound from Jimin's side of the room, and teh Guardians look over at him to find Jimin fast asleep.

"We'll get to know each other tomorrow," Namjoon says. "For now, we need rest." 

Nodding and giving response of agreement, the rest of the boys walk back towards their respective beds to sleep.

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

"Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Jimin yells to the villagers, waving enthusiastically as they leave the place aboard the boat bound for Kilika.

"You wanna hamburger?" Taehyung asks, pointing to a burger he's eating.

"Yeah, why not?" Jimin sits down with Taehyung and Jungkook to eat some burgers.

"You're not hungry?" Jimin calls Hoseok over.

"No, why? Guado don't need to eat as much as humans," Hoseok says, sitting down with them anyways.

"Oh, so you only have to eat breakfast and dinner?" Jimin chomps down on his burger, throwing away his Summoner's image.

"We just eat whenever we are hungry," Hoseok explains. "Sometimes, it's in the middle of the night and it's annoying, 'cos we have to get up and get food." 

"That's cool," Taehyung says. "Heeeeey! Namjoon! Seokjin! Yoongi! Don't you wanna eat?" 

"I don't respond to the likes of the Al Bhed," Seokjin mutters, loud enough for only Namjoon to hear.

"He's a good person," Namjoon whispers back to him, before shouting back, "Nah, it's okay! You guys eat it!" 

"But he's an Al Bhed." 

"Does it matter? They'd provided shelter for us in Kilika Forest when we needed it," Namjoon reasons. "They've given us shelter in Thunder Plains too, giving us warm food to eat despite the storm." 

"They use forbidden machina, Namjoon," Seokjin's voice is dark. "It is against Yevon's teachings." 

"That..." Namjoon turns back towards the sea. Forbidden machina is against Yevon's teachings...but they shouldn't blame an entire race behind it.

"You know that, Namjoon. We need to atone for our sins, and it was using machina in the first place that got us Sin!" 

Namjoon remains silent. He doesn't really know what to say about that.

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

Yoongi looks out into the distance, relishing in the freedom of the sea breeze. It's been so long since he was out in the sea on a boat. The last time he was on a boat was three years ago, when he got rejected by the Luca Goers and had to come to Besaid--he only place where he could avoid shame.

He clutches his blitzball in hand--changed like Jimin told him to. Somehow, there was something about that boy that he couldn't fight against. Is it that smile of his? Or that purity of his heart? Or the fact that he actually showed kindness to him when nobody else would?

Yoongi feels nausea rising upon him again. This was why he hated boats. He gets motion-sickness easily. He decides to go below deck and probably catch up on some sleep...

"SIN!" someone screams.

Yoongi's head snaps to the left as he hears a crash of waves from his left. He sees a large shape rising from the water, its huge tentacles about to ensnare the ship. No way's he letting the ship go down while he's still here. He rushes over to that side of the deck, to find the rest of the Guardians and Jimin.

"I was looking for you," Jimin runs over to him. "Where were you?" 

"At the front of the deck," Yoongi answers. 

The Sinspawn Tyrallis springs out of the water, its tentacles surging forward.

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

For players of Final Fantasy X--pls note that there is no such Sinspawn named Sinspawn Tyrallis and that it is a name of my own creation. Thank you! 

Hope you enjoy this chappie as usual! Next up would be the battle with Sinspawn Tyrallis!