It had been an uninteresting day for Sonic. He spent most of his time outdoors and looking around. His thoughts from time to time revolved around Kairi. He couldn\'t help but wonder about her. A sigh came from Sonic as he walked around the plains. The Garden was too noisy for him and he felt like getting some fresh air. He had been walking for hours, thinking and admiring the view of the land and ocean. He came across an area that he hadn\'t noticed before. It was a path through mountains that led to a cave. Heat radiated from it as Sonic got closer and closer. He took a swig from his canteen so he doesn\'t get dehydrated. Finally, he reached the cave entrance, with two guards standing on either side of the entrance. He wished he hadn\'t worn his white uniform now, because it\'s sure to get dirty from the soot. Sonic glanced at the guards as he came close, and walked towards the cave. As he was about to enter, they stepped in his way.
\"Hold it,\" the left guard stated.
\"We need some verification that you may enter,\" said the other.
Sonic smiled politely as his mind raced to think of an excuse to enter.
\"Why, I\'m an exchange student sirs,\" said Sonic casually. \"I don\'t nerd verification to train do I?\"
\"This cave is for trials only,\" said the left guard.
\"Well that\'s what I\'m here for,\" Sonic said. \"Yeah, I\'m here to take the trial.\"
\"We need verification that you have permission to take it. OR, if an instructor were to supervise you, you may take the trial of the Fire God Ifrit.\"
An idea popped in Sonic\'s head like a lightbulb.
\"Shinu gave me special permission to take it alone because I\'m a gifted summoner,\" Sonic said confidently.
The guards exchanged looks, then stepped aside.
\"Be warned, student, that if you are harmed or killed, no one may be able to aid you,\" said the right guard.
\'How dangerous could this be?\' Sonic thought. \'Meeting the fire god might be awesome!\' He glanced at the two guards and gave a polite bow of his head, and walked in.
The cave was bright. There were skinny paths to walk on, lava was gooing everywhere off of them. Sonic made sure to be careful not to trip as he walked further in. The heat was staggering, forcing Sonic to take a lot of water breaks. Luckily his core was always cold, keeping him safe from heat exhaustion. After a short walk in following the path, a gang of Bombs appeared out of the lava. There were 8 of them. They cackled and smiled wickedly at Sonic. He stood still, waiting to see what happens next. He placed a hand on his chest, preparing a Blizzard spell. His hand glowed green. A magical green wind radiated around him as his Blizzard spell grew more complete. The Bombs just floated there, waiting. Sonic wondered if he could handle this alone... He hoped he could, or for a miracle. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he waited for them to attack. The monsters were ugly. They were big balloons of fire and gas. Smoke rose from the bodies, making Sonic gag and even more dehydrated. Maybe this wasn\'t such a good idea. The spell ready, taking longer than usual because he\'s aiming for multiple enemies, Sonic unleashed Blizzara on all of them. They howled terror as their firery bodies were peirced and ripped apart by giant deadly sharp Ice blades. They appeared out of the air, seeming to come from the inside of them, destroying them ruthlessly. Sonic sighed as the last Bomb was ripped into smokey air and soot. The place felt a lot cooler now, which was very refreshing for Sonic. He chuckled at thinking he couldn\'t handle them. Finally, he walked on, further into the cave. He went through more areas, killing numorous Bombs that got in way. Until he stopped, dead in his tracks. To his left, arrising from the lava, was the biggest Bomb Sonic had ever seen.

Faina and Shinu had been in the Caves for hourse, trainin with Ifrit. Shinu had been kind enough to bring her in and show her how he worked with his GF's. He was truly amazing. His beasts did whatever he wanted without him saying a word. Faina was just beginning to get to that point with her one GF.

A loud noise that sounded like fighting came from somewhere in the cave, probably near the front. Faina turned and shot a look at Shinu before hurrying out the way they had come in to see if anyone was in danger.

"Damnit..." he muttered. The monster was huge. Like 20 of them put together. It cackled a laugh at him. A grumbling sound came from it. It's eyes were flaming yellow. It was about to attack.

Ifrit vanished into the thin air with that look from Faina. Shinu placed a priority on training his GFs to dismiss at his will in case he needed to get them out of harms way. Ifrit was incredible at it, and Shinu made it a point to tell him later. For now, they needed to see what was going on.

Shinu ran after Faina, she was always willing to help someone, and he liked that about her. Still, she had to learn when to let others rush in and keep her body ready to summon.

Shiva detected the presence that was unwelcome and summoned herself, something that Shinu worked on with her because she was the more responsible of her and Ifrit. He just wanted to blow everything up, and she could cool a situation down. She went on ahead, and when Shinu and Faina caught up, they could see Sonic trapped in a box of ice, Shiva's favorite move.

Okay Shiva, let it down, we know him.

Shinu gave his command in a low tone, though he knew he need speak no words for Shiva to listen to him. They had great respect for each other, and she let down the cage though she chose to remain out for now.

What are you doing here alone man? Even I won't come here with Ifrit and Shiva sometimes. How did you get past the guards?

Shiva staying out proved to be beneficial as the troublesome Joe popped his head out. Joe was an overgrown bomb that Shinu always used to train with, but he could be quite intimidating if you didn't know him. She always knew just what to do with him. An ice spear shot straight through him, pinning him against the back wall. Shinu addressed his familiar friend.

Joe you know better! Now go take a bath!

Shiva dropped the ice spear and sent him plummeting back into his lava. Joe knew better than to test Shiva and her temper.

Now, back to you.

Shinu did have to laugh for a moment, he knew it was probably weird for someone to name a fiend like that.

Faina giggled at the sight of Sonic encased in Shiva's ice box, and then downright busted out when she pinned Joe. She loved Shiva- not as much as Quenzacotl, her own GF, but still.

After calming down and wiping her eyes, she turned to Sonic. You really shouldn't be here alone. I refuse to come withou Shinu- he's obviously the braver of us too. She smiled. You didn't lie to the guards or anything, right? Because you can ger in serious trouble for that.

As Sonic stood frozen, thinking fast as to what he should do next, a wall of Ice surrounded him. Sonic felt relieved, happy, for the cold. For the Ice that made him feel so wonderful. All dangers, emotions, problems, washed away from Sonic as he closed his eyes in the cold sanctuary. After what seemed like an eternity of relaxation, he opened his eyes to see Shinu and Faina staring at him. He blinked and shook his head.
"What?" was all he could manage. He wasn't sure as to what they had said to him. He forgot all about the Bomb and where he was. The Ice was just what he needed to feel at 100%.

You certainly have a way about you Sonic.

Shinu took note of the fallen bombs around him and was quite impressed. He was at the very least more advanced than they were the first time he entered this cave.

It's clear you have some power, but using it on a suicide mission won't get you far. This is definitely not the place to be alone.

He was still a little dazed from the Ice. It was almost like his weakness. "Yeah... Sorry to make you go through any trouble mate," said Sonic. "I have a tendency to venture in places like these. What was that Ice wall I was encased in?" Hw had been wondering about that. He looked at Faina and nodded a hello. He smiled at her, then looked back to Shinu.

And so we repeat, why are you here and how did you get past the guards?

Faina realized she was standing in her "Mother stance" with her hand on her hip and her foot at an angle. She shifted to a normal position and hoped no one had noticed.

Sonic gazed stupidly at Faina. She had a sort of... mother feel coming from her. He shook his head as she was waiting for his answer.
"Well I found this cave and," he looked away guiltily, "convinced the guards to let me through."