We'd been trekking across the farplane for hours. Jecht and Auron had long since stopped talking and focused their energy on reaching our destination instead. We followed Auron, since it seemed like he knew where we were going. But to be honest, it didn't look like we were getting anywhere. The landscape didn't change. It was almost like we were walking in place.
I couldn't take it anymore.
"Where are we going?"
Auron continued walking. He didn't bother to turn around when he answered. "The edge of the waterfalls. Where the flowers end." The waterfalls were ahead of us, but it seemed like we were going nowhere. We should have reached them by now. But then again, i didn't know how the farplane worked, so i shut my mouth.
Five minutes later though. Jecht was talking too.
"Something's wrong, Auron."
Auron nodded. "I know."
He stopped walking.
Jecht and i stopped right behind him.
"Stay here." He told us, and continued towards the falls.
We watched him go. "What do you think he's doing?" I asked jecht.
My father shrugged and sat down on the grass. "Dunno, but he's never steered me wrong before. I trust him." He stretched out and layed back. He looked peaceful. "This place...reminds me a bit of Zanarkand. Know what i mean?" He closed his eyes. I could feel it too. Somthing about the air. It was the same air i breathed in Zanarkand. And it wasn't just the air. When i closed my eyes i almost felt like i was home. And him being here only made me feel even more nostalgic. "So," i started. "Your back. "
Jecht stared at me for a moment and snorted. "What, you gonna cry about it?"
"That's not funny."
"Hmph." He scratched his head and turned to the sky. "Yeah. I'm back."
I sat on the grass next to him. What kind of conversation do you have with the father that was missing from your life for 10 years? I was smarter now. I knew that his being missing wasn't his fault, but it didn't make this situation any less awkward. It may have not been his fault, but that didn't change the fact that he was still the same Jecht-the same father-I'd known as a kid. "I saw the spheres you left behind." I said slowly. "The ones you left for me to find." He shifted around uncomfortably. "Hm. I uh.... i never really thought you'd find em'. To be honest, i never thought I'd make it back home." He sighed. "Guess i wasn't wrong either." I watched him. He seemed nervous, talking to me. "Was i the only person you left them for.... or was it also for...."
"They were for your mother and you." he paused. "I'd always hoped you and your mother would find em'. I didn't want you two to think that I'd just up and left like that. I may be an asshole sometimes but... but I'd never..." he stopped. "How's your mother?" I looked toward the sunset colored sky. The farplane never ceased to amaze me. It held some sort of magic in it, something that almost made you feel that miracles were possible. That maybe...it was possible for me to see mother again. "She's dead." I said simply, because i couldn't bring myself to phrase it any better. I knew it was childish, but something in me still blamed him for it.
He started. "she-?!"
The look of pain that crossed his face in that split second told me how much he cared about her, and i almost regretted saying it so harshly. But a second later later his expression settled, and whatever he was going to say went unspoken. He composed himself and stared at the sky. He didn't say anything else. He didn't have too-the water forming at the corners of his eyes said it all. I didn't look. I wouldn't acknowledge the first tears I'd ever seen my father shed. I layed back next to him and we watched the pyreflies together.
* * * * *
Moments later, Auron returned.
"Where'd you go?" Jecht gruffed. Apparently he'd already returned to his usual self.
"To the farplane . It's not that far from here."
I sat up. "Aren't we already in the farplane?" I asked.
"We're in the entrance to the farplane. The actual farplane is beyond the waterfalls." He gestured to the massive falls that surrounded us like walls. "That, is where the true farplane resides."
I cocked my head to the side. "So how the hell do we get in there?"
"You'll see." He looked to Jecht. "I want you two to go ahead without me, in the direction i just left."
What? He wanted us to leave him? "What about you?"
"I'll be fine. Just go."
Jecht was already up and stretching out. "Come on, boy. Gettin' sick of these damn flowers any way. They're makin' my allergies act up." He wiped his eye. Allergies, huh. Yeah, right. Whatever. We took off in the direction Auron had come from.
Jecht stayed ahead of me. He hid it well from Auron, but i could tell he was still getting over what i told him. I decided to ignore it, since he wouldn't accept any comforting words from me anyway. A few minutes of running later, we saw a speck in the distance. "What's that?" I asked between breaths. I wasn't to tired from running, but i wasn't used to it either. Running and swimming were two different things. "Dunno." He answered. "Let's find out." We picked up speed.
Two minutes later, the object was right in front of us. "What the...?" Jecht mumbled. He slowed down. I didnt stop running until i was right up on it.
"Okay..." i panted, hands on my knees. "What..is going...on?"
Auron stood in front of me, in the exact stance he'd taken when we first left.
we'd somehow ended up in the exact same place we started.
He didn't start talking until Jecht caught up.
"What's going on." Jecht growled. He hadn't even broken a sweat.
"The farplane is a place for the dead." Auron stated. "Since you two aren't dead, I believe this is It's way of denying you entrance."
"So how do we get in?" I asked. This whole situation was getting more and more complicated.
"I'm going to try and cast a stop spell around the area to freeze whatever's causing this. The spell won't last too long so we'll have to start moving as soon as it's cast. Be ready."
Once Auron was done casting, we took off. The farplane had come to a complete stop. The pyreflies hung frozen in midair, and even though they weren't solid, it was a little unnerving to be running straight through them. Auron and Jecht ran side-by-side ahead of me. I wasn't too far behind though. In a matter of minutes, we'd closed the distance between us and the falls.
"You mean to tell me they were that close?!" Jecht yelled.
"Keep going. We're not there yet."
When we were ten feet from the falls, the spell broke.
"RUN!" Auron urged.
We pushed forward, and suddenly the ground shook. "What the hell is that?!" Jecht yelled. The farplane rumbled, like something was literally moving the ground up under us. I tripped and stumbled to the ground. The falls were dead infront of me, but the grounds severe shaking was so disorienting i couldn't move. I heard Jecht stumble behind me.
"Something's coming up!" He screamed. The ground split into massive pieces and a huge blue light bursted from the ground. I shielded my eyes. "What is that thing?!" Auron was the only one left standing, though barely. "Stand your ground!" He yelled.
The light shot into the sky and twisted back towards us. Somehow, the creature had brought night with it. The sky was suddenly ink black with a few scarce stars speckling it. The creature hung in midair for a moment, and when it paused, you could see that it was a large horned dragon of some kind. White eyes turned to us, and the dragon spoke.
"I am the gaurdian of the farplane. You two, who attempt to invade these sacred lands are not permitted to enter here. Leave!" It's massive snake like body slithered through the air as it hovered.
Auron watched it catiously, his hand on the handle of his blade. But me....okay fighting monsters? I'm cool with that. Fighting huge gaurdian dragons? Not so much. But fighting huge gaurdian dragons without any weapons? I glanced at Jecht. It was just as i thought. Since we were both brought back from non-existance, we were both left weaponless. This wasn't going to work. The only one capable of fighting was Auron.
I started to tell him that when Jecht stood up and looked at the beast. "What, you think you can stop us? We ain't goin goin anywhere punk!"
I don't think i ever hated my father more than i did in that moment.
The beast dove at us. Me and jecht jumped out of the way and it drove itself straight at Auron. Auron had his blade out and blocked the impact, but the dragon still pushed him back. His grip was faltering. Jecht and i ran at it and shouldered it off of him. It shrieked and pulled back. "Duck!" Yelled Auron. The dragon twisted and whipped it's tail at us. Auron and Jecht ducked, but i wasn't so lucky.
The tail smashed into my gut and knocked the air out of me. I choked and doubled over. It flung it's tail at me a second time, but Jecht pulled me out of the way.
Auron swung his sword and sliced off the tip of it.
It screamed as it's tail recoiled, and shot into the air.
"This is the end for you, pitiful beings! Die!"
His mouth pulsed with a blinding light. An orb the size of a blitz ball welled up infront of him. Suddenly, dozens off them formed themselves around him. He shrieked, and they all descended upon us.
We wouldn't make it. We couldn't dodge them all. The first ball came tumbling at us, but my stomach was throbbing and i couldn't move. Jecht shouldered me out of the way and took my place. "NO!" Auron ran for him.
"Dad, move!" I screamed, but it was to late. The blast had met him dead on.
And then... the strangest thing happened.
The ball flew back into the air and smacked the dragon in the face. And my dad, my dad was standing there, grinning like an idiot. "Did he just...did he just kick that thing?" I asked incredulously.
"That's Jecht for you." Auron started swinging at the other blasts.
"What the are you doin' boy? Are you gonna stand there like an idiot or are you gonna help me?"
I ran next to my father and we sent blast after blast back at the creature. We battled it back with a barrage of Jecht shots and flew up to escape. I stopped to catch my breath.
"Your crazy," i rasped. "You know that, right?"
Auron shifted into fighting stance. "No time for chit chat. Its coming back." The beast had circled back and was barreling at us at full force. Auron readied his blade, but even he'd be blown back by that hit. He neared us. I made a split second decision and jumped on the creatures head. It bucked and i yanked at it's horns, forcing it to turn. Two seconds later, we were airborne. It whipped me around like a rag doll, and i clung to the horns like my life depended on it. cuz, well, it did.
"Steer him back over here and let go!" Auron shouted. I didn't think. I pulled at the creatures horns and aimed his head at Auron.
Auron stood his ground, his sword sheathed. "Let go! he shouted when we were three feet from him. I did what he said and jumped back, right before Auron grappled a horn. "Jecht, now!' Jecht whipped around, grabbing the other horn, and together they put the creature in a massive pile driver.
"Whoa."
The crunch could be heard for miles.
It's body crumpled. The light it gave off dimmed and it scales shattered into glass.
"Is it dead?" I asked. "Unconscious." Auron replied. He dropped his side of the head, and it crashed into the ground with a thud. Jecht still held his side. "You want me to snap this things neck?" he asked, lifting it up. Auron rinsed his bloodied sword in the waterfalls and groaned. "It's a gaurdian of the farplane, jecht. Killing it would just be plain stupid."
"And if it comes back, then what? You want me to fight this thing again?" They went on bickering and i tuned them out. The massive dragon lay unconscious at their feet. The head was bigger than all of us combined, and they'd pile-drived it. I shivered. Just how strong were Braska's gaurdians? "Your daydreaming." Auron's voice broke me out of my thoughts. "I wasn't. I was just.. " "i said it's time to go. You coming?" I scratched my head "well yeah, but where?" He pointed at the falls. "Down."
"You want me to go down the falls?!" I yelled.
Suddenly, we heard a huge splash. Jecht had kicked the body of the deity down the falls. Auron sighed.
"What? 'Least i didn't kill it."
"That fall leads to the farplane."
He glanced down it. "Oops... So all we gotta do is jump down there, right?" I glared at him. Were they serious? "Are you crazy? I'm not doing that!" I yelled. "What if there's nothing but rocks down there?" He shrugged. "Then at least i'll go out like a man. Your actin' like a baby right now. I don't remember raisin' any babies." He looked at the both of us. "See you at the bottom." He said, before jumping down the falls. I never even knew they went down past the flowers. I'd always assumed they just stopped. I glanced at the direction my father jumped. an audible splash echoed from the falls and I backed up. I wasn't as crazy as my father."Prove there's more than just rocks down there." I said to Auron. The x gaurdian glared at me. I didn't care. I wasn't budging on this one.
"Okay," he said finally. "Look over there." I glanced in the direction he was pointing. "I don't see-"
He pushed me in.