Chapter 30: The Unsent's Fayth

The Farplane's Abyss felt strange to the Fayth as he touched down in a meadow of blue and purple flowers. Bahamut felt an overwhelming urge to release his ghostly form and rest. But his soul was trapped elsewhere, anchored within reality and bonded to an eternal summoning by a magical seal that made rest impossible. The same was true for Kaila.

"I'm looking for a soul from Zanarkand." Kaila strolled through the flowers as she spoke to the unseen spirits around them. "His name is Shuyin, and he was unsent for a time, looking for another soul named Lenne. He was a blitzball player who died in the Machina War. Has anyone seen him in their travels?"

One of a few pyreflies that lazily drifted through the air turned toward Kaila, attracted more pyreflies, and became the spirit of Master Renuta. And he didn't look happy. "Shuyin didn't die in the war. He and his girlfriend were executed in Bevelle for trying to steal Vegnagun. He is the one who sent me here, but he was wearing the body of another person. He has learned how to possess the living."

Kaila shook her head at the horrible news. "Possess the living?"

"Executed?" Bahamut echoed. "I thought they died in battle."

"She was captured. He tried to free her. I ordered their executions before they could use Vegnagun."

Bahamut's face pinched in anger and anguish. "You killed my sister?"

"Yevon intended to turn her into an abomination. And Vegnagun would have killed many more. It is an unstable weapon that could endanger all of Spira. They had no business being there!"

Tsuran's spirit came forward. "I know of a spirit that once possessed the living. I'm the one he used to murder the maester, but I was killed in the attempt to capture him."

Shocked, Kaila shook her head again. "Shuyin would never murder anyone!"

Ambassador Guregohe appeared. "He killed me, too, point blank with a rifle."

Midoriha joined them. "I was the summoner who tried to send him. I sealed him in a cavern so that he could not escape, but he killed me and my guardians trying to find a way out."

Kaila and Bahamut suddenly found themselves surrounded by spirits who claimed to have been murdered by Shuyin. "He has remained unsent all these years?" Kaila whispered on the brink of tears. "I … I can't even imagine … Something like that would … It would crush him."

Bahamut looked to the summoner who trapped Shuyin's soul. "Where can I find this cavern?"

"Mushroom Rock Road," Midoriha told them. "If you seek him out, be careful. He has probably grown stronger and more resentful over time. He's probably completely transformed into a fiend by now. I deeply regret that I was unable to finish the sending. I wanted to help him, but he possessed me. And it was the most frightening thing I've ever experienced – not being able to control my own mind or body. Your friend is no ordinary spirit. The dark emotions that bind him to his former life have given him strange magic that can make him unusually real and tangible. The wards I placed in the cavern will turn malicious intent like that into chains but have no effect on spirits like the Fayth. If you seek him out, do not disturb any wards or barriers that have been put in place, or he could cause great harm before any living summoners can even attempt to send him."

))((

Bahamut stood alone outside the sealed door of the Den of Woe. Kaila had been so distraught at the news of Shuyin's murderous deeds and eternal imprisonment that Bahamut asked her to wait in the dream until he could assess their friend's condition. Even if they couldn't use him to create another tainted aeon, they were concerned for his welfare.

An intricate lock had been placed on the door to prevent humans from disturbing the spirit trap, but that presented no barrier to the Fayth. Drawing up his courage, he walked through the solid door, ancient seals, and holy water designed to repel malevolent spirits. None of it had any effect on him, but the gloomy darkness on the other side, lit only by a cloud of pyreflies, was an incredibly disheartening environment to enter. Scattered on the floor were a few burnt-out torches, the preserved skeletons of the summoner and his guardians who set the trap, and the weapons that failed to save them from the paranormal attack. All were covered in the dust of centuries past. Apparently, no living soul had disturbed this place for nearly a thousand years. "Shuyin?"

The pyreflies did not respond, but Bahamut could sense a dark presence lurking nearby.

The boy licked his lips and continued. "Kaila and I were looking for you in the Farplane, and someone there told us we could find you here. We were hoping your memories could help us make something in the dream more real." He turned a full circle in the darkness, looking for him.

"My memories are of use to no one. Leave me alone," a voice spoke through the pyreflies. The familiar voice came from nowhere and everywhere at the same time.

Bahamut tentatively stretched a hand toward the pyreflies. "Your memories might be just what it takes to defeat Lord Yevon. He destroyed Bevelle in retaliation for what it did to Zanarkand, but his aeon, Sin, has continued destroying towns all over Spira ever since. The living are trapped in his cycle of death, so we've decided to try to help them end his rule in a different way. He makes the Fayth summon a dream Zanarkand, and we think his own magic from that dream might be able to resist and defeat him. Kaila and I figured out a way to make an illusion from the dream real. Well, not really real, but real like an aeon. So, we need to make another dream guardian to send to a real summoner, so he can be made into the Final Aeon to fight Sin and Lord Yevon. Jecht was the first, but it's too much for him to handle alone. We wanted the second one to be you, but … you have to be at rest in the Farplane for it to work."

A long pause ensued before an answer came. "Not interested."

"You'd rather stay here? Like this?" Bahamut was startled by Shuyin's sudden manifestation amid the pyreflies but relieved to see that he still looked like himself, rather than having turned into a monster.

"Who said anything about wanting to stay like this?" the blitzball player bitterly returned. "I never wanted this. I was trapped here against my will. How did you even get in?"

Bahamut backed away from Shuyin's glare and was reluctant to answer. "The summoner who set the wards said it's your own dark emotions that keep you here. If you could let go of whatever negative feelings are keeping you here, you could rest."

"I'm not resting until I've found Lenne."

"You won't find her in here."

Shuyin closed the few steps between them and lowered his voice to a sinister whisper. "Someday, some fool will open that door, the seal will be broken, and I will be free."

"It's been almost a thousand years—"

"Has it?" Shuyin laughed softly with hollow emotion. "Time means nothing to me anymore. I have all the time in the world to search until I find her."

As dark as Shuyin's heart had become, Bahamut couldn't help but admire the strength of the guardian's devotion. A thousand years, and he had not given up hope. That was the kind of determination they needed to defeat Yevon. "If you had a second chance, would you do things differently?"

"Don't you think I've wondered what would have happened if I had found the exit corridor? Or if I had hidden in the shadows with her instead of trying to use Vegnagun? Or maybe if I had just been quicker at giving the commands? If I had done just one thing differently, maybe she could have lived!"

"Shuyin, if you let go of the guilt and rest, we could offer you a second chance at life through the dream."

The malevolent spirit calmed. "You could help me save her?"

Bahamut noticed the pyreflies at the core of the unsent soul glowed with more intensity now than they did before. "We can't change what's already happened, but we can try to save someone else."

"I don't want to save anyone else! Everything I did, I did for Lenne!" Turning away, Shuyin paced with a disquieted urgency. "If I could do it over, the only thing I'd want is to get her out of Bevelle!" The spirit stopped pacing and grimaced, clutching his head. "They just keep shooting her. And she just keeps crying. And I can't stop it. I can't do anything to help!" Falling to his knees, distraught and in pain, he lifted his chin, watching a memory only he could see. "And it never ends," he added with a broken whisper followed by a tear. "It never ends."

Ghostly images appeared in the pyreflies—Shuyin's memories of his and Lenne's final moments and death played out for Bahamut to see. Her execution was shocking and emotionally wrenching for both of them. But the memory didn't fade when it ended. It started over. The boy clenched his teeth through his tears and turned away rather than watch his sister die again. "Turn it off!"

Shuyin froze the pyreflies and reached to touch Lenne's face, but his ghostly fingers passed through the phantom memory. "I can't."

"I don't want to see it again!" Bahamut cried and covered his eyes.

"I see it every day, all the time." As Shuyin stood, his memories continued around him like accelerated flashes of light. "Lenne and I were unarmed, but it didn't matter. They shot us anyway." The blitzball player circled the boy to stand before him. "Zanarkand wanted to be left alone, but it didn't matter. Bevelle attacked us anyway. Solving problems peacefully doesn't accomplish anything because if peaceful people put down their weapons, they end up conquered by aggressors. The only way for Spira to know peace is to purge the aggressors, but whoever purges the aggressors becomes an aggressor. Whoever wants to kill monsters, must become a stronger monster. That is the true cycle of death. Killing Yu Yevon won't end the madness … but killing Spira will." His expression and voice were void of emotion as he leaned forward, hands-on-knees, eye-to-eye with his young friend. "When Spira is gone, only then can all of us truly rest."

The calm, quiet manner in which Shuyin confessed those calculated thoughts sent a chill down Bahamut's spine.

"On second thought, maybe I am interested in your offer." Shuyin straightened. "Lord Yevon was next on my list because he's the one that sent Lenne out there to die in the first place. Get me out of here, and I'll help you take him down."

Bahamut badly wanted Shuyin's aid. But not like this. "Not unless you agree to be sent."

"I am not resting until I find Lenne," Shuyin firmly repeated.

"I can't send an unsent guardian to a summoner," Bahamut answered, drying his tears.

"So, after offering me freedom and a chance to make things right, you're going to just walk away and leave me imprisoned here?" The malevolent spirit grabbed the boy's arm. "I don't think so."

Bahamut gasped at how real and strong Shuyin's hold was. Panicked about what the unsent spirit might be capable of doing to him, the boy shifted into his dragon form. The dragon spirit wasn't nearly as strong as a fully manifested aeon summoned into reality, but it was larger and stronger than the spirit of a human. Grabbing Shuyin's shoulder to hold him in place, Bahamut thrust his hand through the blitzball player's chest and grasped his soul.

Shuyin cried out and tried to push the dragon's hand away, but the pain was too great.

Bahamut could sense the light and dark emotions in his friend's torn soul. The light half still hoped to escape, find Lenne, and rest in peace—a testimony to Shuyin's perseverance, faith, and optimism. But the dark half had been poisoned with hatred, resentment, and helplessness so thick and tangible Bahamut had only one other experience like it—Sin. Giving his "big brother" an apologetic look, the dragon used his talons to sever a small portion of the lighter half of Shuyin's soul. Then he quickly transformed back into a boy and ran for the warded door.

Shuyin ran after him, but the glyphs repelled him, conjuring magical chains that caught his wrists and ankles. The malevolent spirit shouted with rage as he pulled his chains taut and strained against them. "I won't forget this, Bahamut! When I'm free again, so help me, I'll find you!"

On the other side of the door, the frightened boy looked down through his tears at the small, glowing cluster of pyreflies in his hand. The tiny sliver of Shuyin's soul had passed through the wards, so Bahamut knew it was free of Sin's toxin. Maybe it would be enough to accomplish their goal. Maybe in time, it could grow. But for Shuyin, losing even a little hope probably felt like being entombed a second time. "Forgive me, Shu," Bahamut whispered to the angry spirit threatening him behind the warded door. Then, drying his tears again, the boy carried the captured pyreflies back to the dream.

))((

With sad disbelief, Kaila stared at the small glow Bahamut transferred gently into her hands. "This is all that's left of him?"

"No, it's just a few pyreflies from the deeper part of his soul. But we can't use Shuyin's memories, since he refuses to enter the Farplane and rest. And we can't risk giving an unsent guardian to a summoner." Bahamut lowered his voice, as if afraid of being overheard by the cluster of pyreflies cupped between them. "He wants to destroy Spira, Kaila."

"We can't let him use the dream illusion to free himself so he can hurt more people."

"I know. But I thought … Maybe if we fuse our own memories with these pyreflies that absorbed more of who he is at his essential core ..."

"If this is part of him, wouldn't it also be unsent?"

"Technically, yes. But it passed through the protective wards, so it's not tainted with the feelings of revenge that are keeping him chained."

"What if he can reclaim it? Jecht had dreams in the Farplane about what his illusion was doing in reality. If Shuyin dreams about what his illusion is doing in reality, he might be able to reconnect with it and enter reality the same way Jecht did. We'll have to find some way to disconnect them ... permanently … if that's even possible."

Bahamut paced and gave it some thought. "Jecht's illusion had no soul, but we used his memories. This illusion will have a bit of Shuyin's soul, but it will be made from our memories. But you're right; we should make sure Shuyin's soul can't feed his own memories into it."

"Maybe we could ripple the dream enough to erase Shuyin's memories, or at least rearrange them. Jecht forgot that he drowned until I mentioned it. He didn't actually lose the memory, but when we changed his pattern to live beyond his point of death, the new stuff covered it up."

"But we don't want to cover up all of Shuyin's bad memories. Some bad experiences help us grow stronger and shape us into who we are," Bahamut reminded her.

Kaila looked again at the seed of light cradled in her hands. "True. There is at least one painful memory he must keep to prevent him from turning out like Lady Yunalesca. His hate and resentment toward his dad must stay completely in-tact ... because of what he has to do." She saddened for their new illusion, though he wasn't even created yet. "He's going to have to kill his own father, Bahamut. Poor, Shu. I wish he could start over somehow and have a better life the second time around, you know?"

Bahamut stopped scrutinizing the ground and lifted his chin. "Maybe he can. Maybe if we back up far enough, we can rewrite his story. How old was he when you first met?"

She smiled, remembering. "Four. Shuyin, Koji, and I took our first swim lessons together, but he cried because he was afraid of the water."

He blinked at that unlikely claim. "Shuyin? Afraid of water? You're kidding."

Kaila laughed. "I'll show you." Together they went to the community pool, and Kaila recalled her memory of her first meeting with Shuyin.

Just as Jecht and his son arrived, however, Bahamut stopped time. "Let's put his soul in this memory and see what happens. Oh, and you should probably remove yourself and your brother from the picture. I'll remove myself and Lenne if we make it that far. Shuyin's loyalty is so strong that his relationships here might interfere with the illusion's ability to form attachments in reality. He might try to come home, like Jecht did, rather than doing whatever it takes to protect his summoner and any new friends out there."

Kaila sighed. "This is going to be harder than I thought, but I suppose you're right." After removing herself and her brother from the projected memory, she crouched in front of little Shuyin and smiled at how sweet he looked back then. However, the fragile cluster of magic in her hand puzzled her. "I can summon pyreflies to recall memories, but … I don't know anything about summoning souls."

"Let me try." Bahamut had no memories of Shuyin at this age, but he knew a little about how to call souls and shape pyreflies, thanks to the apprentice training and natural talent he had before he died. Taking the soul seed from her, he suspended it above the head of the small boy from Kaila's memory. Then, he gently moved the pyreflies from Shuyin's real soul down into the pyreflies of the illusion and cast a summoning spell to fuse them together.

Kaila moved to stand before her memory once more but was puzzled again. "Something's … different. It looks like him, but it's not exactly him. He's still Shuyin, right?"

Bahamut studied the slightly new features of the soul-infused illusion. "I don't know," he admitted. "It's your memory. Did my magic change it? Or maybe you don't remember him as good as you thought you did."

"Pfft!" Kaila frowned, hands-on-hips. "Nothing's wrong with my memory. I remember everything about him, right down to his freckles."

"Freckles?" Bahamut made a face and took a closer look at the little boy's face. Shuyin's nose and cheeks were lightly dusted with tiny freckles. "Huh." After giving Kaila a curious glance, which embarrassed her enough to make her step back, he released his hold on time and watched the boy walked through them to sign in with the swim instructor.

When Jecht was done speaking with the instructor, he crouched before the boy. "Do what she says, and no crying. I mean it. You're the king of the tidal waves, remember? King Tidus! Compared to tides, pools are easy. I'll be sitting over there." He took the boy's towel, gave his back a light push, and slapped his backside to send him on his way." Then, he headed to the benches near the wall where the other parents were seated.

The small boy watched his dad leave. Then, head hung low, he walked to the end of the line formed by other children sitting along the side of the pool and sat down by himself.

The rest of the lesson followed as Kaila remembered it, and Bahamut was amused to see just how much the future blitzball star used to fear water. However, this time no one offered little Shuyin candy when he was done. No one befriended him. And he walked away from the lesson shaken, rather than hopeful. "He looks so lonely and resentful," she commented as father and son left.

"It can't be helped. Not with Jecht." Bahamut stopped time to take another look at the little boy's face. "But he's acting like a four-year-old, rather than a trapped, unsent spirit." He smiled as he marveled at their creation. "Do you realize what this means?"

"It means we can alter a soul's memories, just like an illusion's."

"It means he's almost a whole new person! He looks different, acts different, will have different memories—"

"We can't make a new person out of Shuyin's soul," Kaila protested. "Our souls are the essence of who we are. Besides, we want him to retain his sense of self so he can resist Yevon."

"He's still Shuyin deep down. This is just a ... a new version of him. A neo-genesis!"

"Neo-what?" She didn't like the sound of that.

"Shuyin's pattern is still there because it's his soul, but we can give him new memories—a whole new beginning—rather than making him pick up where he died, like what happened with Jecht."

"But ... it will take a long time for Shuyin to live his life all over again. And we don't have much time before Sin starts picking targets again."

"We can use the time flow to speed things up a bit." Bahamut released time to see if any other ripples had been created due to their subtle alteration.

"Let's go, Tidus!" Jecht impatiently growled.

The boy balanced on one prune-wrinkled foot to inspect the bottom of the other for a moment.

"Any day now!" He called again in warning.

The boy ran on his toes across the rough tile to the door where his dad was waiting, and they exited the building together.

"Tidus," Kaila repeated the nickname his father had called him. "If he is someone new and different, he deserves a new name."

"Agreed. We can ripple the dream to erase all references to Shuyin and replace them with Tidus," Bahamut suggested.

Kaila smiled, but then her eyes suddenly widened. "Oh my gosh! I just realized my memories stop after they leave the pool! If we lose the illusion, will we lose his soul, too?"

Bahamut hadn't considered the continuity problem with working out of Kaila's memories, rather than Shuyin's. Both of them ran out of the building, anxious to see if Shuyin's soul disappeared with his illusion, but to their surprise, Jecht and Tidus were both existing beyond her memory. Father and son stepped inside the transport to go home.

"I don't understand." Kaila was mystified. "How …"

"Shuyin's soul is supplying his own memories." Bahamut realized this was what they feared. "We'll definitely need to keep an eye on Tidus to make sure he remains a separate person."

"So, if he starts remembering he's Shuyin, we're in trouble, right?"

Bahamut remembered the way the unsent spirit threatened him and nodded in uneasy agreement. "Big trouble."

))((

Auron's ghost stood alone on the coast of the Zanarkand ruins and watched as Sin basked silently in the calm seas. "It's been ten long years," he spoke as he strode into the water. "But I haven't forgotten." Diving into the waves, he swam toward the beast, determined to get close enough to touch it.

Sin turned on him and thrashed, stirring up turbulent waves to keep him away.

Struggling against the dangerous waves, Auron dove underneath Sin and grabbed onto the creature's fin. As the toxin washed over him dragged him through an insane range of emotions, his awareness faded in and out several times until he lost consciousness.

When Auron awakened, he was alone on a strange, clouded path covered in spiraling magical wards that included many symbols of the Temple of Yevon. Shaking his head to clear his senses, he stood and looked around. The foggy, surreal landscape seemed to exist endlessly in all directions. Was he dreaming? Or was this place real? "Jecht!"

"Auron, you old stick in the mud! It's good to see you again!" The blitzball player materialized, laughing and grasping both of his shoulders in a hearty greeting. "Woah, looks like you had an unforgiving run-in with something nasty. Where'd you get that big ol' scar down your face?"

"A token from an argument with Lady Yunalesca. I went back to hold her accountable after you left and Braska died."

Jecht's smile faded. "And you didn't survive it."

Rather than admitting defeat, Auron looked at their strange surroundings. "What is this place? Is this the Farplane?"

"You're inside Sin, but this is as far as you go, old friend. Beyond this point, the fiends absorbed by Sin get bigger and nastier than anything found in the Zanarkand Ruins."

"I've waited a whole decade for you to resurface so I could keep my promise. If you were right about Sin being the key to your Zanarkand—"

"I was right. Just not quite the way I imagined." Jecht explained his death, resurrection, and encounter with the Fayth as he led Auron back down the path toward Sin's mouth, rather than inviting him further into the beast's inner world of chaos.

))((

Bahamut watched quietly from the pier as young Tidus placed his foot on his blitzball to position it just right.

Tidus backed up and took a short run to kick it, but he missed and fell down, instead. Standing up, he stared at the ball with a discouraged sigh. He didn't notice that his father had come onto the deck beside him until Jecht ridiculed the boy, mocking his inability to do his signature shot. The blitzball pro showed the boy the right way to do it, but Tidus turned his back. Steaming silently to himself, the boy went inside, straight to the digital screens to see what programs were on. Jecht's illusion disappeared from the deck since Tidus was no longer there to sustain it.

Bahamut saw Kaila and Valefor coming toward him and froze time. "Jecht really was a jerk. No wonder Shuyin hated him."

"True. But Jecht was fun, too. Where do you think Shuyin got his sense of humor?" Kaila tried to smile at the paradox.

"How is Tidus's timeline coming along?" he asked.

"Well, I found his mother's memories and backed up to change his name at birth, so everyone will know him only as Tidus. I left most of the unimportant stuff alone, but there are a few memories I felt needed to be cut. It's unavoidable that he will have gaps where I spliced out memories, but even real people don't actively remember everything that happened to them. So, maybe he won't notice."

"On this end, he's still following a solid pattern, and we've filled in enough of the world around him that he hasn't questioned whether it's real or not. He's seven now, by the way." Bahamut paused and noticed the girls seemed to be in a rather somber mood. "Is something wrong?"

The girls looked at each other, then Valefor spoke. "Remember Lord Braska's daughter? She's decided to become a summoner, like her father. She began her final level of apprenticeship training today, and ... I think she's strong enough to do it."

"Yuna?" Bahamut smiled, remembering Braska's little girl.

"She lives in Besaid now," Valefor informed him.

Kaila faced the cabin door. "Do you think ... maybe Yuna would accept Tidus as her guardian, the way her father so easily accepted Jecht?"

"Did you have any other summoner in mind for him?" Valefor asked.

Bahamut sat down on the deck and gave this serious consideration. "Since their fathers made the pilgrimage together, it's worth a try. Keep me updated on her progress, okay? Tidus will have to grow up quickly if we are to get him ready in time to do this."

"You're putting a lot of heart into this, Bahamut." Valefor smiled. "I'm sure it will be worth one more try."

"Maybe I can help," an unfamiliar, fourth voice offered.

All three Fayth turned around and were surprised to be joined by Auron and Jecht. Valefor looked at Auron's scar with worry. "But, you're ..."

"Unsent," he confirmed her suspicion. "But not all unsent spirits are malevolent. Some of us just have promises to keep."

Grinning, Jecht slapped a hand onto Auron's shoulder. "He made a promise to watch over my boy, and now the bastard has come all this way intending to keep it."

"Where's the boy?" Auron asked.

The three Fayth glanced at each other, unsure of what to say.

"Shuyin died during the Machina War, but Tidus is inside the houseboat," Bahamut finally answered. "Tidus is an illusion made from part of Shuyin's soul. It's complicated because they come from the same soul, but we want to keep them apart, like two different people." Bahamut faced Jecht. "Tidus is still your son, but please, don't say anything about Shuyin in his presence. In his world, there is no Shuyin. There is only Tidus. He will find out the truth about himself when the time is right, but until then, we need him to believe he is real."

Jecht nodded in understanding and looked at the cabin door, knowing his son was on the other side. So close, yet so far away. "There will be time enough for a reunion when this is over. Let me know when he's ready. It's getting more difficult to break away from Yevon's control, so I need him to end it. Understand? Oh, and ... maybe give him this." He unstrapped his longsword from his back and passed it to Auron. "I don't really need it anymore, but ... he will." The blitzball legend took one last look at the door, and then his spirit faded from view, leaving the dream.

Bahamut looked at Auron, who remained. "Well, looks like we have a big ripple on the way. Shuyin didn't know you. How can we get Tidus to accept you as his guardian?"

Auron looked down at the red-and-black-bladed sword in his hands. "I've waited for ten years. I can lay low a little longer until I'm needed."

"Actually," Kaila spoke, "if Tidus is seven, Jecht won't be around much longer. And after his father leaves, his mother will follow. Since Koji won't be there for him this time, he could use a friend after that, so he doesn't suffer alone."

))((

Jecht had been missing for two weeks, but, as if nothing were amiss, Tidus went out on the pier to practice volleying his blitzball. Auron watched the boy for a few minutes from across the dock, where he stood with Kaila and Bahamut. Then, he glanced between them and headed toward his mission. "Tidus?"

The boy dropped the ball and looked up at the stranger with worry as he bent to stop it from rolling away. "Yeah?"

Auron tried to smile at the youngster in a non-threatening manner. "You're Jecht's son, right?"

Worry immediately shifted into tolerant displeasure as Tidus lifted his ball and stood. "Yeah."

"I have a message for your mother. Is she home?"

"Yeah."

The warrior monk nodded and headed for the door.

"Wait! You can't just walk into my house. My mom's not feeling well."

Auron was surprised at the runt's protective assertion. "She's upset that your father's missing."

"Yeah." If it weren't for a change of tone in each response, the boy's repetitive answers would have sounded like a recorded loop.

The unsent spirit crouched to meet the golden-headed boy's big blue eyes. He could see Jecht in Tidus's expressions, though he shared nothing of his father's dark features. "May I see her anyway? My message is rather urgent."

"Well, then, maybe you should tell me, and I can tell her."

"It's also very private. For her ears only."

The boy frowned. "Who are you?"

"You can call me Auron. I'm a friend of your father … from ... many years back."

"I never saw my dad hang out with you."

"I knew him in a different place and time. Before you existed."

The boy's expression softened. "Do you know where he is?"

Auron pressed his lips together and chose his words carefully. "I know that wherever he is, he wouldn't want his wife and son to think he just walked away and forgot about them."

Tidus stared at the big scar that permanently closed one of the man's eyes.

It wasn't hard for Auron to guess what held the boy's rapt attention. "I guess I look pretty scary, huh? I can't blame you for being cautious, but I won't hurt your mother. Promise. I just want to talk. I'll wait here, and you can bring her to me if you prefer."

"Okay, but you wait right here." Tidus adamantly pointed to the pier.

Auron was humored the authoritative command and nodded in agreement. "Right here."

Tidus walked away but looked over his shoulder with suspicion a couple of times before he disappeared inside the houseboat. A few minutes later, he came back out, followed by a woman with blue eyes and light brown hair that looked as if it might have been as blond as the boy's when she was younger.

"Yes?" Dannae approached with hesitation. Her features looked gaunt yet swollen … a grieving young widow and mother on the brink of despair now that her husband's disappearance had turned her life upside down.

Seeing her condition and glancing at the boy again, Auron sighed with a heavy heart at the burden he had agreed to bear. "I'm sorry to disturb you. My name is Auron. I was a friend of Jecht's."

"Dannae," she introduced herself, and a hint of a glow returned to her faded eyes and cheeks. "Have you ... heard from him, by any chance? Do you know where he is?"

"I was hoping we could talk privately."

"Yes, please. Come inside." Dannae opened the door for Auron. The boy started to follow them in, but she cut him off at the door. "Tidus, stay out here for now, okay. I need to talk to Auron alone."

"But—"

The door closed.

))((

The boy growled under his breath and stomped to the upper deck, hoping they heard every step through the ceiling. Then, he planted his blitzball and sat on it, dropping his chin into his hands with a stank-eye pout.

Kaila couldn't help but snicker as she and Bahamut approached to await and counter any extenuating ripples due to Auron's intervention. "I'm sorry. I know this is no laughing matter, but that was sooo Shuyin. Makes me want to squeeze his chubby little cheeks." She laughed with an accompanying gesture.

Bahamut glanced flatly at his fellow Fayth, excitement for their creation now replaced by academic, studious intent. "Resist."

Kaila's hands fell to her sides, but she answered the reprimand with a flat frown of her own before folding her arms and smiling with pride at their creation's likeness to their model. Then she sighed. "It makes me miss him, you know?"

"I know," the boy at her side somberly agreed.

))((

Inside the houseboat, Auron followed Dannae to the sofa and sat down next to her. Her eyes longed for any news on her husband, and Auron found himself wondering how much he should say to ease her mind. "What I'm about to tell you is strictly confidential. You can't even tell your son, but I want to put your worry to rest. Jecht told me that he went to train in the ocean and touched Sin."

"Sin?"

"Sin is ... a monster, of sorts, made from the souls of the dead. It lives under the waters off the coast of Zanarkand. Sin pulled Jecht out of your world and into mine."

"Your … world? Are you … an alien race like the ronso, or …"

Auron allowed himself to dispel some of his pyreflies for a moment, revealing that he was a ghost.

Dannae gasped and clamored off of the sofa.

"Don't be afraid … please." Auron recast his illusion. "I'm here to help. Jecht often thought of Tidus and you, and his last wish was that his son be taken care of. So, I'm here to offer my services to you for that purpose. If there is anything you need—anything at all, for yourself or him—please don't hesitate to ask."

Hand cupped to her mouth, Dannae tried to hold back any forthcoming tears. "Is he really gone? Are you certain Jecht is ... is ...?"

"He died honorably, defeating Sin so that everyone else could be safe for a time." Auron unstrapped the longsword sheath that he carried next to his own and passed it to her. "He said to give this to his son. Since he knew he couldn't come back, he asked me to watch over him. So, I promised I would."

Dannae accepted the familiar sword and allowed the tears to fall, but wiped them away as quickly as they came. "Tidus hates his father. He will hate you since you are Jecht's friend."

"I'm prepared to accept that."

She broke into sobs. "Without Jecht, how will I ever ... I can't take care of our son alone."

"You must. He needs his mother now more than ever."

Dannae managed to quiet her emotion for a moment. "Thank you ... Auron. Please visit as often as you like. My home is your home."

"I'll check in now and then to see if you need anything." Seeing that she needed to be with her grief, Auron stood and headed back outside. Now came the hard part.

Auron didn't see the boy until he turned around and discovered he was being glared at from the boat's upper deck. "Tidus, you should stay out here for a bit longer. Your mother needs to be alone for a few minutes."

"Well, I told you that when you came here."

Auron sighed. The boy already had his father's headstrong attitude. After a moment of questioning his own sanity for promising to take care of Mini-Jecht, he decided the only way to say this was to just say it. "I'm going to be helping your mother take care of you, now that your dad's gone. So, if there's anything you need—"

"What!" The boy stood up in protest. "I don't want a new dad. I don't even know you."

"I'm not trying to take the place of your dad."

"Then, stop dating my mom."

Auron's brow quirked at the saucy retort. "I'm not dating your mom. I promised your dad I'd watch over you."

"Well, I didn't need him! So, I don't need you!"

"Not your decision, I'm afraid," the warrior monk firmly countered.

"Mooooooom!" Tidus ran down the stairs, intending to talk some sense into his mother. Then, he turned around and ran back up to grab his ball before the strange man could do anything to it. After giving the warrior monk a puckered glare, the boy ran down to the lower deck again and went inside, banging the front door behind him.

Kaila and Bahamut drew near with doubtful expressions.

Auron sat down on one of the steps, unhooked the jug of nog hanging from his belt, and took a sip. "Well, that went over well, don't you think?"