It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.

--- Dickens

Otherworld: Year Ten

It had rained hard for most of the night, the winter storm blowing across the city in a rushing wall of dark violence, then just before dawn it had dissipated just as suddenly, pushed by a gusting off-shore wind. And now the sun was rising... its radiance shafting down through the tattered gray clouds to glint off the rain-slicked pavement at Auron's feet, his bootfalls splashing through the shallow puddles left by the precipitation.

The Blitzer stood alone on the foredeck of the houseboat, stretching and yawning, looking out across the water to the rosy-hued skyline. Auron slowed his pace as he took in the sight of Tidus waiting there for him, suddenly realizing that this was the last time he would see the teen as he was now. This time tomorrow, there would be the media along with the fans it created, jostling for position to get an interview or glimpse of the young rookie. There would be no quiet mornings for them after today.

"Did you get any sleep?" Auron asked as he approached, knowing full-well how wound up the boy had been this past week.

"Not a lot, but enough I guess." Tidus replied, turning from the view.

"You'll be fine." Auron intoned, his steady gaze fixed on Tidus for a moment, then tilting his head back to look at the mottled sky.

"Sure you want to come? It's going to be a long day, and I know how much you hate just warming the bleachers." Tidus said with a smirk.

"While you're busy showing-off in the water, there are fees to be paid, waivers to be signed, various forms to be filled out... need I continue?"

"Um, no... I get it." Tidus replied sheepishly, then smiled at Auron, a look of gratitude in his lamp-blue eyes that surprised his guardian with its understanding and sincerity.

Was it possible the boy had begun the journey toward becoming a man? He thought perhaps it was.

"Let's go." Auron nodded, his breath a brief whiteness as he turned, Tidus falling quickly into step at his side, grinning at the older man as he noticed Auron's glasses had fogged up, then turned his thoughts to the challenge that awaited him, as they strode silently through the steam clouds that had begun to rise from the surface of the roadway, their shapes folding into the obscuring embrace.

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

Auron knocked in a familiar pattern, then opened the door and came down the entry-stairs... pulling his glasses off as he descended, then lowered himself beside Breese on the seating platform.

Breese looked at him expectantly, wringing her hands in impatience. "Well... did he make it?"

"Yes, he made it. Tidus is now a member of the Zanarkand Abes." Auron replied, laying his glasses on a nearby table and raising his hand to the bridge of his nose to press his thumb and forefinger against it in weariness.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Breese exclaimed, patting her knees in satisfaction. Then her eyes became distant as her face changed with her next thought... "I wish they could be here to see this."

Auron dropped his hand to his lap and met Breese's eyes, his expression telling her that he did too.

Breese smiled then, and brought them both back to the present with a question... "When will the super-star be home? Since I'm only here three days a week now, my schedule is tight. I was going to start some laundry, but I'll do some cooking if he's on his way."

"Do not bother yourself with that. He is attending the team party, where he will undoubtedly sate himself with pizza and other equally healthy things, into the wee hours." Auron explained flatly.

"Ah, to be that young again." Breese said, laughing.

"Mmm." Was Auron's comment as he reached into his robe and pulled out a small, handheld machina. "I wish for you to have this, Breese. It is a device that will enable Tidus or you to reach me wherever I may be, as well as alert the authorities in an emergency. There is a built-in tutorial on its use and features here." Auron finished, pointing to the tiny menu screen on the metal rectangle as he handed it to Breese.

"Why should we need this?" Breese asked with a frown, turning the sleek gadget over in her hands.

Auron's head turned to look out through the large windows, his eye raking across the florescent glow of the city beyond the glass. "Things could get... complicated, as a result of Tidus' newfound status."

"I never thought of that," Breese said, following Auron's gaze for a moment then dropping her eyes to the digital-lifeline in her hands... "Pretty high-tech stuff, where did you get this?"

"From a friend, one with a favor owed him by the enforcers." Auron explained with a note of rough amusement.

"Do you have one of these too?"

"Right here." Auron answered, patting a hand against one side of his robe.

Breese smiled warmly at the man next to her. "You've been wonderful, Auron... always being here when needed and knowing the right thing to do. It's not so easy for me anymore, keeping up with that rascal."

"No Breese, it is you that has been wonderful. Tidus is a handful at best. Your patience and the sacrifices you have made, the care you have shown for the boy... you have my utmost respect and gratitude for that." Auron finished, reaching out to take Breese's hand between his two.

"I can't take all that credit, it's been a team effort all the way. But I believe between the two of us, we've somehow managed to raise a pretty decent young man." Breese said in a tremor of emotion, as she drew her hands away then leaned forward to embrace Auron... her hands coming around to gently pat his back.

His body stiffening, Auron hesitated for a moment, then returned the comfort... the two guardians sharing a quiet celebration, that only they could understand.

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

Auron sat on the edge of the bed and ran a hand through his hair, then sighed roughly and leaned over to remove his boots.

The past year had been a blur.

Not surprisingly, Tidus had become the star-player of the Zanarkand Abes... his innate talent combined with his fiercely competitive nature, ensuring his rise to that position. Adding to that was his appeal as Jecht's son... the city seeing him as the heir apparent to the sports legacy created by his father. Hardly a day went by without a new op-ed piece in the media... touting the Golden Boy of Blitz, following in his father's footsteps to bring glory to the team.

He was doing his best to help Tidus keep his head on straight, and the youngster was holding his own in that regard for the most part, but the situation had also deepened Tidus' inner-conflict. While he enjoyed the perks that fame brought, he deeply resented the comparisons to Jecht, and at times lamented his lack of privacy.

As guardian, he found the whole thing a pain in the backside... losing his temper on several occasions with the intrusive media. Just last week one individual so persistent, as to require him to pick the man up and toss him and his camera over the side of the houseboat. That incident had resulted in a flurry of stories about the rough looking body-guard that Tidus had hired, to protect him from the screaming legions of fangirls.

Perfect. He had been reduced to tabloid-fodder.

Not that he cared, but the constant attention Tidus received now making it impossible to adequately protect him both emotionally and physically, that knowledge weighing heavily at times.

Time... and then there was that.

The greediest ferryman of all, had been asking an increasingly high price for his passage, and he didn't know how much longer he could pay it. The heavy toll exacted to keep himself from flying apart, requiring him to rest more frequently these days.

In short... he was tired, damnit.

And that led him to the reason for his sigh. Tidus had a big game tonight... the opening match of the Jecht Memorial and he really should have attended... but he simply did not have enough energy to face that massive throng of ecstatic humanity.

Go to sleep then... you pathetic old man, he said to himself, as he lay back and closed his eye, drifting quickly away.

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

"Hey, Auron... heads up! I'm gonna rock 'n roll, so get ready. There's a little gift from me for Tidus at the houseboat, go pick it up... move it, Auron... don't be late or I'll fry your ass." Came Jecht's voice, urgent and close... very close.

Auron sat up abruptly, blinking as he looked around the room... half-expecting to see his friend there. Then he became perfectly still, his eye gazing ahead in thought for awhile... deciding what needed to be done and the best way to do it. Then he rose and got dressed, took his sword from the wall, and moved to the desk where the chess box sat atop its gleaming blackness. Reaching in, he removed the white queen and the note, securing them within his robe, then turned and left the apartment without a backward glance.

When he reached the bottom of the exterior stairs, he saw Remie at the front door of the shop with Ron weaving around his feet, as he keyed in the combination on the security touchpad, closing up for the night. Auron looked at him without moving for a moment... seeing the boy, not the young man he was now, who had found him on that beach so many years ago.

Then Auron walked toward him, as Remie saw him and smiled. "Hey Auron, mom and Gabe went out to dinner, but I'm meeting them at the Blitz tournament, maybe you could..." Then abruptly fell silent, reading Auron's body language and noticing the sword slung across his back.

"Remie, there is something you must do. Listen to me very carefully," Auron said then turned to the side, to gaze at the water. "You must find your mother and Gabe, and move as quickly as you can toward the inland side of the city, to the highest point from the water possible. Be prepared to summon your powers, to call upon the Fayth, to do whatever it takes to protect yourself and them. Do not ask me to explain why, there isn't enough time... but it is imperative that you do as I say. Do you understand?"

In all the time he had known him, Remie had never heard Auron sound anxious before, and it frightened him very badly to think about what would cause this man to be concerned. "I... I understand, Auron. I will do as you ask... I promise. But... aren't you coming with us?"

Auron looked down and didn't speak for a few moments, then raised his head. "I am leaving Zanarkand, and I will not be returning. I am saying farewell... and ask that you give my best to Sahna and Gabe."

"Can't you say goodbye to them yourself? I don't understand, when are you leaving?" Remie asked, his voice betraying his rising emotion.

"I must leave tonight. I am sorry... but it is something I have to do, something I have always been meant to do." Auron replied, turning then, his eye locking to Remie's face.

Remie held his gaze for a few moments, then dropped his head. "I know. Mom told me once a long time ago that you didn't really belong here, and that someday you'd have to go."

He should not have been surprised by Sahna's unspoken insight into his true nature, he thought, but he was. She was truly a remarkable woman... he would miss her very much.

Stepping close to Remie then, Auron gripped the boy's shoulder in a black-gloved hand. "I cannot express what you, your mother, and Gabe have meant to me... I do not have the words. But know this... I will never forget how the three of you have kept me whole these past ten years... I will never forget." Auron said, pulling Remie to him in a short embrace, then turning to walk away into the night.

Remie didn't speak, as he reached down and gathered Ron into his arms then looked up, watching Auron go in a flash of red and a glint of steel as he disappeared from view... the tears beginning to spill over from Remie's eyes to track down his cheeks.

Then he spun and ran down the road in search of his mother, his hair flying out behind him.

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

High above the skyline, Auron walked calmly to the end of the support beam, and turned to look upon the massive wall of ocean rolling toward the city... the shadow of Sin beneath its watery veil, the voice of Jecht calling to him from somewhere beyond that.

Then Auron extended his arm, raising his jug... to friends present and friends gone, to a universe of possibilities, to the power of the human heart to find its way in the darkness, but most of all just to say: I'm ready Jecht... let's go change the world.

At long last... he was going home.

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

To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive, and the true success is to labour.

-- Robert Louis Stevenson

Final Blatherings: Well whoop-dee-freakin-do. This rambling tale is now finished. Some may be unhappy that I didn't clearly say what becomes of Remie and company, but I think it works leaving that to speculation. *BB dons her flame-retardent jumpsuit*

And now allow me to pontificate, as I shamelessly wallow in a self-congratulatory ecstasy...

Inspired ---

By Auron. What a fascinating fellow he is. There is a short list of my favorite male fictional characters, and he has taken his place among them... right up there with Wolverine and Roland of Gilead. (Yep, I'm a sucker for the angst-filled-badass with the noble heart).

Challenged ---

To keep the guy in character, come hell or high water. Partly because I was a drama major (dammit Jim... I'm an actor, not a writer) but mostly because I felt that to do anything less would demean this character that I had come to love and respect so much.

So I took up the gauntlet I had thrown at my own feet and giddily went about the task of trying to climb inside the Guardian's head. It's been a lot of fun (except for those mondo-angst chaps). And according to my friends, it has not always been a pleasure-cruise for them either, as they remind me that on several occasions over the past five months, I actually became Auron-like in my behavior. In other words... I got a little carried away. *smirk*

Grateful ---

To all of you who have taken the time and effort to read and leave reviews here... for sharing your encouragement, insight and humor.

Thank you.

You're all invited over to my place this evening for an elegant party... where I will humbly serve you cheese-whiz and cocktail weenies, whilst we repeatedly watch the #18 FMV until our heads explode.

No? Okay, then how about a slide show... currently snarfing-up 12 megs on my homepage server (I recommend watching with headphones... groovy).

Next ---

There is a sequel churning around in my head, and I will follow that scampering plot bunny through the looking-glass once more, but I think I'll take a little break first. As Auron would say: my attention is required elsewhere. For one thing, I'd like to spend some time reading here on ffnet... then there's that growing stack of unfinished books beckoning from a corner of the living room, and dare I mention the hamster-sized-dust-wads under my desk that need sweeping. Good gawd... I'm looking under there now and I see the petrified remains of something that may have been at one time, a slice of pepperoni pizza. *shiver*

I also plan on making a long-overdue trip to the bookstore/library and pick-up some reference material, to see if I can improve my writing chops... to figure out just what the hell it is I'm supposed to be doing with those damned commas anyway.

Stay in touch and remember... color outside the lines, run with scissors, eat paste.

Blithering Bard (who intends to go sit in the bathtub until the voices go away)