Author's Notes: Heyo everyone! Chapter 3 is here… hmm, have you noticed something different between this story and my last one? And no, I'm not talking about the difference in writing style. I'm not updating near as often as I did in Reflection.
Unfortunately, I'm a little busier than I was when I was writing Reflection. It got to, got to, and got to spend more time with my wife… Timmeh loves her to much to neglect her! :D
Anyways, as much as I would love to just write chapter after chapter, I can't. So, I just wanted to say that before everyone starts to think that I'm neglecting my writing duties. Okay, well, this is a Tidus and Jecht chapter… enjoy.
Chapter III: Futile Desires
"Hey… you hear me, boy?"
Everything was blurry… his head throbbed mercilessly against his skull, and he felt incredibly queasy. The last thing he remembered was going to sleep with Yuna by his side… what was going on? He agonizingly rubbed his eyes, trying to wipe away the blurriness.
Suddenly, he felt a soothing aura fall comfortingly over him, and he abruptly felt much better. Reluctantly opening his eyes, Tidus noticed that he could see clearly.
The surroundings were pleasant. A lush green field at dusk greeted his weary eyes, and… "Oh hell."
"Is that all the thanks I get for getting rid of your little migraine, boy?" Jecht asked his peeved son sardonically.
"What is this dad, some sort of dream? What's going on? What's..."
"If you would slow down for just a damn minute, I'll explain what's going on!" Jecht proclaimed curtly, interrupting Tidus' confused banter.
Tidus furrowed his brow in anger, bright cerulean eyes piercing into his father's. "I am *not* going to leave her… so don't even ask." Jecht nodded understandingly, but quickly looked back up at his son.
"Just… let me explain why you've been getting such a mind job lately," Jecht pleaded gruffly. Tidus reluctantly agreed, nodding slowly in reply.
"First off," Jecht started, sitting down on the green grass. "Braska wanted me to apologize to you for him. He screwed up… those dreams weren't supposed to be that way." Tidus joined his dad on the turf, his eyes blazing in confusion. "But that's beside the point."
"You see," Jecht proclaimed knowingly, idly fingering a rock he had picked out of the soil. "The barrier blocking the Farplane in Guadosalam is… *was* there for a reason."
"Wait a minute," Tidus briskly interrupted. "What do you mean, was? It's still there… right?"
"As of about… oh, thirty minutes ago, it was still there. It should be gone now… at least the barrier surrounding Zanarkand is; I know that much." Tidus' eyes widened in surprise, and Jecht nodded as if he knew what his son was about to ask.
"Your mother," Jecht said dryly as he once again looked his son in the face. "She's there." The shock left Tidus' visage, and he nodded deliberately.
"I know… she decided to pay me a visit last night." Jecht looked surprised for a moment, but the gaze of astonishment was quickly replaced by curt laughter. Tidus, not at all amused by his brusque chuckling, inspected his father scornfully.
"Sorry," Jecht proclaimed softly. "I just thought that we were the only ones trying to mess with your head. Tell me… what'd she have to say? I… wanna see her soon."
"I don't wanna talk about it," Tidus replied hatefully, looking away from Jecht angrily. His father nodded in consent, slyly hiding the hurt that his son's tone of voice caused him, and decided to resume his explanations.
"Well, it turns out that your buddy Kaemon isn't such a great guy after all… Tidus, he sent you back to Spira to get you out of his hair. At least that's what Akeno says." Tidus nodded slowly as his father's words sunk in… he inwardly wondered to himself why he wasn't surprised at what he was hearing.
"So he's the one who put the barrier around the Farplane entrance?" Tidus asked curiously. Jecht nodded quickly in reply as he stood up for a moment to stretch.
"Yeah... his reckless actions were making all sorts of crap go screwy in the Farplane. If he hadn't put the barrier in place, the living would have come in direct contact with the dead. Because of Kaemon's… misbehavior, the Farplane entrance as Spira knows it no longer exists. It goes straight to the *actual* Farplane."
Tidus was visibly shocked at this point as his father continued speaking. "And, as we all know, the living doesn't mingle well with the dead."
"Why… would Kaemon do that? And if the barrier's gone, what's keeping the living away from the Farplane now?" Tidus asked, dumbfounded.
"A war, my boy," Jecht said boisterously, looking at Tidus' bewildered expression. "Wars make a crumbling civilization spring back to life… if the crumbling civilization wins, that is. The Farplane was an uneasy place… political issues were threatening Kaemon's rule, and well, he didn't like that too much." Jecht's voice faltered a little as he continued speaking, his rage against Kaemon building.
"As for the barrier, nothing is keeping the living away from the Farplane. Kaemon is welcoming the living with open arms, so they can become… dead."
"It's starting to make sense now," Tidus thought bitterly. "This is never gonna end."
"Kaemon has hopes of going to war with the world of the living. Akeno and Yumiko as well as me, Auron, and Braska, put something on the plate that he wasn't expecting. So far, we've had a lot of success decimating his forces, because… of this."
Jecht removed a brightly glowing sword out of his sheath and showed it to Tidus. "Wha… what is it?" he asked curiously, mesmerized by the bright green luminescence of the blade.
"It's a ticket to hell, Tidus," Jecht said bitterly, noting the disbelief in his son's face. "You ever heard of the banish spell before? I think one of Spira's finest blue haired maesters used it on occasion."
"This just keeps getting better," Tidus proclaimed unhappily, quickly standing up once again to pace back and forth. "So what does this banish spell have to do with Hell? Tell me!"
"It is hell," Jecht replied wryly. His comment made Tidus wince, but he continued to speak. "No one really knows what goes on there, but just about everyone assumes the worst. This blade… it has the banish spell imbedded in it. When I strike someone with it… well, let's just say it's not easy to send someone to hell. It brings a feeling of guilt that can *never* be justified."
"I… I've heard enough!" Tidus furiously stated. "Let me out of here... I want to go back to my wife!" Jecht smiled dryly in reply.
"I really can't blame you… hell, that's what I would say." He leaned in closer to Tidus and looked around cautiously. "I wasn't supposed to tell you this... there's so much more to all of this than meets the eye."
"Such as?' Tidus asked indifferently.
"There's something wrong with Auron and Braska. This Akeno guy… something just isn't right with that nut job, and my friends are obeying his every wish and whim." Tidus looked at Jecht worriedly, concern plainly written on his face.
"What about Yumiko?" Tidus asked curiously.
"I think that she means well… I've heard her and Akeno argue about many issues before. It never sounds really pretty. It's just too damn hard to tell right now." Jecht looked around nervously.
"They could be spying on me… listen close, boy. I'm not going to say that you have to come here to save my sorry ass. I'm gonna leave that one up to you." Tidus continued looking at him as he spoke.
"But I want you to know that if you don't, there may not be a world for Yuna or your baby to live on when this is all over. I'm alone here, Tidus. Something isn't right with my friends, and I won't lie… I need your help. Just think about that, please."
"They're making them build things," Tidus proclaimed sadly, his face hung low. "Horrible things… it's what mom said. You need to go to Zanarkand… now!" Jecht nodded quickly in reply.
"I'm sorry that we made you feel sick these past few weeks… it wasn't worth it. With Kaemon's barriers in place, let's just say that we had to force ourselves into your mind." Tidus sighed in reply.
"I don't know if I can bring myself to leave her, dad," he said forlornly. "But if I do force myself to leave… where do I go?"
"Just go to Guadosalam," he said dryly. "You'll know what to do when you get there." Tidus nodded in reply and Jecht waved farewell.
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Sweatdrops… they ran freely down his face. He was shaking, but… he didn't feel ill. His wife was by his side, and he was inwardly relieved that he wasn't pulled into the land of the dead just yet.
"My wife," Tidus thought sadly. "I love her too much… why does it have to be like this?"
He nuzzled his hot face deep into Yuna's neck, gently rousing her out of blissful slumber. She awoke suddenly, fearfully yelping at the thought of another terrifying evening of Tidus' nightmares.
"Are you okay?" she asked urgently, the sleepiness still apparent in her voice. "How are you feeling?" She quickly placed her hand on his forehead… his face was sweaty, but he wasn't running a temperature.
"I'm fine… Yuna, we need to talk," Tidus said unhappily as he looked into Yuna's frightened eyes.
"I figured… let's go to the kitchen; I… I'll make us some tea." Tidus nodded despondently and followed her closely to the kitchen.
"How am I going to tell her? Somebody… please tell me how I'm going to do this."
He had no clue how is was going to explain what his father had told him… it would be another long night in the making.
As they walked through the dining room into the kitchen, neither of them noticed the glowing emerald blade that sat in the corner of the room… a gift from Jecht.
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Author's Notes: Okay, well, that was yet another short chapter. I apologize, but it's basically what I wanted for this chapter. From now on, I think, the chapters will be quite a bit longer.
Don't expect another chappie for at *least* another two weeks. Yep, me and my wife's one year anniversary is coming up, and we're taking an eleven day, ten night vacation in New York City. We're also going to Niagara Falls for a couple of those nights, so it's gonna be really fun and hopefully romantic too! :D
Oh yeah! Before I forget, I wanted to thank Shad for beta-ing Chapter 2. It completely slipped my mind, soooo, I'm thanking her now. Thank ya Shaddeh!
Well, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Sorry if it's too depressing right now. I promise it'll get better. As a matter of fact, the next chapter is gonna be a really sweet, happier chapter. You'll see what I mean. Thanks for reading everyone, and I want MUCHO reviews, mwehehe!
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