Chapter Two: Epiphany
Author's note: Sorry that this took so long. I have just been really busy and distracted. I am glad that you are enjoying the story so far. I hope that you enjoy this chapter. I still want to edit it some, but I figured I should post it for now, so that I won't keep you in suspense anymore. Thanks for reading.
"Epiphany"
Your words to me just a whisper
Your face's so unclear
I try to pay attention
Your words just disappear
'Cause it's always raining in my head
Forget all the things I should have said
So I speak to you in riddles because
My words get in my way. I smoke the
whole thing to my head and feel it
wash away 'cause I can't take anymore
of this, I want to come apart
or dig myself a little hole inside
your precious heart
'Cause it's always raining in my head
Forget all the things I should have said
I am nothing more than a little boy inside
That cries out for attention
though I always try to hide
'Cause I talk to you like children,
Though I don't know how I feel
But I know I'll do the right thing
If the right thing is revealed
'Cause it's always raining in my head
Forget all the things I should have said
-Staind
"Auron?" a female voice called out tentatively.
Auron tensed then relaxed as he saw Yuna's slender form walk to the doorway of the living room to his right. She was wearing faded blue jeans and a baggy tan sweater. She smiled at him, but he could see in her mismatched eyes that she was shaken up. Suddenly she ran to him and gave him a bear hug. He winced, but waited patiently for her to release him.
After a moment she did and Auron saw tears in her blue and green eyes as she looked up at him. "Why?" she asked, lowering her head to hide her tears. "Why did they do this?"
Auron turned his back on her. He didn't need this right now. Why was it everyone thought he had the answers? His voice was gentle when he spoke: "I don't know, Yuna. I wish I did." With that said he walked towards the den in the back of his apartment. He felt Yuna follow.
"How was your night?" she asked, forcing a smile.
Auron kept his back to her as he pulled off his coat and tossed it on a couch that was shoved against the back wall of the room. "I need you to do something for me," he said, facing her and meeting her eyes.
"What is it?" Yuna asked, full of curiosity. By now she was used to him never answering her questions.
"Call Tidus. There is something I must tell the both of you." Auron sat carefully on the couch next to his coat.
Yuna bowed, as was her custom, and left. Auron could hear her dialing the number in the kitchen on his cordless phone. He pulled his sunglasses off and set them down on the coffee table in front of him.
"He's on the way," Yuna called from the kitchen. She entered the den shortly after to find Auron missing. "Auron?"
She walked from the den out into the hallway and saw the bathroom door shut, confirming her suspicions of Auron's whereabouts.
* * *
Inside the bathroom, Auron sat on the toilet lid pulling tape over his broken rib. When he was done he stood and walked over to the sink. God he was tired. He looked in the mirror and what he saw confirmed that thought. An old man with grey patches in his black hair to match the deep lines in his face looked back. His one good eye was a deep brown and was slightly sunken. His mouth was pulled in a perpetual frown and there was a crease between his eyebrows. Thirty-five and already an old man.
He sighed. Turning the faucet on, he splashed his face with some cold water. Considering himself prepared for the upcoming battle, he turned the light off and exited the bathroom.
* * *
Tidus and Yuna were sitting in their guardian's spacious living room. A small entertainment center was pushed against the wall across from the couch, a window behind it. An easy chair rested in a corner of the room and a bookshelf took up part of the back wall. On either side of the couch were end tables and in front of the sofa was a glass coffee table.
"What's going on, Yuna? Why does Auron want me here?" Tidus asked, leaning back against the soft cushions of Auron's sofa.
Yuna's hand slipped into Tidus'. "I'm not sure. He didn't tell me," she said, studying him to see if he was about to get in one of his typical fights with Auron.
Tidus shook his head. "That's Auron for you."
Yuna smiled. Booted footsteps stopped her from saying anything else. Her stomach clenched when she looked up at her guardian. Auron looked extremely tired and there was a tenseness to him that caused a wave of fear to wash over her. He didn't make eye contact with them when he entered the room, simply stared ahead. Suddenly, Tidus sprang from his seat to grab the man by the lapels of his black work shirt.
"You want to tell me why I am sitting here at two o' clock in the morning when I have to be up at six for practice?" Tidus snapped, shaking Auron.
A bitter smile crossed Auron's face.
"Tidus, calm down," Yuna said, standing.
Tidus backed off and came to stand next to Yuna. She gestured for the two of them to sit.
"Please Auron, tell us what is going on." She spoke calmly, meeting his eye, playing the peacemaker as usual. She had a bad feeling about this.
He turned from them and walked over to the window, leaning against the wall beside it. Outside, the wind had picked up and tore at the branches of the trees. Occasionally a flash of lightning would light up the sky. Yuna sensed that change was coming and she had a feeling it wasn't for the better.
"It's about my father isn't it?" Tidus asked suddenly, looking down at his hands.
Auron gripped the windowsill. "Yes," he said softly.
Tidus looked up at the back of the man who had watched over him for the past five years. "Did they find his body?"
Auron turned around slowly to face them. "So to speak." He hesitated for a moment, looking down at the floor for a second. When he lifted his head Yuna was shocked to see his eye darken. "Sin has found a way to bring back the dead."
Tidus jumped to his feet. "What?!"
Auron turned away slightly. He looked over his shoulder at them. "Jecht's body has been revived."
"No way," Tidus snapped, clenching his fist.
Yuna stood beside him and put her hand on his shoulder. "Is Jecht alive now?" she asked, only slightly feeling the hope her voice hinted at.
Auron looked away. "No. He is a mere puppet," he said, clenching his fist.
Tidus broke away from Yuna and stormed towards Auron. "I don't believe you. My father is dead," he nearly shouted, stomping his foot and making a slashing motion with his hand to emphasize his words.
Auron faced him and met his eyes. "Your father is dead, but his body isn't."
Tidus lowered his head. Yuna sympathized. She could imagine what she would feel like if it were her own father they were talking about.
"How is that possible?" Tidus asked, dejectedly brushing his blond hair out of his face.
"I don't know," Auron said darkly, walking away.
"Wait," Tidus called after him, reaching a hand out as if to stop him.
Auron stopped in the doorway, his back to the young man.
"Why would they bring him back?" Tidus asked softly. "Is it to get back at you?"
Auron met his eyes for a moment and then walked away.
"Uh huh, I thought so," Tidus muttered, staring down at his yellow sneakers.
Yuna slipped up beside him and slid her hand into his. She hated seeing him this down and she wanted to show him that he had her full support. The gesture seemed to surprise him at first, but soon he gripped her hand back, turning his head enough so that she could see the small smile that crossed his face.
"How can he be so calm?" Tidus said, lifting his head and clenching his fist..
She had only seen this moody side of Tidus twice in her life. Once was at the funeral of his father five years ago and the other was at the funeral of his mother a year later. Yuna felt his pain. Her own father had died in that horrible incident from five years ago. One thing that comforted her was the thought that she wasn't the one who had seen them die. She often wondered how Auron dealt with what had happened.
"I don't think Auron is as calm as he is trying to make us believe," Yuna said, moving to stand in front of Tidus, trying to make some form of eye contact with him. "Did you see the look in his eye?"
Tidus nodded, causing his unruly blond hair to slip into his face. He brushed it away in annoyance. "Why can't the man ever show any emotion? Would it kill him?"
"That is probably his way of dealing with what happened," Yuna said calmly.
Tidus looked up at her and gave her a half smile. "You're probably right. I'm just afraid to think of what they are going to do to my old man's body."
Yuna's eyes darkened. She had a good guess and it didn't bode well for any of them. "Me too," she said softly.
"Tidus," a rough voice spoke from the hallway. "Go back to your dorm and get some rest."
Tidus glared at Auron. "Like I can now," he snapped.
Auron's eye narrowed. "Go. Your father wouldn't want you passing out at practice."
Tidus sighed. "Ok." He turned to Yuna and forced a smile. "Good night Yuna and thank you."
Yuna smiled back. "You're welcome," she said, bowing.
Tidus left, glaring at Auron as he passed. Yuna saw a look of sympathy briefly cross their guardian's face. He looked at her for a moment and then walked back towards the den. Yuna sighed. What an interesting family they were. Her eyes darkened at the thought. Jecht was alive, or at least his body was, and he was going to be used by Sin, probably to get back at Auron. She needed a nice, strong mug of hot tea. As she went through the steps of making the drink she pondered more on how this news could be affecting Tidus.
Tidus had never really gotten along with his father. A year before he died, though, the two had started to see eye-to-eye and even enjoy one another's company. That was probably because of Auron. It wasn't that their guardian was playing peacemaker, it was the fact that Jecht had been his partner as a detective and he couldn't stand the man at first. Jecht was bold, brash and obnoxious in Auron's eyes and the two had fought constantly. She remembered one time when she had been at Tidus's house; Jecht had come walking in sporting a black eye. Auron stood behind him rubbing his fist. Tidus had cracked up laughing which had won him a glare from his father.
Yuna smiled at the memory, leaning back against the counter, holding the steaming mug before her. Now what was to become of them? How was Tidus handling it? What was Auron going to do about it? He may not very well be a detective anymore, but he was still involved, Sin would make sure of that. What could she do to help? She walked towards the den; she might as well ask him.
Auron was sitting on the couch, a stack of papers on his lap, a pen in his right hand and a mug of coffee in his left. His mind wasn't on the papers, though. Yuna saw that he was staring off into space. He didn't even seem to notice as she entered the room. She studied him a moment. This was her only chance to learn how her guardian was feeling about the situation. He was sitting very rigidly, his back stock straight. His eye was boring a hole in the wall behind Yuna's right shoulder. Lines crossed his forehead and his brow was furrowed in thought.
"Auron?" she finally called out. She did so softly so not to startle him. She failed, though. He jumped and then finally rested his eye on her.
She shifted under his gaze, almost feeling guilty for watching him in his unguarded state. His usual calm mask had returned and he looked at her with an almost blank expression. "Umm, are you ok?" she stuttered, hesitant to ask the questions that were plaguing her. Some had already been answered in her study of him.
A twitch of an eyebrow and a small smile. "Just tired," he said, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his finger and thumb.
The smile comforted her. She returned it graciously, deciding to wait until later to ask her questions. "You should get some rest," she said, using the gentle voice her mother had used when she was a small girl.
Auron took a sip of his coffee then spoke: "In a moment." He glanced back down at the papers on his lap. Yuna guessed they were the papers her class had just turned in that Friday. Auron was always careful to return his students' work to them as soon as possible. You will do this even with this situation hanging over your head? she wanted to ask him.
He looked at her suddenly. "What is it Yuna?" he asked, setting the pen down on his lap and meeting her eyes.
She quickly averted her gaze. "It's nothing," she stuttered softly, sitting in a cushy, leather chair by the kitchen door to hide her discomfort.
She heard the rustle of paper and the sound of bare feet crossing the floor. A hand grabbed her chin and pulled her head up to meet his one brown eye.
"You want to ask me something. Out with it," Auron's rough, deep voice commanded.
Yuna pulled her face out of his grasp and stared down at her tea. It had gotten cold a long time ago. "It's really nothing," she said, her voice unconvincing even in her own ears.
Auron stood. "Get some rest then, you have church tomorrow."
Yuna looked up at him. He had his back turned to her. "Would you like to come?" she asked, glad that the conversation had turned.
He stiffened and she saw his head lower. "No. Thank you," he said slowly, walking back to the couch.
Yuna had been inviting Auron to church for as long as she could remember. Every time he refused. She often wondered what had happened to cause this. "Why do you not like church?" she asked, shocked at the fact that the question had slipped from her thoughts to her voice.
Auron sat on the couch and picked up the papers again. He didn't look at her. "Go to bed, Yuna."
Yuna sighed. She looked at him briefly. You tell me to ask you the questions burning inside me, yet you refuse to answer a simple question about church. She walked into the kitchen and slid her mug into the sink. With that done she slipped into the guest bedroom at the back of the apartment to a sleep that wouldn't come.
* * *
Auron sighed and set the papers to the side. Yuna was probably right. He should go to bed. The words on the pages were starting to blur.
He stood up and walked to the kitchen, depositing his coffee cup in the sink, the glass side clinking against Yuna's mug. What was he going to do with those two? Sin was getting more aggressive and he knew he wouldn't be able to protect them forever. He gripped the countertop, trying to control his emotions.
Suddenly the phone rang. Auron jumped slightly and picked it up.
"Hello?" he said softly, not wanting to wake Yuna.
"Auron?" a cheerful voice asked on the other end.
"Kinoc, why are you calling me at 4:00 in the morning?" Auron growled, leaning back against the countertop.
Kinoc gave a small laugh. "It's not 4:00 it's 3:30."
Auron rolled his eye. "What do you want?"
Kinoc sighed. "Always in a hurry. Is your phone line secure? Is it safe that we talk on it?"
Auron lifted an eyebrow. "Let me call you back," he said, his voice sounding casual. He hung up the phone before Kinoc could answer.
Damn it.
Auron walked back to the den to retrieve his cell phone. The small black phone was sitting on his computer desk next to his keyboard. He punched in Kinoc's number and waited for a response.
"Auron, thank God you got that cell phone," Kinoc answered.
"Hmm," Auron replied, sitting down on the couch.
"I did a search on Seymour and found all sorts of interesting things, including some things I think even you did not know." Kinoc's voice was filled with a mixture of excitement and worry.
Auron's eye narrowed. "Go on."
There was the sound of paper rustling. "Here's an interesting article I found: 'Seymour Hitowari got his PhD in Genetic Engineering at Baaj University. After he got his degree, Seymour began work on a very strange project that he tried to get approved by the university. It wasn't accepted though. That project's goal was the reanimation of corpses. I must emphasize the fact that this isn't the bringing back of the dead. The idea is very similar to that of Dr. Frankenstein from the Mary Shelley's novel...'"
"Kinoc. I already know this. What else do you have?" Auron asked impatiently.
There was more rustling of paper and then Kinoc took up reading again: "A few years after Seymour was rejected by Baaj University he inherited a fortune of money. With that money he bought Bevelle Academy. He claimed that he bought the school so that he could make up for the mistake that he made in attempting to bring back the dead."
Auron scratched his chin. "Interesting."
"What?" Kinoc sounded confused.
"Did you get all of this information from the same source?"
Auron heard more shuffling of paper. "Yes. What I just read you and what I read earlier came from the same site," Kinoc said slowly, as if he were considering this.
Auron didn't give him time. "In the first part that you read the author emphasized the fact that Seymour wasn't attempting to bring the dead back, just reanimating the corpse, but in the second one the author said that Seymour was making amends for trying to bring back the dead. What site did you get this off of?"
Kinoc hesitated. "It was probably just a mistake, but you can check the site out at medicalbios.com."
"Hmm," Auron muttered as he turned on his computer. Once it had booted up he connected to the internet and typed in the address. After a short wait a site with a white background and the title Medical Bios in red at the top popped up. Auron spotted a place to type in a search and entered Seymour's name. Two links popped up on the page. "Kinoc, there are two links, which one did you get the story from?"
"Hang on, let me get back on the site," Kinoc replied.
Auron wasn't about to wait. He clicked on the first link and glanced over the page. It had a black background and at the top in white was Seymour's name. Beneath that was a picture of the man. He had platinum blond hair pulled back in a ponytail. Slightly slanted blue eyes that seemed to hold a perpetual sneer glared out of the page.
Auron scrolled down and skimmed the article. In the background on the phone he heard Kinoc begin typing. This wasn't the article that Kinoc had read out loud. It contained only basic information; most of which he already knew. He backed up and clicked on the second link.
"Auron, it's the second link. The first one is a waste of time," Kinoc said, sounding slightly distracted.
Auron smirked and scanned the article from the second link, this time ignoring the picture at the top of the page. He skimmed the first paragraph since it was one of the things that Kinoc had already read. The middle of the article was the basic information that he had found in the previous one, but the last few paragraphs had some interesting information. One of them was the other paragraph that Kinoc had read, but the other two held information that could prove useful.
"Kinoc, who wrote this article?" Auron asked, as he hit the print button.
"Didn't it say on the page?"
"No." Impatience crept into his voice.
"Hmm, I don't know then. I found this site through one of our special search engines." Kinoc sounded thoughtful. "Let me check the beginning of the site to see if there is any information."
Auron stood. He needed another cup of coffee. His eye was burning with the strain of trying to stay awake. Why couldn't Kinoc have waited until the morning?
In the kitchen, Auron poured himself another mug of coffee, all the while listening to the sound of Kinoc's mouse clicks. The hot liquid revived him and he returned to his computer, waiting patiently for Kinoc to find the author or give up trying. He sipped at his coffee while he waited. The clock's ticking seemed to grow louder. He glanced at it for a moment.
5:30AM
Yuna would be getting up for church in less than three hours. He briefly wondered what she would think of finding him still up. His musings were interrupted by Kinoc's voice.
"Hmm, Auron, I don't see any author listings, but the site is sponsored by some company called Fayth Productions."
Auron's eye narrowed, but he remained silent.
"Does the name sound familiar to you?" Kinoc questioned.
"No," he said shortly. "Do you have any other articles you found enlightening?"
There was some rustling of paper and then Kinoc spoke, his voice hinting at the fact that he didn't believe Auron was telling the truth: "I think that was the most information I could find on him that wasn't just telling the basics."
"Hm." Auron logged off the internet, stood, and walked over to the couch, dropped down on it.
"What are you thinking?" Kinoc asked softly, which was odd for the man.
Auron noticed his tone and narrowed his eyes. "Can we talk about this later? It's 6:00 in the morning."
Auron heard Kinoc sigh. "Very well. I will talk to you later. Sorry for the late call."
"It's alright," Auron said, forcing a smile into his voice. "Get some rest."
Kinoc chuckled. "You too, though I doubt you'll get much."
"Hmph," Auron snorted.
* * *
Kinoc hung the phone up. "I must let them know," he muttered to himself as he headed to his room. He was really tired.
Shit.
He couldn't go to bed yet because he had to file that report. He sighed. It looked like Auron wouldn't be the only sleepless person this night.
* * *
Auron walked back over to his computer and grabbed the printout of Seymour's bio. He glanced down at the pages and narrowed his eyes. Why hadn't Kinoc brought up the last two paragraphs?
So, Fayth Productions is sponsoring Seymour to reanimate corpses and since they are sponsored by Sin, these corpses will be turned into an army. Auron stood and started to pace with the pages in his hand. Jecht must be the test subject that they were referring to.
Auron kicked the leg of the coffee table. "Damn it! Why did it have to be him?"
The sound of footsteps made Auron stand still. He had woken Yuna up. He couldn't believe that he was acting like Tidus.
"Auron?" Yuna's voice was rough from sleep. "What are you still doing up?"
Auron faced her. "Forgive me Yuna. I will be retiring soon."
Yuna smiled gently at him and returned to bed. Auron sighed. He glanced at his watch. It was about 6:30. He should probably go to bed and think on this in the morning. He could think better in the morning.
Auron grabbed his coffee cup, turned the light off in the den, dropped the cup off in the sink and climbed the stairs to bed.