Chapter Four: Moonflow Madness
Here it was again. It was Braska going head-to-head with Sin. The crowd was there as well, waiting anxiously. But this time, something different happened. Jecht was standing between Braska and Sin, sword drawn.
"Go!" Braska commanded. "Destroy Sin!!" Jecht nodded and ran forward. Surely, he was joking. Jecht could not destroy sin! But knowing Jecht, what would stop him from trying?
He ran, like a fool, right at Sin's face. The monster began powering up an attack, but Jecht was already there. He jumped up and stabbed Sin right in the face. Auron shook his head. What an arrogant moron. But then.something VERY odd happened. A beam came from Jecht's sword, cutting through Sin's flesh and expanding. The beam grew wide enough and long enough to cut through Sin's entire body! And none of this seemed strange to either Braska or Jecht.
Sin's body was cut in two. Both bloody halves fell to the side and deteriorated into a million pyrflies. Then, the crowd cheered. This was very different. Sin was gone.but Braska was here to see his celebration! But . . .Braska didn't look happy. Auron wondered why. Then, a very terrible, sinking feeling came into his heart. He looked over at Jecht, who looked at Braska, sword pointing at him. What was he doing? Jecht began to charge.
"NO!!" Auron bellowed, shooting straight up in bed, breathing heavily. He reflexively grabbed his sword and jumped to his feet.
"Auron!!" Braska exclaimed, waking up.
"Wha?! Lord Braska!" He was alright. "Wh-where is Jecht?!"
"He's . . ." Braska looked at Jecht's bed. "I . . .guess he went out early. Are you alright?"
Auron took a few breaths. "Nightmare." He muttered. "Just . . .a nightmare." He began breathing again, then he heard a strange sound. It was laughter. Braska was laughing! "What?" Auron asked him.
"You?! Nightmares?!" He laughed again.
"If you knew what it was about, then you wouldn't laugh."
"Then tell me!" he chuckled.
Auron sighed and lowered his sword finally, as well as his head. "It was about . . .the end."
Braska wasn't smiling anymore, much less laughing. "I see . . ."
"I've had one of those before.the night Sin flew over Macalania, but this was different."
"How so?" Braska wondered.
"None of what I'm about to say leaves this room."
Braska was confused, but silently agreed.
"In my first dream," Auron explained. "You summoned the Final Aeon. It defeated Sin, like we'd thought it would, but then.turned and killed you.like we knew it would. And . . .there was the annoying audience that cared more about Sin's defeat than your life. They cheered and celebrated, but then, Sin came back. They were all shocked and appalled, but I knew it would happen. It always happens."
"What about the second dream?" Braska asked, trying to divert the subject.
Auron hesitated once more. He felt like a child, doing this, but he felt it would be good to get it off his chest. "In the second one.there is no Final Aeon. Only . . .Jecht."
"Jecht?" Braska asked with a raised brow.
"Yes. Jecht. He ran up and defeated Sin with a single swipe of his sword. I thought that was good, because you could see the celebration headed for you."
"That doesn't sound like reason for an outburst."
"It didn't end there. Jecht then looked at you with this . . .odd look. Dark, vile . . .evil even. Then, he turned and . . .attacked you."
That brought a surprised look to Braska's face..
"And you seemed to expect it."
Braska kept the look, but with a hint of confusion. "Well . . .then what?"
"I tried to stop him and found myself here."
Braska shook his head. "A silly dream, nothing more. Jecht would never do that."
"Wouldn't he?"
"Auron, I think your paranoia and skepticism towards Jecht created that dream. Learn to trust him."
Auron remained silent. "It was . . .too real for my liking."
There was a silence. Auron knew himself very well. He was never bothered by dreams. But . . .this . . .it all seemed so vivid and real. It was like he was really watching Jecht try to kill Braska. And the fact that this dream bothered him so . . .bothered him even more. Why did it bother him so? Maybe it was more than a dream. Maybe it was a vision of his skepticism proving itself right.
Auron decided that he needed a walk, and fresh air to shake off dream.
"I'll go find Jecht."
"Don't do anything stupid."
"Hey, it's me, remember?" Auron equipped himself and walked out of the room, and out of the mansion. Guados were up and about here and there in Guadosalam. He asked for directions to the item shop from a woman under a stone bridge fairly high up. She pointed up.
"Right up there."
Auron walked out from the bridge to get a better look. Sure enough, there was a small building there atop it, in the middle. And just then, the door opened and Jecht walked out.
"Hey!" Auron called.
Jecht nearly jumped out of his skin. He looked around frantically. "Who der?! Who der?!"
"Down here!"
He looked down. "Oh! Auron! Yeesh, you scared the daylights outta me."
"You seem jumpy."
"How's this for jumpy?" he jumped right off the bridge and landed on his feet next to Auron. He noticed he had a blitzball in his hand.
"What's that for?"
"To keep my edge up. I'm a famous blitzer back in Zanarkand, you know. I gotta stay sharp!" He began bouncing it up on his feet, knees, and head. "It also keeps your reflexes up!" He grabbed the ball and threw it at Auron. It bounced off his chest and hit the floor. "Nice." Jecht chuckled. He went to get the ball. "Oh, by the way." He got a little closer to Auron. "You said you'd tell me about Seymour's mom."
Auron nodded and brought him to a quiet little corner. "This isn't known to many. Braska told me this and I advise you keep it quiet as well. Seymour was treated differently as a child. Because he was half human and half guado, he was rejected by the full-breeds. After a while, his mother couldn't stand it any longer. She became a fayth to give her son power. She believe that they'd only accept him if he had power."
"She . . .became a fayth . . .how?"
"I do not know."
"So that means . . .Seymour . . .can summon an Aeon?!"
"Yes. Only one, though. But I hear that it is a foul one, very dark, and very powerful. They say it may be more powerful than all other aeons combined."
" . . .he's on our side, right?"
"Yes."
"Good. Sounds tough."
"But he's still young. Anyway, what did you get?"
"Oh, the basic stuff. Hi-Potions, Eye Drops, Echo Screens, the works, plus this ball."
Auron nodded. "Good. We'll be leaving quickly, once Braska is ready."
"No we won't." Auron and Jecht turned. It was Braska. "Not just yet. I want to visit the Farplane before we leave."
"What's a Farplane?" Jecht asked aloud. Everyone turned and stared at him. "Um . . .I . . .was close to Sin, so . . .my head's been baffled. I can't remember anything, really." They all seemed to understand. Then he looked back at Braska and asked more quietly, "Seriously, what is it?"
Auron was rubbing the bride of his nose. "Are we going to be explaining Spira the whole trip?"
But Braska answered. "When someone dies, people usually want a summoner to send them. That means sending their souls to the Farplane. That is where the dead rest in peace. If they are not sent, they remain on the earth, wandering amongst the living. They envy the living. That envy soon turns to hatred. And that hatred turns them into a fiend."
" . . .I know a lot of fiends . . ."
"Hm?"
"They don't have summoners in Zanarkand, so people just.die."
"How can you possibly live with so many fiends?"
"There are hardly any fiends where I come from."
"That's . . .that's impossible."
"There, you see?" Auron said. "Another reason he couldn't be from Zanarkand."
"But," Braska put in. "That was 1,000 years ago . . ."
Auron rolled his eyes. "Let's just go."
Guadosalam was linked to the Farplane. They just traveled a few paths and came upon it. The Farplane looked like just an enormous bubble floating in the air. A long, upward path led to it.
"This I gotta see." Jecht said with an anxious grin. Then he looked at Auron. "You been here before?"
"I never cared to. I do not have reason to visit the dead."
"So why is Braska going?"
"Probably to see his wife again." Auron said with a shrug. "And if he goes, I will go too."
"Nervous?"
"Only around you." Auron walked forward, up the path and up to the bubble. There was a sort of opening in the bubble where the path ended, with a multicolor barrier. It was translucent and you couldn't see that far past it, except for a small patch of rocky land. Braska simply stepped right through the barrier and went in, his image disappearing quickly.
"Now that's cool." Jecht said.
"You're easily amused." Auron grumbled, walking ahead. Instantly, the world changed. He wasn't in some floating bubble. He was in a whole new world! The only land, though, was a large, circular rock jutting out. But other than that were just clouds. They seemed high up. Every now and then, the clouds cleared, revealing the land below. It was a vast plain with lush, green grass and many types of flowers. There were also many waterfalls and rivers. But the strangest thing of all was the . . .was it the sun or moon? It was blue and hung in the air, surrounded by a mass of black cloud. But it didn't give off blue light. Normal, yellowish light, like a sunset, filled the Farplane.
Auron didn't bother wondering. He didn't much care for the Farplane in the first place. But Jecht was just awed. He was walking around the rock, looking all around, amazed. There were souls everywhere, floating around, except on the rock. Braska walked up to the edge of the rock and just stood there. Suddenly, an image of an Al Bhed woman appeared. She was very pretty, with short blonde hair. Actually, it was too blonde . . .in fact, it was more yellow.
"Now that's freaky." Jecht said. He walked a little closer. "Whoa . . .her pupils are spiral! Hang on a sec . . .that means . . ."
"She was Al Bhed." Auron said.
"Whoa." That was all he said. Braska's wife looked over at him.
"Jecht." Braska said. "My guardian. Along with Auron, you know him."
She kept her smile and gave a small, silent bow, then looked back at her widower husband.
"Yes, a few days ago." Braska said. "Don't worry about her. She's in the care of the temple. But . . .I don't know if she should be there forever . . .I mean, I want her to have a life outside of Bevelle. I don't just want her to be known as my daughter. I want her to grow up apart from city life, as well. I want her to adapt and grow strong, stronger than I could be . . .now don't go lying. You know as well as I do how long it took for me to adapt to outside life after being in Bevelle for so long." Braska shook his head with a chuckle. "Oh, you had to bring that up."
Jecht raised a brow, then slowly sidestepped to Auron. "She's . . .not saying anything."
"Not to you. I don't know how it works, but Braska told me it was like this. Now be quiet, I want to hear this."
"No, I don't know where." Braska continued. "But somewhere far from here. I don't think she'll be able to escape my name, but I don't just want her to grow up and be a nun or whatever. It's . . .complicated, really . . ." He smiled. "I hoped you'd understand . . .your brother?? Um . . .I don't know. I mean . . .you know how he is around me . . .mm . . .maybe he would be different around her, but . . .oh, you did?? Well . . .I don't know. I mean, you know how I have nothing against the Al Bhed, but they may have something against her. And so might others seeing as she's around them all the time. Maybe somewhere else . . .me neither. We passed Macalania, but that's much too cold. I don't want her having to live in such a place. Well . . .Luca is the next place, but still, that's a large city. She should grow up in a small town, I think. Don't you? . . .yes, she should. Adapting at a young age is much better. And it's easier to get used to a city at an older age than somewhere else . . .well, I'll find something . . .I promise."
His conversation went on with his wife. Auron found this intriguing. Braska wanted to take Yuna somewhere else besides Bevelle, but dared not take her now, of course. But how would he go about that?
"So how do you get dead people to appear?" Jecht asked.
"You just think about them, Braska says."
Jecht obviously tried for a moment. "Nothing. See? I am from Zanarkand."
"It'll take more than that to convince me."
"So, what about you, Auron? Anyone you'd like to call?"
"I'd rather not go there, Jecht." But it was too late. He'd already thought about them.
Two figures appeared in the clouds. Both were a bit tall. One was male, quite buff, clad in a monk's armor. The other was a woman, draped in regal garments. Both of them looked of great importance. And they were both smiling, but not much.
Auron's eyes narrowed.
"Who?" Jecht asked. Then he answered his own question. "Your folks?"
Auron nodded, but with a solid face that showed no emotion.
(So, you did become a warrior. I'm proud.)
It was his father's voice in his head.
"Yes." Auron said. "I am a guardian for Lord Braska."
(You've grown quite a bit. You're so handsome now.) His mother, of course. Auron didn't reply. (How are things at the temple?)
"I wouldn't know." Auron said. "I haven't been there in days, and even then, I hadn't been there in quite a while."
(Why not?) His father asked. Auron hesitated.
"My own reasons."
(Auron, what is it?)
(You can tell us.) His mother offered.
Auron's eyes darted from one parent to the other. Then he fixed his eyes upon his father. "I am not you. I have blazed my own trail." Auron turned away. "I have written my own story." Then he said to Jecht. "I'll be outside." He walked back through the barrier and was back outside on the walkway. He descended the steps with a lot on his mind, when.
"Hey! Auron!" It was Jecht. "What happened?"
"Nothing."
"Hey, you can tell me, man!"
"No, I cannot."
"Why not?"
"Because it's confidential and none of your business." Auron replied coolly. "I will wait out here for Braska. You may return if you wish."
Jecht snorted. "Fine. Someone's gotta protect him in case some ghost tries to attack, or . . .whatever."
Auron shook his head, also trying to shake his parental encounter. It wasn't that he had anything against his parents. He just did not like digging up his past. It always became a mess.
A little later, Braska and Jecht came back. Jecht had apparently told Braska what happened, but Braska didn't go into it, though he knew why Auron had left. He just remained silent, and Jecht remained confused. They left Guadosalam quickly afterward without a word.
* * * *
The next day, Jecht blew it.
They'd been going through the forest to the Moonflow when it happened. It was late in the afternoon and the fiends were going ballistic.
Auron sliced through a shelled enemy, then turned and blocked the attack of another, then swung his blade upward, slicing through it as he did so. There were a lot more, though. Jecht and Braska were also doing their share of fighting, but we also wearing out. Auron took the hit of a quick lizard, then Jecht sliced through it.
Braska struck down a Snow Flan with a Fira attack, but then saw a magic-proof shelled creature rushing at him. Auron ran over to his summoner and dropped down onto a knee, then put the flat side of his thick blade to block it. The creature slammed right into his blade and fell onto its back, unable to get up. Auron stabbed its soft underside, then flung it up at a bee-like fiend buzzing above. The impact knocked the bug to the ground.
Then the big one came. It was an Ochu, a giant, living plant with two poisonous tentacles. Jecht was busy with some faster fiends, so Auron went up first, striking the monster's base. It cried out and stepped back, but Auron hit it again, then Braska struck it with a Fira spell. That made the monster angry. It jumped back, amazingly, and then began dancing around on its four very short, stubby legs. A yellowish mist spewed from the monster's "mouth" in a great wave. It knocked all three warriors back.
Auron stood, but felt very weak. He coughed and sputtered and felt like throwing up. Poison! That was it! The Ochu dance! That move had various effects on those who fought it. He had taken up poison. But he had antidotes. But then, Auron looked over and saw his comrades on the ground. Jecht was asleep; another side effect of the Ochu Dance, but Braska was K.O.ed. Both of them were vulnerable right now to the many fiends still around. Auron could cure himself with an antidote, but his friends would be attacked if he didn't act quickly. Besides, the Ochu could attack again.
Auron decided to destroy them all at once before aiding his comrades, and he knew just how to do it. Auron stood and turned his blade so the tip was facing the ground, then jumped into the air.
"Dragon Fang!!" He slammed the blade into the ground and a orange wave surged through the ground, and created a great explosion under anyone it came in contact with-even the fliers! The explosions were too much and all fiends were destroyed.
Auron fell onto his side, dizzy from both the poison and the energy drain. First, he took an antidote from his item sack and drank it down. The poison lifted and he turned to his friends. He took a Phoenix Down and poured the red liquid down Braska's throat. He sputtered and coughed, then sat up quickly, holding his head.
"Ugh. What happened?"
"The Ochu used and Ochu Dance move on us all. Jecht is asleep."
Braska used Ensuna, a White Magic move that lifts any status ailment. Jecht woke up, then jumped up.
"Oookaaaay, where are they?! Where are they?!"
"Gone." Auron said. "I destroyed them all while you two were out."
"Eh?? How?"
"Move of mine called Dragon Fang. You'll probably see it later."
Jecht looked around, and seeing no enemy, shrugged and wiped the blood off his blade, then put it away. Auron did the same and Braska stayed sitting.
"I believe we should take a break after that." He said.
Auron nodded. He wasn't that tired, really, but when his summoner required rest, he rested as well. Jecht didn't seem to be too tired either, but also knew the drill. To spare Braska's magic, they all just used Hi- Potions to heal themselves. They decided to eat as well, seeing as they were all hungry.
A few moments later, Jecht went off into the woods by himself for a moment, saying he just wanted to take a quick walk, because he couldn't stand still. Auron paid no heed to it.
Soon, Braska was ready to go again. But Jecht still hadn't returned.
"Where could he be?" Braska asked to no one in particular.
Auron shrugged and walked into the woods.
"Jecht?" he called. "Come on! We're leaving!"
No reply.
"Jecht?" Braska called as well. "Where are you?" They both looked around for a minute, then Braska suddenly gasped. "Auron! Over there!"
He turned and saw Jecht hobbling wearily. "He looks hurt!" Braska observed. Both men rushed to him. Auron caught him just as he fell over.
"Jecht??" Braska said.
"Uflbivn." He replied.
"Jecht, are you alright?"
Suddenly, he seemed to explode with life.
"Alright?! Course I am! I'm da famous Jecht!" he kind of stumbled in a loopy way. "I . . .can handle ANYTING!!" He raised his arms up high, and Auron saw it. A whiskey bottle in Jecht's right hand. He drank from it.
"YOU'RE DRUNK!!" Auron exploded.
He took the drink from his lips, spilling a bit. "No, no . . .I'm Jecht." He smiled, dazed. He tried taking another drink, but Auron snatched it and shattered it on the ground.
"Hey! Hey! I money for paid that!!"
"What? Rgh . . .never mind! You're drunk! I can't believe this!!"
"Yeah?? Well . . .well . . .you're stupid." He let out a drunken laugh and stumbled again.
"Drunk . . ." Braska said in disbelief.
"Is this enough proof for you?!" Auron asked Braska. "He's drunk! He actually brought a drink along on the pilgrimage! He's not worthy of being a guardian!"
Braska looked very troubled. "Why would he?"
"Because he's an idiot, like I've been trying to tell you!"
Jecht chuckled again and hiccupped, then pointed at the sky. "Heh, heh . . .birdie."
Auron rolled his eyes. "I say we leave him here and let the fiends eat him. Then he'll be out of our hair for good!"
"Now hold on . . ." But he was interrupted by Jecht flinging his arm over Auron's shoulder.
"Aaaaaarruuunn, you're da greatest pal in da wuld, I love you." The he kissed him full on the mouth.
"Ack! Ptuh! That does it!!" Auron reached for his blade.
"Auron! Wait!" Braska shouted, grabbing his arm.
"Well, fine then!" Jecht said. "You don' like me?? Well . . .well . . .I don' like you! Yeah! That's right, man! It is oveeaah!" He swung his arms out to symbolize "over", but, due to his drunkenness, he fell right on his face, then laughed. "Hey!! Ants!! Hee hee!!"
"Now can I kill him?" Auron asked.
"No! We'll wait until he sobers up, then ask him about it."
"But we don't know when it will be, and we can't waist our time here! We have to arrive before the shoopuf leaves!"
"Then we'll take him with us!"
"WHAT?!"
"Help me carry him."
"You're not serious!"
"I am! Help me carry Jecht so we don't miss the shoopuf!"
"But-"
"That's an order, Sir Auron!" He snapped strictly.
Auron took an angry breath, then looked down at the disorderly Jecht, then groaned. "Fine. But if he kisses me again, I'm killing him."
They both picked him, each slinging an arm around their shoulder, and sort of dragged him along.
"You look like a bumble bee!" Jecht laughed at Auron, who didn't even bother to respond.
They soon left the woods, and went out into open plains. Jecht was still drunk, babbling nonsense the whole way.
"We're almost to the shoopuf." Braska reported, thankfully.
"Alright," Jecht said, "But we're using your hat this time!"
"What a lunatic." Auron grumbled.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey." Jecht said. "Nobody messes with my wife." He swung a drunken punch at Auron, and he easily dodged and Jecht fell over, but Auron caught him. "Wow, you're fast for a fat guy."
Auron rolled his eyes. "He'd better sober up soon, so I can knock him senseless!!"
"When I want your opinion, I'll ask for it!" Jecht snapped. They pressed onward, then turned around a bend, and there it was. The shoopuf station. The shoopuf was a giant four-legged animal that looked like a very large elephant, but its trunk was longer and thinner and curled and it had no ears. There was a place to sit strapped atop the shoopuf and a driver's seat atop the shoopuf's head. It was getting ready to go when they got there.
"Just in time!" Braska said, relieved.
Just then, Jecht really blew it. He looked at the shoopuf and his eyes shot open.
"Whah!! Freakamama-weirdo-thingamawack!"
Braska and Auron looked at each other. "Wha?!" They both said, very confused. But then, Jecht broke free of them and charged at the shoopuf, drawing his sword, shouting, "Fiend!! Fiend!! Get outta my house!!"
"Oh, great!" Auron groaned, chasing after him.
"Jecht!! Stop!!" Braska shouted after him. But he was faster then both of them.
"Take this foul beast of Satan!!" Jecht shouted, jumping forward and slashing the shoopuf's leg. It roared and tossed around. People screamed and ran away from the sheltered station just as the shoopuf crushed it in angry agony.
"Yeah!" Jecht taunted. "And I don't ever want to see you around my daughter again!"
Finally, Auron got to him and gripped the back of Jecht's neck with his index finger and thumb, squeezing just the right spot, knocking Jecht out. Then he got them both away from the Shoopuf. It quickly calmed down, but damaged had been caused. The station was gone and the shoopuf had a nasty gash on its right hind leg. After the madness had ended, the owner of the shoopuf came up to them.
"Whatch in Yevonch name ish going onsh heresh?!" The shoopuf owner exclaimed. He was a 5-foot blue, odd creature with a lisp called a Hypello.
"I'm terribly sorry, sir." Braska apologized. "My friend here was drunk and couldn't think for himself."
"Welsh, he shtill attachted my shoopuf! And ze shoopuf attatched my shtashun!! He causdhed lotch of trouble! Now, Shoopuf ish hurt! Cannot go out into water! Cannot carry customersh!"
Auron looked around and saw a ton of angry people around them. The shoopuf was hurt and therefore, couldn't carry people. Now, they couldn't get across.
"We musht waitch for shoopuf to getch betterch!!" The owner continued. "Cushtomersh get very angry! And ish all ush fault! You much pay for damagesh!!"
Braska sighed. "How much do we owe?"
The owner went back and discussed it with his employees, who looked like him, then looked it all over himself, and finally came back after a few minutes.
"We have evaluashted the shichuashun, and we shinks zat you owshe ush.five hundred shoushand gilsh."
"500,000 gil?!" Both men exclaimed.
"Shoopuf hurtsh bad! Plush, shoopuf wrecsh everyshing! You paysh now!!"
Braska groaned and looked through his money. After a while, he handed him the entire bag.
"That's about 400, 500 gil, it's all we have."
"Finsh. If itsh all yoush gots, then it will dosh. But nowsh, you musht waits for shoopuf to getsh better! All customersh wait nows."
"Yes . . .I understand."
The shoopuf owner walked away with the money. Braska sighed.
"Wonderful." Auron groaned. "Now we have no money, and it's all Jecht's fault. What are we going to do?"
"We'll find money some way. We can sell a few things."
"Like what? Why don't we just sell Jecht?"
"No, Auron. We'll wait until he sobers up, then hear him out."
Auron snorted. "You're right. He probably wouldn't sell for much anyway."
* * * *
"Ugh." Jecht moaned, waking up. Auron looked over at him. Jecht groaned and grumble as he struggled to stand, holding his head. "Uhh . . .oh, man!!" He ran behind a tree and Auron heard vomiting for a while. Auron rolled his eyes.
"Serves you right!" After a while, Jecht came stumbling back out from behind the tree, staggering.
"Man . . .I feel a building collapsed on my head." Then he looked at the shoopuf. "WHA!! WHAT IS THAT?!"
Auron jumped up and drew his blade, pointing it at Jecht. "SIT DOWN!!"
Jecht froze, but did as he was told. "What's your problem?"
"YOU!!"
"Huh? What's going on? Hey, where are we?"
Auron glared. "You wouldn't know. You were drunk."
"Drunk?! No way!"
"Don't give my any bull! Where did you get that whiskey?!"
Jecht sighed, knowing he'd been caught. "Guadosalam."
"Why?" Braska finally asked him.
He shrugged. "I . . .I . . .can't . . .remember." He rubbed his head.
Auron sighed. "Well, would you like to hear what happened while you were in loco land?! You attacked a shoopuf!!"
"A what?!"
Auron pointed his blade. "That!! A shoopuf! Our only means of transportation across the Moonflow! Now we have to wait while the shoopuf is tended to, which we had to pay for! That, plus all the damage the shoopuf did in a rampage from your attack! Now we're broke! You know what that means?! We can't buy items, we can't stay at inns, we can't do anything!!"
"I . . .I'm sorry."
"That doesn't cut it, Jecht! Your actions have consequences that have affected us as well as you. Now, we're stranded with absolutely no money. Thank you very much, Jecht."
Auron walked off on his own, still furious.
After a while, he cooled down a bit and began going through the items they had, seeing if there was anything they could sell. Soon, he came across Jecht's sphere. That could go, Auron thought. But then . . .it was for Jecht's wife and son. He sighed and decided to keep it.
Then he got an idea. Jecht's family might want to see this place. Auron turned the sphere on and looked across the water for a moment. Then he aimed it over at Jecht, who was lying on his side with a grumpy face. Auron turned it off, walked over to him, and then turned it on again, right on Jecht.
"What are you shooting me for?" Jecht grumbled.
"So you don't do anything stupid again. I can't believe you attacked that shoopuf! Lord Braska had to pay the handler for damages with his own travel money!"
"I said I was sorry!" Jecht protested. "It'll never happen again, I promise."
"Ah, a promise? Which you'll forget, come tomorrow!"
"Auron." Braska put in. "Please. He did apologize."
Auron rolled his eyes. Like that helped anything.
"That's it!" Jecht said, standing. "From now on, the only thing I drink is shoopuf's milk!"
"You sure?" Braska said.
"We're on a journey to beat Sin, right? If I keep screwing up and . . .making a fool of myself, my wife and kid will never forgive me!"
"That's on the record." Auron pointed out. Then he shut the sphere off. "So you'd better remember it."
Jecht sat back down, grumbling. "I will." Auron got back to looking for items to sell. "Is there anything we can do to get more money?" Jecht asked.
"Not really." Auron replied, considering. "We don't have time to do work, so selling is our only option.either that or sparing everything we have for the entire journey, which is still a ways to go."
"Wonderful." Jecht sighed.
At that moment, there came a horrible bellow from a shoopuf. Everyone jumped up to see what was going on. A shoopuf, in the middle of the lake, was crying out in its deep trumpeting voice. It seemed to be stuck on something.
"What's wrong with it?" Braska wondered aloud. Then, he got his answer. A long tentacle reached out from the water and grabbed the shoopuf's left hind leg, then another one grabbed the left foreleg.
"What . . .is . . .that?!" Jecht exclaimed.
"A fiend?!" Braska wondered.
"A sinspawn!" Auron said. It made sense. Sin had flown over not too long ago, so it must've left more than one spawn. More tentacles began reaching from the water, getting a better grip on the shoopuf, attempting to pull it under. The passengers on board were panicking. The shoopuf was strong, but it wasn't going to last for too long.
"Oh, no!" The Hypello ferryman exclaimed. "Ze shoopuf is under atacksh!"
Auron looked at Braska. "Can you strike it?"
"I don't know. If I hit the water, the shoopuf will be struck too, and if it gets pulled under, then the passengers do!"
"Maybe a different type of spell? Something to get its attention!"
"CANNONBALL!!" Jecht exclaimed, jumping out into the Moonflow. He then proceeded to swim like a true blitzer.
"What is he doing?!" Auron exclaimed.
"Getting its attention!" Braska said. "He can fight underwater!"
Braska was right. As he saw, Jecht drew his sword. Being the best blitzer in Zanarkand, he really knew how to swim. His feet kicked in the water and his arms swung furiously. He pictured himself in a game, with the monster as the goal and his sword as the ball. He got right up close and spun, like he was going to use the Jecht Shot, but just used it to slice through the enemy's side. He heard a muffled roar in the water and stuck his head above the surface. The shoopuf pulled back up more easily now, but the tentacles were still on it. So, Jecht swam up to them and stabbed one, making sure not to hurt the shoopuf. The monster quickly let go and Jecht did the same to the other tentacle.
Once it was gone, the shoopuf was free and started moving again, more quickly this time, but still slow. The monster then poked its ugly head above the water. It was like a large, black octopus with glowing red eyes. It roared in anger of losing its meal and tried again. Jecht sliced the tentacle and it let go. Then, he sliced it again and the tentacle was severed.
"HA!" Jecht laughed. But then, a tentacle smacked him away as the fiend went to reclaim its meal, which was nearing the shore.
Auron and Jecht scanned the water for Jecht's body, and soon found it floating face-up.
"He's unconscious!" Braska said. "I'll wake him, but will it be in time?!"
Auron thought quickly. He looked around and found Jecht's ball. "Do we have any blitzers here?!"
A guado team raised their hands. "We're the Guado Glories!" The captain said.
"Who's your best shooter?!"
"I am." One said, stepping up. Auron tossed the ball to him. "Hit that thing, so it'll look over here!"
The guado nodded as Auron charged. The guado tossed the ball into the air and swung his most powerful kick. The ball hit the sinspawn right above the eye and it looked over.
"You don't want to move!!" Auron threatened, swinging his blade. A sudden rush of fear swept over the fiend and it froze in place.
At the same time, Braska finished powering up and awakened Jecht with a white magic spell. He looked up and around, then got back to work. Jecht powered himself up just as the beast was coming out of its trance. It looked over at the shoopuf, hungrily.
"Sorry!" Jecht said. "Maybe later!" With that, he struck, and the monster was temporarily immobilized. Jecht looked over at the shoopuf. "Can't that thing move any faster?!"
"Ze shoopuf ish going ash fasht ash it can!" The driver informed. The shoopuf was going way too slow. With it being so close, tension was rising.
"Once that shoopuf gets out, I can strike it with a lightning spell." Braska said.
"Until then, Jecht is on his own." Auron noted.
"Maybe not." Braska suddenly said. He spun his staff around. "Bahamut, come!" A Yevon symbol formed in the sky as the dragon-like beast appeared. It shot through the symbol and landed. Braska pointed to the monster and Bahamut flapped his wings again. It flew over and simply punched the fiend. It snarled and swung at him, smacking him with a tentacle.
Bahamut growled and powered up and fired its Impulse attack, blasting it with a few black balls. Just afterwards, Jecht struck the monster in its side. It smacked him away again, but Jecht just shook it off this time. Bahamut flew over it and punched as it went. The slow monster turned around only to get kicked as the aeon flew back overhead. The monster got mad and fired a Waterga blast, catching Bahamut by surprise. The aeon regained its altitude and flew back to strike again. However, the sinspawn launched another spell: Drain. Bahamut's strength was sapped from him and given to the monster. Bahamut felt weakened, but pressed on anyway. He fired his Impulse attack again, but to little avail. The monster lifted up many of its tentacles. The little suckers all began to glow, then they all fired rapid, yellow blasts, pummeling Bahamut.
The aeon roared in pain and fell into the water. Its form became translucent as it diminished into nothing. Bahamut was defeated.
"Well, it was a good idea." Auron said, noticing the shoopuf get its second foot out of the water. The sinspawn looked over and saw this too and began swimming over to recover its prey. But, suddenly, it flinched and stopped. Then, it flinched again and roared. After two more, Jecht popped up out of the water.
"C'mon, that all you've got?!" He taunted. Braska looked over and saw the shoopuf fully pull itself out of the water and begin moving on dry land.
"Jecht!" He called. "Get out of there!"
Jecht obeyed and began swimming back to shore. Suddenly, a tentacle wrapped around him and pulled him up into the air.
"Jecht!!" Braska shouted.
"Oh, no, you don't!!" Auron said. He unclipped the jug at his side, opened the cork and took a swig. However, he didn't swallow it. He reapplied the cork, put the jug down and spat the fluid onto his sword. It instantly burst into a dark flame. Auron slammed it into the ground and four black, fireballs flew off of it and struck the sinspawn.
It roared in pain and dropped Jecht, who swam for all he was worth back to the shore. As soon as he was back on and away from danger, Braska raised his staff up high.
"Thundaga!!" He shouted. Four small electric bolts encircled the beast, and then came together to produce and great electrical blast. When mixed with water, the fiend was helpless as it was electrocuted until its last breath escaped it. Once the attack had subsided, the monster slumped in the water and its pyreflies dispersed.
Braska put his arms down and smiled to his crew. The people on the shore applauded and cheered. Braska gave a bow, Jecht acted like he was the biggest man in the world, and Auron simply crossed his arms.
Once the applause had died down and the people had calmed, the trio spoke again.
"You're an idiot." Auron said. "Just jumping in like that?" But, he was smiling, for once.
"Why did you?" Braska asked.
Jecht shrugged and scratched the back of his head. "Well.I, uh, figured I'd screwed things up, so maybe this was my chance to make it up to you guys."
Auron had to admit to himself that he was surprised by this, but he wasn't going to admit it. "Hey," he said, picking up the blitzball, "your ball actually came in handy."
"Oh, really?" He said, with a cocky smile. Auron said no more.
"Eshcush me." A hypello said, walking up to them. It was the same shoopuf owner. "We wantsh to shank yoo for shaving ze shoopuf." He gave him a pouch. "Here ish too-hundred-shoushand of your gil, and you can ride ze shoopuf for free zis time."
"Well, you're very welcome." Braska said.
"And sorry about the incident before." Jecht said.
"Ish okay. Ze shoopuf is shafe. Speaking of shoopufsh, we ish going to leave shoon. Better get ready, yesh?" Then, he turned and left.
"It seems Jecht's blundering had a purpose after all." Braska said. "If we hadn't been stopped, that fiend would still be in the water."
Auron rolled his eyes, knowing it was directed at him.
"Alright, then." Braska said. "On to Djose temple!"
Author's note: I got severely sidetracked on this story, even though I promised to update sooner. Sorry, everyone. I can't promise the next one will be any quicker, but re-reading some of my reviews and such motivated me to get this story going again. Speaking of reviews, a few new ones would be appreciated! Later!
Here it was again. It was Braska going head-to-head with Sin. The crowd was there as well, waiting anxiously. But this time, something different happened. Jecht was standing between Braska and Sin, sword drawn.
"Go!" Braska commanded. "Destroy Sin!!" Jecht nodded and ran forward. Surely, he was joking. Jecht could not destroy sin! But knowing Jecht, what would stop him from trying?
He ran, like a fool, right at Sin's face. The monster began powering up an attack, but Jecht was already there. He jumped up and stabbed Sin right in the face. Auron shook his head. What an arrogant moron. But then.something VERY odd happened. A beam came from Jecht's sword, cutting through Sin's flesh and expanding. The beam grew wide enough and long enough to cut through Sin's entire body! And none of this seemed strange to either Braska or Jecht.
Sin's body was cut in two. Both bloody halves fell to the side and deteriorated into a million pyrflies. Then, the crowd cheered. This was very different. Sin was gone.but Braska was here to see his celebration! But . . .Braska didn't look happy. Auron wondered why. Then, a very terrible, sinking feeling came into his heart. He looked over at Jecht, who looked at Braska, sword pointing at him. What was he doing? Jecht began to charge.
"NO!!" Auron bellowed, shooting straight up in bed, breathing heavily. He reflexively grabbed his sword and jumped to his feet.
"Auron!!" Braska exclaimed, waking up.
"Wha?! Lord Braska!" He was alright. "Wh-where is Jecht?!"
"He's . . ." Braska looked at Jecht's bed. "I . . .guess he went out early. Are you alright?"
Auron took a few breaths. "Nightmare." He muttered. "Just . . .a nightmare." He began breathing again, then he heard a strange sound. It was laughter. Braska was laughing! "What?" Auron asked him.
"You?! Nightmares?!" He laughed again.
"If you knew what it was about, then you wouldn't laugh."
"Then tell me!" he chuckled.
Auron sighed and lowered his sword finally, as well as his head. "It was about . . .the end."
Braska wasn't smiling anymore, much less laughing. "I see . . ."
"I've had one of those before.the night Sin flew over Macalania, but this was different."
"How so?" Braska wondered.
"None of what I'm about to say leaves this room."
Braska was confused, but silently agreed.
"In my first dream," Auron explained. "You summoned the Final Aeon. It defeated Sin, like we'd thought it would, but then.turned and killed you.like we knew it would. And . . .there was the annoying audience that cared more about Sin's defeat than your life. They cheered and celebrated, but then, Sin came back. They were all shocked and appalled, but I knew it would happen. It always happens."
"What about the second dream?" Braska asked, trying to divert the subject.
Auron hesitated once more. He felt like a child, doing this, but he felt it would be good to get it off his chest. "In the second one.there is no Final Aeon. Only . . .Jecht."
"Jecht?" Braska asked with a raised brow.
"Yes. Jecht. He ran up and defeated Sin with a single swipe of his sword. I thought that was good, because you could see the celebration headed for you."
"That doesn't sound like reason for an outburst."
"It didn't end there. Jecht then looked at you with this . . .odd look. Dark, vile . . .evil even. Then, he turned and . . .attacked you."
That brought a surprised look to Braska's face..
"And you seemed to expect it."
Braska kept the look, but with a hint of confusion. "Well . . .then what?"
"I tried to stop him and found myself here."
Braska shook his head. "A silly dream, nothing more. Jecht would never do that."
"Wouldn't he?"
"Auron, I think your paranoia and skepticism towards Jecht created that dream. Learn to trust him."
Auron remained silent. "It was . . .too real for my liking."
There was a silence. Auron knew himself very well. He was never bothered by dreams. But . . .this . . .it all seemed so vivid and real. It was like he was really watching Jecht try to kill Braska. And the fact that this dream bothered him so . . .bothered him even more. Why did it bother him so? Maybe it was more than a dream. Maybe it was a vision of his skepticism proving itself right.
Auron decided that he needed a walk, and fresh air to shake off dream.
"I'll go find Jecht."
"Don't do anything stupid."
"Hey, it's me, remember?" Auron equipped himself and walked out of the room, and out of the mansion. Guados were up and about here and there in Guadosalam. He asked for directions to the item shop from a woman under a stone bridge fairly high up. She pointed up.
"Right up there."
Auron walked out from the bridge to get a better look. Sure enough, there was a small building there atop it, in the middle. And just then, the door opened and Jecht walked out.
"Hey!" Auron called.
Jecht nearly jumped out of his skin. He looked around frantically. "Who der?! Who der?!"
"Down here!"
He looked down. "Oh! Auron! Yeesh, you scared the daylights outta me."
"You seem jumpy."
"How's this for jumpy?" he jumped right off the bridge and landed on his feet next to Auron. He noticed he had a blitzball in his hand.
"What's that for?"
"To keep my edge up. I'm a famous blitzer back in Zanarkand, you know. I gotta stay sharp!" He began bouncing it up on his feet, knees, and head. "It also keeps your reflexes up!" He grabbed the ball and threw it at Auron. It bounced off his chest and hit the floor. "Nice." Jecht chuckled. He went to get the ball. "Oh, by the way." He got a little closer to Auron. "You said you'd tell me about Seymour's mom."
Auron nodded and brought him to a quiet little corner. "This isn't known to many. Braska told me this and I advise you keep it quiet as well. Seymour was treated differently as a child. Because he was half human and half guado, he was rejected by the full-breeds. After a while, his mother couldn't stand it any longer. She became a fayth to give her son power. She believe that they'd only accept him if he had power."
"She . . .became a fayth . . .how?"
"I do not know."
"So that means . . .Seymour . . .can summon an Aeon?!"
"Yes. Only one, though. But I hear that it is a foul one, very dark, and very powerful. They say it may be more powerful than all other aeons combined."
" . . .he's on our side, right?"
"Yes."
"Good. Sounds tough."
"But he's still young. Anyway, what did you get?"
"Oh, the basic stuff. Hi-Potions, Eye Drops, Echo Screens, the works, plus this ball."
Auron nodded. "Good. We'll be leaving quickly, once Braska is ready."
"No we won't." Auron and Jecht turned. It was Braska. "Not just yet. I want to visit the Farplane before we leave."
"What's a Farplane?" Jecht asked aloud. Everyone turned and stared at him. "Um . . .I . . .was close to Sin, so . . .my head's been baffled. I can't remember anything, really." They all seemed to understand. Then he looked back at Braska and asked more quietly, "Seriously, what is it?"
Auron was rubbing the bride of his nose. "Are we going to be explaining Spira the whole trip?"
But Braska answered. "When someone dies, people usually want a summoner to send them. That means sending their souls to the Farplane. That is where the dead rest in peace. If they are not sent, they remain on the earth, wandering amongst the living. They envy the living. That envy soon turns to hatred. And that hatred turns them into a fiend."
" . . .I know a lot of fiends . . ."
"Hm?"
"They don't have summoners in Zanarkand, so people just.die."
"How can you possibly live with so many fiends?"
"There are hardly any fiends where I come from."
"That's . . .that's impossible."
"There, you see?" Auron said. "Another reason he couldn't be from Zanarkand."
"But," Braska put in. "That was 1,000 years ago . . ."
Auron rolled his eyes. "Let's just go."
Guadosalam was linked to the Farplane. They just traveled a few paths and came upon it. The Farplane looked like just an enormous bubble floating in the air. A long, upward path led to it.
"This I gotta see." Jecht said with an anxious grin. Then he looked at Auron. "You been here before?"
"I never cared to. I do not have reason to visit the dead."
"So why is Braska going?"
"Probably to see his wife again." Auron said with a shrug. "And if he goes, I will go too."
"Nervous?"
"Only around you." Auron walked forward, up the path and up to the bubble. There was a sort of opening in the bubble where the path ended, with a multicolor barrier. It was translucent and you couldn't see that far past it, except for a small patch of rocky land. Braska simply stepped right through the barrier and went in, his image disappearing quickly.
"Now that's cool." Jecht said.
"You're easily amused." Auron grumbled, walking ahead. Instantly, the world changed. He wasn't in some floating bubble. He was in a whole new world! The only land, though, was a large, circular rock jutting out. But other than that were just clouds. They seemed high up. Every now and then, the clouds cleared, revealing the land below. It was a vast plain with lush, green grass and many types of flowers. There were also many waterfalls and rivers. But the strangest thing of all was the . . .was it the sun or moon? It was blue and hung in the air, surrounded by a mass of black cloud. But it didn't give off blue light. Normal, yellowish light, like a sunset, filled the Farplane.
Auron didn't bother wondering. He didn't much care for the Farplane in the first place. But Jecht was just awed. He was walking around the rock, looking all around, amazed. There were souls everywhere, floating around, except on the rock. Braska walked up to the edge of the rock and just stood there. Suddenly, an image of an Al Bhed woman appeared. She was very pretty, with short blonde hair. Actually, it was too blonde . . .in fact, it was more yellow.
"Now that's freaky." Jecht said. He walked a little closer. "Whoa . . .her pupils are spiral! Hang on a sec . . .that means . . ."
"She was Al Bhed." Auron said.
"Whoa." That was all he said. Braska's wife looked over at him.
"Jecht." Braska said. "My guardian. Along with Auron, you know him."
She kept her smile and gave a small, silent bow, then looked back at her widower husband.
"Yes, a few days ago." Braska said. "Don't worry about her. She's in the care of the temple. But . . .I don't know if she should be there forever . . .I mean, I want her to have a life outside of Bevelle. I don't just want her to be known as my daughter. I want her to grow up apart from city life, as well. I want her to adapt and grow strong, stronger than I could be . . .now don't go lying. You know as well as I do how long it took for me to adapt to outside life after being in Bevelle for so long." Braska shook his head with a chuckle. "Oh, you had to bring that up."
Jecht raised a brow, then slowly sidestepped to Auron. "She's . . .not saying anything."
"Not to you. I don't know how it works, but Braska told me it was like this. Now be quiet, I want to hear this."
"No, I don't know where." Braska continued. "But somewhere far from here. I don't think she'll be able to escape my name, but I don't just want her to grow up and be a nun or whatever. It's . . .complicated, really . . ." He smiled. "I hoped you'd understand . . .your brother?? Um . . .I don't know. I mean . . .you know how he is around me . . .mm . . .maybe he would be different around her, but . . .oh, you did?? Well . . .I don't know. I mean, you know how I have nothing against the Al Bhed, but they may have something against her. And so might others seeing as she's around them all the time. Maybe somewhere else . . .me neither. We passed Macalania, but that's much too cold. I don't want her having to live in such a place. Well . . .Luca is the next place, but still, that's a large city. She should grow up in a small town, I think. Don't you? . . .yes, she should. Adapting at a young age is much better. And it's easier to get used to a city at an older age than somewhere else . . .well, I'll find something . . .I promise."
His conversation went on with his wife. Auron found this intriguing. Braska wanted to take Yuna somewhere else besides Bevelle, but dared not take her now, of course. But how would he go about that?
"So how do you get dead people to appear?" Jecht asked.
"You just think about them, Braska says."
Jecht obviously tried for a moment. "Nothing. See? I am from Zanarkand."
"It'll take more than that to convince me."
"So, what about you, Auron? Anyone you'd like to call?"
"I'd rather not go there, Jecht." But it was too late. He'd already thought about them.
Two figures appeared in the clouds. Both were a bit tall. One was male, quite buff, clad in a monk's armor. The other was a woman, draped in regal garments. Both of them looked of great importance. And they were both smiling, but not much.
Auron's eyes narrowed.
"Who?" Jecht asked. Then he answered his own question. "Your folks?"
Auron nodded, but with a solid face that showed no emotion.
(So, you did become a warrior. I'm proud.)
It was his father's voice in his head.
"Yes." Auron said. "I am a guardian for Lord Braska."
(You've grown quite a bit. You're so handsome now.) His mother, of course. Auron didn't reply. (How are things at the temple?)
"I wouldn't know." Auron said. "I haven't been there in days, and even then, I hadn't been there in quite a while."
(Why not?) His father asked. Auron hesitated.
"My own reasons."
(Auron, what is it?)
(You can tell us.) His mother offered.
Auron's eyes darted from one parent to the other. Then he fixed his eyes upon his father. "I am not you. I have blazed my own trail." Auron turned away. "I have written my own story." Then he said to Jecht. "I'll be outside." He walked back through the barrier and was back outside on the walkway. He descended the steps with a lot on his mind, when.
"Hey! Auron!" It was Jecht. "What happened?"
"Nothing."
"Hey, you can tell me, man!"
"No, I cannot."
"Why not?"
"Because it's confidential and none of your business." Auron replied coolly. "I will wait out here for Braska. You may return if you wish."
Jecht snorted. "Fine. Someone's gotta protect him in case some ghost tries to attack, or . . .whatever."
Auron shook his head, also trying to shake his parental encounter. It wasn't that he had anything against his parents. He just did not like digging up his past. It always became a mess.
A little later, Braska and Jecht came back. Jecht had apparently told Braska what happened, but Braska didn't go into it, though he knew why Auron had left. He just remained silent, and Jecht remained confused. They left Guadosalam quickly afterward without a word.
* * * *
The next day, Jecht blew it.
They'd been going through the forest to the Moonflow when it happened. It was late in the afternoon and the fiends were going ballistic.
Auron sliced through a shelled enemy, then turned and blocked the attack of another, then swung his blade upward, slicing through it as he did so. There were a lot more, though. Jecht and Braska were also doing their share of fighting, but we also wearing out. Auron took the hit of a quick lizard, then Jecht sliced through it.
Braska struck down a Snow Flan with a Fira attack, but then saw a magic-proof shelled creature rushing at him. Auron ran over to his summoner and dropped down onto a knee, then put the flat side of his thick blade to block it. The creature slammed right into his blade and fell onto its back, unable to get up. Auron stabbed its soft underside, then flung it up at a bee-like fiend buzzing above. The impact knocked the bug to the ground.
Then the big one came. It was an Ochu, a giant, living plant with two poisonous tentacles. Jecht was busy with some faster fiends, so Auron went up first, striking the monster's base. It cried out and stepped back, but Auron hit it again, then Braska struck it with a Fira spell. That made the monster angry. It jumped back, amazingly, and then began dancing around on its four very short, stubby legs. A yellowish mist spewed from the monster's "mouth" in a great wave. It knocked all three warriors back.
Auron stood, but felt very weak. He coughed and sputtered and felt like throwing up. Poison! That was it! The Ochu dance! That move had various effects on those who fought it. He had taken up poison. But he had antidotes. But then, Auron looked over and saw his comrades on the ground. Jecht was asleep; another side effect of the Ochu Dance, but Braska was K.O.ed. Both of them were vulnerable right now to the many fiends still around. Auron could cure himself with an antidote, but his friends would be attacked if he didn't act quickly. Besides, the Ochu could attack again.
Auron decided to destroy them all at once before aiding his comrades, and he knew just how to do it. Auron stood and turned his blade so the tip was facing the ground, then jumped into the air.
"Dragon Fang!!" He slammed the blade into the ground and a orange wave surged through the ground, and created a great explosion under anyone it came in contact with-even the fliers! The explosions were too much and all fiends were destroyed.
Auron fell onto his side, dizzy from both the poison and the energy drain. First, he took an antidote from his item sack and drank it down. The poison lifted and he turned to his friends. He took a Phoenix Down and poured the red liquid down Braska's throat. He sputtered and coughed, then sat up quickly, holding his head.
"Ugh. What happened?"
"The Ochu used and Ochu Dance move on us all. Jecht is asleep."
Braska used Ensuna, a White Magic move that lifts any status ailment. Jecht woke up, then jumped up.
"Oookaaaay, where are they?! Where are they?!"
"Gone." Auron said. "I destroyed them all while you two were out."
"Eh?? How?"
"Move of mine called Dragon Fang. You'll probably see it later."
Jecht looked around, and seeing no enemy, shrugged and wiped the blood off his blade, then put it away. Auron did the same and Braska stayed sitting.
"I believe we should take a break after that." He said.
Auron nodded. He wasn't that tired, really, but when his summoner required rest, he rested as well. Jecht didn't seem to be too tired either, but also knew the drill. To spare Braska's magic, they all just used Hi- Potions to heal themselves. They decided to eat as well, seeing as they were all hungry.
A few moments later, Jecht went off into the woods by himself for a moment, saying he just wanted to take a quick walk, because he couldn't stand still. Auron paid no heed to it.
Soon, Braska was ready to go again. But Jecht still hadn't returned.
"Where could he be?" Braska asked to no one in particular.
Auron shrugged and walked into the woods.
"Jecht?" he called. "Come on! We're leaving!"
No reply.
"Jecht?" Braska called as well. "Where are you?" They both looked around for a minute, then Braska suddenly gasped. "Auron! Over there!"
He turned and saw Jecht hobbling wearily. "He looks hurt!" Braska observed. Both men rushed to him. Auron caught him just as he fell over.
"Jecht??" Braska said.
"Uflbivn." He replied.
"Jecht, are you alright?"
Suddenly, he seemed to explode with life.
"Alright?! Course I am! I'm da famous Jecht!" he kind of stumbled in a loopy way. "I . . .can handle ANYTING!!" He raised his arms up high, and Auron saw it. A whiskey bottle in Jecht's right hand. He drank from it.
"YOU'RE DRUNK!!" Auron exploded.
He took the drink from his lips, spilling a bit. "No, no . . .I'm Jecht." He smiled, dazed. He tried taking another drink, but Auron snatched it and shattered it on the ground.
"Hey! Hey! I money for paid that!!"
"What? Rgh . . .never mind! You're drunk! I can't believe this!!"
"Yeah?? Well . . .well . . .you're stupid." He let out a drunken laugh and stumbled again.
"Drunk . . ." Braska said in disbelief.
"Is this enough proof for you?!" Auron asked Braska. "He's drunk! He actually brought a drink along on the pilgrimage! He's not worthy of being a guardian!"
Braska looked very troubled. "Why would he?"
"Because he's an idiot, like I've been trying to tell you!"
Jecht chuckled again and hiccupped, then pointed at the sky. "Heh, heh . . .birdie."
Auron rolled his eyes. "I say we leave him here and let the fiends eat him. Then he'll be out of our hair for good!"
"Now hold on . . ." But he was interrupted by Jecht flinging his arm over Auron's shoulder.
"Aaaaaarruuunn, you're da greatest pal in da wuld, I love you." The he kissed him full on the mouth.
"Ack! Ptuh! That does it!!" Auron reached for his blade.
"Auron! Wait!" Braska shouted, grabbing his arm.
"Well, fine then!" Jecht said. "You don' like me?? Well . . .well . . .I don' like you! Yeah! That's right, man! It is oveeaah!" He swung his arms out to symbolize "over", but, due to his drunkenness, he fell right on his face, then laughed. "Hey!! Ants!! Hee hee!!"
"Now can I kill him?" Auron asked.
"No! We'll wait until he sobers up, then ask him about it."
"But we don't know when it will be, and we can't waist our time here! We have to arrive before the shoopuf leaves!"
"Then we'll take him with us!"
"WHAT?!"
"Help me carry him."
"You're not serious!"
"I am! Help me carry Jecht so we don't miss the shoopuf!"
"But-"
"That's an order, Sir Auron!" He snapped strictly.
Auron took an angry breath, then looked down at the disorderly Jecht, then groaned. "Fine. But if he kisses me again, I'm killing him."
They both picked him, each slinging an arm around their shoulder, and sort of dragged him along.
"You look like a bumble bee!" Jecht laughed at Auron, who didn't even bother to respond.
They soon left the woods, and went out into open plains. Jecht was still drunk, babbling nonsense the whole way.
"We're almost to the shoopuf." Braska reported, thankfully.
"Alright," Jecht said, "But we're using your hat this time!"
"What a lunatic." Auron grumbled.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey." Jecht said. "Nobody messes with my wife." He swung a drunken punch at Auron, and he easily dodged and Jecht fell over, but Auron caught him. "Wow, you're fast for a fat guy."
Auron rolled his eyes. "He'd better sober up soon, so I can knock him senseless!!"
"When I want your opinion, I'll ask for it!" Jecht snapped. They pressed onward, then turned around a bend, and there it was. The shoopuf station. The shoopuf was a giant four-legged animal that looked like a very large elephant, but its trunk was longer and thinner and curled and it had no ears. There was a place to sit strapped atop the shoopuf and a driver's seat atop the shoopuf's head. It was getting ready to go when they got there.
"Just in time!" Braska said, relieved.
Just then, Jecht really blew it. He looked at the shoopuf and his eyes shot open.
"Whah!! Freakamama-weirdo-thingamawack!"
Braska and Auron looked at each other. "Wha?!" They both said, very confused. But then, Jecht broke free of them and charged at the shoopuf, drawing his sword, shouting, "Fiend!! Fiend!! Get outta my house!!"
"Oh, great!" Auron groaned, chasing after him.
"Jecht!! Stop!!" Braska shouted after him. But he was faster then both of them.
"Take this foul beast of Satan!!" Jecht shouted, jumping forward and slashing the shoopuf's leg. It roared and tossed around. People screamed and ran away from the sheltered station just as the shoopuf crushed it in angry agony.
"Yeah!" Jecht taunted. "And I don't ever want to see you around my daughter again!"
Finally, Auron got to him and gripped the back of Jecht's neck with his index finger and thumb, squeezing just the right spot, knocking Jecht out. Then he got them both away from the Shoopuf. It quickly calmed down, but damaged had been caused. The station was gone and the shoopuf had a nasty gash on its right hind leg. After the madness had ended, the owner of the shoopuf came up to them.
"Whatch in Yevonch name ish going onsh heresh?!" The shoopuf owner exclaimed. He was a 5-foot blue, odd creature with a lisp called a Hypello.
"I'm terribly sorry, sir." Braska apologized. "My friend here was drunk and couldn't think for himself."
"Welsh, he shtill attachted my shoopuf! And ze shoopuf attatched my shtashun!! He causdhed lotch of trouble! Now, Shoopuf ish hurt! Cannot go out into water! Cannot carry customersh!"
Auron looked around and saw a ton of angry people around them. The shoopuf was hurt and therefore, couldn't carry people. Now, they couldn't get across.
"We musht waitch for shoopuf to getch betterch!!" The owner continued. "Cushtomersh get very angry! And ish all ush fault! You much pay for damagesh!!"
Braska sighed. "How much do we owe?"
The owner went back and discussed it with his employees, who looked like him, then looked it all over himself, and finally came back after a few minutes.
"We have evaluashted the shichuashun, and we shinks zat you owshe ush.five hundred shoushand gilsh."
"500,000 gil?!" Both men exclaimed.
"Shoopuf hurtsh bad! Plush, shoopuf wrecsh everyshing! You paysh now!!"
Braska groaned and looked through his money. After a while, he handed him the entire bag.
"That's about 400, 500 gil, it's all we have."
"Finsh. If itsh all yoush gots, then it will dosh. But nowsh, you musht waits for shoopuf to getsh better! All customersh wait nows."
"Yes . . .I understand."
The shoopuf owner walked away with the money. Braska sighed.
"Wonderful." Auron groaned. "Now we have no money, and it's all Jecht's fault. What are we going to do?"
"We'll find money some way. We can sell a few things."
"Like what? Why don't we just sell Jecht?"
"No, Auron. We'll wait until he sobers up, then hear him out."
Auron snorted. "You're right. He probably wouldn't sell for much anyway."
* * * *
"Ugh." Jecht moaned, waking up. Auron looked over at him. Jecht groaned and grumble as he struggled to stand, holding his head. "Uhh . . .oh, man!!" He ran behind a tree and Auron heard vomiting for a while. Auron rolled his eyes.
"Serves you right!" After a while, Jecht came stumbling back out from behind the tree, staggering.
"Man . . .I feel a building collapsed on my head." Then he looked at the shoopuf. "WHA!! WHAT IS THAT?!"
Auron jumped up and drew his blade, pointing it at Jecht. "SIT DOWN!!"
Jecht froze, but did as he was told. "What's your problem?"
"YOU!!"
"Huh? What's going on? Hey, where are we?"
Auron glared. "You wouldn't know. You were drunk."
"Drunk?! No way!"
"Don't give my any bull! Where did you get that whiskey?!"
Jecht sighed, knowing he'd been caught. "Guadosalam."
"Why?" Braska finally asked him.
He shrugged. "I . . .I . . .can't . . .remember." He rubbed his head.
Auron sighed. "Well, would you like to hear what happened while you were in loco land?! You attacked a shoopuf!!"
"A what?!"
Auron pointed his blade. "That!! A shoopuf! Our only means of transportation across the Moonflow! Now we have to wait while the shoopuf is tended to, which we had to pay for! That, plus all the damage the shoopuf did in a rampage from your attack! Now we're broke! You know what that means?! We can't buy items, we can't stay at inns, we can't do anything!!"
"I . . .I'm sorry."
"That doesn't cut it, Jecht! Your actions have consequences that have affected us as well as you. Now, we're stranded with absolutely no money. Thank you very much, Jecht."
Auron walked off on his own, still furious.
After a while, he cooled down a bit and began going through the items they had, seeing if there was anything they could sell. Soon, he came across Jecht's sphere. That could go, Auron thought. But then . . .it was for Jecht's wife and son. He sighed and decided to keep it.
Then he got an idea. Jecht's family might want to see this place. Auron turned the sphere on and looked across the water for a moment. Then he aimed it over at Jecht, who was lying on his side with a grumpy face. Auron turned it off, walked over to him, and then turned it on again, right on Jecht.
"What are you shooting me for?" Jecht grumbled.
"So you don't do anything stupid again. I can't believe you attacked that shoopuf! Lord Braska had to pay the handler for damages with his own travel money!"
"I said I was sorry!" Jecht protested. "It'll never happen again, I promise."
"Ah, a promise? Which you'll forget, come tomorrow!"
"Auron." Braska put in. "Please. He did apologize."
Auron rolled his eyes. Like that helped anything.
"That's it!" Jecht said, standing. "From now on, the only thing I drink is shoopuf's milk!"
"You sure?" Braska said.
"We're on a journey to beat Sin, right? If I keep screwing up and . . .making a fool of myself, my wife and kid will never forgive me!"
"That's on the record." Auron pointed out. Then he shut the sphere off. "So you'd better remember it."
Jecht sat back down, grumbling. "I will." Auron got back to looking for items to sell. "Is there anything we can do to get more money?" Jecht asked.
"Not really." Auron replied, considering. "We don't have time to do work, so selling is our only option.either that or sparing everything we have for the entire journey, which is still a ways to go."
"Wonderful." Jecht sighed.
At that moment, there came a horrible bellow from a shoopuf. Everyone jumped up to see what was going on. A shoopuf, in the middle of the lake, was crying out in its deep trumpeting voice. It seemed to be stuck on something.
"What's wrong with it?" Braska wondered aloud. Then, he got his answer. A long tentacle reached out from the water and grabbed the shoopuf's left hind leg, then another one grabbed the left foreleg.
"What . . .is . . .that?!" Jecht exclaimed.
"A fiend?!" Braska wondered.
"A sinspawn!" Auron said. It made sense. Sin had flown over not too long ago, so it must've left more than one spawn. More tentacles began reaching from the water, getting a better grip on the shoopuf, attempting to pull it under. The passengers on board were panicking. The shoopuf was strong, but it wasn't going to last for too long.
"Oh, no!" The Hypello ferryman exclaimed. "Ze shoopuf is under atacksh!"
Auron looked at Braska. "Can you strike it?"
"I don't know. If I hit the water, the shoopuf will be struck too, and if it gets pulled under, then the passengers do!"
"Maybe a different type of spell? Something to get its attention!"
"CANNONBALL!!" Jecht exclaimed, jumping out into the Moonflow. He then proceeded to swim like a true blitzer.
"What is he doing?!" Auron exclaimed.
"Getting its attention!" Braska said. "He can fight underwater!"
Braska was right. As he saw, Jecht drew his sword. Being the best blitzer in Zanarkand, he really knew how to swim. His feet kicked in the water and his arms swung furiously. He pictured himself in a game, with the monster as the goal and his sword as the ball. He got right up close and spun, like he was going to use the Jecht Shot, but just used it to slice through the enemy's side. He heard a muffled roar in the water and stuck his head above the surface. The shoopuf pulled back up more easily now, but the tentacles were still on it. So, Jecht swam up to them and stabbed one, making sure not to hurt the shoopuf. The monster quickly let go and Jecht did the same to the other tentacle.
Once it was gone, the shoopuf was free and started moving again, more quickly this time, but still slow. The monster then poked its ugly head above the water. It was like a large, black octopus with glowing red eyes. It roared in anger of losing its meal and tried again. Jecht sliced the tentacle and it let go. Then, he sliced it again and the tentacle was severed.
"HA!" Jecht laughed. But then, a tentacle smacked him away as the fiend went to reclaim its meal, which was nearing the shore.
Auron and Jecht scanned the water for Jecht's body, and soon found it floating face-up.
"He's unconscious!" Braska said. "I'll wake him, but will it be in time?!"
Auron thought quickly. He looked around and found Jecht's ball. "Do we have any blitzers here?!"
A guado team raised their hands. "We're the Guado Glories!" The captain said.
"Who's your best shooter?!"
"I am." One said, stepping up. Auron tossed the ball to him. "Hit that thing, so it'll look over here!"
The guado nodded as Auron charged. The guado tossed the ball into the air and swung his most powerful kick. The ball hit the sinspawn right above the eye and it looked over.
"You don't want to move!!" Auron threatened, swinging his blade. A sudden rush of fear swept over the fiend and it froze in place.
At the same time, Braska finished powering up and awakened Jecht with a white magic spell. He looked up and around, then got back to work. Jecht powered himself up just as the beast was coming out of its trance. It looked over at the shoopuf, hungrily.
"Sorry!" Jecht said. "Maybe later!" With that, he struck, and the monster was temporarily immobilized. Jecht looked over at the shoopuf. "Can't that thing move any faster?!"
"Ze shoopuf ish going ash fasht ash it can!" The driver informed. The shoopuf was going way too slow. With it being so close, tension was rising.
"Once that shoopuf gets out, I can strike it with a lightning spell." Braska said.
"Until then, Jecht is on his own." Auron noted.
"Maybe not." Braska suddenly said. He spun his staff around. "Bahamut, come!" A Yevon symbol formed in the sky as the dragon-like beast appeared. It shot through the symbol and landed. Braska pointed to the monster and Bahamut flapped his wings again. It flew over and simply punched the fiend. It snarled and swung at him, smacking him with a tentacle.
Bahamut growled and powered up and fired its Impulse attack, blasting it with a few black balls. Just afterwards, Jecht struck the monster in its side. It smacked him away again, but Jecht just shook it off this time. Bahamut flew over it and punched as it went. The slow monster turned around only to get kicked as the aeon flew back overhead. The monster got mad and fired a Waterga blast, catching Bahamut by surprise. The aeon regained its altitude and flew back to strike again. However, the sinspawn launched another spell: Drain. Bahamut's strength was sapped from him and given to the monster. Bahamut felt weakened, but pressed on anyway. He fired his Impulse attack again, but to little avail. The monster lifted up many of its tentacles. The little suckers all began to glow, then they all fired rapid, yellow blasts, pummeling Bahamut.
The aeon roared in pain and fell into the water. Its form became translucent as it diminished into nothing. Bahamut was defeated.
"Well, it was a good idea." Auron said, noticing the shoopuf get its second foot out of the water. The sinspawn looked over and saw this too and began swimming over to recover its prey. But, suddenly, it flinched and stopped. Then, it flinched again and roared. After two more, Jecht popped up out of the water.
"C'mon, that all you've got?!" He taunted. Braska looked over and saw the shoopuf fully pull itself out of the water and begin moving on dry land.
"Jecht!" He called. "Get out of there!"
Jecht obeyed and began swimming back to shore. Suddenly, a tentacle wrapped around him and pulled him up into the air.
"Jecht!!" Braska shouted.
"Oh, no, you don't!!" Auron said. He unclipped the jug at his side, opened the cork and took a swig. However, he didn't swallow it. He reapplied the cork, put the jug down and spat the fluid onto his sword. It instantly burst into a dark flame. Auron slammed it into the ground and four black, fireballs flew off of it and struck the sinspawn.
It roared in pain and dropped Jecht, who swam for all he was worth back to the shore. As soon as he was back on and away from danger, Braska raised his staff up high.
"Thundaga!!" He shouted. Four small electric bolts encircled the beast, and then came together to produce and great electrical blast. When mixed with water, the fiend was helpless as it was electrocuted until its last breath escaped it. Once the attack had subsided, the monster slumped in the water and its pyreflies dispersed.
Braska put his arms down and smiled to his crew. The people on the shore applauded and cheered. Braska gave a bow, Jecht acted like he was the biggest man in the world, and Auron simply crossed his arms.
Once the applause had died down and the people had calmed, the trio spoke again.
"You're an idiot." Auron said. "Just jumping in like that?" But, he was smiling, for once.
"Why did you?" Braska asked.
Jecht shrugged and scratched the back of his head. "Well.I, uh, figured I'd screwed things up, so maybe this was my chance to make it up to you guys."
Auron had to admit to himself that he was surprised by this, but he wasn't going to admit it. "Hey," he said, picking up the blitzball, "your ball actually came in handy."
"Oh, really?" He said, with a cocky smile. Auron said no more.
"Eshcush me." A hypello said, walking up to them. It was the same shoopuf owner. "We wantsh to shank yoo for shaving ze shoopuf." He gave him a pouch. "Here ish too-hundred-shoushand of your gil, and you can ride ze shoopuf for free zis time."
"Well, you're very welcome." Braska said.
"And sorry about the incident before." Jecht said.
"Ish okay. Ze shoopuf is shafe. Speaking of shoopufsh, we ish going to leave shoon. Better get ready, yesh?" Then, he turned and left.
"It seems Jecht's blundering had a purpose after all." Braska said. "If we hadn't been stopped, that fiend would still be in the water."
Auron rolled his eyes, knowing it was directed at him.
"Alright, then." Braska said. "On to Djose temple!"
Author's note: I got severely sidetracked on this story, even though I promised to update sooner. Sorry, everyone. I can't promise the next one will be any quicker, but re-reading some of my reviews and such motivated me to get this story going again. Speaking of reviews, a few new ones would be appreciated! Later!