Chapter Seven: The Last Temples
The next stop was in Kilika Island. They got on a ship, along with the Kilika Beasts and Besaid Aurochs.
"Don't say anything to the Aurochs." Auron warned Jecht that night.
"Fine." He muttered. "It's only advice anyway."
"Blunt advice, no doubt."
"So where are we going again?"
"Kilika Island. It'll take all night. We should rest."
So, they went below and drifted off. Sleep came easier to Auron than he had planned, but that night, he had a dream. It was a replay of what he had seen under Sin's influence. The lights, the city...Jecht.
But how? How could Jecht's story possibly be true? That question nagged Auron all through the night. He'd never been so irritated in his life-even by Jecht himself! It took some time before Auron could sleep again, but then, he just saw the same dream.
It was an uneasy night. This must be cleared up with Jecht-and soon!
"Man, Auron, you look beat." Jecht observed the next morning.
"Did you sleep alright?" Braska asked him.
"Not really." Auron admitted, rubbing his eyes. "But don't worry about me; I'll be fine. We should hurry to the temple so we have time to get back to the second boat."
"Yeah, let's get this over with." Jecht said. "The faster we go, the faster we'll defeat Sin!"
He turned and Auron stole a glance at Braska, who shook his head.
"Not yet."
When, Braska, when?
The ship docked in Kilika. The place was a large maze of wooden docks and walkways.
"Kind of a cheap town." Jecht noted.
"Watch your mouth." Auron warned.
Beyond the walkways was the jungle, and not far past that was the temple.
"Hey, Jecht," Braska piped up, "Here's a piece of blitzball information for you: One of the earlier summoners to defeat sin practiced here centuries ago. He was quite the blitzer for the Kilika Beasts."
"I can see how he kept in shape." Jecht grumbled, noting the stairs. There were dozens upon dozens of them. Several flights lead up to a large clearing, probably a resting point, then several more finally lead to the temple. It was pretty large, considering the size of everything else on the island. Again, Braska went in and introduced himself to the temple priest and went inside. The Cloister of Trials was easier than the previous ones. In fact, they'd been getting easier as they went.
Outside the Chamber of the Fayth, Jecht was humming the tune of the fayth.
"Where is that coming from anyway?" He finally asked.
"The fayth." Auron told him.
"It can sing?"
"It can."
"Wow. But...I've knew this song back in Zanarkand, too. That was a thousand years ago. How's that possible."
"It is an age-old song." Auron explained. Speaking of Zanarkand, Auron decided to talk to Jecht about what he'd seen. "Jecht," He said.
"Hmm?"
"After Sin attacked us, and after you defeated that Sinspawn, you said you saw Zanarkand."
Jecht nodded. "Uh-huh."
"What did it look like?"
"Big." Jecht said. "Very big. Lots of buildings, filled with lights, the Blitzball Stadium...why? And since when do you believe me?"
Auron looked at the ground. "I think I saw it, too."
Jecht's brows rose. "You did?!"
"But I'm not sure how. It was destroyed a thousand years ago."
"By Sin, right?" Jecht finished. "Maybe they're some kind of memory thing."
"But why would it show us this and not kill us. And why were our minds not scrambled, like everyone else who comes into contact with Sin?"
"I don't know." Jecht shrugged. "I don't know jack squat about this kinda stuff." There was a silence. "So...do you believe me now?"
Auron let out a heavy sigh. "I don't know, Jecht. I mean...if I saw what you say I saw, then your story is very well true."
"But what exactly did you see?"
"You."
"Me?"
"Yeah. It kinda flashed in images. You left the stadium and went to your home. Sure enough, there was a wife and son, just like you said. And Zanarkand was just like you described it."
"Did they both have brown hair, the wife and son?" Jecht asked him.
"Yes."
"Yep, that's them."
Auron's mind was spinning. "So...you...are...from...Zanarkand...1,000...years...ago?!"
"Hard to accept, I'm sure." Jecht shrugged. "I couldn't believe I'd been taken here."
"But...but...how, why?!"
"I told you. Sin brought me here. But as to why, I have no clue at all. At first, I was pretty ticked. I mean, hey! I had a great life in Zanarkand. I was a star blitzer with a wife and kid and I was happy!"
"But no longer?"
"Mm, not really. I mean, at least I'm helping out here."
"True." Auron nodded.
"Of course, that doesn't mean that I don't miss my old life...necessarily."
"Necessarily?"
Jecht waved it off. "Nothing...never mind." Auron knew there was more to it, but he also knew better than to pressure Jecht.
"So...Zanarkand?"
Jecht let out a laugh. "Still on that, are you?"
"It's...to phenomenal to be real!"
"And you think I'm not taken back by Spira? I mean, 1,000 years in the future and you're all so primitive!"
"Machina are outlawed, remember?" Auron grumbled.
"Yeah, but that brings me back to another thing. Back in Djose, you said you started to 'distrust' Yevon."
Auron nodded.
"What exactly do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said. I began distrusting Yevon and all its ways. How could it be doing well with such corruption? What other limits of their power were they pushing? I stopped the praying, I went against the teachings and went my own way."
"You didn't like the way they did things?"
"Never did. I mean, you send your summoner to use the Final Aeon and Sin comes back. Something's wrong with that picture."
"Yeah." Jecht scoffed.
"Many resented me, but, as I said, Braska stayed with me."
"Why did no one else?"
"Well, first off, there were some others, like Kinoc, whom you met, but Braska and I became closest. Anyway, when I started distrusting the teachings, many believed that, somehow, I was also distrusting them, which wasn't necessarily true."
"They sound like a bunch of jerks." Jecht said. "But in honesty, I never really had much trust for the system, especially when they arrested me."
"Well," Auron said, "I could kind of see why. Everyone thought you were mad because they don't believe you're from Zanarkand." Then, Auron added his own two cents in. "You know, when you first came to us, I, too, didn't trust you. I thought you were a lying egotistical twit."
"No longer?" Jecht inquired.
"No. Now, I think you're an honest egotistical twit."
Jecht let out a laugh. "Well, to be truthful, when I met you, I thought you were uptight."
"No longer?" Auron inquired.
"Nah, I still think you're uptight." He chuckled. "But now I know why. And...you're not that bad."
"Yeah." Auron said. "Neither are you." Then, he thought. "And on that subject, I must thank you."
"For what?"
"Had you not fought the Sinspawn in Djose like you did, I would not be alive. You fought to the end of yourself."
Jecht scratched the back of his neck. "Well...hey, what was I supposed to do, just lie there and let him kill you?"
"You could've, and you had every right to, the way I treated you."
"Bah! Don't be so hard on yourself, Auron! You were right."
"I was?"
"Well...if you tell anyone I said this, I'll kill you, but...I wasn't exactly the most respectable person in the world."
Auron shook his head. "Nope. You weren't." Then, he added, "But, you have changed, I'll give you that one."
"Mm." There was a silence.
"Jecht," Auron said, "After this is all over; after Sin is defeated, I'll help you find your way home."
Jecht gave him a look. "A thousand years into the past? How?"
"I don't know, but we'll find a way. Crazy stuff seems to be possible in Spira, wouldn't you say?"
Jecht smiled. "Got that right." Another silence. "So...what, are we friends now?"
Auron thought it over. "I suppose we are." They both smiled. Jecht extended his had and Auron shook it.
A minute later, the Fayth door opened and Braska stepped out. He shook his head, a little dizzy, but that was all.
"Got it?" Jecht asked.
"Got it." Braska nodded.
"Then let's leave." Auron suggested. "The boat won't wait for us."
"Well, it might." Braska pointed out, "I'm a summoner, remember?"
The second boat trip wouldn't take nearly as long as the first one; just a couple hours. The Besaid Aurochs were also traveling home, feeling defeated. Braska talked to them to enlighten them. They spoke of how they longed for the calm.
"We've lost a lot to Sin." Said the captain of the Aurochs. "Wakka here lost his parents when he was just a little kid."
"I don't even remember 'em." Wakka said. He was a young man.
"How old are you?" Jecht asked him.
"Thirteen."
"Aren't you a little young?" Jecht wondered.
"I'm not really a front-line player." He said. "I'm kind of a backup."
"But he's pretty good for his age." The captain said. Then, he turned to the Aurochs. "We got some time to kill. Go onto the deck and practice." They all did the prayer and left.
The trio walked up also. Braska and Auron just talked amongst themselves. Jecht decided to stay and watch the Aurochs train, putting in pointers as they went.
Later, Auron called, "Jecht! Come here!"
Jecht trotted over and saw what they saw: an island, steadily approaching. "That it?" He asked.
"Besaid Island." Braska nodded.
Jecht pulled out his recording sphere and turned it on. "After we get that aeon from Besaid, what next?"
"Back the way we came." Braska answered. "We head north...to Zanarkand."
"Zanarkand, huh?" Jecht chuckled.
Auron turned. "Then, maybe we can find a way to get you home!"
"Hmm." Jecht muttered. He turned off the sphere and tossed it to Auron. "Take some shots." Jecht went to the upper level of the boat. Auron followed and secretly turned the camera on. "I thought going with you guys would help me get back to my home," Jecht said, "But now...I don't know what to think."
Braska hit Auron's arm and he turned the sphere off. "We'll help in any way we can, Jecht." Braska said.
"Thanks." Jecht muttered, not sounding at all convinced.
The boat reached the dock soon enough. The Aurochs began running, continuing their training. Auron, Braska, and Jecht walked along the long path until finally reaching the tiny village of Besaid. It was a very run-down place. Every place was a hut or tent, except for the temple, which stood out tremendously.
Auron still had the sphere, so he began recording again.
"Lousiest bunch of huts I've ever seen." Jecht scoffed. But Braska had a different view of Besaid.
"Yes." He said to himself. "This will be a fine place to live...Auron!"
"My Lord?"
"After I've defeated Sin, I want you to take Yuna to live here."
Auron was a bit surprised by the request, but didn't argue. "Of course. You have my word."
"Hey, come on!" Jecht suddenly shouted. "I'm so hungry I could eat a shoopuf whole!"
They kept walking and Auron turned off the sphere. They were all hungry, so they had a bit to eat inside the temple, then went to the temple.
The temple's Cloister was the easiest to overcome. But the Chamber of the Fayth was the biggest and fanciest of them all.
Jecht whistled. "Nice place here."
"Indeed." Braska took a breath and walked up the stairs into the Chamber of the Fayth. "So," Jecht said a moment later, "This is the last one?"
"Until the Final Aeon, yes." Auron said with a heavy heart. He tried changing the subject. "I bet you're happy about going back to Zanarkand."
Jecht's smile slipped away. "I suppose."
"What's the matter? You seem distraught whenever we mention Zanarkand. What's eating at you?"
Jecht sat down. "I...well...you see, ever since I saw Zanarkand in Djose, I've had something nagging at the back of my head. Well, a couple of things, really."
"Like what?"
"Well, the minor things, I suppose, is that I miss blitzball." He swung a kick in the air. "I miss shooting the ball into the goal and hearing everyone cheering. But also, I miss my family." "Homesick?"
"Kinda. But then, I starting thinking more about why I missed those things and it hit me. I miss them only because the attention is on me."
"I...don't follow."
"I didn't really miss my wife out of love. I missed her because she adores being near me. I missed blitz because I was the center of attention."
"Okay," Auron said, still a bit confused.
"I did a lot of thinking. I kind of stepped out of my skin and looked at myself, you know? I...didn't like what I saw."
"What exactly did you see?"
"An egotistical twit was what you said, wasn't it? Those were the perfect words for it." He looked down at the ground and was quiet for a minute. "And my arrogance cost my something." "What was that?"
"My son."
"Your son?"
"I wanted him to be a blitzer for the wrong reasons, really. I wanted him to be the legacy to The Great Jecht. He just wanted to play because he thought it was fun. That frustrated me. I told him blitzball isn't for fun. It's work; it's a way of life. Work harder at it. I was always pushing him...pushing him away, really. He began resenting me. It was always awkward for me."
"It was?" Auron wondered. "Why?"
"I didn't know until a few days ago. It was awkward because for once, the attention wasn't directed at me. Tidus did his best not to think of me, so I became angrier and only pushed him harder." He sighed. "He probably hates me now."
They were silent for a moment.
"Well, what do you want now?" Auron finally asked him.
Jecht thought. "Well, honestly, I still want him to become a star blitzer...but not just because I want him to be like me. He really loves the sport, so he should go as far as he can with it." "Then you should tell him all of this when you get back to Zanarkand."
"If I ever get back to Zanarkand." Jecht sighed. "But, hey! At least I'm doing something productive in the meantime. I'm helping a guy defeat Sin! You must feel pretty good too right now. I mean, we're so close!"
"Yeah." Auron sighed.
Jecht cocked his head. "Now what's eating you?"
Auron wasn't sure if he could say. "Nothing. You're right. We're doing great. After here, we go right back up, lead Braska to Zanarkand, get the Final Aeon, and..." Auron's throat suddenly shut. He was unable to go on.
"And defeat Sin." Jecht finished.
Auron looked to the ground.
"What?" Jecht asked him again.
Auron breathed in deeply and let it out slowly. "Jecht, there's more to it."
Jecht nodded. "I know, I know, it'll come back, but we buy time, right?"
"That's not all." Auron shook his head.
"Then...what else is there?"
Auron hesitated. "Braska didn't want to tell you yet, but you have the right to know, especially now."
"Know what?" Jecht was getting impatient.
Another hesitation. "Jecht...when we reach Zanarkand...when Braska summons the Final Aeon...he will die."
Jecht stood, frozen solid.
"What?!" He whispered.
"When he defeats Sin," Auron rephrased, "The Final Aeon will kill Braska."
Jecht was speechless, but horrified. "He'll...die?!"
"I'm afraid so."
Jecht shook his head. "No...no, that can't be right!"
"But it is, Jecht. It's happened before and it will happen again."
Jecht hesitated, forcing his emotions to stay inside, but his fingers were twitching. "Why are you telling me this now?"
"I didn't want you to feel betrayed when Braska died."
"Betrayed?! Why would I feel betrayed?! I've only been lied to this whole time by the only people in Spira that I trusted!!" Auron had no reply to that. "We've just been leading Braska to his death!!" Jecht's eyes widened and he pointed to Auron. "You are too!"
Auron nodded.
"But why?! I thought you were best friends! Braska stuck by you when everyone turned their backs and now you're leading him to die?!"
Auron grew angry. "You think I WANT him to die?! No! Yes, Braska has been my friend for years; this is the last thing I want!"
"Then why are you doing this?!"
"I'm not doing it! Braska is doing it to himself!" Jecht snorted. "Jecht! You know me! If I could stop him, I would have!"
Jecht calmed a bit, but found himself short of breath as he talked. "Why...why!?" That was all he could say.
"When Braska saw that Sin had killed his wife, his heart became set on destroying it. I tried talking him out of it, but he will not be swayed. I figured the only thing I could do was guard him on his journey."
"His journey to death." Jecht grumbled.
"Yes." Auron sighed. "That's another reason I distrust Yevon. They send their summoners to die, only to have Sin return to us some time later. There HAS to be another way, but for the life of me-or the life of Braska, rather-I cannot seem to find it. If there were another way, I would cut out my own heart to use it."
Jecht turned his head away. "It can't be." He whispered to himself. "It can't be true...I thought I was doing something productive here, but I'm just killing someone."
"You're not killing anyone." Auron corrected him. "Like I said, Braska is doing this deed himself."
"DYAH!!" Jecht roared, furiously.
Just then, Braska stepped out of the Chamber of the Fayth.
"What was that?" He asked.
Auron looked at him, then at Jecht. Jecht just glared. "You should have told me..."
"Told you what?" Braska asked.
"The end." Auron answered. Braska shot him a look and Auron nodded. Braska looked down, then to Jecht.
"Jecht, listen to me."
"Why?" He snorted. "How do I know you won't lie to me again?" "I didn't want to lie!" Braska snapped. "But I saw no other option. You were so positive about defeating Sin that I couldn't bear to take that from you! You must understand. I wanted to give you hope!"
"False hope." Jecht corrected.
"But would you have helped me, had you known the truth?"
Jecht looked down, cursed, and left the room.
"Jecht!" Braska called. Auron put a hand on his shoulder.
"Let him go. He needs to clear his head."
Braska sighed. "Why did you tell him?"
"The longer you waited the worst it got. Had you waited for Jecht to find out on his own, he would have been even more devastated."
Braska looked down. "I suppose you're right...I just couldn't bring myself to tell him."
"So I had to. And that was no picnic for me either." Auron walked out of the temple.
The next stop was in Kilika Island. They got on a ship, along with the Kilika Beasts and Besaid Aurochs.
"Don't say anything to the Aurochs." Auron warned Jecht that night.
"Fine." He muttered. "It's only advice anyway."
"Blunt advice, no doubt."
"So where are we going again?"
"Kilika Island. It'll take all night. We should rest."
So, they went below and drifted off. Sleep came easier to Auron than he had planned, but that night, he had a dream. It was a replay of what he had seen under Sin's influence. The lights, the city...Jecht.
But how? How could Jecht's story possibly be true? That question nagged Auron all through the night. He'd never been so irritated in his life-even by Jecht himself! It took some time before Auron could sleep again, but then, he just saw the same dream.
It was an uneasy night. This must be cleared up with Jecht-and soon!
"Man, Auron, you look beat." Jecht observed the next morning.
"Did you sleep alright?" Braska asked him.
"Not really." Auron admitted, rubbing his eyes. "But don't worry about me; I'll be fine. We should hurry to the temple so we have time to get back to the second boat."
"Yeah, let's get this over with." Jecht said. "The faster we go, the faster we'll defeat Sin!"
He turned and Auron stole a glance at Braska, who shook his head.
"Not yet."
When, Braska, when?
The ship docked in Kilika. The place was a large maze of wooden docks and walkways.
"Kind of a cheap town." Jecht noted.
"Watch your mouth." Auron warned.
Beyond the walkways was the jungle, and not far past that was the temple.
"Hey, Jecht," Braska piped up, "Here's a piece of blitzball information for you: One of the earlier summoners to defeat sin practiced here centuries ago. He was quite the blitzer for the Kilika Beasts."
"I can see how he kept in shape." Jecht grumbled, noting the stairs. There were dozens upon dozens of them. Several flights lead up to a large clearing, probably a resting point, then several more finally lead to the temple. It was pretty large, considering the size of everything else on the island. Again, Braska went in and introduced himself to the temple priest and went inside. The Cloister of Trials was easier than the previous ones. In fact, they'd been getting easier as they went.
Outside the Chamber of the Fayth, Jecht was humming the tune of the fayth.
"Where is that coming from anyway?" He finally asked.
"The fayth." Auron told him.
"It can sing?"
"It can."
"Wow. But...I've knew this song back in Zanarkand, too. That was a thousand years ago. How's that possible."
"It is an age-old song." Auron explained. Speaking of Zanarkand, Auron decided to talk to Jecht about what he'd seen. "Jecht," He said.
"Hmm?"
"After Sin attacked us, and after you defeated that Sinspawn, you said you saw Zanarkand."
Jecht nodded. "Uh-huh."
"What did it look like?"
"Big." Jecht said. "Very big. Lots of buildings, filled with lights, the Blitzball Stadium...why? And since when do you believe me?"
Auron looked at the ground. "I think I saw it, too."
Jecht's brows rose. "You did?!"
"But I'm not sure how. It was destroyed a thousand years ago."
"By Sin, right?" Jecht finished. "Maybe they're some kind of memory thing."
"But why would it show us this and not kill us. And why were our minds not scrambled, like everyone else who comes into contact with Sin?"
"I don't know." Jecht shrugged. "I don't know jack squat about this kinda stuff." There was a silence. "So...do you believe me now?"
Auron let out a heavy sigh. "I don't know, Jecht. I mean...if I saw what you say I saw, then your story is very well true."
"But what exactly did you see?"
"You."
"Me?"
"Yeah. It kinda flashed in images. You left the stadium and went to your home. Sure enough, there was a wife and son, just like you said. And Zanarkand was just like you described it."
"Did they both have brown hair, the wife and son?" Jecht asked him.
"Yes."
"Yep, that's them."
Auron's mind was spinning. "So...you...are...from...Zanarkand...1,000...years...ago?!"
"Hard to accept, I'm sure." Jecht shrugged. "I couldn't believe I'd been taken here."
"But...but...how, why?!"
"I told you. Sin brought me here. But as to why, I have no clue at all. At first, I was pretty ticked. I mean, hey! I had a great life in Zanarkand. I was a star blitzer with a wife and kid and I was happy!"
"But no longer?"
"Mm, not really. I mean, at least I'm helping out here."
"True." Auron nodded.
"Of course, that doesn't mean that I don't miss my old life...necessarily."
"Necessarily?"
Jecht waved it off. "Nothing...never mind." Auron knew there was more to it, but he also knew better than to pressure Jecht.
"So...Zanarkand?"
Jecht let out a laugh. "Still on that, are you?"
"It's...to phenomenal to be real!"
"And you think I'm not taken back by Spira? I mean, 1,000 years in the future and you're all so primitive!"
"Machina are outlawed, remember?" Auron grumbled.
"Yeah, but that brings me back to another thing. Back in Djose, you said you started to 'distrust' Yevon."
Auron nodded.
"What exactly do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said. I began distrusting Yevon and all its ways. How could it be doing well with such corruption? What other limits of their power were they pushing? I stopped the praying, I went against the teachings and went my own way."
"You didn't like the way they did things?"
"Never did. I mean, you send your summoner to use the Final Aeon and Sin comes back. Something's wrong with that picture."
"Yeah." Jecht scoffed.
"Many resented me, but, as I said, Braska stayed with me."
"Why did no one else?"
"Well, first off, there were some others, like Kinoc, whom you met, but Braska and I became closest. Anyway, when I started distrusting the teachings, many believed that, somehow, I was also distrusting them, which wasn't necessarily true."
"They sound like a bunch of jerks." Jecht said. "But in honesty, I never really had much trust for the system, especially when they arrested me."
"Well," Auron said, "I could kind of see why. Everyone thought you were mad because they don't believe you're from Zanarkand." Then, Auron added his own two cents in. "You know, when you first came to us, I, too, didn't trust you. I thought you were a lying egotistical twit."
"No longer?" Jecht inquired.
"No. Now, I think you're an honest egotistical twit."
Jecht let out a laugh. "Well, to be truthful, when I met you, I thought you were uptight."
"No longer?" Auron inquired.
"Nah, I still think you're uptight." He chuckled. "But now I know why. And...you're not that bad."
"Yeah." Auron said. "Neither are you." Then, he thought. "And on that subject, I must thank you."
"For what?"
"Had you not fought the Sinspawn in Djose like you did, I would not be alive. You fought to the end of yourself."
Jecht scratched the back of his neck. "Well...hey, what was I supposed to do, just lie there and let him kill you?"
"You could've, and you had every right to, the way I treated you."
"Bah! Don't be so hard on yourself, Auron! You were right."
"I was?"
"Well...if you tell anyone I said this, I'll kill you, but...I wasn't exactly the most respectable person in the world."
Auron shook his head. "Nope. You weren't." Then, he added, "But, you have changed, I'll give you that one."
"Mm." There was a silence.
"Jecht," Auron said, "After this is all over; after Sin is defeated, I'll help you find your way home."
Jecht gave him a look. "A thousand years into the past? How?"
"I don't know, but we'll find a way. Crazy stuff seems to be possible in Spira, wouldn't you say?"
Jecht smiled. "Got that right." Another silence. "So...what, are we friends now?"
Auron thought it over. "I suppose we are." They both smiled. Jecht extended his had and Auron shook it.
A minute later, the Fayth door opened and Braska stepped out. He shook his head, a little dizzy, but that was all.
"Got it?" Jecht asked.
"Got it." Braska nodded.
"Then let's leave." Auron suggested. "The boat won't wait for us."
"Well, it might." Braska pointed out, "I'm a summoner, remember?"
The second boat trip wouldn't take nearly as long as the first one; just a couple hours. The Besaid Aurochs were also traveling home, feeling defeated. Braska talked to them to enlighten them. They spoke of how they longed for the calm.
"We've lost a lot to Sin." Said the captain of the Aurochs. "Wakka here lost his parents when he was just a little kid."
"I don't even remember 'em." Wakka said. He was a young man.
"How old are you?" Jecht asked him.
"Thirteen."
"Aren't you a little young?" Jecht wondered.
"I'm not really a front-line player." He said. "I'm kind of a backup."
"But he's pretty good for his age." The captain said. Then, he turned to the Aurochs. "We got some time to kill. Go onto the deck and practice." They all did the prayer and left.
The trio walked up also. Braska and Auron just talked amongst themselves. Jecht decided to stay and watch the Aurochs train, putting in pointers as they went.
Later, Auron called, "Jecht! Come here!"
Jecht trotted over and saw what they saw: an island, steadily approaching. "That it?" He asked.
"Besaid Island." Braska nodded.
Jecht pulled out his recording sphere and turned it on. "After we get that aeon from Besaid, what next?"
"Back the way we came." Braska answered. "We head north...to Zanarkand."
"Zanarkand, huh?" Jecht chuckled.
Auron turned. "Then, maybe we can find a way to get you home!"
"Hmm." Jecht muttered. He turned off the sphere and tossed it to Auron. "Take some shots." Jecht went to the upper level of the boat. Auron followed and secretly turned the camera on. "I thought going with you guys would help me get back to my home," Jecht said, "But now...I don't know what to think."
Braska hit Auron's arm and he turned the sphere off. "We'll help in any way we can, Jecht." Braska said.
"Thanks." Jecht muttered, not sounding at all convinced.
The boat reached the dock soon enough. The Aurochs began running, continuing their training. Auron, Braska, and Jecht walked along the long path until finally reaching the tiny village of Besaid. It was a very run-down place. Every place was a hut or tent, except for the temple, which stood out tremendously.
Auron still had the sphere, so he began recording again.
"Lousiest bunch of huts I've ever seen." Jecht scoffed. But Braska had a different view of Besaid.
"Yes." He said to himself. "This will be a fine place to live...Auron!"
"My Lord?"
"After I've defeated Sin, I want you to take Yuna to live here."
Auron was a bit surprised by the request, but didn't argue. "Of course. You have my word."
"Hey, come on!" Jecht suddenly shouted. "I'm so hungry I could eat a shoopuf whole!"
They kept walking and Auron turned off the sphere. They were all hungry, so they had a bit to eat inside the temple, then went to the temple.
The temple's Cloister was the easiest to overcome. But the Chamber of the Fayth was the biggest and fanciest of them all.
Jecht whistled. "Nice place here."
"Indeed." Braska took a breath and walked up the stairs into the Chamber of the Fayth. "So," Jecht said a moment later, "This is the last one?"
"Until the Final Aeon, yes." Auron said with a heavy heart. He tried changing the subject. "I bet you're happy about going back to Zanarkand."
Jecht's smile slipped away. "I suppose."
"What's the matter? You seem distraught whenever we mention Zanarkand. What's eating at you?"
Jecht sat down. "I...well...you see, ever since I saw Zanarkand in Djose, I've had something nagging at the back of my head. Well, a couple of things, really."
"Like what?"
"Well, the minor things, I suppose, is that I miss blitzball." He swung a kick in the air. "I miss shooting the ball into the goal and hearing everyone cheering. But also, I miss my family." "Homesick?"
"Kinda. But then, I starting thinking more about why I missed those things and it hit me. I miss them only because the attention is on me."
"I...don't follow."
"I didn't really miss my wife out of love. I missed her because she adores being near me. I missed blitz because I was the center of attention."
"Okay," Auron said, still a bit confused.
"I did a lot of thinking. I kind of stepped out of my skin and looked at myself, you know? I...didn't like what I saw."
"What exactly did you see?"
"An egotistical twit was what you said, wasn't it? Those were the perfect words for it." He looked down at the ground and was quiet for a minute. "And my arrogance cost my something." "What was that?"
"My son."
"Your son?"
"I wanted him to be a blitzer for the wrong reasons, really. I wanted him to be the legacy to The Great Jecht. He just wanted to play because he thought it was fun. That frustrated me. I told him blitzball isn't for fun. It's work; it's a way of life. Work harder at it. I was always pushing him...pushing him away, really. He began resenting me. It was always awkward for me."
"It was?" Auron wondered. "Why?"
"I didn't know until a few days ago. It was awkward because for once, the attention wasn't directed at me. Tidus did his best not to think of me, so I became angrier and only pushed him harder." He sighed. "He probably hates me now."
They were silent for a moment.
"Well, what do you want now?" Auron finally asked him.
Jecht thought. "Well, honestly, I still want him to become a star blitzer...but not just because I want him to be like me. He really loves the sport, so he should go as far as he can with it." "Then you should tell him all of this when you get back to Zanarkand."
"If I ever get back to Zanarkand." Jecht sighed. "But, hey! At least I'm doing something productive in the meantime. I'm helping a guy defeat Sin! You must feel pretty good too right now. I mean, we're so close!"
"Yeah." Auron sighed.
Jecht cocked his head. "Now what's eating you?"
Auron wasn't sure if he could say. "Nothing. You're right. We're doing great. After here, we go right back up, lead Braska to Zanarkand, get the Final Aeon, and..." Auron's throat suddenly shut. He was unable to go on.
"And defeat Sin." Jecht finished.
Auron looked to the ground.
"What?" Jecht asked him again.
Auron breathed in deeply and let it out slowly. "Jecht, there's more to it."
Jecht nodded. "I know, I know, it'll come back, but we buy time, right?"
"That's not all." Auron shook his head.
"Then...what else is there?"
Auron hesitated. "Braska didn't want to tell you yet, but you have the right to know, especially now."
"Know what?" Jecht was getting impatient.
Another hesitation. "Jecht...when we reach Zanarkand...when Braska summons the Final Aeon...he will die."
Jecht stood, frozen solid.
"What?!" He whispered.
"When he defeats Sin," Auron rephrased, "The Final Aeon will kill Braska."
Jecht was speechless, but horrified. "He'll...die?!"
"I'm afraid so."
Jecht shook his head. "No...no, that can't be right!"
"But it is, Jecht. It's happened before and it will happen again."
Jecht hesitated, forcing his emotions to stay inside, but his fingers were twitching. "Why are you telling me this now?"
"I didn't want you to feel betrayed when Braska died."
"Betrayed?! Why would I feel betrayed?! I've only been lied to this whole time by the only people in Spira that I trusted!!" Auron had no reply to that. "We've just been leading Braska to his death!!" Jecht's eyes widened and he pointed to Auron. "You are too!"
Auron nodded.
"But why?! I thought you were best friends! Braska stuck by you when everyone turned their backs and now you're leading him to die?!"
Auron grew angry. "You think I WANT him to die?! No! Yes, Braska has been my friend for years; this is the last thing I want!"
"Then why are you doing this?!"
"I'm not doing it! Braska is doing it to himself!" Jecht snorted. "Jecht! You know me! If I could stop him, I would have!"
Jecht calmed a bit, but found himself short of breath as he talked. "Why...why!?" That was all he could say.
"When Braska saw that Sin had killed his wife, his heart became set on destroying it. I tried talking him out of it, but he will not be swayed. I figured the only thing I could do was guard him on his journey."
"His journey to death." Jecht grumbled.
"Yes." Auron sighed. "That's another reason I distrust Yevon. They send their summoners to die, only to have Sin return to us some time later. There HAS to be another way, but for the life of me-or the life of Braska, rather-I cannot seem to find it. If there were another way, I would cut out my own heart to use it."
Jecht turned his head away. "It can't be." He whispered to himself. "It can't be true...I thought I was doing something productive here, but I'm just killing someone."
"You're not killing anyone." Auron corrected him. "Like I said, Braska is doing this deed himself."
"DYAH!!" Jecht roared, furiously.
Just then, Braska stepped out of the Chamber of the Fayth.
"What was that?" He asked.
Auron looked at him, then at Jecht. Jecht just glared. "You should have told me..."
"Told you what?" Braska asked.
"The end." Auron answered. Braska shot him a look and Auron nodded. Braska looked down, then to Jecht.
"Jecht, listen to me."
"Why?" He snorted. "How do I know you won't lie to me again?" "I didn't want to lie!" Braska snapped. "But I saw no other option. You were so positive about defeating Sin that I couldn't bear to take that from you! You must understand. I wanted to give you hope!"
"False hope." Jecht corrected.
"But would you have helped me, had you known the truth?"
Jecht looked down, cursed, and left the room.
"Jecht!" Braska called. Auron put a hand on his shoulder.
"Let him go. He needs to clear his head."
Braska sighed. "Why did you tell him?"
"The longer you waited the worst it got. Had you waited for Jecht to find out on his own, he would have been even more devastated."
Braska looked down. "I suppose you're right...I just couldn't bring myself to tell him."
"So I had to. And that was no picnic for me either." Auron walked out of the temple.
Author's Note: Well, this chapter went better than expected. Now, Jecht knows the truth. Please review!