Chapter Two – The Farplane Registration

Yay, feedback! Thanks heaps BloodyDemonEmpress and shadows-of-flame. It won't be short, trust me.

Auron opened his eyes, and for the first time looked around at his surroundings. All he got was a glimpse, though, before the pyreflies finished reassembling and he fell.

This feels so strange . . . Auron was falling, but there was nothing below for him to land on. Oh fantastic. Doomed to an eternity of freefall. Hmph, some welcome! It was like on a sled ride going down a steep hill, when your stomach jumps into your mouth and refuses to budge.

Suddenly, he stopped falling. He didn't land, he just . . . stopped. Auron carefully pulled himself to the feet, noting the pain his impact had caused. So does that make this place real? Below him, a swirling abyss of colours and pyreflies danced, but he didn't fall into them. It seemed Auron was standing on either glass, or . . . the void.

Looking down, an eternal spiral of colourful oblivion waited. Not exactly a comforting thought. Picking a random direction, Auron began to walk. No sooner than he had taken two steps, a small town veered into view. Uncertainly, Auron slung Masamune across his shoulders and headed towards it.

Almost before he knew it, Auron was in its midst. If I can just get inside one of these buildings, maybe I can ask for directions. Or find them myself. Confidently, Auron strode over to the nearest building. He leaned against a wall to gather his thoughts. And fell through. WHAT THE -?! The building that had appeared so solid, had disappeared.

Auron picked himself of the ground and stepped back, unsure whether to be confused or furious. Sure enough, the moment he was out of the area in which it stood, the hut materialized once more.

Slowly, he walked over to an inn, and cautiously tapped on its door. The whole place vanished. Teeth clenched, Auron strode towards the next building. It too disappeared. And the next. And the next. And the one after that.

Finally, Auron snapped. "GAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" He roared in frustration, running around in miscalculated circles, striking at anything and everything with his katana. Until – SMACK. He'd run into a wall. Darndest things, walls – you never know when one's going to sneak up on you.

Realising how mad he was beginning to sound, Auron began to laugh – a low, desperate laugh. The laugh of a man who doesn't know which way is up, and knows it. The place was beginning to get to him. His rational mind was fast fading, and he wondered whether perhaps he would remain here forever.

Sitting down against that damned annoying wall, the culprit of the raised lump growing on his temple, Auron took out his sake jug with a groan. Is THIS the Farplane? My eternal rest? I left Spira for THIS?! Taking a long swig, Auron sat back and waited for his calm to return.

Gratefully, he leaned against the wall, seemingly the only material object in this Yevon-forsaken place. It's like a dreamscape, he mused. Looking up, Auron noticed for the first time a sign hanging from the doorhandle.

'Farplane Registration – please wait inside'. Cursing himself for not having the presence of mind to take this in EARLIER, Auron reluctantly stood and pushed open the door.

Inside was a sterile-looking waiting room, complete with overly-cheerful attendants, clad in a uniform clerical attire. The walls were painted a harsh white, the floors were black-and-white checkered, and the room was void of any decoration save a ratty vase of dried flowers on the reception desk's counter. A battered and worn couch, the colour of old blood, sat across from the reception desk, with a coffee table piled with ancient magazines an arm's length away.

One of the smiling clerks bustled over too him and grabbed his hand, shaking it. "Welcome to the Farlane registration! My name is Polly, and you, of course must be Sir Auron!" Auron raised his eyebrows at the woman's annoying bedside manner, and looked her over in a disconcerting fashion.

Polly was a plump, middle-aged, motherly looking woman, who wore her graying hair short and immaculately curled. Her uniform was spotlessly clean, her skin smooth and free of wrinkles, and she was far too forward. Auron detested her for it.

"I wish, on behalf of us all, to express our sincerest regrets of your passing away." If you were really sincere, you'd stop smiling.

Unaware of Auron's irritated disapproval, the woman continued. "I am, however, sure you will enjoy your stay here. Unfortunately you will be unable to enter the inner Farplane until the details of your life and passing have been confirmed and entered into our database. In your case, Sir Auron, this may take us a few weeks. I apologize for any inconvenience causd. Do make yourself at home!" She concluded, shooing the bemused guardian through a doorway.

Poking her head out the doorway, she added, "Feel free to explore – but, don't wander too far!" Waggling her finger sternly, she shut the door, leaving Auron to his thoughts.

He seemed to be in a forest of a kind. The foliage was thick and lush, and dewdrops condensed on the tips of the leaves. It was not so dense as not to allow easy passage through, though, and so disregarding the receptionist's last warning, he began to wander through the grove.

Deeply absorbed in his own reflections, Auron hardly took note of his environment, pausing only to vaguely wonder where the dirty light that filtered through the canopy came from, because there had certainly been no visible sun. The path was pleasant, and luminous mushrooms grew on the edges.

The trees seemed not to be bound by their roots, for it seemed sometimes that they moved, and wandered about in the same lost manner as himself. It was hard to look at the leaves for a stretch at a time – they seemed to be constantly moving, blown by some unfelt wind. There were no fiends here. It felt strange.

It seemed, that in the Farplane one needed no nourishment, as Auron continued to wander in this absent fashion for a few days without ever feeling the need for food or drink, when by all rights he should have been famished. When he finally neared the end of the grove, the shrubbery began to thin out, until at last he was left in a grassy clearing.

It seemed to be empty, save a still pool in the center. Auron was forced to admire the view, because after the clearing was a steep cliff, under which lay a sparkling, turbulent ocean, and some jagged rocks. It was breathtaking. Auron examined his reflection in the pool – his scar remained, but he could see out of both eyes. Strange.

Lowering his head, he peered closer, and the reflection vanished. The waters had turned opaque and milky, and not even his surroundings were reflected in its surface.

A ripple passed through the pool, and a new image formed.

A slender young woman, with elbow length hair stood with her back to him, silhouetted against a traditional Besaid-style hut. The angle changed, and he was not surprised to see that it was Rikku the pool had revealed to him. She was older now, and wiser; her sunny face lacked her trademark smile. She was jogging a chubby dark-haired infant on her waist, and waving to a pair of retreating figures.

"Don't worry, Lu, I'll take good care of Bella!"

She had grown – perhaps he had wandered for longer than he had thought? Without warning, the ground beneath his feet lurched, and he was falling into the pool!

For a moment, Auron had the uncomfortable sensation of being swallowed by a water flan, but soon the feeling passed, and he was watching the pilgrimage anew, fallen back into what had been.

That's it for now! Yes, I know their first baby was a boy, and called Vidina, or 'future', but I think they'd have a girl first, who looks just like Lulu, is chubby, has freckles and is named Isabella! It just fits. And also, I think their first son should be named Chappu, don't you?

Ciao!