The dome visions came through a little choppy, sorry about that.
Anyways, enjoy! And when you're finished, come and check out FFXII: A Tale of Hidden Powers. I think you'll like it.


Chapter Thirty-Five

The party walked through the Zanarkand ruins beneath the starry sky, surrounded by pyreflies and ancient ruins. Tidus didn't think of this as his home. His home wasn't real, just like him…
The party was plagued by fiends. It seemed that every few steps a new creature would materialize out of pyreflies and try to stop them. But they fought through. They wouldn't stop, not until they reached their goal. All the time, Tidus was trying to think of some way to save Yuna, some other way, but nothing came. Not the for the hours they spent walking through the ruins of Zanarkand.
It was probably past midnight when the party reached a large dome-like structure at the center of the Zanarkand Ruins. They approached the door, and suddenly, a man materialized from the pyreflies. He was dressed in a priest's outfit with weird green skin.
"Journeyer of the long road, name yourself," the gatekeeper said in a thin, creepy voice.
"I am the summoner Yuna," Yuna replied, unflinching. "I have come from the island of Besaid."
"Your eyes, my dear, show me the long road you have traveled," the gatekeeper said, leaning towards Yuna. "Very good. You have journeyed well. Lady Yunalesca will surely welcome your arrival. Go to her now, and bring your guardians with you. Go." With that, the gatekeeper dissolved into pyreflies.

The inside of the dome was massive, full of twisting paths and pyreflies. As soon as the party walked through the door, the misty images of two women, dressed in Crusader uniforms, materialized. One of them spoke to the other, her voice distant.
"If it might benefit the future of Spira, I will gladly give my life. It is the highest honor for which a guardian might ask. Use my life, Lady Yocun, and rid Spira of Sin." The two ghostly women faded away.
"What… What was that?" Rikku asked. She looked terrified.
"Our predecessors," Auron replied flatly.
"She said 'Lady Yocun,' didn't she?" Lulu said. "Wait! She guarded High Summoner Yocun?"
"This dome is filled with pyreflies," Auron explained. "It's like one gigantic sphere. People's thoughts remain here. Forever."
The party carried on. There was little talking, and little time for it. They only stopped when an image from the past interrupted them. Farther on, the images of a Guado boy and a human woman appeared from the pyreflies. The little boy had pastel blue hair in a distinctive shape.
"No! Mother, no!" the boy sobbed, rubbing at the tears in his eyes. "I don't want you to become a fayth!"
"There is no other way," the woman said calmly, bending down towards her son. "Use me and defeat Sin. Only then will the people accept you."
"I don't care about them!" the boy continued to sob. "I need you, Mother! No one else!"
"I don't…" his mother sighed, "have much time left."
The figures vanished before the scene concluded.
"Hey, wasn't that…?" Wakka trailed off.
"Seymour?" Rikku finished for him.
"Argh!" Tidus shook his head. Man, even as a kid he's getting in our way.
"We've no time to waste," Auron said abruptly. "Don't worry about the visions. Ignore them." Auron took off, breaking into a sprint. The others followed.
They ran for a while, carrying on through the tortuous passages of the Zanarkand Dome. At one point, the ghostly images of another party overtook them. Tidus recognized each of these figures. High Summoner Braska, a younger Auron, and… Jecht.
"Hey, Braska," Jecht called, bringing the group to a sudden stop. "You don't have to do this."
"Thank you for your concern," Braska replied. He didn't say any more.
"Fine." Jecht folded his arms. "I said my piece."
"Well, I haven't!" Auron spoke up. His young face flamed with conflicted emotions. "Lord Braska, let us go back! I don't want to see you… die!"
"You knew this was to happen, my friend," Braska answered. He was perfectly calm and collected, the opposite of the younger Auron.
"Yes, but I…" Auron stammered. "I cannot accept it."
Braska let out a chuckle. "Auron, I am honored that you care for me so. But I have come to kill grief itself. I will defeat Sin, and lift the veil of sorrow covering Spira. Please understand, Auron."
The images vanished. The party didn't take time to discuss anything this time. They just kept going. There was no time to ponder the flashes of the past. They had to reach the Final Aeon. This was the end of their pilgrimage.

The party continued through the dome. Eventually, they reached a room whose floors were covered in colored tiles. Before Tidus could ask what it was, another image of Braska, Auron, and Jecht appeared.
"Are the Trials ahead?" Jecht asked, inspecting the room.
"Probably," Braska answered with a slight nod.
"Here, too, huh?" Jecht sighed. "Gimme a break. I was expecting, you know, parades and… fireworks!"
"You can ask for them after I defeat Sin," Braska scoffed. The images then dissolved.
"The Trials, hmm?" Lulu let out a tired sigh. "Let's go."
Yuna nodded and strode ahead. Tidus let out his own sigh and followed. He was getting tired. It had been a quite a while since any of them slept, but they couldn't stop. They were almost there. So close to the Final Aeon. So close to Yuna dying. Oh, how am I going to save her?

After finally solving the Cloister of Trial, which consisted of lighting up various panels in the floor, the party activated a lift, which Auron said led to the chamber of the Final Aeon.
"Yuna…" Auron gestured towards the small platform. "We're here.
"The hall of the Final Summoning," Yuna breathed.
"Go," Auron said sternly. Yuna nodded, made a prayer bow to the party, and headed for the lift platform.
No! Not now! Tidus thought in a panic. I just need a little more time, just a little more…
But Yuna was descending. The lift platform dropped away, taking Yuna with it. She would bond with the Final Aeon, then they would use it to defeat Sin. And then…
A familiar voice rose out of the fayth chamber, echoing like all the glimpses of the past they'd seen in their journey through the dome. Jecht's voice.
"Huh? What do you mean no Final Aeon?"
Tidus had no time to ponder over these strange words, as the lift returned, carrying Yuna.
"Sir Auron! Everyone!" she called. They all piled onto the lift without a word, and it descended. Tidus' skin prickled at the thought of what might lie below.

In the hall of the Final Summoning, the hymn of the fayth rang off the walls. This time, two voices overlapped, occasionally hitting discordant notes that added to the feeling of tension in the air. Something wasn't right. Yuna ran from the lift and crouched by the statue, which lacked the strange glow Tidus had seen from Bahamut's fayth.
"This isn't a fayth," Yuna said, her voice thick with concern. "It's just an empty statue."
The gatekeeper, the same green man in priestly robes who had greeted them at the entrance to the dome, materialized above the empty fayth statue.
"That statue lost its power as a fayth long ago," the gatekeeper said. "It is Lord Zaon, the first fayth of the Final Summoning. What you see before you is all that remains of him. Lord Zaon is… his soul his gone."
"Gone?!" Wakka gasped.
"You mean, there is no Final Aeon?" Rikku asked. Tidus felt a flash of guilty hope; if there was no Final Aeon, Yuna wouldn't have to die.
"But fear not," the gatekeeper said. "Lady Yunalesca will show you the path. The Final Aeon will be yours. The summoner and the Final Aeon will join powers. Go to her now. Inside, the lady awaits." The gatekeeper did a prayer bow and vanished. The wall behind him had transformed into a barrier of bluish energy. Beyond it was a hallway. Yuna began to walk towards it.
"Yuna, wait!" Tidus called, and Yuna stopped. He turned to Auron. "Auron, you knew this was going to happen, didn't you?"
"Yes," Auron replied simply.
"Why didn't you tell us?!" Rikku exclaimed.
Auron turned towards her. "If I had told you the truth, would that really have stopped you from coming?"
"Yuna," Kimahri called out to his summoner. Yuna was about to head through the barrier.
"I'm not going back," Yuna answered.
"Kimahri knows," Kimahri replied. "Kimahri go first. Yuna is safe. Kimahri protect."
Yuna nodded, and Kimahri walked through the barrier first. Yuna followed, then Auron, then the rest. Tidus felt his skin grow cold. This all just didn't feel right. Not at all…

The barrier led to a long room with a staircase at the top. Thousands of pyreflies buzzed though the air, coalescing at the top of the stairs. Inside of the cloud of billowing energy, a figure began to take shape.
"Someone's coming!" Rikku cried.
"Lady Yunalesca," Yuna said. Her voice was quiet, but undaunted. The cloud of pyreflies began to fade away, and a woman with long, pale blue hair emerged.
"Welcome to Zanarkand," Yunalesca called, spreading her arms out. Her voice was soft and lulling, and it reminded Tidus of Seymour's. "I congratulate you, summoner. You have completed your pilgrimage. I will now bestow you with that which you seek. The Final Summoning will be yours. Now, choose." Yunalesca walked down the staircase to approach the party. "You must choose the one whom I will change… to become the fayth of the Final Summoning."
A gasp rippled through the party, and Tidus felt his eyes widen. One of us… Is to become the Final Aeon? But then… Wait…
"There must be a bond, between chosen and summoner, for that is what the Final Summoning embodies," Yunalesca continued. "The bond between husband and wife, mother and child, or between friends. If that bond is strong enough, it's light will conquer Sin. A thousand years ago, I chose my husband Zaon as my fayth. Our bond was true, and I obtained the Final Aeon. There is nothing to fear. You will soon be freed of worry and pain. For once you call forth the Final Aeon, your life will end. Death is the ultimate and Final liberation. Your father, Braska, chose this path."
Again, Yunalesca eerily reminded Tidus of Seymour, in both her rhetoric and her backward philosophy. Yunalesca turned and walked up the staircase again, exiting through the doorway at the top.
Before anyone could voice the turmoil of their thoughts, another ghostly vision of the past materialized. It was, again, Braska, Auron, and Jecht, standing before the staircase.
"It is not too late!" Auron was pleading. "Let us turn back!"
"If I tuned back, who will, defeat Sin?" Braska asked, his voice calm but stern. "Would you have some other summoner and his guardians go through this?"
"But…" Auron stammered. "My lord, there must be another way!"
"This is the only way we got now!" Jecht spoke up. He looked just like Tidus remembered him; black hair held up by a red bandana, suntanned skin, sharp grey eyes. Only, now, his eyes held a strange light they hadn't had when he lived in Zanarkand; Jecht's eyes had the light of resolve and determination.
"Fine," Jecht continued. "Make me the fayth. I been doing some thinking. My dream is back in the other Zanarkand. I wanted to make that runt into a star blitz player. Show him the view from the top, you know. But now I know there's no way home for me. I'm never gonna see him again. My dream's never gonna come true. So make me the fayth. I'll fight Sin with you, Braska. Then maybe my life will have meaning, you know."
Tidus felt his breath coming a little shorter. That wasn't the Jecht he remembered, but… it was the Jecht who journeyed with Braska and Auron. It was the Jecht who was still Sin, somewhere out there. And he was… Tidus' father.
The younger Auron in the vision floundered for words for a moment, looking like his whole world was falling to pieces. "Don't do this, Jecht!" he said at last. "If you live… there may be another way! We'll think of something, I know!"
"Believe me, I thought this through," Jecht said, with sincerity and concern Tidus had never seen in him. "Besides… I ain't gettin' any younger, so I might as well make myself useful."
"Jecht," Braska said, turning to his guardian.
"What?" Jecht sighed. "You're not gonna try to stop me, too?"
"Sorry," Braska said. "I mean… thank you."
Jecht turned to Auron. "Braska still has to fight Sin, Auron. Guard him well. Make sure he gets there."
Auron floundered again, but his time could find no words.
"Well, let's go!" Jecht announced, starting up the staircase. Braska followed him.
"Lord Braska! Jecht!" Auron cried
"What do you want now?" Jecht asked.
"Sin always comes back," Auron said. "It comes back after the Calm every time! The cycle will continue and your deaths will mean nothing!"
"But there's always a chance it won't come back this time," Braska said calmly. "It's worth trying."
"I understand what you're saying, Auron," Jecht said. "I'll find a way to break the cycle."
"You… have a plan?" Auron looked shocked.
"Jecht?" Braska turned to his guardian.
"Trust me, I'll think of something!" Jecht said with a laugh. He and Braska walked the rest of the way up the staircase, dissolving as they hit the door. The ghostly image of the younger Auron dropped to his knees at the bottom of the stairs, his head hanging in despair. The present version of Auron raced up to his younger self, slashing at the fading image with his long katana. His face was painted with pain at the memory, and Tidus was shocked. He'd seen Auron pretty mad before, but never lose control like this. Tidus could only imagine how Auron must have felt, the only one left behind as Braska and Jecht sacrificed themselves. My old man sacrificed himself to save the world… but he's not dead. He's Sin.
"And the cycle went on," Auron said, planting his sword into the ground as the vision disappeared.
"We'll break it!" Tidus announced. It sounded silly as soon as it left his mouth, but Tidus believed it. He had to break it. He couldn't let the spiral of death continue.
"But how?" Wakka asked. "What, you got a plan now?"
"I one of us had to become a fayth…" Lulu spoke up. "I volunteer."
"Me too, Yuna!" Wakka added.
"That still won't change anything, you know?" Tidus shouted. He didn't think about his words, just let his frustration pour out. "You'd bring the Calm, and then what? That won't break the cycle!"
"Listen…" Wakka said, surprisingly calm. "You wanna defeat Sin and keep Yuna alive… You don't want Sin to come back, ya? That is just not gonna happen, brudda, you know?"
"If you want everything, you'll end up with nothing," Lulu said. Her words sounded very reasonable, but Tidus couldn't take it.
"But I want everything!" he shouted in probably the most inelegant way possible.
"Now you're being childish!" Wakka said.
"I give up," Tidus said with a sigh. "So what would an adult do, then? They know they can just throw away a summoner, then they can do whatever they like. You're right, I might not even have a chance. But no way am I gonna just stand here and let Yuna go. And what Auron said about there being a way… I think it's true."
"'You'll think you something?'" Rikku said, echoing Jecht's words. For the first time in his life, Tidus almost felt glad to be compared to his father.
"Yes," he answered. "I'll go ask Yunalesca. She's got to know something."
"You really think she'll help you?" Rikku asked.
"I don't know," Tidus said, "but I have to try. This is my story. It'll go the way I want it… or I'll end it here."
"Wait." Yuna's voice rang through the air. "You say it's your story, but it's my story, too, you know? It would be so easy… to let my fate just carry me away… following the same path my whole life through. But I know… I can't. What I do, I do… with no regrets."
Tidus locked gazes with Yuna. Her eyes burned with the same fierce resolve that she'd had their whole journey. We'll find a way.
Yuna in the lead, the party walked up the pathway, passing through the door to meet with Yunalesca.

On the other side of the doorway, the party found themselves on a large stone circle, floating in the sky in a way that reminded Tidus of the Farplane. All around them was night sky, alight with stars and pyreflies. Yunalesca stood on the platform, waiting for them.
"Have you chosen the one to become your fayth?" Yunalesca asked. "Who will it be?"
"Might I ask something first?" Yuna asked, coming out to the front of the party. "Will Sin come back even should I use the Final Summoning to defeat it?"
"Sin is eternal," Yunalesca replied. "Every aeon that defeats it becomes Sin in its place… And thus is Sin reborn."
Tidus let out a sharp breath. "So that's why Jecht became Sin." It all made sense now.
"Sin is an inevitable part of Spira's destiny," Yunalesca said. "It is never-ending."
"Never-ending?" Wakka's eyes widened. "But… but… if we atone for our crimes, Sin will stop coming back, ya? Someday, it'll be gone, ya?"
"Will humanity ever attain such purity?" Yunalesca asked, cocking her head slightly.
"This… This cannot be!" Lulu suddenly exploded. She ran forward to confront Yunalesca. "The teachings state that we can exorcise Sin with complete atonement! It's been our only hope all these years!"
A smile crossed Yunalesca's face, one that was less than comforting. "Hope is… comforting. It allows us to accept fate, however tragic it might be."
"No!" Tidus shouted, leaping forward. Another, familiar voice echoed his. Auron?
Rushing forward and through Tidus, a ghostly image of the younger Auron charged at Yunalesca. Only, the Yunalesca he lunged for, sword in hand, was also a memory.
"Where is the sense in all this?" the younger Auron bellowed. His face was twisted with pain. "Braska believed in Yevon's teachings and died for them! Jecht believed in Braska and gave his life for him!"
"They chose to die…" the past Yunalesca said, "because they had hope."
The young Auron let out a wordless bellow and lunged at Yunalesca, bringing his katana down on her head. A wall of energy surrounded Yunalesca for a moment, blowing Auron away in a single blow. He flew across the room and landed on the floor, unmoving. Then the images faded away.
"Yevon's teachings and the Final Summoning give the people of Spira hope," Yunalesca continued, ignoring the flashback. "Without hope, they would drown in their sorrow. Now, choose. Who will be your fayth? Who will be the one to renew Spira's hope?"
"No one," Yuna answered. Her voice echoed around the otherwise silent room. "I would have gladly died. I live for the people of Spira, and would have gladly died for them. But no more! The Final Summoning… is a false tradition that should be thrown away."
"No." Yunalesca shook her head. "It is our only hope. You father sacrificed himself to give that hope to the people. So they would forget sorrow."
"Wrong," Yuna called back. "My father… My father wanted… to make Spira's sorrow go away. Not just cover it up with lies!"
"Sorrow cannot be abolished," Yunalesca said, keeping her voice smooth and soft. "It is meaningless to try."
"My father…" Yuna sucked in a breath, gathering herself before continuing. "I loved him. So I… I will live with my sorrow, I will live my own life! I will defeat sorrow, in his place. I will stand my ground and be strong! I don't know when it will be, but someday, I will conquer it. And I will do it without… false hope." Yuna had tears in her eyes as she finished, but she looked not less resolved. She looked stronger and more determined than Tidus had ever seen her. Unshakable and unwavering, Tidus thought she looked more beautiful than he had ever seen her.
"Poor creature," Yunalesca said, her voice growing sickly. "You would throw away hope. Well… I will free you before you can drown in your sorrow. It is better for you to die in hope than to live in despair. Let me be your liberator."
Dark energy began to pulse from Yunalesca. Tidus instantly whipped out his sword, clenching the hilt tightly. Oh, boy…
"Now! This is it!" Auron shouted, sweeping out his katana. "Now is the time to choose! Die and be free of pain, or live and fight your sorrow! Now is the time to shape your stories! Your fate is in your hands!"
"Yuna needs Kimahri," Kimahri said, raising his spear. "Kimahri protect Yuna."
"Well, I'm fighting!" Rikku called, raising her fist in the air.
"I can't believe we're gonna fight Lady Yunalesca!" Wakka groaned, hefting his blitzball. "Gimme a break!"
"You can always run," Lulu shot back at him. She stood, ready to cast.
"Hah? I'd never forgive myself- no way! Not if I ran away now," Wakka answered. "Even in death, ya?"
Lulu smiled. "My thoughts exactly."
"Yuna!" Tidus called, running up to stand beside the summoner. "This is our story! Now let's see this thing through together!"
Yuna smiled and nodded. She raised her staff, ready to fight to the last. They'd never back down. Not this time.
Yunalesca raised one arm, preparing to cast a spell. It was time.

Tidus dodged to one side, avoiding the surge of scalding white heat from Yunalesca's spell. Her form was shimmering, the shape warping as she absorbed pyreflies, gathering power for battle. She was surrounded by a kind of dark glow, as if she was sucking in light. Yunalesca quickly cast another spell, this one directed at Yuna. Tidus grabbed her arm and jerked away from the blast of heat and light.
"Oh!" Yuna gasped. "T-Thank you!"
"No worries!" Tidus answered, pushing Yuna farther from the fight. "You start summoning! I think that tough dragon guy from Bevelle is in order!"
"Yessir!" Yuna nodded quickly, beginning her summoning dance. Tidus turned back to Yunalesca, sword raised. It was probably sometime past midnight by now, but the thought of exhaustion never once crossed his mind; adrenaline and a desperate fight for their lives gave Tidus all the energy he needed. The battle with Yunalesca was long and hard, and she wiped out more than one aeon. Halfway through, she transformed herself into a hideous fiend, but the party survived. After an intense struggle, they finally managed to bring Yunalesca down. She faded back into her original form, kneeling on the stone ground. She gasped for breath, her unsent form flickering.
"If I die…" Yunalesca panted, "so does the Final Aeon. And with it, Spira's only hope."
"Then we'll find Spira a new hope!" Tidus shouted back.
"Fool." Yunalesca spat out the word with disgust. "There is no other way. Even is there was… Even if you destroy Sin… Yu Yevon the immortal would only create Sin anew."
"Yu Yevon?" Tidus had never heard of that before. He knew the temples went under the name "Yevon," but who was Yu Yevon? Maybe this is the last information I need!
But Yunalesca was fading quickly. She didn't even seem to notice the party anymore. "Ah… Zaon… Forgive me…" Yunalesca groaned, dropping weakly onto the stone floor. "Spira had been robbed of the light of hope… All that remains is sorrow." Yunalesca's voice broke at her last words, and she faded away, dissolving into pyreflies. Tidus sucked in a breath. No Final Aeon. Yuna's saved! Now we just need to find a way to save Spira, too…
"I cannot believe what we just did," Yuna said. Her eyes were wide in shock.
Tidus came up close beside her. "Let's do something more unbelievable."
"What?" It was Rikku who answered. She stood with the rest of the group, facing Tidus and Yuna.
"Destroy Sin," Tidus said. "So it won't come back, and without the Final Aeon. I don't know how just yet. But I'll find out."
Tidus and Yuna's eyes met. She smiled at him, weary from the long battle and even longer night. Her eyes glittered with hope; not the false hope brought by Spira and Yunalesca's endless spiral of death, but real hope for the future.
Don't worry, Yuna. You'll have a future. No Final Aeon, no Final Summoning. I did it! I saved Yuna! If I can do that, then I can find a way to stop Sin as well.

The party left Yunalesca's room, walking back down the long staircase and towards the chamber of the fayth. From there, they would take the lift back up and exit the dome. Tidus was taking up the rear of the group, as usual, when he noticed Auron wasn't following. The cloaked man was leaning against the wall, not moving.
"We must talk," Auron called out to Tidus.
"What?" Tidus said.
"There is something you must know," Auron said, as steady and level as usual. Wait, is he actually going to tell me something? That's impressive. Tidus had been thinking for a long time about what Auron's secrets might be. Actually, he thought he might already know what Auron was going to say.
"I know… it's about you, right?" Tidus asked.
"I am also an unsent," Auron said calmly. He watched Tidus face closely. "You are not surprised?"
"I think I kinda knew," Tidus said. He hadn't wanted to believe it, but all the pieces fit. "It was Yunalesca, wasn't it?"
Auron let out a sigh and looked at the group. He hadn't moved from his position against the wall. "When Braska and Jecht died defeating Sin… I just couldn't accept it. I came back here… tried to avenge them. But she struck me down. Somehow I made my way, crawling, down Mount Gagazet. But my strength left just outside Bevelle. That's where Kimahri found me. I told him about Yuna… just before I died. I've been wandering ever since, never going to the Farplane."
Tidus had known Auron ever since he was a boy. In a way, it was Auron who raised him. He couldn't help but feel sorry for him. "Auron…"
"Don't make that face," Auron said sternly. Then his voice took on a lighter note. "Being dead has its advantages. I was able to ride Sin and go to your Zanarkand."
"And you've been watching over me since then, haven't you," Tidus finished. "Why? What's the big idea? Why me?"
Auron let out a sigh. "This is one of those things that is difficult to explain." Auron walked away from the wall and stood in the center of the room. "Very well, I will show you. My memories."
There was a flash, and Tidus found himself somewhere else. Or perhaps it was just a vision. Yes, it felt just like the visions he'd seen inside Sin at Lake Macalania. He was seeing something out of someone else's eyes. Auron's memories…
Braska and Jecht were walking up the staircase. Just a few more steps and they'd go through. Jecht would become a fayth, and then, just a few days later, Braska would use him and die facing Sin. They'd both be gone. Auron would be the only one left. He'd be all alone…
Auron inwardly scolded himself for being so selfish.
Braska and Jecht are going to die!
"Can I ask you one last favor?" Jecht's voice yanked Auron from his despair. "Uh… Nah. Never mind."
Auron quickly walked up to Jecht. "Out with it!"
"Okay," Jecht sighed. His grey eyes had the look of remembrance in them. "Listen good. Take care of my son. My son, in Zanarkand. He's such a cry baby. He needs someone there to hold his hand, see? Take care of him, will you?"
Jecht talked about his family often. His wife and his little son, Tidus. He talked about them so often Auron felt like he almost knew them.
But in Zanarkand…?
"But how am I supposed to go to Zanarkand?" Auron asked.
"Hey! You said it yourself!" One of Jecht's characteristic smug grins spread over his face. "There must be a way to get there, right? You'll find it."
Auron sucked in a breath. As the only one left of Braska's party, he had no idea what he would do after the others were dead.
Take care of Jecht's son… Auron had never been that good with children, but if that was Jecht's dying wish…
"All right, I will! I give you my word," Auron said resolutely. "I'll take care of your son. I'll guard him with life."
"Thanks, Auron." Jecht grinned. He walked up to Auron and set a hand on his shoulder. "You were always such a stiff, but that's what I liked about you."
The vison ended abruptly, and Tidus was himself again, back in the present.
"That is why," Auron said. He started walking after the others. Tidus watched him go, just standing there.
Not that good with children? You did a good enough job with me, Auron. Thanks. Really.