Disclaimer- Dissidia and all its characters belong to Square Enix
As the battles went on, I started to get more worried. We were only fighting the imitations now, but the time would come when I would have to face the real version of my brother. I had fought him in the past, but circumstances were different now.
"Watch out Cecil!"
I woke up from daze and managed to quickly block a blow coming at me and threw my spear towards the enemy. As I saw the figure dissolving, I saw that the imitation was in my brother's image, and grimaced.
He ran up behind me. "Hey man, you alright? Do you need a break?"
I shook my head, "No, I'm fine. We should keep moving anyway."
"Does it really bother you that much to fight him?" I turned to look at him with surprise, sometimes he was more perceptive than I gave him credit for. "I mean, if you guys are so close, why is he one of the bad guys?"
I gave him a wry smile. "Things were different back then. When I first met him, we were enemies because his actions were threatening the peace of our world, and he had destroyed many towns and kingdoms. He even made me fight my closest friend."
"…And you like this guy?!"
I shook my head and chuckled at his shocked expression. "Things were not as it seemed. My brother was being controlled by a greater evil, his mind was not his own."
He crossed his arms over his chest. "Hmm, so I guess after you found that out, you became best buds, huh?"
I shook my head again. "Actually, I still had trouble calling him brother, after all the horrible things he had done, and growing up thinking I had no family left, the experience was a bit surreal."
He raised an eyebrow. "So what makes you so attached to him now? It's not like you guys really talked about everything and settled it, right?"
"Well, you do have a point there. But the last time I saw him, he was trying to save me and my companions, facing off against the evil that once controlled him. It truly seemed like he was repenting for everything he had done, and it felt to me like he was protecting me in his own way, like an older brother." I looked up to the stars that had started to dot the sky. "If he was still influenced by evil, or if he didn't care about me, I don't think he would have come to aid us. So now, I want to get closer to him, to show him that I'll always be there for him.
"Hmm, it must be nice, knowing that you guys are looking out for each other."
"What of you and your father then? Did you feel disheartened when you had to face him in your travels?"
He let out a snort. "Please, if I got as many chances to fight him like you could've fought Golbez, I would've been happier." He linked his hands behind his head. "He's always like that, taunting me and telling me I'm not good enough. But when I finally get a chance to fight him, he goes easy on me! Well, losing to him would've meant the end of the world, but still!" He let out a frustrated grunt.
I didn't realize losing to his father was that devastating for him to seem as if the world ended. "But now that both of you are here, you can try to reconcile with each other."
"Fat chance. Unlike you and your brother, my old man hasn't been very 'caring' and father-like to me when we run into each other. And I don't plan on going easy on him when I do fight him this time just because he's my old man."
"Were things really that bad between you?"
"Well, whenever he was home, he'd be lazing around like a bum or he'd be drunk. Whenever he was out, he was such a show-off to all his fans, it made me feel sick. He always looked down on me and said I wasn't good at anything." He kicked at the ground. "He definitely isn't the greatest dad in the world."
"But at least you got to live with him, and have memories of a family," I let out a small sigh. "It's better than finding out all of a sudden that the person you've been trying to defeat is your own brother."
"If you had a dad like my old man, you wouldn't be jealous of me." He punched his fist into his other hand. "The next time I see him, I'll beat him so hard it'll wipe that smug grin off his face, and I'll finally be able to get back at him for all the things he's done."
"Do you really hate him that much?"
"I won't be satisfied until I beat him in a fair match, to show him that I'm stronger and better than him." He turned to look at me. "I hope things go well with you and Golbez though. You're a nice guy, you deserve it." And he brandished his sword to fight another imitation that had appeared in the distance.
I watched him run towards his opponent, and thought about everything he's said. On the surface, it would appear like he hated his father, but his words didn't have much spite or anger in them. It felt more like he wanted his father to acknowledge him as a strong warrior, and for his father to be proud of the young man he's become.
No matter how much he denied it, he really did care for his family.
