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Final Fantasy VI: The Sands of Time

Book 1: The Beginning

Chapter 7 - Confluence

Part 7.11 - Brotherhood

Levi was impatient. He had been promised a world of riches and power beyond imagining, and here he was stuck in a world full of nothing. He let the Goddess guide his steps, but he still maintained control of his mind and senses. He was no pawn like everyone else seemed to be. He was Jonah Levi, and he was his own master, even now. He followed his Goddess because his desires were perfectly in tune with her own, and everything she wanted, he wanted as well. So why not share his body with her for now?

We will be glorious together, my loyal one. Be patient. Soon we will own the world, and bring our rule down on the masses like a tidal wave.

"Yes, yes, I trust you. But this is boring!" Levi spat out into the silence swirling around him. "Where are we going, anyways?"

To the center of the Nexus, the Crystal Forge. There and only there can the chains that bind me be broken, and only once I am free can you gain the power you crave.

Levi did not like the way the Goddess plodded along with his body. He had so much power already! She could practically fly his body to wherever this Crystal Forge was, but no...she limped his body forward as if he were still a cripple.

"Hurry up!" Levi said loudly.

Be patient. One does not simply walk straight into the center of the universe. I am guiding your body in exactly the way it must move to reach the Forge. One false step and you would be lost in an unseen twist of space, never to be heard from again. If you like, I can give you control and we'll see how you fare...

"No. I'll manage, thank you," Levi said angrily. "This is just so boring!"

Soon. You have been as loyal a Vessel as I could have ever hoped to find, and very soon you will receive your reward. But you must know that there is one final obstacle that must be conquered.

"And that is...?" Levi snorted. He could overcome anything in this world or any other.

You have great power now, but it is still only mortal power, bound by the laws of your world. To receive the power of the gods, you must give up your humanity, completely. You must fight your worst enemy - you must conquer yourself.

"I fear nothing, and have no enemy that is my equal. So what exactly must I fight, hm?"

Levi said this with his usual bravado, but his mind was open to his Master, and she knew he was not being completely honest. Swirls of light began forming around Levi as he continued forward.

Yes, you are infinitely confident, but you are still human, and all humans have something to fear. What is it, I wonder, that the Nexus will show you?

The swirls of light grew thicker, more organized. As the Goddess spoke, patterns emerged in the air, and transparent objects took shape. Levi kept moving forward, but something he saw in the vague shapes silenced him.

What are you afraid of, Jonah Levi?

"I am afraid of nothing!" Levi said weakly at last, but already he knew. He knew where his steps were taking him. But he would survive. No matter what, he was a survivor. Sweat trickled down his face as his awareness grew. Could it really be...?

Hah, hah, hah...yes...what could the great Jonah Levi fear?

Before Levi could answer, the swirling intensified and he suddenly found himself in another time and place. Levi's body was transformed along with the space around him. No longer was he a one-legged old man with a magic eye. No, he was young again. Very young, only a child.

And he was whole. As whole as he would ever be, since after this moment he never felt satisfied again, never quite...human. This was the moment he first killed a man. This was the moment he killed his own brother.

"Barabbas..." Levi wailed with realization, as his consciousness melded with his own former self, becoming the boy that would become the man. The monster.

Young Jonah Levi stood at the base of a steep cliff, the sun's dying rays falling on his face as he watched his brother from a distance. Barabbas Levi was six years older than Jonah, only sixteen, but he already looked like an adult, and acted like one, too. Jonah hated the way his brother strutted, always thinking he was better than everyone else. And everyone seemed to agree with him, fawning over him like a prince. Well, Jonah was sick of it, and today he would prove he was better than his brother.

"Barabbas!" Jonah shouted as he ran up to where his brother stood at the top of the cliff. Look at him, standing there looking out over the sea like he owned it!

Barabbas turned around slowly and looked at his brother calmly, not seeming to care about Jonah's presence here. Jonah knew this was his brother's private place, where he went to collect his thoughts and be alone. Normally Barabbas would be angry that Jonah was intruding, but today he only looked at his brother wearily. Did he already know what Jonah had done earlier? Could Dez have already told him?

"Barabbas," Jonah said again as he reached his brother's little sanctuary. "I wanted you to know that Dez chose me after all." He waited to see some reaction on his brother's face, but there was nothing. Just that same serene gaze that infuriated him.

"Well? Don't you care that I've stolen the woman you claim to love?" Say something, dammit!"

His brother turned away from him and went back to looking at the sun set over the ocean, setting the waves on fire. It was a beautiful sight, and even in his hatred Jonah could see why his brother came here so often. This would be a nice place to take Dez, if she ever spoke to him again.

"Your silence won't make things better, brother!" Jonah said mockingly. "She loves me now, and you're nothing to her!"

Now his brother laughed, as if this entire twisted situation were one big joke.

"Jonah," Barabbas finally said in his quiet, sure way that drove his brother mad, "If she truly loves you, then I am glad for both of you. I know you hate me, but I still love you. You are my little brother! How could I hate my own kin? Go and be happy with Desirae, if that is what you want. The gods know, little enough makes you happy in this world. I am sorry, but if you came here for a fight, you will only receive my blessing."

This was just like his brother! Turning everything into a peace offering. He loved Dez, yes, but he loved his power over her more, the power of having the admiration of a girl older than himself, and what he loved most of all was the power he thought having her would give him over his brother. But here his brother stood, practically giving her to him without a second thought. Damn you Barabbas! Why won't you give me what I want? Why won't you get angry?

"Brother." Jonah seethed. "I don't care one bit about your blessing. I came here to prove to you that I'm better than you, and that's what I am going to do. You're nothing! Do you hear me? Nothing!"

His brother's peaceful gaze turned serious as he looked at Jonah, perhaps seeing his brother as more than just "little Jonah" for the first time.

"Jonah, you have nothing to prove to me. I've done my best to convince you that life isn't a contest, but you just won't listen. It grieves me to see you so full of malice and greed. You'll never be happy as long as you feel like you have to show everyone how great you are. Do you know what I think? You're already great in my mind, and nothing you ever do will make you any more or less to me. You're my brother, and that alone is good enough for me. Why can't it be enough for you? Why can't anything ever be enough for you?"

"Damn you, Barabbas!" Jonah raged. "I will make you submit to me! I am better than you, better than anyone!"

Jonah lunged at his brother, losing his temper. Barabbas simply stood his ground, and let his little brother tackle him to the ground. He offered no resistance as Jonah beat him with his fists, tears streaming down his face.

"Listen to me! Yell at me! Fight me, you coward!" Jonah howled, sobbing as he spoke. He hated his brother, but he loved him, too. His brother's opinion was everything to him, and the more Barabbas ignored him, the more it enraged him.

The sun was now almost gone, but Jonah still struggled with his complacent brother, urging him to retaliate, to show him that he cared at all. But he did nothing. He just kept looking at Jonah with that unbearable gaze. Those eyes! I'll tear them out of your skull!

"Why won't you acknowledge me, brother!" Jonah wailed hoarsely. "You think you're so smug! You think you're always right! Say something, or I'll beat you to a pulp!"

"Jonah, I forgive you."

Nothing could have stung Jonah more than those words. He grabbed his brother by the collar of his shirt and pulled him as close to his face as he could.

"Barabbas, I hate you. I wish you would just die."

Barabbas said nothing. He just kept looking at Jonah with those eyes. Those damn eyes! How dare you pity me! I'm the one in control here!

"Stop it! Stop looking at me like that! I'll kill you!"

Jonah got up off his brother, and dragged him to his feet. Barabbas came willingly, letting his brother do whatever he wanted. This only infuriated him more.

"You're going to fight me, or you're going to die," Jonah said, almost peacefully. But he felt anything but peaceful as he forced his brother to stand.

He shoved his brother backwards, towards the edge of the cliff. Barabbas made no effort to stop him.

"Fight me!" Jonah yelled.

Barabbas remained motionless, looking at his brother serenely. There were tears in his eyes now.

"Fight me, brother!" Jonah repeated, louder than before. He was still crying.

He shoved his brother again, harder. Barabbas teetered at the edge of the cliff, but made no effort to fight back or regain his ground.

Jonah howled in rage and despair, his emotions pushing him further and further out of control. He lurched backwards for one final push, wanting desperately for his brother to do something to save himself, and hating him all the more.

"BARABBAS!" He screamed, his voice cracking. His body moved forward with all the strength he could muster.

"Damn you, brother, love me!" he whispered without thinking, his voice gone and his tears choking him. His hands connected, and he did not pull back.

Barabbas staggered backwards and stumbled, losing his balance. Realizing what he was about to do, Jonah tried to grab him as he fell away, but he couldn't hold on. He wasn't strong enough to hold his much larger brother up. Despite his boasting, he had no power at all to stop his brother.

Barabbas never blinked. He just kept looking at his brother as he fell. His eyes were full of tears, but there was no fear, no anger, no hate. Only peace, and sorrow.

"But I've always loved you," he said quietly as he fell away from Jonah.

The scene seemed to play in slow motion, his brother gradually descending away from Jonah as he reached out to save him. His brother's final words hung in the air even after he disappeared into the darkness below.

What had he done? Could he really have killed his brother? As if in answer, a voice rang out from behind him.

"What have you done, Jonah?" the voice said shrilly. It was Dez. She had seen the whole thing.

"I...he..." Jonah stammered uselessly. It was too late. His life was over now.

"What have you done..." Dez said again, weakly. "Jonah, how could you?"

She fell to her knees and started crying, and Jonah felt a sudden urge to reach out for her, to grab her...to strangle her. What was this horrible feeling? He suddenly felt hollow, like he had just puked up his entire soul.

Apparently Dez saw something of Jonah's madness in his eyes, for she immediately got to her feet and backed away.

"Stay away from me..." she said slowly. "You're a monster Jonah Levi. I never want to see you again."

Jonah tried to reach towards her, but she shied away violently.

"Stay away! I'm going back to the estate and telling your parents! They know where I went, and they'll be here if you do anything to me!"

This was it. He knew he had to kill her too. But this was Dez! How could he kill the woman he loved?

The same way he killed his brother, that's how.

"No!" Jonah shouted, struggling to stay sane against the dark thoughts that were flowing freely through his mind.

He staggered towards Dez in supplication, ready to convince her it was an accident. But she took his movement as a threat, and screamed. Without thinking he lunged at her, the scream terrifying him into action. She dodged him and then kicked him savagely in the ribs as he fell. Before he could recover she had fled back down the cliff and out of his reach. That was the end. There was no going back now.

Jonah screamed like a wounded animal, raising his fists at the now dark sky. The sun had set, and Jonah was alone in the darkness. He knew he would never see the light again, and he wept and wailed like the child of ten that he was.

But he was no longer a child after that night. He never returned home to face his crimes, but escaped under the cover of night by ship to a faraway land. There was no light left in Jonah Levi's soul after that night, and he suppressed the accusing demons in his heart as best he could as he wandered in exile from his home. He had done a remarkable job hiding his dark past from himself over the years, but here it was facing him once more. The floodgates had been forced open, and the demons were free to torment him once again.

"Brother..." Levi stammered, old and crippled once more. He stood in front of the Crystal Forge, his soul naked before the power of the gods.

"Brother...I..."

I forgive you, brother...

"No! I hate you!"

I still forgive you.

"Damn you Barabbas, I killed you once, and I'll kill you again, once and for all!"

Jonah, my brother...

"Die, brother!"

Brother...

"DIE!"

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