Chapter 34: Ghostwalker

After Yunalesca's defeat, everyone exited the room, but Charlene froze as a curious feeling tugged at her soul. "Wait, what? Is one of those weird discs here, too?" She looked around, and noticed a dusty old chest sitting near a set of stairs at the end of the balcony. Charlene quickly opened it, and found a gleaming gold disc within. It was decorated with many-rayed suns, and had the word "Shemesh" engraved near the edge. "This looks like all the others…and I already have the other half!" She quickly reached inside her belt-pouch and pulled out the coin she received from Arietta. Curious, Charlene placed the coin inside the opening on the disc, and with a loud click and a flash of light, the two objects fused and became one. "Wow!" she exclaimed aloud. "If this one did this, will the others do this, too?"

Suddenly, her belt-pouch trembled violently, and when she reached inside it to find the source of the vibration, she pulled out the old map from Remiem Temple, which was now glowing faintly, as well as vibrating. Curious, Charlie opened the map, and noticed that the two astrological symbols that represented the sun were fading away, while another, larger symbol appeared on part of the Calm Lands. "What is this?" she wondered. "Does it mean that there's something located in that spot that relates to the sun? I wonder what it could be?"

…

Charlene hurried out the door to catch up to the others, and as she entered the chamber, the pyreflies near the ceiling vanished and the lights went out, causing everyone to gasp in surprise and pause, waiting to see if any enemies would appear. When none appeared, the group exited the room, except for Auron, who waited near the stairs. "We must talk," he said, when Charlie climbed down the stairs.

"I know," she sadly replied. "You're…not alive, are you? Yunalesca killed you."

Auron nodded. "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 me just outside Bevelle." He paused, flinching at the memory of all the pain and grief he had endured. "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."

"That's why you were in so much pain when we visited the Farplane in Guadosalam, huh?" Charlie asked, trying her hardest to keep from weeping. "God help me, I'm in love with a ghost!"

Noticing her expression, Auron smirked, "Don't make that face. Being dead has its advantages. I was able to ride Sin and go to Zanarkand."

"So you could watch over Tidus," Charlie concluded. "Why did you do that, anyway? Was it a promise you made to Jecht?"

"Maybe it would be easier if I showed you," he replied, stepping back a couple of paces.

With that, Auron dropped to one knee, and then his body turned ghostly as several pyreflies drifted out of his body. Fascinated, Charlie crept closer, and then reached out to touch him, only to find that her hand went through him, instead. Before she could withdraw her hand, however, an electric shock jolted through both of them, flinging them into a storm of images that fired through their minds...

…Flash…

Charlie stood in a small village that no longer existed, although she did not know why or how she knew that, and watched as a small, dark-haired boy with serious eyes said goodbye to his parents and leave with a priest to live in Bevelle. "Aw…Auron was so adorable as a little kid!" Charlie thought, feeling a strange urge to hug the boy.

…Flash…

Auron stood in the middle of the street in a neighborhood he knew could not possibly exist on Spira, and watched a little black-haired girl holding a flower approach a little redheaded boy who sat on the sidewalk and wept. "Hi, I'm Charlie. What's your name?" the little girl asked, sitting down next to the boy. "How come you're so sad?"

"M-Marcus," the boy replied, hiccupping as he scrubbed at his tears. "My mommy died, and Daddy said we had to move here."

"I'm sorry. My daddy died, too," Charlie sadly told him, holding out her flower. "I was gonna give this to my Mommy, but I want you to have it."

…Flash…

Several years passed, and Charlene now stood in Bevelle Temple, watching a somewhat older Auron fight with a slightly chubby boy with brown hair and black eyes. It looked like they were trying to kill each other, until Auron punched the other boy in the nose, knocking him down and causing blood to fly everywhere. "Kinoc, are you okay?" Child-Auron yelled, rushing to his friend's aid.

"Yeah," the bloody-nosed Kinoc sheepishly replied. "You didn't have to hit me that hard, you know!"

…Flash…

Several years passed, and Auron watched the ten-year old Charlie and Marcus play kickball during recess. He did not know how he knew such strange terms, but he could not help but laugh a little when Charlie ran forward to kick the ball, missed, and fell flat on her butt. "Charlie, you're not supposed to fall down!" Marcus admonished, helping her to her feet.

Charlie, giggling despite her slightly wounded pride, said, "It's okay. I'm used to it. At least you're here to help me get up again."

…Flash…

More time passed, Auron was now sixteen years old, and he and Kinoc had made friends with a slightly younger boy named Braska, who had come to the temple as a White Mage trainee and prospective apprentice summoner. Quiet and studious, Braska did not seem like the type to cause trouble, but it turned out he dearly loved pranks and practical jokes, which he often used in an attempt to get the uptight Auron to smile, which, in turn, made Charlie smile.

…Flash…

More time passed, and Charlie was thirteen and, for some reason, refused to come out of her house. "What's wrong with you?" Marcus yelled up at her bedroom window, upset that his friend was avoiding him. "Why won't you come outside?"

Finally, Charlie opened her window, glared down at him with teary eyes and shouted, "I'm not coming out for five to seven days!"

"What? Why?" Marcus was confused.

Charlie paled, then looked around to make sure no one else was around, and muttered, "I'm not coming out, because…I got my period today…"

…Flash…

Some time later, a slightly older Auron walked down a secluded corridor with a female warrior-monk named Shandra. He turned to face her, and their lips met as they passionately embraced one another, and Charlie quickly turned away and vanished, her face flaming with embarrassment at catching such a personal moment.

…Flash…

Auron followed the now fifteen-year old Charlie through a different school as she walked to her next class with Marcus. Although she was oblivious to it, several other girls shot her very dirty looks, apparently jealous of her friendship.

…Flash…

Charlie hovered over Auron as Braska and a White Mage whose name she did not know fought to stabilize him. Even now, while the pain of Malboro venom wracked his body, he still cried out to Shandra, begging her not to go even though she was already dead.

…Flash…

Auron flashed forward through time, and appeared in a dark bedroom, where he found Charlie and Marcus making love for the first time. Just as quickly, he shot through time again, thinking, "That is definitely not my business…"

…Flash…

Charlie watched Auron glare balefully at Braska, who was currently forcing him to struggle his way through the Al Bhed language, with the intent that they practice together. "Why do I need to know this?" the swordsman groaned. "You're the one who wants to impress that Al Bhed girl, Leanna!"

"Because Kinoc wouldn't agree to it," Braska calmly replied, flipping through the language manual he had found. "Now let's try this again."

"I didn't know Auron could speak Al Bhed," Charlie thought as the scenery faded. "Of course, I never actually asked him, either."

…Flash…

Auron sat in the back seat of the car, as Marcus and Charlie headed out on an errand. Both teenagers seemed nervous, and when they stopped at a red light, Marcus started to ask Charlie a question, but he fell silent as the light changed. Slowly, they moved forward again, and Auron involuntarily flinched as another car crashed into them. Even though he knew he could do nothing for them, Auron got a closer look at their injuries, and he could tell that, while Charlie would survive, Marcus would not. Even though the boy was dying, however, he still reached out to Charlie, trying to help her.

…Flash…

Charlie found herself in the Bevelle Temple again, and stared confusedly at one of the High Priests. "So, have you considered my offer?" the priest asked, looking directly at her.

Confused, she turned around and found Auron standing behind her, looking uncomfortable. "Sir, I have thought about it, but with all due respect, I must decline," he quietly replied. "I do not even know your daughter, so it would not be fair of me to force her into a marriage she may not want."

The priest's eyes flashed angrily, but his expression remained placid as he smoothly said, "Of course. Very well, young monk. I shall leave you to your duties…may you have much joy of them."

With that, the priest stalked off, and Kinoc quickly came out of the next room. "What happened?" Kinoc asked, concerned. "What did you say?"

Auron closed his eyes and replied, "I told him no."

"Why?"

"Because it wasn't right."

Kinoc clapped his friend on the shoulder, and said, "I am sorry, but you know that Father Clement does not take rejection well."

"I know."

…Flash…

Auron stood in the school again, this time in the cafeteria. "It was all your fault!" a blonde girl hissed, piercing Charlie with a fierce glare. "Why couldn't you have died, instead, huh?"

"I…I d-didn't mean for it to happen," Charlie quavered, choking back tears.

"Save it for someone who cares, you murdering bitch!" snarled another girl, one with brown hair. "You killed him, you stupid whore, and you couldn't even take the time to go to his funeral, or apologize to his dad, could you?"

"I was in the hospital!" Charlie protested. "I couldn't go anywhere!"

"Yeah, right!" spat a boy, one of Marcus' teammates.

"Why don't you just go die, before you kill someone else?" suggested another.

Auron watched this and grew angry when he noticed that the two teachers in the room were ignoring the confrontation completely. "These people…how could they even think something like that was her fault?"

"Bitch!"

"Whore!"

"Murderer!"

"You should have died instead of Marcus!"

Covering her ears, Charlie ran out of the cafeteria and into one of the bathrooms, where she locked herself into a stall and hid, weeping until her History teacher found her and called her mother.

…Flash…

Charlie watched as Auron tried to comfort Braska, who wept unashamedly at the death of his wife, Leanna. Fortunately, a neighbor, seeing how incapacitated the fallen summoner was, had agreed to take care of Yuna for the time being. Eventually, the tears stopped, and Braska looked up at Auron, a hint of madness in his eyes. "Auron, would you…be my guardian?" he asked.

"You know you needn't ask that," Auron replied. "I offered to be your guardian before, remember?"

…Flash…

Two years later, Auron looked around the cafeteria again, but this time, there was no confrontation. Instead, Charlie sat alone, slowly eating her lunch and ignoring the occasional glares shot at her by some of her classmates. Eventually, two boys joined her, one black, the other with carrot-red hair. "Keith, Johnny," she said, not really paying attention to the two of them.

"You have to talk to us sometime, Charlie," Keith, the black boy, said.

"Yeah, you're not the only pariah here, you know," Johnny, the redhead, added.

She looked up at them, her eyes blazing with barely-suppressed anger. "Maybe not, but you're only hated because you're either gay, or smarter than everyone else! I'm hated because I killed the class hero!" she snapped, tears slipping down her face.

"You didn't kill my cousin," Johnny quietly replied.

"That's right," Keith said. "That drunken asshole that's sitting in prison now did it."

"Yeah, well, you be sure to explain that to all the bastards and hatemongers around here for me, because I'm sick of it!" Charlie stood up, tears streaming down her face again. "I'm sorry…I shouldn't take it out on either of you. I'll see you after school."

With that, she stalked away, leaving the two boys behind. Keith sadly shook his head, looked up at Johnny, and said, "Did you know that her mom doesn't even know about any of this? Ever since everyone ambushed her in the cafeteria back in our sophomore year, she acts like everything's just hunky-dory when she's at home."

Johnny nodded sadly and replied, "I know. I think Charlie won't tell her that all this crap is still going on because she's afraid her mom will turn on her, too."

What neither of the boys realized that Charlene was still within earshot, and heard most of what they said.

…Flash…

Charlie hurtled forward through time, flashing through several images of Braska's pilgrimage, until she stopped and found herself in the chamber again, only this time with Auron, Braska, and Jecht. "Can I ask one last favor?" Jecht asked, giving Auron a pleading look. Suddenly embarrassed, the blitz star turned his back to the swordsman and said, "Uh…nah…never mind."

"Out with it!" Auron said, a little impatiently.

"Okay, listen good," Jecht replied, turning back around. "Take care of my son. My son, in Zanarkand…he's such a crybaby. He needs someone there to hold his hand, see? Take care of him, will you?"

"But how am I supposed to go to Zanarkand?" Auron asked, a note of desperation creeping into his voice.

Jecht laughed. "Hey, you said it yourself! There must be a way to get there. You'll find it."

Auron nodded, and replied, "All right, I will! I give you my word. I'll take care of your son. I'll guard him with my life."

"Thanks, Auron." Jecht smiled, walked over to the swordsman, and clapped him on the shoulders. "You always were such a stiff…but that's what I liked about you."

As the memory faded, Charlie finally realized she had been holding her breath and quickly exhaled. "All those unspoken emotions hanging in the air…it's amazing they didn't smother anyone with them!" she thought as the storm rose up to reclaim her.

…Flash…

Auron flashed forward through rapid images of Charlie in Zanarkand, and then Spira, until they came to a halt in Seymour's quarters in Bevelle. Although he knew that this was only a memory, Auron watched in anger as Charlie called Seymour a monster, and the undead Guado told her she was just as bad, and lied to her about Yuna and the others, and "saving" Spira. When Seymour forced his kiss on her, however, Auron wanted to kill the maester again. Suddenly, the scenery blurred and flickered violently, and just before it faded, he caught a glimpse of something dark, hateful, and irredeemably evil glaring at him with glowing grey-violet eyes. "MINE!" it screamed, lashing out at the guardian.

Before it could connect, however, the memory faded, leaving Auron alone in the storm once again. "What was that?" the guardian wondered. "I've never seen anything like that before."

…Flash…

The two of them shared the memory of the night in the ravine, and felt an overwhelming wave of mutual desire wash over the both of them…

…Flash…

Charlene wrenched her hand back, and she and Auron both fell flat on their backs, their hearts racing as if they were about to burst. "Wh-what in holy cheese was that?" Charlie panted, struggling to sit up.

"When you touched me, it triggered a memory-storm," Auron replied, his face paler than usual. "Apparently, when I become a spirit-form, we are able to share each other's memories."

"Yeah, but did it really have to go back to that night in the ravine?" Charlie blurted out before she could stop herself.

"Apparently, it is a powerful memory," Auron sardonically replied, "…for both of us."

Charlene felt the blood rushing to her face and closed her eyes. When she opened them, Auron was already on his feet, and offering her a hand. She took it, and he hauled her up, quickly letting go as an echo of that last memory flickered through them again. "Let's get out of here before everyone starts looking for us," she suggested, rushing out of the room. "Great! He's a ghost and I'm an alien, and I love him, and apparently, he cares for me, too!" she mentally complained. "As if this wasn't complicated enough!"

Auron watched her leave, and unsuccessfully suppressed the urge to look at her backside as she departed. Shaking his head, he followed her. "That boy…Marcus…she obviously loved him. And he loved her, too," he thought as he exited the room. "And after he died, all those people hurt her, and she keeps it bottled up in an attempt to protect herself, and not bother everyone else. It's no wonder she's afraid to show anything; she's afraid everyone will reject her if she does…"

…

Leaving Zanarkand proved much easier than entering, as no fiends or rogue memories emerged to bother the party. When they finally made it out of the building, the sun had just risen, and Sin stared down at the group, eclipsing the morning light. As the party waited to see what it would do, the titanic beast focused its eyes on Charlie, and let out a strange growl filled with the screams of countless people. The young woman looked back at Sin, and felt that alien consciousness brush against her mind, both upset and curious. "Jecht?" she softly replied, confused by the welter of emotions she received. "Yes, the Final Aeon is gone, but if you'll just give us a little more time, we'll think of a better way."

Apparently satisfied with that, Sin turned and walked away, passing by Cid's airship without so much as a second glance. As the machina drew closer, Charlie let out a sigh of relief and thought, "Perfect! We can't leave this crazy place fast enough!"