Work Text:
There was nothing but silence around Joshua as he floated into the unending and dark abyss. It looked so sinister and eerie, he should be afraid of diving deeper and deeper into it, yet he felt nothing aside from a calm resolve deep within him.
This was the path he had chosen, believing his brother could finish Ultima for good and grant this world a new chance. Thus, he entrusted the rest of his Eikon to Clive, granting him the strength to fall the god that wished to bring doom to humanity.
It was the role he had to fulfil, a role he had accepted out of his own free will and not because a god had schemed as much. He wished he didn't have to leave Clive behind though, but there was no other way aside from sacrificing himself. Death had been inevitable anyway, his body torn apart from the excessive usage of his powers as well as Ultima's portion he had sealed within his own heart wreaking havoc. The least he could do was to give his death a greater meaning.
Joshua knew his brother would win in the end no matter what. He was his shield after all and also the person he trusted most. A small smile found its way on his lips even when he had no way of knowing. His body was nothing more than a distant memory at this point, left behind in the mortal realm while his soul travelled to the land of the dead.
Of course, it was sad that he left behind so many loved people he cared deeply for, but each of them knew that their battle against Ultima could mean that sacrifices were necessary. Dion's face flashed in front of Joshua's inner eye just as his own reflection did. Such was the price to pay to revolt against a god.
On the other side, he would finally be reunited with his father, the person who had shown him the way since the day was born. He wondered if his father was proud of him, that he was worthy enough to have carried the man's legacy so far. Soon he would learn the moment they stood in front of each other face to face once more.
Joshua felt tired the longer he fell and the blond wondered how much longer his journey to the land of death would take. Hours? Days? Maybe even years? He had no clue, his normally sharp mind failing him greatly, but he didn't mind. If he closed his eyes right now, he was certain he would wake up at his goal.
His eyes were about to fall shut, but suddenly there was a loud scream from something big, the noise ringing in his ears sounding awfully familiar. Joshua snapped out of his half-asleep state, his eyes trying to find the source of the sound.
However, he had to shield them immediately because a blending light like burning fire filled the void around him, another scream echoing in the emptiness, louder than before. It didn't take long before Joshua also heard the flapping of colossal wings. Whatever the source was, it came closer and closer to him at tremendous speed.
Deep down, he already knew what or rather who was chasing him for they had shared the same heart since his birth twenty-eight years ago. Still, when the blending light parted and revealed the majestic form of his Eikon Phoenix, Joshua had no idea what to make out of this. After all, he had gifted the divine beast to his brother not long ago, so it shouldn't be here. Unless of course...
“Phoenix!” The blond screamed, panic filling his soul and heart. “What are you doing here?! What happened to Clive?!”
Of course, the Eikon didn't say a single word in response as it stopped in front of its former vassal, merely staring at the blond.
“Please, answer me! I beg you!” Joshua cried desperately, tears already forming in his eyes about the prospect of his brother failing to end Ultima for good.
Phoenix remained silent, showing no signs of granting the answer Joshua wished for. Instead, the gargantuan bird of pure fire roared, stretching its wings as its body was set ablaze with fierce flames from its divine powers.
Joshua tried to shield his body from the heat lashing out in every direction even when it was utterly pointless. Once, these powerful flames were his own, always there to protect him from any harm but now that he was separated from them, they frightened him. For a brief moment, he wondered if this was how all the people who met their ends by his fire felt before their certain death.
Phoenix's former vessel could only stand helplessly in front of the Eikon of fire, observing every move the large bird made. Bright, blue flames sparked to life on the bird's chest, the very source of its almost unending vitality. Another screech followed the fire surrounding them growing ever stronger.
Suddenly, the same blue fire emerged from Joshua's chest and the young man gasped in surprise and shock as the flames engulfed his entire body. However, they didn't burn Joshua and instead filled him with energy. The sensation of falling stopped and was replaced by the opposite. The blond man swore he was rising now, returning to from where he came.
“Phoenix, what are you trying to achieve?” Joshua yelled as he watched how the firebird became smaller and smaller, confused about the Eikon's actions. Just like before, the divine bird ignored his plea for an answer, roaring once more.
Joshua became drowsy, his eyes feeling so heavy suddenly. He tried to keep them open, but it was a futile struggle. He reached out for the firebird in a last attempt to get the answers he desired before he ultimately succumbed to the warm and gentle sensation engulfing him. Darkness was around him once more, but this time it was comforting and put his mind at peace, carrying him further and further away from the land of death.
XXX
The next time Joshua felt anything, the first thing he did was groan because his whole body was aching from head to toe. His head was a mess, in complete disorder. Thousands of thoughts ran through his brain at the same time, moments of his last moments while his brother held him overlapped with the memories of Phoenix appearing in the dark abyss and doing something to him.
He tried to open his eyes but found the task was too difficult for him at the moment. He felt like he was run over by a Behemoth and that was probably not far away from the truth, considering how he felt.
Groaning again, Joshua tried to get a hold of his bearings, failing miserably. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get his body under control, so he had no way of telling where he was. One of the few things that gave him a rough idea was the gentle noise of rustling waves falling apart.
Was he at a shore? Maybe. At least it would explain why he felt like his clothes were soaked and why his nose was filled with the salty scent of the ocean. It told him little about his exact whereabouts, not that his mind would be able to fully assert his situation anyway right now.
“Finally awake, sleepyhead?” A weak voice croaked somewhere close to him. Joshua's eyes snapped open at the sound of the familiar voice he could always recognise.
Joshua jolted into a sitting position, the name of the voice's owner falling from his lips. “Clive!”
The blond man found his brother lying only a few meters away from him. They were indeed at a shore, the sand crackling under his body as Joshua crawled to his older brother since he didn't have the strength to stand.
When he arrived, he pushed himself so that he was kneeling in front of his brother, desperate to pull him into his arms. But he didn't dare to, not with the condition his brother's body was in.
“Clive, you...” Joshua began before words were failing him, not because he didn't know how to continue but simply because he refused to speak what was on his mind. He could see the white on Clive's skin, the curse that had befallen so many already now clinging to his brother too. He couldn't tell how far it had spread, but the fact that he saw the petrification on Clive's collarbone was enough to tell him the bitter truth.
A small chuckle filled the air around them. “I think I overdid it a little bit, didn't I?” Clive joked. Joshua didn't find it funny, not even remotely. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes as he stared at the fragile form of his brother.
“It wasn't supposed to be like this,” he said meekly, feeling utterly helpless. Joshua didn't try to hold his sobs back when they came and instead allowed them to run freely. At some point, he began punching the sand too, his frustration overwhelming him.
“It wasn't supposed to be like this,” he repeated and then he did again and again.
“Joshua,” Clive chastised eventually and the blond man hated the tone his brother used. It reminded him too much of their childhood, on the rare moments when Clive turned into a strict older brother.
“You, Dion and I were well aware of what this battle meant... how it could end for each of us. That we can talk like this one more time is nothing short of a miracle... probably even several now that I think about it.” Clive chuckled again at that realisation, only adding more fuel to Joshua's desperation.
“Please, brother,” he pressed out between sobs, “don't talk like this is our last conversation... You can't die. Think about Jill, Torgal and all the others. They are waiting for your return.”
Clive stayed silent for a moment after that, but not for long. His brother simply continued completely ignoring Joshua's earlier statement.
“After I defeated Ultima and came back to the place where you died, I... couldn't stand the sight you were in. There was so much blood, Joshua, so much blood flowing from your chest and pooling around your body,” he said grimly.
“I didn't want anyone to see you like this, so I used Phoenix's powers to restore your body. At the same time, I prayed to Metia, begging her to talk to you one more time. Honestly, I didn't expect it would work, but I won't complain. I couldn't be happier to see you are back. I know everything will be fine with you around, no matter what the future will bring.”
“Clive...” Joshua sobbed, carefully collecting his brother in his arms. “Stop talking like you are not a part of this future anymore. You created it, so you have to live and see it with your own eyes.”
“I didn't create it, Joshua. You did. Without the blessing you gave me during the ceremony all these years ago, I would have never come this far. I had only become another dead body in this world among the many others.”
“You're lying, Clive!”
“No, I'm not and you know that as well as I do,” Clive stated firmly even with his weak-sounding voice.
Joshua wanted to oppose his brother, to say that he was false, anything to fill the silence that fell upon them, but he could only sob and cry, choking on his own emotions. The pain flooding his heart as he was forced to watch how the curse crawled higher on his brother's body, already reaching his chin, tore it apart. The pain he had felt when Ultima broke the seal was nothing compared to this.
“Joshua, I don't have much time left, so I will make this quick. I won't ask anything ridiculous from you like becoming Cid the Third or anything like that. Just promise me that you watch out more for yourself from now on. That's the only thing I ask from you because I won't be around anymore to save your ass.”
At Clive's words, Joshua remembered all the times his brother had come to his rescue back then when they were still children. Joshua had the talent to get into trouble, but Clive was always there to have his back and fend off anything that was threatening him, even if it was just a harmless but scary bug or his worst nightmare carrots.
Joshua had lost count of how often Clive had secretly eaten them for his sake so that he didn't have to. It was silly, of course, but it made him happy, every time no matter what. He didn't want to, couldn't even imagine a world without his big brother whom he loved so much, but here he was, listening to Clive's final words.
“I will brother! I promise! I will always take my medicine from now on and I will never complain about carrots either anymore,” Joshua croaked, tears constantly falling from his face like endless rivers of emotional torture. Clive looked at him, unable to say anything in return because the curse had already taken his mouth. But he didn't have to because Joshua could see the smile in his eyes. It was the last thing Joshua saw before the petrification took his brother away from him, the cold body in his hands crumbling to dust, becoming one with the sand.
Words were not enough to express how Joshua felt at that moment, his face buried in the remains of his brother. He screamed he cried and he wept as he lay on the shore under the nightly sky, hugging Clive's bracelet matching to his own to his heart, the stars the only witnesses of his pain.
On that day, three men had set out to face the false god that threatened all of humanity, three men bonded together by their will to protect those they loved. They faced the fierce wrath of their nemesis, but emerged victorious at the end but not without having to pay the price. From the three men that had set out only one Returned.