Auron

Auron is a character in Kingdom Hearts II, originally from Final Fantasy X.

Kingdom Hearts II
Final Fantasy X

A warrior that Hades called forth from the Underworld.

''In exchange for his freedom, Auron was commanded to defeat Hercules. But he refused to work with Hades, saying, "This is my story."''

''He doesn't talk about himself very much. What sort of story has he written thus far?''

Kingdom Hearts II
Auron's role is quite similar to that of Cloud's in Kingdom Hearts, in the sense that Hades sends them both to kill Hercules. Hades becomes increasingly frustrated in his attempts to defeat Hercules, since the hero kills every opponent the Lord of the Dead throws at him. At Pete's suggestion that he "send somebody already dead and save him the trouble," Hades decides to bring out the "mother of all bad guys." He goes to the deepest dungeon in the Underworld and summons Auron, offering to let him out if he kills Hercules.

Auron declines and insults him, derisively telling him that "This is my story, and you're not part of it." Hades, in a rage, attacks him just as Sora comes in, and the group escapes, battling legions of Heartless and Cerberus along the way. On the way, Sora complements Auron's fighting skills and asks if he is a hero, though Auron denies being a hero. He asks Sora if he needs a guardian, but Sora politely declines. Soon after escaping Cerberus, Auron disappears.

In the second visit, Auron is revealed to be the final contestant in the Hades Cup by Hercules. When Sora attempted to talk to him Auron says that he must defeat them and atone for his crimes, this confuses the group enough to follow him. Sora and Donald then witness a conversation between Hades and Auron in which Hades asks his crime. In response Auron says it was because he existed. When Hades told Auron to not only defeat Hercules, but also get rid of "three meddling friends" (Sora, Donald, and Goofy), Auron refuses making Hades seal Auron's free will into a statue and forces him to fight Hercules in the Underworld Coliseum.

Sora enters the Underworld in search for the statue. Meanwhile, Auron came close to defeating Hercules, pinning him under Battlefields of War. However, moments after Sora brings back the statue, restoring his free will. Auron then joined Sora and the party to help defeat Hades. Subsequently, he decided to travel the Underworld to write his own story, granting Sora the Guardian Soul Keyblade before leaving.

Auron is seen during the credits fading back into pyreflies (the essence of a person's soul in Final Fantasy X) after witnessing the restoration of the Olympus Coliseum.

Appearance
Auron greatly resembles his original, Final Fantasy X incarnation in his youth, though with a less complex outfit and without the "nog" bottle on his left hip. Auron wears a blood red haori with blue lining, kept closed with a thick, black and blue strap with two brown belts wraped around it. Auron tucks his his left arm into the front of his haori, making it look as though his arm is in a sling. Though in Final Fantasy X he removes his arm from here several times, he never does so in Kingdom Hearts II. There is a a brown shoulder pad on his left shoulder that is intricately decorated with tan, green, and blue patterns, as well as a beaded ornament that dangles from it.

He wears black pants and shoes, the latter of which have brown straps and triangular metal plating adorning them. Auron also wears a black shirt with a peculiar, grey collar with intersecting brown straps that is high enough to cover his mouth. His short hair is dark grey and spiked, and he seems to have some light stubble on his chin. There is a large scar over the right half of Auron's face and over his eye, which is constantly shut as a result. His left eye is amber colored. Auron wields his starting weapon from Final Fantasy X, the "Katana" (named "Battlefields of War" in Kingdom Hearts II), though it has more in common with the fictional zanbatou sword than a katana.

Personality
Auron is the strong silent type. He speaks only if necessary, but when he does, he speaks of wisdom. He appears as a strict, no-nonsense warrior with a dry wit. As a 'Guardian', Auron devotes his life to protecting those in need, putting the matters of others before his own, an unconcerned with his own well being. His experiences from his mortal life has strengthened his spirit. A man of unshakable resolve and loyalty to those he protects with enlightening wisdom, Auron is seen by his peers as an excellent role model more than worthy of the Guardian role.

Abilities
Auron is naturally a physical character with a small handful of support abilities, including two to restore his MP. He attacks very quickly, leaping through the air to strike enemies, and his Limit Break is very powerful. Auron has one armor slot, no accessory slots, and two item slots. His abilities are as follows:


 * Divider: Attacks enemies in midair.
 * Healing Water: Restores the party's HP.
 * MP Rage: Restores MP when attacked.
 * MP Haste: Increases rate of MP restoration.
 * Once More: Ensures 1 HP is retained after being hit with a combo attack.
 * Auto Limit: Sets the Reaction command to Limit, if a Limit has been equipped.
 * Limit Ability: Bushido.

Quotes

 * "This is my story. And you're not a part of it."
 * "Thanks for meddling."
 * "Hmph, no wonder no one wants to die."
 * "It seems we were fated to meet. Maybe you need a guardian."

Origin
Auron was originally a playable character from Final Fantasy X, a console role-playing videogame developed by Square Co., Ltd.. A wise monk shrouded in mystery, he acts as the Guardian of Yuna and a mentor towards Tidus. Interestingly, he was close to both of their fathers, the High Summoner, Braska and fellow Guardian, Jecht, respectively.

Kingdom Heart's Auron resembles in many ways to his Final Fantasy X counterpart, albeit younger, unlike the other Final Fantasy cast member in the series who are presumed to be alternate versions of themselves. This is based on:
 * The lines heard after Sora takes the Auron statue, which are lines Auron spoke to Braska and Jecht in Final Fantasy X, rerecorded for Kingdom Hearts II.
 * His reference to his previous profession as a guardian of summoners (namely Lord Braska and his daughter, Yuna) in Final Fantasy X.
 * He turns into pyreflies as he returns to the Underworld (a phenomenon occurring in/connected to Spira).
 * His decision to return to the Underworld despite having been resurrected harkens back to his choice of being Sent to Farplane after defeating Sin.
 * Much of his dialogue, such as "your pain shall be two-fold", is taken or paraphrased from Final Fantasy X.
 * These can also be taken as references from Final Fantasy X and nothing more.
 * In Final Fantasy X, Auron wears glasses while flash-backs to Auron's past show that he didn't wear them when he was younger. The Auron represented in Kingdom Hearts II is seen without glasses, though he retains the large scar on his face that cost him his right eye.
 * Auron's constant taunt at Hades "this is my story..." is derived from Final Fantasy X as well. It is a comment that Tidus - featured in the original Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy X - would also make.
 * In the conversation between Auron and Hades, Auron says his crime was that he existed, possibly saying that he was the only one alive in the group involving Braska and Jecht.

Unlike his original self, the Auron of Kingdom Hearts does not remove his arm from his jacket, as he does when fighting in Final Fantasy X, even though he carries it around in its sling like position.

Trivia

 * Auron is the first Final Fantasy character to be an official member of Sora's party.
 * All of Auron's Limit commands are the names of his various Overdrives in Final Fantasy X, save Spiral, which is based off of Tornado, his final Overdrive. Spiral may be a reference to the 'spiral of death' Spira is caught in during the game, or simply to a tornado's resemblance to a spiral.
 * In a sense, Auron actually takes Cloud's place in the Hercules' Kingdom Hearts storyline, due to the fact that Hades had used both of them to try to eliminate both of their opponents, yet they fail to complete their missions. However, Auron, unlike Cloud, refuses to work with Hades at all.
 * Auron is the first character to be declined by Sora to be a permanent party member, or as he put it a "guardian". Cloud was asked by Sora, but Cloud himself declined.

Gallery
Auron