Just... Don't ask what I was thinking when I imagine this concept, crossover between different Final Fantasies where Cactuar and his recently recruited army will try to make him the new hero of each videogame of the main saga, with the help of PSICOM who would try to recover their honor.
Warning: This fic doesn't contain a fourth wall.
Also I don't own FF their owners don't write fics, and if they did it, Lightning would be likely the protagonist.
Chapter 0: All tale needs a hero.
The room where the PSICOM operatives brought the prisoner was dirty and clearly had been abandoned by his former owners a long time ago, they put the prisoner, covered with a bag so he couldn't see where he was, they were tying him to a chair, when Nabaat and Rosch appeared.
Jihl grabbed the bag to talk to the prisoner.
"Long time no see, Hope" said Rosch. Hope couldn't hide his surprise.
"You... You should be dead, I see you dying." Jihl laugh to Hope's statement
"Yes, we should be dead, but you will know for experience that death is not a very serious problem nowadays."
"What do you want?" asked Hope.
"Where is Lightning, Hope, tell us that, and you are free to go."
"Why?"
"Why?" Jihl was losing her temper. "First, for revenge, second, after Disley, uhm, fired me, a new employer gave a job, and he wants Lightning, Where is she, Hope? Don't make me kill you"
"C'mon, Hope." Said Rosch, with a calm voice. "We are going to find her eventually, just tell us now her location, and make the work easier."
Hope thought about the situation, he knew Lightning very well, and he knew that if they tried to kill Lightning, they wouldn't end very well.
"Alright" said Hope. "She is in a new game."
"Let me guess" said Jihl. "Final Fantasy XIII-3? The end of the epic trilogy?"
"No, you are a bit outdated" Hope knew that he was digging his own grave with what he was going to say. "It's called Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII"
Jihl almost broke her stick out of frustation, and Rosch seemed that he was going to laug at any moment.
"Her name!" "They put her name in the title, are you fucking kidding me? I am going to kill her, and I swear that nobody will stop me."
"Jihl, calm down, we have what we wanted." He make a gesture to one of the PSICOM soldiers who released Hope.
"Now, get out before I change my mind" said Rosch, making Hope ran away.
"Jihl, we must report to our boss."
"Alright, alright." answer Jihl recovering her composture.
They arrived to the new PSICOM's headquarters, a tower in the steppe, where almost all their men, people rejected for Cocoon citizen live now, without purpose, they left their home and families because of their sins, now this mission was their only hope left to obtain redemption.
"Soldiers!" shouted Yaag to gain their attention.
"Today will be the last day that we will live as pariahs."
A soldier approached Jihl whispering something, she tell the soldier to came back to his post, and approached to Rosch she had something to say.
"Our new boss is here, and I think it'stre time to greet him as he deserves."
After hear it, all the troops, stood in one foot and bend their arms and legs, at the same time screaming Catuar, our hero, our savior and things like that when He appeared
It was a glorious sight, Cactuar was 2 meters long with his incredible expressive face and that graceful movements it was impossible not to fall ito his knees and swear him loyalty.
Cactuar without saying a word pointed to a wall, opening a portal there, it was a portal to a different Universe, they couldn't simply kill Lightning, they needed to repair everything from the base, if they want to change something, they would have to change everything.
Cactuar, Nabaat, Rosch and part of their troops entered the portal, only Cactuar knew what world was at the other side, they will face deadly traps, people will be afraid of their techology and being hostile to them, but nothing of that mattered.
They would change the hstory.
All tale needs a fitting hero, and Cactuar could fullfill hundreds of times that position.