Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN THE LAST STORY, OR ELSE I WOULD'VE GIVEN ARGANAN AND CALISTA'S RELATIONSHIP A PROPER REDEMPTION ARC.

For those that read a lot of my The Last Story fanfics, you probably know I'm a big fan of the concept of Arganan at least surviving the events of the game and/or getting a proper redemption arc. Here's one of the various takes on it, and I hope you enjoy reading it!

Further context as of how this fic was made: This is completely based off a past tumblr post I made about the fact that Zael would be Arganan's nephew-in-law and what that might have entailed if Arganan survived the events of the game. (I would include the link to it here, but I can't, but I have a link to it on AO3 if you want to find it there.)

Warnings: Implied/referenced ArgananxDagran, Implied ArgananxTherius, Zaelista, SyrennexLowell, Canon-typical violence, takes place post-game, spoilers for The Last Story, Arganan survives AU

Better Off Together

Summary: He's not happy that he can't get what he initially wanted, but he got something better. Also known as: The fix it AU where Arganan survives the events of the main game and things slowly come back together in ways that he didn't think were possible, including acknowledging the fact that he has a nephew-in-law and potentially romancing a white knight.

The Count of Lazulis isn't sure how he should take this.

He's alive. He's grateful that Calista, despite her slapping him in the face less than an hour ago, ended up pulling him away from the Outsider in time before it could truly, fully, kill him. Experiencing Mitra's wrath was bad enough, painful enough, and the power draining from him is enough to give him nightmares of the whole event on repeat.

But now he had an island to repair, a marriage to figure out, and…well, about said marriage…

Jirall Rambaldt was very much dead. That was obvious. Clearly he and Calista weren't getting married.

But what now? Who would Calista be betrothed to?

It was clear Calista and Zael wanted to be together. Now that Jirall was dead, there was no stopping them, really. Arganan knew that he didn't have a choice in that, because 1. Calista threatened to use the fact that he was basically responsible for the Outsider draining Lazulis Island of life given how he commanded it if he didn't let them get married, and 2. Arganan really needed a time to look good right now, and what better way to do that than getting his niece and the savior of Lazulis Island together?

He's civil enough during the wedding and the party afterwards, says a few polite and congratulatory remarks to Zael and Calista for the public to hear. And, in a way, the former Count is happy for them. At least, despite the mess of everything, something went right after all. Calista is married to the savior of Lazulis, just as Arganan wanted. Just not in the way he expected.

Arganan's relationship with his new, official, nephew-in-law is awkward.

Granted, they didn't ever fully get along prior to Zael and Calista marrying. Arganan doesn't suspect everything will be sunshine and roses anytime soon. Zael is polite to him, at least, and he's good to Calista, so Arganan suspects things will be mostly fine regarding him. It's just really weird calling him his nephew-in-law, so he tries his best not to call him as such in front of him.

With Zael officially being Count and all, the other mercs that were with him also linger around the castle more often. Not Dagran, because Dagran is dead. The Count thinks fondly of him, sometimes. It's a shame Dagran did what he did, because Dagran became one of the most trustworthy men Arganan could rely on at the time. (They could have been something, in another life. Arganan is sure of that.)

Lowell and Syrenne don't quite stay at the castle, but they pop in for visits on such a frequent basis that Arganan wonders why the hell those two haven't moved in yet. It's a miracle that Therius and Syrenne don't fight each other like they reportedly almost did when they first met. Lowell no longer flirts with the maids as much, given the rumors that he and Syrenne are much closer and (potentially) expecting a child, if said rumors are true. Arganan prays the child is not as loud as them, but he doubts it'll go as he hopes.

Mirania and Yurick also visit often. Mirania currently works as both researcher and healer within the castle. It is thanks to her that they figured out the whole Outsider mess, her and Asthar (and Arganan wishes Asthar wasn't dead right now) that is. Mirania gets along well enough with most people in the castle, and her main deterrent of her being there is her large appetite. The castle kitchens make sure to be well stocked because of her. Yurick, meanwhile, busies himself with visiting the little mage kids and making sure they don't cause a ruckus, promising to teach them something useful in return. Arganan is somewhat thankful for him being around, because that means less accidents in the castle from said children. Accidents still happen, because they're children that are new to magic, but Yurick deals with it well enough. Arganan only wishes the fire mage luck in making sure that one mage kid, Dinah, doesn't actually marry him.

Therius returned to the Empire, trained new knights, and he's quite successful. The white knight visits Lazulis frequently despite his busyness, however, to assist Calista and Zael with reorganizing the military forces. It makes sense, now that the Lazulis Cannon can't be used due to the lack of an Outsider powering it. Arganan overhears that the white knight might even become Imperial Commander one day if the rumors are true, following in Asthar's footsteps.

The late General Asthar would be proud of Therius. Arganan is sure of that. He really wishes Asthar wasn't dead right now, that he could be alive to support Therius in his ventures. He could've been alive to be present for Zael and calista's wedding, to maybe help with reorganizing said military forces of Lazulis, but no. He won't be able to, because he's dead. It's a shame he's gone.

Arganan wonders how things might've went if he himself died. Would Calista shed a tear for him? Part of him doubts that, but at least they have time right now to try fixing things.

That doesn't mean there is more arguing.

And yes, Calista slapped him in the face a second time. It stung almost as much as the first one.

"I'm sorry that I'm fucking selfish and that it hurt you. That I hurt you."

Those words fall from his lips one night, during a heated argument, and he watches Calista freeze on the spot. He's not sure if he's seen her gaze on him soften this much before, lying somewhere between pity and then.

"You really fucked up." It's the first time he's heard Calista swear, and he's pretty sure he has Zael and his former-mercenary friends to blame for it. However, it's very appropriate right now to say it. He gives it a pass.

"Yes." A sharp chuckle escapes him, but it's somber. "I did fuck up."

She hugs him instead of slapping him this time. He eagerly hugs her back, both relieved that she's starting to forgive him and also that she didn't slap him a third time, this time.

(She ends up slapping him a third time in a later fight, but it's much lighter this time. She breaks down crying afterwards. Arganan just hugs her while Zael watches, and the former Count isn't sure how soon he and his niece will fully mend things, if that's possible, but at least they're getting somewhere.)

The former Count, his niece, and nephew-in-law end up fighting Reptids together, a month or two later.

They have no idea that the bloody Reptids literally dug a path into the castle until it's too late.

It's just the three of them cornered in one end of the ballroom. Therius (who was visiting at the time) is currently surrounded by Reptids and can't reach them to assist, and Zael's friends are just outside the ballroom, trying to slow down the Reptids outside. All the other knights struggle against other Reptids in the ballroom or are escorting civilians and servants to safety.

Arganan hides behind a pillar, barely dodging an arrow, only to see Zael active his Outsider's power, pointing his sword at them.

"Get away from my wife!" Zael took down several Reptids in a row, cutting them down one after another. There were several arrows launched at Zael, likely from Reptid archers, but that was when a golden barrier appeared around him, making those arrows harmlessly bounce off him instead.

Calista stood a few feet away from Zael as some arrows launched at her harmlessly bounced off the barrier around her. "Hands off my husband!" She shouted, before launching a Holy spell, sending Reptids flying.

Honestly, Arganan was pretty sure he could let his nephew-in-law and niece take the floor from here. They seemed to be doing well, and he was absolute shit at combat compared to them (to be fair, he wasn't the most proficient at magic and his physical capabilities were mostly limited due to his conditions). Better to…

And that was when it hit him.

Calista and Zael were now wife and husband. He knew that, but it didn't quite really hit him until now.

Meaning that Arganan had to deal with Zael for the rest of his life or until one or the other were dead. Something like that. Might as well make the best of it, right? He didn't know what else to do about that situation. Whether he liked it or not, this was the reality and he had to live with it.

Taking a deep breath, despite knowing too well that Holy magic wasn't his specialty (the best he usually could do was a weak Healing spell or two), he came out from behind the pillar, started casting his spell.

"Scoundrels!" All the remaining Reptids looked towards Arganan, who aimed his spell right at them. Arganan huffed, before barking, "Get your bloody hands off my niece and nephew-in-law!"

And then he fired.

Reptids went flying all over the ballroom as they got hit, ended up sliding down the walls or along the ground. Arganan felt all the energy of the spell leave his system as he landed back on the ground post-casting, and he went down on a knee, grimacing as soreness wracked his body. It was bad enough having prosthetic limbs to deal with, but worse when you were out of practice with magic on top of that.

"Uncle!" He looked to his left, seeing Calista kneel by his side, already dealing him Healing magic. He felt the warmth of it through his shoulder, realizing her hand was on it, and he was thankful for it. "Are you okay?"

He nodded towards his niece, swallowing. "Better, thanks to you. I'm just glad you're safe."

He looked to his right to see Zael telling some of the remaining soldiers and Therius to tend to the wounded after the Reptids were confirmed to be repelled (for now), before he went over to Arganan. A dazed look settled into his nephew-in-law's eyes, and Arganan worries for a moment that Zael might keel over from how tough the battle was just now. He wouldn't blame him if he did.

"Uncle? Uncle-in-law?" Zael still wasn't sure how to address Arganan, and Arganan himself wasn't really sure how Zael should appropriately address him, given that Arganan technically had no fancy title anymore and that he was technically Zael's uncle-in-law but saying the whole thing sounded weird. "Did you just call me your nephew-in-law?"

Calista gasped, eyes wide at Zael's pointing out of this.

Arganan immediately cursed as he realized that Zael was right about pointing it out.

Arganan is not oblivious to Zael's friends laughing over Zael telling them of what happened. It's weird, acknowledging that a former mercenary-turned-savior-of-Lazulis Island is related to you so openly. Arganan is also aware that it's something he'll have to get used to.

But if there's something he does appreciate, it's the fact that he feels less lonely now. Calista and him are on better terms. He's also talking to Zael.

He's also now aware, as of this morning, that Calista and Zael are officially expecting twins. He never thought as far as being a great-uncle. He's worried he'll fuck up being a decent great-uncle (and he has good reason to be worried, given how he previously fucked up his own relations with Calista), but at least he has time to prepare, right? Just because he's not the Count of Lazulis anymore doesn't mean that he's not busy.

He also has Sir Therius to deal with at times. Not because the man annoys him. In fact, it's far from it; Therius' visits are welcome because he doesn't tease Arganan like Zael's friends do. Arganan is convinced Therius is the only sane man in the castle, other than him. At least, that's what it feels like at times. Arganan catches Therius in conversation when they're both not busy, when Therius isn't directing knights or in conversations with Calista and Zael about Lazulis' state of military. They manage some polite conversation, but turn to deeper topics of interest. Rumors from the mainland Empire and the Gurak Continent, from the outskirts of Lazulis Island. They reminisce about past events. Arganan is honestly thankful now that Therius stopped him and the knights from running after Zael when Zael refused the knighthood, for somewhat calling out Arganan and the knights on not doing their duty for the people and just for their own gain. He's not sure what could've happened if Therius didn't do so. He's not sure if he wants to know.

Both of them also reminisce about Asthar.

"I wish I got to him sooner." Therius finally admits one day, in the middle of a conversation. "I could've stopped Dagran from killing General Asthar." A sigh escapes Therius, and he swallows. "He could be here with us right now."

"You were protecting me." Arganan reminds him. "You're the one that tackled me away from that falling debris and stayed by me for the whole rest of the time."

"I was only doing my duty."

"Exactly." The former Count looked Therius in the eye, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Asthar would be proud of you, protecting people to the end. I'm not oblivious to what you did when the Gurak invaded Lazulis for the third time. You did what you swore to do when many of my knights didn't."

They ended up stripping several runaway knights of their titles, out of the ones that survived and weren't too repentant of their actions. Arganan feared the shortage of knights that would ensue, but Therius' training of new knights and bringing them to Lazulis proved fruitful, in the end.

The former Count thought he saw Therius smile at that.

"I do admit that you're correct. I think Asthar is proud. And I intend to keep doing him proud, as well as all of Lazulis."

"Well, you're already doing me proud, at the least. It's hard not to be when you have the most handsome knight rescuing you in the nick of time." The words get out of Arganan's mouth before he can stop them, and he buries his flushing face in a hand.

"Oh." Therius sounds somewhere between surprise, but he's not reacting horribly, either. "I…wasn't aware…"

Arganan unburies his face, looks to Therius. "This is just between you and me. Do us both a favour and don't tell anyone." Same-sex attraction is relatively uncommon in the Empire, even if it's not illegal.

Therius nods. "Of course. But that's not that I'm surprised about."

That throws Arganan off a bit. Therius can only chuckle.

"The General always teased me about me not being a hit with the ladies." Therius explained, the faintest smile on his face. "I never thought I'd be a hit with the men, either."

Arganan can't help but laugh at that.

There may be mild rumours that Arganan and Therius are courting.

Arganan, of course, blatantly denies that, even if he is the one sending reports to Therius (along with more personal, friendly letters that he hopes Therius keeps hidden well). Calista and Zael ask him about it on occasion, and he of course denies it. Therius is different than Dagran; he's formal (almost too much so, to be fair), but he's pleasant. Also is the only sane man in the castle when he visits.

But Arganan doesn't mind the insanity of Zael and his friends in the castle as much now. He doesn't even mind having to help take care of Zael and Calista's twin children when they're born (because hey, the Count and Countess of Lazulis have duties to get to and can't always be with their kids, though they try their best to be).

Back when Arganan was Count, he had all the power, but he was deeply alone. The last part of the war against the Gurak taught him that too well.

But though he doesn't have all that power now, having passed on his position to his niece and nephew-in-law at this point, he's less lonely. He likes it better that way.

He's better off together with everyone, and he's glad everything is better now.

He wouldn't want it any other way.