"What Bacchus Should Have Done" (Star Ocean: The Last Hope)
It was too much to bear. Though safe from the incredible carnage in the Calnus' bridge, Edge could only stare in utter horror as the alternate, 1957 Earth was swallowed in a titanic cataclysm, the event triggered by his own actions. It was because of his poor judgment and trust that the Earth and all six billion inhabitants were annihilated in that single detonation in the underground research facility. His gut tightened and bile rose as he clenched his fists, helpless to stop the horror he had unleashed. He thought he would be sick.
"No! This... this can't be happening! Impossible!" Edge wailed in despair. "The Earth, everyone living on it, everything... destroyed! All because of me! Me!"
"Edge, please calm down!" Reimi Saionji, his long-time companion, tried to sooth him from her chair on the bridge, turning to face him with a hurt expression. "It's not your fault what happened. None of us could have predicted that would happen."
"Of course it's my fault! Don't you understand?!" Edge roared, unable to contain himself. He pounded an armored fist on his control console, almost breaking it. "This is all because of me. Don't try to deny it, Reimi! Everything's gone!"
"But that was the alternate Earth. In our own time, it's still there," Faize reasoned, his pink alien eyes pleading. "This was just some weird alternate Earth we found. We don't even know how we even found it. We're all as lost as you are."
Lymle and the new member of the crew, the cat-like Meracle, were quick to add their consolation for their dismayed captain, but to no avail.
"Stop it, everyone. The Earth is gone and it's my fault! Everything's gone!" Edge railed on, gritting his teeth. He pounded the command console over and over. "Everything everything everything EVERY--"
Edge was cut off when Bacchus' giant metal fist descended on his head, and the boy crumpled to the floor, knocked out and his tongue hanging out of his mouth.
"Jesus Christ, Mr. Edge, don't you ever shut up?" Bacchus asked him, looking down at his lax captain. "Who the hell made this whiny baby the captain?"
"Captain Grafton appointed him back on Aeos," Reimi explained. "I guess he was totally on E or something when he made that decision."
"Yeah. I should be captain, not that fool!" Faize announced, standing up and puffing out his chest. "Who votes for me?"
Cerberus was quick to discourage Faize's ambitions, and Lymle watched in satisfaction as the fiery dog chased the alien boy all around.
"Thanks, Bacchie, for shutting Edgie up," Lymle thanked the giant. "I think you should be captain, 'kay? Even though you have a metal body, you have ten times the balls Edge does."
"Yeah. Bacchus for captain!" Meracle cheered, and the matter was settled. Edge was tied up and had "loser" written on his forehead before he was locked into the storage room. Boy, would he be surprised when he woke up! Bacchus for captain!
