You Should've Stayed

by There is Only Darkness

Let's rewrite the story of Bravely Default here and say that Agnes agrees to board the Eternian airship, if only to spare the innocents of Caldisla. Tiz knows it's a trap and that she'll only suffer in captivity, but her mind is made up. He must travel the lands and find the other two warriors of light before her life is inevitably taken. Potential spoilers ahead.

1. Chapter 1

Note: This fic will contain some mature themes, but these themes are not the sole focus of the story and will not be written in vivid detail. If you're still worried, don't read this fic. I also don't own Bravely Default so don't sue me Square Enix. But without further ado...

Routine. What's in the word anyway? Doing something over and over again, making it a part of everyday life? I thought I knew. My family and I lived boring, non-luxurious lives.

But we were happy.

Together, I thought that nothing would be able to steal away our happiness.

Then the chasm swallowed everything I ever knew and loved.

Confusion. Terror. Disbelief. I was always taught that kind people would be rewarded, but on that day I felt my heart stop when I wasn't strong enough to lift my younger brother Til up over that chasm wall. He plummeted to his demise.

I watched every second of it.

In Caldisla, I am known as the Miracle Man. This is derived from the fact that I was the sole survivor of the great Norende chasm attack. Maybe life was my reward for staying positive and being kind, but at the price of what in comparison? The loss of my family, friends, and village?

It's not fair, I think to myself. They should all still be living happily.

"Good morning, Boy." An elderly man greets me, waving a gentle hand in the air. "You had quite the episode. Lay down and rest awhile."

Then it all comes back. The chasm, the screaming, the panicked women fleeing on foot with infants in their arms, only to be swallowed by the earth. The animals, so lost and confused...

"Where are they?" I holler loudly, tearing the covers off my body. I am sweaty and the corners of my eyes are shining with tears.

"They're gone, Boy," the inkeep Karl confirmed solemnly. "I'm so sorry."

Upon hearing this, my whole world falls to my feet. I peer down into my hands, not wanting to believe the man in front of me. He walks away earnestly, leaving breakfast in front of me as I sob helplessly into my hands. There's this place, and these people. I don't know any of them. I want my family. I want to laugh and play with my younger brother again.

I make a vow then and there to find out what caused that chasm and to try to make amends to Norende, my village that's now forever forgotten and lost in the mouth of that gaping chasm.

All is lost.