Shattered Memories, Unique Persona
Author note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Godchild.
Warning: Somewhat AU. Mentions of violence. Mentions of some mind warping. Also, some OOCness (but it's for a good reason, you have to read the fic to know why). Spoilers for the Castrato arc of Godchild. If you don't know what's going on, it's best to read the fic 'Noxious Roses' first.
Constructive criticism would be appreciated. I hope you read and review!
Namine stared at the unconscious 35-year-old on the ground, enveloped in his own crimson blood. The 'witch' had no idea how much he suffered under Marluxia's wrath, but she had a feeling that it definitely wasn't pleasant.
Cassandra writhed about on the ground, muttering incoherent words dripping with fear.
"Hurts...no...don't kill me...stop it!"
Namine knew that whatever Marluxia had done, it was more than enough to scar the ex-Head Priest, and that she had to fix the problem. But how?
It was obvious she couldn't just...stand there and let his mind decline into further insanity. That wouldn't be good for anyone.
An idea suddenly came to her mind. She had the power of memories; she could make Cassandra forget about it all.
But it was a dangerous idea as well. If he forgot, he would be wondering why his body was wracking about in pain, and she didn't want to lie to him about what happened.
What if I made him forget almost everything, and then slowly restore his memories?
She didn't know what else to do.
Slowly, carefully, she touched his forehead. Two words resounded as the room filled with bright light.
"I'm sorry..."
SNAP!
Jizabel ran into the room, Cassian accompanying him. The two froze, staring in horror. The ex-Head Priest looked different. The blood and the wounds were still there, but it was his eyes...his dark amber eyes looked completely glazed over, wide open.
"What...did...you...do?" Jizabel finally spoke.
Namine hesitated before speaking. "I...shattered his memories. Almost...every single one of them..." she paused for a moment. "Cassandra would have slipped into insanity if I left him in his former state any longer...I didn't have much choice."
Cassian couldn't help but stare at those eyes. They weren't the eyes of a man that just massacred thousands of people. They weren't the eyes of the Head Priest that taunted and harassed Jizabel and Cassian whenever he could. And they certainly weren't the eyes of a man that had been tortured by Marluxia earlier.
As far as he knew, it seemed like as if Cassandra had merely gone into some hypnotic trance, as if awaiting orders from the person who had mesmerized him.
As if Cassandra was just a lifeless doll.
The Trump Card cleaned the wounds, bandaging them after he had washed the seemingly lifeless ex-Head Priest's body. Cassian honestly didn't know what they were going to do with Cassandra now...how were they supposed to take care of him in this state?
"...are you awake?"
Eyelids flickered open, staring at the pretty, pretty blond girl at his bedside.
"..."
"I-I'm glad you're alright..."
She stammers quietly. His dark amber eyes blink a little more. He breathes in deeply.
"..."
"Do you remember what happened to you?"
He does his best to shake his head slowly. A wave of pain racks his mind and he groans quietly.
"Just...just relax. It's okay now...no one's around to hurt you right now...it's okay..."
He remembers a name. He knows this girl's name. He should...
"...N...Nam...Nami..." he pauses, before rasping quietly... "Namine?"
Namine smiles at him a little. "Just...get some rest. You'll be okay."
He tries to smile back, and he sinks into unconsciousness again, feeling a bit more relieved than he was previously.
Cassandra is much different than before, Jizabel and Cassian observe.
Cassandra's not rude as he was before. He doesn't speak as much as he used to, but he seems to make for a good companion, which is definitely different. He doesn't hesitate to draw pictures; the Trump Card found that the closet was half-flooded with nothing but drawings made by Cassandra himself. Cassandra does everything he can to keep Namine happy, and he's just so curious.
"Why do I have all these scars again?"
That's the question Cassandra keeps repeating. Namine, Jizabel, or Cassian have to be the ones to explain that an evil person/Marluxia/flower man/depends on who was explaining beat up Cassandra and left him for dead. They figure that's the best explanation that they can give, because they don't wish to scare Cassandra.
Cassandra doesn't remember much about himself, which is obvious since Namine shattered his memories. But he's slowly recovering, he remembers bits and pieces of when he was in some rank called the Hiero...something, Cassandra calls it. He remembers that he used to live in some huge mansion and he could order people around and such. But he still hasn't remembered the tortures Marluxia inflicted upon him, or the Crimone garden massacre.
Namine hopes that he never remembers it for the rest of his life.
Jizabel and Cassian have to agree, through shattering Cassandra's memories, it's left the ex-Head Priest to develop a unique persona unlike anyone else's.
Namine and Cassandra draw together. They imagine huge, sparkling castles, in which they're the rulers, Jizabel's the wise mage, and Cassian is the knight. Sometimes they would portray the other people, such as Axel, as a stable keeper for the make-believe dragons, and Larxene's the evil witch. Marluxia becomes an evil sorcerer (Cassandra does his best to hide himself from view whenever they know Marluxia is going to check on them), and Demyx, the Melodious Nocturne, is a minstrel of music and sitars alike.
Sometimes they take photos of each other. Once they had found a camera, they would just take photos. Some photos are silly; some are trying to depict emotions, and some photos are of still life.
Cassandra once wondered what a Heartless would look like on camera, and he actually begged Jizabel to bring one in.
The doctor couldn't help but do so; it would be interesting.
Snap, snap, snap. The photos show the small Shadow Heartless either poking the camera, staring at the lens with its round yellowish eyes, or tilting its head to the side in curiosity.
Cassian made sure the Heartless was exterminated before Marluxia, Axel and Larxene got back so they wouldn't know about it.
Sometimes, Cassandra gets nightmares. And when he get nightmares, he often wakes up screaming or crying, or both.
Tonight is no exception.
"THEY WERE GOING TO BURN YOU!"
"Cassandra, calm down! I'm not burning! I'm fine, I'm alive! Please, calm down!"
"Nami...Namine...Marluxia and Larxene were gonna..."
"Cassandra..."
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry..."
"It's okay, Cassandra...just calm down. Please..."
"...okay..."
Cassandra is...unique.
Jizabel can't help but see that the 35-year-old is acting somewhat like a child, but despite it being annoying at times, it's somewhat...refreshing for the doctor.
He can't help but smile whenever he sees Cassandra smiling. If there's a true epitome of innocence that exists right now, Cassandra and Namine would fit that completely as of the past few weeks.
Jizabel can't help but feel sad, too. The poor ex-Head Priest has no idea what's in store for him. Jizabel had overheard the Graceful Asassin conversing with Axel and Larxene about bringing them to Castle Oblivion sometime soon. The 26-year-old doctor can't help but think that something bad is going to happen.
He knows he should 'keep his mind out the other people's business' as he usually would before Crimone Gardens, but now he can't help it.
Maybe he wants to save Cassandra and Namine. He's not sure if he could.
"Jizabel?" the doctor turns to see the ex-Head Priest tugging on his sleeve. Cassandra's facial expression is full of curiosity, and maybe a hint of fear. "What's going to happen when Marluxia and the other...meanies...take Namine and I to Castle Oblivion?"
Jizabel can't help but embrace the practically memory-less 35-year-old silently. He can't help but admit...
"I'm sorry...Cassandra...I really don't know."
Author note: I'm not sure if this turned out as well as I hoped, but I think it's okay...
Constructive criticism would be great, and I hope you enjoyed the fic. Thanks.