Setting: Post Star Ocean III. Several years after Star Ocean III, Fayt Leingod, Sophia Esteed and their friends reunite for another epic adventure. The battle against a new threat takes a devastating turn, though, putting someone they care deeply for in grave danger. Fayt's forced to embrace the truth as a friend lies much too close to death.
Doctor Cocoon and the Enephilim are original characters.
Rated PG. Fayt Leingod/Cliff Fittir.
"I'm afraid we don't have much time left. Nor is there much hope."
His breath was lodged in his throat, as cold as the moon rising above Kirlsa. There were voices, shrieking and merciless, loud enough to break the barriers of sound and light. He was as still as the waking waters, his insides screaming for the right way to react, but every inch of him frozen. By fear, confusion, frustration. The need to do something, anything, to undo what had been done.
He had traveled a thousand galaxies, had seen a billion stars glitter over every sky, but standing in that room transported him into a foreign state of being for the very first time. Sophia, lost in a thousand tears, stood beside him. Crying, pleading with one of the Mining Town's only doctors. Roger was holding onto Peppita with arms made of iron, while she too cried out for a way to end the nightmare. Maria, Mirage and Nel were still gone, out there in the Aire Hills, searching for the cure. The cure that would erase their nightmare, make it so it never happened in the first place.
That was right-the cure. The elixir. Just a few seconds they were at it, battling the world's new threat. Creatures borne from the depths of the darkest, coldest nightmares. Created by a man of bottomless diabolical energy, they fed off the souls of mortals and infected them with poison that cast them into torment. There was still much to learn, far too much to discover, but one thing was certain.
He thought they were just on another round of adventures, off to save the world. Off to preserve the future, just like last time. But the moment Cliff tackled him to the ground, he realized just how wrong he had been. Sophia screamed, Nel fired off a few rounds at the behemoth towering above them, and Cliff-
Cliff. Doing just as he had always done. Cliff had protected him. Kept him safe from the beast's self-destruct mechanism. The Enephilim, shrieking its dirge, targeted him with its final blow. A blow meant to kill, heavy with the unholiest poison.
Cliff shoved him out of the way, taking the blow in his place. Time then flashed before their eyes, transporting them all to the Mining Town of Kirlsa. Doctor Cocoon's office.
Memories, some recent, many old, stormed through Fayt's mind like a movie reel. Playing at the speed of light, fated never to stop. Hundreds of voices, colors, sights and sounds melted into each other, ringing in his ears, leaving imprints on his eyes and soul. Cliff was just fine a few seconds ago, laughing, smiling, fist-pounding. Invincible. But in the blink of an eye, everything changed.
In the blink of an eye, Fayt Leingod found himself on the edge of the universe. And it was there he remained, frozen, while the flow of time threatened to rid him of everything he held dear.
They had been friends for what felt like a lifetime, joking, planning, battling, wondering. Sharing. Learning. Fayt could recall every last memory he shared with Mirage's partner, including their first memories of Whipple. The time they spent together in the City of Arias. The memories they created inside each workshop, working together to build. Create. Laugh. Spark. And Fayt thought that's how it would stay. Thought that was how Cliff would stay-bright, happy, creative. Always ready for anything. Always happy to take on any new adventure, great or small.
But then everything changed. And it was in danger of being lost.
Nel, Maria and Mirage were still gone, desperately searching for the only elixir that would take Cliff off death's doorstop. Roger and Peppita, Sophia, Doctor Cocoon-all of their voices were loud, heavy with tears, grief, begging, pleading, searching, but Fayt heard not a single one of their words. All he knew, all he saw, was the still form lying on Doctor Cocoon's bed. The still form of a man that should've been moving. Laughing. Smiling. The still form of someone that had rescued him, protected him so many times, for so many years, putting his own life in immediate jeopardy on far too many occasions. And Cliff-
He always shrugged it off, pumped the air with a fist and happily said: "you worry too much, kid. I'm fine! See? Nothing can hold me down."
That's what Fayt wanted to go on believing. Needed to go on believing. But Cliff, body, mind and soul submerged in silence, changed everything. Made everything he once believed to be real, nothing more than a child's fantasy.
Unaware of Sophia's or Peppita's eyes following him, Fayt stepped towards Cliff's unconscious form as though Mirage's partner had been born in a mythical, sacred land. Silence grew even louder, reminding the young swordsman of just how close he was to losing it all. That warm, effervescent, loud, vibrant, welcoming light. The sun. Something he had been closed off from for years, but desperately missed. Needed. And the world grew even quieter, watching over him as he took the Fittir's hand. Gently at first, but then he placed it in an iron grip, determined to waken Cliff at any cost.
The world remained quiet in all of its tears and fear, watching over the swordsman as he gazed upon his guardian. His bodyguard, his confidant, his long-time friend. Mentor. Teacher. "You lied to me," the one bearing a sword said, gripping Cliff's hand even harder, trying so hard to ignore the pain on Cliff's face.
"When we first met, you told me you were invincible. You told me that about a billion times after that. But look at you now. You told me nothing would ever get you down, but look at where we are. You're always getting yourself into messes you can never get yourself out of."
He waited. Waited while Sophia, Peppita and Roger enclosed each other in a hug, eyes on Fayt. He waited for Cliff to come back at him with something, anything. Something clever. Witty, like 'aw come on, even great stallions make mistakes'. Fayt punched him in the arm after telling him how cheesy that was, grimacing the whole time.
Fayt would've given anything up to hear that line, at that very moment.
He bowed his head, mind still spinning with a thousand memories, all of them focused on Cliff. On laughter, smiles, that sunny optimism. "Listen," he said, softly, eyes heavy, body heavier than the sword he carried. Hand still gripping Cliff's as though it were made of iron.
"I know…I know I'm a mess. I know I step out of line sometimes. I'm a grouch and I never say what I mean. I never know what I'm doing, where I'm going…where to turn next. I don't know too much of anything, but I do know this. I need you. I need you to stay with me. Teach me. I can't…I don't want to picture a journey without you. I know I've taken you for granted and I'm sorry, but…I know now. I know that…I don't want to do this without you. I can't. I need you, Cliff. It just won't work without you. Not at all."
Weeping. Sophia. Fayt's eyes were blurry, heavy, but he knew. Knew it was her.
"You have to wake up. Mirage'll get angry if she comes back and finds you're still sleeping on the job. And I still need to learn a lot from you. There's still a lot I want to explore. With you. So you have to wake up. You have to come home, Cliff. You have to come back."
He bit his bottom lip harsh enough to turn it red. Silence drowned the world once more, making him and everything around him cold. "I know I should have told you this before now," he pressed on, voice shrill and hoarse, alarming Sophia and the others. Never before had they heard Fayt go beyond the boundaries of bitter cynicism. Sophia hadn't heard Fayt's voice crack in…far too many years had passed to even properly recall the last time.
"I should have told you this earlier, but…I love you. I know I'm always being a dick and I never know what I'm doing, but I love you! I love you, Cliff! You have to hear me say it, so you have to come back! You know how you always tell me 'I've got you'? Well, now it's my turn! I've got you and I'm not letting go until you open your damn eyes and let me tell you what I should've told you years ago, back in Arias! I love you! So come back already, dammit!"
It was at that point in time a miracle began, and it all began with the universe.