Disclaimer: Still do not claim ownership
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When the kid made his choice back then, I had no idea what was in store or us. When he had gotten back to the Bastion we told him the choice he had to make. He listened, and then asked both Zia and myself to give him time to think things through.
So we gave it to him.
It was a tough decision on the kid. Zia and myself, even Zulf, when he came around, could see that there were a lot of things weighing the kid down. Mother knows what was going through his head, but maybe I can shed some light on what was going on inside that noggin of his.
First, there were the two choices to pick on what to do now with the Bastion. The first, was the auxiliary capabilities the bastion had. Blowing up the cores would set this little baby up to be one of the strangest vessels Caelondia would have ever built, a floating fortress island. We could practically go wherever we please, and that we accepted that our home, and the people we knew were now nothing more than dust and memory, thanks to the Calamity.
The second option was the main option of the bastion. Using the power of the cores, we could actually reverse time itself. Problem is, if the kid chose this, then there would be no turning back. That, and the fact we might forget this ever happened and with it, the point of going back in the first place. That was the problem with untested technology, no way to find out until you actually try them.
Turning the Bastion into our home and exploring the stars did hold some promise, a giant adventure waiting to happen. The four of us could do it, and who's to say we won't find more survivors, more people, to join us and a new happiness along the way?
Now here is the dilemma the kid faced.
His nature, well, I can't really say that I know a lot about him, but all I can tell you, is that you won't find anyone as kindhearted or as noble as the kid. Every gasfella, every squirt, scumbag, anything the kid had to destroy and those lives he couldn't save to get where he is now, I could tell it was eating him up from the inside.
During his contemplation, he went to each to us. First to Zulf, I don't know what those two talked about, Zia and I kept our distance to give them their privacy, the two of them sat in front of the memorial talking. The kid's face was impassive, but I could see a lot from Zulf, sadness, regret, betrayal, a little anger, all brewing together. Then the kid said something and Zulf looked up in surprise and disbelief, I don't know what was said, but the two shook hands and Zulf continued to stare at the completed vigils, deep in thought.
The kid went to Zia next. The two of them, I always thought they had a thing for each other, after all, the kid was a knight in shinning armor most girls would all fall for, well, at least that was how I thought, guess I was wrong. Like with Zulf, the two of them talked for a spell, but what I wasn't expecting was the girl starting to cry, the kid gave her a hug and comforted her, and when she finally dried her tears, she nodded to him, and gave a little peck on the cheek before heading towards her own tent, even through his smoked skin and soot-covered scarf I could tell, the kid was blushing.
I wasn't surprised when he came to talk to me next. He talked to me about the Bastion, about the options he had, more specifically on the restoration. I told him everything I knew he deserved it after all. After I was done talking, he then asked me if it would truly be possible to stop the Calamity from ever happening. I told him, it was possible, possible but the probability was still a little too low for my tastes.
We talked for a little while longer, about the Mancers, the Calamity, the Ura, almost anything. I don't know what the kid was planning, but I do know that he was coming close to his decision. We shook hands, and he left towards the heart of the Bastion. Instead of following, I went to the distillery to sample some of the fine merchandise the kid collected over his journey.
I was nursing a glass of werewhisky when it happened. The Bastion was coming alive, its magic was moving, coming together, to take us back. Back to a time where the Calamity hadn't been used, back to a time where life was flourishing, back to a time, which we may be able to find some happiness still.
By the time I knew anything, I was back in my old home in Caelondia. The kid had done it, he had made his choice, we were brought back in time, and if my slightly buzzed head was of anything to work on, I had all my memories with me. So I guess this is what the kid was banking on. A chance to prevent the Calamity from happening, to preserve the life that was taken in the mistake we made.
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First thing I did was try to look for the others. No luck for the kid, but I was able to find both Zulf and Zia. The former had immediately searched for the latter and the both of them were looking for the kid as well before we ran into each other. The three of us spent more time in finding the kid, even going to the Bastion, what we found, was nothing. Now I say that both literally, and figuratively. When we reached to the location of the Bastion, there was really nothing there, just stones and a giant hole where the bastion used to be.
The three of us stood there in front of that chasm for a time. Was this the result of Bastion's magic? Maybe. The kid was gone, and so was the Bastion, but the three us, we were still here, and like or not, we had work to do.
It took a lot of time and effort for us to stop the Calamity from ever happening, and when I say a lot of time, I meant a lot. There were pains, many we had to endure, but we always thought back to the kid. He was worse off during his adventure when the Calamity had done its job, and he out of all us had a lot of bad things to deal with than a few measly old coots with too much time, money, and racial prejudice on their hands, so we soldiered on and we did it.
Now, when we were off stopping a large disaster on the scale of the Calamity, there were a few things we had to plan for. One was for Zia's father, Venn, he was the reason the Calamity came to be in the first place, but that front was best left to the girl herself. After all, it was because she didn't know better that her father ended up working again for the Mancers and completed that blasted machine which made the Calamity in the first place.
Zulf and I had also a part to play. Oh, did I mention we finally met Zulf's bride-to-be? Her name's Charlotte, pretty little thing, with blonde hair and almond-brown doe eyes; she was cheerful, kind, open-minded, but most of all, she loved Zulf with a passion one wouldn't see very often. I can see why losing her to the Calamity made Zulf go postal on us when he read that journal.
We told her what happened, and we truly thanked our lucky stars that she trusted Zulf enough to believe him. Charlotte had a lot of connections within Caelondia, some of them high, some of them low, some of them I don't even want to know how she got 'em. So we used those connections to find out who had put up Venn and the other Mancers into making the Calamity happen; and with her and some others, we were able to stop 'em.
During that time, we finally met Venn, it seemed that the Mancers had their eye on Venn and his family ever since he had shown he was sharper and keener than anyone in the Mancers ever were.
It was hard trying to gain the Ura's trust, but with Zulf and his silver tongue, we were able to strike an accord. We both told Charlotte and Venn of our adventures, our story. At first Venn wouldn't believe a word we said. Charlotte, took close to Zulf when she heard what he had done out of rage from losing her.
Zia handled her father in a way that surprised Zulf and I a little bit. She presented him with his journal, but it wasn't his journal now, it was his journal just after he had completed the machine. When Zia brought it out, Zulf and I noticed the city crest tied around its leather binding. Was this the reason this happened? The city crest, it was one last gift from the kid in order for us to remember and prevent the Calamity.
All throughout his adventures the crest had always protected the kid, showing him the way to the cores and shards, bringing him back should he happen to fall off the path, I say again this is both literal and figurative of course. Now, it looks like the crest was used to protect us through our trip back through time. Keeping our minds intact, preserving what was supposed to be preserved for us to make a difference.
Heh, looks like I didn't give the kid that much credit, kid was smart, he might have made a fine Mancer if given the chance, and I think I understood why the kid wanted to talk to us, he had made us focus on something so important, so dear, that our memories were able to travel with us because we were holding on to them tighter than a sailor tossed overboard with nothing but a lifeline between his fingers.
The look in Venn's eyes showed horror beyond belief and he broke down, we left him alone with his daughter, this was business the two of them had sort out themselves.
It took a little bit of time, and during our planning to prevent the Calamity, Venn joined saying he would help, on one condition though. He wanted to know about the kid, and when he said this, so did Charlotte.
I can't blame them. The kid was at the center of it all. He had done the impossible, done so much for Charlotte's love, for Venn's daughter, for Caelondia, the Ura, all us; and the only people who would know about him the most were us three, now going on five.
We told them what he did, the trials he took, Venn and Charlotte couldn't believe their ears when I told them that the kid had been able to master all the courses Caelondia's repertoire of occupation had to offer. Yep, the kid sure was special, even now I had still have a hard time believe just one kid was able to best all the Caelondian workforce had to offer.
By the end of the tale we told them of what the kid had done, and why he wasn't with us now. All of us gave him a moment of silence. Wherever he is now, we hope he was okay, but I knew, deep down I knew, something like this, wouldn't be able to keep the kid down long. After all, he had the Bastion with him, and as long as the kid keeps on going, then so will the Bastion, the two of them together, against whatever comes their way.
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I was surprised when we were able to hear from the kid again after so long, though now, I don't think calling him a kid would be appropriate. He was a man by then, tall, muscled but lean, and he still held that sense of strength and endurance he had from that time not to mention he had a couple of sweethearts tagging along for the visit.
Introductions were done; food and drinks were made while some of us settled down to listen to his tale, of dragons, of magic, and an adventure just as grand and eventful as his first during the Calamity. This is his story, about his adventures with a guild named 'Fairy Tail'.
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Author's Note:
Ho boy, another idea that had been sitting in my laptop for ages (at least two years), but not really had the guts to post it. Frankly I can't seem to focus on a single idea right now. So hopefully, by running myself dry I can refocus again.
Anyway, Read and Review please.
