Disclaimer: I don't own Bravely Default, all rights to the owners.
So when I say this is a collection of whatever idea crosses my mind, I mean it. This isn't even based on a specific scene or anything. It's just an idea that came to me, and I had to write it.
I'm switching Agnès and Ringabel's personalities, and you can't stop me.
"A miracle man you say?" Agnès asks, unable to hide her interest.
"Yes. We'll find him very soon." Airy nods. "We cryst fairies can sense these things. Auspicious moments in time have a very distinct feeling around them, and I can sense it now."
"Yes, yes, destiny and whatnot, that's all well and good." Agnès says while waving a hand dismissively. "The man, Airy, I need details! Is he cute?"
"Uh…" The fairy blinks slowly. "Come again?"
"Is he cute? Handsome? Tall? Short? I have to know Airy!" Agnès insists.
"I… how would I know?" Airy says weakly. She can already tell this world's Agnès is going to be a very odd travelling companion. She's also flat-out lying about not knowing what Tiz, or maybe it will be Til this time, looks like. She's seen their faces hundreds of times after all. "I don't know what he's going to look like. I just know we're going to meet him."
"Ooh, I can't wait." Agnès says excitedly. "A miracle man. He sounds lovely already."
"Oookay, and humans call me weird." Airy snorts. "At least I shouldn't have a problem convincing her to take him along this time around."
It takes less than five minutes to get to the Great Chasm compared to the nearly twenty that it took Agnès to find Airy at the top of the ravine. For all of Agnès' excitement a few minutes earlier, she is quiet and solemn when she reaches the top of the outcrop giving her a clean view of the chasm.
It almost brings a tear to Airy's eye. Her work is so good. Maybe she should have its picture painted.
Not that she would have anywhere to keep it, but that's aside from the point. It would stroke her ego, which is all that matters.
While Agnès stares out at the chasm, Airy subtly glances around. She can hear the airship, which is good, and this should be Tiz or Til's cue to show up… ah, there he is. Tiz, not Til. Good. That makes things so much easier.
"Excuse me." Tiz calls out with his usual unfailing politeness. "Miss? Do you know something about what happened here?"
Agnès turns around, and Airy can hear her breath catch. It's not in nervousness or surprise though. No, Agnès' eyes have gone wide and one hand has come up in front of her heart, and her gaze unabashedly rakes across Tiz's whole body multiple times.
"Why does this Agnès have to be so weird?" Airy groans internally. "Am I going to have to watch two humans eye-fucking each other for this whole cycle? Is that it? Oroborous spare me, this is going to be even worse than having Ringabel around."
"I have to know what happened!" Tiz continues. "Please, I have to know if anyone else survived."
Agnès, thankfully, has the good sense to restrain whatever weird thoughts she's thinking for a moment. "I'm sorry, I have not found anyone else, or heard news of other survivors when I passed through Caldisla. I fear you are the only survivor."
"Ah." Tiz's shoulders sag and his eyes drop to the floor. "I… I see."
Before anything else can be said, the two of them are interrupted by the telltale whirr of an airship's propellers and the sudden loud "bang!" and subsequent crash that accompanies cannon fire.
Airy flutters overhead of the two humans, watching in disinterest as the two of them struggle through simple fights with Eternians soldiers (it's hard to believe these two will eventually fight the crystals' guardians sometimes) as the airship rains down cannonballs on them. One of the most consistent things between worlds, oddly enough, is that Eternians soldiers are always terrible shots and can't beat two barely-adults with knives in a fight. Not once has Airy had to step in and help Agnès and Tiz against the Eternians.
Eventually the Eternians fly off to bother the two of them another time, and Airy turns to the two humans, waiting for the usual exchange of Agnès insisting Tiz shouldn't have helped her.
That doesn't happen.
"Oh thank you for your help!" Agnès says excitedly, and grabs Tiz's hands before he can say anything. "Sir, I would know your name!"
"Uh, I'm Tiz." Tiz says, clearly caught off-guard.
"Tiz." Agnès says breathily, her eyes sparkling in excitement. "What a lovely name, don't you agree Airy?"
"Sure, sure." The fairy mutters.
"A lovely name for a lovely boy." Agnès says, and Airy vaguely wonders if she even hears the ridiculous words coming out of her mouth. "Airy, is this the miracle man?"
"Yep." Airy says, wanting as little to do with this conversation as possible.
"Then please, Dear Tiz." Agnès says, leaning forward towards the boy. She's still grabbing his hands, so he can't exactly lean away. "You must allow me to treat you to a meal once we return to Caldisla!"
Tiz looks completely baffled. "Sure?"
"Wonderful!"
"Do you even have enough money for that Agnès?" Airy asks in a whisper.
"I have enough to treat a wonderful young man." Agnès sighs happily.
Airy is sorry she asked. Also, what sort of upbringing did Agnès have as a vestal that led to this sort of behaviour? Geeze.
"A-And who are you?" Tiz asks as he subtly tries to pull his hands free of Agnès' continued eager grasp. "You haven't told me yet."
"Agnès, and yours." Agnès says eagerly.
"For fuck's sake Agnès you're going to scare him off at this rate." Airy groans internally. She can't stay silent, she has to say something to keep Tiz around. "She's the Vestal of Wind, priestess of the Wind Crystal, and I'm Airy. We're trying to fix that big chasm."
That grabs Tiz's attention, and his eyes snap to Airy. "You know a way to fix it?"
"Agnès is going to awaken the Crystals, and the power pouring out of them should wipe that chasm right off the map." Airy says. "Along with everything else in this worthless world."
"I see." Tiz nods. "Then please, my friends and family all lived where that crater is, I have nothing left, you have to let me help you."
"Gladly!" Agnès gasps. She pulls his hands closer, which brings him closer, to the point that they're almost nose to nose. "I promise to take good care of you!"
"T-Take care of me?" Tiz stammers in confusion. "Uh, that's unnecessary, I know how to handle myself. I'm supposed to be helping you."
"Ah, but I would be a poor Vestal if I could not care for my fellow men." Agnès says. "Especially the men."
"Oookay, let's get moving!" Airy says while clapping her hands as loudly as she can. She does not need or want to hear this. "Back to Caldisla you two!"
She's never had to spend effort to keep Agnès from hitting on Tiz, but Airy desperately hopes she won't have to deal with this in the next world.
###
"Excuse me, Sir, Miss, I would speak with you." A young man with a pompadour murmurs as he approaches the table Agnès and Tiz are sitting at. Airy bites back a groan.
"Great, it's him." She seethes. It's Ringabel. He doesn't show up often across different worlds, but when he does he's always a pain (both to be around, and eventually to fight). "Just what I needed. Another shameless flirt."
"Oh, please do." Agnès says, smiling eagerly. Just like with Tiz, her eyes hungrily scan his face and body. "Take a seat if you want."
"Thank you." He murmurs, and does so. He sits next to Tiz, not Agnès, much to the Vestal's extremely obvious disappointment. "My name is Ringabel; or so others have taken to calling me. I'm an amnesiac you see. Karl and his son Owen can confirm I speak truth."
"An amnesiac you say?" Tiz says. "That's… horrible."
"Quite." Agnès agrees. "It must be so stressful. As a Vestal, it is my duty to care for my fellow men, so I would be more than happy to listen to your woes and provide comfort."
"Agnès, you're killing me here." Airy thinks in exasperation.
"Not that you aren't sufficient, Tiz." Agnès says, and reaches over the table to touch his arm. "I promise you are still number one in my heart."
Tiz swallows thickly and glances left to right at the people around them, most of whom thankfully aren't paying attention to this odd conversation happening next to him. His cheeks are tinged red, and he says nothing in response to Agnès' actions.
"Ah, good, so I did find the right people." Ringabel murmurs. "Tiz Arrior, yes?"
Tiz nods.
"Agnès Oblige?"
"A pleasure." Agnès smiles.
"And you." Ringabel's eyes find the fairy. "Airy, correct?"
"That's me." Airy nods. She never liked how his weird journal lets him know so much. That journal is dangerous, but she just has to put up with it.
"Good. Then my journal was correct." Ringabel says, brandishing said journal for the rest of them to see. "You see, this journal here- the only thing I had on me when I woke- can tell the future… to an extent, anyways. That's how I knew your names before you introduced yourselves."
"You could have figured that out some other way." Tiz points out. "Agnès is a vestal, she's well known, and Karl and Owen could have told you about me."
"Quite true." Ringabel agrees. "But that doesn't explain how I know Airy's name, does it? Besides, I'm more than happy to let you peruse the journal yourself if you want confirmation."
Tiz accepts the journal and starts flicking through it, and Airy flies over to rest on his shoulder and read along. It's nothing she hasn't read before, but she'd rather check for any changes than take the risk there's some new, vital change in the pages.
There isn't anything unusual from what she can tell. It's all standard fare.
"It even mentions our fight against Barras and Holly." Tiz murmurs. "And the journal knows that we're heading towards the Eternian camp next."
"So he speaks the truth?" Agnès asks.
"As far as I can tell." Tiz nods, and hands the journal back.
"So what do you want with us then?" Agnès questions.
"I wish to come with you, Lady Vestal." Ringabel says quietly. "This journal is my only possession, and it's contents mostly detail your journey. It only stands to reason that I am- or was- to be a part of it. Besides, within this journal is the mention of a girl by the name of Edea, and something about that name strikes me as important. It tickles the back of my mind. I must know what makes her significant to me."
"I dunno." Tiz frowns. "It's going to be pretty dangerous."
"Tiz! We must let him come along!" Agnès gasps.
Tiz blinks in confusion. "We must?"
"He's an amnesiac with a journal, and reads tales about a girl he doesn't know, but her name inspires feelings!" Agnès says wistfully. "It's so romantic! We can't possibly refuse!"
"Uh…"
"I agree with Agnès. Not on the reasoning, but another sword is always useful." Airy chimes in. Ringabel is a pain, but he's useful. Besides, this Ringabel is less obnoxious than the ones she's met before. He said nothing about Edea's face being a vision of beauty or stirring his loins or whatever, just "that name seems important", and Airy will happily take a less obnoxious Ringabel. Maybe he'll provide some relief from Agnès' weirdness in this world. "As long as he can fight. You can fight, right?"
"I'm a deft hand with a spear at least, Lady Airy." Ringabel promises. "I helped Owen kill a boar not a few days ago. So please, Sir Arrior, I humbly request to be allowed to join your mission."
Tiz bites his lip. "Well, if Agnès and Airy are okay with it, then I guess I am too. Besides, it's not my mission really. Agnès is in charge."
"Oh, thank you Tiz!" Agnès smiles. "Thank you for trusting me."
"S-Sure. No problem." He mumbles, looking away. "Like I said, you're in charge."
Airy resists the urge to snort. "That's not why you agreed. You're just a total sheep, like always."
###
"That voice is familiar." Ringabel whispers as the group enters Centro Keep. "Can you hear her?"
Tiz nods mutely, as does Agnès. Airy is less quiet. "It's hard to miss her. She's so loud."
"As are you, dear fairy. Try to keep your voice down." Ringabel warns. "Let us hurry, yes? My journal indicates we are to rescue Edea, if indeed it is her. We must give our all to aid her."
"A white knight!" Agnès (falsely) swoons, and leans against Tiz. "Just like you Tiz. Dashing to the rescue of a lady!"
"Uh, yeah." Tiz mumbles. "Sure."
"Focus Agnès." Airy says impatiently. "Ringabel is going to leave us behind at this rate."
The group fights their way through the keep, mostly at the point of Ringabel's spear. The man is almost completely silent when he fights, not vocalizing the usual grunts or battle cries of his new companions. He's also noticeably more competent than them, despite being the only member of the group not currently using an asterisk.
Airy knows why, of course. Even as an amnesiac, Alternis Dim is a force to be reckoned with.
After fighting their way through the unnecessarily complicated layout of the keep, the four of them reach a small room. Edea stands with her back to them, and opposite her stands one Ominas Crowe.
It's a scene Airy has seen time and time again, and despite her fears that Edea might turn out weird like Agnès or out of character like Ringabel, Edea acts normally.
The argument with Ominas proceeds as normal, and the group steps in to help when Edea announces her intent to fight.
After the fight Airy waits impatiently, expecting Ringabel's usual obnoxious flirtation… until she remembers that this Ringabel is different. Rather than immediately hit on Edea, he merely asks her if she is alright, then falls silent and allows Agnès and Tiz to handle the rest of the conversation. He only speaks up again when Tiz mentions his journal, and Edea asks about it, and even then he only gives out the basic information and nothing more.
Not a single suggestive line or word, not a hint of flirtatiousness in his pose. It's so weird. It's like Ringabel was replaced with… with… well Airy doesn't know. Someone quiet and brooding... and boring.
But being boring is better than what the other Ringabels were, so Airy won't complain.
However, Airy can't stand an unknown variable. So while the group returns to Caldisla, Airy hovers over to the man's shoulder and sits down.
"Airy." Ringabel acknowledges the fairy before she even speaks up.
"Ringabel. I've got a question."
"Be welcome to ask, good fairy."
"What's your goal? What do you like?" Airy asks. She wants to see if Ringabel is at least somewhat similar to the other Ringabels. Should she treat him as a Ringabel, or like someone else entirely?
"My goal is simple. I want to know who I am, and I want to understand the journal." Ringabel says. "As for what I like… well I wouldn't know, would I? I only have a few weeks of memory."
Any other Ringabel would have immediately responded "women" or something similarly stupid, so Airy makes the silent decision to treat this Ringabel as someone new for the most part. She starts to hover back to Agnès' side, but…
"You were positively dashing, Tiz." Agnès praises, leaning very un-subtly on the nervous shepherd boy whole holding his arm. Tiz has long since stopped trying to push Agnès off. He's learned it doesn't deter her. (Airy suspects if he showed actual annoyance rather than nervousness she would stop, but Tiz is too polite for that… which is to say he's a total fucking doormat. It might be funny to watch if Agnès would actually take advantage of him rather than hitting on him. Why, if Airy could make Tiz do basically anything she said, she'd make him into a servant in a heartbeat!)
"Uh, thanks Agnès." Tiz mumbles, and scratches the back of his head in embarrassment. "Y-You were great too."
...maybe Airy will just stay with Ringabel for now. She doesn't want to be within two miles of that.
Yes, I wrote this chapter purely so I could have Agnès hit on Tiz because that mental image was hilarious. I have no regrets.