The Secret Garden
Based on: Final Fantasy Record Keeper
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy. The OCs featured in this fic belong to various friends. Note that while the characters belong to friends, I am the one writing the fic itself. Thank you to my friends for allowing me to borrow your characters. If you wish to appear, please send me a message and we can work something out.
Notes: This is the sequel to Records of Keeper Canti. It's wibby-wobbly, timey-whimy in its execution. I care not. If you care, shut the fuck up and go away. If you don't like it, don't read it.
Warnings: Cursing, potential OOC, OC x Canon, stupid fluffy romance, sex, angst, self-insert author avatar
FIC START!
Chapter Two
Reprogrammed
Leviathan had the girl who had yet to awaken in a very large, comfy bed. In the same room were five towering crystals, each holding one legendary hero from within the Realms of Fantasy in a stasis. Frozen in time and memory. All of the crystals were connected to a control apparatus in the center of the room. The Eidolon spent a moment to look at those inside, reflecting on who they used to be and not knowing how different they would become because of this decision. He keyed in a few things on the control panel.
There was a knock on the door. "You asked to see me, Professor?" a girl stood there in the doorway, not even entering.
"Mm," Leviathan said quietly, flipping a few switches on the panel. "Are you sure you will be all right with this? I mean, knowing your connection to Kain."
"I don't mind. Kain was just like the rest of them when it happened. Dazed and confused, wandering around having no real clue of who they were," the girl replied. "He had a deeper connection to this… this girl, whoever she was, than even to me. He needs her just as much as she needs him, sir."
"Thank you for your sacrifice, Sakinah," Leviathan said, turning to face the sandy-haired woman wearing a ranger's tunic. She had a folded boomerang hanging from her belt and a baby wyvern perched on her left shoulder, with it's tail wrapped around her neck. "All you had done to reunite with your love…"
"I have the monsters, professor, I don't need any man," Sakinah said sternly. "When you send him away to be with her, I only request that you clear my memory of him."
"He saved your life, if I'm not mistaken."
"It doesn't matter anymore," she said, turning away. "I'm not from the Fourth Realm any longer, I'm an Archivist. I was supposed to have all of that cleared anyway, wasn't I? Do me a favor and actually do your job this time." Sakinah left his presence, doing all she could to hide exactly how she felt from him. She was gone, faded away from this place as quickly as she could manage.
Leviathan sighed. He flicked the long braids of scales that hung in front of his face out of the way before turning his sights on the control panel again. There was a touch screen set up, and it was very similar to what Cosmos had used her magic to do with Canti's mind. Each of the heroes within the crystals had a different file for him to completely reconstruct to suit the life he would have them live within his realm.
"All right, first thing's first, the most important part of this procedure," Leviathan said, bringing up the file for Cid Highwind. "You, sir, are the one I have to get right…" he thought aloud. "…you are her Papa, right?" He clicked around, deleting most of his history. Cid was a trained pilot and a skilled mechanic, and a master of fighting in the dragoon style that was the point of his namesake. Those things, he kept. Cid's history with the scientist Shera, his deceased toddler, his rivalry with Palmer Shinra in school, his role as mayor of Rocket Town, and being the party member to help Cloud Strife's journey to save Gaia was all deleted. He was still a gruff, grizzled old man on the outside, but now, he was trained to be a pilot, mechanic, and even dragoon living in Leviathan's realm as one of the chosen Warriors of the Water - Leviathan's own personal defenders, and of course, Canti's adopted father from the day she turned nine. "Cid. There you are."
Leviathan hit one button on the control panel that sent signals through the base of the crystal that Cid was suspended in. Lights flashed underneath it, and magic swirled through the rock to seep into Cid himself. That was one memory reconstructed. He sighed, reaching over to take a sip of his coffee cup, which was much colder than he remembered it being a bit ago, and opened up the next file. This was going to be a long night.
He thumbed through multiple pages of history for Oerba Dia Vanille and cleared them all. No longer a l'Cie who had been revived from crystal stasis in her homeworld before. His rewrite for her was easy enough. Someone to be a fun best friend for Canti at school, to encourage her to be socially active and keep the magic of friendship alive within her. Leviathan didn't seem that concerned about making her perfect, and he didn't even know if Vanille would even keep the bond with Canti that she had in their previous life together. The process seemed much quicker with Vanille - turning her from a Pulse l'Cie into a hyperactive yet prodigal magical student for the boarding school. He dialed back her internal clock so she could be in the same graduating class as Canti, sending her back to being ten years old.
Then, it came time for Ffamran Mid Bunansa, nicknamed Balthier, the resident dashing sky pirate from the Twelfth Realm that many a fangirl swooned over. Leviathan couldn't change that part about him, he would always be good looking no matter what. He cleared out everything about being the son of an inventor who ignored him, as he did not have a Doctor Cid here to plant with him. He deleted the memories of Fran, and all his adventures as the leading man in Vaan's traveling group trying to place Princess Ashelia back on the throne of Dalmasca. Instead, the memories were rewritten to have Balthier be a classmate for Canti. He would be a popular guy with those looks and his ties to aristocracy, and always wanting to be free of political duties, would look into becoming an airship pilot. His age was dialed back to be just a year older than Canti, so he would not scare her too much. Though, Leviathan did wonder if there was a way to make him more humble more than a few times before he sent the signals into the crystal to cement them. No, Canti did enjoy Balthier's pompousness, for some reason. There was no reason to take that away from her.
After Balthier was taken care of, the next crystal belonged to Kain Highwind. According to history, Kain was an ancestor to Cid, but that would not do. All of the history about being Cecil's companion, his failed romance with Rosa, falling under the spell of Golbez and his journey to eventually become a holy dragoon with the last light remaining in Mount Ordeals were all erased from Kain completely. However, his fierce devotion to his family's lineage as dragoons, and his cool, calm, collected nature. His age was also dialed back, so he could be a classmate for Canti. The same age as Balthier. And, in being a Highwind, it was decided that he would be Cid's nephew, so that there would be no confusion about family ties. A few switches flipped, the signals were sent, and Kain's new identity was uploaded.
Another sip from the coffee cup. It was cold. Leviathan stood up, looking for a moment over at the last crystal. This one was important, too. The last one, well, if he fucked that one up, it was possible Cosmos would have him erased from all of space-time. He decided to go get a new cup of coffee. As he filled his cup again, the severity of all his decisions weighed on his shoulders. Atlas had it easy, only holding up the world. Because of his orders, he was to protect and raise a reborn, reconstructed, reprogrammed heroine in case those who fought against the Ardent should die and be assimilated by it. With no ties to those beyond, she could not be tempted by them or hurt by the memories they once shared. Cantirena would be unstoppable, if only… if only she were raised properly for it. He mixed sugar and creamer into his cup, too, before taking a sip. How long would it be before he got a decent amount of sleep again? Did it matter if it meant his life and all other lives? He thanked Sakinah for his sacrifice, but where was his thanks for his sacrifice? Sure, all of the Eidolons controlled their own layer of existence strung about, and they were all ruled differently, but for him to hide this one? Leviathan stared into his coffee cup before going back into his office, sitting back down before the control apparatus.
Leviathan put his cup down and finally stared into Minwu's digital file. "You, sir… you… I don't want to put it in your mind, but I don't think I'll have to…" He promptly erased all of Minwu's history of being the Court Mage to the Fynn Royal Family, and his past as being a Palamecian orphan adopted by Mysidian mages. All of his time knowing Firion and advising the young hero, and sacrificing his life to help that same young hero obtain the Ultima Tome had to go, too. But, he would keep his expert use in white magic. And that same calmness in the heart that guided him to look after the emotional and mentally unstable Canti. He had to be able to understand her and know her and love her, even though, if things were looking as if he would have rivals in that with Kain and Balthier. He smiled for a moment as he thought about it. He wanted Minwu and Canti together badly, and he felt terrible about wanting to meddle in their feelings like that. He hoped with all of his heart that he didn't have to, but these two hearts would find each other even in these different circumstances and connect. If Canti was going to be this beacon of all things good to eventually use as a living weapon against the Ardent, she was going to need to know love's true potential. It was, after all, the only force in all existence that actually could put a dent in this force born of the void. Everything else would only feed it. This was why he spent so long agonizing over if he should cement their relationship now, or let it bloom on its own in the most natural of ways it could while being under the influence of so much mental manipulation. Perhaps Canti in his life preferred to be with Balthier over Minwu? There was no way to know until they started their new lives, unless he put the commands into the system right then and there. Minwu's age was dialed back to being just a year older than Canti, making him a part of the same age group as Kain and Balthier.
"Oh for fuck's sake," Leviathan said, "What am I even doing?! Why am I agonizing over this? I'm not even human… I need to stop reading human novels in my spare time, this hesitation is ridiculous. I'm a son of the Heavenly Mother…" He pressed the button and flipped the switch to signal the transfer of information to Minwu's crystal and finished his coffee.
"Dear, are you talking to yourself again?"
"Asura?" Leviathan perked up instantly upon hearing that voice. "My lovely wife!" He left the control panel and bounded out the door. "I just finished reprogramming the memories of the ones Heavenly Mother asked for."
"Good, you know she will not be happy if you mess this one up," Asura's voice could be heard through the room and out the hallway. "This happens to be one of the most important assignments she's ever given any one of us. Are you sure you can handle it?"
"I can take care of this. Why would you doubt me?"
"Because you fucked up your last chance with this girl! You let her die! You made Heavenly Mother very cross with all of us for allowing you to make such a monumental mistake," Asura scolded him harshly. "You are being charged with raising a human weapon against the greatest evil force ever known. She is our last hope of defense."
"I didn't let her die. I had no idea she was going to do that and-"
"You were her guardian, Leviathan!"
"But, but Asura, my love, you do not understand-"
"I understand all I need to… I understand that if Cosmos had not taken pity on both you and the girl, we had a very low chance of survival," Asura continued. "Still. The reason I'm here is not so you can get lovey-dovey on me. I am here because as the patron Eidolon of children, it is my duty to ensure that these children make it to your realm safely to their assigned homes and that the memories of those they go to live with are ready to receive them before they awaken." The multi-faced woman, known through the Fourth Realm as the goddess of all who carried the powers of white magic, stood with her arms crossed as she addressed her husband. "I have to make sure that you don't mess this up in such an early stage. How long will it be before they can all be moved?"
"It takes a good five hours for memories to fully be rewritten, and then you can move the crystals to their new homes easily enough. I will not have them awaken anywhere but there, or we'd have much more explaining to do," Leviathan said quietly. "Those who live within my protection have no knowledge of any realms or layers of existence outside it for a direct reason." He filled his coffee cup back up before turning again to address his wife. "Don't worry. I've taken all the steps I need to ensure that this works perfectly. She has all she could need. Close friends, family, and at least two suitors so she learns what love is."
"You didn't program it into Minwu's mind to make him love her right off the bat?"
"Heavens no, Asura! I wasn't gonna meddle in that!"
"You spent all that time meddling over it, and you didn't go through with it? What kind of coward husband did I marry?! I mean, what's wrong with it, he is her true love, right?"
"...Asura! I thought you of all people would understand the need for love to grow naturally between two people! Canti should have a choice as to who she loves. As long as she learns what love is, she'll be able to apply that against the Ardent. It doesn't have to be love from Minwu specifically, does it?"
"...Leviathan… you are so going to fuck this up, I can see it all ready…"
"Have some faith in me… you're my wife!"
