Rebirth of a Holy Dragoon
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy. OCs belong to various friends. I think you know the drill by now.
Notes:
Warnings: You don't remember the list of warnings I gave before? Fine. Here. Cursing, potential OOC, OC x Canon, stupid fluffy romance, sex, angst, self-insert author avatar, shitty storytelling.
FIC START!
Chapter Fifty-eight
"You did the timeskip before I said we were ready, Einar!"
"I was in a panic! Your wife had come looking for a status report to give to Odin!"
"And you told her what was wrong."
"Of course I did. Asura is your wife and the patron Eidolon of all children within the realms."
"You blithering idiot!"
"Excuse me, sir, but I did what I felt was best for the project. Not that it was being very successful, considering what you let happen."
"Me?!"
"Yes, you! Your idea of giving her an alternate life to cultivate her mind properly obviously was nothing but a grand failure."
"It was a fantastic idea. I had given her a chance at everything she wanted but never could have because of her status as a keeper."
"Letting the memories of everyone that you sent into the project affect the world around them was the worst idea you could have possibly come up with. Every one of them is affected by some sort of trauma, one way or the other. If you want them to be without trauma, WHY LET IT TAKE FORM?!"
"I can't believe you."
"I can't believe you, sir."
"...what's the status, then?"
"Hibernation. The whole world is in stasis. I've put everyone back where they should be, everyone is connected to the system, and some things have been completely reprogrammed."
"...did you leave the Grand Dragoon dead?"
"There is no way to undo that... I can't put someone in hibernation that's dead considering he was a manifestation of Kain's needing to cope with his father's death properly."
"Right before Canti decided to do what she did before, there was a final analysis on her entire psychosis, memories, dreams. It's customary to do this for all who decide to volunteer to be wiped from existence. Take a look. Quite a few of the things she was unable to deal with are taking form."
"...so that's where it all comes from..."
"I want to speak to Cid first before we move on."
"I can make that happen."
"I'm glad something's gone my way. I'm going back in immediately. I'll send signal when its time to release the rest of them from stasis."
"Sir, before you go, you didn't answer my question."
"What about?"
"Why let the trauma take form in the first place?"
"Einar... When trauma is as deep as this, there's no way to erase it entirely from who they are and they still be the same person. I didn't want Canti to take her own life. I was there, I tried to help her fight against just how badly she was hurt. I wasn't enough, and apparently, neither were her classmates or teammates at the time. But. If you take her horrible past away from her, she isn't the same person. She wouldn't have that compassion and understanding for others. There's no way she'd be as driven."
"Then... Why do the whole reboot thing at all?"
"Because when she faces what scares her now, she's going to have the tightest support network she's ever had in her life, that's why. If she doesn't face what is ripping her soul apart, she'll never be free of it. That goes for you, me, everybody. We all have a lot to carry."
"Leviathan, sir. I..."
"You're forgiven for questioning my authority, and even reporting me to Asura. Honestly if we had let all that play out, there's no telling what would have become of that rebellious plot. What did you do with the Palamecian family, anyhow?"
"If I were to delete them, they would reform because they are linked to quite a few pieces of trauma within the main team, given the nature of the program at hand. Senator Matteo has been taken away due to murdering Grand Dragoon Richard Highwind, and Mateus has no memory of rebelling. It was all his father's doing from his understanding. However... He'll still be quite interested in our little princess, as now that she's a teenager, she's... Not going to be the same."
"Puberty?"
"Obviously."
"Oh, teenage years! That'll be dramatic!"
"Sir!"
"Forgive me, forgive me. I just remember Canti coming to my beloved city where they worship me, singing to me at that age. Ah, what a wonder she was then, and a wonder I fully expect her to be when things get started. Haaaa!"
"I'm telling Asura."
"No, no, please don't! I only have eyes for my wife! I'm not lusting after her in the slightest."
"Yeah, I can think of quite a few people who'd be pretty upset if you were."
"...Einar..."
"Shut up and get back in there. The sooner you talk about things with Cid, the sooner we can restart everything else. And we're on a tight schedule."
"Right. Right. I'm headed back in, then."
"Very good, sir."
...
Cid opened his eyes to complete darkness. His body felt heavy, like he'd been asleep for much longer than a day. At first he didn't want to move because he had this feeling of an unnatural weight on his chest. He didn't remember what he was doing before he fell asleep. His mind was completely blank until the image of his daughter came to memory. His strength came to him quickly, making himself push his body into an upright position. He remembered missing her, like something was wrong, she wasn't with him. But there were so many unanswered questions.
"Ah," came a voice. "You're awake. Thank Cosmos."
A few lights around the bed he'd been sleeping in turned on. The lights weren't too bright, he still had to let his eyes adjust.
"Where's-" Cid started to ask, but he coughed. His throat was sore, somehow. Maybe he'd been calling out after his daughter too much before having passed out. "Where's my daughter?"
"Your daughter and nephew are safe and healthy. They're resting elsewhere currently." The voice came from that of Headmaster Leviathan, decked out in all his lovely sea-scented glorious robes adorned in sea-serpent imagery and starfish-shaped buttons, as he slowly walked into the light. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I've crashed an airship..." he answered, shaking his head.
"Considering all that your family has gone through here lately, that doesn't surprise me a bit," Leviathan said, coming to Cid's bedside. "However, a tremendous responsibility has been placed upon your shoulders, Captain Highwind, due to the situation now."
"You- you mean about Richard and Erina." Cid felt his eyes burn, but he wasn't going to let a single tear fall yet. He didn't feel as if he was ready to mourn the death of his older brother until he'd filled the man's shoes competently. "You want me to fill the spot until Kain's ready, don't you?"
"I'm not sure if you're up for that," the headmaster replied quietly. "You and your family need time. Right now, I am thinking a temporary suspension of the Warriors of the Water is the most appropriate course of action, so that both his men and your family can mourn properly."
"Did they catch the fucker who did it?"
"Yes."
Cid gave a nod. "That's good. Hope he suffers for what he did. Richard was... A more honorable man than me."
"Save it for the memorial service," Leviathan said, taking a stool to sit down next to him. "There is something far more important for me to discuss with you."
"There's more? Don't tell me Cantirena's gone and done something stupid... Bad enough she and Kain ran off thinking they could find Richard's killer like that."
Leviathan laughed. So that's the implant Einar went with, huh? he thought. "Oh, no, no, nothing like that. You know the truth, don't you? About Canti?"
"All I figured out is that she was connected to my missions on the ships when I was still an active pilot, and that she's from beyond the barrier," Cid answered. "Which is why you're so involved with taking care of her."
"That's all very true," the water spirit said. "But there's quite a bit more to it than that. Some of it cannot be shared with you now because I am not the only higher power overseeing this venture. She's drawn to trying to figure out why this world is made the way it is because she's supposed to figure it out."
"She's supposed to?" Cid was baffled by this. "I thought you brought her here to protect her."
"And to test her," Leviathan stated flatly. "From everything to her education to seeing that her emotional needs can be satisfied, to breaking the barrier placed over my realm and becoming that which she is destined to become."
"What is she destined to become?"
Leviathan reached into his robes and pulled out a file folder from his sleeves. "Let me give you a little homework, Cid Highwind." He placed it into the old retired pilot's hands and stood up. "Get some rest, would you?"
"Of course, but... If Canti or Kain does wake up, please come get me."
"I would not hestitate. The Highwind family, now more than ever, needs to be united."
