Project:RE

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy.

Notes: *blows the dust off of the fic* ...Ohhhhh, man. Holy shit, it's been far too long.

Warnings: Same as always.

Chapter Sixty-Eight

FIC START!

The next time Canti opened her eyes, she and Kain were both curled up on the same pillow. He loosely held onto her hand. She figured he had held onto her tighter before, but he had fallen asleep and his grip had lightened since. She looked around the room, then out the window. It was dark, but she had no idea what time it was. Not like it mattered. She didn't really want to be anywhere else. She scoot off the bed slowly as to not wake her cousin before looking around her room. Canti thought for a while about how Cid never wanted to live here, and that's why they had a tiny house on a poorer side of town. He must have been so upset to end up living here... She paced back and forth, before stopping at her bookshelf. She reached for a black bound book, one that she and Cid had read together more times than any other. She didn't put that book away the last time. At least she didn't remember putting it on her bookshelf. She remembered it being on the one in the family room. And, she could have sworn it had Dragon Meat stains on a page or two, but this book seemed pristine. She put it back. Did they just decide to replace her favorite book while she was out? Who would have time to do that, with so much stuff going on lately? She paced back and forth some more, silently angry about the glasses that refused to stay in a position she liked on her nose.

Suddenly, she heard a rapping at her window. She ran over to it and opened it, only to find a moogle holding an envelope in its hands.

"Delivery for Cantirena Highwind, kupo!" the moogle chimed before tossing it at her.

"Yeah, okay," she said, turning it over. A lavender page, inked with dark, shiny purple ink, and the emblem of a purple rose stamped on the corner? Canti knew exactly who this was from without having to think about it. "Thank you."

The moogle immediately turned around, flying off in some other direction that was hard for her to see since it was so dark.

"...what now, Mateus?" she muttered, sitting on the floor so her sitting motion wouldn't wake Kain. Last thing he would need to know is that she held a letter sent from him in secret.

I do hope this letter finds you in good spirits, it began. Canti cocked up an eyebrow as she continued to read. Why was he always so formal, when they'd been friends for a while? Something about all of this felt odd. It didn't feel as warm as past letters from him. I know how your cousin feels about the idea of our families committing to an alliance, but I know you are more of an open mind than he would be. Now that both of our houses, once revered for power and loyalty to the Establishment, are seen as less than desirable, I must insist that we work together to achieve peace for Dagurreo.

She sighed and reached for her own stationery, which wasn't as nice as the one that she had received. This was going to merit a reply.


Cid was at a loss for what to do with himself. He wasn't allowed to return to work at the Ship-yards, and there was no way he'd be allowed to go back to the Warriors of the Water, either. He sighed, listening for the kids upstairs. This late, they must have all ready fallen asleep. While he wasn't ready to be the head of the Highwind family - that was something he never wanted and ran away from home to avoid having to deal with - he was ready to just be a full time father. With Kain now missing his father, now was the best time to do that. Perhaps they should all do some spear training tomorrow? Or, maybe, they would have wanted to do something normal kids wanted to do? A day on the town, eating out, shopping? See a play at the theater, borrow a ton of books from the library, all those little things that neither of them really had the chance to do before? He let out a long sigh, taking a cigarette from his pockeet and lighting it up, staring into the huge chandelier above him. He thought it was a massive waste of money when his parents bought that Cosmos damned thing. While he always taunted them by saying he was going to sell it the moment this house was his, he couldn't bring himself to do that. It was his parents', and Richard always held it in high regard, for some reason. Sitting here in the silence, he understood a lot more than he ever thought he could about that. About how they operated on a daily basis.

He slipped his old denim coat off and hung it on a hook nearby. Maybe he should just pass out on the couch or something? He saw it, and could hear the nagging voices of his mother, and Erina, telling him how improper it was. He just kicked off his boots, and flopped down onto the couch. Some of the ashes from his cigarette fell off, but all it did was smear on the black leather of the furniture. Not like that was important or anything. The dingy old couch back in the tiny house on Junon Street never needed to be perfect, and now that there was no one that gave a shit, this one didn't have to be perfect anymore, either.

"Night, all," he whispered. He snapped his fingers and all the lights went out, except for the dull light emitted by the Sphere.


Canti had read through the letter about three times before she started to write her reply. She asked him why he was so distant and cold, since no one was going to see this letter aside from herself, and he certainly wasn't acting himself. She asked what would come from publicly announcing their alliance when they could be allies in secret, because it was something they had been doing for years under the noses of their parents anyhow. And then, on top of that, she wrote Do me a favor, and do not fall in love with me - I have a suitor, and like it or not, I will be with him when that time comes. And, after snatching the Moogle Flute from Uncle Richard and Aunt Erina's room, prepared to send it. Canti sighed once it was all ready, and she headed out of her room to the balcony at the end of the hallway to play the song and summon the moogle.

"Kupo! Who is the delivery for?" the moogle asked.

"Mateus Palamecia."

"Understood, kupo!" it took the letter and fluttered off.

A cold wind blew so hard that she immediately went back inside, and closed the balcony door behind her. She shuddered, grasping around herself. Oh, how she absolutely hated being cold.


As Mateus sat in his favorite chair, trying to make sense of the book he discovered earlier that night. The wind outside howled loudly, reminding him of the current state of his family. Future prospects for the Palamecia name weren't that great, considering his father's betrayal. His face bore a perpetual frown these days, as even those social contacts that he relished the most considered him a pariah, until he heard a knocking on the nearby window. He carefully marked his place in the book and headed to it, finding a moogle with an envelope addressed to him. He snatched it, heading back to his comfortable chair to read it. On a night like this, he hardly expected a reply so soon. Did she not just leave the hospital recently? Why would that girl still be awake? Or, perhaps the letter was intercepted by her ever-protective cousin, and this was a message threatening him with all sort of perposteriousness if he didn't retreat or some other such nonsense?

He made it about half-way through the lettered before he heard a noise on the Sphere down the hall. Reluctantly, he headed to answer it. He was enjoying that letter, damn it.

"Palamecia Residence," Mateus answered in a completely disinterested tone as he pressed the button to receive the call.

"Do you have a moment?" the caller asked. The face was completely blurred out on the screen. "I've questions for you."

"If this pertains to my father, you can speak to my family's court representative," he snapped, wondering how someone could even do that. The Sphere's programming was all under the control of Leviathan and the higher-ups in the government. It wouldn't be only illegal to tamper with the software, but it would be nearly impossible to pull off.

"This has nothing to do with the Senator," the caller said quietly. "This has everything to do with you."

"I don't feel comfortable speaking to someone hiding behind static interference," Mateus said, crossing his arms. He knew he was being watched, and it pissed him off immensely.

"I need a monster."

"We do not loan out monsters. I am certain you know of the disasters it could cause, if you are a possessor of common sense. If it would please you, come to visit the zoo during our normal business hours," the new owner of the monster farm snapped. "If you'll excuse me." He ended the call with a quick slap of the correct button and turned away from the Sphere. It rang again. "I'm not accepting any more calls." When he once again looked at the screen, it was lighting up with a red banner marked Urgent. If this spy, or whatever it was, had the ability to tamper with hiding his identity on the Sphere, then it could have easily forced a banner like that to appear before a call.

Before he could simply press the button to deny the call, it transitioned to the typical call screen with Leviathan sitting there, annoyed as all hell that he wasn't answered. "You know the law," Leviathan muttered. "What is the meaning of denying an urgent call?!"

"Had I known it was you, I would have answered you immediately," Mateus answered. "The caller I had just before you was nothing more than... peculiar."

"Is that right?"

"The one that called me managed to find a way to blur his face. I'm under the impression that is illegal by your laws."

Leviathan blinked in confusion. Who could have that sort of ability in here? He then shrugged at it, and said, "I want to know what your future plans are. Do you aspire to take your father's seat in the Senate? You are fully allowed to take his seat, and his rights as Senator."

"I have an extreme distaste for the lies that surround politics," Mateus answered. "A Senator has a position that I do not envy."

"I can't blame you for seeing it that way, but I do need an even number of Senators in the seats to prevent imbalance."

"My suggestion to you is to find someone that needs the power that a Senate seat provides."

"Is there someone you have in mind?"

"The Highwind family, of course."

"...there is not a single iota of a possibility that Cid Highwind would ever agree to taking a senate seat..."

"You don't have to offer it to him. You could have it transfer to someone else within the family. Such as... hmm, perhaps his daughter? Allow her to become the head of the household. She would have protection, being on the Senate. Which I know is something you hold as a top priority, do you not?"

"At what do you scheme?" Leviathan's eyes narrowed as he stared at Mateus, and those purple hues didn't seem dishonest in the slightest.

"I do not scheme. I believe it would make for an excellent formal apology and improve the way both of our houses are seen by the rest of the population. I must live with my father's choices for the rest of my life," Mateus said, bowing his head enough so Leviathan couldn't see his smile. By the time he got back up, his expression was of regret and woe. "I must insist that you offer it to her. You don't have to say it was my idea. In fact, that would not be a good idea."

"I will consider it..."

"May I now please retire for the night?"

"...please do," Leviathan answered, ending the call on his end.