A/N: Okay, I suppose it's the right time to give the "insight" I promised in the prologue. If you've gotten Crowe's ending, he ends up on Roak, near Eleyna Farrence's house. It's pretty much implied that he marries her, and is thus the ancestor of Roddick Farrence (hero of SO1). And if you see some certain PAs with Meracle, you learn that her favorite story, "Eleyna and the Feline Gourmand" eventually heads into the chapter of "Lady Eleyna's romance" which involves Eleyna and a "traveler", in which case the "traveler" is alluding to Crowe. And, after reading a whole bunch of theories at the GameFAQs boards, I decided to write this story. How would Crowe feel, knowing that his two closest friends, Edge and Reimi, did not know he was alive? He would surely want to see them one last time. I uh...don't want to go -too- much into detail here. I'll be explaining more and more as I go along.
Pairing: Okay, the cat's out of the bag (and I don't mean Meracle xD)...main pairing is Crowe x Eleyna. May have some hintage of Edge x Reimi later, as the focus may shift every now and then.
Warnings: Spoilers as usual. Also, some partial nudity, which is really not explicit. (Would this warrant for an M rating? Let me know and I'll change accordingly. I -tried- to make it as PG-13 as possible though...)
Disclaimer: I don't own SO.
Notes: Sorry, this chapter and all the other chapters will be 3rd-person. Although I must admit, it was interesting writing from Crowe's POV. And uh...I -slightly- modified the script to Crowe's ending here.
-NEW EDIT- Srsly, I don't know WTH is going on with FFnet. First, the horizontal rulers disappear, and now two "!"s and or two "?"s do not show properly? What is this, I don't even. I just hope the other chapters don't have this problem. Put simply, I can't have two punctuations at the end of a sentence. So... I'll be fixing it by spacing between each double punctuation. It seems this is not a glitch; this is an implementation that is unlikely to change no matter how much we protest. If all else fails, see my versions of the chapters on my deivantART page.
What It Means to Make Amends
C h a p t e r 1
S e p a r a t i o n
Daylight. The sound of waves crashing upon the shore.
A young woman walked down the stairs from her house leading to the shore. She had sky-blue eyes; turquoise hair, bound up; clear, fair skin; and was wearing a dress that was white at the top, and the rest was green. She was also wearing brown boots. Most interesting about her though, was that she had pointed ears covered in fur, and a fluffy tail extending from her posterior.
"I see...exactly as the auguries told me. This is indeed very interesting..."
She walked over to Crowe, lying unconscious on the shores.
"...may very well suit me..."
Uhhh...where am I? Who's there?
Crowe could feel a hand tapping his face. "Wake up, you...or would you have a dainty lady carry you on her back...?" the woman said. Crowe opened his eyes...and saw a perfect, clear-blue sky. "Wha...what happened?" he murmured, before he felt the hand tap his face again. He sat up...and saw her.
"What the...?"
"...quite a handsome man..."
As she continued to speak to him, he looked down and saw that his translator was broken. And yet, he could understand her perfectly.
He looked all around him. It was all...beautiful. Even the woman who spoke to him was a sight to behold.
"I'm sorry, but...where am I? ... Who are you?...Is this...heaven?"
"Heaven?" The woman chuckled. "No. This is Roak. And I am Eleyna Farrence, the woman who will be..."
As she continued to speak, Crowe thought to himself, Wait a second...Roak? No wonder she didn't look quite fully human. And judging by my surroundings, this planet doesn't look quite developed...I have a feeling that I'd better be careful not to use any of my technology.
Slowly standing up, Crowe brushed the sand off of himself and said to Eleyna calmly, "Listen. I think it's really nice how this is love at first sight and all, and don't get me wrong. I think you're really beautiful, and you seem like a nice person. But I really don't understand how you could be talking about such long-term commitments right now. I mean, we've only just-"
Before he could finish his sentence, Crowe could feel his heart palpitate in his chest, and he somehow began to feel exhausted.
What the heck was that just now? !
"You okay?" Eleyna asked the young man.
"...I'm fine," Crowe replied. "Just a little dizzy, that's all. Guess I stood up too fast."
"You look tired," Eleyna said to Crowe. "Why don't you get some rest?"
"Good idea. I'll be there shortly," Crowe said to her as she walked back to her house. He thought to himself as he followed her, I wonder how Edge and Reimi are...are they back on Earth? I wonder if the SRF is looking for me right now. Do they even know I'm alive?
He checked his pockets, and noticed he still had his communicator. Good...I still have my communicator. Maybe sometime later, I could...
It happened again. His heart beat with more force this time.
N...not again! What's...happening to me? !
He managed to grab onto some rocks to stop himself from falling.
"What's wrong?" Eleyna quickly rushed to Crowe's side.
Clutching for dear life onto the stones, Crowe was breathing heavily as his heart continued to throb more and more intensely. He could feel the strength draining out of his body.
Why won't it stop? ! I feel so...weak...
Just as Crowe thought he would black out, everything suddenly became...brighter in his eyes. He could not hear Eleyna talking to him, asking what was wrong. He looked into the horizon...and could not believe his eyes.
"Edge...? Reimi...?"
Great. Now I'm hallucinating.
Eleyna murmured to herself, "Did he say...? He knows them...?"
In his eyes, Crowe saw Edge and Reimi looking at him.
They...they saw me! This...cannot be a hallucination.
"What's...going on?" Eleyna murmured to herself. She knew Crowe was hallucinating, and she had a feeling something bad was going to happen.
Letting go of the rocks, Crowe limped forward, seeing Edge and Reimi walk ahead of him when in truth, there was no one there. Reaching out his hand, he said, "Edge...Reimi...hey...where are you guys...going? Wait...for...me..."
Before he could take another step, Crowe collapsed to the ground from the intense exhaustion. Eleyna quickly began to rush to his side to catch him, but then...
"Got him!"
It was Sarah Jerand, one of Eleyna's acquaintances - and one of Edge's former comrades. She managed to catch Crowe just as he was about to hit the ground.
"Sarah...What are you doing here?"
"Oh, hello, Lady Eleyna. You see, just recently, I learned how to fly. And as I flew around this area, I saw this man...you see, he's one of Edge's friends."
"I see..." Eleyna said to herself.
Sarah brushed the back of her hand on Crowe's forehead. "Oh, my..."
"Sarah?"
"He's burning up!"
Eleyna walked over to Crowe and touched his forehead. "You're right...this is a really nasty fever...we need to help him."
Eleyna and Sarah lifted Crowe up by his shoulders and carried him to Eleyna's house. Once Eleyna reached her house, she knocked on the door. "Hey! Alleycat! You there?"
Meracle Chamlotte, another one of Edge's former comrades who was living with Eleyna, opened the door. "Eleyna! You know how calling me that makes me-" And then she saw Crowe.
"Oh my gosh...I know him, meow!"
"Hmm?"
"His name is Crowe! I...met him once!"
"Crowe...huh," Eleyna murmured to herself. "Make yourself useful, alleycat, and give us a hand. Go get a bucket full of cold water and a towel...and a glass of water, just in case."
"Alright..." Meracle rushed into the kitchen as Eleyna and Sarah carried Crowe into the household and gently laid him onto the bed.
Eleyna looked at Crowe. He was breathing heavily and his fever didn't seem to be going away.
"Sarah," Eleyna said to Sarah. "Could you...help me remove this man's armor?"
"S...sure," Sarah replied.
Simply by looking at him, Eleyna could tell that Crowe was wearing a complex suit of armor that would be a bit difficult to divest. "Let's start with the top."
After unhooking various straps on the top part of his armor, his upper armor came off, revealing a black leather shirt that he wore. Such peculiar garments, Eleyna thought.
"Now the lower area..."
The lower area of the armor proved to be more difficult to remove than the upper area. "Hold on," Sarah said, pointing to something on the back of the lower armor. "What's this?"
As it turned out, his laser swords were hooked onto somewhere on the back of his lower armor. There was also his communicator, protruding from somewhere in his lower armor.
As Sarah and Eleyna removed the foreign technology from the lower half of the armor suit, Crowe was beginning to fade in and out of consciousness. "Hey..." he murmured. "Be...careful with...those..."
Just hang on, Crowe, Eleyna thought to herself. Please...
Meracle walked up to Eleyna, holding a bucket of ice-cold water and a small towel. "Here, Lady Eleyna," she said, placing the bucket and towel on the drawer close to the bed. "I'll get a glass of water..." And at that, Meracle rushed back into the kitchen.
Eleyna and Sarah successfully removed the lower half of Crowe's armor. Underneath, he wore a pair of black leather pants and shoes.
"Good," Eleyna said to herself. "This ought to keep his fever from escalating." Grabbing the small towel Meracle handed her, she dipped the towel into the bucket of water and, after squeezing the excess water out, placed the wet towel on Crowe's forehead. She then opened the window close to the bed, to let some fresh air in. Within a matter of seconds, however, Crowe began to moan in pain. "Aaah...Aaaaaaaaah..."
Eleyna placed her hand on Crowe's forehead again, and noticed that his fever was indeed starting to intensify. "How can this be? !"
Meracle walked up to Eleyna, holding a glass of water, and, placing the glass on the adjacent drawer, asked Eleyna, "What's going on?"
Eleyna turned to Meracle and Sarah, and said, "His fever's getting worse. We'll have to strip him."
Meracle and Sarah blushed at that thought. "Relax, you two," Eleyna said, in an attempt to reassure them. "We'll only strip him down to his trousers."
Taking off his shirt proved to be somewhat tough for Meracle and Sarah, as they were already blushing simply looking at Crowe's bare chest while they pulled off his shirt. As Crowe lay in bed, wearing only his pants, Eleyna said to Sarah and Meracle, "Thanks, you two. I'll take it from here. Why don't you two wait upstairs?"
"Huh?" Meracle and Sarah were not only flabbergasted that Eleyna thanked them, but were also curious as to what Eleyna was planning. "What are you...?" Sarah asked.
"Trust me," Eleyna replied. "I'll call you back down when I'm done."
After making sure that Meracle and Sarah were in the upstairs room, Eleyna began to take off her boots, and then her dress. "I can't believe I'm doing this," Eleyna murmured to herself as her dress dropped to her feet. "Already I am lying with the man I intend to marry, before that day even comes...what kind of 'Holy Maiden' am I...? I feel like a common harlot."
She climbed into bed, and, laying on top of Crowe, pulled the sheets over herself. Remember, she thought to herself, this is only to reduce his fever. Thinking that helped her to calm down, as feeling Crowe's chest rise and fall with each strained breath he took made her nervous.
As Eleyna dabbed Crowe's face with the wet towel, she heard him murmur, "It's so...hot...need...water..."
Eleyna immediately realized that there was only one way to quench his thirst...she had to feed him by mouth. Oh god... Eleyna thought. This is almost like...no. I have to do this. Reaching for the glass of water Meracle placed on the adjacent drawer earlier, Eleyna took a mouthful of water and, leaning over to Crowe, pressed her lips to his and gave him the water.
As their lips touched, Eleyna felt a strange sensation. It was like a burst of electricity traveled through her body as her lips brushed against his. She could feel her heart beat faster. This...feeling... she thought. What...is this? ...No, I must not be tempted. I must remain faithful to what I'm doing.
She broke the contact between her lips and his, and rested her head on his shoulder. She heard him swallow, and could feel his body slowly cooling down. Good. He should be fine now.
Eventually, Crowe started breathing normally, and, his body having cooled down entirely, he dozed off to sleep. Might as well let him rest, Eleyna thought. Getting up so carefully as not to wake the young man, she closed the window and took the moist towel off of his forehead. After climbing out of bed, she put her dress and boots back on quietly, and walked upstairs. As she walked up, she glanced over at the young man sleeping, and thought, This man has the blood of the Muah, too? Hmm...Just like those two striplings I met so long ago...what could this all mean?
Sarah asked Eleyna, "What's wrong? You said you would call us back down."
"He's sleeping. Wouldn't want to disturb him," Eleyna replied. "Even so..."
"Huh?" Meracle was curious.
"That...man," Eleyna pondered. "He said he knew those two descendants of the Muah...Edge and Reimi. Those were their names, correct?"
"Yeah," Meracle replied. She sighed to herself, "I miss them..."
"You see, Lady Eleyna," Sarah said, "there was a great battle two years ago. A battle in the great star ocean..."
"Yeah," Meracle added. "That man, Crowe... he disappeared in the heat of battle, trying to help us save the universe."
"And he shows up now, two years after?" Eleyna could not grasp what this all meant. "This cannot be mere coincidence...I'll go down to check on him. I'll call you down pretty soon."
She headed back downstairs and, kneeling by the bed, looked at Crowe. The auguries I had...also told me that this man would hold the key to Roak's safety in the future, she thought. And...sadly...he will have to deal with a chain of tragedies...
As Eleyna stood up and walked around, she could hear Crowe coming to. "Uhn..." He opened his eyes and looked all around him. "...Huh? What...am I doing here?"
"Glad to see you're back," Eleyna said to Crowe, smiling.
"Eleyna...?" He sat up and looked down...and saw that he was wearing nothing except his trousers. "Wait a second...I'm not - I'm..." and then he looked at Eleyna and said, "You didn't try to..."
Eleyna knew where the conversation was headed, and she immediately slapped Crowe across the face. Meracle and Sarah could hear it upstairs.
Placing his hand to his sore cheek, Crowe retorted, "Hey! What was that for?"
Eleyna was not pleased. "I never expected that the man I wanted to marry one day would be such a salacious libertine. I only did what I could to reduce your fever."
"I...?"
"Yes," Eleyna replied. "You were out cold...I couldn't just sit there and let it get worse."
"I see..." Crowe paused for a moment, and said, "In any case, thank you. You...saved me."
Pulling over a chair, Eleyna sat by the bed and said to Crowe, "I couldn't help but notice...you were murmuring 'Edge...Reimi...' a while ago..."
Crowe's gaze widened. "You...know them?"
"Yes," Eleyna replied. "I met them two years ago. They had come from the vast star ocean, just like you."
"Hold on...two years?" To Crowe, it seemed like only yesterday he had seen Edge and his crew.
"Hmm...I see this could be difficult to explain," Eleyna said. "Sarah, Alleycat, you two can come down now."
Sarah and Meracle walked downstairs and saw Crowe, sitting up. He looked at them, and said, "Hey, you two...you seem...different somehow, both of you...?"
"I'm Sarah," Sarah said. Glancing at Meracle, she said, "That's Meracle."
"Nice to meet you both."
"Crowe!" Meracle ran over to Crowe and hugged him. "You don't look like you've aged a day-" and then she noticed that Crowe was still shirtless. "Meoooooow...I'm sorry, meow!" Meracle cried, turning away and blushing.
"Heh..." Crowe looked at Eleyna. "Ugh...I'm all dirty. Do you mind if I take a shower?"
"Go ahead," Eleyna said. "Alleycat, do you think you could wash this man's clothes?"
"S-sure," Meracle stammered. She looked away as Crowe climbed out of bed, as seeing his bare chest was enough to make her blush.
Sarah noticed that Crowe had a couple of bruises on his back. "You're hurt," she said. "Let me take care of those injuries of yours."
"Go ahead."
Chanting a symbol, Sarah's hands started to glow. She placed her hands on Crowe's injuries, and the bruises started to fade. This time around, Crowe started to blush as Sarah touched his bare back.
"Who's blushing now?" Eleyna said in a somewhat smug manner.
"...Hey!" Crowe seemed upset at first, but then started to laugh in a subtle manner, and smiled at her.
Eleyna was amazed. He's certainly nothing like his friend Edge...He's much more peaceful and mature, and I can tell by looking at him, that a pure heart beats inside of him... She looked down, troubled. But beneath that kind smile...is a suffering soul...if only I could break the chains of suffering that bind this man... Eleyna quickly shook her head. What's coming over me?... Am I feeling...compassion?
Eleyna sighed. "Somehow...I think Sarah's attitude is starting to rub off on me."
...
"Okay, the shower's ready, meow!"
Crowe walked into the bathroom and began to take off his hair clip, letting down his shoulder-length crimson hair. Meracle said to him, "I'll wash your clothes..."
"Thanks." Looking away, Crowe said, "Why don't I just...leave my pants outside the door?"
"O-okay," Meracle said shyly as she walked out of the bathroom. Within a matter of seconds, the rest of Crowe's garments were tossed out of the bathroom. "M...must not...look, meow!" Meracle staggered toward the heap of clothing, looking away from the shower room, and, closing the door in such a way that a little air could come in, picked up the clothing and ran off.
"Heh..."
As the water from the shower gently caressed his bare skin, Crowe was lost in thought. Two years...? he wondered. Granted, I guess I'm glad that I'm alive, but how could I have been sent here two years into the future...? I should have died that day.
Just then, Crowe remembered what happened that day before he lost consciousness.
You can't die yet...
There are still so many things...you have to do...
What...could that mean? he thought to himself.
Turning off the flow of water, Crowe stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist.
"Crowe!" Meracle walked into the bathroom. "Here are your clothes-" and then she noticed he only had a towel on. Getting way too excited, Meracle transformed into her cat form and ran off.
"Huh?"
After putting all of his clothes back on and binding his hair back up, he walked out of the bathroom. "Hey! Meracle!" He sighed. "Where could she be hiding?"
After walking only a little bit, he saw a small gray kitten with a green jewel on its collar. He knew the kitten was her. "Meracle!"
Realizing she'd been caught, Meracle transformed back into her normal self, in a puff of smoke. "What's the big idea, Crowe!"
"Heh heh..."
...
Sitting back down on the bed, Crowe said, "Okay, Meracle, Sarah. Could you two...tell me what happened after...you know?"
Sarah began to explain everything. "After you made that black hole appear, we were able to enter Nox Obscurus. After journeying a great deal, we ran into a being called the 'Apostle of Creation'."
Meracle continued. "As it turns out..." She paused, as simply recalling those memories brought her much pain.
"As it turns out...what?"
Taking a deep breath, Meracle said, "The Apostle of Creation...was actually Faize."
Crowe's eyes widened in shock. No way...
"He said that he was powerless to prevent the deaths of his brethren...so he became possessed by the Grigori and wished to wipe out the universe entirely...so that there would be no more pain...no more sadness...no more senseless loss of lives, as he said."
Crowe looked down. Faize...if only I were stronger, this wouldn't have happened...
"Of course, we couldn't just sit there and let him carry out his plan, so...we defeated him..." Meracle looked like she was about to cry.
Sarah picked it up from there. "When Faize returned to his old self, Nox Obscurus began to collapse. Edge insisted on taking Faize along as we escaped, but...they both fell into the abyss."
Crowe gasped. "Edge is...?"
"Don't worry," Sarah said. "Edge is just fine. After escaping from Nox Obscurus, we were transported to Earth, and we ran into Edge again." She paused. "Of course, Faize is a...different story..."
Crowe was already starting to tremble. "How could I...let this happen?"
"Don't take it that way," Meracle consoled him. "There was no way to have known what could have happened. After Edge returned, we all headed back to our respective worlds...and now you're here. We honestly thought you were dead!"
"I appreciate your concern," Crowe said, having calmed down. "Hey, Meracle..."
"Yeah?"
"You said you went to Earth...what was it like?"
"It was beautiful! The air was clean, the sky was blue...Why do you ask?"
Crowe sighed. "You see...I come from Earth, just like Edge and Reimi. The thing is...Earth wasn't always as beautiful as you say it is."
"Hmm?" Both Meracle and Sarah were curious.
"When I started the SRF's mission of exploration with Edge and Reimi...Earth was in a pitiful state. You see, a massive war had just happened...citizens of Earth were fighting against themselves...and as a result, not only were innocent lives lost, but the Earth was essentially reduced to ashes." Crowe paused for a second, and continued, "My mission was to find a new world for my people...hopefully, a world without any wars...since war only breeds sadness, and that is something I did not want to see for as long as possible. But you saw what happened...even I couldn't prevent that which I had sought to."
"I see...so that's how it is..." As it turned out, Eleyna overheard the entire conversation.
"Eleyna..." Sarah said. "How long have...?"
"Well, well, will you look at the time," Eleyna said, trying to divert the conversation. "I think it's time we had dinner."
As they all sat down, Eleyna and Sarah ate comfortably, and Meracle devoured all the items on her plate. Crowe, however, barely even touched his meal.
"Something the matter?" Eleyna asked him.
"I...I'm not that hungry, thank you."
Eleyna could tell that something was bothering Crowe. What could be troubling him?
...
It was nighttime already. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Crowe looked out the window, into the night sky brilliantly illuminated by twinking stars. As he looked out the window, he thought, I wonder if one of those stars in the sky is Earth... It's a shame I couldn't see Earth in the way it is now, if what Meracle and Sarah say is true. How ironic...Earth was restored, and yet...
He then thought about Edge and Reimi. Wonder how they're doing...they must still think I'm...
"Crowe?"
Crowe turned around and saw Eleyna walking toward him.
"Oh...Eleyna. What's up?"
"I overheard your conversation with Meracle and Sarah. You know...those friends of yours, Edge and Reimi...they also came here in search of a new world for themselves. What brings you here?"
Looking at her, Crowe told Eleyna all that happened before he arrived on Roak.
"You see...I guess my being here is some sort of accident. It's as Meracle and Sarah said. I vanished trying to help Edge and his crew ensure the universe's safety. But before the incident, something happened..."
"Yes?"
"I heard a voice...saying to me...that I still had some very important things to do...that I had a greater purpose...then I passed out, and here I am."
"I see..." Placing her hand on Crowe's shoulder, she said, "Your appearance here on Roak is no incident, I can assure you that. I know that you will find your true purpose one day."
Crowe smiled at her. "Thanks...Eleyna." He yawned. "Hmm...I guess I should turn in for today." He looked at Eleyna, and said, "Good night, Eleyna."
"Good night, Crowe."
...
Later on, Eleyna was about to call it a day herself. She noticed that Crowe was sleeping peacefully. As she knelt by his bed, she noticed a tear streaming down his cheek.
"Edge...Reimi..."
Poor thing, Eleyna thought. To be separated from his friends like that... I can tell he shared a deep bond with those people. She held his hand, and gently kissed him on the forehead.
"Pleasant dreams to you..."
A/N: -mega nosebleed- I did NOT intend to have that many Crowe fanservice moments! -blushes- Well, it can't be helped. He's hawt. xD Again, if anyone thinks this fic should be bumped up to a M rating (due to the nudity, which again, is not explicit...I don't think) let me know.
And oh god...I'm just happy to be free from Calculus II. That final exam was a little tricky, but I feel like I did a good job. I just hope I passed XD And I have 2 weeks of break, so I should be able to squeeze a few more chapters in.
And hopefully, if I do get a passing grade on Calc II, my parents just -might- let me get an Xbox 360 and SO4, which means more accuracy to the storyline...and no more referring to Youtube xD