Final Fantasy [Begins]

[ChobiChibi]

Nova Myst

To say that he was still tired was an understatement. He’d slept soundly, that wasn’t the problem. The fact was that the Parade had been the first time he’d stepped out of the house after two weeks of recovering from a Behemoth attack. His body wasn’t ready for such a test of endurance, and desperately wanted his own bed. Nova stared blankly back at Kite as he asked him about a mark on his chest. “What mark on...” He looked down. “Oh, that?”

Truth be told, he hadn’t noticed it. He squeezed past Kite to get a better look at it in the bathroom mirror. Babs sat quietly on his shoulder as he studied it.

“Well?” Kite grew impatient.

“It’s a l’cie brand.” Unfortunately, Nova soon realised he’d need to give more of an explanation than that in order for him to be able to go back to sleep. “Lets go downstairs, so we don’t wake anyone.”

Quietly, the pair of them went downstairs. Nova put Babs back in her little box that he was using as a bed for her and picked up his phone. He squinted at it. He had 56 missed calls and 12 text messages. He frowned as he looked at who had been trying to contact him.

“Cid’s been trying to get hold of us, apparently.” He sat next to Kite and pulled the duvet over himself.

“What? Why?”

“We’ve been missing nearly two days now.” He chuckled as he read one of Cid’s messages out loud in his usual manner. “’Oi, prick, pick up your fucking phone. You ain’t allowed to be dead. An’ if Kite had kidnapped ya, I’m sure I’d know about it by now. Unless he’s dead an’ yer coverin’ yer tracks...’ Excellent. So he either thinks you’ve locked me up somewhere or I’ve killed you.”

Kite looked as though he was trying not to laugh or be amused, but Nova could see that it had certainly lightened his mood even by the tiniest amount. “Stop stalling. Tell me about the brands.”

“It’s not as simple as explaining the brands... How much do you know about the fal’cie?”

He looked a little embarrassed. “Not a lot...”

“Well, I’ll explain. You do know how the fal’cie were created by Lindzei to protect humanity and Eden. She also created them to protect Gaia as well. There are millions of them, too many to count, and we’ve probably only seen a handful. Anyway, in order for humanity to aid the fal’cie in protecting Eden from the monsters of Gaia, they created l’cie to fight for them. They’re humans, blessed by the fal’cie’s power in order to use magic and other unusual abilities. They were praised across the land and granted eternal life in the form of Crystal slumber... There’s a hall in Ultima’s Palace full of them.”

“But what about Bellaevis?” Nova flinched at the mention of her name. “She got branded a l’cie, like you’re suggesting we did but... That wasn’t Crystal slumber.”

“She turned into a cieth. It was a long time before anyone figured that out, but when a l’cie doesn’t complete their focus, they become a cieth. Her case is unusual, because the fal’cie was the one that turned her into a cieth, she never had the chance to complete her focus...”

The mention of a focus made Kite look even more confused than he had done previously. “A focus?”

“You really don’t know anything about this, do you?”

“No! I don’t! That’s why I asked you to explain!” Kite huffed.

“A focus,” Nova began again, trying to regain his composure. “Is a task that is set for the l’cie to do. Did you have a vision when we were branded?”

Kite nodded. “I dreamt about it too, that’s why I’m awake...”

“I think that’s our focus. Whatever that vision was, wherever it takes place, we have to do it or turn into a cieth. But if we complete the focus-”

“We go into Crystal Slumber.” Kite finished, looking worried. “But how do we know exactly what to do? I mean, I don’t want either of those things to happen, but-”

“Either way, we may as well be dead.” Nova sighed, tracing the lines of his brand with his finger. “That’s not even the start of our problems. This must be a brand of Gaia, not Eden. The brands of Eden look nothing like this...”

“And the vision we had... Looked like we were attacking a city, or at least civilisation.” Kite went pale with his sudden realisation. Eden was the only civilisation on this planet, so it was automatically the only place that they would have to attack.

“Now you get it.” Nova’s smile was a tired one. What’s the point of saving ourselves if we’re gonna kill everyone else? He thought, careful not to share it aloud. He didn’t want to depress Kite any further.

“That’s a lot to take in.”

They sat together, in a sort of awkward silence, both not daring to glance at each other, or say anything. Nova searched desperately for a way to change the subject, but was struggling for something that would be uplifting.

“I have another sister.” He blurted, pulling the duvet further up to cushion any blows that Kite may have for him. “Her name is Kara.”

“Oh, okay...” It didn’t seem to faze him at all, and Nova wondered how much he could get away with. There was a long pause before Kite spoke again. “I think I’m gonna try and get some more sleep.”

He got up and started towards the stairs, but Nova quickly followed him. “Kite, wait, there’s something else.”

He was already at the door of the bedroom, so Kite sighed and turned to face him with a weary expression. “Yes?”

“I didn’t tell you who I am because... Well, here in Alexandria, people are friends with me because we’re well off and have a little influence over things around here.” A little influence? His conscience scoffed. “You were the first person, well, perhaps with the exception of Cid, but he knows about me... Anyway, you were the first person to be my friend because of what I’m like, rather than the amount of money in my wallet, so... That’s why I kept it a secret.”

Kite’s cheeks seemed to flush a little pink. “Well, um, okay, I see...” It appeared that was enough new knowledge for Kite to take in, in such a short space of time. He opened the bedroom door and headed inside. “Goodnight, Nova.”

Myst. He added in his mind. Nova Myst. Kara Myst, my sister, is Ultima’s Representative.

Apparently he wasn’t ready to confess that too.

He was about to head back down to his make-shift bed when he heard the sounds of sobbing from his room. He quietly crept across the hallway and put his ear to the door to confirm this.

He glanced up and down the corridor to quickly check that Markus wasn’t around. As much as he wanted to prove Markus wrong, there wasn’t a bone in his body that could leave Alex alone crying. He knocked quietly and the sobbing stopped abruptly, changing to sniffles. He opened the door a little and peeked around.

She tried so hard to smile at him, he could tell, but her eyes and the tear stains on her cheeks gave her away. “Hey...”

“Can I come in?”

She nodded and he shut the door behind him. Once she realised he was only clothed on his bottom half, she blushed furiously and covered her eyes.

Nova chuckled, grabbing a t-shirt and pulling it over his head. “I’m not that sexy, am I?”

“No!”

“So you’re saying I’m ugly?”

“No!”

“So I am that sexy?”

“No- yes!” She looked at him again to be greeted by that cheeky grin of his. “I mean...” She blushed even redder (if that was even possible) and pulled the duvet up over her head. He loved teasing her.

He sat down on the edge of the bed next to her. “Alex, what’s wrong?”

“N-nothing...” Her response was muffled by the duvet. “I’m fine.”

“A girl as upbeat as you doesn’t cry over nothing.” Nova pulled the duvet down so he could see her, but she wouldn’t look at him. “Come on, tell me.”

“I... I can’t do it.” Alex looked him dead in the eyes now, tears threatening to spill out again. “I can’t complete our focus.”

“We’ll find a way to-”

“No, Nova. You don’t get it.” She shook her head. “All the things they taught me about the fal’cie... They’re all wrong. How can our protectors be so cruel and make us destroy the paradise they created for us? Everything I’ve learnt about them is a lie...”

Nova moved so that he was sat next to her properly on the bed and pulled her into his arms. “They’re Gaia’s fal’cie, not Eden’s.” He reasoned, stroking her hair. “They’re not the same. The fal'cie of Eden would never do that to their people.” She seemed a little reassured by this as she wiped her eyes and her breathing seemed to slow into a more relaxed rhythm. “You won’t have to do it.” Nova couldn’t help himself. He had to make her feel better. “I’ll do it for you. Complete our focus. You won’t have to lay a finger on anyone. Or I’ll find a way to change your focus, or make it so you’re not a l’cie anymore.”

“Really?” She looked up at him. He could tell she was well educated in this field, she knew that it had never been done before to anyone’s knowledge, but he still saw a tiny glimmer of hope in her eyes. “You’d do that... For me?”

“Yeah, of course.”

She snuggled into his chest. “Thank you.”

Alex seemed quite comfortable now, Nova decided, as she quickly fell asleep on him. It wouldn’t hurt to stay there for the night, surely... He carefully made himself a little more comfortable, so that he wouldn’t wake up Alex, and soon joined her in the land of nod.

[Samchu]

Markus
~~~~~

In the course of his life there were a few things Markus never expected to happen. Becoming a doomed l'cie was certainly on that list but it would never have been number. No, that honour went to the situation he found himself in that morning; stark naked and cuddling an equally exposed Eden.


His first reaction was panic. Somehow this had been his fault and when she woke up she was going to make him well aware of that fact; with the sharp end of her sword, if he was lucky. But as the fog of sleep began to fade, the events that had unfolded between the two of them became clearer. She had been the one to instigate it, not him. For all his faults and weaknesses he had kept himself from making the first move. Eden had been the one to suggest it – well, more like order it.


He should have been happy. How many nights had been spent dreaming of this? Wasn't this what he had always wanted, to have Eden, to experience the depths of her that few, if any, had ever seen? But it hadn't been as he'd expected. There was no confession, no hint of an admission of feelings and even at the height of their passions she had still managed to remain somewhat distant, as if the walls she put around herself had not allowed him past, only drawn closer to her, shrinking her bubble of protection. The girl he'd met with briefly in the garden, the one who blamed herself for her friend's falling, was not the same woman he'd slept with last night.


So what was that? A reward for all the years of putting up with the distant Eden? Thanks for not taking advantage of her vulnerability? Or was I just an escape? The thought left him feeling unclean. He had given her a part of his soul last night, whether she was aware of it or not, and in return she had left him more of a mess than he had been before. He was no closer to sussing out her feelings for him – or learning if she even had any for him. Somehow, getting what he wanted had just made things worse.


Eden shifted beside him, snuggling deeper into the warmth of his chest. His body tingled, sensitive to the feel of her skin against his. He couldn't help but smile a little. Confused though he was, it was not enough to stop him from loving her. They would have to talk at some point, put everything out in the open, but it wouldn't happen today. No, there were far more pressing matters to attend to first. Like meeting with Kara. He shuddered at the thought of seeing that woman again. He had met her twice before, only briefly but still long enough to leave a last impression. He'd been excited by the prospect of meeting Eden's well-respected sister. The few times she had mentioned her, Eden had always spoken fondly of Kara. Markus couldn't see any reason why he wouldn't like the other woman of Myst, even the traits that Eden had warned him of, Kara's stern nature, were traits that he, as a soldier could admire.


But it was Kara who had taken fault with him. She had made it clear upon their first meeting that she disapproved of the way he looked at her sister. That everything about him was unsuitable and that even as a human being he was unworthy. All this she told him without ever opening her mouth. He prayed silently to whichever of the gods would listen that she wouldn't suss out what had transpired between him and Eden that night. Her wrath would not be like Nova's. Hers would come silently, in the night, by untraceable hands. There would be no words, no opportunity for forgiveness, just the remnants of his body in a ditch somewhere. That was the fate he imagined Kara would have install for him if she ever found out that he had defiled her sister.


He rubbed his face with the hand that Eden hadn't trapped. I need to get something to drink. He looked down at the sleeping woman. He feared waking her but at the same time he didn't want to be there when she awoke. He preferred not to die just yet. Gently as he could, he freed himself from her bed. She frowned in her sleep and made a grumble of disapproval before cocooning herself in the blankets. He had to stop himself from lingering to watch her. Who knew if he would ever get the chance to do so again.


He dressed only as much as he dared, pulling on his pants and deciding to brave the corridor without anything else. Somehow the thought of trying to leave when she awoke was worse than the thought of being beside her. For the sake of safety, he opted not to be there at all. He gathered the last of his clothes into his arms and slipped out of the room. In the hallway, he paused briefly to look back at her, still sound asleep, then closed the door completely.


“You son of a bitch!”


The hit came from the side, catching him off guard. He managed to brace himself somewhat as he landed, the bruise from Kite's hammer screaming in protest as he landed in a crouch. He took a moment to compose himself. “Nova-”


“I told you not to go in there. I told you to leave her alone. And not only did you ignore me, you fucking slept with her you damn son of a bitch.” He went to hit Markus again but he was ready this time and caught the younger boy's arm.


Markus stood. “Nova just listen -”


“You couldn't keep it in your pants could you?” He shouted, trying to twist out of Markus' grip. “She lost her best friend and you thought that was the time to go and put the moves on my sister?” He kicked out at Markus and Markus let go of his arm to widen the gap between them. “You make me sick! I can't believe I was going to apologise to you and forgive you for all that shit you pulled with the fal'cie!”


Nova's anger had drawn the curiosity of most of their party. A sleepy Alex appeared in her doorway. “What's going on,” she asked, yawning.


“He slept with my sister,” Nova growled.


Alex looked between them. “Was that not okay? But you slept with me last night so why couldn't he-”


“You slept with Alex?” Now it was Kite's turn to get angry.


“No – yes. I spent the night with her but it was innocent. I didn't have sex with her.”


“Whatever you say, Nova.”


Markus saw Kite leave but he didn't see where he went.


“So when you say he slept with your sister...” It was then that Alex apparently realised just how little Markus was wearing. A little colour flushed to her cheeks and she looked away.


“Yes, I mean he fucked her,” replied an exasperated Nova. “And now, thanks to him, I have to go and patch things up with Kite again.” He looked Markus in the eyes and frowned. “I wish that fal'cie had turned you instead.” He turned and went after Kite.


Alex, embarrassed by her part in the argument, returned to her room and closed the door, leaving only Markus and a lingering Jin behind.


Markus sighed and leaned back against the wall beside Eden's doorway, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Well, that went well.”

[Crystal Tears]

Alex and Eden

It wasn’t like Eden to hide from anything – but this… this particular scenario was one of those rare moments where she had chosen to hide.

Well, not so much hide as to pretend to still be asleep while the violence outside ensued. When everything quieted down, she slipped out of bed and was quick to get dressed into her pj bottoms and a tank top. Stepping outside her room, she nearly bumped into Markus and noted the red mark quickly making an appearance.

That was going to bruise.

Jin stood there, silently watching the duo. Eden glared at him.

“Don’t you have something better to do?”

Jin shifted his weight, he was uncomfortable under her stern gaze and quickly vacated downstairs.

Eden touched Markus cheek and turned his face roughly to look at the welt. “Have Alex heal it.” She stated, unaffected by his lack of clothes. “And get dressed,” she gave him a frown that was common from her. “You could’ve gotten dressed in my room.”

“I…” He faltered. “Thought it was better I go back to my room.”

“Yeah, that worked out great for you.”

“It did.” Markus snorted, “You know, besides the-running-into-your-brother-fiasco.”

“He knocked you on your ass.” Despite managing not to smile, Eden couldn’t hide her bemusement at that particular fact.

“Don’t start.” He clearly wasn’t in the mood.

“Have Alex look at your hammer wound too.” Eden added on, catching a confused gaze from her partner. She shrugged. “It acted up a bit,” she paused, trying to put it delicately. “Last night, when…”

He couldn’t hide the little smile on his face, in light of that fact, Markus pivoted and went back into the huntress’s room, promptly kicking the door shut. “I’m getting dressed – go stop your brother from plotting my demise.”

Eden paused in the hall, shaking her head for a second before she promptly knocked on Alex’s door. Slowly it opened, revealing a bashful, nervous songstress.

“When he’s dressed, fix his face.” She looked back at her own door. “Try helping his back too.”

Alex blinked. “What’s wrong with his back?” Then she began to turn a shade close to a tomato. “Oh! Gods, nevermind! I didn’t mean to pry… I’ll fix it-“

“It’s not like that.” The huntress scowled. “He landed on Kite’s hammer back at the fal’Cie temple.”

“Oh!” Suddenly the younger girl felt entirely stupid. She bowed her head. “Sorry! I… well… I’ll just be quiet now.”

Eden’s scowl lightened to something close to a smile. “Don’t worry too much about it, just don’t mention it to anyone.” The huntress crossed her arms; even in her comfort clothes she looked intimidating. “I don’t need people jumping to conclusions.”

“Right.” Alex nodded.

* * *

Downstairs was all sorts of awkward Eden didn’t want to deal with.

Coffee… She thought dully, ignoring the looks she got from Jin, Kite, and the complete lack of a greeting she received from her brother. She went straight for the automated brewing machine and poured herself a cup, put in a tiny amount of milk in it. Stirring it gently, her eyes flicked to her brother, he was facing the window – hunched over, probably thinking.

Great… Eden’s mental frown transferred to her face as she took a sip of her drink and approached him.

Nova didn’t grace her with even a glance as she stepped up beside her.

She glared at the other two.

Knowing what it meant, they vacated the area. Jin ran back upstairs and Kite slunk out of sight.

“I need to talk to you.”

Nova didn’t speak a word, just headed outside to the garden. Eden followed, her irritation growing into frustration.

“Nova…”

He didn’t reply; he was intent on ignoring her.

“Nova-”

“I don’t want to talk.”

Eden’s brow furrowed, and with her free hand she grabbed his shoulder and roughly threw him to the ground. The boy groaned, eyes slowly opening to see a rather cool woman standing over him, sipping her coffee.

“I don’t recall making it an option.”

He looked, well, pissed. “Fuc-ARGHgrghh…”

Eden had no intention of killing her brother, but she was a Command Huntress. She wasn’t going to allow some brat, even a brat related to her – talk to her in that manner. She pressed her bare foot to his neck, threatening to cut off his air supply. He struggled against her, panic and anger making him forget his training. Calmly, she took another sip before she spoke.

“It’s a wonder how Alex finds you at all appealing,” Eden noted, glancing down at her squirming brother. “As adorable as it was for you to defend my honour, it’s not up to you who I sleep with.” She took another drink. “He didn’t take advantage of me Nova, so please stop attacking Markus.”

As she lightened the pressure a little, her baby brother looked up at her and choked out words. “You… could do better.”

“And you could be a law-abiding citizen, but we all have our flaws.” The huntress shrugged. “Leave it alone Nova, I don’t care if you don’t like him but right now in our situation he’s one of the few allies we have.” She paused, “and don’t you dare mention this to Kara.”

Nova huffed as Eden stepped back and released him from the very odd hold. “I’ll leave it alone, for now. At least until this mess is sorted.”

Her heart panged with a bit of guilt at that statement and she moved away.

There is no happy ending Nova. She didn’t have the stomach to say that to him, so she just continued on her little garden stroll to the tree she had sat under last night.

“Sis?”

Eden slowly looked over at her brother, who was rubbing his neck as she approached her. He didn’t look like the rebellious young man that had caused her so much grief, no… now he more resembled the little boy that had just lost his parents. The huntress put her coffee down next to her and watched him slump down on the patio in front of the bench.

“Hm?”

“Can we change our fate?”

No.

“… Yes.” Eden finally answered. “If you fight hard enough, you can change anything.”