batheon | Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.

[Two choices. Both of them are less than ideal. But when one choice is to go back to a 'home' that doesn't exist any more, and the other is to stay in a home they could live in relative peace? The choice is easy. They can still search for a way to Nirvana from here.

... It'll be sad to see many of his new friends go, though.]

[So...this was it? The choice he'd always entertained in his head but had never actually considered. Johnny stood off to the side of the plaza, watching the coral, watching for who might be deciding to go.

Should he go? Back to Earth? To L.A.? To Cherry?

Maybe. Maybe he should. But that didn't mean he would. He was going to stay in this turbulent bubble that had become home.

It was about time his 'son' left the nest anyway....]

[Rinoa's got to go back. Even though she's given a choice, there really isn't one. As terrified as she is of returning home, to what awaited her as a sorceress, she had to return and see this conflict through. She had to return so she could liberate Timber. To support her friends and SeeD through whatever was about to come their way.

And something had to be done about the sorceress that had possessed Edea and herself. Rinoa isn't sure what her role is going to be, but she knows she has one.

Still, the decision doesn't come easily. She's made friends here, she was adopted into a family. And she feels terrible for having to turn her back on them. This was inevitable, but it doesn't make it hurt less, or stop the tears.]

[A small hand slips its way into Johnny's as the tall man continues his musings. Sola, too, had decided to stay but that was no surprise. There was no home to return to, not for him. He'd died there, laid slain floating just over the wet floor of his temple. Vatheon had given him a second chance.

No, that's not quite right. The bubble represented a first chance. A chance to be Sola instead of Dark Link, to be a person instead of a shadow or replacement. To be cared for. To be loved. To give love.

Of course he would stay, and he can't help but be glad that one of the people who had shown him it was possible to live for himself is staying too.

Sola gives Johnny's hand a small, quiet squeeze as they stand and watch the other foreigners mill around the coral.]

[He knows he could be happy here. He knows that he won't remember people from here if he goes. He knows he wants to stay.]

[But he also knows that he can't. He has a duty, and he's going to make things right for everyone. He'll find a way to break his brother's curse, and to get both the angels and the demons to back off.]

[That doesn't make the desire to stay here any less strong, though.]

Edited 2012-07-06 01:12 (UTC)

[Johnny spotted the boy he'd come to see and treat as a son in the plaza and waited a moment, maybe he was only here to watch and see who would leave like he was....but that didn't seem to be the case.

He wasn't...

The vampire approached, a bit of uncertainty and caution in his voice.]

Katsu....?

[He turns to look at Johnny, tears in his eyes.]

... Hey.

[He walks towards him, and pulls him into a tight hug.]

Sorry...

[Did he have much of a choice? He didn't have a place in Spira anymore, but he had managed to make one here. He wasn't about to walk away from that.

Still, he stands there, looking around for anyone he might know who is leaving (or staying).]

Edited 2012-07-06 01:58 (UTC)

[Johnny gives Sola's hand a squeeze in return as his eyes pass over people nearby.]

Is it bad that I'm happy you don't have a home to go back to?

[It might have been a bit harsh sounding...but it was the truth. As sad as the thought was, Johnny was glad this was one good-bye he wouldn't have to make.

[Johnny's arms wrap tightly around Katsu and he tries to keep his emotions from taking liquid form. this was hard enough with Katsu's tears.]

Hey....

Guess there isn't a way to keep you from going is there?

Because...[He didn't want you to leave. Never.]

[It was a hard decision..to stay and have a place he could call home..or return to the others that needed him. He no longer has a home of his own after all. All he can do from this point on is travel. It would be nice to be able to settle somewhere and not have to worry about anything anymore. But his life is dependent on that of another..and that person isn't even here.

Perhaps the decision isn't as hard as Fai thought it would be at first..he needed to return to their side. He had to finish the journey and save the princess. He had to find a way to live as he has promised to do.

He must find his most important people..]

[Not the only one sticking around in the bubble. Sure he can't get his way here, but he definitely couldn't get his way back home where both him and Ventus is pretty much destroyed.

He was there see who was leaving. If asked he would say to mock them, but his true reasons weren't going to be shared.

Five years was a long time of seeing the same faces all the time.]

I don't want to leave. I really don't.

... But I have promises to keep, and people to look after. Who knows what kind of trouble Naoya will get into if I don't keep an eye on him, huh?

[HE grins a little, nuzzling into Johnny's chest.]

[His duty on his world has always been more important than the ways he's found to fill his time on Vatheon, and he owes it to the people he could be helping to return there.]

[Ky lifted a hand to Johnny, as he headed toward the coral. He let his feet bring him towards Johnny, although not so much to encroach. His face was carefully neutral, but there wasn't that much for him to feel. It was clear what he had to do.]

I suppose this is goodbye.

[To say goodbyes to those having to separate from him was hard... but Guy found himself detaching appropriately, one by one. They made their decisions for a reason. He'd offer a firm shake of the hand - a hug, if he could manage it - try for a few parting words before seeing them turn away.

He was particularly calm about his decision, though.

He knew Luke would survive after Akzeriuth. That had been his main concern from the beginning. The one thing that drove Guy to look for a way home - just to see that his best friend would come out alright in the end. He was fully aware of that now. He knew Luke would find support when he went back to Auldrant. Not if. When. Even in five years... it seemed that decision was always rather obvious for the redhead.

Even when Guy found out that Luke was, in fact, destined to die.

To die, and promise to return... and then...?

He didn't know.

He didn't know, and he didn't WANT to know.

That's why Guy hadn't mentioned that he was staying in Vatheon.

Sure, it was selfish. Horribly so.

But the future that had been revealed to him on Auldrant... was not a future he wanted to live in. This existence, this time... this is what he wanted to remember. Not to look back at the politics and travels and trinkets, failed plans and forced childhoods... and have to remember that he was dead.

Here, Luke would just be gone. Gone - somewhere else. Not dead. Never dead.

Call it selfish, but... he preferred that.]

[Luke had come to love it here.

There were people here who accepted him for who he was; not just as a replica, not just as Luke fon Fabre, but as someone who'd committed a horrible mistake and was trying his best to change that. He'd made acquaintances, close friends, fellow replicas, and still kept close ties with his friends from Auldrant, especially Guy. They'd been living together all this time, after all.

He found out more about this world than he ever did on Auldrant. And regarding Auldrant, he learned of a future that horrified him... that he'd die at a young age, trying to save his world. And maybe he'd come back. He promised. But... It wasn't a sure thing. He... died, after all.

Here, his problems were met with patience and concern, not impatient snaps to keep going and stop being an idiot. He'd felt... like he actually belonged somewhere. And to someone who technically didn't have a home, that meant so much to him.

And Luke decided to leave it all.

Some might have thought he was crazy. Why leave if he came to love it and its people so much? Some, however, would understand.

When Luke destroyed Akzeriuth, when he cut his hair and promised to change, he tied himself completely to his world. No matter how much he could love another world, he had a duty to Auldrant that he couldn't run away from. The world was still in danger, and it was still his fault. He knew that replicas weren't treated well there... it wouldn't be like Vatheon at all. But despite all of that, his duty to his world meant more to him than anything.

He expected his friends to stand beside him and walk with him to change their world.

So when he turns and sees Guy hanging back and away from the plaza, Luke freezes to a halt as he slowly feels his world tilting to the side.]

... Guy?

[...

The blonde slowly takes another step backwards before keeping remarkably still, his expression gentle and slightly pained.

He doesn't speak a word. He just lets that familiar smile slip onto his face, crossing his arms in front of him and keeping his stance firm.

He's not going, Luke.]

[...

No. No no no.

Luke takes in a breath and sways just slightly, as if that slow tilting of his world just threw him off its axis. Yes, he needs to go back, he needs to save his world and fulfill his duty and... and die, in the end.

But how is he supposed to do it without his best friend by his side?

Whoever else might have been with him don't exist in the space that was his world anymore. Instead, he's running over to Guy and reaching to grip his upper arms, eyes already lit with barely held back tears.]

Guy! Why - You can't! You... You have to come with me! I...

["I won't allow you to stay!"

It's... been a while since he felt the part of him that wanted so much and never gave in return. Ironic that it'd come out now, when he can't even get a hold of what all he's feeling.]

Don't be selfish, Luke.

[His tone is soft, despite the sting of his words. Hypocrite of the highest order tonight, aren't you, Gailardia?

Well. It was for the better, right?

He lets out a sigh, arms already moving to rest against Luke's hands. Let go, Luke. It would be alright. You'd make it through this... hell, there wasn't even a guarantee that the world Luke returned to wouldn't see his best friend there waiting for him.

Just... not this particular best friend.]

[It did sting. So much that his fists grip into Guy's sleeves and tremble, teeth gritting and head lowering to hide one of the tears that spilled out.

If he lets go, he'll just punch him. He knows it. Right now, it's the main reason why he's holding on so tightly.

Selfish? How dare he? So wanting his best friend to stay by his side and be with him and go back home was selfish?

Hypocrite. How dare he stay here and abandon their world you selfish -

...

The anger fades, though Luke's grip doesn't. Another tear falls as he lifts up his head again.]

Don't call me selfish! Don't! You... You stupid -

[His voice shakes and cracks, and he lowers his head again to hide once more. What if he goes back and Guy isn't waiting for him? What if he can't tell him that he's still him? That he can be happy even in the face of this? That looking forward without looking back really was such insightful advice?

That he'd be there, by his side?]

I have every right to call you selfish if you're going to go and demand I stay or leave.

[His voice is still low - almost cold. Almost.

...

Eyes soften as Guy lifts a hand to rest against Luke's head.]

I'm just one person, Luke.

You'll have support. You'll be able to pull through this - to do what you set out to do. To change, like you promised you would. If you can do it here, you can do it back home, too.

I'm keeping you to that.

[Maybe with the threat of the curse slot gone... maybe with that threat diminished, with one less confusion out of the way... it would be easier.]

Shut up! You're not just one person!

[It's like he can't let go of Guy's sleeves. As if he knows that when he does, he'll lose him forever.]

You're my best friend, Guy! I love you, dammit! I - [He turns his head away.] I can't do this without you!

[He's sure he can't. Part of the reason he could get this far in Vatheon was because of Guy. Sure, there were other reasons... but it was support and love and patience that helped him through that.

Support? He'll have that. But everything else...? Especially with the one person who believed so much in him gone?]

...Yes, you can.

[Did having the person gone suddenly mean the support he'd provided this whole time was meaningless?

No. No it didn't. Guy knew that... and he was pretty sure that Luke knew it, too. Whether Guy was there or not, it didn't change the fact that he had faith in what Luke could do. How Luke could change.

...

Slowly, Guy lifts the hand resting against Luke's hair, only to reach it to the back of his own neck, fiddling against the nape for a moment.]

You made this promise without me there. You were determined to see it through regardless of whether I came through or not. It might be hard... but you can do it. Don't deny what you've already been given.

[A wry smirk.] You can move on without a servant at your side.

[There's the gentle clink of metal against metal. The slide of fabric against skin, and... a rather empty feeling of something being lost. And the collar that had been against Guy's neck - the trinket he had worn for years and years, to symbolize his status to the Fabre household as servant and caretaker - now rested in his fingers. He worries at it for a moment before reaching down to hold it in both hands, within Luke's line of vision, even as his voice slips into a painfully formal tone.]

Luke fon Fabre, from this moment, I will no longer consider you my master, but simply my equal.

[A pause. He swallows dryly, his voice softening once more.]

I'm not going to stop being your best friend, Luke. Here or there or anywhere else. Don't ever think that. Because I trust you, and I trust that you can do this. That's never going to change.

[The sight of the collar just makes him squeeze his eyes shut and lean his head forward to press his forehead against Guy's shoulder, and his hands never stop shaking.

Did Guy know...

Did he know just how much abandonment still tore Luke apart? Reminded him of that day on the Tartarus, when everyone walked away from him and left him all alone?

It was happening again, wasn't it? He was going to be left alone again, by his best friend. This time, there was no way he could see Guy come back to him. He'd be stuck here... forever. And Luke would have to go back to Auldrant, to fulfill his promise to the world.

...

He still listens, though. He does his best to gain control of his breathing so that he can hear Guy over the sound of it.

Equals, huh... Funny. Luke always thought of Guy as something like his equal, especially after he cut his hair.

And...

...

How can they be best friends if they're never going to see each other again? Or even if he returns and finds Guy there... How can he be Guy's best friend if he's never going to see the redhead again? The thought made Luke's heart ache.

He can barely even speak; there's a stupid lump in his throat that hurts just trying to swallow around. When he opens his mouth, a choked noise escapes, and his hands move to the fabric against Guy's chest instead.

What... What was he supposed to do?]

I don't... [know what to do.]

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.

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