Remember

Summary: “I think he got you worse.” Deuce replied dryly, followed by another sigh. “You should be more careful.”

Cinque smiled, the sun slowly casting a longer and longer shadow behind her. “Well, even if he got me, I knew you were there to pick me right back up.” She sounded chipper about it, optimistic in a way that Deuce just wasn’t.

Word Count: 1800

Author Note:  I played this game for the first time over the weekend, and I have some thoughts. This is a small fic exploring a piece of the world building that I found fascinating. Inspired by my party getting flattened by a behemoth.

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The trudge back to Akademeia was long and arduous, accentuated by stretches of painful silence. Deuce kept her head bent forward, eyes locked on the ground. She followed behind Queen, the only member of their party who was unfazed. At least, she did a good job of pretending she was. She took the lead as always on the journey home.

Cinque trailed in the back, the final member of their team. It was her abnormal level of quiet, accompanied by the occasional hiss of pain, that completed the unnerving atmosphere.

The sound wasn’t helping Deuce forget. In her mind, the incident played over and over again. She could see the behemoth descending upon them, towering over the young combatants. Like a broken record, the memory stuttered and skipped. Queen jabbed it in the side, while Cinque wound up for an attack. Deuce played a supporting song, boosting both their attack and speed.

The behemoth was strong but slow, lunging repeatedly at empty space. Until it didn’t.

A sickening crack rang out when its gigantic claws thundered down on Cinque, all too fast and all too suddenly. Queen drew it away a heartbeat later as Deuce switched frantically to a healing song. She wanted to call out, to cry out, to do something or anything. All she could do was play.

This moment would hover over her, haunting both while awake and in her nightmares.

On the ground, lying in an imprinted outline raked in the dirt, Cinque wasn’t moving.

Deuce played faster as she poured more of her mana in, praying and hoping and desperate all at once. She had to keep her distance, just in case the beast decided to change targets.

Luckily, the behemoth seemed to have bored of them. It swiped widely at Queen and gave one last roar, before vanishing off into the trees.

As Deuce raced towards her, Cinque sat up and leaned forward over her legs. She grimaced as she winced in pain, bleary and disoriented. One of Cinque’s stockings had been torn, with blood oozing out and staining the grass below. Blood could be seen at her side as well, soaking through the jacket of her uniform.

Deuce slid to her knees next to her, sliding slightly from her momentum. She lifted both hands to cast cure, hovering them over Cinque’s legs and side. Though the spell worked, it kicked in slowly.

Cinque blinked a few times as she looked up, eyes locking with Deuce’s. The corner of her lip lifted into a watery smile. “Heya.” The word came softly, with half the energy she usually mustered.

That sound and image lived on in Deuce’s mind, playing after the thud of her body hitting the ground.

Queen had been standing at guard, sword still raised. She told them that they needed to move; it wasn’t safe here. Mother could finish the healing at home, as she always did. Deuce still played a healing song for the first leg back, though it could only help with a little.

So they walked, slowly and painfully, back to Akademeia.

They split up when they returned, each off to a different destination. Queen went to report about their training to Kurasame and Cinque want to see Mother. Deuce wasn’t sure where to go. Her feet continued to carry her aimlessly forward, only now she didn’t have anyone to follow.

She wandered past Ace and a few of the other members, who were sitting together in the classroom. On another day she would’ve easily joined them, listening to whatever they were talking about. Today, Deuce kept walking.

She went out the side doors of the classroom, to the small back garden. King and Eight both loitered on the grass, but neither called out to her. That was fine; Deuce wasn’t sure she’d have heard them anyway.

When she reached the door to the cemetery, her feet passed through the gate without faltering. The sun shined brightly over the graves, casting a shadow to the side of each one.

Deuce finally stopped in front of the most recent, where a list of names from the last battle awaited. The vision from earlier flashed through her mind, painting Cinque’s name onto that list.

Despite the warmth of the day, Deuce shuddered. Her own shadow fell alongside that of the grave’s, stretching across to the next. All of these graves were here, with more names than they had room for bodies. They all had died, yet she couldn’t remember a single one of them.

That could’ve happened today, she could’ve come back from the training mission carrying the body of a comrade she’d forgotten. Now that she was home, safe in the shelter of the school, she could finally process just how close that reality had been.

Blinking back tears, Deuce lingered in front of the grave. She dug the toe of her shoe into the grass, hands balled into fists by her side. If only she’d done better today, cast a better buff or faster heal, then Cinque would’ve been safe.

Deuce had almost regained her composure, was almost ready to return to the group, when one of them found her instead.

“Hey!” A familiar voice, the one that had Deuce couldn’t get out of her mind, called out to her. “Ace said you were out here, but I don’t think he meant aaaalll the way out here.” Cinque laughed as she crossed the cemetery, no longer limping like she had been before. Deuce watched her approach, willing away the tumult she felt before. Cinque’s clothes were still stained red, meaning she hadn’t changed yet. She stopped next to Deuce, bumping their shoulders together gently.

“Are you fully healed?” Deuce asked, despite knowing that Mother wouldn’t have released Cinque otherwise.

“Better than new!” Cinque exclaimed, patting the tear in the side of her jacket. Deuce could feel the movement; she remembered how that wound had looked. “Mother’s healing is the amazing.”

“I’m relieved to hear it.” Deuce took a half step to the side, leaning away from the casual touch. She sighed once, softly.

“Hmm?” Cinque turned towards her, leaning forward slightly as she lifted a hand to her chin. “Is something bothering you?”

Ah, Cinque’d always been more perceptive than she let on. Deuce hadn’t been trying to hide it, but she hadn’t wanted to show it either. “Just thinking about today. We messed up pretty badly.” That was an understatement.

“I got a great hit on that beasty.” Cinque mimed swinging her hammer in a broad gesture, blowing to make a whooshing sound.

“I think he got you worse.” Deuce replied dryly, followed by another sigh. “You should be more careful.”

Cinque smiled, the sun slowly casting a longer and longer shadow behind her. “Well, even if he got me, I knew you were there to pick me right back up.” She sounded chipper about it, optimistic in a way that Deuce just wasn’t.

The feelings from before, which Deuce had been struggling with this entire time, bubbled back to the surface. “I do my best.” She said, fighting against a frown that had taken over her face. “But…” She hesitated, biting back the words. Deuce felt like crying again, as her chest grew tight and she cast her gaze back to the grave.

For a moment, neither said anything. Cinque took a half step closer, gently placing one hand on Deuce’s arm. She was no longer smiling, eyes shimmering with concern.

Deuce took a deep breath to gather herself. “What if I can’t.” She was barely able to say the words, regretting each as they left her lips. “What if I forget you.” She couldn’t say it beyond the implication, as even this ripped through her heart.

Crinque’s grip on her arm tightened. “I’m right here.” She said, tugging Deuce closer to wrap her arms around her shoulders. “You can’t possibly forget me.” Deuce lifted her arms to complete the hug, holding Cinque tightly. She was warm, and real, and there. She seemed to misunderstand, as was her typical way.

“That’s not it.” Deuce replied, muttering into Cinque’s shoulder. A single tear escaped, soaking into the ruined fabric. “If I couldn’t heal you… If you were to… She shuddered, leaning more heavily into Cinque. Though the other teen looked frail, she was strong and stable.

Cinque was able to support her. “That won’t happen, I won’t let it.” She spoke firmly, with such confidence that Deuce wanted to believe her. She couldn’t though; they were at war.

“You can’t promise that.” Deuce lowered her arms and pulled back slightly, finally able to make eye contact once again. Light blue eyes looked back at her, wide with worry. A hand returned to her arm, where it had been before.

“I’ll try, with everything I have.” Cinque vowed, before inhaling suddenly. “And, if something does happen, I have an idea.” She released Deuce’s arm, fiddling with the various pockets on her uniform. When she found the item she was looking for, she raised it in the air with a triumphant, “Aha!” Cinque held the object out, prompting Deuce to open her palm.

Deuce complied, accepting the item as it was dropped into her hand. She then was able to examine it. The object was a small keychain, with a ring and a small plush moogle on it. It was cute, definitely the kind of thing Cinque would like. Deuce looked carefully at the keychain, trying to figure out why Cinque had given it to her.

When she looked up with a questioning gaze, Cinque elaborated. “It’s my lucky charm! If you carry it, you’ll be sure to remember me!”

Deuce was pretty sure that it didn’t work that way, that she would forget where the keychain came from if that happened, but she still felt a surge of warmth in her heart. “Thank you Cinque, I’ll cherish it always.” She brought the keychain to her heart, pressing it there.

Cinque beamed back at her, radiant in the angled light of the sun.

Today they had both escaped with their lives, despite everything working against them. Deuce could only hope for the same in the future.

Still, the next time she was in town she bought a chocobo keychain to give to Cinque. Even if she never wanted that day to come and it wouldn’t work, she hoped to be remembered.

Even if something terrible happened, she would hold onto the moogle keychain. She never wanted to forget.