Time and Tides Archives

Edgar had been back in Figaro for all of two days - and now, wherever he was wasn't anywhere he recognized even peripherally. The style of architecture was completely unfamiliar, matching nothing he could recollect from any of the cities he'd seen on Gaia or pictures over the Sky Phones. The air was dead silent, which made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Had he been world-swapped again? If he had, wouldn't there be somebody around? Anyone? Then-

Spotting something out of the corner of his eye, Edgar spun, cape flaring behind him as he instinctively reached for a crossbow he wasn't carrying - and then was very thankful he hadn't actually been able to pull one as he saw the other person he recognized. "Yuffie! Are you all right? Do you know where this is?"

Even as he moved to her, though, he spotted another person behind her, a man a little older than him whom he recognized a little from the networks. "Sir, is this somewhere you know?"

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This was not how she had wanted to start her day.

She had gotten up early, like she did most days, to meditate. A clear mind started off a better day, right? But when the pink light enveloped the sky, and the fact that she had been transported to somewhere she didn't know, it put a dampen on her day.

The princess stood there for a moment, mouth agape, before she heard Edgar's voice and spun around.

"Hey!" Knowing that being in a group was better for this situation, Yuffie jogged the short distance over to Figaro's King. "Got no idea where this is..."

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Auron's stance had relaxed and he had crossed his arms. He was far too used to being scolded by the trainers for being such a reckless brute in battle, or so they said, to be affected now. He simply nodded and held his tongue momentarily as they began to walk away and call each young man individually. He did not show it, in fact, he looked nonchalant, but he was excited and anxious.

When his name was called, Auron stood out of the line and respectfully approached another balding officer. In his hands now was a rifle he could finally call his own. The officer stepped back and Auron began to aim with his rifle. He'd preferred swords but he could not argue with the formalities of being a Warrior Monk. In any case, he knew his way around a rifle well enough.

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"Neither do I..." And the third member of their group was... seemingly unavailable. With no response forthcoming from the older man, Edgar focused on him, not sure whether he was the cause of this or simply caught up in something against his will. Despite having recently been injured, he was slowly moving his body between Yuffie and Auron, ready to protect her if something should happen, despite not having his spear.

"Sir- Can you hear me? Hello?" But it seemed pointless to continue, and the farther it went, the more Edgar became confused. Auron moved around, not paying attention to them but acting as though there were other people there, reacting to things they could not see or hear-

It was that last bit that game him the clue he needed; he hadn't been around for the previous iteration, but he'd arrived not long after and had had it explained to him. He couldn't remember much about it, though, since the explanation had come at the same time he'd been having to plan an infiltration of his own castle in order to wrench it away from Kefka's control.

"Could it be...?"

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Yuffie jumped up and down, waving her arms to try and get Auron's attention. Though Yuffie's idea of getting attention usually meant being obnoxious.

"Hey! Guy with the face!" Don't say anything, Edgar, it worked in her head.

And don't think she didn't notice you trying to protect her, Edgar. She frowned, moving around Figaro's thing to try and get Auron's attention once more. She scooted far closer than she should, moving to tap the older man on the shoulder.

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Even with Edgar and Yuffie both respectively calling to him, Auron did not hear them. He was caught up with the final words of the officers, telling them how they should be honored to have received such a high honor. "What a bore," he whispered to the blonde on the left. "Such a nuisance. To only be fighting already!"

He held the rifle loosely and filed out behind the redhead in front of him as they were dismissed, now officially Warrior Monks. "I believe this calls for a celebration," he said to the boys as he threw his arms around their necks.

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Well, he tried. At least he could say that. Edgar hadn't really expected Yuffie to let him get away with it, but he did have to give it a shot. But he frowned when Yuffie got up in the man's face, not at all liking where this could be going.

"Yuffie, I wouldn't do-"

That. Edgar sighed, raising a hand to his forehead. This was going to hurt even to look at, wasn't it?

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Oh, you bet it was going to hurt, Edgar. Yuffie was just asking for this.

When Auron threw his arms around his buddies, one of those buddies just happened to be Yuffie. The ninja princess immediately freaked. At first, it was something in her native language, which even if you didn't understand it, sounded like a long string of curse words.

Secondly, since Auron was a hell of a lot bigger than she was, Yuffie's attempts to remove his arm from her were futile. "You've gotta- this hulking thing-"

And Thirdly, she shot an exasperated look towards Edgar. "Will you stop standing around and help me out? Gawd!"

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As he kept walking forward, he maneuvered Yuffie into a certain direction, just like he did his friends in the memory. Auron somehow always found himself being the leader of groups and it was no different today. "Sake on me, boys!" he said with a grin, ruffling the hair of the two boys in his arms. Auron let go of his friends to search for his glasses. Once he found them, he removed the residue of his fingerprints from the lens and put them back on.

That's when things began to shift and change. The walkway and the courtyard melted away and all those around him simply disappeared. What was left behind was a small, black-haired girl with messy hair and a man with blonde hair tied in a neat ponytail. Auron grunted as he was not amused by the situation. "Who the hell are you two?"

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Edgar didn't have to speak the language when Yuffie spoke that way. It was entirely unmistakable what she thought of the situation. Edgar just shook his head, both exasperated with the situation and unable to hide a grin at Yuffie's expense. "It seems to me you're doing entirely too well on your own, my dear," he said, with only a hint of a smirk. Just a hint. Really.

He was saved from retribution by the memory ending and Auron - thankfully - letting go of the girl on his own, seeming to come to his senses at the same time. Edgar tamed the smirk as fast as he could, shaking his head at Auron's question. "Edgar Roni Figaro, king of Figaro. I believe we're trapped in something having to do with memories - something similar happened last year, just before my own appearance in Gaia, and my friends told me a little about it even though I wasn't here to see it for myself. You were certainly reacting to something neither of us could see or hear, just as-"

"Happy birthday, boys."

That voice stopped Edgar cold in his verbal tracks. He hadn't heard that voice in a dozen years or more - and around them, the image of Figaro castle began to grow, brick by brick, a scene Yuffie at least should have been familiar with, perhaps even Auron thanks to network posts from various people who lived in the castle. The setting was the throne room, not looking much different from the way it did in Gaia, and true to Edgar's memory it was starting to fill with people. The owner of that voice, however, was behind him...

And when Edgar turned around again, he was fifteen once more, on the last birthday he'd ever had without the looming threat of the Gestahlian Empire hanging over their heads. "Thank you, Mother," he replied with a smile, looking from her to his father next to her, their arms linked and still clearly very much in love after more than two decades of marriage. Sabin was next to him, dressed identically - they often were, then - and with hair that hadn't been hacked into a short ponytail yet.

"Thank you!" the younger twin echoed, both of them smiling wide. Most of the kingdom had been invited to the celebration, which both brothers appreciated - it made the party feel like like an excuse for the nobles to pat themselves on the back about various things and more like a large group of friends having fun.

"I take it you two are happy with how things turned out?"

Almost as though cued, they laughed together, cutting off at nearly the same time. "You have no idea! This is perfect!"

Edgar nodded in agreement, smiling widely. "It really is - thank you, this is more than we ever hoped for!"

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Yuffie flailed enough that the moment Auron let her go she backpedaled nearly two feet back. She melodramatically rubbed her shoulders.

"Be careful next time! I'm fragile!"

Ugh. And Edgar did nothing to help out, the lazy bum. She was totally going to get him back for this. Maybe a kick to the shin or something.

"Yuffie Kisaragi, Princess of Wutai-"

Yuffie was going to finish her introduction, but the scenery changed about them. She knew this place - Figaro. She had been there only once, but she knew it well enough. What she didn't expect, however, was to actually see what was going on.

There weren't any remarks or teases, but a smile. It was a nice memory, one that she was happy to witness.

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Auron cocked a very high eyebrow at Yuffie, self-proclaimed princess and a fine stage actress. Auron could not understand, though, what was going on. This Edgar seemed to be interacting with ghosts and Yuffie could apparently see them.

Hurm. How ironic.

He did not ask, he simply observed the unfolding actions.

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Yuffie claiming she was fragile would have made Edgar laugh loud and long if he'd heard it, but as it was he was trapped in the memory. It was... a very, very pleasant one for him, and even those people who knew him well, knew that he normally had a good attitude and could keep a smile on his face through most things - even they would probably be surprised with just how happy he looked right at that moment.

His parents laughed at their son's reactions, the Queen looking a little frail but still happy. "I sincerely hope not, because we do have something else for you," the King said, eyes twinkling much as his sons' did when they were up to something. It was incredibly clear where most of Edgar's traits had come from (though probably not the womanizing).

"...You do? What is it?" Edgar asked, clearly torn between asking and trying to be polite and adult enough to not be too eager.

Sabin, meanwhile, was pure surprise. "Something else?!"

Another chuckle from the king. "Yes... Sabin, we've agreed that soon you can begin training, just like you wanted. As long as it doesn't interfere with your studies, you can continue as long as you'd like." While Sabin was gaping at that declaration, their father pulled an odd-looking key from his pocket and held it out to the older twin. "And Edgar... this is yours."

The young man studied the key in his hands, a bit confused - it was an odd shape, with a normal enough blade, but the head was formed into an unusual configuration of a six-spoked radial wheel. "What's this used for?"

"The workshop under the castle." Edgar nearly dropped it as he began to gape at his father in shock. "It's time you had your own access to it... you've earned it. Congratulations, both of you."

"Th- Thank you! Thank you so much!"

The scene held on the happy family for a moment, and then Edgar snapped from his trance with a shake of his head, his hand automatically going to rest on one of his pockets as the vision of Figaro around them started to fade to nothing. "...All this time and that's..." He fell silent with a shake of his head, keeping his eyes down a little more than normal.

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Quiet for once, Yuffie came to stand next to Edgar, laying a hand on his back. "It was a nice memory. You should be happy."

She let her hand fall from the King's back, humming a bit to herself. Okay, so she had let a few moments pass before she said any teasing comments, it was time for some more. "At least you were cuter when you were younger!"

Yuffie darted away before anything, running backwards so she could see Edgar's and the other guy's expressions. Suddenly, the scenery changed once more. Figaro Castle fell apart around them, and the calming lands of Wutai came forth, trees sprouting from the ground. This wasn't the Wutai they would recognize, however. This was the Wutai Yuffie knew more, the one with the Mako Reactor looming in the distance, with flags proclaiming the best tourist attractions west of Costa del Sol.

A cluster of buildings surrounded them, with the Pagoda of the Five Gods in the background. Wutai was damaged, broken. People all around were fixing things up.

"Yuffie, my daughter. You're back."

Yuffie stopped suddenly, turning around. There, with tools in his hand, stood her father, Godo. The Yuffie that responded back looked tired, battle-worn. "What are you doing?"

"The town needs much assistance. Wutai will need young people like you." He set the hammer in his hands down, looking to her fully.

"You know what I've been through, right? What happened to the welcoming party? Where is everyone?!" Her father had begun to walk away at this point. Yuffie quickly followed, explaining her exploits.

"I know nothing about what you’ve done. What I know is that the world got dragged into a mess that the foolish Shinra and crazy SOLDIERs caused. In the end, the universe’s will was to end that dispute and it summoned Meteor but, our planet defended itself by releasing the Lifestream and destroyed it— That is the way I understand it."

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