[Voice]

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

[Vague apology is going to be vague, but that's how Kain does these things. He'll leave it public partially as an act of penance, partially because he's still readjusting to these devices and their filters. He isn't even sure that all of these people are here- he's been gone from Gaia for only a couple weeks, but to him it feels much, much longer. Don't worry Zidane, when he realizes you're not here, he'll bother you when you arrive.]

Cecil. Squall. Onion Knight. Bartz. Firion. Zidane. I apologize to all of you, especially.

I should also extend that apology to the other warriors of Cosmos as well.

I'm... sorry.

[He's still recovering, but he can't finish this without offering:]

...and if anyone has need for another fighter, I can be there at once.

Comments

[Voice/Filtered]

[heavenslament.livejournal.com]

Me, too. I...especially for the boy's sake. I hurt him badly because of that.

[Voice/Filtered]

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

I understand, all too well. You didn't deserve to go through that...

[Voice/Filtered]

[heavenslament.livejournal.com]

...who else was there?

[She really needs to think about something else for a bit.]

[Voice/Filtered]

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

Many of them are here as well. Cecil and the others I initially mentioned... [Pauses a moment before naming off his companions who fell with him.] ...Lightning, Laguna, Yuna, Vaan, Tifa... the Warrior, of course, and ...Jecht... [...For a short time.]

[Voice/Filtered]

[heavenslament.livejournal.com]

Jecht? But...he was summoned to Chaos' side.

[So she thought.]

I...don't remember those people being in the Void, and as far as I know, they don't either. Yet.

[Voice/Filtered]

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

[No wonder they haven't said anything to his apology...]

Nor do any of you... I wonder now if those memories could ever be recovered.

[But whether or not any of them know or recall anything, he feels his need to apologize is important.]

[Voice/Filtered]

[heavenslament.livejournal.com]

Perhaps...?

[Pause.]

No that I think about it, there were a couple of moments of deja vu, but I didn't have the time to dwell on that while we were searching for the crystals.

[Voice/Filtered]

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

[Although he almost hopes she never regains the memories.]

There was never time to dwell in all of those battles.

[Voice/Filtered]

[heavenslament.livejournal.com]

Not much, no.

...you still haven't said why you need to apologize.

[Voice/Filtered]

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

Because I betrayed them.

[Voice/Filtered]

[heavenslament.livejournal.com]

What?! Why?

[Voice/Filtered]

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

As a means to ensure they made it to the next cycle, and weren't permanently killed by manikins, I... I knocked out several of my own allies and hid them away. I betrayed their trust.

[Voice/Filtered]

[heavenslament.livejournal.com]

Hid them--

But why didn't you tell them what you had learned?

[Voice/Filtered]

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

If I'd told them, they would have insisted on going to fight the manikins. Inevitable death for all of Cosmos' warriors...

[Voice/Filtered]

[heavenslament.livejournal.com]

But you never gave them the chance to decide for themselves. And you...what happened to you, then?

[Voice/Filtered]

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

They would have decided to go close the rift, to rush to their inevitable demise. Then no one would be left to fight for Cosmos.

[Cosmos warriors have a thing for being frustratingly heroic after all.]

[Voice/Filtered]

[heavenslament.livejournal.com]

So you....

[Long silence.]

That's why we didn't see you, or them, isn't it? You closed it for us.

But...you're here now.

[Voice/Filtered]

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

...

I don't know how it's possible, either.

[Voice/Filtered]

[heavenslament.livejournal.com]

Kain....

[Voice/Filtered]

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

Terra? What is it?

[Voice/Filtered]

[heavenslament.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

I can't say I agree with everything you did, but...you saved us, didn't you?

[Voice/Filtered]

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

[Nor does he expect agreement with what he did. He actually expected everyone to take it a lot worse than they have so far. And is so unsure of how to deal with this, he's so used to doing the wrong thing that doing the right thing is a new experience for him.]

...

I don't deserve the credit...

[Voice/Filtered]

[heavenslament.livejournal.com]

Yes, you do. If you hadn't done what you did for us...I don't think defeating Chaos would have been possible. We wouldn't even have been around to do it.

[Voice/Filtered]

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

[He hadn't even thought he'd be around to see anyone's reactions... he'd expected, known, that he'd be forgotten, as if he'd never existed.]

I was only doing what I felt was necessary... a risk, but one which I'd hoped would give us a chance. I couldn't sit by idle and not take action.

[Voice/Filtered]

[heavenslament.livejournal.com]

Well, it paid off. I only wish we had known during that last battle. It doesn't seem fair that the only connection we had to you were some manikins that resembled no one else.