[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] TOTALLY

[warkitoff.livejournal.com]

Oh. Uh- sure?

[Between this and Lenna poisoning herself all the time and Mjrn's...ears he's starting to think dragoons are kind of weird.]

[Voice/Filtered]

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

[Oh, they're WEIRD. You have no idea.]

[There are a lot of beeping sounds that a phone... really shouldn't make.]

...There.

Bartz, I did something unforgivable to you during the war. We were... We fought alongside one another on Cosmos' side.

[Voice/Filtered]

[warkitoff.livejournal.com]

...huh. Those- Big Red an' Ugly's guys did say something like that. Cycles...or something?

But that doesn't sound so unforgivable. Sounds helpful, really. ...were you really bad at it or something?

[Voice/Filtered]

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

That's right. Cycles, that repeated endlessly... or would have, had you not put an end to them.

...Understand that what I did was for the good of the group. I realize, however, that you probably won't forgive me.

[Voice/Filtered]

[warkitoff.livejournal.com]

Sure. I mean, I'm not sure I understand a whole lot else about this whole thing. But I can get that much. You don't seem like a bad type.

...so what was it?

[Voice/Filtered]

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

...

I betrayed you.

[He's sure that the impression of him not being so bad is totally ruined now.]

[Voice/Filtered]

[warkitoff.livejournal.com]

...

[He's not quite sure how to react to that.]

...huh. So, uh. Any particular reason? Or was it just one of those days or something?

[Voice/Filtered]

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

...I had a reason. Did you come across many manikins during your time fighting?

[Voice/Filtered]

[warkitoff.livejournal.com]

Those guys? Sure did. Few that looked like me, few that looked like the other guys. Few that looked like-

[Oh. Dragoon manikins. How did he never recall those before? Other than that they were retconned in.]

-huh. Few that looked like you.

[Voice/Filtered]

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

[He's surprised that the manikins in their forms lingered... but if anything it can help prove to Bartz that Kain is telling the truth.]

Right... well... they were limited in number, by the time the cycle you know happened. But in the previous cycle, their numbers were endless, as they streamed forth from a rift.

...and there's also the additional danger they posed.

[Voice/Filtered]

[warkitoff.livejournal.com]

...additional danger? You mean...other than that whole 'killing us' thing?

[Voice/Filtered]

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

If anyone was killed by another warrior, they would be revived in the next cycle, at the expense of memories... but... there was no return for those killed by manikins. Our annihilation would have been certain had we not done something.

[Voice/Filtered]

[warkitoff.livejournal.com]

...woah. Never knew that. Man, it's a good job none of us got offed by those guys, then.

[...well.]

[Voice/Filtered]

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

...and that was the reason for my betrayal. I took you and the others out of the fighting, knocking you out and placing you into safety. So that you'd not be destroyed by the endless manikins, but would live to fight in the next cycle.

[Voice/Filtered]

[warkitoff.livejournal.com]

[And there's a pause. While he does an uncharacteristic amount of thinking. It sounds familiar. And it's nice to know there's a reasonable explanation for the vague sense that he was once carried around semi-concious by a muscular dragoon because he'd been starting to worry about that. It'll still take a while for him to truly remember but he certainly has more reasons to believe than to doubt.]

Oh hey, that explains the whole. Everything. I guess. [Yup. Still no real reaction.

...because there are much more important things to worry about.] So hey, this makes us war buddies, right? Once this whole mess is over, there's this great pub in Lindblum that didn't get knocked down by anything yet...

[Voice/Filtered]

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

...What... You mean that you... don't hold this against me? I don't understand.

[Ok, Bartz does know Cecil, maybe some of his sparklyness rubbed off or something, is all Kain can figure. Because how can people forgive him so quickly!?]

[Voice/Filtered]

[warkitoff.livejournal.com]

Well you just said you had a good reason for it, didn't you? What kinda person would hold a grudge over someone helping 'em out?

Besides, after all this the local business'll need the support. S'doing our part to help Lindblum recover.

[Voice/Filtered]

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

I assumed you would all hold it against me. Not the fact that I was trying to help, but... how I did so.

Though I'm relieved, to know you succeeded...

[That makes a lot of difference, he's sure. If everything had failed, he doubts even Bartz would be willing to forgive so readily.]

...and if you insist...

[Voice/Filtered]

[warkitoff.livejournal.com]

Well, we're all still alive, aren't we? And we won. So no harm done.

[That and not remembering it 100% are big factors, yes. But he might have forgiven anyway. He's derpy like that.]

I do. Once they manage to clear all the monsters out, anyway.

[Voice/Filtered]

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

A fact which I'm glad to know of now. [And the alive thing is certainly a welcome additional bonus, since he'd mentally readied himself for knowing he was rushing to oblivion.]

...That may not be for a long while, you realize. [Mostly because he and Zephyr aren't out there helping, obviously, in Kain-logic it makes sense.]

[Voice/Filtered]

[warkitoff.livejournal.com]

Well. Better late than never, right?

[Voice/Filtered]

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

I suppose so...

[Kain is beginning to think you're the weird one, Bartz.]

[Voice/Filtered]

[warkitoff.livejournal.com]

Man, this makes you the...fourth? Buddy I have with a dragon. You're not a princess, are you? Because that would be a weird coincidence.

[Voice/Filtered]

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

...

[What.]


...

...I can safely answer no. Nor have I ever been.

[Yeah. Bartz is totally weird. No wonder he made sure to knock him out as soon as he could...]

Strange that someone so fearful of the skies would befriend so many with dragons.

[Voice/Filtered]

[warkitoff.livejournal.com]

Huh. Well, it's good to be sure about these things, you know.

...yeah, I'm not sure how it keeps happening, either. One of 'em was a sea dragon, I guess. Didn't fly at all.