A Worm(Parahumans) and Final Fantasy 15 Crossover

Disclaimer: I own neither property and and make no profit from these works. I'm just playing in their sandbox.

God Save the Queen

by:Mage-Alia (Auraion)

Prologue - The First Glaive

Summary: One cycle ends and another begins, but a remnant of another world is swept up in the Entities wake. A new queen is chosen and may She always walk in the light of the Crystal.

If anyone had asked him what he was thinking the day he pulled his Liege from the Locker Greg Veder would not have been able to answer them.

He had watched with everyone else that day as Sophia Hess had pushed Taylor Hebert into the stinking rotting mess and locked her inside. He'd watched as Sophia, Emma and Madison had all but threatened anyone who looked so much as uncomfortable about the scenario with all manner of cruel things if they even tried to help the girl.

He'd seen Sophia practically guard the hall, listening to the screams and cries that went on far longer than anyone could have anticipated.

But it was when the banging suddenly became that much more violent that he even had the thought about pulling her out...

If they asked a much older and more experienced Greg Veder what he was thinking, he'd tell them.

"The crystals were beautiful."

And they had been.

Glimmering motes of light that he could only see from the corner of his eyes as he stared at the metal tomb later that day, after Sophia and her friends had left. There was an occasional gasp or sniffle to tell him that Taylor was even alive in there, but she had long fallen silent. Leaning on the broken lock with the crowbar he'd stolen from the janitor, he'd struggled to break the warped metal, even putting all his weight behind it.

They really hadn't wanted Taylor to get out.

He nearly fell on his face when the bar gave way and the door popped open, disgorging a mass of fetid waste and insects. It took everything he had not to immediately vomit, but his willpower only lasted a few seconds before he had to stumble away. He was heaving against the bank of lockers on the other wall, as the heaving came to a stop he looked up to see Taylor, absolutely covered in muck and blood laying like a ragdoll on the floor... he dragged her limp form along the hall toward the nearest change rooms. He didn't bother to remove any clothing and turned on the water as hot as it would go. It was one of the few things that still worked in the school, the limiter that prevented the water from getting hot enough to scald someone.

Still he held his breath and got the worst of it off her. Taylor wasn't responding. She was breathing, he'd checked. But her mind had checked out like Sparky's on a bad trip.

He yanked out his phone from where he'd dropped it, away from the spray and fumbled with wet hands to dial 911.

"What's the nature of your Emergency?" A clipped voice spoke without preamble.

"Uh! Hey, Hi. I need an ambulance to come to Winslow High school. There's been an incident and my.. friend needs medical attention." His heart was racing with nerves and his voice shook and he still felt sick from the smell, but he stayed on the line until a pair of cops and a paramedic appeared on the scene. He sat beside Taylor on the floor of the locker room after commandeering a few towels from a random locker with his second act of wilful vandalism and told them everything. One of the officers went to check the locker after he'd told them where it was and had come back looking equal measures of infuriated and ill.

They'd bundled the both of them into an ambulance as a flustered Blackwell finally appeared and began to argue with the police.

At the hospital the staff took Taylor to a room and cleaned her up, one nurse was nice enough to give him a set of scrubs to change into and when they were done taking her blood and found her a room he sat in the visitors chair by her bed and felt numb.

One of the officers from earlier came by to check on them and before he left he clapped a large hand on his shoulder.

"You did the right thing kid." The officer spoke quietly. "You got her out and probably saved her life. Not all heroes need super powers to save the day."

The officer left, but Greg Veder didn't feel like a hero.

He wasn't sure when he'd fallen asleep against the side of the bed but he'd woken as night was falling to find Taylor staring at him, her eyes a piercing violet that he'd never seen before. He was frozen like a rabbit under a predator's gaze. It was a long slow moment before she finally moved the hand closest to his face and with a spark of crystal light, pulled a large silver coin from thin air.

The part of his mind that hadn't immediately fallen into gibbering cape worship almost mistook it for a silver dollar before he realized the differences. He didn't dare move from his position, so with his face still down on the edge of the bed he slipped his hand to hers, accepting the coin.

Embossed on one side was the unfamiliar bust of a woman, on the other was an incomprehensible string of numbers that appeared to be the minting date and the words. 'In celebration of our Oracle's Ascension.'

It wasn't until he dared meet her gaze again that he realized what it was. It was a token, a boon. He'd done something for her and this was a favor owed. She seemed to realize his thoughts because she nodded and gave a very faint, almost inaudible whisper.

"Thank you."

Greg swallowed hard and ducked his head, cheeks burning.

"Anytime."

Taylor Hebert nodded and closed her eyes, by all accounts going back to sleep as his mother bustled in, an older skinny man with receding hair not a heartbeat behind her.

As his mother fussed he tucked the coin away and it sat heavy in his pocket as she took him home.

Greg didn't see Taylor for a week.

After the locker and busting her out, he'd kept his head down. More so than usual. He watched the smug satisfaction in the bitch trio and wondered if they knew what had happened. When Sophia didn't come after him for his hide he figured that news hadn't got back to them about Taylor's release. He spent a lot of time after that, holding his coin, staring at it like it knew the answers to everything.

When he'd gotten home from the hospital his mother had been equal measures sympathetic over Taylor's plight and proud of him for finally doing something about it. He couldn't keep a thing from his mother, she knew all the ways to get stories out of him. After a dinner of his favorite takeout he'd retreated to his computer and pulled up PHO, fully intending to gush about the day when he stopped.

The coin in his pocket felt like a lead weight. As if the coin was warning him that this wasn't right, that if he told anyone he'd be breaking the fragile trust that Taylor had finally given him.

He dropped his hands to his lap and the cursor in the text box blinked back at him innocently.

And for once, xXVoidCowboyXx said nothing.

After a week of playing hooky the Bay's newest cape came back to school. Why she did he couldn't fathom, but she appeared clad in a baggy hoody with a pair of jeans that were more suited to a guy. She rushed around between classes. Never staying still, never giving her usual tormentors a chance to hurt her again. She didn't ignore him though. The occasional nod, a silent partnership in the classes they shared. He didn't go out of his way to include her, but whatever fear he had of the repercussions of inciting Sophia's rage was dimmed with each passing day under the eye of a superhero.

So he could be excused when he did the unthinkable.

They were in world studies with Mr Gladly when they got grouped for projects, him, Taylor, his stoner best friend and a hanger on from Madison's class time following. He'd asked for and been granted to read Taylor's report when the vapid follower asked to see it. He'd almost handed it over too before he caught Taylor's eye and noted the minute shake of her head.

In another world he might have turned it over anyway, but the coin in his pocket burned.

"No." He denied the girl, ignoring her squawk of outrage as he handed it back to Taylor.

With a bravado that was blatantly out of character for the Greg Veder of before, he squared his shoulders and stared at her levelly. The gaping girl made a lunge for the papers anyway but Taylor spirited them away. Hiding them under the desk as Greg caught sight of a pale flash of light beneath the cover of the tables.

The toady jeered at him, jeered at Taylor. She let fly about how they must be dating and how pathetic Taylor must be for sinking as low as him out of desperation. Taylor ignored them with practiced ease, not sign of her discomfort on her face. But he itched to say something, to make her take it back.

If only they knew.

Greg gave their groups presentation. They got full marks. Madison's group failed for being unprepared. Taylor got up and out the door the moment the bell rang and he shouldered through the group gathering outside to help get her loose of the tangle of popular girls waiting to corner her and took off running.

It was later, seated in the roof that she handed him a chocolate bar. The promised reward for the presentation that Taylor hadn't stuck around to receive from Mr Gladly. He'd honestly forgotten that it was a thing in his rush to get out the door after her. He took it and opened it immediately, pondering for a moment the unfamiliar brand before taking a bite. Warmth rushed through him that had nothing to do with a sugar high. He'd looked over at her in alarm only to find the faintest of smiles on her face.

The phantom ache from where he'd stubbed his toe on the bedpost that morning was gone and the tug in his back from where he'd been lugging around a heavy bag all day faded. He realized that she'd done something to the chocolate. She'd made it into something that may or may not be a healing item. Greg's mind rushed to the possibilities before he stopped, looked down at the confection, and then took another bite.

He'd drawn a line in the sand that day. A line between Taylor and her enemies and he didn't regret it one bit. He may be weak. He may not be a cape. But for once he was proud of himself, proud of her, and most importantly, proud that he might be considered her friend.

And later... much later. If someone asked Greg when he first knew that he was going to be swear his everything to his Queen. That moment on the roof top would be the one.

A/N: Soooo... Here's a Plot Bunny that needed an out... I have quite a bit of the story mapped on this one, but I'm not sure how long I'll make it. I might end up with an abbreviated sorta version if it looks like I can't manage to get into the swing of it. This is one of three Worm/FF15 crossover plotbunnies that I've had cooking in my brain and the first to be posted. In this one the basic gist is that after the events of ff15 something happened and the crystal gets picked up by an entity and eventually makes its way to Taylor, effectively choosing her as a new Queen, even though Eos and Lucis are long since gone.

I'll try to expand on this one. it's one of the ones that I actually want to try finish in some capacity.

As always this has been crossposted to my Ao3 account under the username Auraion. So don't be surprised if it looks familiar.

Don't forget to review.

Cya