Final Fantasy [Begins]

[Crystal Tears]

Final Fantasy
The Ashen Realm

~ 1 ~
The Parade of Lights

Ramblum was chosen over two centuries ago to host the Parade of Lights. It was originally done in Alexandria, but the ruthless screening process to even gain access to the event deterred many of the faithful, and Ultima ordered the many cities and towns of Eden to hold a competition: whoever could attract the most people and put on the greatest performance, shall be declared the winner and be the new destination.

Ramblum won, they sanctioned help from the fal’Cie and were able to incorporate brilliant magic and technology displays that filled the all the streets with shows. Eventually the parade itself came, marching down the main street towards the beach. Originally, it was meant to celebrate Lindzei and her triumph over the first Humbaba.

Now, two centuries later, the Parade of Lights is a major tourist attraction. Ramblum is a cunning and beautiful mix of human and fal’Cie technology, with the inner city being of humanity’s making, while the houses and scenery towards the beach are the slender, beautiful designs of the fal’Cie.

- + -

Eden hadn’t been to the parade in years, though she often watched it from home in Alexandria. She had always been working– off hunting some rogue fiend or criminal in far off towns or even outside the shield. This time though, Kara had ordered her to take time off, even if it was just a day, to enjoy the show.

Eden hadn’t agreed; Kara had then changed the order to a patrol, forcing the huntress to go.

So here Eden was, patrolling the bustling streets in the dusk. Even with her sheer determination to do her job though, she found it incredibly difficult to ignore the performers that had made their way from the edge of Ramblum to the crowded main road near the beach. They were colourful: all different shades of reds, blues, purples and golds, twirling ribbons that were enchanted to sparkle and fade through the rainbow as they spun. They leapt higher than any normal human could, and wore white and black masks depicting sorrow and joy.

Behind them were tamed beasts: acrobatic riders that jumped between chocobos and horses. The chocobos themselves had their feathers dyed in different, dizzying yet pretty patterns, and they moved with the resounding music.

There was an explosion in the sky and everyone looked up. Blue energy shot outwards, turning into laces of light that changed to white, yellow and pink. Like snow, tiny stars fell from the display, making everything shine and sparkle.

“They really go all out…” Eden murmured to herself, moving past a large crowd and towards the beach opening. The sun was hiding now, and the gorgeous mix of red, orange, pink and purple spawned over the sea and Ramblum’s beach.

Soon enough the stars would come out, and the real show would begin: a fireworks display that could probably be seen by Humbaba himself, through the thunderstorms and ash of the bay of Cosmos.

“Never been to a show before?”

Eden turned her head, looking to the left with a analytical expression. Markus stood a few feet from her, arms crossed in his uniform. She let a frown dawn her face, but then turned her attention back to the growing crowd near the water, if they got rowdy, she’d have to step in.

“Are you on duty?” She finally asked as he took a few steps closer and turned to join her in scanning the area.

“Officially? No.” He offered a smirk, and she just rolled her eyes at him.

“You came to see the fireworks?”

“Yep.” His smirk turned to a smile, and laughed. “I haven’t seen them in two years, I missed the atmosphere.”

“Tch,” she crossed her own arms, shifting her weight as he relaxed. “It’s too crowded; the atmosphere is of people choking on alcohol, magi-leaf and any other combination of stimulant…”

A child ran past her, bumping up against the huntress who let out a grunt and watched the kid keeping going. They disappeared into the crowd, and the huntress just looked away, obviously displeased.

“You were ordered to guard the Parade of Lights?”

“No.” Eden replied quickly, walking away. She could hear his heavy footsteps behind her.

“So, why are you guarding the festival?”

“Kara wanted me to have a day off.” The huntress offered that as an explanation. “I refused, so she ordered me to guard the parade instead.”

“Do you ever take a day off?”

She thought back to the day where she arrested Nova and his pathetic little friends. She had never been so stressed in her life, trying with all her might to keep it quiet that the youngest member of the Myst family had gotten himself arrested and quarantined due to venturing outside, through a crack in the shielding. She had taken three days off, not nearly long enough but it’s all her mind would afford her.

It was easier to work through the stress then sit at home and dwell on it.

“No.” She replied, not seemingly bothered with the arrangement. “We need gil to live.”

“You’re sister to the Matriarch; I think you have enough money.”

“I don’t take her money.” Eden’s reply was cool and even, a sign to her old friend to drop the topic of her sister. “Nova doesn’t have a job, we need money.”

“Yeah… about him…”

Eden paused and turned to face Markus. He looked a little nervous, watching her warily as she glared at him. She was analyzing his expression, carefully picking up on the telling signs.

“Where is he?”

“What? I never said-“

“Where Markus?”

“He’s down at the water, with some friends?” Eden briskly pushed past him, only stopping when Markus snatched her wrist. “Eden, he’s just having a little fun.”

She tore her wrist from him, irritated. She caught herself before she said something stupid though, and changed her sentence. “… Enjoy the fireworks.”

Eden slipped into the crowd, heading to the shore and the loud, booming music to find her damned brother.

‘Should’ve left him to rot in jail…’

- + -

Alex had never been to Ramblum before, nor had she seen so many happy people. She found the entire thing enjoyable, mingling in the crowd – no one knowing she was the girl from Aeithon. She had waited near the beach for the parade to arrive, as word was it, that’s where the show really begun. She wasn’t disappointed. Fal’Cie magic and technology went wild in the streets, making the sky gleam and stars fall around the on lookers.

One of the performers neared her, dancing about the petit girl before presenting her with a wilted rose. Alex took it curiously, unable to hide her confused frown at the present. She looked back at the sorrow-masked dancer, whose mask flickered and switched to joy.

With a way of his hand, the rose sparkled and was alive, it’s glimmering blue pedals catching the parade’s lights.

“Thank you.” Alex chimed, and watched the performer run off, bounding up onto a chocobo with ease.

From there, everything began to spread out, and Alex found herself carried off in the swarm. The performers broke into the crowd, acting as magicians, illusionists, and other such things for all that would watch. Those on horseback strutted around like fabled l’Cie knights, altering their costume’s appearance with a flick, now becoming armored soldiers.

Images of legendary eidolons danced in the sky, battling each other but none really coming out on top.

“If only the elders could see this…” Alex muttered in amazement, eyes widening as the projection of carbuncle flew down to her, kissing her nose before hurrying off towards the stars.

She paused when she heard a few people talking.

“Apparently they have the girl from Aiethon singing.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, Ultima wanted her here, apparently.”

“Oh wow, I can’t wait to hear her!”

Alex blushed and hurried towards the shoreline. She had completely forgotten about her performance. Moving at a pace that was unwise in the chaos of the crowd, it was no surprise when the songstress slammed into another person. Though she distinctly noted that whoever she had hit hadn’t budged an inch, she was now on the ground, with the sand cushioning her crash.

He was tall and built something Alex wasn’t used to seeing. Most men in her village were lanky and lean, and somewhat short. Or they were old, either way, there was no one to compare to him. She gawked at him for a second longer then she should’ve, before reality hit her.

“Oh I’m so sorry!” She gulped, clumsily getting to her feet before he could offered her a hand.

“Hey, I… are you okay?”

“Hm?” She looked up at him as she brushed herself off. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine.” She could feel blush crawling across her cheeks. “I um, I’m really sorry! I didn’t see you… I mean your tall and big but I’m… just uhh.. blind..” She frowned at her own apology. “I have to go.”

“I’ll come along,” he offered, stepping up beside her. “Make sure you don’t bump into anyone else.”

Still blushing, Alex darted her eyes away and smiled nervously. A chuckle escaped her. “Thanks…”

“So what’s your name?” He asked as they began to move.

“Alex.”

“I’m Markus.”

She noted the uniform. “Are you part of the Core?”

He nodded. “Yep.”

“Are you on duty?”

“Nope,” his reply was upbeat and chime-y. She smiled her blush fading. “You here to see the parade?”

“Oh um…” Alex shrugged, looking a little sheepishly. “I’m performing, actually.”

“Really?”

She nodded.

“What are you performing?”

She smiled as they reached the shoreline. “You’ll see.”

Markus gave her a suspicious stare, but otherwise accepted the answer. “A surprise eh?” He shrugged, glancing at someone who accidently bumped into him. “Alright, sound’s fun.”

Alex smiled. “I’ll see you around!” With that she hurried off towards the center stage.

- + -

Here’s the link to the original topic, have fun during the parade! :3

[ChobiChibi]

Nova Myst

Today marked two very special celebrations: The Feast of Lights and the youngest Myst’s 19th birthday. If Eden had it her way, he would be spending both alone, cooped up in their house with nothing to do except watch the celebrations take place on their TV.

But of course, he had no intentions of staying in. He’d made it seem like he was well and truly suffering this morning, so he could be sure that Eden wouldn’t even think of checking back on him later. Alright, so he’d admit that he still had a few minor aches and pains, but it was not enough to stop him escaping today.

He was almost ready to go when he spotted two cards and a small box placed on the coffee table. He smiled to himself; maybe his sisters didn’t hate him as much as he thought.

The first was from Kara, the second from Eden, explaining how the gift was from the both of them, and that he should call Kara and say thank you. He dreaded that call. He hadn’t spoken to Kara since he’d been arrested. He was a little concerned that the box had managed to tip itself over in the time that he’d taken reading the cards...

“They’ve stuffed a tiny fiend in a box to spite me.” He picked up the box gingerly, untying the ribbon and noting the air holes in the lid. What stared back at him, though, was not a fiend’s eyes, but the bright blue eyes of a baby chocobo. He grinned, lifting it out of the box in cupped hands. “Well aren’t you a cutie?”

It chirped happily, hopping from foot to foot and flapping its wings. Couldn’t have asked for a better gift. Now he’d definitely have to call Kara.

He dug his hand into his pocket, hesitating before calling his sister. “Kara... Hi.”

“What have you done this time?”

Nova couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. Would his sisters ever believe he would call them for just an innocent chat? “I love how little faith you have in me.”

She was silent, obviously not as amused as he was by the predicament. Kara had no patients for people wasting her time, and he had the feeling he was unintentionally becoming one of them. But no matter how hard he worked, he would never gain her approval.

“Thank you for my card. I love the chocobo!” The little chick, who had perched on his shoulder, nuzzled against his cheek.

“It was Eden’s idea.”

“I thought as much.”

“She told you to call me, didn’t she?”

“Yeah...”

“Well, happy birthday. Hope you enjoy it.”

“Wait, Kara...” His urgency came off in his voice because although he was silent as he contemplated what to say to her, she didn’t hang up on him. “I’m sorry for leaving the dome. It was stupid, I know.” He waited for a response and got nothing. She was still there, he could hear her breathing. “I just wanted to go outside. To see what it’s really like. It really wasn’t my intention to disturb a Behemoth.” He waited again for a response. “Kara?”

“It’s hard to stay mad at you when you seem so sincere.”

“I hate it when you play games with me...”

His sister laughed, eradicating all the one sided tension Nova had created for himself. “So are you planning to break your house arrest today?”

“Totally. This is the first day I’ve felt well enough to leave the house. And it’s my birthday.”

“Eden won’t see it that way.”

“I know. I’m looking forward to the game of hide and seek.”

“Well, have fun. Take care.”

“Bye Kara.”

He left the house quickly, his new chocobo friend making itself comfy in a pocket on the inside of his jacket. He got on his bike and rode to the beach, making up for lost time. He told his friends he’d be there much earlier in the day than this, but he had to be sure Eden wasn’t coming back.

He parked as close as he could to the beach, spotting Markus just as he was about to hit the sand. He stopped dead in his tracks; a decision had to be made. Either sneak by, or just go and talk to him. What was the worst that could happen?

“Hey, Markus!” Nova grinned at him as he walked past, slapping him on the shoulder as he passed by. “Sssh, you didn’t see me.”

“Anyone would think you wanted to get caught.” Markus shook his head, chuckling to himself. Nova mock saluted him, continuing on his way.

The beach was packed with people anticipating the start of the parade. He struggled to weave in between children and their parents, trying desperately not to lose sight of them. He remembered the last time he’d come with his parents, sitting on his dad’s shoulders so that he could get a better view of the show. Some of the lights got so close he thought he could pluck them out the sky. That was 10 years ago now, but he remembered it as if it were yesterday.

He snapped out of his little daze when a coin collided with the side of his head.

“Oi, Spanner-cock!” Cid yelled at him, causing a few wary parents to glare at him. “Stop standing there all misty eyed-” Nova cringed at the awful pun, and was glad Eden wasn’t there to hear it. “-and start drinking. You’ve got some catchin’ up to do.”

“Can’t.” He pulled his bike keys from his pocket as he joined them, jingling them. “Driving.”

“That ain’t stopped ya before.”

“But Cid, I’m trying to be a good boy!”

“Aye, wouldn’t want ya getting arrested again.”

“Speaking of which...” Kite appeared at his side. “What happened to Tai and Talon?”

“Still in quarantine, last I heard.” Nova shrugged, as if it were nothing. Kite would be hard to convince, but Cid was apparently too drunk to care.

“Why aren’t you still there with the others?”

“Nothing wrong with me, I’m all clear!” Nova gave the thumbs up. “Except for that scratch I got from the Behemoth, still healing.”

“It was quite a big gash, if I remember.”

“Nah, just a scratch.”

“A scratch that made you pass out due to blood loss. And got you rushed to hospital cos they thought you were gonna bleed to death.”

“I don’t remember that...”

Kite almost looked smug. “You wouldn’t. Probably don’t remember you got rescued by a girl, either?”

Nova would have made some kind of witty response if it weren’t for the fact he’d just spotted that very same girl talking to Markus. By talking to, he meant threatening, by the looks of things.

Then he watched her scan the beach. She was looking for him, he could tell by pure rage in her expression. Shit...

“I gotta go for a bit, got some other people to see, but I’ll be back later!” He pushed past Cid, who swore loudly at him, heading further down the beach to the shoreline. What was he gonna do when he got there? He had nowhere to run, or hide. Maybe if he jumped in the water he could swim to freedom?

Except that plan was faltered when he bumped straight into Bellaevis, one of Eden’s oldest friends. Bugger...

“Don’t I know you from somewhere?” She frowned, eyeing him up.

“No, I’m quite sure you don’t.” He attempted to sidestep her, but she followed his footsteps.

“But you strikingly resemble someone I know... Who is that person?”

“No one!”

“Eden!”

He turned around just in time to see Eden grab his collar and drag him away. Although he wanted to wriggle free, he didn’t dare, instead he tried to dig his heels in the sand.

“I didn’t do anything!”

Sorry if played people wrong. TAG. Zzzzzzzzz.

[Pichu Luver]

Adair Stroud ~-Sticks and Stones

“Do you ever feeel like a paper baag, drifting through the wiiiind, wanting to start agaain…”

If Adair had one unequivocal true love, it was for music. His voice was readily remarkable (he even had others conclude the same, a delightful day), he was shamelessly giddy on a fiddle (not that shame ever had time-shares in his day), and could groove any shuffle called a dance (and a multitude of moves that were not). Tunes twittered in his head all the time. They told tales twisted, titillating or talented; sometimes all three.

Today Odile and her crew were practicing for one of their most important performances of the year. They even got to show this one publically, which wasn’t always the case. Not that Adair ever got to watch the private ones either… but he could daydream. The clothing for this concert was gauzy and hinted at interesting things anyway.

“…the liiight and leeeeeet it shiiiine. Just ooooooown toniiiiight, on the Paaraaaade of Liiights!”

The singer, Caylin was half decent; she had the right energy, though she was just slightly flat. Not enough for the average party goer to truly notice, but the three standing before her were not average party goers. No indecorous images intended; at least not for poor Alex on the left or Odile in the middle. Adair on the right… he always intended indecorousness.

Although the knowledge of the mistake did not show on Odile’s face, Adair knew she would call Caylin on it after. The third person, Alex, was just as musically talented as Adair and Odile, if not more so. In fact the only reason she was standing anywhere near these personages of disreputable morals, was because she had been summoned by the Fal’cie. Odile couldn’t even claim that honour.

Little Alex, currently unaware she was starting to bob to the music, was to perform for the Parade of Lights. In an official capacity, not like Odile’s beach-side concert they were currently practicing. Odile had been told in no uncertain terms that as they were the closet airship to her little village of Mah’hubre, they were picking her up and bringing her to Ramblum.

Odile had NOT been pleased, though she was plenty gracious to whatever official had ordered it. Alex however, when they had lowered their gangplank, expecting some hide-away performer with a ridiculous amount of ‘needed’ possessions, had completely dissolved any ill feelings the group had been feeling. She was the kindest little sprite they had ever come across, and she was perfectly reasonable with her one bag of luggage.

“… only kneeeew what the future hoolds. After a hurricaaane comes a rainboow…”

Adair stole another glace at Alex, she was definitely bobbing now. She was enjoying the music, even though she would have been mortified to do anything as undignified as dance. Alas for her sensibilities, Adair was undignified personified.

With a grin and wink at Odile he made a gallant twist behind her back and swept Alex into his arms.

She squeaked, and made vague protesting motions with her arms and free hand, but as Adair had literally swept her off her feet in a rousing, spinning, country dance, there wasn’t a lot she could do. It really was the most unfortunate of airships she was on, considering her proper principles. Before Adair had snatched her up, it had possibly been the first time she had not been tomato red since bordering the ship.

“Just oooown toooniiiiight, for the Paaraaaade of Lights!”

“Sir Stroud! I-I mean Mr.—”

Adair laughed outright, “Sir Stroud, I’ve never heard that outside indecent company.” Adair hadn’t thought it possible, but Alex got redder. He chuckled, “Luv, calm down. I don’t bite and you wanted to spin. No lies now.”

Alex didn’t say anything, which was probably the only response she was capable off that did not involve protestation.

As the song switched to a slightly slower bit, she stopped feeling so stiff and Adair put her back down, though on his feet, and led her around in a dance any provincial bumpkin would know. He could tell she knew the steps even though she was blushing furiously. So he took a quick moment between steps and poked her in the side.

She made s pip at a note Adair was pretty sure only birds could normally reach, but she smiled a touch at his grin.

The last few courses she was unbent enough for Adair to let her off his feet and it was a proper dance around the floor. She was smiling and much less embarrassed at the end. Odile stepped forward to the performers and went over how they could make their final touches to the performance.

“Thank you S—Adair. That was um… fun.”

He laughed, “So unsure? I am wounded. Word was I could whirl women around wonderfully.”

“No-no. You can! I’m just—this ship—you all… You’re all so…”

“Indecent?”

“No! You’re all very decent (Adair suspected she didn’t know what he meant), but… doesn’t anyone ever get embarrassed?”

Adair suspected this was possibly the closest she would ever get to the topic about what everyone on the ship did for a living. Adair was slightly safer in that he was the pilot, but Adair was sure he’d said some terribly improper things (in Alex’s view) since she’d come on.

“Over what darlin’? Everyone here chose this. It’s good money, nice clothes and sometimes even fun.”

He didn’t quite hear what she said, but she looked kind of mortified, and was mumbling something about elders. Adair was about to note being elder they would know about amorous entertainment, when Odile finished critiquing the previous singer. Dale stepped forward and Adair, quirking a smile, said instead, “Fair maiden I think Dale is about to strain your sensibilities past standing. Shall we see to your shipping?”

“Shipping? But I only have one bag. What—“ She turned to look at Dale as the song started.

“Walk in the room, leaving the suun in disgrace… Shining so briight, makes me forget time and spaaace… Yeah…”

Adair had to hold back his laughter as her face went from a nearly normal shade, to white, to red faster than a firework. Dale was only looking at her (and to be fair Odile) in a certain way, but it was clear she didn’t know how to react.

“Uh. Yes-yes. Shipping. Luggage.”

She fled.

Adair shook his head and sent a greatly amused look in Odile’s direction. “You are an evil woman.”

“The wider world exists Adair. I’m just educating her with the beginners textbook.” She did not appear the least remorseful and in fact had an amused glint in her eye.

He smirked and crossed his arms, “Fair lady a textbook on your wily ways? My love for a copy.”

She quirked her head and smirked back, “Well my walking thesaurus songs DO have words. Not just melodies and… intentions.”

“Ah, intentions. Indelibly indeterminable femme-fetale focuses. Songs surely source such… suspiciously silly significances from foolish female fondness’s.”

“Adair I have ten people in my employ, seven of which would weep for a moment to make you morn.” She gave him a look. “If the number is all ten, surprise would not be my emotion.”

He gave her a sweeping bow, “Pride instead?”

Laughing, he was already running out of the cargo hold/stage when she threw the lyric book at him. Dale broke line, and Adair could hear Odile snap at him as he choked back a laugh. The clip of her heel on the fake-wood steel floor made him hurry his steps up the open wood stairs to the rooms.

The grin of course never left his face. Odile needed her nose quirked now and again, and her courtiers and courtesans surely wouldn’t be the ones to do it. Odile was their mentor, boss and protector. Many had never had it so good until she took them in.

“Alex?” he called as he entered the hallway. It was a very oddly designed ship, the centre belly held a square-ish cargo hold, with the rectangular living quarters extending equally overtop it. From there the cockpit led up a level and then a very long nose with communications and some firing capabilities there as well. When travelling like now, the three ‘legs’ it parked on were extended parallel to the ship. It had more stabilizing wings on top, and a very long tail off the back rooms for more, albeit smaller storage. It had numerous other projective spikes that looked decorative, but were actually small guns. The Sealark looked like a delicate, leafy sea dragon; however it was anything but defenceless.

Adair did not get any response, but headed to one of the four smallest rooms at the back. Each of these rooms held two bunks, and Alex was in the room designated to her, double-checking her pack. She didn’t look up when Adair leaned against the doorframe. Her frown only deepened as she dug around her packs.

“Don’t worry luv, I got her back for her little stunt.”

She smiled briefly at him, closed her pack again and sat on the bunk. She looked pensive and then blurted out her question, “Is EVERYONE,” she made vague ‘greater world’ motions with her hand, “like you all?”

“Only the interesting ones,” Alex gave him a look all teenage girls have perfected, “Now, now pouting does indelicate things to your features. No, you just happened to land a passage on probably the most scandalizing ship in leagues.”

“Oh. Well,” She had a look people have when their ‘scrounging up their courage’, but in actuality are probably only terrifying themselves more, “guess I’ll just have to get used to the wider world. Do you think Odile actually DOES have a textbook?”

“Her diary.” Adair grinned, and Alex coughed out a small laugh, “I suggest you never read that on pain of being flailed.”

“Indeed.” said Odile from behind Adair.

~-~-~-~-~

Odile Gallagher ~-Stereo Love

Odile gave Adair a resounding smack on his forehead with the lyric book before he could squirrel away. He yelped and looked very put out.

“That’s for the comment, my non-existent diary and something you’re bound to do in the future to infuriate me.” She put an emphasis on the non-existent because it was true, she didn’t have one. She would not be as stupid to in this profession. If she found any of her pupils with one, unless they were very, very clever with their wording (or it was from before they joined her crew) she burned it.

“Why do you make the truth hurt so much?” he tried his puppy-dog look on her. They’d known each other too long for it too have any effect any longer.

“Because a boy’s memory is in his backside, but your forehead presented itself.”

He just huffed and glared at her. His mock irritation was not helped by the growing red mark in the centre of his forehead. Odile did care for Adair, though only in a sisterly way. They’d tried the other route long enough ago for both to know any repeat was a bad idea, and to be okay with that. Now he just set about affectionately bothering her, and she had someone to smack thoughtfully.

“Alas Alex my peacock of a pilot has to go do his job now, we’re approaching Ramblum.”

“I’m the pilot and the war—” A chiming ring and the flashing of the blue light above the door signalled the ship needed its pilot back.

“—ning light... Nevermind. Back to work.” Adair looked vaguely miffed to be thwarted by an automated message.

Odile just smiled as he back out of the room and walked quickly up to the cockpit.

“Can I watch? I’ve never seen someone fly a ship.” Alex looked both hopeful and slightly nervous. Odile had the feeling she was the cause of the nervousness. If only she knew she had more to fear from Adair then her. Adair would lead her to far more embarrassing situations then Odile ever would.

“Just don’t inflate his ego too much.” she said with a smile, “The view coming into to Ramblum should be quite nice too.”

Alex smiled before she skittered out of the room. Odile watched her go with a fond smile. The girl was 18 but she reminded Odile so much of an innocent kid. The Command could not have picked a worse ship to protect her sensibilities, except if they had gone for the more ruffian types. That said Odile was glad they had picked her up and Odile saw images of her own childhood flicker through her mind.

With a quick shake of her head Odile turned to go back to the small cargo hold. “Right, back to work.”

------

They crew had just finished the second to last song Odile had wanted to practice when she felt the ship very lightly touch down. Adair could be a fickle fool, but he could fly an airship with a fine touch. Knowing that Adair and Alex were about to come down to the cargo hold to exit she smirked and signaled for Karenika and Jakoa to start.

“It’s a new generaation… Mr. Worldwide! Of paaarty people…”

When Alex and Adair appeared (Alex in assumedly her performance outfit) with a small bag of what she needed in town, Odile had already lowered the gangplank. There was no one on the beach yet, they were all getting spots in the streets for the parade. Nika and Jake were perfect anyway. When Alex saw them, the little they were wearing, and their immediate attention on her, she squeaked, dropped her bag and covered her eyes.

Adair just shook his head at Odile, grabbed Alex’s bag, and hoisted the girl over his shoulder.

“Dance the night away. Grab somebody, drink a little more...”

“ADAIR!” In her shock her eyes came open again. She was looking back over Adair’s shoulder and saw how Nika had come off the stage and was slowly walking toward her. She squeaked and covered her eyes again. Odile heard Adair’s laugh, though not what he said to her. As they disappeared down the ramp, Odile expected that to be the last image she would have of Alex until after the festivities were over, and she came back for her ride home. Her bouncing up and down over Adair’s back, face beet red, and her hands firmly plastered to her eyes.

Nika grinned and bounced back up to the stage. Odile smiled and nodded to them, “Ah, youth.”

------

The parade was in full swing and her performers had gathered a large crowd of dancers before the airship. The small stage could be extended outward from the cargo hold, and her crew were singing away only a few feet above the revellers. They wouldn’t make any money off this in particular, but they may get call backs later for parties. Besides there was plenty of officials in attendance who they would get money off of later.

“You going to come and see the sprite sing?”

Adair had come up beside Odile in her place on the landing above the cargo hold. Odile considered this. She hadn’t planned too, but there really wasn’t any reason for her to be here right now.

“Sure, when the official songs start, this group will move off anyway. Caylin can lock up.” Adair nodded and walked back up into the living area. There was another exit to the ship at the back where the extra storage was. It was a spiralling staircase that dropped down only when needed. Odile signalled to Caylin and she jogged up to her.

“I’m off to see our guest sing. Lock up when the crowd moves on, and then you all can do what you please until a half hour before moonrise.”

“Yes Miss.” She bobbed a courtesy and Odile followed in Adair’s wake. When she landed beside him in the sand the two of then wandered their way down the beach towards the main stage where Alex was to sing.

I'm sorry for taking so long ¬¬''' Feel free to chat with 'em XD

[Weasel Overlord]

Bellaevis
:: children of the revolution ::

Bellaevis looked up at the display from her prone position on the sand. It was comfortable down there, and she had hardly any sand in her bits, which made a nice change, and if she was honest, she didn't really fancy getting up at all.

That could have been the alcohol talking.

Either way. Sand had no right to be so comfortable, especially not when she nearly got trampled over the head by some over-excited kiddies.

“Hey,” she called lazily, rolling into a more upright position. “Watch where you're going.” She sat up and looked around, espying a large group of rowdy-looking guys propping up the bar. Looked like a good time, so she picked herself up, grabbed Bellwyrm, slung it over her shoulder and sauntered in their direction.

That was, right up until she walked face first into a man. “Ow,” she said. They proceeded to do that awkward thing where he tried to escape and she didn't let him, and then, suddenly, she figured out precisely why she recognised the guy.

“You're Eden's little brother!” She grinned, thumping her fist into her palm. “I knew I recognised you from somewhere! Wow, you've grown up, haven't you. You're like a beanstalk or something.”

She looked up at him, one eyebrow raised. He sure got attractive in that time, that was for sure. Grinning widely, she elbowed him right in the ribs. “So come on then, you gonna introduce me to your friends or what? Get me a drink and I won't mention seeing you to your sister, eh?” She turned just in time to see Eden grab Nova by the collar. “Oh well, that saves me some time thinking up an excuse.”

Bellaevis waved. “Hey Eden, s'up? Don't take him away, will you? It's my fault he's here, ain't it Nova? I made him promise to buy me a drink.” She sighed exaggeratedly. “Sorry. You can blame me, if you want.”

[Samchu]

Markus
~~~~~~

It had been two years since Markus had set foot in Ramblum. His last visit had been a reward for his promotion within the Corps and he had convinced himself not to attend the year before. Looking back he wasn’t sure what his reasoning had been; holidays tended to revolve around Eden’s dispatches, as a way of resolving his need to keep up with her level of ability, but he wasn’t sure she had been his reason for staying. His decision to go this year hadn’t hinged on her. She had been distracted with family business and he had made the decision to take this time for himself. He had always enjoyed the fireworks before and, he guiltily admitted, Ramblum had a much freer market for magi-leaf than Alexandria.

He hadn’t expected to bump into Eden. Festivals had never struck him as the type of affair she had any interest in; so it came as no surprise that she had been encouraged there under the orders of her sister. Whilst a part of him was sad to see her go, the rest of him was torn by relief and determination. She knew nothing of his attachment to magi-leaf and he never would have been able to purchase a stash with the huntress hovering nearby; but it was not that which caused the greatest upheaval of his emotions. Over the years, the Parade of Lights had taken on another, more commercial aspect, one that was either embraced or discarded by its attendees. Men who attended the festival were expected to buy a gift for the lady of their affection and either reinforce those feelings or confess them. With Eden elsewhere, Markus would have had an excuse to avoid the consumerist tradition but now that she was here…

The soldier sighed and made his way towards the many booths centralised in a section of Ramblum. Here, wooden stalls stood draped in colourful cloths, their owners beckoning to the various couples that passed by them. Markus strolled through the rows, glancing at the various wares on display from the backs of crowds. Wherever he stepped people moved from his path and he felt the looks being thrown in his direction. It was the reason he chose to wear his uniform despite being off duty. So much less trouble for him to deal with.

But what the heck do I get her? In truth, he knew very little about Eden. Most of what he knew of her had been drawn from brief conversations between bouts and the little she had been willing to reveal about herself during their Academy years. She wasn’t the kind of person who talked about personal things; wants, desires, he had no idea what these would be and no idea what type of gift she would appreciate.

He wandered up and down the merchant stalls at least a dozen times before allowing himself to be drawn over to one vendor with a display of sparkling jewellery.

“Greetings good Sir, a happy Fol to you.”

Markus smirked at his use of the unpopular abbreviation. “And to you.”


“Looking for a gift for a special someone?”

“I suppose.”

“A bracelet for the lady?” He presented a tray of bracelets and Markus shook it his head.

“I don’t think so.”

“You’re right. Too inferior.” He put the tray aside and offered up a pillow of rings. Again, Markus shook his head. They continued this way for several minutes, the merchant presenting and Markus dismissing. He wasn’t trying to be rude, but nothing he saw seemed worthy of Eden. “A special woman this is indeed,” said the merchant, discarding an elaborately designed ring. “Perhaps this,” he pulled out a box and flicked open the lid, “will be what you’re looking for.”

Markus peered inside. In the box sat a necklace. A thin silver chain comprised of what appeared to be woven strands circled the centre of the box. From the chain hung a simple pendant, a twisting cocoon-like diamond of silver, and in its centre, like a butterfly breaking out from its slumber, was a ruby. The blood eye glinted once and Markus met the merchant’s gaze. “I’ll take it.”

The necklace was moved into a gift box and adorned with a bright ribbon. It took an exchange of a month’s of Markus’ wages but he had it at last, a gift worthy of Eden’s possession. A gift worthy of confession, the merchant had said, but Markus had no intention of taking such bold action. The gift was simply bought in order to keep with tradition. Sure, that sounded like an excuse Eden would accept.

He tucked the gift into his pocket and took off in search of one of the city’s many magi-leaf vendors. It didn’t take long. The vast crowds drawn by the festival often convinced dealers to abandon their otherwise secretive haunts and venture inside the boundaries of acceptable society. He scared the dealer into a discount and tucked his newly-acquired stash into one of his satchels before heading off in search of Eden.

But it wasn’t Eden he found. No, instead he found himself in the company of the lithe Alex. Man that he was, he couldn’t resist escorting her to the shoreline. She left him there, with only the cryptic message that she was performing.

“Well, that was different. Now I’ve just got to find -”

“Honestly, I haven’t done anything!”

He stopped. “I know that voice.” He turned and sure enough there was Nova, heels dug into the sand, desperately trying to resist the iron grip of his sister. “Convenient.” He wandered over.

“Sorry. You can blame me, if you want.”

Markus didn’t know the speaker but it was clear from the looks on both of the Myst’s faces that they did. “Hey.”

Nova looked at him and the boy’s eyes narrowed. “Traitor!”

“Sorry Nova, your sister just knows how to read me.”

“You probably told her because you hoped she would let you fu-” His sentence was cut off as Eden threw him back. He stumbled but managed to keep his footing.

“One drink. Then I’m taking you back home.”

Nova scurried off and the nameless woman followed, shooting a quick thanks in Eden’s direction.

Eden let out something that sounded like a cross between a grunt and a sigh and took a few steps inland.

Markus followed. “I’m guessing you don’t want to talk about it.”

“Well observed Captain know-it-all.” She stopped and sighed. “I’m tense.”

It wasn’t an apology but he accepted it all the same. “You’re allowed to be.”

“Thanks for your permission.”

“I didn’t mean it-”

“I know, Markus. You don’t have to explain.”

He stood at her side and waited for her to speak again. As the silence dragged on he began to fiddle with the box in his pocket. He wanted to give it to her but it didn’t seem like the right time. In this state she was just as likely to smack it out his hands and call him an idiot for even thinking she would be interested in such a gift. He couldn’t take that. And yet, if he didn’t do it now…

“Eden?”

“What is it, Markus?” She wasn’t looking at him.

He took the gift from his pocket and stepped up beside her. “I uh…I got you a little something. Tradition and all.” He held the box out in front of her and tried not to focus too much on her expression, for fear that it might break his shaken resolve completely.

She took the box from him and unwrapped the gift. There was a moment of silence, one that caught his breath and held it so tightly he thought he would faint before she said anything.

“Markus…”

“I didn’t know what to get but it’s tradition so I just got you something and if you don’t like it then I understand and you can just throw it away or stick it in a drawer somewhere I just thought maybe it’d be nice to give you a gift so-”

“I like it.”

He looked at her and saw the smile on her face; that rare beautiful smile. He would shatter the heavens to keep that smile from fading. “Well…good. Like I said, it’s just for tradition’s sake. And it’s sort of an apology for not really getting you anything for you birthday. So don’t…um…don’t think too much into it.”

“Thank you, Markus.”

He looked away so she wouldn’t see the blush coming on to his face. “You’re welcome.”

[classy_cat18]

Kite Rowe

My plan for the Festival of Lights was usually to stay out of the way of everyone and watch the fireworks display somewhere high and out of reach. There was always a problem with pickpockets because of the noise and large crowds. I stayed out of the way, because I wanted to keep what little money I had with me.

But Nova had somehow found a way to get out of house arrest early (which was probably not allowed) and told us that he’d meet me and the others at the beach to watch the fireworks. It had been two weeks since he had escaped from the dome. I remembered watching a girl run through that same crack, and him collapsing only a minute after they got back inside.

“It’s what he deserves for running out there like a fool,” I had commented which earned me a punch in the arm from our boss. The bruise was present the two weeks I waited for Nova to get out. During that time I had contemplated getting him a… get-well present.

Nova ran away in a panic (not something I was used to seeing from him), leaving me with Cid. “Now what crawled up his pants?” the drunken man slurred while looking in his empty bottle.

I shrugged. There were many things about Nova I didn’t know about. “I’ll take my leave now,” I informed Cid.

“What happened to us celebrating together?” the man complained.

“I have no intention of getting drunk with you. I’ll wake up with a hangover and a black eye.”

“You always were a wet blanket.” I rolled my eyes. “You’re gonna chase after him again, aintcha?”

I stiffened at his smirk. “No.”

“You seemed too eager to get here tonight.”

“Please be quiet.” I escaped into the crowd before he could say another word.

I fingered the little present I had chosen for Nova, a wind-up metal Chocobo that walked around. I had found it at the scrapyard, and I spent two weeks fixing it up. I can’t give it to him. But it’s such a small, childish trinket. He won’t think much about it. He might just laugh at it.

“That a gift for your sweetie?” and old female voice said near my ear. I turned my head to her jewelry stand. “You should get something much prettier than that for her on this precious night.”

I scoffed, even though I noticed a pretty blue jewel orb hanging over my head. It sparkled prettily like a starry sky. “Jewelry isn’t really… her style,” I sneered, not believing I had to pause to make sure I had the correct pronoun in.

What if it is?

“My love life and preference in gifts is none of your business anyway,” I added before rushing away.

Maybe next year I could afford something like that. I laughed at myself. Nothing but a lovesick puppy. I needed a distraction—

“Fruit tarts,” I mumbled with a grin as I caught the scent.

Time to pig out.

[ChobiChibi]

Nova Myst
Tifa’s Theme (Piano version), FFVII Advent Children

“You’re a life saver.” Nova rested his elbows on the bar, his head in his hands. He was tired already, to be honest he probably should take Eden’s offer (if you could call it that) of going home, but he was determined to see the whole of the Festival of Lights all the way through. He hadn’t missed it once since he could remember, he wasn’t gonna start now. “Thanks, Bellaevis.”

“Cheer up, chuck.” She elbowed him in the ribs, in the same sharp manner as she had done previously. He turned to look at her, greeted by a mischievous grin. “Y’know, you can have lots of fun on just one drink if you pick a particularly strong one.”

Nova chuckled, straightening up. “Not drinking today. I don’t think it would be wise.” He summoned the bar tender to them. “Whatever the lady’s having.”

She ordered and Nova frowned when two cocktails appeared, but paid for them both anyway. Bellaevis stirred the pink liquid with an assortment of berries speared by a cocktail stick before taking a sip, the umbrella hitting her cheek as she tipped it back.

She pushed the drink towards him. “Oh come on, boy! You don’t strike me as the kind to turn down a good time. Last I remember of you, Eden and I had to search for you cos you’d gone missing. We found you on the other side of town, riding a full grown chocobo, with its owner running along behind you.”

Nova grinned, perhaps looking a tad embarrassed. “I was eleven...”

“Aye, you were. I think I remember yer sister askin’ why a chocobo? Do ya remember what ya said?” Bellaevis leaned a little closer.

“No, but I have a feeling it’s gonna be rather incriminating...”

“You said ‘Cos I’m too small to ride a motorbike’.” She snickered.

“I have one of my own now.” He mused, finally giving in to the rather girly cocktail in front of him. It was sweet, fruity and extremely alcoholic. “And a chocobo...”

“A chocobo?! Where’d you keep the thing?”

“In my pocket.”

“You sure you’re not drunk already?”

He shook his head laughing, opening his jacket to reveal the unnamed chocobo sleeping soundly in the inner pocket. Bellaevis cooed and the chocobo stirred, yawning and blinking at the sudden influx of light. She hopped onto the bar, tottering towards their drinks, eyeing up the berries.

“Well, it’s been a pleasure to catch up with you, Bellaevis.” Nova began, feeding all but one of his berries to his chick, and leaving about a quarter of his drink still in the glass. He glanced over at his sister to find that she was with Markus again. He popped the remaining berry in the glass, much to the bird’s dismay. “You should catch up with Eden sometime. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Too long...” Bellaevis sighed, before frowning at his drink. “Won’t you stay to finish that?”

“Well, the thing is, if I finish my one drink, I’ll have to go home...” He smirked, scooping up his chocobo.

“Ooooooh! I see!” She grinned, giving him an exaggerated wink. “Well, I suppose you had better be going.”

“I’ll see you later.” He waved as he walked away, weaving himself into the crowd.

His plan was simple. He would let Markus continue to attempt to woo his sister (as much as the idea made him cringe) as it provided an ample distraction so that he had enough time to find somewhere to hide for long enough that the firework display will start. Then Eden would have no choice but to let him stay until the end.

“Nova!”

He turned to the sound of his name. Shit, it’s Kite! Not now! As he turned to get away, he bumped into a girl who seemed in just as much of a hurry as he was. She stumbled, but he caught hold of her arm before she could fall.

“S-sorry!” They both blurted out. Nova chuckled whilst she looked terrified.

Nova was surprised that she spoke first. “I’m such a clutz...” She glanced around nervously, avoiding eye contact. “Lindzei help me, you’re the fifthteenth person I’ve ran into.” He was about to tell her not to worry, but she bowed her head in way of apology. “Sorry again, but I have to run. I perform soon!”

She moved around him, hurrying towards the stage. He watched her go, considering using the back stage area as a hiding place. It would be perfect! No one would ever expect to find him there. That and he could try and see this girl again... She didn’t look like she was from around here, he wanted to know more. With Kite still calling his name, Nova pushed through the crowd towards the stage.

“No unauthorised access beyond this point, sir. Please vacate the area, the parade is over there.” The Eden Defence Core man stood firm, blocking his path.

Nova glanced at him as he fished in his pocket for his ID badge. He recognised the guy, probably trained with him. “It’s okay, sir, I am here as Ultima’s Representative’s...” He paused for a moment. “... Representative. I’m here to inspect the stage and to make sure everything’s running smoothly and according to plan.”

The guard seemed flustered as he handed back his ID to him. “I apologise, Mr Myst, please go on through.”

It didn’t take long to find her. He simply kept walking until he found the wings of the stage and there she was, waiting patiently for her turn. As casually as he could, he walked up to her and stood beside her.

“Hello again!” Nova chuckled as she jumped a little. “Sorry to startle you, but I just couldn’t let you go like that.”

“W-why did you come back h-here?” She shifted uncomfortably. Why did he make her so nervous?

“I could tell you that I’m Ultima’s Representative’s Representative, but that’s just the line I used to get past the Defence Core guy outside.” Nova smiled as he caught the smallest of giggles escaping her. “Really, I’m hiding from my sister.”

“Your sister? Is she really that scary?” She fiddled with her bracelets.

“Not all the time. I’m not supposed to be here, that’s all.”

“You’re not a pick pocket, are you?” Her eyes narrowed. “I was warned about pick pockets...”

“No, I’m not, don’t worry.” He tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it didn’t seem to be working. “You’re not from around here, are you?”

“N-no... This is my first visit to Ramblum.”

“Well,” Nova peered around the pillar, gesturing out at the city. “Welcome to Ramblum! My favourite city.”

The girl tucked her hair behind her ear as she peered around, obviously trying to ignore the large crowd that has assembled, watching the performers dance across the stage and through the air. The light made her white-blonde hair look all sorts of different colours.

“Is the Festival of Light always like this?” She asked, not taking her gaze from the show in front of her.

“I guess. They always try to outdo the previous years by making it bigger and better. Normally they succeed.”

“Oh...” She seemed a little disheartened.

Nova carefully placed a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry about it! I’m sure you’ll stun everyone!”

She couldn’t help but blush. “You think so?”

“Alex!” They both turned to the sound of the stage director’s voice. “You’re on in five.”

“Well then, Alex, I’ll leave you to it.” Nova stretched and moved away, smiling. “Good luck! Although I’m sure you don’t need it.”

“Wait!” She took hold of his arm. “What’s your name?”

“Nova.”

“Good luck with your sister, Nova.” Alex beamed at him. “Although I’m sure you’ll be fine, too!”

Nova made sure to tell the guard on his way past that everything was satisfactory and that he was doing a fine job. It was getting dark now, and the lights became more prominent in the sky. He was greeted by Kite, who had apparently been stood outside the entire time he’d been hiding back stage.

“How’d you get in there?” Kite frowned, following him as he pushed his way through the crowd to get a better view of the stage.

“Blagged my way in, as usual.” Nova wasn’t in the mood for twenty questions. He wanted to see Alex perform...

He stopped somewhere in the middle of the audience, with enough people at a similar height that it would be hard to spot him. Kite stood by his side, his hands in his pockets, seeming a little more on edge than usual. Nervous, even. That wasn’t like him at all. He was glad to have him there though; he hated seeing the fireworks on his own.

If Eden wasn’t so mad at him, he would have made every effort to be there with her right now. But knowing that she was probably still here was comfort enough for him. Now there was only one person missing.

He pulled out his phone, quickly sending a text to his other sister whilst Kite was distracted by some kids trampling on his toes.

[Wish you were here. x]

[Crystal Tears]

~ 2 ~
Change in Tune

Eden gently plucked the gift from its box, holding it in the air between the two, letting the lights of the festival catch it and make it glimmer in all shades. She couldn’t help but think it was awful fancy for gift in tradition’s name, but she wasn’t complaining. It was gorgeous, and she didn’t want to spoil the moment by saying something that might come across as ungrateful.

“Can you help me…?” She unclipped the clasp on the chain and held it up. “Put it on?” Eden clarified, seeing Markus’s somewhat confused expression.

Markus nodded, stepping around and behind her. She held her hair out of the way as he took the necklace and did it up again, then stepped back in front of her. She looked down at it, admiring its shine for a moment before her attention went back to Markus.

Eden turned her attention back to the bar, where her brother should’ve been sitting.

He wasn’t.

“Lindzei damn him... I’ll be back later, enjoy the parade.” She offered Markus no explanation, but he could’ve guessed as to what she was looking for again.


The Huntress frowned; she wasn’t at all surprised by Nova’s disappearance. Instead she walked over with a scowl, and leaned against the bar next to her old friend. Bellaevis glanced at her, offering her nothing but a knowing smile.

“Ello.” She grinned, and it didn’t falter when the Huntress just glared. “Oh, come on, he’s just havin’ some fun.”

“I should arrest you.” Eden ordered herself a drink.

“Me?” Her friend feigned hurt. “For what? I kept an eye on him… and you’re drinking on the job.”

The huntress snorted. “Around you, I have to.”

“Aye, that’s the spirit!” Bellaevis chuckled, ignoring the sullen look she got from Eden. “You’re too hard up in my opinion.”

“Yes, you’ve told me before.” Eden stared into her drink in thought, her frown softening. “Am I to hard on him?”

Bellaevis blinked at her. “Nova? Bah, he’s fine.”

“He’s breaking the law.” She countered before downing the rest of her drink. “He’s always breaking the law.”

“So?” The bard didn’t seem so concerned. “What’s wrong with that?”

“I’m terrified he’ll end up like you.”

“Oi!” Bellaevis’s frown turned into a scowl as she prepared a whole string of comebacks. But the smirk on Eden’s face made the bard think twice. “Oh, aren’t you clever, you see if you’re so sharp when I sing about ya. Won’t be so smirk-happy then.”
“That would require me having tales worth telling.” Eden shrugged as she spoke, pushing herself off the bar.

“Oh that’s right, you’re a bore.” Bellaevis chimed happily. “You’re safe until you turn interestin’.”

“Lindzei help me on that day,” Eden offered have a smile at the thought. “Want to have another drink after the fireworks?”

“Sure! You buyin’?”

Eden rolled her eyes and walked away. “Maybe – if you behave.”


The fireworks marked a celebration of all things holy. They were the chosen method to create brilliant light, just as Lindzei did thousands of years ago. They were enchanted explosives that would form into great battles of old and some that would spread out and dance around the onlookers, while others simply lit up the starry night sky.

It was a great spectacle, designed to be large enough for Ultima to watch from her sky-fortress. Eden wasn’t sure if anyone actually did watch from Alexandria, most if they wanted to see it, would travel to Everest before taking a train to Ramblum. Others would simply watch from the comfort of their own homes, their televisions displaying the brilliant show.

The beach had grown dark; with other the performers and their act lighting up the sands now. In about a minute the fireworks would begin, but Eden didn’t really care at the moment.

She had found her brother, and promptly stepped up beside him. He didn’t even notice until she cleared her throat, and he looked over, nearly jumping. Eden noted the other standing on the other side of him; he looked like a ditch-crawler. Someone like that would’ve been kicked out from Alexandria in an instant.

She hid her disapproval of his friends and gave him a coolly neutral look. “Can I speak to you?”

Nova looked back at his friend. “I’ll uhh, be right back…”

“Are you in trouble?” His friend questioned.

“No-“

“Yes.” Eden spoke over him, silencing her brother. “He is. Please excuse us.”

A good distance away from Nova’s friend, Eden’s cool-tone changed. “One drink, Nova.” She hissed, “I said one drink, not to toddle off at your leisure and wait for the show to start.”

“I technically didn’t finish my-“

“Shut up.”

“Yes ma’am…” His eyes hit the ground; slowly they flicked back to hers. “Come on, I promise I’ll stay in the house for the rest of my sentence, just… please let me watch the fireworks?”

“You’re promises are about as valuable as fool’s gold.” Eden shot back. Nova didn’t look at her, just stared away silently. She wasn’t sure if he was faking his hurt or it was genuine, but it was getting to her. “… Fal’Cie curse you, fine.” He immediately perked up, smiling at her. “But I swear to Ultima Nova, if you break your house arrest one more time I’m going to let you rot in jail for a month.”

The first firework’s explosion erupted over them, making the sky sparkle gold. She had forgotten how close they were to the shore, and thus they were nearly right under the show.

Another went off, silencing everyone as the songstress’s voice echoed over the beach. Through fal’Cie manipulation the fireworks’ explosions didn’t sound nearly as loud and booming, and the girl’s song was carried over probably the entire town.

The show was spectacular, with the fight of the eidolons and fiends going along perfectly with the song. The voice that the songstress could pump out of her was amazing, even if it was amplified by the technology scattered all through the city for this day, it was stunning.

Light gathered around her, spinning in elegant wisps of colour, while old l’Cie knights projections appeared at her side, baring the mark of Lindzei proudly on their armored chests. The two siblings watched in silence, slowly moving closer to the stage, the show dazzling them.

The song ended, and silence fell over the crowd.

The wind picked up, sand racing up off the ground, forcing people back and trapping those inside. Eden watched her brother take a step back, as gold traces of energy began to spin around in the funnel. The crowd immediately began cheering as the energy expanded, blocking out the view of those inside.

But Eden noted the performers; they were looking at each other confused.

This was not a part of the show.

“Nova,” she caught his attention as she brought out her dual blades. “Get ready.”

“For what?” Nova looked at her, his voice full of uncertainty as he unsheathed his blade. “This isn’t part of the show?”

“No.” Eden’s skin tingled as the magic continued to grow, gold laces spawning white dust trails and arcs of blue lightning.

In a split second the energy collapsed in on itself, sucking in those trapped in the funnel. The orb it formed flashed white, as bright as the sun, blinding everyone near it before it exploded outwards. A shockwave of magic and sand sent most of the crowd careening backwards.

Eden landed on her foot soundly, though her brother could say the same. He bit the ground next to her, causing her to haul him to his feet. Nova grumbled thanks, shielding his eyes from the wind and sand as another shockwave tore outwards.

Chaos erupted, people were rushing past them, crying out things that didn’t make sense.

“Run!”

“Fiends!”

“Lindzei help us!”

Eden hurried forward, nimbly making her way through the crowd until she froze.

The stage was in ruins, the energy blast had damaged a support pillar and then with everyone beginning to run, too much weight had been placed on the left side. What remained was a crumpled left-side with a pile of people on top of each other trying to get away.

“Timdhya dnil!”

The roar of the beast caught Eden’s attention. Towering above the rest was a behemoth, with long red banners spawning from the back of its head. Its thick hide was a deep purple, with black veins running throughout and its chest revealed muscle on top of muscle. Clutched in its right hand was a rather nasty looking blade, and its massive jaws had many yellow, razor sharp teeth.

The monsters around it were not nearly as large as their commander, but they were none the less mean and possessed strength. Two took notice of Eden, with their dog-like bodies and strange mouths that had teeth that seemed far too large for its face. Their fur was tan with white underbellies, and paws equip with claws that were near the size of daggers.

They snarled and leapt, the first finding itself impaled on both of Eden’s blades. It yelped and was tossed to the side like garbage, which caused the other one to slow and circle. It charged soon after, going for the huntress’s legs but instead was greeted with one of the woman’s swords thrust through its head.

It twitched, and slumped.

“Dni wecc yw Lindzei nem syli! Errunucedi dni fihlur!”

Nova ran up beside her, his own sword now stained with monster blood. “What the hell are they?”

“They’re called Gorgonopsids.” Eden informed him, readying herself. “Don’t get surrounded.”

“And them?” He gestured to a few small, green-skinned creatures heading into the city.

“Goblins…”

There was a scream from the stage, and that’s all the excuse Nova needed. He took off towards the sound.

“No! Nova!” She went to follow but found herself cut off by numerous gorgons. “Oh for the love of Lindzei…”

They snarled, perhaps recognizing the Goddess’s name.

“Need help?”

Both Eden and the group of fiends looked over at Markus as he approached.

“No,” Eden countered, frowning a bit.

“Of course not.” He smirked, bringing up his fists. “Shall we?”

The huntress spun her weapons, smirking at the beasts. “Let’s go.”

- + -

Gorgonopsid, Goblin, and Feral Behemoth.

Don’t go pissing off the behemoth! You might die! XD Have fun tagging each other and surviving for a bit!

Alex sung ‘For the Heart I Once Had’ by Nightwish, for those of you wondering~

[classy_cat18]

Kite Rowe

I had spotted him again when I was gobbling my last fruit tart. My feet were glued to the ground, my mind arguing whether to just leave him alone for the night. At that instant, a voice screamed in my head:

JUST GIVE HIM THE DAMN TOY!

“Tch,” I sneered as I gathered up the courage to call out to him. “Nova!”

The manchild took one look at me and took off running in another direction. This wasn’t like him at all. Why was he avoiding me like the plague and darting around like he was in trouble?

Maybe he really did skip house arrest without permission. I followed him even as we both bumped into people. It was a miracle that I didn’t completely lose him. He’s heading for the stage?

A guard stopped me from following him backstage. “Not allowed, pal,” he said gruffly.

How did Nova get permission?

“I was just following my friend—“

“You can wait for him outside.”

I rolled my eyes and waited for him at a spot where I could keep an eye on the entrance. “He’ll spend all night in there if he wants,” I muttered.

But eventually he did come back out. This time he didn’t bother trying to hide from me. “How’d you get in there?” I questioned.

“Blagged my way in, as usual,” he replied.

That’s all he’s going to tell me? He never was one to talk about himself but today he has been more secretive than usual.

His eyes were glued to the stage on the beach. I hadn’t taken the time to watch the show since I had spotted him earlier. With him staying put for a change, I could relax and watch the show with him. The performers danced elegantly, giving as good of a performance as they always did. It was like watching a dream.

My fingers fiddled with the Chocobo toy. This is it. The perfect time to give it to him. I opened my mouth to speak only for a grunt of pain to come out when some kids stepped on it while running past.

“You okay?” Nova asked me when he noticed me shaking my foot.

“Yes. This is for you,” I said in a rushed voice as I handed him the toy, not even bothering to look at him. “I fixed it up and was going to find a way to sneak it to you while you were in house arrest.”

I glanced at him long enough to see him studying it. “Th-thanks. How’d you know it was my birthday?”

“Y-Your…” I shook my head. Another thing he didn’t bother telling anyone. “I hear things,” I lied.

“It’s great. Thank you.” He smiled and slipped it in his pocket. A small smile of my own appeared.

Good, he likes it. I turned my head to him only to find someone else had joined us. Nova had that “trapped rat” look again. It’s that girl from two weeks ago!

“Can I speak to you?” the girl asked Nova.

Poor Nova was sweating bullets. “I’ll uhh, be right back…” he told me.

“Are you in trouble?” I asked although I already knew the answer.

“No-“ he tried to lie.

“Yes,” the girl cut in. “He is. Please excuse us.”

“Please take as long as you need,” I whispered as I left them. Forget the whole damn show; I was going back so I can take my frustration out on some poor useless hunk of metal. It helps to imagine some idiot’s head in its place.

No matter how far from the stage I got, I could still see the brilliant lights and hear the voice of the songstress. Those only made me pick up the pace until I was running as fast as I could. I only stopped when I heard everything get quiet… and then get loud again.

But this time the sounds were totally different.

“Something’s wrong,” I murmured to myself. I ran the rest of the way to the shop to get my sledgehammer.

The heavy weight of my improvised weapon didn’t slow me down too much. Nova and that girl were still there. If Nova’s been harmed… Lindzei help whoever harmed him!

“FIEND!” a woman shrieked before almost crashing into me. Right behind her was a black-and-gray fiend, with a hole right through his wide-open maw.

“And this party keeps getting BETTER!” I growled, swinging my sledgehammer at the last word. It got the fiend right in the mouth and sent it flying.

Even worse than I thought. Figures that if Nova and the others could get OUT, the fiends would eventually be able to get IN. I reached the beach and concentrated on saving innocent people from the fiends attacking them. “NOVA! WHERE ARE YOU?”

[Weasel Overlord]

Bellaevis
:: date with the night ::

And then pretty much everything went to shit. Bellaevis was sitting at the bar, polishing off her third, maybe fourth drink. The atmosphere was lovely on the beach, right up until it wasn't. There was something about goblins that really ruined an evening, and she slammed down her empty glass.

“Great,” she cursed, a string of expletives tumbling from her mouth. She felt the heft of her instrument on her back and left her seat, eyes widening at the chaos facing her on the beach. She grinned – it'd make a fantastic song, and no mistake, but it would be all the better for her direct involvement.

And besides, she was pretty bored now that Nova had buggered off.

She wandered out of the shelter of the bar, nimbly dodging a goblin that dashed past her, hell-bent on chasing some poor sod probably to his death. She shook her head and whipped out Bellwyrm's Heartstring, leaving the running guy to sort himself out.

Unfortunately, due to a hefty dose of not-looking-where-she-was-going, Bellaevis walked slap bang right into a solid rock of a man. He smelled like oil, which was ridiculously sexy, and he immediately swore a blue streak that made her ears blister. Fantastic.

She looked up at him and grinned. “Oh, I like you. Come on big fella, you can help me take out some of these nasties, yeah?” She grabbed him by the elbow and steered him in the direction of the chaos. “You can talk some of those bad words at me while you're at it.”

“What the fu-” he attempted, then gave an almighty shrug that seemed to rock his entire body. Bellaevis tried not to think about how she would rock his entire body, failed spectacularly and just dived into the fray.

She managed to take out a goblin with a well-placed hit between the eyes and a whoop of approval from the big fella, and then she was careening through the crowds, zipping between monsters like she was weaving through a crowd at a carnival or something, all the while laughing like a demon.

“This is about a million times more interesting than just a celebration!” she whooped at the big guy, who was following her like a particularly gigantic shadow. “What's yer name anyway, I refuse to refer to you as That Massive Sexy Guy in my song.” She danced out of the way of a goblin's punch and smacked it between the eyes with Bellwyrm. “Hey, is that Nova over there? Come on, let's go grab him!”

“It's Cid!” he yelled after her, before shrugging again and just following. “Oi, Spanner Cock!” he shouted at Nova, who turned and groaned loud enough to be heard through the carnage.

Bellaevis turned to him, an expression of ecstatic glee across her face. “Oh my Lindzei. Spanner Cock! That is fucking amazing. Do you know him? You call him Spanner Cock? Oi!” she yelled in Nova's face. “Spanner Cock!”

His face fell. “Oh great. Who introduced you to him?”

Bellaevis looked scandalised. “I can't believe you've been hiding this sexy hunk of Cid away from me, Spanner Cock. I'm legitimately disgusted with you! I think you owe me at least three drinks and probably a threesome as atonement for your crime.” She pointed at Cid. “And you're invited too, assuming we don't all get et by wolves or something. Hey look, there's a singer up there! We should go help her or something, she might know some good songs.”

[ChobiChibi]

Nova Myst
Divinity II, FF7 Advent Children (promise I will get to other FF music at some point XD)

Nova couldn’t believe his luck. Nothing seemed to be going his way. He now had to babysit a drunken Cid and Bellaevis, who on their own would be fine, but it was Cid in particular he was worried about. With nothing but his fists and beer goggles, the mechanic would surely fall into trouble.

“Bellaevis, watch Cid.”

“Oh, I shall!” She gazed up at him, looping her arm with his and petting it affectionately.

“No, not like that...” Nova sighed, but a little chuckle escaped at the end of it. “Keep bottom of the stage clear. I’m gonna get Alex.”

“Who?!”

Nova didn’t bother answering, it would take far too much time. He climbed up onto the wreckage, the twisted metal providing a makeshift ladder. He was pulling himself up when the first goblin attached itself to his foot. Holding on tighter, he kicked as hard as he cold, but the stubborn little thing wouldn’t budge. Fine, I’ll just keep climbing with you there.

He lost his grip as a sudden weight pulled him downwards. Another 4 or 5 goblins had formed a chain from the first one, sticking their fists in each others’ mouths. He gripped for dear life as he peered over his shoulder, catching sight of another large group of goblins making their way past Bellaevis and Cid, who seemed to be preoccupied by a few gorgonopsids. He really didn’t want to be the goblin’s supper.

Carefully, he let go with one hand, reaching down to take his sword from its scabbard. He was pretty sure his arm would just rip apart at the shoulder if he didn’t hurry up and get rid of them. His chest muscled strained, not ready for such a test of endurance. He flicked his blade to its full length, hooking it in the goblin’s O.

It frowned for a moment before the life was drained from it, the sword cutting through it like a steak knife cutting an onion ring. It let him go, all the others tumbling into a heap below him. He threw his blade up onto the stage above him and quickly climbed up.

Was he too late? Alex was nowhere to be seen. Only four gorgonopsids growling angrily at one spot. What was it Eden had told him? “Don’t get surrounded.”

She had to be underneath the wreckage, there was no other explanation. He picked up his sword and ran at them, throwing it straight into the back of one of the creature’s heads. He charged at them as the oversized wolf collapsed, pulling his sword free as he challenged the others.

“Alex?!” He called, blocking what would have been a nasty bite.

The songstress peeked out from her hiding place, somewhat relieved to see someone she vaguely knew. As another gorgon’s head rolled, he ran to her, offering his hand.

“W-what’s happening?”

“I honestly don’t know.” Nova was watching the creatures; they’d backed off slightly. “But we need to get going.”

She seemed to retreat further into her little hiding place. “They want to eat me...”

“Do you trust me?” Nova took his eye off the enemy and stared straight into hers. “No, wait, don’t answer that. Don’t even think about that. I’m gonna keep you safe, I promise.” She stared at his hand. “Live for the moment, Alex, or you might never get to again.”

Alex smiled at him, taking his hand and allowing him to pull her to her feet. It was only then that he took a look at his surroundings. There were more of them now, and what’s more they were surrounded.

“Run to the edge and jump off the stage when I tell you. My friends are waiting at the bottom; you can’t miss ‘em.”

“What if they chase me?”

“I’ll distract them.”

“Nova...”

“You’ll be alright. I’ll be right behind you.”

She nodded, waiting for her cue as he made the first move. He provided an ample distraction as well as human shield until he saw an opening for her. “Run!”

Alex sprinted to the edge, but stopped, he noticed. He didn’t take into account that the goblins might still be there. He hadn’t killed all the gorgonopsids yet, but he couldn’t just leave her there either. He gave up on the monsters, they could chase him if they wanted, he just needed to get her off the stage and away from the shore line.

He made himself a gap in the hellhounds and ran for it. She only glanced back at him about a second before he tackled her off the edge, pulling her close so he could be her human shield. They landed with a thud, sand getting just about everywhere possibly thinkable.

As he spotted Bellaevis out the corner of his eye, he thought she’d probably like to be in this situation with him, particularly with sand in unmentionable places. He cringed, brushing the image away.

“Are you alright?” Nova asked, waiting for Alex to get up before he could.

[Crystal Tears]

~ 3 ~
Beachhead

“Nova!”

Nova’s gaze immediately shot away from the girl on top of him to his right. His sister – his very… he wouldn’t say worried or frightened, neither of those words fit Eden well… Concerned sister was hurrying towards them, a blade in one hand, the other sheathed.

“Eden?”

Alex looked over, and immediately got up, stumbling off of her rescuer. She couldn’t do a whole lot (not that she would try) as Eden reached down and yanked Nova to his feet roughly. Alex opened her mouth to speak up, but found it slamming shut from the unholy glare the soldier shot at her.

“Um…”

“What the hell were you thinking?” She pushed him away from the stage, forcing him to begin towards the town; Alex fell in line behind them.

“I was going to help her!” Nova gestured to Alex, who was very awkwardly looking between the two. “She screamed –“

“You ran off.” Eden replied coolly, but Alex could hear the tension in her voice. Whoever this woman was, she had been worried about Nova.

“I didn’t run off!” Nova seemed to wince; he suddenly realized how flawed that defense was.

“You went barreling off during a fiend invasion to save some broad.” She shot a look at Alex. “… No offense.”

“Oh um…” Alex flushed red. “None taken, I um… I’ll find someone else to follow if you want?”

“No!” Nova exclaimed, and both the women were suddenly staring at him. Eden looked as far from happy as a stoic soldier could get, her irritation was burning under the surface. Alex just looked downright embarrassed, not knowing what to say. “Damn it, I didn’t save her for you just to send her away!”

“I’m not sending her away.” Eden snapped back at her brother. “How cruel do you think I am?”

Alex didn’t want to listen to the argument – it felt rather rude. She was only left to assume that by the way the soldier was concerned for her friend’s safety, that they must know each other. The two seemed to have some sort of connection, and Alex’s curiosity got the better of her.


“Um…”

But her question was impossible to ask, as suddenly that Behemoth speaking in some language the girl could’ve never have deciphered – attacked.

It bellowed, and it was only the efforts of the soldier that had saved them all.

Eden threw herself into both of them, all three of them hit the sand but it was the huntress that turned her fall into a rough roll and came out fine. She twisted around, unsheathing her off-hand blade and combining it with the other. The two metals twisted and locked into each other, forming an elegant sword.

“You’re going to fight it?!” Nova coughed, hacking up sand as he watched his sister step towards the massive beast.

She shot a look at him from the corner of her eye. “It’s my job.” Eden twirled the Ashen Fall, readying herself. “Protect your friend.”


Alex watched Eden charge forward, nimbly dodging the behemoth’s far more cumbersome attacks. The songstress yelped and grabbed onto Nova’s arm when he tried to go chasing after the soldier.

“What are you doing?” Alex helplessly questioned.

“I need to help her!”

“She told you-“

Nova’s face softened. “She’s my sister.”

“Watch out!” Another man’s voice called to them, and instantly they both saw the incoming tail.

Nova leapt over it, the fine fur on the monster’s fifth limb just touching the bottom of his boots. Alex could’ve never made that jump – she knew she wasn’t that athletic. So she was somewhat relieved when someone’s arms wrapped around her and pulled her out of the way. The rush of wind and sand cascaded around her, forcing Alex to shut her eyes. Half expecting death to greet her, she suddenly realized she was being tightly held by someone much larger then herself and far more muscular.

Her eyes fluttered open and she hopped away from her rescuer.

It was the man from before.

“Markus!” She exclaimed, remembering his name. “Lindzei bless you! Thank you!”

“Keep safe.” He nodded to her, and hurried up to Nova. The songstress watched, feeling rather useless.

“Lea dni emn hyd ayoh myoc!” The behemoth was coming for them again, having sent two goblins to distract Eden. Alex stepped backed, watching as the massive creature went for Nova.

Nova ducked and dodged as best he could, but he wasn’t nearly as nimble as Eden. The leader of the invasion roared and knocked Markus away, bringing its sword up in preparation to cut Nova clean in half.

Eden would have none of that.

She split her sword in two and stabbed either goblin in the brain, before rushing away from them and hopping up onto the Behemoth’s back. It didn’t even notice her – not until she bounded off its shoulder and grabbed one of the banners dangling from its head. She tightened her grip as the ground came up fast and did her best to throw all her weight downwards.

The behemoth’s swing was thrown off as its head was pulled to the left, throwing the creature and the huntress to the ground in an explosion of sand.

As the sand began to settle, Nova caught sight of his sister lying on the ground motionless.

“Eden!” He shouted, rushing over to her.


“Odile I must protest to this proactive protection plan! I’m sure she’s perfectly fine–“

“Shut it Stroud!”

Alex blinked, turning around to see her two caretakers approaching. Despite having had guardians before, she was somehow far more relieved to see those two oddlings then any of the others.

“Odile!” Alex shouted, waving to them. Both caught sight of her and hurried over. “You’re okay!”

“Of course we’re okay! No thanks to Adair, he wants to run back to the ship.”

Adair scoffed, crossing his arms and turning his head away. “Only because I seem to be the only fantastical—though not frantic—fan of fulsome firepower. The darling Sealark abounds with bombs, if I may remind you.” He seemed far from pleased as he looked over Alex’s shoulder. “Ah, beasties. Swell. I’ll be off to save our-“

He swung around to walk away in the most impeccable of fashions, only to be greeted soundly by the behemoth’s swinging tail to his face – sending him cartwheeling through the air (and then the sand) in the most spectacular of ways. The creature was rising to its feet, shaking its head as sand was in its eyes and obscuring its vision.

“Adair!” Alex and Odile both shouted; Alex took off after him.

“We’ll get the ship! Help Nova!” The songstress ran off after the crashing man, ignored by the incoming fiends.


Eden groaned, slowly getting back up. She pushed Nova away; pointing to the woman Alex had ordered to help. “Stay with her.”

“Eden-“

She pushed him again, more soundly on his chest – making her point. “Go, there’s fiends coming.”

“Spanner cock!”

Nova grimaced, Eden and Markus looked over.

Bellaevis was standing there, looking ready to go. She had a mad grin on her face as she patted Eden on the shoulder. “Need some help?”

“I need a drink.” Eden retorted, getting a small chuckle from her friend.


“Nova!”

“Kite!” Eden’s brother answered, moving away from his sister and towards the stranger. “Come on, we need to help her!”

Kite blinked; confused. “Who is she-“

“I don’t know.” Nova cut him off, seeing her engaging the goblin and gorgon reinforcements. “But we need to help.”


Eden plucked her sword from the ground and flicked it into a rifle; Bellaevis flanked her as Markus took point.

The Behemoth smirked, picking up its own fallen weapon. It pointed at the trio.

“Ayo ehi rydnurk ekeurmd dni luknd yw Asura! Lea Humbaba syrmoli ayoh myoc!”

- + ~ + -

Right, here is the post to kick off the next part. I believe I managed to tag everyone. Just in case there’s any confusion:

Bellaevis, Eden, and Markus are taking on the Behemoth

Odile, Kite, and Nova are fighting the fiends (gorgons and goblins)

Adair and Alex are going to get the ship (if Adair survived the hit…)

[Samchu]

Markus
~~~~~

It had almost been perfect, but then, almost was what his moments with Eden always came down to. He knew it was hopeless for them. They had seperate duties and it was always going to tear them apart. But he lived for those almosts, sad it was, and cherished each of them. So when Eden left him, he didn't dispair, simply watched her walk away from him before finding his own path along the beach.

He found himself near the stage before the fireworks and amused himself with waiting for the entertainment to start. He contemplated delving into his supply of magi leaf but decided against it. As amazing as they would make the fireworks appear, it wasn't necessary. Better to save it for the end of a long day than waste it on a relaxing one.

There was applause when the singer appeared on stage and Markus joined in, clapping a little harder when he noticed it was Alex who was stepping out before them. Her voice was beautiful and no doubt many a man - both bachelor and non - found themselves falling for the beautiful songstress. Even he, smitten as he was for Eden, felt himself fall a little.

It was a perfect moment.

And then, that moment ended. In a flash of light and a burst of energy, fiends poured onto the scene, pouncing on whichever human was unlucky enough to be within their reach. Panic erupted throughout the crowd and Markus found himself fighting against a tide of bodies desperate to escape the beach and it's invaders.

"Move!" Whilst mostly a teacher, he had learned how to throw his voice over riots and protests but here even his strongest shouts were swallowed up by the sounds of screams. Here, his size hindered him. Where a more nimble man might weave through the ever-coming wall of bodies, Markus was forced to push his way through gaps nowhere near big enough to accomodate his size. Countless bodies slammed against him. Most were able to squeeze past him but some felt back into the crowd and were pressed against him. As much as he hated it, he had to throw them past him in order to continue.

As the crowd began to thin he quickened his pace, rolling his shoulders to release the stiffness of so many crashing bodies. To his left, one of the feral creatures pounced on a young woman. He steered himself towards her and grabbed the beast by the scruff of its neck, tearing it from its feast and slamming it into the sand. He heard the woman scramble away but kept his eyes focused on the creature as it rolled and lowered itself, stepping to the side as it eyed up the human that had dared to attack it. Likewise, Markus braced himself. He kept his eyes on the monster's, challenging it, daring it to charge, and when it did, he knew that he would beat it.

As the creature moved, Markus clicked his fingers. The mesh covering his arms began to harden and he pulled his left arm in front of him. The creature pounced at him, jaws open, and Markus rammed his arm into the creature's mouth. It clamped down, gnawing at the hardened material but failing to make any progress. Keeping his arm firm, Markus forced his right hand into a fist and slammed it into the creature's skull. With a whimper, it released its grip on his arm and fell to the sand but this time Markus didn't giive it a chance to get up. He pounced on the creature, pummeling it with his strengthened fists until it lay bloodied and still.

"One down..." He lifted himself to his feet and gazed across the battlefield, "...only a hundred and a giant behemoth to go..." The he noticed a figure standing in a circle of creatures identical to the one he had just dispatched. "Eden..."

He wasted no time in rushing to her aid, though calling it that would likely result in a lashing at Eden's hands. No, he had just arrived to simplify the process of extermination.

They able to destroy the group swiftly. Markus took a claw to the shoulder as the result of a moment of concentration loss but other than that he and his companion were unharmed.

"That was almost-" He turned to watch her charging off down the beach once again. "And there she goes again. Lindzei damn her if I lose a limb because of this."

He didn't need to protect Eden, nor did that thought cross his mind as he followed after her. But he knew Eden, maybe not completely but enough to know that she was going to throw herself into the thick of things and that one way or another, that was going to lead to a showdown with the behemoth. He had never seen one in person but he knew enough about them to know they were particularly dangerous and he had a really bad feeling about the one clearly leading this assault. So, fighting against the doubt and the fear, he took off after the woman he loved.

Halfway there, a goblin blocked his path. He thew swings against it only to have the more agile creature dodge them and counter with its own bulbous fist straight into his jaw. Markus took a step back to recover and managed a quick glance behind his enemy towards Eden. She had managed to get ahold of Nova and Alex and - as he had both expected and feared - caught the attention of the behemoth. A fire burned at his core and he pushed himself forward, feigning an attack with his right and catching the goblin firmly in the head with his left. It spun as it toppled to the floor and Markus ran past.

He caught up with Nova and Alex just in time to see the behemoth's tail swinging towards them. Crying out, Markus ran for Alex and pulled the girl into an embrace as they spun just out of reach of the beast's mighty tail.

"Markus! Lindzei bless you! Thank you!"

He smiled at the young girl and nodded, managing to respond with a quick "Keep safe" before joining Nova's side against the behemoth. When it attacked, Markus tried to block but force and angle were against him and he was knocked several feet to the side, crashing into the sand. With a groan, he pushed himself to his feet. "Feels like I just got punched by a house..." His entire right side was crying out. He'd never taken a hit like that in his life and he was worried of the outcome should he take another. Whatever his doubts before, now he really doubted they could defeat it.

He made his way back to the battle just in time to see Eden and the beast fall to the ground. His feet stuck in the sand. He had seen Eden take falls but never like that. There was still some distance between them but even he could see she wasn't moving. Something went cold in his chest as Nova shouted her name and ran to her side. A moment later he found himself doing the same.

Thankfully, she was fine. And somehow, in the time between his absence and return, they had gathered a fighting force of their own, though "force" seemed a little optimistic for the rag-tag bunch of misfits that now found themselves facing off against the terrors of the world beyond the shields. But they had some numbers and perhaps that would prove to be something in the coming battle.

As the group seperated into smaller divisions, Markus found himself facing off against the behemoth, Eden and a girl he didn't know at his stead. The creature picked up it's large, deadly weapon and pointed it at them, threatening them in a language he had never heard before. He stared back at the creature, hardening his gaze to hide his fear. He had fought bigger men before but never had he come face to face with something so large and powerful. They had no plan, but as the behemoth moved it's blade into fighting position, Markus knew exactly what he had to do.

"Hey! Hey ugly! Can you actually use that thing or are you compensating for something?"

It certainly caught the creature's attention.

"Come on then! What are you waiting for? Hit me!"

He didn't know if the creature understood him, but as it reared back, blade parallel to its spine, Markus knew it was about to do what he wanted. He just prayed it wasn't going to kill him in the process.

As the blade came down, Markus dropped to one knee and raised his protected arms above his head. The edge of the blade smashed against them and he braced himself against the sand, allowing the shifting ground to aborb the worst of the impact. Even with the terrain to aid him, the force bearing down on him was agonising. His right side, still sore from the first hit, was screaming in agony. Half the battle was against his own body, forcing it to keep strong, keeping it from giving way. But it was a battle he was losing. Each second the blade edged its way closer to his head. He didn't know which would give first, the material covering his arms or the strength in them. The first seemed to be holding firm whilst the later was fading quickly. Already he could feel them shaking.

"Whatever you're planning on doing," he shouted back to the girls, "now would be an excellent time to do it."

[classy_cat18]

Kite Rowe

"So now what?" I asked no one in particular.

"Do you need to ask?" the one named Jin replied. "We get out of here."

"And do what? Ramblum is now exposed to the outside world. It's no longer safe." The town that I had called my home my whole life was probably nothing but rubble. There was nothing back there as far as material possessions went but I still needed somewhere to return to. Now I felt so...lost. And with complete strangers, no less. Even Nova was feeling more like a stranger.

"Lemme have that crystal," I blurted out.

Jin jerked his head at me in surprise. "What? Why?"

"I want to keep an eye on it. I'm not going to sell it; it'd probably be dangerous to do so anyway. And look at it this way. If something deadly really is in there, you won't be the first thing it devours."

There. I posted.

[Crystal Tears]

~6~

Eden hadn’t been listening much to the group as they pressed onwards, Bellaevis seemed to have recovered – walking on her own and keeping up with the rest as if nothing had happened. Eden was personally dreading the part when the group stopped their bickering and focused more on how they were getting out of here. The huntress had absolutely no idea where they were going – only that it was distinctly away from the cieth.

The next room they entered narrowed into a corridor that was decorated in carvings and statues that were far from the horrifying ones from one level up. They were indistinguishable really – Eden had no idea where one ended and the other began. Either wall seemed to show what she could only suppose was the world, and rays of light shining down onto it. There were other creatures and things inscribed as well, but no one seemed to be able to make them out.

“Are these people?” Alex questioned, touching the cool wall. “Or monsters?”

“I don’t know.” Nova frowned, “these might be fal’Cie? They’re on pedestals.”

“Look here,” Markus gestured to one particular large portrait of a massive pillar, reaching up into the clouds. “Isn’t this Lindzei’s throne?”

“The crystal staircase,” Alex nodded, beaming. “The top is said to be the Goddess’s realm, where the souls of l’Cie knights wander and live a new life.”

Eden gave the picture a quick glance before turning her attention to Bellaevis, who had wandered on ahead. She approached her friend from the rear, giving the musician a curious glance.

“What is it?”

“Oh, this door.” Bella gestured to it, giving a frown. “Won’t move.” She gave it a quick kick and was stunned when it groaned and parted. “Oh hey! Guess you’re my good luck charm.”

Eden rolled her eyes. “Fantastic, try not to hurt yourself.”

Her friend shrugged off the comment and entered. “Hey! Stop staring at that and come see this!”

Curious, the group entered.

The chamber wasn’t very wide, but it was gigantic in height. Soft flutters of ash from the grey sky overhead rained down on them. Eden extended her hand, catching a flake in her glove before glaring up at the overcast sky.

“We’re outside of the barrier…” She snarled.

“You didn’t think that before?” Kite questioned, crossing his arms.

“There was no way to prove it,” The huntress countered, shooting him a glare. This chamber was far more decorated then anything they had seen, and almost seemed to be throne-like. Against the far all, however in a seemingly bottomless pit was a large, mechanized cocoon. It had orange glowing lines and hummed dully, causing subtle vibrations through the air. “This must be a Gaian Vestige.”

“For a fal’Cie?” Nova gave his a look of disbelief. “All Gaian fal’Cie wander don’t they? They don’t sit in a temple.”

“I don’t know,” Markus looked around, hands behind his head. “I haven’t been to many temples, but all these markings make me put my money on Eden.”

“There’s a surprise…” Nova muttered.

“What was that?” The man glared at Eden’s brother.

“Shut up.” Eden shot back. “Both of you.”

Jin stepped forward, giving the cocoon a curious look. “Is it dead?”

“Nah,” Bellaevis shrugged, giving him a smile. “Feel that vibration? It’s asleep I think.”

“Let it sleep.” Kite murmured.

Eden nodded. “He’s right; nothing good will come from waking up a fal’Cie.”

“But aren’t they beneveolent?” Nova pointed out. “Can’t we just ask it to teleport us home?”

“Can they teleport people?” Bella looked back at the younger Myst sibling.

“Why not?” Markus grinned. “They’re all powerful aren’t they?”

Alex seemed nervous. “Y-yes but… this isn’t a Eden fal’Cie, its Gaian, it may be different.”

“All of them serve Ultima.” Bellaevis smirked and focused on the cocoon. “Ought to help us out.”

“Bellaevis…” Eden groaned, signalling the others to get a move on. They followed their orders, starting for the door.

“Hey!”

“Leave it alone…” The huntress crossed her arms, standing next to her friend.

“Hey! Fal’Cie!”

Only Eden seemed to notice, but the vibrations seemed to waver a bit. A nervous feeling twisted in her gut and she grabbed Bellaevis’s arm. “We’ll find our way back-“

The musician tugged her arm free, and jokingly pushed Eden away. “Alright, but just one more shout – for fun?”

Sighing, the woman nodded.

“Oi! You lazy-ass mechanized disaster! Wake the hell up! Ultima wants you to teleport us by to Ramblum! So hop to it!”

Nothing – personally Eden was thankful for that. “Come on.” Both of them turned and walked for the door.

Then the humming and the vibrations stopped.

Both of them paused as they heard the groaning and clanking of something moving behind them. The lights in the chamber flickered, turning out altogether and followed by the subsequent failure of all lights apparently everywhere. Yellow energy exploded outwards, spiralling upwards into the massive tower, before it rained back down, flickering snowflakes of energy falling around the duo.

Eden felt the humming return – and the vibrations soon after. The entire temple began quake as pieces of a complicated machine locked in the cocoon twisted and locked in place, gears and synthetic parts whirling around each other before they formed a glowing orange figure of humanoid shape.

“Run!” Eden ordered, shoving Bellaevis ahead of her.

Nova had turned back around, heading for the doorway. “Eden!”

“Nova get back!” Eden shouted, but her shot turned into a yelp as something wrapped around her foot and yanked her backwards. Bellaevis pivoted, snatching the huntress’s hand and holding onto the doorframe.

“Let ‘er go!” Bella cried, watching as Nova futilely cried to cut at the ribbon of energy with his sword. “Lindzei damn you! Let her go!”

It relinquished Eden, sending the three of them crashing through the doorway.

“Look out!” Jin cried, pulling Alex out of the way as the others scrambled. A shot of orange energy blasted out of the room, striking and coiling itself around the musician before tugging her back inside.

“Eden!” Bellaevis cried, outstretching her hand.

Eden scrambled, grabbing for her best friend’s hand. Other weaves of energy whipped out, knocking the others away and attempting to dissuade the huntress.

Bellaevis slid back into the fal’Cie’s chamber, out of Eden’s reach. Her eyes wide with fear as the chamber entrance door slammed down barring everyone’s path.

Eden crashed into it, and all of them could see Bellaevis twisted scream before she went silent.

The group didn’t say a word, they watched Eden back up, and stare at the door for a moment before she unsheathed her gunblade and began hacking at the block. The clangs of the sword on stone echoed, resounding through the entire temple. She kept going at it, until she heard someone’s voice.

“Eden…” Alex murmured, the only one who dared speak to her. Eden cast a withering glance back at her, silencing the girl. The songstress stepped back, sitting next to Nova and Kite.


Fifteen, long, quiet minutes passed. Eden had stopped her assault on the door – but kept staring at it. No one dared to approach her, no one dared to even speak louder than a whisper.

Until the door opened.

“What’d you do?” Kite questioned, getting to his feet first.

Eden unsheathed her two blades and combined them into a single, formidable weapon before she entered. “Nothing – stay on guard.”

The room was as dark as it was before, the orange glow strangely not lighting up the room as it had done before. Still, the humanoid figure remained, as did the orange falling stars. Despite having no discernible face or features, Eden knew it was watching them come in – all of them carrying weapons and readying themselves for combat.

“I’ve… never seen a fal’Cie like that before…” Alex noted, mesmerized by the glowing figure. “Is it a fal’Cie?”

Nova put out his arm, stopping her from walking forward. “Don’t get too close.”

A loud, thunderous boom echoed out from the creature before the orange glow shot away from it, dissipating into the air as it revealed an immense, mechanical somewhat feminine being. She had six arms, and what looked like three distinct faces on her head – all depicting different emotions. Some sort of synthetic weave was cast over her lap and right shoulder, acting as some sort of mock sari. The cocoon itself had folded away to form into what looked like an enormous throne, with a pulsating orange glow worked into it that made the mechanical being appear as if she were glowing.

“Definitely a fal’Cie…” Markus gulped as everyone took a step back.

“Which one?” Jin looked at the guardian in confusion.

Eerily, the fal’Cie’s face switched – and it wore the mask of what a wise leader or king might. A calm, all knowing expression that bore down on the strange group and seemingly analyzing them all.

She extended her arms, unravelling her three fingered, and two thumbed hands. Large orbs of the same orange magic floated above her palms as she moved and locked into place.

The fal’Cie’s eyes lit up like a fire and suddenly the ribbons of energy were back – dizzily dancing around the group before one of the six laces wrapped itself around Alex and lifted her up. A second later, everyone was entangled in the same energy, each fighting against their own binds.

Eden couldn’t speak for the rest of them, but the energy tingled before pain erupted from her abdomen. She heard Alex scream first, followed by Nova and then everyone else – including herself. Cries of shock, confusion and agony echoed through the chamber before each of them were dropped to the floor.

A blurry, unclear vision flashed before Eden’s shut eyes.

A crystal pillar shattering into a thousand pieces.

Humbaba’s scarred, and ugly maw opening and letting loose a terrible roar.

And finally a floating metropolis falling from the sky – collapsing down onto the earth, a plume of smoke and ash rising to the heavens.

Eden’s eyes shot open and she unsteadily hurried to Nova. He was clutching his chest, his eyes moving rapidly behind his lids before he snapped awake. He stared at Eden, fear on his face about what he had just seen.

“Are you alright?” Eden questioned, and got a wary nod from him. She turned to see Markus struggling to get to his feet, shaking his head. She hurried for him, helping Kite up in the process. “Markus?” She questioned, getting his attention. “What’s wrong?”

“I…” He gave her a worried glance. “Did you see that vision?”

“It’s moving!” Jin shouted, readying himself as the fal’Cie’s benevolent face switched past joy and straight to anger.

“That’s not good.” Nova growled, flourishing his weapon.

All six of the fal’Cie’s hands clamped together before they flew apart, sending a familiar woman flying back at them.

Bellaevis crashed into the floor before the group.

Eden hurried for her, but found her wrist snatched by Markus.

“Something isn’t right.” He gestured to Bellaevis. “Look.”

Bellaevis groaned and growled, slowly getting to her feet she snarled at the group, swiping at Alex who Nova pulled out of the way. She stumbled back, eyes as black as night. Eden felt her heart twist, watching her friend act like a monster.

Then it happened, Bellaevis let out an inhuman shriek and her body began to twist and crack. She began to get taller – to the point where she towered over Markus. Everyone stepped back, watching as layer upon layer of mutant, ugly crystal around her gangly limbs. Six hexagonal wings shout of Bellaevis’s back, as her fingers curved into unforgiving claws.

Her entire body had taken a glistening, white sheen to it.

And in the center of what used to be her chest was a massive, red eye. Red pulsing lines were all over her body and her face was no more – she didn’t have a nose, mouth or even eyes. Just a blank skull with crystal protrusions spawning from it.

“No…” Eden muttered, stepping forward – nearly dropping her gunblade in horror. “She…”

It took a second for it to register that her friend was gone and in her place was a monster. Eden’s face twisted in rage, and she charged headlong towards the monster.

It needed to die.

- + -

~ Defeat Bellaevis’s Cieth Form.

~ Congrats everyone – you’ve all unlocked the very basic of your magic skills. I do not want to see advanced magic at all, only basic.

[ChobiChibi]

I'M BACK BITCHES.

Nova Myst

There was nothing to like about this current situation. Nova knew what had to be done, what he would have to help achieve, but it made him feel sick to his stomach. Surely there had to be another way to fix this? Did she have to die?
He gripped his sword tighter in an attempt to compose himself.

“We’ll attack Bellaevis together.” He told Jin quietly. “Go for her legs; see if you can knock her off balance. I’ll go high, it might confuse her.”

Jin nodded. “Good luck.”

“You too.”

If Jin had known Nova better, he would have known not to trust this plan. Although when they rushed forward, Jin did indeed manage to trip the monster up, Nova ran straight past, running directly for the fal’cie instead.

A few feet before impact, Nova raised his blade, his heart racing and his skin hot with anger before crashing it down with all his might at the metal beast. He wasn’t sure what shocked him more; the fact that his sword was on fire (although it explained why he’d suddenly felt rather warm) or the fact that his sword caught on a shield, much like the dome around Eden he thought. He seemed to have made a small dent in it before it let out a huge burst of energy that sent him flying backwards into the unsuspecting arms (well, more like body) of his best friend. They only stopped when Nova crashed head first into a nearby statue.

Kite quickly freed himself from his rather dazed friend, who sat himself up and rested his head in his hands. “Why the hell did you do that for?!”

“We’ve got to save Bellaevis...” Nova mumbled, pulling his knees up so that he could rest his arms and head on them.

Kite tapped his foot impatiently. “Would we be fighting the monster if anyone thought we could save her?”

“No...”

“Well then get up!” He tugged on his arm, but the boy stayed put.

“Kite, the room is spinning.”

“Is he okay?” Nova just about heard Alex’s voice over the sound of Eden firing a couple of rounds of bullets at the Cieth.

It took a few moments for Kite to reply. “... Says he’s dizzy, I think he hit his head pretty hard...”

She crouched down in front of him, placing her hand gently on his arm. “Nova?”

He looked up enough that they could just about see his eyes. “Hey beautiful.”

“Pfft, that’s the concussion talking.” Kite rolled his eyes.

Alex blushed a little, but was quickly distracted by a glint of wetness in his hair. She gently ran her fingers through it, to find her hand covered in blood. Without any hesitation, she pressed down harder to try and make it stop. “Kite, get something I can stop the bleeding with, quick!”

But before he’d even got to his feet, Alex’s hand began to glow with a bright white light. They both stared in disbelief as the wound closed up and Nova seemed to regain his composure. Once the light faded, Alex gasped, and fell onto her bum.

Now that the world had decided to stay still, Nova looked up at her. “Did you just heal me?”

“I-I... I think so...”

Nova got to his feet, feeling rather chirpy, before offering a hand up for Alex. “So you can heal people, I can set my sword on fire...” He looked over at Kite. “What can you do?”

He shrugged. "I'll keep waving my arms and pointing fingers until something happens."

The trio watched as Markus took an almighty blow from the Cieth, but were amazed when the man hardly flinched. Nova knew he was tough, but not that tough. Another little gift from the fal’cie, he suspected, as the creature continued to bash Markus in an attempt to break the man’s concentration.

He looked pretty battered, to be honest, and although Eden and Jin were giving Bellae-Cieth plenty of reason to attack them, she seemed to be on a vendetta. “Alex, I remember reading that the L’Cie Knights could cast spells over long distances... Do you think you could get Markus from here?”

“L’Cie...” She mumbled, looking a tad worried. She absentmindedly fiddled with her bracelets. “Maybe if we got a bit closer, but do you really think we’re L’Cie?”

“No time to think about that, we’ll distract the Cieth,” He nodded in Kite’s direction, who readied that massive sledge hammer of his, “And you heal Markus. Stay close, we’ll protect you.” He reached for his sword to find it wasn’t there, and scanned the floor until he spotted it near the Fal’cie.

“Damn... It’s spell casting time...”

“Go!”

The boys rushed forward together, a ball of flames forming in his hands that he stopped and threw at their opponent, whilst Kite smashed his hammer right between its shoulder blades. Out of the corner of their eyes, they caught the bright white glow of Alex’s healing spell on Markus, who seemed suitably relieved enough to be able to uppercut the Cieth without much thought, although he did look a little bruised still.

“Nova!” He turned to face his sister, who was frowning at him. “Don’t lose this.” Eden threw his blade to him, which he caught and took a firey swing at the beast.

“I didn’t lose it; I simply put it down for health and safety purposes.”

“Oh stop bullshitting, Nova!”

“I’m not bullshitting! If I didn’t drop it, it might have ended up lodged somewhere in either mine or Kite’s corpses!”

“You dropped it, Nova! That’s not a conscious decision you made for your health and safety!”

“Guys! Watch out!” Jin called, but he was too late. The siblings’ bickering distracted them from the fact the Cieth was rather angry at them. It floored them both, before doing the same to Markus and Jin.

With the majority of them out of the way, the monster turned its attention to the two that remained standing. Alex stood behind Kite, peering from behind him, clinging onto the sleeve of his shirt so hard that her knuckles were white. Kite, on the other hand, stood firm, waiting to give it a good smack with his hammer. He stared at it with such intensity and anticipation that it seemed like time was slowing down...

In actual fact, the Cieth was slowing down. It seemed to be doing more of a slow-mo run. Kite smirked, swinging his hammer, connecting with its cheek. The only disadvantage, he would find, is that the beasty had a lot more time to think about things, and snatched the hammer from his grip as it began to return to normal speed.

Alex pulled Kite backwards, only for the pair of them to hit a wall.
It was running full pelt at them now, but so was Nova. He dived at its feet, pulling it to the ground, much to its irritation. Bellae-Cieth let out a menacing growl before taking hold of Nova by the throat (he was unfortunately well within arm’s reach) and standing up, letting him dangle from his grasp.

Apparently, Nova’s natural response to this was to grab hold of her arms and attempt to burn her, but this just seemed to make her more determined. It was easy to forget the pain when all he could think about was the fact that it was Bellaevis staring back at him. Killing him, in fact. And apparently, he was quite happy to just let her.

Eden wasn’t though.

He was nearly unconscious when he saw Eden’s gunblade emerge through the Cieth’s chest. She dropped him before she fell to the floor herself. Nova coughed, gasped and spluttered in an attempt to get as much air into his lungs as possible.

“I... Love... Oxygen...”

“You’re welcome...”

Shakily, Nova picked up his sword and got to his feet. “Right, so that fal’cie is next.”

“Don’t be an idiot...”

“Why the hell not?! Last I checked, Eden, it turned your best friend into a monster that tried to murder us all. If that’s not a reason to destroy some Godly-Machine, I don’t know what is.”

“It can get us out of here, Nova!”

“Wait a minute.” Kite cut in, moving to stand next to Nova. “Why do you keep arguing with her?”

“Yeah, Nova, why is that?” Markus looked as smug as hell, Nova hated it.

“Fuck. Off. Markus.”

He couldn’t tell if Kite was annoyed or upset, but whatever it was, it was certainly getting to him. “Nova?”

“She’s my sister, alright.” He glared daggers at Markus. “Happy now?”

[classy_cat18]

Kite Rowe

She’s my sister… she’s my sister… my sister…

Those words bounced around in my brain, making any other thought impossible. No emotion at first either. I couldn’t even think of a suitable response until the echo had gone away. “Sister,” I said simply.

“Uh, yeah,” Nova said back sheepishly.

“When… when were you planning on telling me this?”

“Well…”

“Never. You were never going to tell me this.” Now that blessed emotion called “anger” had finally reared its head.

“I had a good reason—“ he started.

“We were about to die? Was that your reason? Because so far, half of the things you were keeping from me weren’t even revealed until this night.” I ran up to him and roughly grabbed his collar. “It took a total disaster for you to tell me you had a sister! That you used to be in the military!”

“Let go of him,” his sister told me. Alex tugged at my clothes to get my attention but I ignored her. Nova stayed calm.

I ignored Eden’s command. “Let’s hear your reason.”

He pried my hands from his clothes. “I know you hate those military types. If you had known of my past, then you wouldn’t want anything to do with me.“

“This could’ve been important to know earlier!”

“See, I know you’d react like that.”

“Because you decided that I couldn’t handle this!”

“And you were right,” Eden grumbled.

“Shut up,” I snapped at her. “I… I just…” I looked around the room at everyone, then at the fal’Cie. My stomach was in pain along with the rest of my body. But in spite of everything I wanted to say, he had a point. I didn’t like what I had learned.

It didn’t change the fact that he had hidden it from me.

“Fine,” I said calmly. “You are absolutely right, Nova. That was a very good reason.” I glanced over at my sledgehammer. “We all hide things from people that might hurt our relationships from them.” I slowly walked over to Smashy and hoisted it over my shoulder.

“So since we’re all about to die,” I continued. “We should all tell things that we’ve hidden from others. Mortal peril is the perfect time for confessions it seems. First…”

BOOM! I slammed Smashy in the ground. “I’ve been hiding the fact that for the past year or so, I’ve been infatuated with the dumbest person on the planet. Anywhere on the planet.” BOOM! “A person who refused to trust their friend with anything, like their past, their activities or even their fucking birthday.” BOOM! “But for some reason, I didn’t think it was a problem. I mean, everyone has their secrets that are best left buried. Letting someone know their birthday is so dangerous.” BOOM! “And if that isn’t just the most delightful thing, I found out that person is more open to a random dancing girl they just bumped into less than a day ago—“

I shot a quick glare at Alex.

BOOM! “Than they are to the friend that they met a year ago. And while they were talking to this girl, they were avoiding me like the plague. But you know what? It’s okay now. Because I have come to my senses. Why should I fool with someone that I can never have?”

“Now is not the time for angsting!” Eden shouted.

I paused in mid-swing and sighed heavily. “You’re right. We’re about to die, after all.” I faced the fal’Cie. “We need to get out of here.”

“Kite—“ I heard Nova start.

“Don’t say anything to me. Not a word. I’m through with you.” I closed my eyes to force back the tears that threaten to come.

[Crystal Tears]

Eden and Alex
-------------------------------------------

The tension between everyone was threatening to turn into an actual solid mass. Eden wore a frown that was for them all, in particular – Kite who had decided that this moment was the perfect time to make everything horribly awkward. They still had to face the fal’Cie, and this sort of thing hindered everyone from working together. The huntress’s frown turned quickly into a nasty scowl.

She had just slain what was left of her best friend, to save her headstrong brother who happened to have a brewing romance with both the songstress he had just met and some ditch-crawling friend of his.

Ultima damn us all. She thought bitterly, realizing this was as much her fault as everyone else’s. This group wasn’t teamwork material at all – if they didn’t get out of here, they were all dead.

Even with their new found powers.

“Enough.” Eden snarled, as the group had begun bickering again, though it was more between Markus and Nova than anyone else. “We need to get out of here, I don’t want to hear another word out of you two unless it’s helpful.”

Nova opened his mouth to protest, to which he received a silencing glare.

A strange noise came from the fal’Cie causing everyone to turn and face it. It’s head began to turn again, switching to an expression of joy. Alex backed up, stepping behind Nova in fear. This fal’Cie wasn’t like the others back home – it was different. Why had it turned them into l’Cie?

And that vision… it couldn't be what she was thinking – no fal’Cie would ask that of a human being.


The fal’Cie extended its hands outwards, orbs of light floating over its palms, pulsating with similar energy to that which had grabbed them before. In a flash those spheres were whirling around the party before homing in on Alex, whizzing around her before one of them found what it was searching for:
The crystal.

It floated outwards, carried by the orbs until it was just before them.

Eden watched the strange display; the energy seemed to be amplified by the crystal – and the orbs just kept multiplying. Splitting and shrinking until it was like one million mini-suns whirling around the treasure Jin had originally found before a shockwave of orange exploded outwards.

And gravity changed – once again the huntress found herself being pulled towards a teleportation field.

But there was no chance to tell everyone to run, no, instead everyone was instantaneously caught in its area of effect and pulled inwards.

And within a moment, Eden was hurled into the bustling street. Unable to do anything else, she curled into a ball, wincing as a car nearly ran her over – instead it swerved to the right and smashed into a building. Eden blinked, uncurling slowly and realizing that these were humans that were beginning to gather – not monsters.

Soon after the others followed, each one being spit out onto the road. Nova was thrown right into the crowd, Alex landed next to her, Jin and Kite slammed into each other and Markus nearly landed on top of Eden.

“Where the hell are we?” Markus groaned.

Eden stood up with a groan; she really wanted to sleep – in a comfortable bed. “Alexandria..”

Alex was up next, helped to her feet by Markus. “That fal-“

Eden grabbed her arm. “Don’t mention that here, not now.” The huntress spotted her brother making his way back over. “We need to get to the house.”

“House?” Kite questioned with a notable tone of frustration. “You live in Alexandria?”

Nova nodded. “It’s not a big deal,”

“No, not a big deal…” Kite growled, “You just live in the capital of Eden – which under normal circumstances wouldn't let people like me in.”

Alex gave everyone a nervous smile. “Let’s just get to their house, we all need a rest.”

[ChobiChibi]

Nova Myst

He was actually quite looking forward to going home. Alright, so it wasn’t ideal that everyone else was coming with them, but Eden was right. They needed to rest, and then figure out how to sort this mess out somewhere where their conversations couldn’t be overheard.

Nova tried to check his phone for the time, but his battery had died at some point along the line. It was clearly the early hours of the morning by the looks of things, and clearly not the same evening that they’d disappeared on. Most people from Alexandria visit Ramblum for the Parade of Lights, it would be unusual for there to be this many people out drunk in Alexandria for that festival.

It was then he realised he still had his sword in his hand, so he quickly folded it back down and sheathed it. No monsters to fight here.

As the siblings began to lead them to their home, Nova checked to make sure they were all following. Sure enough, Kite was being stubborn and refused to leave. “I gotta sort Kite out, I’ll catch up with you, Eden.”

She sighed, but nodded. She didn’t seem to want to argue, but to be honest, she looked exhausted. Maybe she trusted his intentions for once? Probably not, but where else other than home did he have to go at this time of night?

As Nova approached, Kite refused to look at him. “Look, I know you’re mad at me. But you’re in a foreign city with nowhere to go, so please just stay at my house tonight because there’s no transport back to Ramblum until the morning, and I can’t drive you.” His bike was still in Ramblum, and knowing his luck it had probably either been stolen or destroyed by the goblins. “Please?”

It took a few moments for Kite to respond, but at least it was positive. “Alright, but don’t talk to me. I don’t wanna hear any more of your bullshit.”

Fine... Okay, maybe now’s not the best time to explain everything. They hurried to catch up with everyone, and then walked together. “I am sorry, though, Kite...”

“I said don’t talk to me.”

The rest of their walk home wasn’t very eventful. Everyone was tired, so there wasn’t a lot of conversation between them. As they reached their house, Eden stopped at their front door, looking back at Nova expectantly. He swiped a card through a reader to turn the alarm off and unlocked the door, switching the lights on.

“Okay, guided tour is gonna be quick, cos I wanna crash, so essentials only. This is the lounge, where I will be sleeping on the couch again.” He pointed right. “That way is the kitchen, help yourselves to whatever you want.”

He couldn’t help but notice that they all seemed to be gawking as he took them upstairs. Had they really never been in a house like this before? Sometimes, he forgot how lucky he was with his upbringing...

There were many pictures on the wall. All of them fairly old, it wasn’t like Eden or Nova to display new ones. He wondered if any of them were paying attention to the fact there was another sister in most of them. They probably weren’t even looking, to be honest, they all seemed like they just wanted to sleep.

“Alex, you can have my room, I’ll find you a duvet since mine’s on the sofa.” He opened the first door on the left and turned on the light. Thankfully it was fairly tidy since he hadn’t been around to mess it up. “The next door down is a bathroom. Jin, you can take the one after that. Eden’s is opposite, so Markus and Kite, you can fight amongst yourselves for the other two rooms.”

As they moved to get themselves settled, Nova managed to get back downstairs and come back with a spare duvet before they’d sorted themselves out. Jin and Eden had obviously taken their rooms, Alex was waiting for his return, but Kite and Markus seemed to be taking their time with picking rooms.

“Here.” He followed Alex into his room, laying out the duvet for her. “Um, I just need to grab a few things.”

He rummaged through some drawers for some clean clothes and pyjamas, when Alex stood next to him and pointed at a photo in front of them. “Is she another sister?” She said quietly.

It was of himself and Kara on Ramblum beach earlier in the summer when he’d managed to convince her to join them on a little family outing. He was giving her a piggy-back with the intention of throwing her in the sea; Eden had somehow managed to capture the exact moment when she’d given up trying to steer him away and had thrown her arms in the air, ready to bring him down with her. “What makes you think that?”

“She looks too old to be Eden, but too young to be your mother...”

There was no fooling Alex. “Her name’s Kara, she doesn’t live here anymore, but you might get to meet her soon.” He finished what he was doing and headed out of the room. “Sweet dreams.”

“Nova, wait!”

He turned back to face her to be greeted by a hug, a gesture that he gladly returned. “I’ll still be here in the morning, y’know...”

They could hear Kite grumbling something before slamming whichever bedroom door that he’d just picked. Nova sighed as Alex let go. “Goodnight, Nova.”

He closed the door for her, only to find Markus still stood there. What was with him today? Normally they got on just fine... “Are you waiting for me to go so you can attempt to woo Eden?”

“No.”

“Whatever, Markus, just don’t go pestering her. She doesn’t need you right now.”

“I could say the same about you and Alex.”

There it was. For a brief moment that irritating smug look took over, before going back to the serious face. He wanted to make some kind of clever retort so badly, but they were interrupted.

“You, in that room. You, downstairs.” Eden commanded from the other end of the corridor. “If either of you protest, I will end you.”

Thankfully Nova knew when it wasn’t worth irritating Eden any further, so without so much as a glare, he made his way back to the sofa. Well, he would have if he hadn’t made a quick detour to charge his phone and then go through the wall-length glass doors out onto the balcony that overlooked most of Alexandria.

He sat cross-legged on the floor, just watching the world go by. He was alone for a while, until a steaming mug of hot chocolate with a couple of marshmallows floating around appeared in his line of vision. He looked up to see his sister sipping from a second mug, waiting.

“Thanks.” He smiled at her as he took it from her. She sat next to him and they sat together in silence, until Eden had finished her drink and decided to use Nova’s shoulder as a pillow. As much as he wanted to talk about the events of the day, he knew that she really didn’t. He put his arm around her and they sat for a little while longer before he spoke again. “Are we going to see Kara tomorrow?”

“Yeah... This isn’t something we should hide from her.”

“Good. I miss her.”

“It’s not really going to be a social visit, Nova.”

“No, maybe not.” He chuckled as Eden yawned. “Go to bed, we can worry about that in the morning.”

They went inside without another word. He waited for her to go upstairs before changing into his PJs, rescuing his little baby chocobo from his jacket pocket and cocooning himself in his duvet on the sofa.

---
So just FYI, Jin is staying in Kara's old bedroom, Markus has ended up in their parents' old bedroom, and Kite is in the guest room. Yes because they have a guest room XD Off the balcony, there is a flight of stairs that takes you to their garden. It's not very big. Opposite to the kitchen, there's a study with a piano in it. Most of the pictures I mentioned were of the kids when they were 17, 13 and 9 respectively, or younger (that's if Kara is indeed 27 now, I can't remember. Sie? XD) and some are of their parents (who are dead, if you didn't remember).

Other than that... Have fun exploring their house 8D I dare any of you to wake Nova up in the morning XD *scurries off to bed*

[Samchu]

Markus
~~~~~~

He sat down on the edge of the bed feeling irritated and stiff. It didn’t bother him that Eden had ordered him in here – he was used to her sending him away – but something else was getting to him; something that was causing him to clash with Nova. He’d never had any problems with the kid before but for some reason…

He shifted to make himself more comfortable and hissed as pain shot up his right side. Kite’s hammer, the one he’d first landed on during their arrival in the fal’cie’s lair, had done more damage to his body than the beating Eden’s friend-turned-monster had managed to enact. He pulled up his shirt and tentatively touched the swelling, flinching at the pain he was inflicting on himself. “That’s gonna sting for a while.” He glanced quickly about the room knowing that he wouldn’t find anything to ease his discomfort. That is the terrible thing about hope. Faint though it might be, it will always find a way to make you try.

There was nothing to be found at a glance and he didn’t dare go searching through the belongings of another person, especially not when he knew those belongings belonged to Eden’s parents, so he sat, alone in the dark, and mused over his situation. It was strange how quickly everything had changed. He’d gone to sleep excited for his trip and anxious about what he would he would say to Eden and now…now he was the doomed puppet of a fal’cie.

He removed his right arm guard and with his thumb, traced the brand on his forearm. It just sat there, a blaring symbol of the curse now set upon him. He was no expert on the subject of l’cie but he knew enough of them to understand the fate that awaited him. Fulfill the wishes of the fal’cie and be immortalised in crystal, or fight, and become a monster. Death lay at the end of each path. Not his, but the lives of countless innocents. And one way or another, he would be the cause of their end.

I won’t let it happen. I won’t be the cause of that much pain. I won’t let that fal’cie make a monster of me. He stared down at his brand, pouring his thoughts into it, hoping, in some small part, that his rebellion of will would reach the thing responsible for his damnation. I will fight you. With every day you have left me I will resist the death you wish me to bring. And when those days end, when the last of me is fading, then I will take a life. But that life will be mine, given willingly, so that you will not take even a sliver of satisfaction from my falling.

The door to the bedroom swung open and Markus looked up, surprised to find Eden standing there.

"We need to talk." She was more curt than usual. He wanted to write it off to fatigue but he had the sinking feeling that it was more than that. The stiffness of her shoulders as she closed the door and flicked on the lights that he had chosen to ignore warned him of a tension that he had not seen in her for some time.

"What do you want to talk about?" He slipped on his arm guard, covering the brand. He had no intention of hiding it from her - there was little point in that - but he could only concentrate on one of the two and right now Eden was the one demanding his attention.

"I want you to ease off on Nova."

He raised an eyebrow at her. It wasn't like her to be so vocal about Nova. Her need to protect him had been obvious since the attack and Markus had seen hints of it before then but to hear her say it out loud was surprising, if not strangely unsettling.

"I don't know what's going on with you and him but it has to stop. You realize that pitiful display back there was your doing."

"You're going to blame me for your brother's lying to his so-called friend?"

"I'm blaming you for causing their fight. It wasn't necessary."

"Nova needs to stop running away from his responsibilities. You know that as much as I do. He's always afraid to face the truth head-on. He'll do the same with his brand, find some way to sugar-coat it, to pretend that it isn't serious. He needs to grow up, Eden. Otherwise he's going to get himself killed."

"It isn't your concern. Nor your decision to make."

"You're right. Why should I concern myself with Nova? I should just leave it to you. I should just sit back and pretend I don't notice how much harder you push yourself when you worry about him, how much pressure you put yourself under trying to pretend that you aren't worried about his latest escapades. And I definitely shouldn't care how much danger you put yourself in as a result of that worry."

She sighed and rubbed her temples. "I'm too tired for this, Markus."

"Then go to bed."

She looked at him as if trying to gauge his emotion then decided she was too tired for the effort and wished him a goodnight. He returned the gesture and looked away as she left him alone, closing the door behind her.

Wringing his hands, Markus sighed. "One day, one day that girl won't actually walk away from me." He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself but his near-fight with Eden had him too wound up. He patted his pocket to check the magi-leaf he'd purchased was still there, counted to one hundred to be sure the way out would be clear, and then slipped out into the garden.

He sought out a stone bench between two tall shrubs and, checking that he was indeed alone, pulled out one of the leaves and started chewing. The relief was almost instantaneous. Even the aching of his limbs began to ease. He leaned against once of the shrubs and smiled. "That feels better."

"What does?"

Markus jumped to his feet and spun round, finding Alex, innocent as ever, standing just a few feet away from him. And this is why you learned to never take the bag out of your pocket. He'd never been more thankful for that. "Alex, what are you doing here?"

"I couldn't sleep." She walked a little closer to him and admired the look of some of the flowers in faint light. "I overheard you fighting with Eden." She reached out and touched one of the petals, smiling as she did so. "Are you two okay?"

"Don't worry about me and Eden, we've fought worse than that before."

"I heard it can be healthy to fight with your lover."

Markus couldn't help it. He laughed.

"I don't understand...did I say something funny?"

"Eden and I aren't lovers."

The younger girl blushed. "Oh, I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean -"

"Don't beat yourself up about it." He walked up beside her. "So how come you couldn't sleep?"

"I just...it's all been a bit..."

"Much?"

She nodded.

"Yeah..."

They stood in silence for a few, long moments.

"How do you cope with it, Markus? How do you survive when everything is so much bigger than you are?"

He put an arm around her and felt her body tremble slightly. An image of Nova came to mind, warning him away from "his girl" but he pushed it aside. He didn't have that type of interest in Alex. She was a sweet girl, beautiful too, it was no wonder that Nova looked at her the way he did, but Markus' heart had been stolen by Eden a long time ago, and he would die before he ever got it back from her. "You just keep walking. It sounds hard and it is, I won't lie to you there, but you're not alone and it will get easier. You just have to be willing to put one foot in front of the other."

She let out a tiny laugh. "You're not how I imagined city men would be."

"Well I'm not actually from the city. I was born on a farm a long long way away from here."

Alex pulled away from him but only to provide the distance she needed to look at him properly. "You? Really?"

"You're that surprised? Everyone else picks up on it within a few minutes of meeting me. I don't have that 'refined air', as someone told me once."

She looked both confused by the oddness of his words and embarrassed at her inability to determine his lower class upbringing. Not knowing what else to do, Markus just smiled, put a hand on the girl's shoulder and asked, "Wanna go explore the gardens with me?"

[classy_cat18]

Kite Rowe

While the rest of our ragtag group had already chosen their rooms, Markus and I were left to negotiate. One room was roomier, with a bigger bed, while the other one was small and plain, clearly for a temporary visitor. It didn’t even really have any decorations like the other room. Either room would’ve been fine for me; I was used to an old mattress back home so I didn’t even care if I had to sleep on the floor.

But I wanted to know how it felt to have a bigger bed.

“I guess I’ll take this room,” Markus said while pointing to the bigger room.

“Hold on, why that room?”

“I’m big. I don’t want to turn over in my sleep just to fall out the bed.”

I hung my head. He had a point. “Fine.”

A pause before Markus said, “We could Rock Paper Scissors for it if you really want it.”

I had to hide my smirk. “Just take the damn room.”

He turned and winced, rubbing his leg. “You kind of owe me anyway.”

“For what?”

“For putting that sledgehammer in my landing spot.”

My eyes rolled up while I thought about what he was talking about. Now that he mentions it, he was rubbing that spot when we were in that creepy…

“You’re still hurting from landing on it? Sorry about that. Thought you would’ve recovered from it by now.” My own body was aching all over from the fights, especially the back from when it hit the wall when Nova flew into me.

“I’ll be fine.” Another pause, then I jumped when he put his hand on my shoulder. “Get some rest. I bet you’ll feel better about everything in the morning.”

I rolled my eyes. He must’ve been talking about my fight with Nova. “Seriously doubt it but good—“

“Nova!”

I turned my head just in time to see Alex practically glomp Nova. My cheeks burned from the embarrassment of rising jealousy. “Good grief, just marry her already,” I grumbled as I retreated to the small room, slamming the door behind me.

The bed was like heaven, no matter how trivial it probably was to the owners of the house. My body became as heavy as lead while the exhaustion took full hold of my body. What a night. What was all that crap about l’Cie? Why do I suddenly have powers, and why do I feel like I’m the only one out of the loop? My education about the fal’Cie was limited but I didn’t need the knowledge until now, although I did deal with their technology from time to time.

“Bad…bad feeling,” I muttered as I fell asleep.

Must destroy… must destroy…
breaking crumbling falling roaring
It all must be destroyed?
destroy destroy Destroy DESTROY

“NO!” I yelled, finally waking up from the nightmare and tumbling out the bed from the shock. Sweat had covered both my body and the pillow. My legs didn’t want to move. There didn’t seem to be enough air in the room to fill my lungs, and every breath I took made me more nauseous.

And on top of all that, I suddenly needed to pee.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t gone since all that chaos happened back at Ramblum,” I said to myself as I slowly rose just enough to sit on the bed. “Ugh, thought I’d feel better after some sleep.”

What was that I was dreaming about? Too vivid to be a normal nightmare, and I didn’t eat anything weird before falling asleep so it wasn’t one of those dreams. It was almost like it was telling me to do something. Was that what I thought was falling? Why would I do such a thing?

I stayed still until the dizziness and nausea went away, then stumbled to the bedroom door. “So hungry I could eat a whole—“

“Beep!”

I looked down at the small ball of yellow fluff. “Chocobo chick?”

“Beep!” the tiny repeated. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. “Beep!”

“Nope, ain’t dreaming.” I crouched in front of the chick, blocking its path with a hand when it tried to make an escape. “I don’t remember seeing you anywhere when I got here. Do you belong to one of the group?”

It almost seemed to nod. “If you did, then how did you manage to get through all that mess with the fal’Cie?”

“Beep?”

I held out my hand and smiled as it walked onto it. Its bright blue eyes looked up at me. “You’re a cute little thing. You kinda remind me of someone.”

“Beep?”

“Yeah, there was this woman who Cid used to visit in the entertainment district. Had eyes just like yours. What was her name? Bonnie? Bunny? Baby?”

“Beep!”

“No, that wasn’t it. It was Babe… no, Babs. Her name was Babs.” I groaned as my bladder reminded me why I was out the room in the first place. “Hold on, Babs. Gotta take a leak.” I set her down in the hallway and went in the bathroom.

After… you know, I took the time to examine the bruises I had gotten. Chest, back, arms, leg… thigh…

“Wait, what’s this?” My eyes were glued to a strange tattoo on my right calf. Either someone was playing a prank on me, or it happened during my trip through the fal’Cie’s lair. New powers and a new tattoo? Okay, now I definitely need some kind of explanation.

My panic was derailed as I heard Babs chirping excitedly. “So this is where you wandered off to. How did you get up here?” I heard Nova say through the door.

My mood crashed. So it’s his chick. Okay, deep breath. You can be civil for one day as long as you don’t say much to him. Just ask someone else about the strange mark. I counted to three and opened the door just as he was asking about who was in the bathroom.

There was an awkward silence as we stared at each other. I would’ve been looking at his face but I was too occupied with his chest.

And it wasn’t just because he was shirtless.

He also had a strange tattoo on his body.

“Kite?” Nova finally spoke. Something landed on my head. “Get down from there, Babs.”

I snapped out of it. “You actually named it Babs?”

“She looks like a Babs.” He took her off my head. “You were looking a little spooked a second ago.”

My mouth opened and closed while I was silently debating whether or not to ask him about the mark. I finally decided to ask him with the promise that I punch him if he decided to repeat his previous mistake. “I have a question, and if you do any of that dodging shit I will lay you out flat. What’s with the mark on your chest?”

Don't kill me, Becki! *runs off*

[Crystal Tears]

Alex and Eden

Held her smile firm as she nodded to Markus’s invitation and ventured out with him towards the gardens.

Inside she was in turmoil.

Having little combat experience and nearly dying the entire time when they were fleeing and fighting every monster in the book… she felt entirely useless and worst of all – lost. She knew about the fal’Cie, she had grown up believing in them wholly, she had memorized entire doctrines on their ways and their purpose. She had learnt about humanity’s role and the role of their caretakers and now…

Now all that meant nothing.

The fal’Cie in the wilds had done nothing but break everything she had been taught. The blurry, hazy image she remembered as a focus was terrifying. It wasn’t anything to do with humanity’s salvation – though she wasn’t the brightest bulb in the pack she wasn’t so blind to realize what the rogue fal’Cie wanted her and presumably the others to do.

Destroy Eden? Destroy the paradise we live in? Why?

“Hey,” she felt his hand on her shoulder, and suddenly realized he was staring at her – concern on his face. “Are you alright?”

Alex blinked dumbly, it hadn’t dawned on her that they had walked so far. She smiled and nodded. “Sorry, lost in thought.”

“Yeah I got that.” He smirked, and they continued to roam around. “What were you thinking about?”

“Oh,” Alex thought back to the confusing focus and then shrugged. “Nothing.”

“Uh huh…” He didn’t believe her, but he didn’t push the subject.

The gardens weren’t the biggest in the area, but Alex had never seen one in such great condition. Everything was prim and proper and… well perfect. Rose bushes in full bloom, irises in purples, blues and yelloww and in the center of it all – a cherry blossom tree in full bloom, its trunk bending and curving like the waves of the sea.

And under it sat none other than Eden.

Markus froze, Alex looked at him and then back at the woman under the tree. The songstress noted how she was no longer in her armor – but casual clothing. But something was in her hand, not that either of them could make it out. It clear to Alex that her companion wanted to join the lone woman under the tree, and it wasn’t like the girl to prevent such a thing.

“Go talk to her.” Alex nudged him forward, a playful little smile on her lips. “She doesn’t bite.”

Markus snorted. “No, instead she has a sword.”

The songstress peeked around him and saw that Eden was currently unarmed. “Well, not right now. Go on, she looks like she could use a friend.”

She wasn’t sure if her words bothered the man or spurred him forward, but either way he gave her a smile and started towards her. Alex darted away as quietly and quickly as she could – she was tired and had a lot to think about.

* * *

It had been a long time since Eden felt like muttering even a syllable of the song she had once sung to Nova when they were younger. He was a moron and sure his antics had always made her worry – but this was different. She couldn’t save him from this fate, this fate was… rather… permanent. One way or another, Nova would get a fate that was either akin to death or worse then it.

She wanted to blame all of this on Nova’s idiotic preference for danger and law-breaking, but this time she couldn’t. This actually wasn’t his fault – this all had to do with Humbaba and his minions. Had they not attacked Ramblum, everything would be okay. They wouldn’t have been teleported to Ultima knows where and had to face that fal’Cie.

Bellaevis is gone.

Well, that stung more then she thought. It hurt more probably because she was staring at a small picture of her family: Kara, all prim and proper with a perfect smile on her face, Nova in the middle with a cheeky grin holding the sword Eden had given him. And there she was, on the other side of him, a quiet smile on her face.

How am I going to tell Kara?

“Make my wish come true, let darkness slip aside….” The song slipped from her tongue in a near inaudible whisper. “Hiding all the hope, mocking what we treasure…”

“So, you sing.”

All her thoughts disappeared and the song vanished as she looked over. Obviously she was more distracted about the situation then she had presumed – she hadn’t even heard Markus approach.

“You heard me?” She questioned, mildly skeptic.

“Barely.” He replied with a faint shrug. “You’d probably be pretty good if you raised your voice above a whisper.”

Eden was quick to dismiss the compliment. “We have a songstress, and I doubt you’d want me to run around singing.”

“You’re terrible at taking compliments.”

“Maybe you’re just terrible at giving them.”

He snorted and took a seat beside her as she shifted and made room on the bench.

“So you wanna talk about it?”

“No.” A sharp retort, it was a common thing to hear from Eden.

“Really?” Markus tilted his head a bit, his tone a bit prying. “Because your expression a few seconds ago suggests otherwise.”

“Go away Markus.” She countered, giving him a glare - though it was quick to fade as she looked back at the picture in her hands.

There was an silence between them, and suddenly a tiny chink in her armor formed. Not that the man didn’t deserve it, she had known him for a long time and offered him nothing but criticism for it. Eden let out a sigh she hadn’t been aware she was holding in and spoke.

“My best friend died today.” She folded up the picture and put it back in her pocket.

Markus was silent for a time. “I’m sorry.”

“Why should you be?” Eden sounded irritated; she only hoped that he realized it wasn’t at his words but more at herself. “I’m the one who killed her.”

“Eden-“

“I don’t want to hear it.” She shot back at him, angry. “I killed her, twice in fact. So don’t tell me I didn’t.”

His mouth slowly shut and he looked away.

“Come on,” she stood. “We should sleep, tomorrow we’re going to the Crystal Hall.”

Markus frowned. “Is that the best place to be heading given our situation?”

“I would rather see the crystallized heroes of the past then go aimlessly wandering out in the wilds with the monstrous alternative.” She replied, “and we’re meeting Kara.”

“Oh..” He smiled, though she could tell it was forced. Kara wasn’t he easiest to get along with at times – her authority and by-the-book nature often put her at odds with people. “Great.”

“Just don’t talk to her.” Eden smirked, “in fact if you could just pass that message along to everyone, that’d be great.”

“You want me to tell everyone to shut up?”

“When around Kara? Yes.” They re-entered the house and went back upstairs to the rooms. “All I need is for this ragtag band to unleash their drama in front of her.” She leaned against the doorframe marking her room, and crossed her arms.

“Well that’d be all sorts of awkward,” he joked. “Nova pulling another idiotic stunt, Kite admitting his love, Alex being wholly clueless, Jin finding some sort of long lost trinket and you threatening to murder everyone…”

“Yes,” she agreed. “That’d look bad on my record; because I would have to end all of you if that were to happen.”

“Note how I didn’t mention myself in that? No need to kill me.”

Eden smirked evilly. “I’d have to murder you.”

“What?” He gave her a look feigning hurt. “Why?”

“Because knowing you, you’d have put Nova up to whatever dumb stunt that caused everything in the first place.” She patted him roughly on the cheek. “Sorry Markus, you die too.”

“Damn it.”

Then there was that awkward moment between them. Tiny flickers of static energy danced from either of the new l’Cie, neither of them moving or knowing what to say. Eden frowned mentally, this wasn’t like her – she was never stumped or lost. Today had been a long, tiring day that had caused her so many problems that she just wanted them all to piss off.

Particularly the problem of completing a sacrilegious focus or becoming a terrible ceith.

That chink in her armor closed up; there would be no more emotional moments for her, at least not tonight.

She opened her door and stepped inside, eyes staring out her window. Though it was more of a wall made of a single pane of masterpiece glass, showing off a gorgeous view of Ultima’s throne in the fal’Cie Keep. It sparkled more than all the stars did in the sky.

And that’s where Kara was, sitting upon her throne in the crystal hall.

She heard Markus begin to move away and she glanced over her shoulder.

“Where are you going?”

He paused and looked at her, confused for a moment before he slowly entered. Markus was cautious; maybe he thought she was just looking for an excuse to murder him.

Any other night, he would’ve been right.

Eden’s frown appeared on her face; apparently she’d have to spell it out for him. She crossed her arms and shifted her weight.

“Shut the door.”

- - - - -

Kay done. XD

[ChobiChibi]

Nova Myst

To say that he was still tired was an understatement. He’d slept soundly, that wasn’t the problem. The fact was that the Parade had been the first time he’d stepped out of the house after two weeks of recovering from a Behemoth attack. His body wasn’t ready for such a test of endurance, and desperately wanted his own bed. Nova stared blankly back at Kite as he asked him about a mark on his chest. “What mark on...” He looked down. “Oh, that?”

Truth be told, he hadn’t noticed it. He squeezed past Kite to get a better look at it in the bathroom mirror. Babs sat quietly on his shoulder as he studied it.

“Well?” Kite grew impatient.

“It’s a l’cie brand.” Unfortunately, Nova soon realised he’d need to give more of an explanation than that in order for him to be able to go back to sleep. “Lets go downstairs, so we don’t wake anyone.”

Quietly, the pair of them went downstairs. Nova put Babs back in her little box that he was using as a bed for her and picked up his phone. He squinted at it. He had 56 missed calls and 12 text messages. He frowned as he looked at who had been trying to contact him.

“Cid’s been trying to get hold of us, apparently.” He sat next to Kite and pulled the duvet over himself.

“What? Why?”

“We’ve been missing nearly two days now.” He chuckled as he read one of Cid’s messages out loud in his usual manner. “’Oi, prick, pick up your fucking phone. You ain’t allowed to be dead. An’ if Kite had kidnapped ya, I’m sure I’d know about it by now. Unless he’s dead an’ yer coverin’ yer tracks...’ Excellent. So he either thinks you’ve locked me up somewhere or I’ve killed you.”

Kite looked as though he was trying not to laugh or be amused, but Nova could see that it had certainly lightened his mood even by the tiniest amount. “Stop stalling. Tell me about the brands.”

“It’s not as simple as explaining the brands... How much do you know about the fal’cie?”

He looked a little embarrassed. “Not a lot...”

“Well, I’ll explain. You do know how the fal’cie were created by Lindzei to protect humanity and Eden. She also created them to protect Gaia as well. There are millions of them, too many to count, and we’ve probably only seen a handful. Anyway, in order for humanity to aid the fal’cie in protecting Eden from the monsters of Gaia, they created l’cie to fight for them. They’re humans, blessed by the fal’cie’s power in order to use magic and other unusual abilities. They were praised across the land and granted eternal life in the form of Crystal slumber... There’s a hall in Ultima’s Palace full of them.”

“But what about Bellaevis?” Nova flinched at the mention of her name. “She got branded a l’cie, like you’re suggesting we did but... That wasn’t Crystal slumber.”

“She turned into a cieth. It was a long time before anyone figured that out, but when a l’cie doesn’t complete their focus, they become a cieth. Her case is unusual, because the fal’cie was the one that turned her into a cieth, she never had the chance to complete her focus...”

The mention of a focus made Kite look even more confused than he had done previously. “A focus?”

“You really don’t know anything about this, do you?”

“No! I don’t! That’s why I asked you to explain!” Kite huffed.

“A focus,” Nova began again, trying to regain his composure. “Is a task that is set for the l’cie to do. Did you have a vision when we were branded?”

Kite nodded. “I dreamt about it too, that’s why I’m awake...”

“I think that’s our focus. Whatever that vision was, wherever it takes place, we have to do it or turn into a cieth. But if we complete the focus-”

“We go into Crystal Slumber.” Kite finished, looking worried. “But how do we know exactly what to do? I mean, I don’t want either of those things to happen, but-”

“Either way, we may as well be dead.” Nova sighed, tracing the lines of his brand with his finger. “That’s not even the start of our problems. This must be a brand of Gaia, not Eden. The brands of Eden look nothing like this...”

“And the vision we had... Looked like we were attacking a city, or at least civilisation.” Kite went pale with his sudden realisation. Eden was the only civilisation on this planet, so it was automatically the only place that they would have to attack.

“Now you get it.” Nova’s smile was a tired one. What’s the point of saving ourselves if we’re gonna kill everyone else? He thought, careful not to share it aloud. He didn’t want to depress Kite any further.

“That’s a lot to take in.”

They sat together, in a sort of awkward silence, both not daring to glance at each other, or say anything. Nova searched desperately for a way to change the subject, but was struggling for something that would be uplifting.

“I have another sister.” He blurted, pulling the duvet further up to cushion any blows that Kite may have for him. “Her name is Kara.”

“Oh, okay...” It didn’t seem to faze him at all, and Nova wondered how much he could get away with. There was a long pause before Kite spoke again. “I think I’m gonna try and get some more sleep.”

He got up and started towards the stairs, but Nova quickly followed him. “Kite, wait, there’s something else.”

He was already at the door of the bedroom, so Kite sighed and turned to face him with a weary expression. “Yes?”

“I didn’t tell you who I am because... Well, here in Alexandria, people are friends with me because we’re well off and have a little influence over things around here.” A little influence? His conscience scoffed. “You were the first person, well, perhaps with the exception of Cid, but he knows about me... Anyway, you were the first person to be my friend because of what I’m like, rather than the amount of money in my wallet, so... That’s why I kept it a secret.”

Kite’s cheeks seemed to flush a little pink. “Well, um, okay, I see...” It appeared that was enough new knowledge for Kite to take in, in such a short space of time. He opened the bedroom door and headed inside. “Goodnight, Nova.”

Myst. He added in his mind. Nova Myst. Kara Myst, my sister, is Ultima’s Representative.

Apparently he wasn’t ready to confess that too.

He was about to head back down to his make-shift bed when he heard the sounds of sobbing from his room. He quietly crept across the hallway and put his ear to the door to confirm this.

He glanced up and down the corridor to quickly check that Markus wasn’t around. As much as he wanted to prove Markus wrong, there wasn’t a bone in his body that could leave Alex alone crying. He knocked quietly and the sobbing stopped abruptly, changing to sniffles. He opened the door a little and peeked around.

She tried so hard to smile at him, he could tell, but her eyes and the tear stains on her cheeks gave her away. “Hey...”

“Can I come in?”

She nodded and he shut the door behind him. Once she realised he was only clothed on his bottom half, she blushed furiously and covered her eyes.

Nova chuckled, grabbing a t-shirt and pulling it over his head. “I’m not that sexy, am I?”

“No!”

“So you’re saying I’m ugly?”

“No!”

“So I am that sexy?”

“No- yes!” She looked at him again to be greeted by that cheeky grin of his. “I mean...” She blushed even redder (if that was even possible) and pulled the duvet up over her head. He loved teasing her.

He sat down on the edge of the bed next to her. “Alex, what’s wrong?”

“N-nothing...” Her response was muffled by the duvet. “I’m fine.”

“A girl as upbeat as you doesn’t cry over nothing.” Nova pulled the duvet down so he could see her, but she wouldn’t look at him. “Come on, tell me.”

“I... I can’t do it.” Alex looked him dead in the eyes now, tears threatening to spill out again. “I can’t complete our focus.”

“We’ll find a way to-”

“No, Nova. You don’t get it.” She shook her head. “All the things they taught me about the fal’cie... They’re all wrong. How can our protectors be so cruel and make us destroy the paradise they created for us? Everything I’ve learnt about them is a lie...”

Nova moved so that he was sat next to her properly on the bed and pulled her into his arms. “They’re Gaia’s fal’cie, not Eden’s.” He reasoned, stroking her hair. “They’re not the same. The fal'cie of Eden would never do that to their people.” She seemed a little reassured by this as she wiped her eyes and her breathing seemed to slow into a more relaxed rhythm. “You won’t have to do it.” Nova couldn’t help himself. He had to make her feel better. “I’ll do it for you. Complete our focus. You won’t have to lay a finger on anyone. Or I’ll find a way to change your focus, or make it so you’re not a l’cie anymore.”

“Really?” She looked up at him. He could tell she was well educated in this field, she knew that it had never been done before to anyone’s knowledge, but he still saw a tiny glimmer of hope in her eyes. “You’d do that... For me?”

“Yeah, of course.”

She snuggled into his chest. “Thank you.”

Alex seemed quite comfortable now, Nova decided, as she quickly fell asleep on him. It wouldn’t hurt to stay there for the night, surely... He carefully made himself a little more comfortable, so that he wouldn’t wake up Alex, and soon joined her in the land of nod.

[Samchu]

Markus
~~~~~

In the course of his life there were a few things Markus never expected to happen. Becoming a doomed l'cie was certainly on that list but it would never have been number. No, that honour went to the situation he found himself in that morning; stark naked and cuddling an equally exposed Eden.


His first reaction was panic. Somehow this had been his fault and when she woke up she was going to make him well aware of that fact; with the sharp end of her sword, if he was lucky. But as the fog of sleep began to fade, the events that had unfolded between the two of them became clearer. She had been the one to instigate it, not him. For all his faults and weaknesses he had kept himself from making the first move. Eden had been the one to suggest it – well, more like order it.


He should have been happy. How many nights had been spent dreaming of this? Wasn't this what he had always wanted, to have Eden, to experience the depths of her that few, if any, had ever seen? But it hadn't been as he'd expected. There was no confession, no hint of an admission of feelings and even at the height of their passions she had still managed to remain somewhat distant, as if the walls she put around herself had not allowed him past, only drawn closer to her, shrinking her bubble of protection. The girl he'd met with briefly in the garden, the one who blamed herself for her friend's falling, was not the same woman he'd slept with last night.


So what was that? A reward for all the years of putting up with the distant Eden? Thanks for not taking advantage of her vulnerability? Or was I just an escape? The thought left him feeling unclean. He had given her a part of his soul last night, whether she was aware of it or not, and in return she had left him more of a mess than he had been before. He was no closer to sussing out her feelings for him – or learning if she even had any for him. Somehow, getting what he wanted had just made things worse.


Eden shifted beside him, snuggling deeper into the warmth of his chest. His body tingled, sensitive to the feel of her skin against his. He couldn't help but smile a little. Confused though he was, it was not enough to stop him from loving her. They would have to talk at some point, put everything out in the open, but it wouldn't happen today. No, there were far more pressing matters to attend to first. Like meeting with Kara. He shuddered at the thought of seeing that woman again. He had met her twice before, only briefly but still long enough to leave a last impression. He'd been excited by the prospect of meeting Eden's well-respected sister. The few times she had mentioned her, Eden had always spoken fondly of Kara. Markus couldn't see any reason why he wouldn't like the other woman of Myst, even the traits that Eden had warned him of, Kara's stern nature, were traits that he, as a soldier could admire.


But it was Kara who had taken fault with him. She had made it clear upon their first meeting that she disapproved of the way he looked at her sister. That everything about him was unsuitable and that even as a human being he was unworthy. All this she told him without ever opening her mouth. He prayed silently to whichever of the gods would listen that she wouldn't suss out what had transpired between him and Eden that night. Her wrath would not be like Nova's. Hers would come silently, in the night, by untraceable hands. There would be no words, no opportunity for forgiveness, just the remnants of his body in a ditch somewhere. That was the fate he imagined Kara would have install for him if she ever found out that he had defiled her sister.


He rubbed his face with the hand that Eden hadn't trapped. I need to get something to drink. He looked down at the sleeping woman. He feared waking her but at the same time he didn't want to be there when she awoke. He preferred not to die just yet. Gently as he could, he freed himself from her bed. She frowned in her sleep and made a grumble of disapproval before cocooning herself in the blankets. He had to stop himself from lingering to watch her. Who knew if he would ever get the chance to do so again.


He dressed only as much as he dared, pulling on his pants and deciding to brave the corridor without anything else. Somehow the thought of trying to leave when she awoke was worse than the thought of being beside her. For the sake of safety, he opted not to be there at all. He gathered the last of his clothes into his arms and slipped out of the room. In the hallway, he paused briefly to look back at her, still sound asleep, then closed the door completely.


“You son of a bitch!”


The hit came from the side, catching him off guard. He managed to brace himself somewhat as he landed, the bruise from Kite's hammer screaming in protest as he landed in a crouch. He took a moment to compose himself. “Nova-”


“I told you not to go in there. I told you to leave her alone. And not only did you ignore me, you fucking slept with her you damn son of a bitch.” He went to hit Markus again but he was ready this time and caught the younger boy's arm.


Markus stood. “Nova just listen -”


“You couldn't keep it in your pants could you?” He shouted, trying to twist out of Markus' grip. “She lost her best friend and you thought that was the time to go and put the moves on my sister?” He kicked out at Markus and Markus let go of his arm to widen the gap between them. “You make me sick! I can't believe I was going to apologise to you and forgive you for all that shit you pulled with the fal'cie!”


Nova's anger had drawn the curiosity of most of their party. A sleepy Alex appeared in her doorway. “What's going on,” she asked, yawning.


“He slept with my sister,” Nova growled.


Alex looked between them. “Was that not okay? But you slept with me last night so why couldn't he-”


“You slept with Alex?” Now it was Kite's turn to get angry.


“No – yes. I spent the night with her but it was innocent. I didn't have sex with her.”


“Whatever you say, Nova.”


Markus saw Kite leave but he didn't see where he went.


“So when you say he slept with your sister...” It was then that Alex apparently realised just how little Markus was wearing. A little colour flushed to her cheeks and she looked away.


“Yes, I mean he fucked her,” replied an exasperated Nova. “And now, thanks to him, I have to go and patch things up with Kite again.” He looked Markus in the eyes and frowned. “I wish that fal'cie had turned you instead.” He turned and went after Kite.


Alex, embarrassed by her part in the argument, returned to her room and closed the door, leaving only Markus and a lingering Jin behind.


Markus sighed and leaned back against the wall beside Eden's doorway, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Well, that went well.”

[Crystal Tears]

Alex and Eden

It wasn’t like Eden to hide from anything – but this… this particular scenario was one of those rare moments where she had chosen to hide.

Well, not so much hide as to pretend to still be asleep while the violence outside ensued. When everything quieted down, she slipped out of bed and was quick to get dressed into her pj bottoms and a tank top. Stepping outside her room, she nearly bumped into Markus and noted the red mark quickly making an appearance.

That was going to bruise.

Jin stood there, silently watching the duo. Eden glared at him.

“Don’t you have something better to do?”

Jin shifted his weight, he was uncomfortable under her stern gaze and quickly vacated downstairs.

Eden touched Markus cheek and turned his face roughly to look at the welt. “Have Alex heal it.” She stated, unaffected by his lack of clothes. “And get dressed,” she gave him a frown that was common from her. “You could’ve gotten dressed in my room.”

“I…” He faltered. “Thought it was better I go back to my room.”

“Yeah, that worked out great for you.”

“It did.” Markus snorted, “You know, besides the-running-into-your-brother-fiasco.”

“He knocked you on your ass.” Despite managing not to smile, Eden couldn’t hide her bemusement at that particular fact.

“Don’t start.” He clearly wasn’t in the mood.

“Have Alex look at your hammer wound too.” Eden added on, catching a confused gaze from her partner. She shrugged. “It acted up a bit,” she paused, trying to put it delicately. “Last night, when…”

He couldn’t hide the little smile on his face, in light of that fact, Markus pivoted and went back into the huntress’s room, promptly kicking the door shut. “I’m getting dressed – go stop your brother from plotting my demise.”

Eden paused in the hall, shaking her head for a second before she promptly knocked on Alex’s door. Slowly it opened, revealing a bashful, nervous songstress.

“When he’s dressed, fix his face.” She looked back at her own door. “Try helping his back too.”

Alex blinked. “What’s wrong with his back?” Then she began to turn a shade close to a tomato. “Oh! Gods, nevermind! I didn’t mean to pry… I’ll fix it-“

“It’s not like that.” The huntress scowled. “He landed on Kite’s hammer back at the fal’Cie temple.”

“Oh!” Suddenly the younger girl felt entirely stupid. She bowed her head. “Sorry! I… well… I’ll just be quiet now.”

Eden’s scowl lightened to something close to a smile. “Don’t worry too much about it, just don’t mention it to anyone.” The huntress crossed her arms; even in her comfort clothes she looked intimidating. “I don’t need people jumping to conclusions.”

“Right.” Alex nodded.

* * *

Downstairs was all sorts of awkward Eden didn’t want to deal with.

Coffee… She thought dully, ignoring the looks she got from Jin, Kite, and the complete lack of a greeting she received from her brother. She went straight for the automated brewing machine and poured herself a cup, put in a tiny amount of milk in it. Stirring it gently, her eyes flicked to her brother, he was facing the window – hunched over, probably thinking.

Great… Eden’s mental frown transferred to her face as she took a sip of her drink and approached him.

Nova didn’t grace her with even a glance as she stepped up beside her.

She glared at the other two.

Knowing what it meant, they vacated the area. Jin ran back upstairs and Kite slunk out of sight.

“I need to talk to you.”

Nova didn’t speak a word, just headed outside to the garden. Eden followed, her irritation growing into frustration.

“Nova…”

He didn’t reply; he was intent on ignoring her.

“Nova-”

“I don’t want to talk.”

Eden’s brow furrowed, and with her free hand she grabbed his shoulder and roughly threw him to the ground. The boy groaned, eyes slowly opening to see a rather cool woman standing over him, sipping her coffee.

“I don’t recall making it an option.”

He looked, well, pissed. “Fuc-ARGHgrghh…”

Eden had no intention of killing her brother, but she was a Command Huntress. She wasn’t going to allow some brat, even a brat related to her – talk to her in that manner. She pressed her bare foot to his neck, threatening to cut off his air supply. He struggled against her, panic and anger making him forget his training. Calmly, she took another sip before she spoke.

“It’s a wonder how Alex finds you at all appealing,” Eden noted, glancing down at her squirming brother. “As adorable as it was for you to defend my honour, it’s not up to you who I sleep with.” She took another drink. “He didn’t take advantage of me Nova, so please stop attacking Markus.”

As she lightened the pressure a little, her baby brother looked up at her and choked out words. “You… could do better.”

“And you could be a law-abiding citizen, but we all have our flaws.” The huntress shrugged. “Leave it alone Nova, I don’t care if you don’t like him but right now in our situation he’s one of the few allies we have.” She paused, “and don’t you dare mention this to Kara.”

Nova huffed as Eden stepped back and released him from the very odd hold. “I’ll leave it alone, for now. At least until this mess is sorted.”

Her heart panged with a bit of guilt at that statement and she moved away.

There is no happy ending Nova. She didn’t have the stomach to say that to him, so she just continued on her little garden stroll to the tree she had sat under last night.

“Sis?”

Eden slowly looked over at her brother, who was rubbing his neck as she approached her. He didn’t look like the rebellious young man that had caused her so much grief, no… now he more resembled the little boy that had just lost his parents. The huntress put her coffee down next to her and watched him slump down on the patio in front of the bench.

“Hm?”

“Can we change our fate?”

No.

“… Yes.” Eden finally answered. “If you fight hard enough, you can change anything.”

[classy_cat18]

Kite Rowe

I’m such an idiot. All that time I’ve spent controlling my emotions, gone down the porcelain drain in the span of two days. And now it feels like I can’t cool down no matter what I do. I paused in front of the door of the guest room, contemplating snatching up Smashy and just leaving the house for good. But at the sound of footsteps, I went back to running for the front door.

“Kite, wait!” I heard Nova shout. I kept quiet and put my hand on the doorknob just I felt Nova’s hand on my shoulder. “I’m so sorry. She just—“

Something inside me snapped like a twig, and I spun around and threw a punch at his face, which he caught. “Please stay—“ he tried to speak.

I managed to surprise him with a kick to his balls. He cried out as he fell to the floor. “I don’t care if you had sex with her or not!” I shouted, surprised by my own words. I paused in confusion. There was this weird feeling of relief. “Don’t… care… that’s right. Don’t care.”

“Wh-wha?” he grunted while he curled up on the floor.

“Do whatever you want to do,” I said slowly. “I don’t care anymore. Marry her, have kids with her, I don’t care anymore! Do whatever you want to do with your life! Get turned into a cieth, get turned into crystal, whatever! I DON’T CARE! It’s your goddamn life! It’s time I got my own! The sooner this whole mess is over, the sooner I can get away from you!”

“At leaoowwww,” he whimpered as he sat up. “Damn, you’re wearing steel toed boots, aren’t you?”

I chuckled, but was quickly cut short by a wave of dizziness. No food, little sleep, nightmares, stress… yep, need to sit down.

“Kite?” I heard Nova say.

“Not. A. Word. The next word you say to me will be an end to your ability to procreate. And I’ll use Smashy for that to make sure.” I flashed a glare at him. “I mean it.”

“Guys?” I looked up at Jin with the same glare. He gulped and stuttered before speaking again. “Are you two going to be alright?”

I nodded slightly and stumbled to the kitchen. There was a whole basket of assorted fruit for the taking. I had one in my hand when Eden walked downstairs with a neutral look. Jin and I froze, eyeing her carefully as she headed for the coffee maker. At the first sign of danger, I was bolting for the front door. But she was more interested in Nova. She stood next to him and gave me and Jin a look that scared both of us. I snatched the whole bowl of fruit and slipped into the nearest room while Jin ran upstairs.

I ended up in the study that Nova showed us when we first got here. It was a nice room, with shelves of books and a piano. I sat in the corner and started eating the food that I had taken from the kitchen, the ripest and tastiest fruit I had ever eaten. That was probably because I hadn’t eaten since the Parade.

I’m such an idiot. I should have known that blurting out that confession at the temple would’ve made things worse. Now every time we’re together is going to be awkward or violent… oh wait, I said I didn’t want anything to do with him anymore. Not that he probably cares. And we don’t have a lot of time on this world anyway. I stopped eating for a moment.

“And why should it care if I get my life back or not? It’s just going to be more salvage work back at Ramblum. Stuffy military life or no, at least Nova had this. I don’t even have much education to depend on. Just reading and writing, and basic arithmetic.” Cid didn’t see the need for sending a boy with no social skills to school.

“Beep?”

I raised my eyes to look at Babs. “Did we wake you up?” I fed her a berry. “I’ll give you another if you don’t tell anyone where I am. Especially not Eden.”

“Beep!” She opened her beak so I could feed her another.

“Who’d thought a ditchcrawler like me would have the chance to go to Alexandria? If I stepped outside, I’d probably get arrested on the spot. I scream ‘streetrat’. I’m probably some call girl’s child born out of wedlock on top of that. Hardly a dime to my name. If it wasn’t for Cid, I’d be dead on the outskirts of Ramblum. All I could think of was working for him so I wouldn’t be a burden.”

I ate a little more. I was feeling a lot better physically. “Then Nova showed up there one day. This idiot that kept getting into trouble, and shrugged it off like it was no big deal. I took it upon myself to making sure the fool didn’t get killed. But he didn’t care where I came from and was comfortable around me. I guess guys aren’t that picky about appearances. Well, I know there are girls who wouldn’t mind but if they’re not disgusted, then they’re pitying me. Nova probably just thought the burn was the result of an accident on the job. Not sure if he even knows about the missing toes. Not even my personality kept him away, which just about everyone was put off by. I was afraid that if I told him what I felt about him, he’d stay away and that would be the end of our friendship, the biggest thing that existed in my life outside my job. I knew he didn’t feel that way. But I had hoped that I would have a chance. I’m such an idiot. Now I can’t look at him without either wanting to punch his face or…”

I shook my head to clear it, and took a big bite out of another piece of fruit. If I could just concentrate on something else for a while, that would make a big difference. I reached out and grabbed a book, reading as I ate.

[Shadow Wolf]

Jin

Things have certainly gotten lively...

The alarm wasn't ordinary, but it was enough to wake him up. A boy raging as he punched a comrade and a third one protesting as he found out that his friend slept with a girl.

Heh... human interactions...

As Jin stood there watching the show taking place in the house, he wondered if this was the way he had to deal with people when he faced the situations in life. Not that he didn't want to, but his indoors life wasn't of any help when it came to social life. So far, he knew only of a few things. Markus spent the night with Eden, and Nova spent the night -though apparently he didn't have sex- with Alex, which apparently made Kite angry. As he went through these events in his own mind, he was snapped back to reality with a simple question (or more like an order).

"Don't you have something better to do?"

Eden's glare and her tone of voice was enough to make Jin realize that he was in the wrong place. Silently but quickly, he made his way downstairs. Maybe a bit of alone time could be useful...

"...or not..."

He was greeted by another chapter of Trouble at the Myst Manor. Seeing Nova in pain on the floor as Kite blurted the words "I don't care" in anger made Jin felt like once again, he was in the wrong place.

-"Jin, nothing will happen if you don't take the first step man. I know you're used to live a quiet life, but you're missing all the fun in life. Try to be a bit more open OK?"

-"OK boss."

-"Meh, drop the formalities. Markus sounds better."

-"OK... thanks Markus"

As he recalled the advice Markus gave him, he finally gathered the courage to speak a few words.

"Guys?"

He was greeted by a cold stare from Kite, making him panic a bit, but that didn't stop him from at least finishing what he had to say...

“Are you two going to be alright?”

It seems that his words were enough to calm the mood a bit. Kits silently headed for the kitchen to grab something while Jin, offering his hand in help, assisted Nova in rising to his feet again. Peace would only last for a short time, as Eden's prescence made the silent feel like a heavy boulder on everyone's back once more. Kite and Jin tracked her commanding steps as she went to the kitchen and back with a cup of coffe in hand; and as they expected, they both received the commanding glare to leave the area as soon as possible.

Ugh... twice already... she definitely doesn't like me.

The nearest exit was to go upstairs and Jin did not hesitate to take the exit and avoid trouble once more.

_____

"Jin!"

That greeting he was familiar with... Markus was there raising his hand to pick up his attention while Alex was healing his wounds, trying her best to hide her red face.

"Heh, I bet you're surprised about the events right? Don't give it too much thought. You'll get old if you keep that frown man."

"Eh... right. But that's not what's in my mind."

"Well, I'm no psychic. Speak up"

"Uh... where do I start..."

As his words began to flow out of his mouth, Jin spoke to Markus about three issues which were on his mind: The battle with their ex-teammate and how he felt like some sort of barrier protected him from at least some of the bruises he picked up from said battle; how he felt like he hasn't been able to interact much with the crew; and finally, the origin of the weird tattoo he has on his left arm, which he noticed last night before going to sleep.

"Well, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but Alex also has new skills."

Oh yeah... now that I think about it...

"Dont get lost on your head yet Jin."

"Ah, sorry." Jin quickly removed his hand from his forehead to pay attention to Markus.

"We all have new tricks, along with the marks we have in our bodies. As you can see, I also have one." Markus showed the brand on his right forearm as he spoke. "...and I'm sure that Alex also has one somewhere in her body."

"Umm..." Alex's face was bright red as Markus said these words.

"Chill Alex. We won't ask you to show us your tattoo."

"O...OK" Her embarrassment was clearly evident as she was no longer able to hide her blush from the duo.

"This isn't a happy story, however. Even though our abilities are cool and all, we have been branded and are now what some people may call "L'cie."

Jin gaze got a bit lost as he tried to recall if he ever heard that name before.

"You don't know what L'cie are, right? L'cie are pretty much humans, expect they have new perks and are chosen to complete a mision of sorts. Remember that you told me that you felt like a barrier protected you from harm? Well, that's prob one of your new powers. OK, so about the mission... I'm pretty sure you had a vision, right?"

"Yeah, something about a crystal, the beast we fought in the city a few days ago, and a city falling down or something like that."

"Well, that. We need to find out where and how we fit there. If not, we'll end up like our lovely Bella. Things aren't so happy if we complete our mission either, as we'll prob end up turned into crystal statues."

"Hmm... so either way, we lose eh?" Jin's words expressed a bit of frustration as he collected all the info he acquired from Markus. His thoughts, however, were interrupted as he heard a light sound coming from Alex.

"I don't want to..." Alex was visibly shaken by the conversation.

"Hey, don't cry. Look, I'm sorry for this. I just wanted to know what was all of this about. It wasn't my intention to make you cry." For ome reason his hand found a way into Alex's head, maybe as an effort to show support and encouragement for both her and himself. "Look, I don't know how this thing works completely, but none of us wants to see the city destroyed, right? So don't feel sad. We'll find a way." He felt like he had to do anything to make Alex feel better, though he only made her blush once more.

"Hah, not bad Jin. Just don't let Nova know you're hitting on Alex."

"Quit it man."

Markus was now laughing as the scene became a bit awkward by his last words. Despite all of this, Jin was actually feeling better. It was good to enjoy a good laugh after all the trials they have been through in the last few days, even if that laugh wasn't actually his own.

"I'm going to get ready. I'll meet you in the lounge later." Jin was about to enter in the room again when...

"Jin" Alex's voice stopped on his tracks for a moment. "Thanks... for your words."

"Eh... sure." His face was a bit red, though he managed to hide it as he entered the room. As he closed the door, he heard Markus say something to Alex.

"Don't worry. He's quiet but kind. You can trust him."

As he proceeded to get himself ready, and as the thoughts of the impending doom tried to invade his mind, he softly muttered the words that he would say to his trainer, if he wasn't inside his mind.

Thanks Markus.

________

OK, so I apologize for the lack of quality in my post. It's been a while and I feel kinda rusty. I believed I tagged everyone in the post and if it wasn't apparent, I made the suggestion of gathering everyone in the lounge, as I believe not everyone is informed of the plans for the day (I think only Eden, Nova and Markus know of the future meeting with Kara). Feel free to PM me if there was anything odd about my post.

EDIT: OK, so I'm currently trying to make the characters a bit more accurate with their words and thoughts. Thanks for bearing with me as I learn how to write correctly.

[ChobiChibi]

So all of you know I was gonna create a new girly to bring girl/boy ratio up a bit... So here she is! I'll post for her and Nova very soon~

Name: Yuki Kurosawa
Age: 21
Gender: Female
Class: N/A

Personality: Yuki has a very great sense of honour, and is very wary of other peoples’ opinions of her, although she tries not to let this show. At work, Yuki is quiet, respectful and loyal to Kara, always willing to do what is asked of her without question. Away from this, she is very calm, normally quite cheerful, and rarely has anything negative to say. Contrary to her training, Yuki hates verbal confrontation and arguments because she’s not very good at expressing how she truly feels in those heated situations, and would much rather physically fight someone than verbally fight them. She keeps her opinions to herself, especially at work, as she knows one misunderstanding could cause her to lose her job. Despite this, Yuki knows how to relax and have fun when it’s appropriate. She is known to take a long time over making decisions when it comes to other people (she doesn’t want to hurt them, or offend them), but when it comes to combat she is always on the ball. She is fairly easy to talk to, because she likes to listen, but she is very cautious when giving advice.

Appearance: Yuki is rather slim, but her muscles are toned and well defined from years of training. She stands at around 5’6’’, which is quite tall for someone of Japanese/Asian heritage and she is much stronger than she looks. Her dark brown hair is naturally quite wavy and reaches her waste when loose, but it is more often tied into a high ponytail to keep out of the way. It has lighter brown highlights running through it and her fringe is parted to one side. Her eyes are chocolate brown, and she has a few light freckles across her nose and cheeks. At a first glance, Yuki doesn’t appear to dress appropriately for her job, but actually her attire is suitable for her specialism, and makes people unaware of her martial arts training. That and she isn’t required to wear a uniform since she is not part of the military/police. She wears a black tank top, and black leggings that come to just above her knees, with an oversized, thin blue jumper that reaches half way down her thighs and hangs off one shoulder. Although she’d prefer to go barefoot, she does wear purple low-top converse, as they’re the comfiest shoes she can tolerate. The strap from her quiver goes diagonally across her chest.

Occupation: Kara Myst’s personal guard (one of them, at any rate XD)

Weapon: Yuki uses a bow for long range and occasionally a short dagger for close combat. The bow itself is very dark brown, almost black and has no particular features, other than a small, silver family crest at the bottom, barely noticeable to those who don’t know it’s there.

History: The Kurosawa family have been guardians to Ultima’s Representative for generations. At least, this was true until her grandfather made the mistake of giving away some sensitive information about the Representative at the time, causing their family to lose all respect and honour they had gained through the years for doing such an important job. They were forced to leave Alexandria, losing their home and most of their possessions, living in a small town just outside of Ramblum. Eventually, they built up a business strong enough that they could afford to live in Ramblum, so they moved there when Yuki was about 7. She met Kite not long after, when she stopped some older boys picking on him because he couldn’t read or write. Cid’s garage was sort of on route to school/home, so she often stopped by after school to play games.

Despite their loss in fortune, her parents insisted that Yuki be trained in martial arts (this included archery), just as all generations before her had. This started with lessons from her father, and then when they could afford it, she was sent to a specialist school that trained in martial arts as well as general education. She became one of their best students, graduating with the highest award they offered, which is what caught Kara Myst’s attention.

Although she wasn’t alive when her family were disgraced, she still has a great sense of loss of honour from the stories her parents have told her. Therefore when she was offered a guardian position, she took it without hesitation, much to her parent’s delight and Kite’s irritation. This new job meant that her family were able to move back to Alexandria, and although as yet their honour isn’t fully restored, Yuki tries her best to maintain and improve their reputation. She hasn’t spoken to Kite since, knowing full well that he must hate her for taking the job.

Relationships: Was good friends with Kite when they were younger. Vaguely acquainted with Eden and Nova, and has also been sent to spar with Markus on the odd occasion.

Other: Um... I probably should mention that Yuki's fighting style is more offensive than defensive. She isn't built to take hits... So she is really aggressive and doesn't let up to try and avoid being hit herself.

[ChobiChibi]

Nova Myst

He knew she was lying, but he didn’t want to call her out on it. Eden was well practiced in telling little white lies to make him feel better, and as he got older, and situations like this arose, it was strange how he appreciated the sentiment more now than he did when he was younger.

To be honest, he wasn’t really sure who he was angry at. It was against his nature to be aggressive like he had been earlier, so he knew he would have to apologise. And he did like Markus, so he really wasn’t sure why he told Eden she could do better.

That would be Kara’s opinion, not his. But you don’t argue with Kara.

He sat with Eden for a while, taking comfort in the fact that he knew she was just as torn inside as he was.

“I promise I’m going to be less of a dick from now on.” Nova finally said, rubbing his knuckles gingerly from where he’d hit Markus. It had felt so good at the time, now it felt so bitter. “I’ll find Markus and apologise, then round the others up.”

“You’re excited to see Kara?”

“Only because I know she’ll figure out what we should do.” He lied. Partially. He also felt that he could really do with a hug from her, if he was honest.

Nova got up and stretched, taking Eden’s empty coffee mug from her to take back inside. “Please don’t keep secrets from me. I know you only do it to protect me, but I’m 19 now. I know sometimes you think I can’t handle the truth, but surely you won’t know that until you let me try?” He shrugged. “I’m not as stupid as you think I am.”

He began to walk back towards the house, but paused briefly when Eden called to him. “I promised our parents I’d take care of you. I’m not breaking that promise.”

“I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t want you to stop me living my life though.” He said quietly as he walked away, unsure if Eden heard him or not.

The house was fairly empty, so he assumed they were all hiding from the Myst family rage. He could hear Babs chirping away, and someone was hitting random keys on the piano. Wouldn’t be Alex, he thought. She’d be more tuneful than that.

He briefly wondered if she was scared of him now, since he’d hit Markus and got unreasonably angry. Hopefully not. He’d talk to her later. It was shower time, and that was far more important.

He’d picked up his clothes as he went by them in the living room, so there was no chance he’d have to go in his room and disturb Alex. He didn’t waste time in the shower, although he really didn’t want to get out, because he knew if they’d miss the chance to see Kara today if they didn’t hurry up.

Fully clothed and with his hair still soggy, he knocked on Markus’ door with a little hesitation.

Markus opened the door also fully clothed, but looking a little more presentable than usual. He obviously knew where they were going.

Nova held out his hand in preparation for the handshake he wanted to offer. “Markus, I’m sorry for being a prick. You know it’s not like me to attack people like that and... Well... I should really be congratulating you on the fact you finally managed to crack that shell that my sister so expertly puts up. So, before I did myself a hole, I’m sorry.”

Nova shouldn’t have been surprised that Markus shook his hand, but he was. “It’s alright; everyone has been on edge lately. And I’m sorry you found out the way you did. The night wasn’t exactly planned...”

“I could guess that.” Nova chuckled. He glanced down the corridor to make sure no one was listening. “And I really didn’t make any moves on Alex. As much as I want to, right now it doesn’t feel like I should...”

“Who are you and what have you done with the Nova I knew at the Academy, who would take his chances with anything that moved?”

“He grew up.” Nova smirked. “But only a little bit.” He yawned and stretched. “Anyway, will you help me round up the others? We need to leave soon.”
Markus nodded, looking noticeably worried. “This is gonna be interesting...”

Nova shrugged as he walked towards the stairs. “It’s only Kara. What’s the worst that could happen?”

She could kill them all for being l’cie, of course. If it was anyone else, she probably wouldn’t hesitate to. Sometimes being related to Ultima’s Representative had its upsides.

Nova wandered towards the study. He decided to let Markus deal with whoever was upstairs. After he opened the door, he wished he’d picked upstairs instead.

Kite looked up momentarily from the book he was reading and glared.
Not wanting his bollocks crushed by Smashy, he just about managed to stop himself saying anything. Instead, he picked up a pen and piece of paper from the desk. He scribbled a note, hiding it from Kite’s view until he gave it to him.

“’Dear Kite,” He read aloud. “’We have to leave soon, so please get your things together. And I know what you’re thinking, I won’t let anyone throw you out. If they did, they’d have to chuck me out too.’ With a smiley face? Really?”

He shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets.

Kite frowned. “I’ll get ready.” As Nova gave him a thumbs up, Kite’s expression lightened. “You really are terrified that I’m gonna use Smashy on ya, aren’t you?”

Nova shrugged again, but then nodded. Feeling that it might be safe to speak again, he did. “I’m afraid I’ll say something stupid.”

“You always do.”

“Thanks, Kite. Thanks a lot.”

Yuki Kurosawa

Today was supposed to be one of those normal days on the job. She was in all day with Kara, and it was these days she enjoyed the most. They would talk when she wasn’t busy, and it made Kara seem like a normal person, just like everyone else.

She was a little distant today though, but Yuki knew why. She hadn’t heard from her brother or sister since the disaster at the Parade of Lights. She’d sent Yuki down to Ramblum, as she was the one guard that really knew the city, to find them. She was unsuccessful.

She’d visited Cid briefly while she was in the area. He was rushed off his feet since Kite and Nova had disappeared.

It didn’t take her long to realise that they were essentially looking for the same person.

From that moment on, she looked for leads on Kite too, hoping it would take her to the missing Myst boy and his big sister.

She returned late last night with only the knowledge that they had been there, and that they weren’t amongst the dead. Luckily, Kara didn’t seem to hold this against her.

So when Eden arrived late in the morning, it took them both by surprise. But she was alone. Fearing the worst, Yuki remained still and silent.

“I need to talk to you.” Eden stated.

If this were Nova, he would have greeted Kara with a hug, and had a general catch up before imparting any bad news on his sister, but that wasn’t Eden’s style.

Yuki looked at Kara, who said nothing, but looked concerned. “Would you like me to wait outside?” She broke her silence, possibly alerting the two to the fact she was still there.

Eden’s glare was enough for her to know she wasn’t welcome. “Yes please, Yuki. I’ll call for you if I need you.” Kara smiled gently at her; Yuki bowed her head in respect, and quietly left the room, shutting the door behind her.

Now she would spend time with the Crystal Statues of the l’cie Knights, like she always did when she was send out like this. One of her own ancestors was in there, and she would often kneel at his feet and pray for guidance. Today, though, she addressed them all, praying for Nova’s safety and Kara’s continued wisdom.

They were taking a while, whatever it was must have been serious. If Nova was dead, they would have told her by now so that she could inform the relevant people. What had happened at the Parade? Something more than just a Behemoth attack, it would seem.

The door opened, but at the other end of the corridor, and shut quickly. Only those with the correct level of security clearance could get through those doors without supervision. She readied herself, in case it was an intruder.

“Hey Yuki!”

It was Nova! She felt relieved, but also slightly more concerned. If Nova was alive, something else must be seriously wrong for her not to be allowed in the room and for them to be talking this long. Was it Nova’s fault? No, Eden would have arrested him by now.

“You’re alive! I’ve been looking for you. Kara was worried. Where have you been?”

Nova looked past her at the doors behind her. “If they asked you to leave, I probably shouldn’t say.” Yuki nodded, knowing not to pry, but her curiosity was bubbling inside her. “I’m not alone though. There are others waiting in the room I just came from. They’re terrified of Kara, it’s quite funny.”

“You should probably wait with them.” Yuki smiled. “You’d calm their nerves.”
She noticed that he wasn’t really paying much attention to her, but was glancing between all the statues in corridor. “I’m not so sure about that...”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. Off you go, I’ll come find you when they’re ready for you.”

“Kurosawa!”

“Well, that’s your cue.” Nova smirked. “I’ll make sure they’re ready.”

“Quickly, how many of you are there?”

“Including me? Five. Markus is one of them.”

Yuki nodded and stepped back into the room, bowing again out of habit. She couldn’t read either of them; Eden was always difficult to judge, but Kara had this way of shielding her emotions too when she had to. The normally kind and gentle soul became tough and guarded. She didn’t like it; in a weird way, Yuki saw Kara as a friend, even if the feeling wasn’t mutual, so she became uneasy when Kara wasn’t able to share things with her.

“Please go and fetch the group waiting at the other end of the hallway.” Kara was commanding now, professional as always.

“Would you like me to leave once they are here, Miss?”

“No, you may stay.” Yuki grew nervous as Eden shot her sister a very wary look. Kara turned to Eden. “I trust her.”

It was clear that Eden didn’t, since she rolled her eyes and folded her arms. Yuki left quickly, hurrying to find the people she would have to escort.

It was an odd group, she had to admit. Nova hadn’t lied, Markus was with them. He actually looked as scared as the rest of them did. There was a young man in an Academy uniform, a girl who looked absolutely terrified standing next to Nova, and another man who looked completely out of place.

Oh God, it’s Kite! She quickly got out of his direct eye line, as he didn’t seem to clock her. He would certainly have said something if he’d noticed her there. Well, at least I can tell Cid he’s alive, I suppose...

She let them go first, making sure the door was secure before following close behind. It took a while for Kara to spot her brother; he’d carefully positioned himself behind Markus and Kite, like he wanted it to be a surprise all along. He didn’t visit often, not in comparison to Eden.

“Oh Nova...” Kara’s guard instantly disappeared. This was the most relaxed these people would probably ever see her. “Not you too?”

He shrugged, as if whatever was going on wasn’t such a big deal. He stepped forward and hugged his eldest sister. Yuki coulda sworn he heard him whisper “sorry”...

But then she snapped her mind back into focus when she caught the group’s reaction to this. The girl and the Academy guy seemed shocked, but Kite was fuming. His fists were clenched into tight little balls, like he’d lash out at them at any moment.

She couldn’t let that happen. Not only for Kara’s safety, but for the safety of the guy she used to call her best friend.

She was fast and quiet, so he had no time to react to her actions at all. With a few swift movements, Yuki was holding both of Kite’s hands behind his back with one of hers, and her other hand was clamped over his mouth.

“You need to calm the fuck down, Kite Rowe, or she’ll make me kill you where you stand.” She whispered harshly in his ear. “And you’ll never see Ramblum again. Do you understand?”

---

I purposely left some gaps in time, to give people the chance to fill things in. I was already at 1000 words when I decided I'd finished Nova's section, I didn't think you'd want to read anymore XD

I don't think my brain can explain any more, so please IM/PM me if I've made anything unclear... I'll pass you over to the hostess with the mostess

[Shadow Wolf]

Jin

The thought of thousands of people dying was not a pleasant thought for Jin to ponder about. Of course he would say "No" to such a statement. But when he heard such blunt words from the representative of Alexandria, he found it difficult to hide his emotions. He wasn't sure if he was noticed, but he was clearly angry at Kara for such a cold statement. It was the truth, he had to admit, but it left people surprised. It even left Alex in tears, something that Jin had trouble dealing with -seeing women cry-. But this wasn't the time for irrelevant thoughts. Apparently, there was someone who could help the group with this... focus.

If there's a chance for hope, then I'll take it. But...

As he composed the final words of a letter he was writing, his thoughts wandered through the events which lead to the fate that he must face. Sarcifice or destruction... either way, he'd lose. But before living his life on the edge of a knife called hope, there was something he felt like he had to do. "There's something I need to take care of." His words made Eden frown, but at this moment, he didn't care about it.

"If you're late, I'll kill you."

As usual, straight to the point. Yet Jin was already walking away as her words reached him. For now, no threats would affect him whatsoever.

WIth a cloak to cover his identity, he swiftly moved through the streets of the city. His eyes fixed at the direction of his destination as his hand gripped the words that he would never speak. It didn't took long to find the place he was looking for.

A stare at the second floor...

a stare at the door...

and a moment of silence...

all within seconds as he removed the neck of the cloak to see this place once more. Kneeling to slide the letter just under the door, he couldn't help but feel something tightening in his chest. Yet the only time he had left was to leave.

Making his way through the small steps, he looked back once more. Just one more glance would be enough. But what his eyes caught were not something he would enjoy...

"Hey you, hold it right there!"

He would normally cooperate... normally... but getting caught and being taken for questioning would take too much time and his teammates would not be very happy for him clumsy move. His legs began to move faster as his adrenaline was ordering him to lose the guards. He was a bit scared, but he has seen scarier things, so his determination to run from this one made his excitement brush off the fear of getting caught.

"Don't let that thief get away!"

It was a bad time to be confused for a thief, but he was not willing to let himself be caught by guards. His pulse was rising as his feet drove him through the alleys of the big city. Tumbling between the corners, his eyes didn't dare to look back as he was still hearing the voices of the guards pursuing him. The pressure was not tough, but he knew he had to think fast. If not, more guards would appear and this would definitely guarantee his capture.

Faster... if I could go faster His lungs were pumping the air in an out as his feet kept the pace. Trying to remember what he felt during his fight, he tried to channel his power once more. Jumping over a small ledge, he felt something covering his body... like some sort of protective barrier.

Crap... he didn't felt any change in his speed.

The pressure of the chase being prolonged was beginning to take effect. Jin was feeling like he was was running out of options; his breathing was getting heavy and his legs were beginning to give in to exhaustion. The voices he thought he had stopped hearing for a while made echo in his ears again. If they were drawing closer, it could only mean that his body was slowly but surely succumbing to tiredness. He looked back... big mistake...

"Quick, now's our chance!"

*pant, pant* persintent, aren't they...

He was about to look forward again, when, after taking a corner...

"Wh-mmph, mmph"

His arm signalled a bit of a strain as he felt himself being pulled along and stopped in his tracks. The mix of exhaustion and confusion drew his mind to a daze as his lungs were now gasping for air. His mouth tried to inhale that much needed dose of oxygen, yet was unable to, as his mind finaly recollected the fact that he was being held against a wall and his mouth covered by a hand.

___


"Damn... where did he go? Keep looking for him. Don't let him get away!" Looking between the people around, the guards seemed to have lost sight of the man they were chasing.

What!? So if the guards lost him, then who caught him off guard? Jin was still confused about what was going on. And yet, the confusion began to dissipate when he heard a familiar voice...

"Markus told me that you weren't the type to get into trouble." It was actually Yuki who was standing in front of him. Of all the people he could think of, he would never guess that Yuki might be the one to get him out of that tough spot. Picking up some much needed air, he was finally able to whisper an exhausted "thanks".

"But you know... with the way you're dressed, even I would think you're a thief."
Dropping on the floor while recovering his air, his voice, although tired, expressed his intentions: "I guess... but... I didn't want to be seen."

"Seen?" It was clear that the least he owed was an explanation. After all, she saved him.

"My parents."

"Oh?" He could sense her curiosity with that single expression.

"...They kicked me out, but... they're still my parents."

"Ah, so the letter was for them, right?"

She noticed... wow, she's sharp. And as he got lost again, a poke in his forehead snapped him back to reality. "Hey, don't get lost in your thoughts."

"Sorry. Just thought you were sharp to notice the letter."

"Oh..." She shrugged. Jin could've sworn that he saw a light blush, but maybe it was just his imagination. "Anyway, there isn't much time to waste. We have 15 minutes to catch a train. Let's go!" He was up and running again as he thought of what awaited him later. She was probably the one who sent Yuki after me He would probably find more than a punch in his face from Eden... but that's better than ending up in jail.

"By the way, sorry about earlier." Jin spoke as if he was trying to make a topic to talk about. "Hmm?" Yuki was wondering why the quiet guy was apologizing for.

"I kinda asked too many questions. In fact, I don't even know why I asked you about Kyte. I just... felt like I needed to ask."

"Oh! No worries." Yuki's expression made Jin be at ease.

"I'm still thinking about what Markus said, though." He was still wondering what he meant when he said "...Especially if he knows what’s good for him...


"Oh, that's because I usually defeated him when we trained together."

Jin was astonished. In his time with the Defence Core, he was never able to defeat Markus during his sparring sessions. That's probably why he was finding it hard to believe that someone as attractive as Yuki could actually defeat him.

"I know what you're thinking." Yuki didn't hesitate to prove Jin she was right. Before he could even blink, he was grabbed and smashed right down into the floor. Not only her attack was swift, but silent and effective. Barely any people from the crowd actually noticed that Jin was pinned down on the floor. "Whoa" It was the only thing that came out of Jin as he realized what just happened.

Yuki resumed the walk as Jin pulled himself together again. His vision Yuki definitely changed after what just happened and now, he knew that he would have a valuable teammate. Increasing his pace a bit, he managed to catch up to Yuki shortly after.

"Oh, yeah" Yuki turned around as they continued their march to the station. "You'll look more like a 'normal person' if you take that off." She was pointing at the cloak.

"Hmm... yeah" Oblivious to the light tone of the conversation, he took the cape off as they walked together. And as the two blended into the crowd, Jin's face showed a complete contrast to Yuki's smile while thinking one last time about his family, hoping that he never lays a hand on them nor to anyone.


________

I have to admit that this hasn't been a creative post on my part. I haven't felt too motivated to do anything... and I mean "anything" lately, not even play LoL nor Gran Turismo 4 nor Final Fantasy VIII (which I recently bought a copy of it). Handling Jin had also become tougher than I expected and at some point, I even considered killing him. Overall, I pretty much like a living zombie at the moment. Not an excuse, but thought I should let you guys know.

PS: Tag Yuki and since everyone will porbably meet at the train station, tag everyone in the process.

[Samchu]

Markus
~~~~~

Kara's decision came of no surprise to Markus. He wasn't foolish enough to think that she would cast aside the responsibilities of her station because it was her siblings who were caught up in the mess. In truth, Eden and Nova's involvement in this was probably the only reason they would walk out of that place - and the city - alive. Kara trusted her sister. Trusted her to ensure that everyone of them got out of Eden, got away from the very people they were a danger too. He doubted anyone else would have been granted the luxury of choice. There would be no chance of banishment. Perhaps there would be some probing, some investigations into the l'cie curse, but the end would ultimately be the same; a swift and untimely execution for the preservation of the people.

He was surprised at the opportunity they were given to collect their thoughts. He would never had expected Kara to allow them the time or the freedom to grasp her judgement. That they weren't already being shipped onto a train sat at odds to his perceptions of her. So much so that he didn't realise Eden had drawn close to him until she spoke.

“Aren’t you from the edge of the barrier?”

Markus nodded. “My village is a few hours from the train’s final stop…I think it’s near those ruins actually.”

“How close?”

He grimaced a bit. “Alright, ‘near’ wasn’t the greatest word to choose, but it’s the closest mark of civilization to them. I don’t recall hearing about any scholar livin’ there though.”

“You think I’ve heard of him?”

“You talked to Kara alone.”

Eden shook her head. “I don’t know anything about this scholar, but Kara is rarely wrong about these things.”

"I hope you're right," Markus replied, more to himself than to Eden.

She left him then, as he had become accustomed to her doing. However, her absence was soon filled his old sparring partner, Yuki, and the unfortunately out-of-place Jin. He couldn't help but laugh at the young man's worry regarding his "if he knows what's good for him" comment. He clapped Jin on the shoulder. "You haven't got to worry about Yuki." He paused to examine the young man's face. "We've not long left here, Jin. If there's something you need to do, best to get it done."

Jin nodded and left, leaving Markus to his own thoughts.

If we ride all the way out there Odin knows we'll need a place to sleep, one last respite before those ruins, before reality crushes that last flicker of hope from us. I guess we could put everyone up in the Creaky Shack - if it's still open - or maybe Handel's place. Either way I'll have to go see them. I can't not. By Odin I'm in for a beating. How many years has it been since I left? And it's not like I could've written them a letter. I meant to visit - honestly. I just...I never got around to it. Heh. She'll never accept that. She'll beat me senseless before she lets an excuse like that wash over her. Not that I don't deserve it. I probably deserve worse for waiting so long. But even so. To go there knowing that it'll be the last time. Should I tell them? Would it be worse to lie, to pretend everything is fine? Better to die as a son than as a monster.

He realised then how selfish he had been. He had been so sure of his decision to sacrifice himself but he had never once thought of the family still waiting for him to come home. Had Kara not been sending them into the wilds - not forcing them to face his family - he never would have told them. He would have died, barely a shred of humanity left in him, and they would have still been waiting for him to tell them that he lived.

He jumped as something touched his arm and looked to find Eden at his side. "Come on, we're leaving for the station."

Markus looked around to find that he was in a place he didn't recognise; a small, secluded garden on one of the upper levels. The light had faded considerably. How long was I trapped in my own thoughts? Have I been wandering aimlessly all this time or did I just accidentally find myself here and wait? He nodded to Eden. "Alright, I'm coming."

She lead him to the entrance of the building where the others were waiting. All except for...

"Where's your inquisitive friend?" asked Yuki.

"He had some personal business he wanted to attend to before we left. Even so..." he looked up, trying to gauge the time using what remained of the light, "he should be back by now."

"Is he the type to find trouble?"

"No. More the type that attracts it likes moths to an inferno." He sighed. "I should go after him."

"I'll go," Yuki cut in. "Just tell me where he'll be."

Markus told her where he expected she would find Jin and watched her go. A small part of him was glad she had volunteered to oversee his return. He had to prepare himself to face his own past. He couldn't muster the strength to try carrying Jin right now.

They had agreed to regroup at the station so Markus and the others began moving towards their destination. He found himself lingering towards the back, wrestling between keeping his mind in reality and letting it retreat into itself. It was Eden who noticed it first.

"You're not here."

He looked over at her. For a moment he forgot how good she was at masking her emotions and felt a flutter of awe at her ability to make it look like they were engaging in some manner of standard conversation.

"I'm sorry. I've been...distracted."

"Because of Kara's decision?"

"No. I expected that much from her. No I...I haven't been to my village for a long time. I haven't seen my family since I left home."

"Not even a letter?"

"They can't read. Few in the village can."

"But you can."

He half-smiled. "I had to have private lessons once I started training with the Corps. Still not particularly good at it."

"I always thought you were-"

"Stupid?"

"I was going to say slow but I can use stupid if you prefer."

"Slow would be more accurate."

Now it was her turn to grin. "Yes, it would."

They arrived at the station without incident. The lack of tension between Kite and Nova left a strange emptiness in Markus' mind. It had become something of a distant yet constant presence in the air - sort of akin to a week-long wound. Not that a truce between the two was unwelcome, it just made things feel different. Like how he couldn't look at Eden for too long without remembering what she looked like naked.

And now he was doing it again.

"I hope Yuki found Jin okay," he said aloud, in the hopes of distracting himself more than anything.

[Crystal Tears]

sorry if there's any huge mistakes I'm posting this from my phone xD!

Kara, Eden, and Alex

Being informed of their condition – Kara had to make a call. It was probably the most difficult one she’d ever have to make… but it had to be made. She summoned the strength to make it clear when she was speaking to Eden alone, and she wasn’t surprised when the huntress agreed. It was far too dangerous for them to stay here, both for their own sake and the sake of the innocent people. Ultima would eventually learn of what had transpired, and when that happened – they needed to be away from here.

Kara faced the group with a smile she had mastered years ago. She looked at Eden for a moment, then addressed them.

“Eden has informed me of your,” she paused, thinking of the right word. “Condition… I regret to inform you that you may not stay in Alexandria, or in any densely populated city of this paradise.”

The group didn’t like where this was going, but Kara – being Kara didn’t care. Her first priority was the safety of the people. This group of rogue l’Cie threatened that safety and needed to be dealt with. Sending them away avoiding the messy, emotional business of having all of them, including her family – killed.

“Why not?” The words came from one she didn’t recognize – a young man who stood next Markus, his stare more curious then angry.

Kara glanced at Eden, then back at the man. “You must be Jin.”

He nodded, the Matriarch narrowed her eyes a tad. “Surely your friends informed of the legend of the l’Cie?”

Again, a nod – but now he seemed a little nervous.

“Well,” Kara stepped forward a bit. “Your focus, according to Eden – is to destroy Alexandria, Ultima and the seat of power that has kept humanity safe for centuries.” Despite still sounding professional and calming, Kara’s posture was one of superiority. “Unless you plan on completing this twisted focus, you’ll become ceith…” She smiled kindly at Jin. “Do you plan on murdering thousands, of not millions of innocent people?”

He faltered, his neutral expression broken by subtle anxiety and horror at the idea. “No.”

“Then you’ll become ceith – and I cannot have monsters running around densely populated zones.” The Matriarch turned her attention to the songstress. She was nearly in tears.

“H-how can you say that?” Alex whimpered, abhorred.

“It’s the truth.” Kara replied, in the tone a mother would take with an upset child. “As horrible as it is.”

Eden glanced at Kara, frowning.

The Matriarch hesitated, not wanting to give the group false hope. Eden apparently didn’t have the same mindset – if the group had something to focus on, it would delay the inevitable. When it came to the end, Eden had promised to end Nova’s life rather than have him transform into a grotesque, heretical monster.

“There… is one saving grace, however…” Kara crossed her arms. “Near the edge of the barrier, there are some ruins. Near them you’ll find someone, a scholar – who may know of a way to change your focus, or even get rid of it.” The Matriarch watched the flicker of hope return to all of them. “So I’ll make this abundantly clear – you will board the evening train tonight and head west. You will not get off that train until it reaches the final stop. You’ll be wanted within hours, rogue l’Cie are not to be running free in Eden. Stay out of populated zones, because the procedure for heretic l’Cie is one of finality.” She left no room for argument.



Eden looked at the group; there was a very distinct mix of hope and despair. She chose to ignore both of them that were warring in her. The lead was basically a dead end – a ray of false hope, to give them something to do before they died. Kara wouldn’t lie to Ultima, and if she did about where they were or where they were going, Ultima would eventually figure it out. She was a fal’Cie, after all.

“Yuki,” Kara called her guardian over to her. “You will accompany them, aid them on their journey.”

“Of course.” She bowed her head.

Eden moved towards Markus, giving him a curious look. “Aren’t you from the edge of the barrier?”

He nodded. “My village is a few hours from the train’s final stop…” The man paused, thinking about it. “I think it’s near those ruins actually.”

“How close?”

He grimaced a bit. “Alright, ‘near’ wasn’t the greatest word to choose, but it’s the closest mark of civilization to them.” Markus gave Eden a suspicious glance. “I don’t recall hearing about any scholar livin’ there though.”

“You think I’ve heard of him?”

“You talked to Kara alone.”

Eden shook her head. “I don’t know anything about this scholar, but Kara is rarely wrong about these things.”



Distant and desperately clinging to that sliver of hope, Alex had moved away from the group. She had chosen to admire one of the great paintings on the wall. It was an artist’s interpretation of Lindzei, and though her people found it blasphemous to illustrate anything to do with the Goddess’s form… she found it oddly beautiful and comforting. The songstress glanced back at the group, they were chatting amongst themselves – and were no doubt bothered by what had happened but… they were dealing with it.

Which is what she needed to do.

The fal’Cie have abandoned me. She thought miserably, that comfort beginning to fade. Maybe they have an easier time because their lives are not dictated by the doctrine. They’re ignorant to the fate that awaits us. The soul of a twisted ceith doesn’t go to join Etro, it wanders the world until it simply ceases to exist.

But if someone could change that fate…

“Hey,” she heard Nova’s voice and found herself smiling.

“Hi…” She murmured, turning to face him.

“Rough day…”

Burying her sadness, Alex smiled. “The train ride will be nice.”

Nova gave her an odd look and then smiled. “Trying to be optimistic?”

She giggled a bit at her naivety and nodded, unable to meet his gaze for a moment. When she looked up, she spoke. “Better than the alternative.”

“Very true.”

[classy_cat18]

Kite Rowe

Dammit, I can’t stay mad at him when he gets like that. I put away the book and picked up Babs while she was still playing the piano. “I guess you’re coming with us, unless we find a chick-sitter before we leave.” Babs hopped on Nova’s shoulder, and I went upstairs to retrieve the only thing I had brought with me.

“Let’s go,” I said to Smashy as I picked it up. The weight that settled on my shoulder now felt different. Was it because it was now a weapon, and not just a tool? I shrugged and joined the others.

The tension was low for the first time in a long time… at first. Markus and Nova weren’t fighting, and Eden looked serious instead of just pissed. “Everyone here?” she asked. “Good. Ultima’s Representative wants to see us.”

The tension was cranked to eleven at that moment. Alex’s face got as white as the color white could get. Markus quietly gulped, Jin started shaking… and I lost my grip on the sledgehammer for a second. Even I knew that Ultima’s Representative was one of the most important jobs that any human could get, and since that person was representing a god, whatever they said was absolute.

I also knew that we were now beings on a mission to destroy the world we lived in. Not good at all. This person could decide to have us executed for “the good of the people”.

“W-Will we be okay?” Alex asked Eden. “W-We’re not in trouble, are we?”

Nova put a hand on her shoulder. “She just wants to talk.”

He looks too calm. Do I even want to know the reason why?

“If there’s anyone who knows what to do next, it’ll be her,” Eden said.

I reached into my pocket and fingered the note Nova had written for me. You said you wouldn’t let anyone kick me out. What would happen if this person decides to put us all on the chopping block? Not even you can talk us out of that.

Once more, we were walking through Alexandria. I kept my eyes on the back of the person ahead of me to keep from looking at the people we passed. I had to keep assuring myself that no one was staring at me, even though I was sure that at least some of them were. Then we were at our destination, a towering building that stared down at us, as if it was judging us.

We’re guilty. Guilty of trying to protect Ramblum, getting dragged into that dungeon, and letting ourselves get branded by the fal’Cie.

“Leave behind your weapons,” a guard told us as we passed him. Although I was required to abandon my sledgehammer, the Myst siblings were able to keep theirs. I couldn’t help but feel helpless as I was escorted to a waiting room with the rest of the group, and slightly suspicious of Nova’s more relaxed behavior as he talked with the others. I kept quiet, the only sound from me being my foot tapping on the hard floor.

“Nervous?” I jumped at the sound of Nova’s voice. He laughed. “I guess you are.”

“And you’re not?” I grumbled.

He suddenly got quiet for a long moment. When he started talking again, it was as shaky as it should’ve been in the first place. “We’ll be okay.”

“How do you know that?” I whispered, but he had already left. A quick glace around the room told me he wasn’t in the waiting room anymore. He returned a minute later, and we were allowed to leave the waiting room.

Crystal statues lined the long hallway was trudged through, each one of them armed and solemn-looking. I paused to look at one and got a strange sinking in my gut. “These are l’Cie, aren’t they? These guys are the ones who completed their Focus?”

“Yep. This is where these guys’ll sleep until they’re needed again,” Nova told me.

“Nice home.” I rolled my eyes and walked the rest of the way to the next room.

The woman who was there to see us was… regal would probably be the best way to put her. She wore a stoic expression that made me feel six inches tall. So this is Ultima’s Representative. I’m not feeling so good about my future anymore.

Her face quickly softened when Nova stepped up. “Oh Nova…not you too?”

I was confused for a second but it clicked. “I have another sister.”

I clenched my fists in anger. Again? Really? As soon as my body twitched with the intent to clock my lying friend, something bound my wrists together. A slender hand came into my field of vision to cover my mouth. Instincts told me to struggle and break out of the hold but then I heard a familiar voice.

“You need to calm the fuck down, Kite Rowe, or she’ll make me kill you where you stand.” My eyes widened, and my body relaxed. “And you’ll never see Ramblum again. Do you understand?”

I was too shocked to do anything other than nod. The girl slowly let me go. My lips trembled as I tried to find something to say to her.

How could I forget? Where else would she have gone? She even told me the last day we saw each other.

“Yu…ki?” I finally whispered.

Kara Myst, the woman whose name I didn’t even learn until later, spoke to the group before I could say anything more to Yuki. In short, she was kicking us out of Alexandria, banishing us to the far reaches of human civilization, it was for the good of the people, find some scholar while we were there, yadda yadda yadda…

In short, she was as infuriating as her siblings. Duty or not, she made that decision too easily. I was now pissed off at the whole family. So this is it. This is the end of the life of Kite Rowe. How… anticlimactic.

“You got your wish,” I grumbled at Nova. “Your big sis, or rather Ultima, is throwing us all out. We’ll die in some corner of the world, away from everyone’s eyes. I’m trying to understand how this is better than being executed.” He sighed and hung his head. “Can I borrow your phone?”

“That was a little out of the blue,” Nova commented before handing me the phone.

“Cid doesn’t know we’re alive, remember?” I felt a little pang in my heart before I dialed my boss/guardian’s number.

Someone picked up on the first ring. “Nova! Boy, what the hell took ya so long?”

“Actually, it’s me,” I answered.

A loud gasp. “Kite! What have ya done with Nova!? If you’ve done anythin’ to him—“

I rolled my eyes. “I kicked him in the balls. Does that count?”

“You kicked him in the balls?”

“Yes, what didja think… get your head outta the gutter! The point is that we’re both alive!”

“I’d like ta take your word for it but you calling from his phone is kinda suspicious.”

He groaned and held the phone out to Nova. “Tell that geezer that you’re alive and not tied up in some warehouse.”

Nova took the phone. “Hey, Cid. Yes, I’m alive. No, he didn’t kidnap me. Sorry for not returning your calls.” A long pause, and his face got gloomier. “We’ll be back soon, but I don’t know when.”

My heart sank. Oh yeah, even after almost getting killed by Yuki, I still won’t see Ramblum again.

Nova gave the phone back to me. “He wants to talk to you.”

Cid was talking the second I put the phone to my ear. “Your friend Yuki came by. Don’t worry, I didn’t tell her about you and Nova.”

“She did, did she?” I glanced at Yuki for a second, still not sure what to say to her.

“Yeah, you should find a way to reach her. I know you’re still sour over what happened but ya can’t find girls like her every day.” I grunted in understanding. “Nova said that ya still had things to do over there. I’ll just keep a place for the two of ya, so just have fun explorin’. But… but I want ya to know that even though it was never legal, you’re still my son.”

My breath hitched in my throat. “What made you say something like that?”

“Because I don’t know when I’ll ever see ya again. I got scared that ya were dead, dammit! I just wanted to tell ya that! And… and you know how I don’t say mushy stuff easy. So just take care of yourself and all that.”

“Bye, Cid.” I hung up and gave the phone back to Nova, and then hid between two crystal statues to cry. After I had cried myself dry, I just sat there in silence until I heard someone approach me.

Yuki.

What was I going to say to the person I had conveniently forgotten? We were almost destined to bump into each other again. Why didn’t she write? No, don’t accuse her right off the bat. Why is she going with us? Isn’t her job to guard that bitch? Note to self, don’t call Kara a bitch out loud. “Hi?” Is “hi” good enough? What would Nova say? Nova seems to always have the right thing to say when it comes to girls.

“You look nice,” I finally said to her.

That’ll do, Kite. That’ll do.

But then I exploded. “This new life must be treating you well. How does it feel to be the one to restore your family’s honor? Is it heavy? Does it keep you too busy to write? Shouldn’t you be here guarding that woman instead of going with us monsters? I’m sure you have better things to do than to escort a bunch of dead men walking to the end of the world.”

…I’m such an idiot. Still, points for not calling Kara a bitch.

[ChobiChibi]

Yuki Kurosawa

Yuki kept her distance from everyone, watching and observing them instead. From what she could gather, Kite and Nova were talking to Cid on the phone, while the others seemed to be trying to come to terms with what was happening. Except for Eden, Yuki had no idea what she was thinking...

“Yuki.” Kara broke her concentration as she addressed her, and pulled her to one side. “I need you to report back to me with any developments. Physical health, mental health, anything.”

“Of course.” She smiled at her as an attempt to reassure her. Perhaps really she was trying to reassure herself too. In any sane person’s opinion, this assignment was suicide. She was being sent off with a group of l’cie. If they decided to pursue their focus, which from the very brief description she had of it, sounded rather destructive, she’d have to fight them to protect Alexandria, and Kara. If they decided to ride it out and wait to become ceith, she’d have to kill them, or be killed herself. But if she killed Eden or Nova, would she not have the wrath of Kara to deal with afterwards?

She decided not to think about it anymore, and focus on the fact that Kara trusted her. Both in her abilities, and the decision she’d have to make when the time came. For now, she guessed, she’d just have to try and enjoy the ride.

“Be careful, Yuki.” Kara handed her the bow she’d inherited from her grandfather.

“I will be.”

She turned back to the group of l’cie. Nova was now talking to the blonde girl, and Kite had disappeared. Nobody seemed too concerned about this, so maybe now was the best time to talk to find him and talk to him alone.

“Markus, where did Kite go?”

He shrugged as the academy trainee joined him. “Back down by the Crystal Statues I think.”

“How do you know Kite?” The younger man asked.

“We used to be friends.”

“Used to be?”

Yuki turned back to Markus. “Your friend likes to ask questions...”

“Oh, don’t worry about Jin. He means you no harm.” Markus paused for a moment. “Especially if he knows what’s good for him...”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jin looked between the two of them as Yuki gave Markus an all-knowing smirk. The last time the two of them had met, she’d kicked his ass. But now he was a l’cie, she couldn’t be so sure that it would end with the same outcome. “Markus?”

“I’m gonna find Kite now.” Yuki sorta half waved at them as she walked away.

She could hear his quiet crying, so she knew she was getting closer. Kite did this sometimes. Put himself away from everyone so he could get things out of his system. She wondered if she should just turn around and leave him to it, but there was so much she wanted to know. Like, for instance, how he’d ended up in this mess in the first place. Or, y’know, how he’d been for the last 3 years?

She didn’t know why she felt so guilty. She had to leave when she did. She told him, didn’t she? She went and said goodbye, there was nothing for her to feel bad about.

Yuki found it ironic that Kite had hidden himself next to the statue of her l’cie ancestor. She stood and waited for him to notice her. He seemed to spend a long time thinking before he finally said anything.

“You look nice.”

To say she wasn’t expecting a compliment was an understatement. She opened her mouth to respond, but shut it again when she couldn’t think of anything to say.

“This new life must be treating you well. How does it feel to be the one to restore your family’s honour? Is it heavy? Does it keep you too busy to write? Shouldn’t you be here guarding that woman instead of going with us monsters? I’m sure you have better things to do than to escort a bunch of dead men walking to the end of the world.”

Ah, that was more like it. Yuki shrugged in response, when what she should have said was ‘It’s good that I restored my family’s honour. I can’t write to you, if I said something out of turn they’d kill me. That woman wants me to keep you safe, and you’re not a monster. You’re not dead men walking... Not if I can help it.’

“You honestly have nothing to say? After all this time you can’t even think of one little thing to say to me?” Kite stood up, towering over her like he always had.

Yuki swallowed hard. “You know I don’t like arguing...”

“We’re not arguing!”

“You’re shouting at me.”

“I’m NOT shouting at you!”

The slap that Yuki gave him echoed around the corridor as much as his voice had. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t know her own strength, because she was perfectly aware of how hard she could hit someone if she wanted to. His cheek quickly turned bright red, which only made the scar by his eye seem more prominent now.

“S-sorry.” They both stuttered together.

Yuki opened her mouth to attempt to counter him, but she spotted Nova walking towards them, so promptly shut it again.

“Don’t look at me accusingly, Kite, I’m not running away. I have to say goodbye to someone before we leave.” Nova stated and Kite shrugged. “Although, before I go, is there something going on between the two of you I should know about?” He winked at Yuki suggestively before he walked away. If it weren’t for the fact she had to physically stop Kite from decking him, she probably would have done it herself. That and Kara would kill her. Or Eden. Or whoever got there first.

Kite tried to speak this time, but Jin scurried past, quickly saying that he too had to say goodbye to someone, and that he’d meet them at the station later.

“What did I do to deserve that slap, then?” Kite frowned. Yuki hadn’t realised she was still holding onto him until he’d spoken. She was too close for comfort, so she let him go, backed off and tugged on the sleeves of her jumper.

“You were mean to me...” She felt like a child with such a simple answer, so she sighed before continuing. “I... I can’t answer your questions, at least not here.” She nodded, gesturing towards Kara in the room behind them. “I’ll tell you later. On the train.” She could tell by the look on his face that this answer didn’t satisfy him. “But Kite... I missed you, and I’m glad you’re okay.” She gave him a little smile before heading back into the chamber, to find out when they were leaving.

Nova Myst
Vanille’s Theme/Memories of Happier Days- FFXIII

While the others seemed to be attempting to distance themselves from Kara (he couldn’t blame them, after what she had said), Nova wanted nothing more than to kidnap her and take her down to the beach, like he had the last time he was here. That way, the last memory of the two of them together would be happy and bright, not this... Anything but this...

Well, it gave him an idea at least. He waited for her to stop talking to Yuki, walked up to her and pinched her phone from her pocket.

“Hey! Nova!” Kara frowned and tried to grab it back, but he held it up out of her reach. She wasn’t much shorter than him, but he was certainly bigger built than she was. “Give it back.”

“Just hold on a second, let me do something.” Nova pulled his own phone from his pocket, still keeping hers far from her. His sister sighed, giving up. Nova grinned at her as he pressed a few buttons on both phones and gave it back to her. “There. That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

She stared down at the screen. He’d set the background picture to the photo that they’d taken together on the beach. She smiled at it for a short while, before putting her phone away. “Thanks, Nova.”

He gave her one last hug and said goodbye. Kara left him to go and speak to Eden, so stood alone for a moment, deciding who he should talk to. Kite had gone, Yuki was just leaving Markus and Jin, Eden was now speaking to Kara, so it just left Alex... He hesitated only for a small moment, not exactly sure on how to start this conversation, before stepping up behind her.

“Hey.”

“Hi…” She said quietly, turning away from the painting.

“Rough day…” Nova struggled to find the right words to try and comfort her, but apparently this was enough to get a smile out of her.

“The train ride will be nice.”

Nova probably looked confused for a while. She’d looked so lonely only moments ago. He couldn’t help but smile back at her though. “Trying to be optimistic?”

She giggled and looked away. There it was. That sense of uncertainty was there as she couldn’t meet his gaze. But she did, after a short while. “Better than the alternative.”

“Very true.” He shrugged.

“I’ve never been on a train before.” Alex looked a little sheepish, quickly changing the subject so that he didn’t have to. He was grateful for this; he really didn’t want to let his mind wander. “But this is the furthest I’ve ever come from home.”

“Really? We used to use the trains all the time, Dad hated driving long distances.” Nova caught himself off guard. This was the first time in a very long time that he’d mentioned either of his parents in passing in such a reminiscent way. His smile changed; it was still a smile, just warmer and less forced than it had been. “I’d always insist on sitting by the window, facing the opposite way to the way the train was going, because I wanted to see what we were leaving behind.”

“Do you still do that?” She looked like she was trying to suppress a giggle.

“I haven’t caught the train in years.” His expression must have changed, because Alex mirrored it with concern. He was too busy trying to work it out. “Must have been the last time we went on holiday together... All of us...”

“Your family? Before Kara-”

“No, it was long before Kara...” He stopped himself midsentence. “I have to go say goodbye to my parents.” He announced, smiling again, this time with relief. He leaned forward, kissing Alex quickly on the cheek. “Thank you.”

If he’d taken some time to look at her before he made a quick exit, he would have noticed her blush like a beetroot. Instead, he hurried to where he’d find his parents, instantly regretting making inappropriate comments at Kite and Yuki as he went past. One of those two is gonna hit me for that later... Or both...

The gardens were so immaculately kept that it looked exactly the same as the last time he’d been here. It was bright and cheerful, but equally beautiful and respectful to those buried there. He followed the winding path, occasionally glancing at some of the gravestones of previous Ultima’s Representatives and their families in order to get his bearings.

When he arrived, he said in front of them, cross-legged on the floor. Now he was here, he honestly didn’t know what he should say, if anything at all. They’d come here every year, the three of them together, on the anniversary of their deaths, lay some flowers, someone would say a few words (normally Kara, occasionally Eden) whilst Nova stood as far away as possible, without being disrespectful, in silence.

He’d gotten closer though, hadn’t he? He could pretty much reach and touch the stones from here if he wanted to, maybe being here was enough, and he didn’t have to say anything at all. He wasn’t sure what he’d aimed to achieve by coming here, so maybe just being quiet and remembering was the best way forward.

He felt a hand on his shoulder before he heard his name. “Nova?”

He knew without any doubt that it was Eden. “Do you remember when I was a kid, I went through a stage of obsessing over the l’cie Knights?” He glanced at her for a second as she knelt down next to him. “I told Dad once... I said to him ‘Dad, when I grow up, I want to be a l’cie Knight’ and he looked at Mum, then back at me, and said ‘I’m really sorry, kid, but I don’t think anyone can do that job anymore’.”

Eden snorted, resting a hand on her hip, she looked at the ground. “Well... He was wrong.”

The grin that plastered itself on Nova’s face could only be described as mischievous. “Exactly.”

“Don’t get any ideas-”

“I’m not.” He shrugged, getting back on his feet and stretching. “But as we are stuck as l’cie, I’m going to try and make the most of what we have.”

"How?" She questioned with a frown.

"I haven't quite worked that out yet." He inhaled deeply and sighed. “We probably should go... We’ve got a train to catch, after all.”

[classy_cat18]

Kite Rowe

We were a couple short on our trip to the station but were told that they would meet us there. I walked in the back of the group, looking around for signs of Yuki for some reason. Nova and I looked at each other occasionally, both of us still remembering what he had said to me. There would be some kind of retaliation, but I wanted to catch him off-guard.

But right now, Yuki was the main one inhabiting my thoughts. Waiting for her to come by after school, making up games that the two of us could play, sharing candy with her, watching her do her homework if she had decided to do it at my house instead of hers…

The last day I saw her before today wasn’t pretty. She was standing around awkwardly before she blurted out her plans of returning to Alexandria and becoming Ultima’s Representative’s personal guard. I had dropped whatever I was doing at the time (I think it was a video game that one of the younger scrapyard workers let me borrow) and stared at her for the longest time.

And then the yelling started.

I was the only one yelling, now that I thought about it. She kept getting interrupted by me.

“You’re not responsible for something that happened before you were even born! Live for yourself, dammit!”

“This is something I want to do, Kite. At least be happy for me.”

I was more scared than angry. After all, who would want to return to Ramblum after getting the opportunity to live in Alexandria? And she’d change. She wouldn’t be the Yuki I felt so comfortable around despite both of us being in those awkward teenage years.

I wanted to beg her to stay. Instead I flung something at her I couldn’t take back.

“Go then. Die for someone who won’t give a fuck about you. After all, honor is so much more important than some stupid friendship!”

She ran out of the room, and all I did was look out the window as she ran for home. My heart was breaking, the pieces of it hardening. I stood at that window for two hours waiting for her to come back, then curled up in a corner of my room and cried myself to sleep. When Cid came home I simply told him that I wasn’t talking to her anymore. It took him a week to find out about her moving, and that was from Yuki herself when she met him during one of his errands.

Did I regret driving her away? Hell yes. But I was too angry to admit I was wrong. Even as I walked down to the train station I wondered why she couldn’t even send me a few lines about how she was doing. It wasn’t like I wanted her to spy on Kara for me! Just…how the weather was, if the food was as good as I had heard, things like that. That confidentiality bullshit wasn’t cutting it.

But if I wanted my last days alive to be anywhere close to pleasant, some reconciliation had to be made. I walked into a little store that was close to the boarding platforms, interested in a jar full of wrapped candy. It was my favorite kind, chocolates filled with milky crème. I put a few bills on the counter. “I’ll take as many as that can buy.”

Yuki and Jin were with the group when I walked out with a paper bag full of sweets. Yuki noticed me before I had a chance to blend in with the crowd. I stood next to her, and as the train was approaching, said:

“You want one?” I held up the bag.