An Unexpected Reunion [Fang, Open]

[Deleted]

Lightning's mind was racing with thoughts as she sat at the corner table of the local tavern. The place was fairly empty given that it was the middle of the day and as far as she has observed most of the residents of this town preferred to schedule their recreational hours late at night to the early morning. At any rate, Lightning needed to figure out how she was going to do this. How was she going to become a goddess. She figured that she would need to go back to Valhalla and Etro's shrine but what she would do once she was there was a different question all together. In all honesty Lightning truly didn't know if it was even possible.

Regardless, she would try. For now she would have to try to do it alone but on her journey to find the solution to the chaos that was slowly but surely consuming Pulse. Somehow she would become the goddess and close Etro's gate. It was the only way or else Pulse would be gone forever. Lightning could not allow that to happen. She couldn't do it alone though. She would need help. She had already found Vanille when it turned out that they both had accepted a mission to deal with a dragon that was terrorizing a small village on a distant world. Lightning was sure that she could find Vanille again. She would need more help though. Maybe if she could find Hope, Snow, or Sazh, maybe even Fang or Serah.

She didn't know if any of them were still around but finding Vanille alive and well and no longer in crystal stasis gave her hope that somewhere the others were back too. Lightning finished her glass of water and sat back in her chair.
This was going to be a long and tough journey. She heard the door to the building open to allow a new patron entrance. Lightning didn't pay much attention as her mind was once again filled with thoughts on how she was going to save Pulse once again.

[fang]

If there was one thing Fang detested these days, it was being confused.

However, that was exactly how she was feeling yet again. Once again, she'd woken up in a strange place from her crystal stasis. Once again, she had no idea what was going on, or where she was. This time, though, was much worse. While she did have her memories of what had happened, she'd woken up without Vanille by her side. Hours upon hours of searching every nook and cranny she could find, and the l'Cie had not found her optimistic, smiling friend anywhere around the dusky port. All else aside; the confusing people, strange environment, even the strange monsters that had tried to challenge her one night, Vanille's missing presence at her side was definitely the worst of everything.

What was going on? Why had she woken up again? Without an immediate drive and purpose, Fang became increasingly frustrated. Having been stranded in this seaside port wasn't helping anything, either.

The young woman from Gran Pulse strolled along the dock, her steps oddly light against the creaking wood. This place tasted and smelled of salt, and the horizon in the ocean went on for ages, as far as she could tell. So far, she'd had no luck at finding a way out off this strange port. Without any currency or anything to trade, the men with boats refused to take her anywhere. Well, there was one man who offered to take her somewhere else, claiming that he'd love some company ... But, fancy that, he happened to fall off of the dock and into the water for some reason. That attracted a fair bit of unwanted attention, though, so Fang eyed her current surroundings for a place to lie low for a bit. Perhaps the night would bring better results, but for now, she needed to shake any upset mariners from her tail.

A tavern? That'll work. A bar of sorts probably wouldn't be too crowded during the afternoon, but it was, potentially, a good place to hide her head for a bit and possibly seek out some more information.

The door creaked open as the l'Cie pushed it with a fair bit of force. No one turned their heads, which she didn't mind so much, and she shut the door behind her. It was just another dingy, local tavern, not unlike the rest of the buildings in the area. There were very few patrons inside she noted, as her eyes adjusted to the change in lighting. The place was hazy and dim, giving off the impression that it was actually much later out than it really was. Fang stepped forward, no longer waiting awkwardly by the door and took her first glace around the place for someone to question. The first; too drunk. The second; chatting up the barmaid. The third- Fang froze on the spot, green eyes locked onto the side of a very, very familiar face. Could it really be her? Even through the haze of the tavern, there was no mistaking that hair, that build, that grumpy look. She could feel the cocky grin breaking out on her face, the first pleasant feeling she'd had since awakening from her stasis.

Looks like Lady Luck is on my side after all.

Fang made an intentional bee line for Lightning's table, though her steps remained casual and calculated. Her heart was pounding in her chest at the sight of someone she knew, a part of her new family. If Lightning was alright, then maybe ... Maybe everyone else was too. Her heart clenched as Vanille's smiling face passed through her memory, and she hoped to every accursed higher being that her dear friend was in good care. Twisting around to the chair right across from Lightning, Fang gave her a knowing grin.

"Not exactly where I'd expect to find you, but I don't think I'll complain," Fang commented, as if she and Lightning had just seen each other yesterday, "And here I was, startin' to worry I was alone. Nice to see ya, Light."

[Deleted]

Lightning knew that she would find her friends again. What she didn’t know was how quickly she was finding them. Or rather, how quickly they were finding her. First she comes across Vanille in Cornelia and now the other native of Pulse had found her way to her. The guardian could only watch her friend in surprise as she casually sat down and greeted her in the style that just Fang. [pink]”I can’t say I was expecting you to be here either. It’s good to see you again too Fang. Really.”[/pink] Seeing Fang again after what seemed like a very long time was refreshing just as it was when she had found Vanille.

Vanille. Now there was a topic that Fang was sure to bring up at one point or another and when she did Lightning would tell her what she knew. Fang would no doubt be thrilled that Vanille is alive an well. What she might not be so thrilled about was the fact that Lightning had not stayed with Vanille after their mission. Regardless Lightning would not bring Vanille into the conversation herself. She would let Fang to that. After all, there might be a lot of questions she might have besides that and Lightning would do her best to answer. Honestly, the guardian herself still had a lot of question about the status of her remaining friends as well as the mystery surrounding how she is going to pull off becoming a goddess which at this point seemed impossible but she and her friends had done the impossible before and they can do it again.

Lightning caught the attention of the other barmaid that was actually doing her job and motioned for her to bring two more glasses of water for herself and Fang. Once that was done she turned her attention back to Fang. [pink]”Fang, I don’t meant to cut the small talk short, after all I am glad to see you again, but Pulse is in danger. The chaos has to be stopped. It can’t be allowed to corrupt the world any more than it already has. The only way to do that is to close Etro’s gate. Will you help me?”[/pink] Lightning knew that this might be bit much to lay on Fang right after they found one another again but she wanted to ask Fang for her help right away since lately this problem had been all she could think about.

[Deleted]

Snow had been making his rounds of info gathering as usual. He hated not fighting the bad guys head on but since he kind of worked for Hope, there was no way he could just shirk from his responsibilities. Hope, the head of the Academy, had decided to tag along with Snow in his airship this time. Snow wasn't sure if Hope just wanted to tag along simply to make sure that Snow didn't do anything that Snow himself would do. Snow thought that maybe Hope was just here to see what the Hero can do. that thought had Snow chuckling to himself for a little bit. Snow and Hope had just left one world with no info on Xehanort or his cronies... All of this info gathering had been driving Snow crazy... He wanted to see action so badly. He saw another world near the one they just left, and on instinct, entered the world. This world that that flew into seemed a bit...old. Houses and forts were built with stone and wood. Snow looked to Hope with a confused look on his face.

"So...I don't suppose you know where we are..." Snow said, as he landed on the outskirts of the town.

Snow turned off the engines. He got out of the airship before Hope and when Hope caught up to him, Snow locked up the airship and they made their way to the town. Once they got there, his eyes were forced to taken in surroundings that he had never seen before. This place was unlike anything Snow had ever seen. It looked a bit like Radiant Garden but this place was a bit sketchy to him; it was a bit dirty here. Snow, with Hope by his side, walked the dirt streets of the town they found themselves in. Snow wasn't sure how much the people here would know about Xehanort or anyone walking around in black hoods. The town they found themselves in had about as much technology Radiant Garden had before Hope and the Academy came around and settled in Radiant Garden. While walking, Snow saw a huge sign that said "Tavern". Snow smiled and Snow pointed toward the sign behind him with his thumb, giving a smirk.

"Check it out, Hope. It's a bar, someone in here has got to know somethin' about this Xehanort guy, heh."

Snow opened the doors and walked it, assuming Hope was behind him. The smell of alcohol and food filled the burly blond's nose as he took his first steps into the bar. Snow thought he would get a feel for the place by eyeing what and which types of people were here. Snow figured that the gruff looking ones were the ones that have seen a lot and heard a lot so Snow decided to make a beeline for those types of individuals. Snow, as he looked about, saw two women sitting at a table...but these women weren't just any regular set of women... One of them were dressed in white with a familiar shoulderpad on her left shoulder...with a head covered in pink hair. The other woman had jagged jet black hair. The sharp eyes, the tattoo on her arm, the blue cloth that covered her body...Snow's eyes widened as he soon realized who these women were. These women were beasts on the battlefield...these women were Snow's best friends. Snow tapped Hope on the chest to get his attention, he pointed over to the women but Snow didn't waste any time giving an explanation. Snow literally ran to the women he recognized as a part of his dear "family"...

"Lightning?! Fang?!?!?", Snow yelled as he came to the table the two women were sitting at, as he was not sure if his eyes were deceiving him.

[hope]

After the information that he was given from Vincent, Hope had sent people off to gather information. Xehanort was active, as well as other threats. Most everyone was out of the Academy today, either fighting, doing recon, or other personal tasks. It made the large building rather lonely. Vincent left to continue his work, leaving Hope and Snow around the Academy. Snow did not take too well to the orders he ws given to gather information. He wanted to rush right in, find Xehanort, and destroy him. Hope knew that it would only be a matter of time before Snow decided to head off and do his own thing. It seemed that today would be that day. A message appeared on Hope's datapad stating that Snow had accessed the airship hangar. Hope would sigh at this message before heading through the quiet halls to the nearest elevator. "Snow just never learns. I guess I better go with him to make sure he doesn't cause any problems." Hope would head up to the airship hangar to see Snow preparing to leave.

"Snow, I got a message stating that you were leaving. I expect that you are going to do some information gathering. I'll be joining you this time around." Hope would board the ship before Snow went out to travel space. They would reach a world that as rather old and primitive. A place Hope had not been to before. He would pull out his datapad, which was only working thanks to the airship. "Seems that this place is called Port Royal. Think of a pirate world." He would get off the airship with Snow, leaving his datapad behind. However, Hope brought his boomerang along just in case. The people here looking at them oddly. Hope and Snow were dressed much differently than the citizens of this world. They stuck out like a sore thumb. "Try not to do anything unnecessary Snow. We already stick out plenty here." Snow pointed out a tavern in the distance, saying that it could be a good place to gather information. A very valid point. Hope would follow Snow into the tavern.

Once inside, Snow would soon start yelling. As Snow ran off in one direction, Hope would look only to get wide eyed in disbelief. It was Lightning and Fang. How did they get here? Why were they here? Was this a dream or was it real? They didn't seem to change one bit since the last time he saw them. Of course, to them he would have changed greatly. He was no longer the small boy who was afraid to move forward. Would they even recognize him at this point? Hope would walk over to them with a smile on his face. "Lightning and Fang. It looks like you two are holding up well. I didn't expect to see either of you here today. Especially you, Fang. Last I knew, you were still in crystal stasis. I think we have a bit to catch up on." Hope figured that they would be here for a bit discussing matters and catching everyone up. Telling Vanille that Fang was out of stasis and alive...He was sure she would be very happy.

[fang]

Contrary to her actions, Fang was actually extremely surprised to have met Lightning inside of the dingy tavern to begin with. After all, having woken up in an odd new place, surrounded by strange new faces, dampened one's spirit and hopes. Never in however many years she's been in stasis this time did the young woman think she'd find someone she recognized so quickly. But, deciding not to dwell on it and counter her blessings instead, Fang put on a good face, a pleasant grin and normal attitude, and regarded Lightning as she always had. The former soldier ordered them both a glass of water, and the Pulsian woman grabbed it with much more elegance than seemed possible for her. She gave Lightning a little smirk before taking a large, much needed drink of the precious fluid. It's taste reflected much of the bar; dirty, dark, unpleasant, and the slightest bit salty.

Lightning began to speak up again, before the l'Cie could get another word in. Perhaps she'd just been too caught up in the comfortable silence? Green eyes watched Lightning curiously, and Fang gently sat the drink back on the table. Long, powerful legs crossed under the table, and the woman leaned forward with her elbows on the table, listening intently. She knew that Lightning wouldn't have suddenly blurted out such an issue if it were something relatively minor, but it still caught her off guard. Fang tried to process the information in her head as she stared back into Lightning's flustered eyes. Chaos, Etro's gate, Pulse in danger ... ? What did it all mean? Fang was honestly drawing a blank. She knew the name Etro, the Goddess she'd cursed more than once. But, what did Lightning mean by everything else? Just what had been happening since she was in crystal stasis?

"Not quite sure I understand," the l'Cie commented honestly, giving Lightning a somewhat worried, but still curious look. Her left arm was now lying on the table, while her chin rested in the palm of her upright right arm. "You're going to have to give me more to work with, y'know? Just what's been going on since I've been in stasis?" The young woman wanted to help, obviously. Lightning was part of her family now, which had stretched from one member to many. Not only that, she wanted to ask the most important question of all; where was Vanille?

While she had been talking, Fang had noted the opening and closing of the tavern's door. It was a minute detail, but something important nonetheless. After all, she'd come into the bar to avoid certain locals, and if they were now coming inside, that would be a problem. Her arm dropped out from underneath her chin and the Pulsian turned to look towards the door to see who'd managed to find themselves in a bar in the early afternoon.

What she didn't expect to see was another familiar face, let alone one brimming with surprise and disbelief.

Fang equally returned a surprised expression for only a moment before her face split into a pleasant grin, "Snow! And Hope, too," she noted the- wait. Young man? Hope wasn't a child anymore, that's for sure. Despite the surprise, she kept up a goodnatured smirk and gestured to the open seats, "Wasn't expecting to see you two anytime soon, let alone Lightning here."

She regarded Hope alone for a moment, green eyes sweeping over him for a check over, like a mother who hadn't seen their child for weeks, "Needless to say, I hadn't quite planned on breakin' out of stasis anytime soon. I'd say we do have a bit to catch up on, seeing as how you've grown up and all." The young woman laughed lightly as she reclined back as much as she could in the creaky, wooden chair, her arms cross over her chest, "Now, I'm sure you've all got a lot to tell me, and probably each other. Let's get it all outta the way, but ..."

Fang looked each member of her little ragtag family over, dropping the cheer from her face and replacing it with serious concern, "First thing outta someone's mouth better be about Vanille. Where is she, and I want to hear a good reason as to why she's not with any of you."

[Deleted]

[[OOC: Vannile was going to post but every time she tried to write it something happened to delete it and we all know that losing your post is a major muse killer. She gave me permission to skip her turn and that she will try joining it later. She apologizes for holding up the thread but we've all had this happen to us I bet so it's no big deal. Also I've been told that Squid will not be re apping Hope so I'm going to adjust for this in my post. Now let's keep this show going!]]

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Lightning knew that she had asked for Fang's help without much of an explination so it was no surprise that the Pulsian woman had asked her to elaborate on exactly what was going on on that as well as the rest of what's been happening while she was in statis. As the gunblader took a breath and prepared to explain the crisis the tavern doors opened to allow entrance to yet another patron but Lightning didn't pay much attention to who was coming in the dusty tavern until said newcomer shouted out.

Lightning quickly set a hand on her gunblade and turned her attention wo where the sudden outburst had come from. [green]"Snow? Where did you come from? It's not that I'm not glad to see you. I just wasn't expecting you to show up here."[/green] Lightning wasn't expecting to run into another part of her family so quickly after she encountered the first. She wanted to know where Snow had been all this time but in all fairness her questions would have to wait since Fang's were asked first. However it would seem that before Lightning clarified whatg she meant before Fang wanted to know about Vanille first.

A look of guilt crossed over Lightning's features before she spoke up. [green]"Fang, Vanille was with me. We help a village deal with a dragon problem on another world. Afterwards we agreed to travel together to look for you and the others. We arranged passage to this world. I decided to pick up some supplies for the trip and Vanille and I agreed to meet back at the transport just before it was to depart. I got back on a few minutes before it left that world. I thought Vanille had already gotten on board and probably was just exploring the other parts of the ship. I felt rather tired and I fell asleep. I woke up about half way here when I realized that Vanille wasn't with me. I searched that ship high and low and there was no sign of her. I'm afraid that she might have gotten left behind. I'm sorry. I should have kept a better eye on her."[/green] Lightning finished as she kept eye contact with Fang. It was her fault Vanille got left behind after all and she wouldn't be surprised if the fiesty Pulse native decked her square in the face or something along those lines.

Lightning remained quiet after her confession of losing Vanille on another world. She would let Fang pocess this new information and deal with it how she saw fit before moving on to further explain what was going on on their homeworld.

[Deleted]

Snow was ecstatic to see two of his best friends...two parts of his "family" here before him. The leader of their group, Lightning, and the savage warrior, Fang was here. Snow trusted these women with his life. Interestingly, Snow got off to a rough start with the both of them. Lightning was the older sister of his fiance', Serah. Of course, Lightning didn't like him much at first but he didn't exactly know why...she never told him. During the days when all of their home of Cocoon was against him and Serah had been turned into crystal, Snow's optimism, coupled with the belief that Serah will be ok was always met with Lightning's clenched right fist to Snow's jaw...numerous times. However, despite what Lightning thought, Snow held onto to hope, and eventually Lightning began to believe in him too. Sooner rather than later...Lightning finally warmed up to Snow. They became well enough friends to the point that when Lightning went missing, Snow promised Serah that he will go through whatever he has to go through in order to find Lightning and bring her to safety. Until now, Snow thought that he had failed in the quest but now that he had found Light...he could bring her to safety...Snow has held Light in high regard, even when she hated him and he always will hold Light in high regard.

Then, there was Fang, the Pulsian Warrior. He met Fang before anyone else did, except the fact that Vanille had known Fang for a very long time...with a very long time being a huge understatement. Snow and split away from Lightning, Sazh, Hope, and Vanille due to the fact that he saw Serah in her crystal stasis and he wanted to free her from the crystals that she had been caught in. While he tried to, PSICOM troops had caught up with him and tried to capture...or kill him but due to the help of the Shiva Sisters, Snow was able to defeat the PSICOM unit that wanted Snow dead. Drained from the fight, Snow was awaken by Fang who seemed to be working for the Sanctum. Fang, along with other Sanctum soldiers, captured Snow and brought him and Serah in her crystal stasis to Cid Raines, who revealed that he was working to sabotage and destroy the Sanctum. Fang was made to be Snow's partner for a little while and when they found Lightning and Hope at Palumpolum, they worked together to help Light and Hope. Snow sees Fang like a dear sister and he always will.

Snow took the free seat and turned it backward, with the back of the chair facing the table. Snow sat down in it, resting his arms on top of the back of the chair. Snow chuckled as Light tried to play off as if she didn't care about Snow but he knew she cared. Fang had asked Snow and Light why Vanille wasn't with any of them. Snow was about to tell Fang that he hadn't seen Vanille since he had been here in this new universe. However, Light had different news. Light told Fang that she did indeed find Vanille. This made Snow happy, he was just about to ask Light where Vanille was now but the look on Lightning's face told Snow that her story was not done. Light and Vanille had helped a village deal with a dragon problem on another world and after they agreed to travel together to look Fang and the others. Light and Vanille had arranged passage and Light had decided to pick up some supplies for the trip and Vanille and Light had agreed to meet back at the transport just before it was about to leave. Light got back before it left the world they were on and Light thought that Vanille had already gotten on board but when Light woke up...Vanille was not there on the transport. Snow's jaw dropped a little, he was sad to hear this news but something worried Snow even more...Fang's reaction.

Snow knew how Fang felt about Vanille. To Snow, Fang and Vanille were beyond close to each other. Snow knew how Fang was when it came to Vanille. He felt that if Fang had to kill him to save Vanille, she would have no qualms about doing so, that was how special Vanille was to Fang. Snow thought that his friendship with Gadot, Lebreau, Maqui, and Yuj was strong, but seeing Fang and Vanille told Snow that he didn't even know what the meaning of friendship was yet. Snow didn't know how Fang was going to react but he knew her personality and if she was going to react the way Snow thinks Lightning would once he tells her that he found Serah but lost her...this tavern was going to see a huge brawl...and fast. Snow tried to put a comforting hand on Fang's shoulder with an assuring and friendly face, hoping that this would water down the angry fire that Snow suspected would be building up in Fang and he alternated looking at Light and Fang as he spoke...

"Hey...it's ok, we will find Vanille again...we will find everyone and we will all go home together...", Snow said while he smiled...but then he thought back at what he said...and wondered how he was going to break it to them...how he was going to tell them that they couldn't go home...not while this universe was in danger...

[fang]

Fang had caught the look of guilt before Lightning had even opened her mouth.

That immediately alerted her that, what she was about to hear, wouldn't please her.

The Pulsian Warrior listened intently to what her friend had to say. Anyone that had any information on Vanille would get her full attention, after all. Snow, though she was glad to see him, would have to wait. What was important now was where the piece of family closest to her heart, the girl who meant the world to her, could possibly be. She wasn't surprised, at first, that Lightning had run into Vanille. After all, she and Snow had so easily found Fang herself on this port trapped in by wide open sea. So, surely, even though she had no idea where she was, the other two had some idea as to what was going on where, where everyone else was, how they all got separated in the first place, right? Though, Lightning and Snow didn't end up in the same tavern together on a plan. Lightning had found the former l'Cie here by accident ... and Snow had found them both on a whim as well, it seemed.

However, as Lightning's story progressed, Fang's mood dropped lower, and lower ... until it plummeted through the floor.

Vanille was lost. Lightning had Vanille right alongside her ... and then lost her? The Oerba woman's outside demeanor didn't change much, other than a slight narrowing of her green eyes towards her friend, however the inside was an entirely different story. It started off as a worry, as a pain. Her heart beat faster and faster in her chest as her mind first raced to worrying about Vanille; her most dear friend, lost on a strange world. Deep down, Fang rationally knew that Vanille could take care of herself, but her immediate, protective instinct was quickly taking over. Behind her worry for Vanille's safety was anger. It rose, like a mad dragon in her heart, spreading fire and resentment as it went. How dare Lightning be so close to Vanille and then lose her! Let alone on a world where they had previously fought a dragon together! How could she have been so careless, so thoughtless?

Outwardly, Fang only sat further back in her chair, her arms crossed across her chest. She eyed Lightning in eerie silence, not responding to Snow's words or thoughtful touch. She moved her shoulder to dislodge Snow's hand, leaning forward slightly. The Pulsian Warrior opened her mouth once to say something, but then closed it without saying a word. She sighed, and closed her eyes for a moment. She then opened them once more, glaring at Lightning with a green eyed terror. She moved in a flash of blue, pushing herself to her feet, the chair clattering to the floor behind her. Not even a moment later, her left hand pounded against the table while the right, balled into a fist, connected with the left side of Lightning's face in an angry, hurt strike. After connecting the blow across the table, Fang pounded her right fist against the old, worn wood and continued to glare flaming daggers at the pink haired warrior in front of her.

"You lost her? You lost my Vanille!" Fang glared accusingly at Lightning, no regret in her action to be found, "And you expect sorry to be enough? Sorry ain't gonna cut it, missy!"

She glared at Snow for a moment, as if daring him to interject or hold her back, before turning her fury back to Lightning. Not once, since she'd awaken from stasis, had Fang been so upset. She had been worried and justifiably mad when she woke up from stasis, without Vanille, in a strange world. But, she had gone under the assumption that Vanille was either nearby or back on Pulse. Instead, now, Fang had an ugly truth in front of her. Lightning, a friend, had lost Vanille. Rationally, Fang knew that Lightning hadn't mean to lose track of Vanille at all, and that it was completely an accident. However, ugly protective instinct and the beautiful worry of a family had clouded the young warrior's judgement.

"The first thing, and I mean the very first thing we do when we leave this rock is going to be to find Vanille. I won't hear anything else, any other issues, until you agree to that much," Fang ordered to Lightning from across the table. This woman, this friend of hers, had lost the most important thing that Fang could ever have.

Lightning had left behind the other half of Fang's heart.

[noctis]

[atrb=width,500px,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=background,http://colourlovers.com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/patterns/0/635.png][bg=#ffffff][style=padding: 8px; opacity: 0.7; margin-bottom: -10px;][/style][style=font-family: georgia; text-shadow: 0px 2px 2px #000000; color: #333a42; font-size: 12pt; padding-right: 7px; padding-top: 10px; letter-spacing: 1; text-align: right;]Save your twisted enemy[/style][style=margin-top:-2; text-shadow: 0px 2px 2px #000000; color: #3e3e3e; font-family: arial narrow; font-size: 5.5pt; word-spacing: -.2em; letter-spacing: 2; text-align: right; padding-right: 10px;]So you might[/style][style=font-family: times new roman; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 5; word-spacing: 1; text-shadow: 0px 2px 2px #000000; color: #4e4e4e; text-align: right; padding-right: 5px;]Earn forgiveness[/style] [style=background: url(http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/ab320/luxxray/noise2.png); margin-top: 20px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; font-size: 7.5pt; padding: 10px; text-align: justify; color: #1a1a1a; line-height: 8pt; background-color: #000000;] Background theme for this post: The Void Beyond (OOC: Warning, possible Lightning Returns spoilers in the spoiler tag. Okay, so I took my time to post in this because it was Snow's turn, but he has to concentrate on his nursing exam. And with Hope and Lightning's charies gone and Fang thinking we should start anew because the thread's dead, I thought I should come wrap things up to actually finish the thread, and with a twist to give reason for Lightning to disappear and to kick-off a new thread hopefully! xD) With a final screech, the giant Heartless fell to the ground, the cry echoing throughout the jungle just beyond the town. The defeat of the giant embodiment of darkness had not come without it's price though, as Noctis knelt to the ground in utter exhaustion, resting on his Falchion that he had stabbed into the ground with one hand. His magic was drained, so he could not heal himself, his clothes ripped in several places from battle damage and cuts and magic scars running even deeper in them. Large bruises had turned his skin yellow and purple in places, and he was holding his gloved hand over a deep gash that was still dripping out a deep crimson leak of his own blood. The Heartless had been a particularly nasty one, but the important thing was that he had survived, and the nearby town was safe. Although, he would have wished that the company he was about to receive would have been more grateful for his efforts as a figure appeared before him, but had their face and silhouette hidden in the shadows. "Aww, my poor, sweet prince." a voice came, which the prince identified as female in origin. That voice... where had he heard it before...? "You fought so severely, but nobody cares you made a difference... not even your friends in the tavern in town. You try so hard to fit into their little family, but the truth is, they will never accept you as one of them. Why should they? You forgot about your own, even if you don't include that blondie princess with the rapier, you left your brothers behind as if they mean nothing to you." the voice continued it's mocking tone, followed by a girlish giggle. "What? That's not... true... I lost them, in the darkness." Noctis grunted, looking through the one eye that was not puffy from swelling, and thought within the moonlight he caught a glimpse of strawberry pink hair. "Just like Fang did with poor little Vanille, which you left behind as well. But unlike her, you haven't even tried to look for them, have you? You've been too busy thinking of your own mortality, questioning your own fate with Etro, and finally accepting it before she died.. I guess I can understand that." she surprisingly offered, pacing around Noctis, which made him notice the gothita black dress she was wearing, before he caught a glimpse of her blue-eyed face in the moonlight. "But, you can understand yourself, can't you? What you do won't matter. They won't accept you as one of their own, no matter how you help them, especially when Fang finds out where you left Vanille behind as well... this saviour Lightning, and her friends see you as an outsider, a stranger. You could try to stop the world from ending, you could try to make a difference, but why not just have fun while you can~?" Suddenly, Noctis recognized who it was. "... Serah...!?" "Not Serah." the young woman laughed a little chidingly. Then she leaned down and whispered something in his ear. SPOILER: Click to show "My name... is Lumina. But, if you really want to know who I am... or where Serah and Vanille are... why don't you ask Lightning yourself? Tell her I said hi... and to Fang that she better hurry and find Vanille, before it's too late. " Then she stood up, and simply walked away. "What? Wait...!" Noctis called, but was stopped by his mortal wound, but pulled himself painfully up after her as he followed the mysterious girl in the shadows. He turned to pursue her around a corner, and just like that... she was gone. But in her place... the tavern she had been talking about. --- Walking into the tavern, Noctis looked like hell, but noticed things were already rather grim. He noticed they were all gathered there - Lightning, Snow and their friends, and wondered if it was coincidence or perhaps fate they were all gathered here tonight. At the choice moment he had walked in, a woman he was not familiar with had just slapped Light, and Noctis recalled her face and attire from the photograph of Snow's 'family' he had shown him a long time ago when the hero who was present was looking for them. He felt their eyes upon him as they noticed his ravaged state, and he sighed slightly as if he owed them all an explanation. "Giant Heartless," he explained as he shook his head, "... but I'm fine, there's bigger things at stake. I think I saw someone who looked like Serah... and I think she knows where Vanille is." He wiped a droplet of blood that had trickled out of his mouth with his fingerless glove, and turned for the door. "We better hurry." On behalf of everyone who was in this thread, so we can start anew, this thread has ended. [/style][style=font-family: times new roman; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 5; word-spacing: 1; text-shadow: 0px 2px 2px #000000; color: #4e4e4e; text-align: center; margin-bottom: 20px;] template by A S H T O N OF O N T H E E D G E

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