notes / Although actually taking place after the incomplete Vesuvius and the yet unwritten Luminous Flux, I needed to write this. You aren't missing anything by these not being finished though.
Cause I've done some things that I can't speak
And I've tried to wash you away, but you just won't leave
So won't you take a breath and dive in deep?
Cause I came here so you'd come for me
I'm begging you to keep on haunting
-Haunting by Halsey
EF5 damage represents the upper limit of tornado power, and destruction is almost always total.
Time in the Ultima Weapon had left Garuda weak. She needed a vessel.
Yda was desperate for some reason to continue on after it was all said and done — after she wiped the blood from Papalymo's lips and laid his body down. Garuda gave her one after the Garleans had taken everything from her. There was a pause, tense, and Yda didn't know whether to fight or run. The Primal looked weak, maybe even scared. She wanted Yda's help and Yda was so blinded by the pain and realization that Papalymo was gone (—oh twelve, he was gone, actually gone what have you done) that she didn't see the smirk curl at the edges of Garuda's lips. Yda took her taloned hand.
The wind twisted around them like a tornado and Garuda dug her claws into Yda's hand when she tried to pull away. The wind whipped around her and sliced her skin. Yda found she couldn't yell, couldn't move. Garuda kept a hold on her hand, but Yda's knees were knocked out from under her in the force of the wind.
Yda falls — Yda kneels.
The wind fades and her head rings with the sound of Garuda's laugh. Then, nothing. Garuda is gone; the wind is gone. The rubble of the building she had been in had been blown open, leaving her a path out. Yda knows, then, there is no turning back. There is nothing but a primitive need to protect this land — her home. To go to war and to achieve vengeance.
Yda becomes a hunter, then. She seeks out those who are threat to her, to the Shroud, to Eorzea. She is feral, wild and unkempt. Her hands are stained with the blood of the Garleans who choose to stay within the Borders of her home. The rumors of her spread around taverns and cities. She is a harpy, cruel and bloodthirsty. She is Garuda's chosen. Yda forgets who she was, not just because of Garuda but because she wants to forget.
However, no matter how hard she tries, Yda cannot forget Papalymo. Garuda wants her to forget but at night, when the nightmares come, Yda remembers. It is not something Garuda can erase, at least not right away.
They is nightmares of the Ultima Weapon and nightmares of Papalymo. She doesn't know where her memories end and Garuda's begin (—they are the same now and maybe that is the worst part of it. She isn't just tempered right now, no no no. it's so much worse. Yda is something new and something terrible).
It's like walls are closing in on her and she has no room to breathe, let alone move. They are memories as much as they are dreams. Sometimes Yda can see herself crying, clinging to Papalymo's body. Yda is used to blood on her hands but when she looks down and sees Papalymo's blood, her world spins. She hates herself — hates the Garleans even more. It is there fault. They killed the Warrior of Light and they forced Papalymo's hand.
Yda doesn't like to sleep anymore. It is just too dark, too cold. She doesn't like the feeling of being trapped. And so Yda forgets herself because she doesn't know where she ends and Garuda begins. And maybe that's okay. That way, Yda doesn't have to think — just fight.
"Yda and Papalymo are still missing."
"We will find them, Antecedent."
Minfilia purses her lips and despite the new feeling of hope and light in her chest, she is still afraid, "For all of our sake, I hope you are right, Y'shtola."
Hydaelyn is a complex place, a mess even, now after the imbalances after the Calamity. Minfilia is still trying to adjust to her new title as Warrior of Light and while the connection Y'shtola and Thancred shared with Ifrit and Titan respectfully kept the Primals from draining the land, the Twelveswood is very much so without any protectors. The Elementals, though weak after the Calamity, are furious about the Garleans having trespassed and they felt Yda and Papalymo were the only people who even tried to do anything about it. Ramuh and Garuda are strangely quiet but their beast tribes are outraged to say the least. Their primals are summoned but silent. They take their anger out on everything.
The Scions are sworn to protect, but to do that they must find the Primals. They must find Yda and Papalymo.
It doesn't take long for them to pick up on the rumors that seem to fit the description of someone Tempered by Garuda. Adventures call her the Harpy and there seems to be a reward out for her. Y'shtola keeps a close eye on the rumors but they don't make any moves to pursue them. They don't know for sure what it could be but they feel their guts twist because, really, what else could it be.
It isn't until an adventurer slams open the door to the Waking Sands that they realize just how bad it is.
The adventurer is cut up and bloody, Tataru tries to get him to calm down but he speaks so fast. Minfila comes running and Y'shtola tires to tend to his injuries.
"S-s-s-she's no n-normal person!" He is shaking and eyes are wide. Thancred knows the look well and has to look away. He has seen his own death — he has seen too much.
"Who?" Minfilia asks softly.
"T-t-the harpy wench!"
The Scions exchange looks and Minfilia has to close her eyes, "What...what did she look like?"
He looks up in fear, like they had just asked him to kill his loved ones, "S-s-she...had this mask! H-her arm was all ripped up! A-a-and..." his eyes land on Y'shtola and he points a shaky finger at her neck, "T-that mark! She was an Archon, I reckon! That's why I came here!"
That is all they needed to know.
They can't get much more out of him but by comparing his report to a few others of the same nature, they are able to figure out that the so-called Harpy is making a course towards Ala Mhigo, leaving bodies in her path. Minfilia, Thancred and Y'shtola set out then. They can only guess why Yda is heading towards the still Garlean controlled city-state. It can be nothing good.
Yda has always wanted to save Ala Mhigo; Yda has always wanted to be a hero. She never realized she already was.
The three of them move as fast as they can to intercept her. They want to save her, from herself, from Garuda. They need Yda and Yda needs them. They encounter very few on the roads and the ones who they do just give warnings about a brutally violent woman. It only makes them travel faster. It is very close to Ala Mhigo when they start to see bodies. They don't see any sign of life until just outside of the gates. The Garleans have shut the gates and a woman is standing in front of them, dragging a body behind her.
"Yda!" Y'shtola screams.
She turns, her mask obscuring any emotion that may have been shone on her face. She has lost her tunic, only her undershirt on. Her shorts are dirty and her boots dented. The scars on her arm are the first thing any of them notice, but soon it is obvious that she is not who she used to be. There are feathers poking out from her elbows and near the sides of her face.
Her fists clench and Y'shtola barely has time to react as Yda is suddenly running at them. Y'shtola throws her arms up and the ground quivers as a rock wall appears in front of them. Yda hits it the wall with her fists and they can feel a rush of air around them. The wall shudders. Yda yells but they can't make out any words.
Thancred glances at Y'shtola from the corner of his eyes and then hoists himself over the wall. He lands with a grunt in next to Yda and she looks up at him like a savage beast. She charges and Thancred pulls out his daggers. Wind meets fire. His daggers are molten hot and her fists result in gusts that cut at his flesh. She meets his stab with her fists but the force of the wind swirling around her pushes him back. Yda laughs and it isn't hers.
A rock smacks her face. Her mask cracks and she spins to face Y'shtola. Yda's eyes are completely green, no hint of pupils or whites under the color. Minfilia gasps and Y'shtola grits her teeth. Seeing that her eyes are no longer human will, at least, make the fight easier. Thancred's dagger cuts into the side of her hip, not too deep and she swings an uppercut at him. He barely dodges backwards with a flip.
"It's us, Yda!" Thancred snaps but his eyes are fiery red and none of them are the same anymore. He goes to kick her legs out from under her but she responds with a quick knee jerk. It smacks him in the jaw and he stumbles back. Rocks just out from the ground and grab Yda's ankle. Y'shtola meets her eyes steadily. A look of realization seems to dawn on Yda's face.
"Y'sh...tola?" she seems to be struggling for words and her normal voice bleeds in slightly. Y'shtola hesitates. "You...you left us alone. You left us...to find our own way!"
"Where's Papalymo?" Y'shtola asks slowly. And that is all it takes for Yda to break. She launches herself towards Y'shtola, the wind around her breaking her free nearly instantly. Y'shtola tries to throw up another rock wall to shield herself but Yda breaks it down with one punch. She grabs Y'shtola's collar and hoists her up.
"Do not say that name," Yda snarls, drawing back her fist. Y'shtola does not struggle, just meets Yda's eyes. Suddenly, Yda is grabbed around the waist and thrown to the ground. Minfilia stands above her, her sword to Yda's throat.
"Stand down, Yda. We can save you," Minfilia's jaw is clenched. Yda's shoulders shudder but she makes no move to stand. She stares downward. Then, so fast they can barely see it, she does a cartwheel backwards, her feet coming up to kick Minfilia's sword from her hands. Another one of Garuda's laughs push past her lips and the wind has grown violent. Thancred starts to run at her but a spear flies past his head, narrowly missing him. There are Ixal surrounding them and no one can pinpoint when they arrived. Thancred, Y'shtola and Minfilia gather close to each other and Yda flashes a smirk before she turns to leave.
"She belongs to me now," the voice comes from Yda but it is not hers. They let her go because perhaps there is nothing left of Yda to save anymore.
There are nights when, in her dream, Yda can hear Papalymo's voice. It is more than just memories then. Garuda can't erase her memories when she sleeps so she changes them. She reaches out to him desperately; she doesn't want to feel alone anymore. Some nights, Papalymo blames her, his voice cracking and changing but in the end, isn't he right? She knows it Garuda but it still hurts.
This night, however, she doesn't reach out; just looks down at the scars on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Papalymo. I've failed you."
He turns to her and his eyes widen. Papalymo reaches out to her instead, "Yda?"
His voice is his and his eyes are his. Yda runs to him, picks him up and hold him close. He is cold — there is no beating in his chest. He pushes against her to lean back and examine her arm. His fingers trace the scars, all the way from her palm up to her shoulder and across her collarbone.
"I did that..."
"I'm sorry, Papalymo," Yda whispers again and he looks up at her.
He tries to reply but there is a crash of thunder. Yda is gone and that's when Papalymo wakes up.