We wandered into a set of ruins. Moss gathered on the broken concrete. A huge gap in the ground was fenced off and a hand reached out of the gap towards the heavens. The rain poured and made the whole scene look a little suspicious to me.
"This is Cocoon. This is the Bresha Ruins." Serah said and Mog nodded. I studied a sign on the fence.
"Paradox Alpha." I recited aloud. As soon as I said the name, the hand sprung up and towered above us without a body. Mog became Serah's bow, Noel whipped out his two blades and I held Masamune, poised to strike.
The beast revealed itself and then warped away from the battleground.
"What was that?" Serah asked as Mog sprung into the air.
"Paradox Alpha according to the sign." I replied. Suddenly, a group of armed soldiers surrounded us and told us to put our hands behind our heads. We did as they asked and we were ushered off to a holding cell. The captain of that squad stood outside the cell. Mog danced around trying to amuse himself. I stood with my back against a wall. Serah paced in the small space available and Noel just stood there with a blank expression on his face.
"Why are they here?" An energetic woman with blonde hair asked.
"They were carrying weapons." The captain replied.
"They are guests of the Academy." She said. Serah walked up to the bars and we were let go.
After an exchange of introductions, the blonde haired woman named Alyssa gave us each a communications device.
"We need you to stop Atlas before it wrecks havoc on the ruins." Alyssa said. We nodded and then Alyssa wandered off towards the excavation area again. Suddenly, a brown haired woman dressed as half a chocobo and half a prostitute waved at us.
"Is it just me or can you see the crazy woman?" I asked. Serah and Noel looked towards the woman and nodded.
"I see her." Noel replied. I sighed with relief. Finally, I wasn't the only one seeing things.
We wandered past her and she tried to stop us.
"Hi strangers! I'm Chocolina! It's a beautiful day for supply shopping! Why don't you spend your gil here?" She asked with a really annoying happy tone. Serah and Noel decided to take this opportunity to buy a few potions and remedies before heading out. I looked up at the sky to find the Lifestream still pulsing in the heavens above. All of a sudden, the crazy woman named Chocolina slapped me with her wing and I turned to her with my arms folded across my chest.
"Hello handsome! You single?" she asked with a strangely hopeful expression. Serah looked up and began to laugh.
"Uh, no. I'm with somebody." I replied.
"Well, she's a very lucky girl." Chocolina mused and brushed my shoulder. Noel joined Serah in her fits of laughter. Mog hung his head and shook it.
"I didn't know you still dated!" Serah exclaimed with a giggle. I rolled my eyes at her and laughed. She was even cheekier now than she was in high school.
"I may know her. Who's the lucky girl?" Chocolina asked. Noel and Serah walked up behind the crazy woman to listen to my answer.
"Uh, I really don't think I should be telling complete strangers about my love life." I replied.
"You can so tell us, I'm not a stranger!" Serah exclaimed. I sighed. I could see that they would've gotten it out of me whether I liked it or not. I began to fidget with my hands and look around for an excuse not to reply. Bingo.
"Hey, look at the chocobo! Pretty yeah?" I asked and pointed to the yellow bird standing not far from Chocolina's stall.
"Don't change the subject Sephiroth! Tell us!" Serah exclaimed. I groaned. Jezz, couldn't they take a hint?
"Ok I'll give you hints... She's smart, strong, sexy and sassy." I replied. Serah shook her head at me.
"Tell us more, like a name perhaps?" Chocolina asked. I groaned again.
"Fine. Serah, Noel and Mog know her. We dated before and I never really got over her." I replied with a shrug.
"You're dating Lightning? Again?" Serah asked in disbelief. I nodded. Chocolina waved her wing at me.
"Well, I do happen to know her and she's kind of scary." Chocolina commented.
"Really? You're making it up! She spent the last three years in Valhalla." Serah said.
"Last five actually. This is 5 AF." Chocolina replied. Serah nodded and continued to question my reply.
"When have you seen her since high school?" Serah asked.
"I saw her before I woke up in New Bodhum and when I fell off the couch that night." I replied.
"Liar!" Serah exclaimed. I didn't want to argue with Serah and just dropped the matter. They paid for the supplies and we left.
"Don't be strangers now! Choco-boco-lina!" Chocolina exclaimed.
We were pulled into a battle with some monsters. They were easily dispatched, but the weird thing was that a white crystal hung where one of the monsters was defeated.
"Those blessed by Etro can control wild beasts, kupo." Mog explained.
"That explains why Lightning had so many feral creatures fighting alongside her." Noel said. Serah nodded and picked up the monster crystal.
We walked onwards and the air was quiet.
"Why do your eyes look like those of Serah's cat?" Noel asked. Serah gave him a warning glance.
"Don't worry Serah, I'm not offended. I guess I was born with them." I replied with a shrug.
"Did you join SOLDIER like you planned to?" Serah asked. I stopped in my tracks and looked down at the belt behind my coat.
"Yes... and no. I was one of their best and then something happened, so I'm not one of them anymore." I replied.
"Oh, sorry." Serah said and the rest of the walk was quiet. Suddenly, Serah's comm. Device buzzed to life.
"Serah! Serah! Atlas has been spotted in the northern region!" a distorted Alyssa exclaimed.
Serah picked up the device and replied, "Thanks, I will remember that!"
After roaming the underground tunnels and battling a few low strength monsters, we reached a set of crystals. A researcher stood near the crystals and Serah asked what they were for.
"From the information we gathered, this is the controls for Atlas." The researcher replied. Serah touched one of the crystals and we heard a loud screech come from outside. The thumping of Atlas' feet had slowed down.
"We've slowed it down." Noel said. We rushed out of the tunnels and faced the beast.
Atlas was a towering fortress of raw power and strength. A fitting beast for the title of 'an ancient weapon'. After a while, it seemed that we weren't even close to taking it out.
"Serah! The crystal on its neck!" Noel exclaimed. We looked up at its neck and there it was, a shiny blue crystal sitting on the neck of the massive beast.
"I got it!" I exclaimed and released my black wing from hiding under my coat. I flew to the neck of the beast and lodged Masamune underneath the crystal. Serah tried to shoot it but almost hit me.
"Watch it!" I called angrily. I lifted the blade up slightly and the crystal popped right off Atlas' neck. The crystal fell before Serah and Noel whilst Atlas fell forwards. When the beast had hit the ground, I wandered off of its back and towards the two gawking warriors.
I tucked my wing beck under my coat and smiled.
"Done!" I chirped and noticed Alyssa standing a few feet away with her jaw about to smack the ground. Mog popped up and looked at Serah in confusion.
"What's up, kupo?" Mog asked.
"I scared them. And Chocolina said Light was the scary one!" I chuckled as the moogle looked at me in even more confusion. Alyssa ran up to Serah and Noel.
"Did you see that?" Alyssa asked. Serah nodded and Noel's eye began to twitch.
"It's not that big a deal." I said and they turned to me.
"Not that big a deal?! You have one black angel wing! That is a big deal!" Serah exclaimed in reply. Alyssa shook her head and then went about as if I had never sprouted my wing.
"Hey, I found a cemetery. Want to help me find more about it?" Alyssa asked. The other two nodded and we followed Alyssa to the cemetery. The rain began to batter us as we reached the tombstones. She looked at the plaque on a large one. She looked as if she was about to cry and fell to her knees.
"I thought it was me! But it was my friend! She died during the fall... We were hiding from the Purge in Bodhum and a building fell on top of her! I've been having these dreams where it was me instead of her that died and my name was on the plaque!" She sobbed and wiped the tears away from her eyes. The rain did a good job of masking her tears, but it was still obvious that she had been crying. Her eyes were red and puffy from rubbing them. Serah squatted next to her and rubbed her back. Alyssa stopped sobbing and the two stood up again. She stayed at the tombstone and told us to go on.
I lagged behind the others as they trekked on without me at their side. I blinked a few times and I spotted another one of those crystals. I grabbed it and we headed towards a time gate.
"We have no artefact. We have to look for one." Noel announced and they went to leave. I pulled out the crystal and held it to the gate.
"It works!" I mused. They turned around and looked at me as if I was some crazed scientist. I rolled my eyes at them and they came back to the gate. We headed back to the Historia Crux and found ourselves in yet another time and place.