II Pulled Through Time

Hope Estheim sighed as he sat in his hospital bed, laptop in front of him, as he tried to stay on top of his Academy work.

"Just a few more days and I'm out of here…"

More than anything else, he was eager to get back home to his kids. He knew they were both more than responsible enough to take care of themselves while he was healing, but family was the most important thing to him. He had always tried to put them first before work, making time for quality time, unlike his own father. This had become a bit of a struggle after Lightning disappeared, but he still managed to pull it off.

"Hope."

He flinched at the sudden voice, and glanced up to see Noel standing in the doorway, wearing a grim expression.

"Has something happened?" he asked worriedly as he quickly saved his work and closed his laptop.

"Rain came to my house earlier asking me if I had seen Faith, because she had run off. We went looking for her, and found signs of an open rift in time, and her being pulled through. Then… heand Kristof were also pulled through. It closed before I could grab them. I'm sorry."

Hope paled as he slowly took in Noel's words. This couldn't be happening. Not to them too!

"They're…gone?"

Once it finally sunk in, his emotions changed immediately.

"We've got to do something: try and find them!"

He quickly yanked the sheets off himself and jumped out of bed. However, the sudden movement caused a wave of pain from his still healing injuries. He hissed as he grabbed his bandaged side. Noel quickly stepped to his side for support.

"Don't move! You're not able yet. Trust me, I'll bring them back safe and sound."

Earlier, Hope had tried using his cure magic on himself to help the healing along a bit faster, but did not do much. Instead, it drastically drained his energy, which still weakened him.

"I can't just sit here while our children could be in danger, Noel! What kind of parent would I be if I did that?"

"Don't be so hard on yourself, you're not a bad parent. Just rest a bit more and I'll bring them back as soon as I can."

"I'm helping you and that's that," he said in a stern tone.

He gently pushed Noel away as he ignored the pain and grabbed his Academy uniform from the closet.

"You're sure you can do this?"

"'It's not a question of can or can't, some things in life you just do.' That's what Light would say."

"Yeah, she would say that..."

Clearly Hope had made up his mind and nothing was going to stop him.

"Fine, if you're sure about coming with me I won't stop you, but you still shouldn't be up and around like this."

"I am," he said firmly, sliding his uniform on. "I won't let my family fall apart like this..."

"Alright, but be careful. We don't know what could happen here."

"I know that. I've been researching paradoxes for years, remember?" he reminded him as he grabbed his laptop and gently put it in one of his bags.

"Are you alright?"

Rain groaned as he opened his eyes a bit. He felt sand beneath him, and Kristof unconscious in his arms. He tried to sit up, but as soon as he did, his head throbbed and the pain forced him back down.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"I think so...." Rain groaned as he slowly tried to sit up again,andthis time succeeded. "Head hurts, but I'm fine." He didn't appear to be injured otherwise, neither did little Kristof. He sighed, glad that he was safe. "Where am I?"

He took a good look at the person that found them. He was a teenager, probably around his own age with bright blue eyes and shaggy blonde hair that almost touched his shoulders. He clothes were both casual and practical, just light wash blue jeans and a black open vest over a gray T-shirt.

"You're in New Bodhum. Is the child okay?"

"I think he's fine."

Rain gently picked up Kristof as he stood up and looked around. Something wasn't right, he decided. He knew it was so when he caught a glimpse of Cocoon in the distance supported by the crystal pillar. He blinked a few times, and remembered the image from his history books, and how they had been pulled into another place.

"Do you know what the date is?" he asked, hoping it wasn't too weird of a question. "I think I hit my head a bit..."

"June 12, 20 AF."

Rain blinked when he heard the year, and muttered under his breath, "This is insane..."

They had apparently been tossed back in time by about five hundred years.

"If you really hit your head then let me help you," he said, and offered his arms out to hold Kristof for him.

Hearing the stranger wanted to help him, he narrowed his eyes a bit.

"How do I know I can trust you?" he asked. They were strangers after all.

"Please, do I look like some kind of thief or what? If you don't want my help then fine, but better takes care of the child."

"I can take care of him just fine." Rain snapped. "He's my cousin."

It was then when Kristof started to groan and squirm in his arms as he started to wake up.

"You okay?"

He nodded, still half asleep, but appeared to be fine otherwise, so Rain gently set him down.

"Hey, Storm!"

They looked as a girl in her mid-teens calmly approached them. Judging by the same eye and hair color that the other stranger had, Rain guessed that that they were related. Unlike him, though, her hair was in two low pig tails, and while her clothes were still casual, they weren't as practical. She wore a light blue tube top over a black tank top that only just barely covered her cleavage, with a black mini skirt and matching thigh hi socks. He guessed that she was going for a sexy, but modest look. However, by the rainbow colored armband she wore, he guessed that it wasn't guys she was looking to attract.

"Are we gonna go pick up hot girls or what?"

Yep. He was right (not that it bothered him). She then, of course, noticed Rain and Kristof, and blinked, but didn't appear to be embarrassed.

"Something going on?" she asked.

"Sis!" her, apparent, brother said, turning red.

"What?" she asked innocently while Rain stared with a raised eyebrow.

"Not now sis, can't you see I'm with people?"

"Yeah, bro, I'm not blind." She said before turning to Rain and Kristof. "I see you've both met my older brother here, I'm Nora."

"Rain," he replied flatly.

"My name's Kristof," He smiled brightly, not fazed by these strangers at all.

"Aw, you're so cute!" She walked over to him and ruffled his hair. "What brings you guys to New Bodhum?"

"We're actually a bit lost..." Itwas the only logical thing he could come up with.

"I see and where are you from? My name is Storm, by the way."

"Academia," Rain lied with ease. "To be honest I'm not really sure how we ended up here..." If he told them the truth, it would be right to the loony bin with him, and he knew it. "I'm afraid we're on our own for now."

"That blow to the head must've been hard…"

"It was..." he muttered, rubbing it gently. "Nothing permanent I hope..." He also had a throbbing headache, but he decided he would just have to bear with it for now.

" If you want, you can come to our house. Maybe my mom can help you," Storm offered.

"Are you sure? I don't wanna be a burden..."

"Don't worry about that, my mom is super sweet…except when she is working in the school…."

"Yep...Meanie Miss Villiers..." Nora muttered as she shuddered. "I'll run ahead and tell her."

"We've gotta find Faith..." Rain muttered as he watched Nora run off.

"Who's Faith?"

"My sister. We were looking for her before he got lost and somehow ended up here." Not entirely a lie..."Have you by chance seen a girl with long wavy silver hair in a ponytail and blue eyes around here?"

"Hmmm... no, I haven't seen her, but I can help you find her."

"Thank you."

He gently held Kristof's hand as they followed Storm. They had apparently wound up on an abandoned part of the beach, but the village was only a moment's walk away. Kristof 'ooh'ed and 'ahh'ed at everything, since he had never been outside New Academia, and also tugged at Rain to get his attention to point out every little thing that he thought was interesting.

Rain on the other hand, had been to New Bodhum a few times when he was a child for family vacations. Of course, that was a few centuries from now, and the village was still slowly developing into the large tourist city it would become.

"Well, here we are."

Rain blinked a few times at the house they had stopped at. He had been inside before, for it was actually the vacation house that his family would come to own. If he remembered correctly, it was called the "NORA" house, though he had never asked why.

"I live with my parents and two sisters. You've already met Nora, and I'm sure you'll meet Claire soon."

NORA and Nora, that couldn't be a coincidence... He pondered about it for a moment, then shruggedand wiped his feet on the welcome mat outside, not wanting to bring any sand or dirt in.

"They're here,Mom," Nora said as she noticed them walking in.

"Welcome back to the house, son." Their mother came forward to him smiling and gave him a gentle hug. "Did you go to the beach again?"

"Yes, Mom, I told you this morning."

"So please clean the floor, because you are soiling it."

"Mom!"

"So, who are your friends?"

"I was going to introduce them to you... And where'sDad?"

"He's out but, shouldn't take long to return."

Rain barely heard their conversation. His eyes had widened when he saw Storm's mother. Her long pink wavy hair in a side ponytail and her bright blue eyes... His late aunt Serah was right in front of him. He paled, and took a step back, which caused him to bump into the wall behind him.

"You're..."

He couldn't get the words out, but he knew she was supposed to be dead. She had died the night Mom had vanished, he had been to her funeral and everything.

"This isn't right..."

According to what he had heard from his parents Serah and Noel had started their time traveling journey in 3AF, yet here he was in 20 AF, and she was here.

"It doesn't make sense...I'm dreaming. That or I've gone insane..."

"Are you okay?" Nora asked with a raised eyebrow, noticing his sudden shocked reaction

He knew he was completely freaking out about this, and by the looks they were all giving him, he guessed his actions were starting to freak them out in return. He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath to try and calm himself down.

"I-I'm sorry about that, you just look a lot like someone I used to know..."

Next thing you know I'll be running into Mom too...

"Really? Well, then it'sunderstandable. I'm Serah Villiers. You've already met Storm and Nora, and this is my other daughter Claire."

"It's nice to meet you."

Claire smiled at him softly. Like her siblings, she shared their eye and hair color, but unlike them she had grown out her hair and put it in a braid that hung over her left shoulder. Her style also appeared to be the opposite of her sister's, for she wore a white knee length sundress that faded into a pink gradient at the end. Glancing back and forth between her and Nora, he had to guess that they were identical twins. That of course, made him think of Ashling, and his heart ached for a moment...

"I'm Rain."

He hoped they wouldn't ask for his last name as well. He planned to say Kreiss if anyone did, knowing none of them would recognize it, but he feared Kristof correcting him...

"And is this your brother?" Serah asked, smiling at Kristof.

"My cousin. The only sibling I have is my sister Faith, the one who went missing earlier...I've gotta find her..."

"Missing? Why?"

"That's terrible..." Claire whispered.

"She just vanished. We went out looking for her, and then ended up here." He purposely hid details. Telling them the whole truth would be a direct trip to the loony bin.

"We can help you to find her if you want," she offered with a smile. "And we can ask for my sister and her husband to help too."

"Thank you, but I don't want to be a burden to you."

He mainly didn't want to drag his parents into this, especially his mother of all people. Nothing made sense to him anymore, his logic had been twisted, and he didn't need more things on his mind. He knew seeing his mother that wouldn't know him would just make it worse.

"Don't worry, you aren't burden. We'd be more than happy to help."

"Why do I feel like I have seen you before?"

He glanced over at his cousin and frowned. He knew he had seen some pictures of the mother he had never gotten the chance to know. He made a mental note to talk to him later when they got some privacy, and in the mean time prayed to Etro that he wouldn't start saying things that make them all think they were both crazy.

"Thanks, Miss..." Turning back to Serah, catching himself before he said 'aunt Serah'.

"We'll all help you."

"Thank you," he half forced a smile, a bit relieved. "I'm afraid I don't know this area very well..."

"Don't worry I will show you the around," said Storm.

"Thanks."

"I can watch over Kristof while you're out." Claire offered.

"Hey!"

"You wanna come too?" Rain guessed.

"I said with my dad I would help you!"

"Alright, but remember, no wandering off on your own alright?" he said taking his cousins hand once more.

"I know, I know."

"Just making sure," he said before he turned back to Storm. "Shall we get going then?" he asked.

"Yeah, lets go."

"I'll come too," Nora said happily, and stepped outside without another word.

"Wait, Storm, why don't go see if your cousin wants to help too?"

"Awww, but Moooom, she bothers me!"

"That may be so, but she's still your cousin and she can be a big help."

"Okay Mom, we'll go get her."

"That's my boy."

Rain blinked at the mention of a cousin and a "her" at that. Another piece of the confusing puzzle that he had to solve. This time that they had traveled back to didn't seem right at all...

What the heck is going on here?

"Lead the way then," he said, keeping his thoughts to himself.

He followed Storm and Nora back outside, making sure Kristof was right next to him, then they began walking towards the edge of the village.

"So, what's this cousin of yours like?"

"My cousin is a headache, but we help each other. We're in the same school, and want be soldiers when we're older."

"Oh, she's not that bad, Storm." She sighed and rolled her eyes at her older brother. "And for the record I'll pass on military life," she said to Rain.

"Not interested in fighting?"

"No I can fight." She pounded her fists together for effect. "There's just too many rules for me.I'd rather follow my name."

Rain raised an eyebrow at this, while it was Storm's turn to sigh.

"And again Nora, you were named after Nora Estheim, not NORA..."

"Well, I like to think of it as both."

Storm shook his head while she smirked, but Rain was still a bit confused. He, of course, recognized the name as his late grandmother that was killed in the Purge, but why would she be named after her?

"And what exactly does NORA stand for?"

"No obligations, rules, or authority." They chorused.

He resisted the urge to face palm.

"Alright, here we are," Storm said as they stopped at the very last house on the outskirts of the village. "Our cousin's name is Rainbow. I think her parents are at work right now."

Rain couldn't help to breath a sigh of relief, glad that he wouldn't have to face Lightning right now.

"I'll see if she's home," Storm said as he walked up and knocked on the door.

It swung open a few moments later, smacking Storm in the face as Rainbow stepped outside. Rain could immediately tell that she was indeed related to Lightning, for she too had gotten her pink hair. She looked about Faith's age, and wore dark blue jean shorts, red combat boots, and a sleeveless lavender midriff sweater over a black tank top.

"Hi Storm," Shegreeted cheerfully, smiling down at her cousin who was now on the floor. She made no comment about smacking him in the face.

"Damn you..." was all he said.

"You're no fun."

"Hi Rainbow!" Nora said as she gave her cousin a big hug. "How've you been lately?"

"Nora!" She returned the hug. "I'm very good, and you? I hope Storm's not bothering you?"

"Shut up!"

"Oh no, he's fine," she said while giggling.

Rainbow then noticed Rain and Kristof, and blinked at them, but still continued to smile.

"Oh, hi! Who are you?"

"Oh, this is Rain and Kristof," Nora introduced them. "Rain's little sister has gone missing so we're gonna help them look for her, that's why we're here."

"Ooh, I see, well I'll help you to find your sister. As you heard my name is Rainbow, it's nice to meet you."

"Thanks," he said. "We're not from around here so we don't know the area. That'swhy we'd like some help."

"Oh, well, I could give you a tour around New Bodhum later if you want. I imagine you are new around here right?"

"Yes," he said. He couldn't help gazing at Cocoon in the distance, still amazed thathe was seeing it. "Out of curiosity, I heard rumors that a meteorite fell around here back in 3 AF. Do you know if those were true by chance?" he asked, remembering that's how Serah's and Noel's journey first began.

"Hmmm, I don't remember mom or dad saying about something like that..." said Nora.

"A meteorite? Mmm... not that I am aware of. The only meteorite that I know of is the one that my dad help stop but that was so many years ago in another city. Maybe you could ask my parents later. Mom should be back in a couple hours, and dad's coming back tonight."

"And if we don't find Faith around here we could ask them to help out too," Nora added.

"I don't wanna bother them," Rain said.

"Don't worry, it's not any trouble. It's our duty to help people," said Rainbow.

"Alright..." He relentedwith a sigh "We should start looking for her then."

"I want cookies!" Kristof suddenly blurted.

"Aw, how cute. I have cookies," Rainbow told him.

Rain groaned and face palmed. "Please don't sugar him up..."

"Why not? Let him be a kid."

"Yeah! I'm a kid!"

"A kid under MY responsibility right now." he reminded them. "And I don't want a sugared up kid under my responsibility," he said as he folded his arms.

He tried to stand firm, but both Kristof and Rainbow were giving him puppy dog eyes.

"Fine... One cookie, that's it."

"Yay!" Kristof cheered as he hugged his cousin. "Thank you, Rain."

Rainbow calmly walked back into the house, then returned a few moments later with a chocolate chip cookie in her hand.

"Here you go, I made it with my mom earlier."

"Mom hardly ever baked with us..." he muttered softly, recalling afew memories of her in the kitchen. Sure she cooked, but he remembered baking had been more of Serah's thing.

"Does she work a lot?" Rainbow asked, catching his words.

"She ditched us," Rain said coldly before he could stop himself. "Just like that, without a word."

"Oh...I'm sorry for that..."

"It doesn't matter any more. Right now I just wanna find Faith, and go home."

"Right, where should we start then?"

Rain shrugged. "Like I said I don't know the area. But there are monsters around here right? You guys know how to fight if we run into them?" he asked.

"Yep," Nora said as she pounded her fists together and cracked her knuckles. "Dad taught me all I know."

Rain also noticed that Rainbow now had a silver buster sword strapped to her back, and he guessed she had grabbed it when she had run inside. Glancing towards Storm, he too nodded and pointed to the two pistols in his belt. Somehow he had missed that before...

"We know how fight, so we won't be slowed down."

"Good," he said, glad that he had decided to grab his mother's old gunblade before he had left his house. "Where do you think we should start then?"

"Here?" Hope asked Noel as they approached the lake.

"Yes, they disappeared right over here."

"Alright," he said as he took out his laptop and started up the program to scan the general area for paradox levels. Since they were already in the area where the paradox activity had supposedly taken place, it only took a minute for the data to be gathered and appear on the screen, but Hope still tapped his fingers impatiently as he waited. Noel let him work in peace.

"That's strange..." he muttered. "I've never seen levels like this..."

"What?"

Noel stood over Hope's shoulder, trying to get a look, but, as he guessed, the data on the screen was pretty much another language to him. A couple decades of living in this time and he still didn't have a good hold on the modern high technology.

"There was definitely a paradox effect around here, like a temporary rift opened suddenly, but...I'm picking up levels that are different then you and Serah experiencedfrom your time traveling. It's like they weren't just pulled to a different time..."

"Meaning?"

"Noel, these levels suggest that they were pulled into a different dimension entirely."

Author's Notes

Ok, so about Nora because I know this is probably going to come out in comments. Yes she is gay, very gay. Why? Well sh-ort version is because I felt like it. Am I going anywhere with it? Not in this one, just a little nudge here and there. Maybe in another story, but even then I still don't write any romance stuff over PG-13.

So this brings out more OCs, there's only one more that will be revealed in chapter 4. Again mine are Rain, Faith, Nora and Claire, and the rest are my partner's. I would like opinions on all of them, and Nora, Claire, and Storm are all supporting characters if it matters.