The Timeline Fractures
Serah and Noel blinked at each other.
"Did you hear that?" she asked, and looked around almost frantically. "I mean, I'm not the only who heard that voice – the voice saying everything'll be okay, right?"
Noel joined her in looking around. "No, you're not," he said, "but I don't see anything."
"It was in my head."
He looked back at her with a frown. "Yeah… it was, wasn't it?"
As they looked around, Serah kept gazing up at Cocoon twinkling in the starlight, feeling a nagging sensation that something wasn't quite right, but couldn't put her finger on it. As she continued to gaze at the luminous shell, her skin began to prickle, the hairs standing up. A cold wind blew over her. With it came the scent of water and salt; she breathed it in a moment in confusion.
"Noel," she whispered.
The darkhaired boy moved to stand close beside her. "The sea," he breathed.
"The sea," she repeated.
Together, they looked over the reefs where New Bodhum's enormous ocean had once been. Serah had the distinct feeling that something was changing.
"What's happening?" Noel murmured, frowning.
Serah shivered and rubbed her arms, trying to clear the goosebumps. "It's cold," she said. She hesitated and looked down at herself. "Noel," she said, "I miss Snow, and Lightning, and all the others. I really, really do. Never even realized it, but– I…" Surprising herself, she felt tears pricking her eyes. How long had she been separated from her fiancé and her sister? No. She'd been trying to compartmentalize the hurt. For three years, it worked, and she'd been able to live in denial for all those three years. Now, she realized she really missed her groom-to-be, and wished she had shown it more obviously in the Coliseum.
Why hadn't she done that?
"No," she said, and rubbed her eye with the heel of her palm. "I… miss Snow. What you said, about people–"
Noel looked at her. "Oh. About the…"
"Time. Yeah. It's never enough." Wishing she could ball herself up, she shivered. These clothes were easy to move in and efficient for battle and exploration, but they exposed too much skin. "Nothing is."
"Here," Noel said, gently taking her shoulder, "there's a little shelter in the ruins."
"Shelter…" She almost didn't get it.
After a pause, she glanced sideways to see him half-smiling at her. "From the wind. It's sharp and bites like a whip made of ice." He gestured toward the ruins of the NORA household, all dilapidated wood and tarnished stone; at the sight of it, Serah cringed and blinked away some bitterness, but she kept a neutral expression for her companion's sake. No sense getting all sad now, after so much time.
"They're dead now."
Noel waited until they were seated beneath an overhang created by a dead tree before saying, "What are?"
"Everyone," she murmured. "My sister. Hope. Sazh. All those people, wandering around in Academia, they're all just–" Pursing her lips, she sighed. "It's strange, you know. Thinking about it. I know they're alive, but right here and now, they're all…" Her voice cracked a little as she dropped her chin in her hand, squeezing her eyes tight shut against the silence before her.
She felt Noel sling an arm around her shoulders, a gesture obviously meant to be comforting rather than intimate. "I get it," he muttered. "Don't feel bad."
"I do, though," she said. Pause. "You're kinda warm."
He chuckled, almost shyly. "Yeah, well, all the cold and dryness? You gotta remember, I'm used to it. Doesn't bother me at all. I can't, uh–" He squirmed. "Can't… give you much more body heat. Y'know, unless you lay down with your back to mine. Helps disperse the heat better. Until we can find a way outta here, at least."
Serah had been listening, but not really understanding, stuck in her thoughts.
"You're not listening, huh?"
Serah felt a little guilty. "Sorry, I'm just… not paying attention."
Noel hugged her tighter. She was grateful for the warmth. "Yeah, I get it. You're fine. See?" he added, pointing at the sky. "The stars are comin' out. It'll be dark soon. We'll sit here for the night, then we'll get up and look around for some way out. And, Serah?"
His warmth had knocked some of the chill out of her body so she no longer shivered. Tilting her head, she looked at him. "Hmm?"
"We'll go see Snow, okay? I know you wanna see him."
She nodded. "Yeah…"
Noel squirmed, then said, hesitantly, "Uh, you know, you said… when you were a l'Cie, he did everything he could to help you, so… What did you– what'd you mean by that?"
As she always did when recalling memories of her days as a l'Cie, Serah felt a rush of different emotions. Hope and fear were there, practically side-by-side, along with uneasiness and bitterness. While she had never showed it, most certainly not to her sister, she had been bitter about her fate, though putting the best face on helped her forget about it a little. It helped her grit her teeth and bear it. It helped her create for herself a new Focus, a new interpretation of the cruel fate she'd been handed.
"Snow took on the whole world to save me," she told him. "When we all fell to Lake Bresha from the Vestige in the Hanging Edge–" She paused, realizing she was throwing a few terms at him he wouldn't recognize, but when he only blinked at her, she continued. "PSICOM was after us. Lightning led the group away – Sazh, Hope, and Vanille – because I was crystallized and stuck in the lake, but Snow… he stayed behind. Kept digging and fighting to get me out even when he almost died. Stuck by me and his promise to me even when everything fell apart. Even when the guys after us caught him. He did everything for–"
And then her voice cracked, and she shut her eyes to hold back the tears. All the things he'd done for her, and she had never once thanked him for it. Never asking for a reward, never doubting, never leaving her side unless he knew she was absolutely safe… and she never thanked him for it.
"You know what," she murmured, "I haven't told him I loved him in three years."
Noel stared at her. "What? Not once?"
"No."
"Not one time?"
She sadly shook her head. "When I see him, I'm gonna tell him." Shifting into a more comfortable position, she closed her eyes for real and prepared to sleep. Beside her, Noel wriggled, finding a comfortable position and nestling in. His slow, rhythmic breathing calmed her down, and she was vaguely amused to find him asleep long before her.
Lightning had just finished washing up and tending to her knee, binding it to stabilize it for the day, when there was a knock at the front door. Making sure her new clothing – in the style of Paddra rather than Haerii – was fitted right, she headed to the door and opened it.
Janya was standing there in a green huntress outfit, one hand on her hip. She glanced past Lightning to look inside the home. "Nice place you got."
The other woman half-smiled. In the residential quarter were duplex homes nestled near a cliff that were generally the homes of the hunters, warriors, and harvesters without families. Hers was the three-room west half of the duplex, separated from the other by a stout wall and dual-locking door, with a window at the back for a view of the sunny valley beyond. It was smaller than her home on Cocoon, but with a little ingenuity (and of course her cleaning skills) she'd turned it into a nice home-away-from-home.
"Got paid, huh?"
"I did," she answered, leaning on the doorframe. "Nobody comes around here without a reason. What'd you come here for, Janya?"
"Yeul wants to speak with you," she said, "and she says it's kind of important. Don't know why. Didn't pay a lot of attention. You don't, not when it don't concern you."
Lightning nodded and went for her blade, which was nestled in an alcove in its sling. Made of behemoth leather with durable lock-pin assemblies to secure it to her belt, the thing would withstand the test of time. It reminded her of her gunblade sling, only white with decorative beading instead of plain red.
She stepped out, closing and locking the door, and secured the sling as she walked.
"Heh." Janya fingered the beading. "Real nice. Oerban beadwork. Can't beat it."
"They're the best beaders?"
"That ain't a word," Janya mumbled, but nodded. "Sure. They've been known to make entire tapestries with seed beads. Some of those take years. Now, not all Oerbans are in bead-making, but those that are kind of turned it into an expected export, y'know? They can make beads out of shell and bone and bark and whatever else. It's pretty impressive stuff." She smirked. "Oh yeah, and the purple some of the warriors have on their outfits? They came up with that particular shade. Can only make it outta the lake shells."
Lightning cocked an eyebrow. "Wow."
"You get that, huh? Yeah, it's pretty hard to make." They walked in silence for a time; Janya led her into the city, but Lightning sort of knew where they were going. "Traders should be showin' up pretty soon. Oerba always comes with beads, tapestries, and dyes. They sell the purple. Don't tell us how it's done."
Lightning nodded. "Does everyone come here?"
"No, we go to them too."
The two women continued into the city and found the building where Yeul spent her days whenever she wasn't out amongst the people. Janya stopped in the mini-plaza in front of the building; Lightning looked over her shoulder at the huntress.
"Was comin' this way, so I figured I'd keep you company. Be seein' you." With a quick mock-salute, she headed off into the city. Lightning continued to the building.
"–just think it'd be good for ya, before it's time."
"Time? For what?"
Lightning stopped, tilting her head and listening. She recognized the voices as belonging to Caius and Miyoki. The tone of both, though, was serious, and Caius sounded worried. Thinking that if she busted in she'd be interrupting something important, she stood in the lobby and listened. Their voices were muffled by the tapestry separating her from the chambers, but she understood them well enough.
"I think you're ready. Been ready for years."
"Are you talking about–"
"Yeah. Your promotion. It's about time you moved up from apprentice to Guardian yourself."
There was a pause. "But… now, during–"
"I'm old, Caius. I've lived way too long. Too many crystallizations and heartbreak, and I want out. Maybe I'm bein' a little selfish, but sometimes you gotta find the time to let go. Besides, you'll be better than me. Nah, you'll be the best there ever was. You know that? You, Caius of the Jenhi clan, will be history. You'll make history. You'll be the greatest Guardian there ever was and put me to shame."
"Don't pander to my ego, Miyoki." There was a flicker of irritation now. "I want the truth."
"I'm telling the truth. Time to move up. You've got the skill and the loyalty. When the time comes, you won't have a problem."
"It's too soon. For the season, and the–"
"No more waiting! I'm done with the waiting! You aren't like Gorgyra, or any of the others. No, you've got what it takes, and you'll be the best there ever was." There was a lengthy pause, during which she heard Caius sigh and the older man grunt softly. "Now, look. One last hurrah before you get stuck here. No offense, Yeul. Spend some time with your friends and go poke around before things get tough again."
"Miyoki–"
"Don't argue with me, you. It's not yet, anyway. It'll be next a good while yet. I'm not askin' you to jump in and start tryin' to kill me right away, but be prepared just in case. You're going stir crazy and time's gettin' short. You deserve one last taste of freedom."
Lightning winced. Freedom.
Caius snorted, softly, but only said, "As you wish."
"Good. Now you stop moping around and get something done. I've got to go check on prep work, so when I get back I expect to see that scowl gone. You better be smiling or at least neutral. Go talk to your friends, or Claire. She gets you to smile."
At the sound of her name, Lightning lifted an eyebrow. She'd never really noticed, but yes, Caius did seem to smile more around her.
She blushed faintly. And she smiled around him, too.
The tapestry lifted, and Miyoki came walking out. He looked at her. "You heard it all?"
She shrugged. "Enough."
"Doesn't matter. Soon enough everyone'll witness it. Should be interesting."
"Witness what?"
"The Guardian promotion ceremony. You know, where he kills me."
Lightning was pretty used to death – even disturbingly so – but it still chilled her blood to hear him say it so casually, as if he were merely giving the time of day or commenting on the weather. Paddra was a culture based around death in some ways, and this seemed to be one of them. Not wanting to let him see her discomfort, she only nodded, expression unchanged.
"If you're here to see Yeul, feel free. And for Pulse's sake, get him to smile."
Lightning tried to stifle a smile of her own, but it leaked through a little anyway. "I'll do my best," she said, nodding again. "Thanks, Miyoki."
He half-smiled, then headed out into the hot, humid sunshine. Lightning watched him go, shrugged, and headed into the chambers beyond the tapestry. Yeul was sitting by the pool on her knees, staring intently into the water; she tried not to disturb her, instead looking around. Finally, she spotted Caius, leaning against one of the pillars, gazing back at her in silence.
She groaned. "What's with the death glare? Didn't he say 'smile'?"
Caius stared at her. "You heard that."
"I did."
"It's not nice to eavesdrop," he said. Yeul glanced at them, but went back to her study of the water just as quickly.
"You talk so loud," she said, "I probably could've heard you outside the building."
Caius blinked. "I have feelings, Claire."
"Not when you're scowling."
"I am not scowling."
"Fine. Sulking."
"Both of you, please," Yeul interrupted, but was trying very hard not to smile. "That's quite enough. Caius, you are free to stay, or you may go."
Caius straightened. "I will go," he said. "Claire, I need to speak to you when you're finished here. I will be in the lobby." As he passed, he looked sidelong at her. "And I am not sulking, either."
She gave him a smile she knew was irritating. It always worked on her sister, anyway. "If you say so."
He didn't give her another look before leaving.
Yeul was still looking into the pool. "I was counting on him leaving," she admitted. "If he had been here, I'd not have been able to speak with you. He interrupted Miyoki and I as we spoke."
Lightning had to ask. "What's– what's with the pool?"
"Do you not see?"
"Uh…" Lightning squinted. "I see tiles and water. So… no."
Yeul smiled at her before reaching into the pool. After a few moments of darting her hand about, she lifted a small, shiny creature out of the water. It was a bluish fish with long yellow fins that fluttered as it twitched. "They keep me company." She released it back into the water, and Lightning realized that the "tiles" were actually fish, contentedly listing about – until their comrade rejoined them, at which point they scattered.
"Yeul," Lightning coaxed, "what's this about, huh?"
"The war. It has become clearer to me now." She stood, brushing the wrinkles out of her skirt. "That, and I wanted to ask after your well-being. You're doing well, I presume?"
Lightning cracked a half-smile. "Considering the circumstances, yeah, I'm doing great."
Yeul smiled. "That is good to hear."
Lightning shifted, half-smile fading fast. "You didn't bring me here for a social visit. So, what is it?"
Yeul flexed her fingers. "One of the trade nations will skirmish with us – it's less outright war, and more of a scuffle of disagreement. There would be no bloodshed, but too many are loyal on both sides. I know not which nation it will be, but I know this: they will come for me."
"You?"
"I am the seeress of Paddra. I hold ancestral information and great power. I would be a valuable possession. Caius will not allow it, of course, for his love of his people and culture tends to overrule his common sense."
"Tends to?" Lightning scoffed. "I know him enough to say that's an understatement."
Yeul tilted her head – a gesture with a very arms-crossed-even-stare feel to it. "Then I need not remind you how important it is you gain his trust and friendship. If anyone can protect him from himself, it is she who knows him best."
Lightning was a little humbled, but only just. "Do I get a say in getting to know him?"
"No."
Well, she tried. "Fine. I'll give it my best shot. It's all I'm promising."
"Fair enough," Yeul said. "This skirmish will be short, but it will be difficult because of the stubbornness of those I call my people – in particular, my Guardian-to-be."
"That man–" Lightning sighed.
"At least you have shown him kindness, and for that are I am grateful. Beyond the skirmish, I see little. It can go two ways at this point, because I see, and I know–" Yeul touched her forehead with two fingertips. "Something terrible may yet happen. The point is not fixed. It can still change. If whatever it is does happen, the world will suffer."
Lightning nodded. "Believe me, I know."
"This path seems to lead in the right direction. I am not fully aware of all things, but I know enough to understand that your choice will be an important one."
"Choice?" Lightning lifted her head. "What choice?"
Yeul gazed at her. "I'm sorry."
"What choice, Yeul?"
"What matters now is that you keep all of this to yourself," she said, quickly changing the subject. "Miyoki knows, but he welcomes death and blesses the day he breathes his last. Anything you say or do could harm the timeline at this point. You must avoid creating a paradox."
Lightning rubbed her neck. Paradoxes and broken timelines. Fringe science and quantum mechanics in general made her head hurt. Maybe it was because she just didn't have a scientist's mind, or maybe she had just never cared. And what choice was she referring to? That in particular was going to drive her crazy…
"I'll do my best. Everything'll be fine."
"Then you may go."
She nodded, then slipped Yeul's bracelet off her wrist – its resting place for so long – and handed it to the girl, who took it after a moment. "Thanks for everything," she said, and turned away after giving a quick, respectful bow.
"Remember," Yeul said, "you will find the greatest joy, and feel the deepest sorrow."
Lightning's steps stuttered, and she looked over her shoulder at the girl. Yeul only gave her a steady stare, but there was a bit of sadness in her eyes that hadn't been there before. Though she stared for some time, she couldn't see any answers, so she left through the tapestry.
"That was quick."
She started a little at the voice of her rival so close to her ear. "Quick enough."
The two gazed at each other a moment. "How much of my conversation with Miyoki did you hear?" he asked.
She placed a fist on her hip. "Don't know. Half, maybe?"
"Beginning when?"
"When he said something'd be good for you."
Caius nodded. "Yes, right. I was going to ask if you would be still be interested in going on a group hunt with the rest of us. The Archlyte Steppe is home to some of the best meat animals in the area. We will be going there and up in the pastures again. There… shouldn't be any more faeryl around." Pause. "At least, in theory."
Lightning chuckled softly. "Alright. Here's hopin' we don't."
"Then this will be your chance."
"Even with my knee?"
"You can walk on it just fine," he said, smirking. "You can't convince me you're still crippled."
She chuckled. "Sure, I'll go. When and where?"
"Tomorrow morning. Meet us in the front plaza as before."
She nodded, and together they exited the building. Looking up, Lightning saw that the sun had moved into the early afternoon position, but it was still a few hours before sunset. "Will Janya and Yoteri be joining us again?" she said.
"Most likely. Problem?"
"Nah. Just asking."
"Also," he said, "Nomin will likely be accompanying us. He is a good soldier, and I am considering taking him as my apprentice once I move up to become a Guardian. It would do him some good to get out with the rest of us and socialize some. He tends to…" He hesitated, then chuckled softly. "Well, he keeps to himself, and that is not always an admirable quality, not in a Guardian."
She nodded and looked back at the sky. It was a few moments before she sensed him gazing steadily at her and looked up into his eyes. "Oh, that reminds me," she said suddenly, snapping her fingers by her hip. "Miyoki said to get you to smile."
Caius's eyebrow twitched, faintly. "Did he."
"Mm-hmm."
He folded his arms. "I'm bitter about what I must do to become the next Guardian," he said. "That's all."
"You have to kill him."
Pause. "Yes."
"Caius," she said, pointedly, "who's Gorgyra?"
"Someone Miyoki did not put out of her misery." He sighed; she stared at him and cocked an eyebrow when he didn't immediately go on. "She was Miyoki's previous apprentice, as I told you before. However, she– she failed her duties as a Guardian in his absence."
Lightning said, "Failed, how?"
"She allowed a guerrilla faction coming for the seeress to get into the city as she was otherwise occupied at the time instead of tending to Yeul," he explained, his voice lower now. "Though she managed to rescue Yeul before it was too late, her guilt overcame her good sense, and she requested–" Caius halted abruptly, brow furrowing. "She… had the fal'Cie who branded her skip the progression straight to failure."
Lightning shivered. "She's–"
"A Cie'th, yes, wandering in the Yaschas Massif." There was sadness in his tone. "Sometimes, those who patrol the foothills can hear her anguished cries. She retains so much of who she was, but can no longer control what she does. It was a cruel fate."
"Becoming a l'Cie to begin with," Lightning grumbled, "is cruel enough."
Caius bent down a little to look right into her eyes. She gazed back without flinching, as she had done so many times. "You speak with a weight to your words," he said softly. "Have you had poor experience with l'Cie in the past?"
Poor experience? Lightning suddenly wanted to lash out in bitterness and hurt. The hurt of the thirteen days and the war for Cocoon still haunted her – to her, the time between the fall of the planetoid and coming here hadn't been that long at all.
"Look, it's– it's just complicated, okay? I just… I've had experience," she said finally. "A lot of it."
Caius seemed momentarily concerned. "Claire–"
"Forget it," she said, trying to brush it off. "And don't worry about it, okay? It's nothing."
The gesture he made then surprised her: he reached out and took her shoulders in both hands. Both shoulders were covered by her new outfit, but she still felt his body heat through the fabric, and, somehow, that combined with the weight made her feel a teeny bit… better. There were calluses on his fingers and a sense of bone-crushing strength in their joints – something that should concern her, but instead it had the opposite effect. Even if she couldn't face everything on Pulse alone – and her party's little jaunt across a tiny stretch of land was a testament to that – she at least had a companion who could fight alongside her.
"I can see otherwise."
She shrugged. "If we're going on patrol, I need some rest," she said. "Catch up with you later, okay? And, Caius–" Reaching up, she gently tweaked his chin with her thumb and forefinger. "Smile."
He hesitated, then managed a small one.
"Better than nothing." Pulling away, she gave him a mock salute. "See you tomorrow."
They looked at each other a moment longer, then calmly separated to go in opposite directions. She headed back toward the residential quarter, rubbing her shoulder with one hand. He was bold, she had to admit, but she kind of admired that, rather used to men being either scared of her or not taking her seriously because she was female and skinny. That someone dared mess with her was refreshing.
Lightning marched back to her home without a glance back, but couldn't shake the memory of his touch this time.
And a quick reference to Kain and Lightning's first conversation in Dissidia Duodecim (not counting Prologus) because that was an awesome conversation. As for adding clearer breaks between Serah and Noel's bits and Lightning's bits, unfortunately I can't hard-code breaks before and after the little gray line, so until I figure out something better, that's how it's going to have to be. Please stop asking me to "add breaks" when they are actually there, just not as clear as I'd like them to be.
