VIII Plan
"Get away from me!" Serah shouted as she quickly cast waterga at him as she got to her feet.
Caius was caught of guard by the spell and knocked back by it, giving her a moment to put a couple yards between them and frantically look around for the others. Where were they? Where was Mog? She wouldn't be able to fight him very well without a weapon.
Claire had woken up when she had screamed, scaring the poor baby and making her cry. She felt sorry for her, but she was more worried about keeping Caius from hurting them both. She continued to back away as he slowly stood up and dusted himself off. She quickly began looking for a place she could run or hide.
This is Pulse...
She gulped nervously, knowing full well that if she did bolt for it monsters would be crawling everywhere, and without a weapon she wouldn't be able to defend herself.
Someone help me! she wanted to shout. Snow, Lightning, Noel, where are you?
She had gotten separated from them, that much she remembered. For the moment she was on her own...
"Serah!" she heard Aerith shout.
Startled out of her thoughts, she looked around and saw Aerith running towards them.
"I'm so sorry!" she apologized to Caius, making Serah blink in confusion. "A little while ago our party got attacked by monsters and we all got separated," she lied. "and I think you startled her." she finished.
"I'm sorry, I did not mean to frighten you miss." Caius sincerely apologized, confusing her even more.
What's going on here?
"Y-Yeah..." was all she could manage to say before she began trying to calm down little Claire.
"Is the rest of you party near by?" he asked turning to Aerith.
"I not quite sure..." she lied again.
"Well it is not safe for you two to be out here like this, I'll lead you back to Paddra." he told them.
Paddra?
Serah vaguely recognized the name, but she couldn't quite place it...
Can you hear me Serah? she heard Aerith ask softly in her mind as they started following Caius.
She noticed that the faint whispers of the other voices had returned as well, but seemed much calmer than she remembered. She turned to look at the ghost beside her, and nodded silently, not sure what else to do.
You can speak with your thoughts. Aerith told her.
How is this possible? she asked, hoping she could answer some of her questions.
The voices you're hearing are from the lifestream. She explained. You have a bit of a connection because-
I died...
Yes.
It did answer her questions about the voices, and she was glad that it wasn't because she was going crazy, but at the same time it creeped her out even more now. To think that she was hearing the voices off all the souls in the lifestream...It was unsettling.
She decided not to dwell on it now, and move on to a couple more questions she hoped Aerith could help answer.
Where, or when are we? she asked. And where are the others? Are they alright.
Gran Pulse, 670 BF, and yes everyone's fine.
She sighed from relief, making Caius glance back at her with a raised eye brow.
"Everything ok?" he asked her.
"Yeah." she answered, remembering that he couldn't hear any part of their conversation.
She was a little worried about being thrown into the past without a way out and separated from everyone else, but she believed Aerith when she said they were all safe and sound, plus the fact that Caius didn't know her at all in this time meant that she didn't have to worry about him attacking them.
I have one more question.
Yes?
Why did you save me from my death? Why did you take the burden of Etro's blessing for me?
Aerith bit her lip and frowned a bit, but she still answered her question.
Zack and I watched you and Noel on your journey through time through the lifestream. We saw how much you cared about changing it for the better, and wanted to be reunited with Snow and you're sister...I just couldn't sit by and watch you die like that, and your loved ones mourn your death...
Thank you, but you really didn't have to do that for me. I knew I was probably going to die, I was prepared to.
You deserve to live your life out Serah. Look at yourself now, married with two beautiful little girls. Aren't you happy?
Serah looked down at Claire in her arms. She thought of Snow, of Lightning, Noel and Hope...What would they have all done if Aerith hadn't saved her? Would Snow be able to live without her by his side? Would Lightning and Noel blame themselves for it? She didn't want to think about it. She was still alive, and that's what mattered.
You and Zack...
Yes?
We're you together when you were alive?
She nodded.
We were, but not for long. He was in the military like you're sister and went away on a mission far away...
And never came back?
She nodded again, this time sadly.
I didn't know he was dead for sure until I ran into him in the lifestream a few years after he went missing. Being alone was awful, and I didn't want to see you or Snow go through that.
Serah was more than a little touched by Aerith's words. She had saved her because she had seen the love that surrounded her and Snow. It brought tears to her eyes.
Thank you...
Please just live out your lives together happily, thank me in that way.
"We're here." Caius spoke up, interrupting their silent conversation.
"If he harms one hair on Serah's head I'm going to kill him," Lightning said as she began to storm off away from the group without warning.
"Whoa hang on!" she heard Zack call after her.
"Light!"
Hope too.
"Lightning!"
She heard Noel's footsteps quickly catch up to her, and felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Just hold on a minute!" he said. "Are you just going to find him and kill him on the spot?"
It had crossed her mind, after all if that was their focus then why not complete it as soon as possible and get it over with? Then time would return to normal. In this time Caius didn't know her, she could catch him completely off guard and end it with a single bullet if she wanted to, treat him like a target, not a person.
"No." she told him. "I'll find him, and wait for the right moment."
It was a bit safer plan, just in case they were wrong about their focus after all.
"But-"
"If we want to change the future Caius has to die," she said as she shrugged him off.
"But it doesn't have to be that way! If we could just stop him from becoming immortal then-"
"You're to soft Noel," she said sternly, looking him in the eye.
"Killing him just doesn't seem right!"
"You'd rather watch us all become Cie'th instead?" she shouted, making him flinch. "We have a focus, and you're not even supposed to-"
"That's enough!" Zack interrupted, coming between them. "Standing here arguing isn't going to accomplish anything."
Lightning glared at him, but shut her mouth.
"Now Caius in this time doesn't know any of you, therefore he won't harm someone like Serah." he reminded them.
"Where are they?" Snow asked.
"Aerith said they just reached Paddra, it's a few miles north of here." Zack told them.
"She's safe there?" Noel asked.
"Yeah, Aerith's with her."
"Well we better get going if we wanna catch up to them soon," Lightning said as she began walking north.
"Wait," Noel said again, making her stop.
"What is it now?" she asked with her arms folded, getting rather frustrated with him.
"If we all walk in there as we are you guys are gonna stand out WAY to much..."
Lightning, Hope, and Snow all stared down at their clothes and saw his point. They were on Pulse, and their clothes were practically a dead give away that they weren't from around here. If people were to think that they were from Cocoon, it would get very messy pretty fast. Thankfully, Noel had a decent plan for how to fix it.
With Zack being able to fade into the lifestream and wander around the planet that way, he was able to point them in the direction of a good sized village only a couple miles to the southeast. They then all dug through their pockets, and pulled together a couple good handfuls of Gil.
"Nothing to girly." Lightning told Noel as she handed him her money.
Noel nodded, and calmly walked towards the village while the rest of them patiently waited beyond the out skirts and out of sight.
As predicted, Noel blended in perfectly and was able to buy new clothes for them in the marketplace with no one prying. He returned to the group completely successful with the clothes, along with a messenger bag to hold their old ones.
He gave Lightning hers first, whom then left the group to find a quiet more private place to change. Satisfied with a couple of shady trees with no monsters lurking around them, she stepped into the shade they provided, and looked down at the clothes Noel had gotten for her.
They reminded her a bit of what Vanille had wore, but shrugged deciding they were fine. She undid her jacket and sweater and tossed them aside, then quickly pulled on the dark red midriff halter top. It was a snug fit, but decently modest. She frowned when she tied it and saw that the tip of her brand was peaking out, but there wasn't much she could do about it. It hadn't changed from the last time she glanced at it, so she was fine, still had plenty of time like she had said.
Sighing, she glanced around again for monsters before she changed into the rest of it. She wouldn't want to be attacked and have to fight something while she was in her under wear. Once again pleased that it was quiet, she slid out of her boots, followed by her belts, leg bag, skirt and shorts.
Not wasting any time, she pulled on the long thin black shorts Noel had gotten, glad that he didn't get some short frilly skirt to go with it or anything like that. It also came with a belt, along with a fur pelt reminding her all to well of one Vanille had wore. Sliding the straps of her sheath through the belt, she then slid it on and tucked the pelt around the belt as well. It concealed her sheathed weapon nicely, so she let it be, then gathered up her other clothes and returned to the others.
Snow had discarded his coat and boots, and was wearing a new pair of gray baggy pants and sandals. Apparently baggy pants like the ones Noel wore was the style, because Hope too wore a pair of dark olive green ones with a tight black muscle shirt. He too had a belt, and attached to it was a pouch just big enough to hold his weapons.
"Are we ready then?" she asked.
"Just about," Snow said as he finished changing his daughter's cloth diaper and slipping a new thin pink summer dress on her before picking her up and carrying her.
Seeing that now their party was ready, they began heading in the direction of Paddra, cutting down any monsters that got in their way, and discussing a reasonable story they would have to come up with. When the city came into sight, Lightning noticed Hope had looked a bit nervous, so she gently squeezed his hand for assurance. It would be alight, and if their plan started to fall apart on them she would put a bullet in Caius' forehead the moment it did.
As they calmly approached the city, they saw a few warriors guarding the entrance, along with with Serah, Aerith, and Caius. The moment Serah caught sight of them, she gently handed Claire over to Aerith, and ran to meet them. Snow embraced her happily, glad that she was indeed alright. If it wasn't for him holding Nora, he would've ran to her as well.
"You're not hurt are you?" he asked.
"No." she said. "Are any of you?" she asked a bit worried looking at everyone.
"Well...Not really but..."
She then caught sight of his brand on his arm and stiffened. Glancing towards Lightning and Hope, they nodded as well. She glanced at her own arm, realizing she hadn't done so earlier, but saw that it was bare. Like Noel, she hadn't been made a l'Cie.
"Well talk about this later." Lightning told her, seeing that Caius and Aerith were approaching them.
Her hand twitched as she refrained from reaching for her gunblade, still half wanting to kill him on sight. No one could blame her though, not after having to fight him in Valhalla. It was Hope's turn to give her hand a soft squeeze, as if to remind her of the plan.
"I see you have found your fellow travelers," Caius said.
"Thank you for looking after my sister."
Lightning tried not to sound cold or glare into his eyes, but did keep an eye out for any movements of hostility towards them.
"May I ask what brings you all to Paddra?" Caius asked calmly as he folded his arms.
"Some of us have been branded," Hope said as he flashed Caius his brand. "We've had no contact with a Fal'Cie, but rather the Goddess Etro appearing to us in a dream." he explained.
"Since you're nation worships Etro we thought we might find some clues about our focus." Lightning finished.
It was a decent cover story, and all the same not entirely a lie. They truly did believe that Etro was the one that chose them to be l'Cie once more.
"I see...," Caius said as he eyed them all.
"They may enter," Yuel said calmly as she slowly walked towards the group, followed by one of her guardians.
Noel stiffened a bit, seeing yet another Yuel that as always looked and sounded exactly as all the other did. Just like the Yuel that he had known...
He also noticed that a the young woman by her side not only carried a sword with her, but looked ready to lay down her life for the Seeress at any given moment.
Is Caius not her true guardian yet? he thought.
"Are you sure?" Caius asked her, not fully trusting the strangers before him.
"I do not see them opposing any threat."
"Very well," he said before turning back to the group. "But we have a law of no weapons allowed inside the city." he told them.
Nodding, Noel handed over his swords, while Hope did the same with his knife and gunblade, but kept a hold of his boomerang. He doubted anyone would see it as an actual weapon anyway. Lighting hesitated, but undid the straps of her holster for her gunblade and handed it over as well, followed by Mog who had been in crossbow form since Paddra had come in sight. After all a magical talking Moogle would seem more than a little strange to them, and he could just fly back to the group when no one was looking.
Caius eyed Lightning carefully, sensing her hesitation, but neither of them said anything. However, she sensed that now things were going to be a bit more complicated than they thought...
Author's Notes
And more shit's explained! *cricket chirps*...You guys still here? *glances around*
