~~~~~~~~ Lightning POV ~~~~~~~~~~
"Hope dreamed of changing the past, the weight of history drove him forward. But now, he's turning to face the future, a future more frightening then the past. Serah, do you believe, too? Do you believe in your past?"
I exhaled a heavy sigh as I stood back up from my kneeling position, my eyes glued to the crystal throne before me. I can't believe Cloud is being so stubborn. Now that he's seen my figure in that Oracle Drive, he seems more determined than ever. I need to think of another way to send him back to his time.
Better yet, I can't believe Serah is letting him continue onward. I guess I can't really blame her for believing in the past that she remembers… The past that we had with Cloud as children and the past where I survived the fall of Cocoon. Hm, she is my sister after all.
"Something on your mind Warrior of Valhalla?" I turned to the voice that spoke to me and saw the streak of silver hair that belonged to the man nearby. The man named Sephiroth had been standing by himself at the large balcony for quite some time now but he somehow made it over to me without me realizing it. It felt strange hearing this man's voice talk to me from outside the battlefield. He usually kept to himself.
"Nothing that concerns you," I spat as I turned to walk the other direction. It did not take long for me to be stopped by a force holding onto my shoulder guard. I stopped myself from glaring over my shoulder as I turned my head to make eye contact with the green eyes man. There seemed to be a look of concern on his face as I shrugged of his hand.
"Lightning, we've been fighting for a long time together. Do you think I can't tell when there is something on your mind?" That question struck a bit of surprise in me as I turned my body to face him. I'm sure the usual scowl appeared on my face since Sephiroth took a step backwards and crossed his arms. "Is it about your sister?"
"No its not," I said this more calmly now. I knew better than to say Cloud's name in front of this man though. With their history, that would only cause more of a problem for the timeline. I had to think of something quick. "It's about you. You never told me how you ended up here."
The silver haired man looked stunned then amused. "Is that all? I just woke up and found this place. You seemed like you could use the help." This voice had been cool as if he were explaining this to a kid. He must have realized this as my scowl deepened in intensity. "However, I know that was not what you were thinking. Don't lie to me."
I glared at him as I was getting annoyed by his words, before turning back around and staring off into the distance of Valhalla. I heard this smug sound hm coming from him which did not make me much happier. Thinking about it, maybe I can ask him for help about what to do about Cloud without telling him it's about him. It's about all I could do now at the point. "Just think about ways I can deal with a stubborn idiot."
"Like you?" I bit my tongue to keep myself from shouting at him. That wouldn't have solved anything but hearing him chuckle at himself for the joke didn't help. "Did you see something change in the timeline again?"
Excuse, come to me. "I'm trying to convince an old friend to do something to help fix the timeline a bit." Yeah, that's accurate. "No matter what sign I give him, he still doesn't get the message." I stopped myself from cringing a bit after I realized I said him. That didn't mean Sephiroth would figure it out I guess, but it gave a hint that I didn't want to share. He just stared at me for a few seconds with his piercing green eyes, as if analyzing me to see if I had been telling the truth.
"Well, idiots cannot deny the truth when it is told directly to their face by someone they trust. No matter how stupid, as long as there is a good explanation and they trust you, they will not ignore you." Huh. That actually was not a bad piece of advice. Sephiroth seemed to be recalling a memory as he told me this, but I didn't think it would be wise for me to dig deeper into it. If I tried, he'd probably question me as well and I didn't care to enlighten him on anything about what was going on.
"Hm, I suppose that is as good a plan as any." I stated this reluctantly and turned back towards the throne. If I had been the purpose of him starting his journey then I had to be the one to tell him to go back and give up. If anything, that would at least cause him some comfort in seeing me one last time. I had to use a lot of my power to do it but so be it. I couldn't risk messing up the timeline any further.
"Warrior of Valhalla, I have a question for you." I stood there dazed for a moment at what Sephiroth said before I glanced back over my shoulder to acknowledge him. The silver haired man seemed to understand this gesture and proceeded. "Would you happen to know the fate of those that died if they are not in Valhalla?"
I was confused at this question. Why would he be asking this? Of course I knew and only gave a nod in affirmation, but it made me curious as to whom he had been concerned for. To my knowledge, in his time he should have already known of the lifestream and believed in it. I am half surprised that he took on the idea of Valhalla so readily.
Sephiroth looked down briefly and then turned his back to me. I flexed my right hand a bit, ready to call upon my Blazefire Saber if necessary. This reminded me a lot of my fight with Caius before so I couldn't take much of a chance. The man spoke calmly though, not sounding as if he were looking for a fight. "Can you tell me what happened to Angeal Hewley and Genesis Rhapsodos" Though he sounded calm, the subject he was talking about seemed important to him. I was surprised he was able to keep his cool asking about it.
The fate of his friends… there was no reason to keep that a secret from him. I owe him that much I guess. "You know the answer to that. They died long ago and are now in the world beyond this one." That being said, I have no idea why Sephiroth had been here even though he had died long ago as well. Well, technically in my time it would be long ago as time doesn't exist here. Sephiroth remained silent at my response as if waiting for more information. I didn't know what else to say though. "No phoenix down will be able to bring them back."
I heard the clomping of his boots on the temple floor subtly fading as the man started to walk away. Thinking about it that might have been what Sephiroth had gone to do between the battles against Caius while I watched the timeline. It made sense. The fact is though that there is nothing either of us could do to stop the events from back then from happening. Such had not been the will of Etro. If there had been any intervention, Shinra would have made the world of the living a more… well, I will leave that as one of the possibilities of the future that we will not encounter.
When I turned back around to look at him, the silver menace had already disappeared. Almost as if instinctively afterwards, I took my right hand up and stared into my palm as if something fascinating had been there. I was half surprised that he didn't ask about Jenova, but that's a given. It was not a happy subject to bring up. For now, I had to worry on my own goals.
I kneeled on one knee again and closed my eyes. I needed to find the right moment to tell Cloud to give up and hopefully there would be a time Cloud would not be anywhere near Serah or Noel so I could break the news in person. Though I didn't trust Sephiroth to be alone in Valhalla on the lookout for attacks, I didn't have much choice. If not, I could just tell him in a dream but I'm not sure how effective that would be.
Whatever. I just needed to watch the timeline and see if there is where Serah is going next. Knowing the artifact they picked up in the Void, I had a good idea of where they were going next.
~~~~~~~~ Cloud POV ~~~~~~~~~~
Gotta say, I didn't expect to end up at some old ruin of a place only to leave right after we found nothing important. For some reason, while I was there, I felt like I was being watched. Gave me the creeps but Noel didn't seem to notice it.
I'm probably hallucinating again.
That wasn't a good sign if that's the case. I shook my head lightly to get the thought out of my head and concentrate on the travels ahead. Serah and Noel were leading the way through the Time Gate thing so I didn't have much to worry abo-
"That isn't good!" Oh god what was that voice? I glanced around for the source of the voice, but I already know I wasn't going to find it. I knew who it belonged to. I could feel my eyebrows involuntarily furrow as I frowned upon my realization.
"Aerith, is that you?" Of course I asked mentally because I didn't want Serah and Noel to think I had been a complete nutcase on the off chance I had been wrong. There had been a long pause which made me think that I really had gone mental. Then there had been a soft sigh and I could almost imagine the soft smile Aerith always had on her face.
"Of course it's me. Who else would be talking to you in your head?" Okay I had to give her that one. I couldn't let her know that so I tried to think of an excuse. At the very least, that meant that I wasn't really going insane. Then again, I could be wrong. "Dilly Dally Shilly Shally. I'm just here to tell you to not give up hope."
Not give up hope? Wait… could this have something to do with Lightning! I was getting ready to ask for an explanation until I heard an unexpected yet familiar screaming voice, which caused me to look up and in turn snapped me back into my surroundings.
It was sunny here, but at the same time it was very grassy and full of plant life. Definitely not something I had been used to seeing. It looked like this place had been a perfectly preserved forest and untouched by technology. It's something Aerith would appreciate that's for sure.
I didn't have long to enjoy the scenery because I noticed that Serah had dashed off into the woodland. Noel, who had been watching while I had been in a daze, had now looked over at me with this confused look as if wondering if I knew what was going on or if asking what was wrong with me. Didn't really know what to do in this situation, but I knew that it wasn't smart let a girl run off on her own. "Come on, we have to go after her!"
Wordlessly agreeing with a nod, Noel began running after Serah. I followed closely behind, taking note of how fast Serah had been running. I tried not too much faster than Noel in case he starts suspecting me of something, but I couldn't help but wonder about Serah. I'm not sure what caused her to run off like that but it must have been important.
She ran pretty fast…
