When Sherry sat in the grass, Caius followed suit, but Noel chose to remain standing. He walked a short distance away and leaned against a tree to watch. She wasn't sure how this would go down, especially with Noel there as well, but she turned to Caius with a worried look. He looked back expectantly, and she sighed. She couldn't face him, so she propped her chin on her knees as she started.
She had to try twice before her voice was loud enough to be heard. "I will try to start with the beginning, or at least where I think the beginning is." She glanced over to him and was surprised to see that he wasn't impatient, but he obviously wanted to get it over with. She tried again. "From what I understand, a short time after you make it as a full guardian, Paddra is attacked by another city-state. I don't know a date or who, but the problem is because you had no advance warning."
His sound of shock drew her gaze. His look was incredulous. "But surely the Seeress would have seen something like that!"
She shook her head. "By the time she saw them, they were already on the Steppes near the entrance to Paddra. You had no time to bolster defences or prepare the people. Your only option was to go meet them head-on. It was made worse by the fact that the enemy had sent a group around to penetrate the city from the other side. It was not seen. Your apprentice died defending the Seeress. You ended up-"
She cut herself off. She wasn't sure if telling him that was why he took the Ballad name would be a good move. She was afraid it might influence his choice of apprentice, but then she realized if that were the man picked anyway, it wouldn't matter. She doubted Caius would take the chance of exposing the Seeress to danger, just to save a man he may not have met yet. When she caught his eye, she realized he understood there was something she had stopped herself from saying. She just nodded before she continued. "After it was all over, you ended up commending him for his bravery and took his family name as a show of respect."
His eyes widened. "Is that why I have heard you and Noel reference me as Caius Ballad?" When she nodded, his look turned contemplative. It didn't last long though before he looked back to her. "That sounds troublesome, but surely, that is not all?"
She could feel her heart breaking at the prospect of telling him the rest. He was so dedicated, she didn't want to imagine how he would take it. "No, the battle was where it really started. You ended up facing overwhelming numbers, and you were losing. To keep that from happening, to protect the city and the Seeress, you merged with your eidolon, you merged with Bahamut."
He was shaking his head when she looked over. "I can understand what you are saying, but that is taboo. It is a certain death sentence for any l'cie that try."
She closed her eyes and swallowed before she could continue. Thinking about what would happen and associating it with the flesh and blood man in front of her was more than she could stand. It wasn't an abstract anymore. She still found the voice to continue. "It was. Your transformation turned the tide of the battle. You won, but as soon as they sounded the retreat, you fell to your death."
She could feel the tears pricking her eyes, but she blinked a few times to try and keep them at bay. He was still too shocked to say anything, so she continued. "Etro was moved by your passion and dedication, so she took pity on you and gave you half of her own heart to resurrect you."
He interrupted at that point, and his voice was reverent. "The Goddess took pity and blessed me? With her own heart?"
She nodded, but she had to look away as her tears finally won and started to fall. She wiped her eyes before she looked back, although it didn't do much good as they kept falling. "It was no blessing, no matter what her intentions were. You were given immortal life and set to be the guardian of the Seeress for all time." His confusion was starting to show, and she understood. She was sure he thought that it was a good thing that the Seeress had a guardian that couldn't die, but the horror took time to set in back then too.
She had to swallow before she could speak again. "You were not the only one affected. When Yuel realized that you would spend eternity alone, bound to your duty and having no other life, she prayed that she could join you. Etro could not grant her the same everlasting life, so she blessed Yuel to be reborn and live over and over and over again. Every Yuel shared the same soul, but they were each distinct, unique individuals. You were there to watch them from birth all the way to every one of their early deaths due to the Eyes. Not once did she live long enough to become a woman. You had to watch her die thousands of times."
She couldn't go on from that point, but she didn't need to. Noel had stood at that point and knelt near the two of them. He didn't say anything, but he did look like he wanted to help Caius in some way. As for the Guardian, he looked like he had just been slapped. She realized she might as well have. It probably would have hurt far less than what she did do to him.
She was shocked when Caius reached out and touched the tears that were still falling down her face. They came down harder when she heard his broken tone. "You are not lying. Your heart is breaking for this future. Not because of whatever it is that I may perpetrate, but because I will do it out of pain and rage."
Her brain had obviously taken a vacation at that point as she leaned over and wrapped him in a tight hug. It didn't take long for her better judgement to catch up and she let him go, but he didn't look bothered by it. He seemed to be in shock. He still looked over to her when she sat back. "What will happen if this does not change, besides the horrors you have already described. You said I destroy the world?"
She looked to Noel and Caius followed her gaze. The young man nodded and tried to pick up where she left off. He did have a closer connection to the end then Sherry did. "I cannot claim to know how it all works out for certain, but I can tell you that I have spent a long time trying to undo the paradoxes you created as a means to release the chaos of Valhalla into the world."
Caius' eyes widened further, and he turned to Sherry. She nodded as well. "Noel and his companion, Sarah, were able to finally defeat you, but that was what you wanted. With the half of Etro's heart that you carried destroyed, the Goddess no longer had the strength to hold the chaos back. It entered Pulse, and everything was destroyed, suspended in time and forever stagnant. You did it so that Yuel would no longer have to die. She would never grow, but she wouldn't end either. No one would or could."
He stood at that point and walked away. Sherry knew none of what she told him was pleasant, and there was no way he could accept it without thinking it through. She noticed Noel stand again, but he gave the older man time and space to think. Sherry buried her face in her crossed arms and quit trying to fight the tears. She was glad that she had stuck with her glasses. Her eyes already felt like sandpaper, and there was no way things were going to get easier.
She was drawn out of her self-absorption when Noel suddenly dropped to the ground next to her. She looked up and nearly screamed when she saw his panicked face. "Noel!"
Her cry brought Caius' attention around, and he was instantly by their side. He knelt and helped Noel to his knees at least. It was at that point that Noel held his hands up. Sherry gasped when she saw his hands starting to fade. She grabbed onto his arm. "Noel!" She had so much more she wanted to say, but her brain was scrambled, and nothing else was coming out.
After a few tense seconds, he turned to her with a sad smile. She could tell he was still scared, but his words astonished her. "You must be doing something right. I know that where I'm headed this will all be a dream, if that. I have faith that you'll finish your focus." He then turned to Caius. "Thank you for everything, but this especially."
Caius looked confused and a bit disturbed, but they didn't have time to do anything else. Noel was quickly turning more translucent by the second. His fear finally broke, and he looked up. "It's so cold."
Sherry felt a sob break out of her as she flung her arms around the disappearing man. He was still present enough to appreciate her gesture. "I would like to say I won't forget you. He almost grinned. "Even if I do, I'll always be grateful."
They both knew he would never live this life, so memories of this were not an option. Still, she nodded to him and didn't let go until he was so transparent that she nearly fell through him. At that point, she heard his whisper to Caius as he disappeared completely. "Good luck, Caius."
Both Caius and Sherry sat in silence for several minutes after Noel was gone. Finally, Caius turned to her with a frown. "What happened?"
She sat back again and tried to wipe the tears off again. "His timeline, the world he was born into, no longer exists. I'm guessing that even though you didn't say anything, you took my words to heart and decided to change something. It had to be something drastic as well."
He looked stunned, but only briefly. He sat beside her again and gave her a hard look. "You knew this would happen."
She shook her head. "Not for sure. I suspected something like this would happen though, that is the main reason I wanted to talk to him first. Now that I know for sure, I will have to let everyone know."
He sat in silence for a short time more before he looked back with a troubled look. "Does this mean that if I change my future that he will never live?"
She sighed. "Honestly, I don't know for sure." She looked over with sad eyes. "I don't think that is the case, though. In the pieces of the vision that I was able to understand, I saw him in a place I had never seen before. I think it is probable that he will be born, but into a much better world. He looked happy, at least."
Caius took a few moments to take in what she said before he nodded. "We should return to the others."
She nodded and took his offered hand to stand. The walk back to the house was silent. The little bit of chatter that was going on stopped as soon as they entered. It took a moment for the quiet to register with Sherry, and she finally looked up to see everyone turned to them with various shocked faces. She sighed again and headed up the few stairs to the living room.
She was stopped when Kaylan rushed up to her. The girl grabbed her arms and looked over her face. "What happened?"
Sherry shook her head and turned to look at the men that were all watching. "Noel is gone."
Jerry stood from where he had been talking to Cloud and gave her a shocked look. "He just left?"
Sherry was so ready to go to bed and let the rest of them be damned for the evening, but she sighed and tried to explain. She knew she would have to tell them soon, anyway. She might as well get it over with. "No." She turned to Caius at that point, and he gave her a slight nod. She turned back to the rest. "After I spoke to Caius, he must have decided to change something that significantly changed the future of Pulse. As a result, the Noel we knew, the Noel from the bleak future of Pulse, ceased to exist. I have reason to believe that he will still be born, but the world he will be born into will not know the misery of the one he originally came from."
Several of them started talking at once. Sherry ignored them all as she clung to Kaylan. The girl had wrapped her in a tight hug as soon as she saw tears start to fall again. The noise went on for several minutes longer before Caius spoke above them all. "Enough! We will get nowhere this way. Give her a few moments to collect herself, and she will explain."
Sherry wanted to scream in frustration, but she released Kaylan and leaned against the wall. She looked them all over once more before she closed her eyes and started speaking. "I suspected this might happen and told Noel this morning. He understood and was willing to help if it meant Pulse would be better for it. As for the rest of you, now that he is gone, I believe you will disappear as well when those before you in the timeline believe and figure out what they can do to make changes."
She turned to Cloud. "If I am correct, then you will be the first to disappear. Your lives are not as far apart as Caius and Noel, so you will all be born, but there were certain cataclysmic events in each of your lives that fundamentally changed who you were. If those things never happen, then you will become different people, lead different lives. The futures you were from will collapse in on themselves, which is why you will disappear. You, as you are now, will no longer be."
None of them spoke for several moments. She was sure it couldn't be easy to hear that you would cease to exist. Even if another version of you would. It was surreal for her, so she could imagine how they all felt. The silence was broken when Zack grabbed her and gave her an anguished look. "Does that mean that Angeal won't die!?"
She put a comforting hand over the one he had on her arm. "That's part of the end goal."
"If that's the case, then I don't care what happens to me!"
He had barely finished speaking before Genesis was next to them. His face was contorted in the scariest look she had seen on him yet. "Angeal dies!?"
Sherry had to repress a sigh. She knew she was going to have to tell Genesis that news anyway, but this had to be a harsh way to learn it. She tried to keep her voice even in an attempt to calm him down. "I had hoped to let you know in a different way, but yes, he does end up dying."
Genesis took a step back, and she was afraid for a moment that he was going to make something explode. Before he could, Sephiroth spoke. "While I am not happy to hear this either, we cannot take our anger out on Sherry. She has done nothing to warrant it."
It was clear Genesis couldn't speak. Instead of yelling again, though, he turned and stormed outside. Sherry hoped he had enough sense not to burn the forest down, but she knew that following him out would be a bad idea. She was both surprised and pleased when Sephiroth gave her a slight nod and left as well. She hadn't expected him to go after his one-time friend, but she felt he might believe her at least a little. He had been polite after their first encounter and had even supported her some. If he did believe her, it would explain his wanting to connect with someone he thought had been lost to him.
Once those two were gone, she turned back to the remaining three. Caius had already moved to sit, and she could tell he was still deep in thought, so she spoke to Zack and Cloud. "I know this can't be easy news to hear, but I am nearly positive this is what is supposed to happen."
Zack looked torn, and she could understand after his outburst, but his expression quickly turned to determination. "I wasn't kidding. If the future has Angeal and all the others killed in it, then it will be worth a little sacrifice. Especially since you say that I'll be there to see it."
She nodded. "You won't even remember all of the bad stuff, as it will never happen to you."
Zack's brows drew down, and he shook his head. "It's a hard concept for me to wrap my head around, but I understand the gist of it. It's just kind of weird when I force myself to think about what it means."
She put a comforting hand on his arm briefly before she spoke to Cloud. "Are you alright? You've been quiet."
Cloud seemed to shake himself out of a stupor and nodded. His voice was nearly inaudible when he spoke. "I'm just surprised. It makes sense, but it's just that-"
He cut himself off at that point, but Sherry gave him an understanding look. "I know things are hard for you right now, but I also know that up until you found out, things were finally looking better for you. You have a family, even if you are scared to stay close to them, they occupy your heart."
His look was torn when he nodded. "Yeah."
He didn't need to say anything else. She gave his arm a reassuring squeeze. "I don't think anything I tell you will make this better, but I will do what I can."
He finally shook his head. "No, Zack's right. If we can live to see a better future with all the loved ones we lost, then it's worth it. I won't say the thought doesn't bother me, but… in the end, it'll be worth it. After all, if what you said is true, then we will only disappear if the bad stuff is diverted, right?"
She gave him a nod, which he returned. He didn't say anything else before he headed downstairs. It was at that point that Sherry realized that everyone but she and Caius must have eaten already. She turned to ask him if he wanted anything, but when she saw his face, she decided against it. Instead, she turned to Kaylan and Jerry, who had retreated to the kitchen when Genesis had jumped up. She tried to smile, but it came out more like a grimace. "Is there anything left? I think I'm going to eat and go to bed. This has been a crazy day."
Kaylan immediately pulled a covered plate out of the microwave and handed it to Sherry. She did manage to smile at the gesture. "Thanks." She sat down to eat, but before she got far, she turned to her two friends again. "What are your plans?"
Kaylan sat beside her with a frown. "This is already taking a toll on you. I can see it. Have you stopped crying today at all?"
Sherry gave the girl a lopsided smile. "I'll be fine. I've been through too much to be beaten now. I'll just have to figure out how to deal with it."
Kaylan shook her head with a frown. "Maybe, but that doesn't mean it's okay." She stood at that point, and Jerry joined them. The girl gave Sherry another frown. "I know it has only been a few days, but you need to think about yourself too. Don't overwork just because they're getting upset. If I have to, I will kidnap you."
Sherry stood and gave them both a hug. When she sat back down, she was smiling. "Right now, I don't think I would object if you did. Just make sure to get me back in a reasonable amount of time."
She had only been joking, but Kaylan suddenly got a glint in her eyes. She didn't say anything, though. Jerry patted Sherry on the shoulder. "We'll see you tomorrow. Don't let them push you around."
Sherry waved them out and finished her food. She didn't bother doing more than rinse her plate off when she was done. The rest could wait for the next day. She noticed Zack was still sitting at the table and she patted his arm as she walked by. "If you would like to talk, I can listen. Not just about what we need to talk about either. I've been told I listen well, even if I'm not so good at comforting."
He gave her a sad smile. "That's okay, but I'll keep it in mind."
She gave him a nod and started to turn but stopped and spoke again. "Would you mind letting everyone know that I am done for the day? At least if they come in before you head downstairs anyway." He gave her a nod. That was enough for her as she was more than ready to find her bed. It wasn't very long before exhaustion won out and she passed out.