A/N: okay, so I figured it was time to change things up a little and take things away from Serah and Noel's 'perspectives' to our favorite SOLDIER girl and the one who interferes. While things are happening in the worlds lets see how Etro's champion in doing and how Mel is too. Then we will see where to take things from there, okay? Enjoy!
Valhalla:
'Clang! Clang! Clang!' Swords clashed as each defended well against the next attack of their opponent, feet barely touching the ground as the two warriors continued to exchange blows. One after another, the two were equally matched in strength and speed, no blade made contact other than with metal though both wielders were feeling the effects of fatigue growing ever so stronger as the fight continued.
Lightning skids away from her opponent without breaking eye contact as the enemies sword forced her back. This person came out of nowhere and began to attack her right after she felt her sisters energy level increase and the Interloper's energy vanish without a trace. She knew nothing of the persons reason for attacking but felt as if they were meant to clash swords. The enemy smirked and rested their swords blade with the dull side on their shoulder.
"My my. It has been a long time, Lightning Farron. I never would of thought I would have to clash blades with you, then again orders are orders from the Higher Power themselves. I can't really object now, can I?" The person said evenly with a little smirk playing on their pink lips. Lightning tutted and stood tall, her sword arm hanging loosely while the other rested on her hip.
"After everything that had happened three years ago you finally show your face again. Everyone of us believed you were swallowed by the chaos. We searched, we called, but you never came or gave a reply back to anyone. Now tell me, since we are here, what exactly is your angle?" The person before Light was quiet and their smirk was gone. What was their purpose, it wasn't an easy one to explain, but responded with silence.
"Has Mel returned to this world as Goddess Etro promised?" The person asked quietly, only loud enough to avoid an echo. Light scoffed and it was her turn to grin at the irony before her.
"Of course, and I thought you would have been the first to greet her when she came back instead of the enemy. And you are supposed to be protecting her after all, right?" The person flinches at the sentences and her eyes faltered, breaking the gaze between the two. Her own razor cut bangs curtains her eyes from view as her head hung downwards.
"I know, its sad isn't it? After all this time I spent training I thought I could become your equal in more ways than one. Such as awakening before the great and might Champion of the Goddess. But, that didn't happen, there is one thing I can do that you can't!" The person shouts in defiance and the two began clashing swords once more. Swift and precise movements were matched and the world of Valhalla shook as the battle continued from where it left off. Once the two were caught in a stalemate, trying to force the other into submission or breaking someone's blade with their own, Lightning attacked verbally.
"Really? What is it that you can do that I can't? Last time I checked your not even human!" Light forced her opponent away with a precise kick to the abdomen and connected, her other let out a sharp gasp of pain. Feeling somewhat victorious Lightning felt a change as her leg remained fastened to her enemy. Looking back up to the Champion the enemy smiled and revealed she has trapped Light's leg in a strong hold. Trying to break free the enemy gripped the Champion's leg and lifted her off of the ground in a circular motion until she connected to the ground with a heavy thud and the ground broken becoming a crater. In turn Lightning released all of the air in her lungs and struggled to breathe. Trapping both legs under their own body the enemy started to attack with their fists, Light brought her arms up for protection but was quickly overwhelmed as she didn't recover from the force stealing her ability to stabilize her breathing. Continuing to wail on the Champion the woman above stopped with one last punch and slumped her shoulders. For reasons unknown to Light the woman above her started to chuckle dryly, a strange display when in the midst of battle. And much more surprising when the enemy stops attacking their opponent.
"I don't know why I'm fighting you, Champion. I have no quarrel with you, for I only see you as my opponent. One who will have the benefit of helping me to improve in many ways than one. Truth be told I actually envied you long ago, always jealous and never satisfied with what I had been given. All because of that horrible truth I had been told that day Hope received his Eidolith, Alexander. I could never be your equal no matter how long I train. No matter how long I wished for my prayers to be answered."
Lightning managed to fight the persons weight and shift until she was free and knelt on the ground finally able to breathe and heal herself. It was true for the woman before Light wasn't human but never would she have thought she envied her, of all people. Despite appearances she wouldn't have ever dare guess. Sighing herself Light knew why this woman wasn't the first to greet the Interloper and that was because she was not summoned into battle by her 'Master.' Standing over her opponent Light held her hand out to the person, at first staring at the offered hand in suspicion but gladly accepting it and was pulled up to their feet. The two women were quiet and they walked back to Etro's shrine in silence. After arriving to their destination the silence began to weigh heavily on the two until Lightning spoke up.
"You have gotten stronger. I was actually surprised by how much you've improved since I last saw you at the final battle against Orphan." The other woman perked her head up in surprise by the compliment, a faint tint of pink dusted her cheeks as she turned her head away from the Champion.
"Really? Thanks..." Then silence once more.
After a great length of silence the other woman began to speak.
"I didn't mean when I said I could do something that you couldn't... I was really caught up in the moment. I thought that if I could prove that I was stronger I would become the true Champion of the Goddess and take your place, to show I am better compared to the original." Lightning turned her head in shook it.
"All is forgiven. But then again aside from your looks you are original. The personality you assembled from our pilgrimage in the Ark to Oerba, sets you on a whole different plane from me. However, we just need to give you a different name, we can't have you being called 'Eidolith Light' all the time now, right?" Eidolith Light looks up at Champion Light and agreed. Both thought in silence until an idea popped into the Eidolon's head.
"I got it, how about L.J? L stands for Lightning and J stands for Junior. Its perfect for a copy such as myself!" The Eidolon beams just as Vanille would at the idea but Light disagrees with firm devotion.
"No, something original than just deriving my name to fit you. And I think I may have a suitable name for you. Fang and Vanille taught us their forgotten language long ago and there was a word that stood for Light I liked." Pushing away from the railing Lightning placed a hand on the head of her duplicate and said the name.
"Aura. Aura Farron, sounds fitting right?" The Eidolon took a bit to process the new name, the new identity and smiled.
" I love it!"
"Say, Aura?" Light's voice was subtle, masking the faint curiosity within her intent.
"Yeah, Light..?" The Eidolon responds, lowering her sword from above as if used to shield her eyes from a powerful bright source.
"Could you tell me what it was you thought you could do that I couldn't." The Champion asked bluntly, with no hesitation. Her counterpart however hesitated to answer.
"Do you really want to know?" She asked in a low tone, almost softer than a whisper. Light wasted no time responded as if interrogating the woman.
"Of course. Unless it's supposed to be kept secret and someone else has to tell us like Mel did about her gender and then later with the new knowledge that our world not only connects with her own world but was made by it." It took a while but feeling a bit afraid Aura answered.
"Don't take this the wrong way but I think I have the better half of feeling emotions and expressing them more than you ever could in so many years. And that before I came here I reached out to Mel and told her something that may have made this relationship between the three of us being sisterly more awkward than you could ever believe." Upon hearing this Light shot Aura a death glare, grabbed the woman by the collar of her armor and said in a sickly calm voice,
"What did you tell her?" Now the Eidolon mentally began sweating bullets behind her own distant mask of strength before saying,
"Its a long story."
"Then get to explaining, otherwise I'll just have to put it on hold and figure out what to do with this chaos." Light released Aura and walked over to the railing, her expression placid as she examined the world of Valhalla, feeling the history flowing into her mind to see what had happened back in the human realm. She was not pleased with what she saw on her sister's journey. Aura walked back to the woman and felt a disturbance, a very recent one, one that sent chills through her spine it could have frozen her very soul.
"What was that?" She asked. As the Eidolith exhaled clear frozen white air escaped her lips.
"I don't know but there is a paradox nearby. A very powerful one that I could feel the chaos cower in fear. I tried finding it several times but found nothing."
Light then turned back to the Throne of the Goddess, reaching her hand out until it reached the light shinning from above. She closed her eyes and focused as if searching for something mentally. Without stopping she spoke below her normal voice level and said to herself,
"Lets just hope the kid can handle this on her own."
Elsewhere:
"Enough stalling! Mel, you came to us on your own. And you expect me to take it easy on you!? I'll be damned if I give you so much as a second break. War will surely rip you apart until there is nothing left! Now, grab your sword and fight me!" Kid shouted darkly as the chosen Interloper continued to cough up blood from a powerful strike to the face with the hilt of Kid's sword. Ever since they started Kid fought relentlessly, showing no mercy no remorse when her student was in so much pain from such sudden, powerful precise attacks. Mel couldn't see, her vision blackened quickly from the lack of sleep, lack of food and water. Body shaking it was unbearable with the added fatigue and beating she gained from her teacher. Kid on the other hand looked healthy, right as rain, glaring at the one who the Gods picked lying in the decimated ground in a pool of her own blood.
"Pathetic..." Kid growled between her clenched jaw and walked to her student. The crash course was suppose to help Mel see what real war is like, what it means to fight for your life and that involved standing your ground and preparing to kill or be killed no matter your opponent. You don't get a break in a battle, you'll be deprived of all that the body and mind needs to survive. Its a matter of time until someone's will breaks and Winters, she already failed and had been killed more times in this training she will not have a chance of ever being reborn.
"Get up, now..." Kid warned Mel dangerously calm, though her voice was venomous. Mel, too weak to respond, looked up with tears in her swollen eyes and blood leaking from her nose, lips and on her bruised cheek. Her body, mind and soul was beaten to the point thinking brought nothing but pain to her, a pain that can never be mended. Despair and weakness. All she could manage was a rough shake of her head. She had enough. Kid stared in disbelief at the given answer, she was told no. Kid glared over at Lumina, who watched from afar, as if looking to her for answers. But the young girl was frowning and shook her head in disapproval. Kid could only agree.
"Tell me, Interloper." Kid began as she spat the last word out as if acid, and clutched Mel's collar to hoist the earthling up in the air off of the ground.
"The strength you had long ago, when you were here as a branded L'cie. Tell me, where did that strength go? WHERE DID THE RESOLVE YOU HAD WITH THAT UNBREAKABLE SPIRIT AND FIGHT GO, DAMN IT!?" Kid had a desperate look in her eyes, her dark nature began to expose itself when large patches of her silver hair mixed within her chocolate brown locks and those feral crimson eyes flashed and remained there in place. Mel gurgled from her blood filled mouth and fell unconscious, the red substance falling to the ground in several certain flows as the owner of the bloods head slumped forward. Kid shook the dead weight until she felt satisfied, blood flying in all directions to having her clothes stained, screaming and cursing even though the girls word fell on deaf ears. And Lumina finally met her limits.
"Knock it off, Kid. You knew from the very beginning this crash course of yours was going to be a failure long before you two started. The reason she is reluctant is obvious, right?" The younger companion scolded the teen firmly looking her square in the eyes with no fear. Kid dropped the body she held, kicked it a few yards away and glared at the younger girl.
"SHUT UP! Like you know shit! If your so resourceful then tell me why isn't she fighting the same way she fought when her memories were threatened?! What has changed since then? A greater threat appears and this so called 'Interloper' is afraid of doing what she was chosen to do; protect the worlds from threats. She can't even hold her own against me and I was barely using a fraction of my power! The Chaos will win without having to put up a fight!" The anger that Kid had grew and the darkness swirled around the teen uncontrollably, the evil that Kid harbored was awakening again but Lumina snapped her fingers and all that unstable energy vanished, the Chaos no longer quivered in fear, and Kid fell to the ground wrapped in a sealing straight jacket. Dark as her heart with luminous seals around the arms of the jacket. Jumping off from her spot Lumina tossed Kid aside and looked to Winters, meters away now, sending a strong healing spell to the Interloper. Kid's eyes widen in horror and fury at the action.
"What the HELL are you doing!? Don't heal her! You stupid piece of-." Suddenly the teen was cut off and Lumina let out a heavy sigh.
"Shut up already, will you? I know what I'm doing. I know I caused some grief to provoke this kid but think about it, if I remember correctly you were the same when you were born and brought to a world that wasn't your own: both born from the same soul, one embraced the darkness and was consumed by such to have gained the 'ultimate' power paid in full with the ultimate price. The other is afraid of the unknown and had not be given the choice to pick which road she should walk in fear of losing herself to the evil hanging over her shoulder and, also, be consumed. But if left unchecked this haunting darkness appears and will consume its reluctant prey, then she will have no hope of ever returning back to a human being. An empty puppet with an evil puppeteer pulling its useful strings, doing anything to causing mayhem or even destroying all the worlds. Like I said its obvious, if this training regiment is done properly and quickly the darkness will be sealed and she will have nothing to fear. But, like what the Interloper told her mortal friends once, it is up to her to take that first step in controlling the light and shadows instead of being controlled by the two or one of the other." Mel began to stir and Lumina slightly grinned.
"Maybe your way of teaching isn't effective. But I think I can straighten her out. Just give me some time to work her out and we will see the end results, if she passes my class I'll give her to you. Sounds fair right?" The magic Lumina used on Kid sealed even her voice from being used further so the older teen couldn't object, even if she tried. Getting up, relief washed over her body Mel could see and felt no more pain, and looked around. Time is useless here so why was she looking for it when her phone was left in her home world. However, the air around Mel felt different, the air felt heavier and a faint dark aura began to form around her. Lumina and Kid noticed the differences. Discarding the energies presence Lumina acted as if nothing changed, or feeling the Chaos shift.
"Wow, it took you longer to wake up from your little nap than when you were under my control at Lake Bresha! Not surprising, the real surprise: it's my turn to train you, so pick up your sword." Chaos swirled around the smaller girls right arm until it conceived a strange weapon, it appeared to be a Japanese Nagamaki with a Swiss dagger at the end of both weapons connecting the two with a sturdy chain. With a raised hand Mel's buster blade flew back into her hands and she faced her new teacher; the darkness around the Interloper grew a little heavier, her eyes looked feral and cat like crimson as Kid's eyes and her bangs held platinum silver hair. Lumina smirked externally but inwardly frowned.
'Malice is overwhelming Ventus, soon whatever light this girl has left in her heart will be extinguished and there will be no turning back. If not controlled, not only will Mel's humanity and mind be at stake, the damage will be permanent and irreversible and its bye bye to the balances of all connected, non connected, and existing worlds.'
"Alrighty then, Interloper. Here is what you're going to need to hear: if you want to learn technique you will need courage to fulfill the said techniques. Be hesitant and well, you know the end results. Courage, a level head and a not so thickened cloud of evil will get you to learn what the basic job descriptions of being the Interloper. Everything else you will learn along the way of your journey and the latter. And the first lesson is; get rid of that evil clouding your heart!" Lumina then threw her Swiss dagger at Mel and the Interloper caught it by the hilt, blade right in front of her eyes. Taking the initiative Lumina dashed and attacked with a swift kick to the head then unsheathed her Nagamaki and strikes her students abdomen. The blade connected to flesh but only grazed the surface and the pinknette' enemy vanished right in front of her eyes. Surprised to see the end of her sword dropped by the end of the chain Lumina examined her surroundings, feeling a shift from beneath her feet she jumped from her spot and found that her opponent attacked with a raised blade, tip pointed skyward, from underground and missed her target. With her back facing her enemy Lumina threw her Swiss dagger again but followed it and Mel intercepted the blade with her hand and thrust her blade forward. Lumina ducked and used the butt of her sword to whack the possessed Interloper's hand, dropping her sword in the process, and swung her sword across the taller teen's chest diagonally. Blood splattered across the dark ground and the Interloper was taken aback from the explosive pain. The sudden attack did a number on the taller teen and the darkness from within grew as she felt her own hatred rise. The white of Mel's eyes became black, more brown hair exchanged their color for silver and the blue glow of the buster blade changed to crimson red. These changes did not go unnoticed. Placing a hand on her hip and lowering her sword Lumina gave Mel a bemused look.
"Hmm... Why is the darkness only growing? That is very strange, but it isn't strange that your not focusing your efforts to even attempt to control that malice seeping from your body and taking over." Mel was silent, and her dark glare almost made the girl born in Chaos shiver. Bringing her hand to the bridge of her nose a conclusion came to mind.
"You really are giving up, huh? Wow! How tragic, the worlds are coming to an end all because the one the Gods chose decided to just give up and let the chaos consume her... I pity your friends and I even pity your sister. I feel so sad that she has such a failure of a sister like you." Provoked by those words Mel was already upon Lumina, sword returned to its master instantly, but her sword was deflected and thrown away with a strong, precise hit of the smaller pinknette's finger. Taking hold of Mel's collar Mel attempted to strangle the smaller girl but felt frozen in place.
"Okay so attacking with your eyes open was a bad idea. Here is a tip: when all you see are shadows you use all of your available senses to find the light. The color of each person or monster takes on a different color of light, until you can see only that source in the dark all of the shadows will be gone and even your own will be replaced with light. So, I'm going to blindfold you, you must find me with your senses and be able to search for my 'light color.' If you are able to do this the darkness controlling you may loosen its hold on you, taming it in the process. At least until we find a better solution, this method is only temporary." With that said Lumina placed a hand over Mel's eyes and pulled the 'light' out of them until her evil eyes were dull and no longer focused on anything like she did when her vision remained. Releasing the Interloper Lumina began her work. At first Mel ran her hands over her eyes as if it would bring back the light, many attempts later the Interloper continued to act as a savage animal ripping away their face that had been caught in a bear trap. Fear had replaced the anger and the changes to the Interloper's appearance returned to its original state.
"Shnk! Shnk! Shnk!" Metal scrapped against what may have been a much finer material a few times then, suddenly, the sound stopped. Mel stopped clawing her fingertips over her eyes and listened, trying to steady her already shaking body.
'Whip!' Metal cut through air swiftly and had slashed through the taller teens back. Upon the hit Mel took a few steps forward from the pain and swung her sword sideways in ninety degrees to hit nothing. Placing both hands firmly on the hilt, standing ready for attack. Mind no longer clouded with hatred but not as sharp as it was supposed to be or been 'years' ago.
'Crap, crap, crap, crap! What the hell is going on!? First, I pass out from Kid's training. Second, I woke up with my vision becoming dark and I saw nothing but red, (Not to mention everything clear as day when its night time.) and feeling nothing but angry and hateful and heavy like the world was against me. Now, after finally having some sort of control again I can't see and now I'm getting attacked! How am I supposed to find people's 'aura color' if I want to pass this test and if I can't see!?'
"Stop thinking! Focus on finding me!" Lumina shouted and her sword had slashed across Mel's right shoulder, where the metal limb that connected to the metal clip of the flesh, had been cut off clean and fell to the ground with a thud. With the weaker arm available the panic within Mel started growing into hysteria. Another slash connected to Mel's legs and the pain made her collapse to her knees. One lucky shot came as Mel defended against an oncoming attack to the head but did not expect a follow up attack, a sharp piercing feeling torn through the flesh as the Swiss dagger ran though the skin and past the muscle behind the shoulder. The smaller blade remained in there for a while longer, blood staining the flesh of the owner and the blade as a whole, and had been slowly pulled out.
"Your terrible at this. Are you even trying to find me in the dark? Come on, this may help you with your fear of the unknown, but it's you who has to take that first step towards a brighter future." Lumina taunted again with a stoic expression as she successfully removed her Swiss dagger. Out of impulse Mel reached out her left arm and felt around until she felt the familiar shape of a chain. Grasping it firmly in her hands Mel pulled roughly at the chain and started circling the links around her hands to bring her target closer and began to swing her sword wildly to hit her enemy. Lumina struggled against this and tried to pull her weapons back to have it back in her sole possession to avoid playing tug of war but desperation was playing with Mel and Lumina knew she was still human acting impulsively, unlike herself.
"Okay, I see what your doing but this is cheating! If you don't do what I had told you to do and find me using every one of your available senses I will be forced to throw you into the oblivion called the Chaos, and this time I'll make sure no one knows of your existence. So no one will ever remember you, no one will save you. Not even the Goddess's little Champion!" Feeling the threat to be very likely to happen the chain went slack and Lumina had control of her weapons again. This was it, the last chance to,actually listen and follow directions, if there was another screw up then the threat will become reality. Lumina leaped meters away from her target and shouting her intentions with her hands cupped around her mouth.
"Like I said, this is your last chance to find my aura color. Using only your available senses. Don't let fear control you, don't let your mind submit into the process of analysis, keep yourself calm. Breathe, and feel your own energy being attracted to another, as if connecting, and the light will be shown to you. Just make sure you time your attacks, otherwise I can guarantee only death will greet you after this." Now, the smaller girl started to walk casually towards the Interloper, letting the tip of her Nagamaki scrap against the ground. The sound screeched lightly in Mel's ears who winced at every scrap and it only grew louder as her heartbeat did with the sensation of fear growing again. Mel swallowed heavily and closed her blind eyes. Her breathing was rapid and uneven so she recalled a relaxing memory of the day at the beach with her sister and her breathing became stable. Her mind began to run wild from the screeching of metal against the earth, claws against a chalkboard, and did her best to clear her mind and blocked out the sound. The sensations from all around crashed over Mel spiritually until there was something in the darkness, a sort of feeling that felt like danger was coming closer and a very faint glow followed. It was faint even as it grew closer but Mel finally managed to see what it was; a carnation pink light!
'That has to be Lumina! I have to get this right or else... It's over for me, permanently.'
Standing with the buster blade drawn the Interloper waited until the light was in range of attack. First it vanished from the darkness but a strong smell of something unfamiliar entered the taller teens smell and the light appeared again, right in front of her.
'Now!' Swinging the buster blade vertically the massive metal connected to another metal and that deflected metal had grazed over the Interloper's cheek. All was still, no sound made beside the sound of a trembling heart and anxiety. When the silence had finally taken hold of its prey Mel could see again and standing before her was Lumina smirking and with a sword broken by the tip.
"Pass." The single word made Mel's heart drop. Not the word she was waiting to hear yet.
"Already? But I didn't do very well against Kid! I can't hold my ground very well as I thought I could but!-" Mel was interrupted abruptly by her mentor either way.
"Look, you did what I asked and you passed. This exercise was supposed to help you to understand a sort of principle that very few follow in a world what it means to be the one being burdened by a responsibility no one else can shoulder. 'The world is dark, no matter what religion says. Everyone will always have to travel blind to find enlightenment, true paradise, no God or Angel will always be there to shield one from the unknown as the road is one that can not be seen. Fear of the dark will lead one to oblivion, if you embrace the shadows then the light you seek will be known to you'. If you don't truly understand then let the world be your guide and do what I told Kid to do once..."
"What did you tell her to do?" Mel wondered, curious to now know for a fact that Kid is really her other self. The her she once wanted to become but was lost to the evil of temptation.
"Turn over a new leaf. Start a new, fresh chapter in your book of Life, a stepping stone to help you grow better as a person, a fighter and most important of all: as the Interloper. But don't come crying to us for answers, use the world as your guide and it will help you seek the answers you need to solve this mess, okay?" Soon a portal revealed itself from behind the smaller girl and it showed Serah and Noel exploring somewhere from the inside rather than outside like previous sites. Mel didn't want to go but with all of her belongings returned to her what else was there to do now than to accept the consequences; again.
"Are you sure that I'm ready? Ready to do what I once did long ago and not fear being consumed as well?" Mel wasn't ready, that's how she felt but it wasn't always her choice. From the start she knew that everyone is being controlled by something that cannot be opposed nor accepted, that no ones choices are truly their own, like Kid said once before the battle against Orphan there will be a day when you will decide on your free will.
"I really don't have time for this so just go ahead already!" With that said Lumina shoved a reluctant and protesting Mel through the gate and both vanished into the night. Kid was finally released from her bounds but she looked bored than angry now. She glared at Lumina then and walked through a portal of pure chaos alone, vanishing from her companion. Alone herself Lumina stared at the supposed to be sky with a dreamy look in her eyes and spoke to herself, as if addressing another person,
"I know what you intend to do, and I'm going to change your plans. I'm made from pure Chaos, what does the Great and Almighty have to say about that? Not like you can read your own creations anyway. Go.. Go ahead and send down your worst, once this body is destroyed you'll be making another that will defy your wishes either way. I'm ready, are you yet?"
A/N: okay this, I noticed, is a longer chapter than normal. (Unless you count the prequel and some of its chapter.) Maybe this time the Interloper may find out what it means to fulfill her role and finally get on track to solving these anomalies, you know..? But that is for another chapter. Hope, this chapter was alright, please leave a review(it really helps) and the same old same old. Well, like always until next time, Ciao!
