That is right everyone.

I… am… BACK!!! -cheers- Didja miss me?

Aww come on.

I know you did.

Admit it!

Admit it now!!!!

This is just a short chapter to get myself back into the flow. I'm kinda lost… .

Anyway, if you're wondering where I went, I was in a competition where I had to write 50000 words in 30 days. Managed it in 28. 27 if you don't count the fact that I skipped one day :P It's called the National November Writing Contest (NaNoWriMo) .org/eng/user/556350

And there you have the link to my profile page! Synopsis and preview of the story I was writing for it is there.

It's still not done, if you're wondering. I'm only starting chapter 11 . I've got a loooooooong way to go… I'm aiming for thirty chapters.

Which is about 150000 words.

-sigh-

Anyway… I've kept you guys waiting long enough.

Let's get on with the story!

(PS: If you missed me, press the rectangular review button at the bottom 3 And I know you did, so press it)

.:Chapter Twenty:.
A Distant Memory

Tenebrae

"Noctis!"

An enthusiastic Stella threw herself into her fiancé's arms. Noctis, being a well-brought up Prince, caught her in said arms.

"Stella?" He should not sound so surprised, he guessed, seeing as she was going to marry him – or at least, she thought she was – soon. "I was looking for you. Could I talk to you for a sec-"

"You're back." She smiled at him warmly, interrupting him in the middle of his sentence. Noctis shut his mouth and waited. "It's nice to see you again, at last. Where were you? What took you so long? Is she dead at last?" Her rapid-fire questions were eager and filled with anticipation of a detailed description of how he killed Larielle – Lightning, he corrected himself – Farron.

Noctis rubbed the back of his neck. "Um… Stella?"

"Was it bloody? Was it painful?"

"Stella…?"

"Did she scream?"

"Stella."

"Tell me Noctis!! What happened?"

"Stella."

"Noctis, come on, you can tell your fiancée. I won't tell anyone, I promise!"

"Stella."

"Pretty please?"

"Stella?"

"C'mon, Nocty! I really won't tell anyone! Please?"

"Stella!!"

"Yes?" She looked innocently at him. Noctis resisted the urge to knock himself out on the nearby wall at the woman's annoying high-pitched squeal.

My poor, poor eardrums…

You see, this is what you get for not voicing up earlier.

Thanks, voice in my head. I'll keep it in mind the next time my parents ever decide that I need another wife.

No problem, matey.

"Noctis?"

"Yeah?"

"You look weird."

"Mm-hm."

"Sorta like… constipated."

"I'm sorry?"

"Constipated." At his blank face, Stella elaborated, "Kinda like when you can't poop, but you know the poop is there, and your butt hurts afterwards…"

Noctis gave her an extremely strange look.

You can think, big guy.

I know I can. That is why I exist, and not you.

… Fuck you.

"Noooooooooooctis?"

"Yeah?" Noctis winced inwardly at her whiny voice.

"I wanna cookie."

"… What?"

"Cookie. It's a little brown biscuit made of dough with things inside-"

"I know what a cookie is, Stella."

"You said my name!"

"I take it now isn't the time to talk to you, then?"

"Huh?"

"… Never mind…"

It was never a good idea to talk to Stella on a sugar-high.

--

Pulse

The wild-looking dark-haired woman landed lightly on her feet on the grass. Judging by the number of profanities and shrieks behind her, her pursuers were not far behind.

Blue cloth fluttered in the wind as she sped onwards, her double-headed red-and-black spear in her hands in case any monster should jump at her, or her pursuers even. Her wild, wavy hair blew out behind her as she ran, her laughter marking out the clear path for the pursuers.

She was not afraid.

She would be ready to face them if they came.

"This way! She went this way!"

The high, sweet voice of her female pursuer rang out clearly behind her, and then there were crashes and snaps, and some loud cursing on the part of her male pursuer.

"Get her!"

"I've got it!"

An arrow with a rope attached buried itself in the tree in front of her, but Oerba Yun Fang, as this wild woman was called, merely leaped over it. Her golden skin shone in the sunlight as she landed in a patch of sun, but then it was thrown back into shadow when she ran forwards, back under the trees.

There was a cry of victory somewhere to her left, right before she was tackled. Her right arm skidded against the pebbly ground, leaving light traces of blood.

"Ow, ow, ow… Get off me, you big lug."

"Sorry Fang." Gadot shifted so he wasn't squishing the woman anymore. Fang took one look at his mud-covered face, and stifled a giggle.

"Did you have to tackle me?"

"Yeah…"

Just then, the pink-haired, mud-covered female pursuer ran up. "TICKLE HER!!!" Serah yelled, and ran over, scrabbling at Fang's ticklish spots with her fingers.

Fang started to laugh. "S-serah!! S-s-stop!!"

"Nu!!"

"P-please!!"

"YOU PUSHED ME INTO A PUDDLE OF MUD!! MUD!!! And this was my favourite shirt too…"

"You wear the same thing every day, Serah!" Gadot chuckled as he helped the happy-go-lucky teen in 'torturing' their friend. "It's starting to get boring-" He yelped when said happy-go-lucky teen turned to him and started to rub her knuckles into his orange hair.

"SERAH!!! Since when have you become so mean?" Gadot whined, trying to break free of her amazingly strong grip.

"I always was, Gad-gad!"

"You can say that again," Fang said weakly, still recovering from her 'torture'.

"What, Gad-gad?"

Gadot scowled. "Don't call me that."

"But-"

"Do. Not. Call. Me. That."

"Gad-"

"On the pain of death."

"G-"

"Serah, I'm warning you."

"Gad-gad!!"

"That's it." Gadot broke free of her grip and caught her by her slender waist and flung her around in the air. She shrieked with laughter.

"You guys are such good friends." Fang shook her head in amusement.

"We know!" they replied in unison. Gadot set Serah down, and they both exchanged big grins. Fang chuckled when they raised their eyebrows together.

But her laughter didn't last long.

Fang's two companions – one strawberry-haired and the other orange-haired – both lunged at her at the same time, and lifted her up in the air. For a girl of her size, Serah sure had strength disproportionate to her slender figure; Fang had to give her that.

"Put me down!!"

"No!"

"No- ow! Fang!!!"

"Serves you right, Gadot!" Serah laughed.

"No fair! How come you didn't bite her?"

"She tastes nasty."

"I do not!"

"Yes you do!"

"Gadot tastes worse."

"And you would know, Monster from the Mud."

"Hey!! YOU PUSHED ME!!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!!"

"Did too!!"

"Did not!!!"

"DID TOO!!!"

"Wrap it up-"

"NO!!" The two girls yelled in unison, and promptly fell over laughing.

Gadot sighed.

It was times like this that made him feel like he was a father of two extremely naughty girls.

Yeah, it's really random.

I apologize.

It's because the NaNo story I'm writing HAS to be dark and angsty. It is.

With the exception of some guy being bitten in the arse by a dog in the middle of a serious conversation.

-shifty eyes-

I'll have to edit that out…

So anyway, this is one entire month of writing humor held back til now.

Well, most of the humor is going to go to It's Just A Crush...

This is one quarter of a month of writing humor held back. :)

Reviews make me feel loved :) And will also give you faster updates!!

In the next chapter, I PROMISE to make it longer, and to pick it up where I left off.