Draco: Nasty head impact left me with stitches in my hair. I feel like a Frankenstein's monster. These things itch like hell, and you can't scratch them.

More than enough bright sides to make up for it, though. VI-ing isn't as much of a problem as I thought it would be after Bravely Default, so I'm good there. I forgot how drastically different Time and Eternity was from the Tales series, so that issue is a non-issue. I finally got Type-0 HD, and the day-one edition with the XV demo no less. Gameplay is very different, but not a bad different. If you dislike XIII, you will [[SincerityMode love]] Type-0. And I've started figuring out how to avoid mistakes with III's NES version, which means a couple hours of grinding should be more than enough to handle anything short of the Iron Giant.

Yes, I am aware the Iron Giant doesn't exist in the NES version.

Dissidia Final Fantasy and all related properties © Square Enix.

World of Darkness: Idle Conversation

"Feeling better?"

Onion Knight's voice echoing through far darkness caused Lucent Storm to turn. The boy was standing near the entry, and upon receiving her gaze, he quickly hopped on the nearest lightstream to the high platform where she was resting. "Terra mentioned you took a couple shots from that Fleeting Flash in Lightning's armour." Then, before she had a chance to respond; "Remind me to come up with a name for that thing."

"I know for certain that you are not the one who named the manikins," Lucent mused. "And what's more, if it is still alive, why are you concerned about naming it?"

"It's not," Onion mused, in response to the second question, before continuing to answer the first. "I just figured I was the only one who was going to come up with a name for it. Lightning is way too business for that, and Prishe seems a little... forgetful. I don't think she was around for any cycles that had manikins." Then, with a shake of his head; "Look, are you doing alright?"

Lucent nodded. "We are fine," she insisted. "A short dip into the Void, and we have recovered. After the haste at which we returned to the war, we do not understand why you are concerned about a couple strikes from a manikin."

Onion shrugged. "Lightning said those things take you out for good," he mused. "I figured I had reason to be concerned."

"In the war, true warriors would hold back to some extent or another," Lucent corrected. "Against other warriors, even Chaos' pawns would end a fight when their opponent has fallen only enough to lose their memories in preparation for the next cycle. Manikins have no such restraint, and would fight until their victim is granted the mercy of a true death. They were threats due to that lack of restraint, and the abundance with which they appeared - not for their strength."

"Alright," Onion mused. "Sue me for asking."

"Why have you returned here?" Lucent asked.

"Terra's tired from the encounter with that manikin," the boy explained. "Apparently she didn't rest before you two came looking for me. I thought my cover was kind of lacking, but I just wanted to get her out of there before I figured out who was hiding. Once she's rested, we're gonna do a couple laps of the battlefields."

Lucent did not bother asking why - that was simply unnecessary information.

+x+x+x+

"I'm still not convinced..."

Lightning was sitting at the bench on the Phantom Train's station to Dream's End, thinking. The train had arrived more than once, but Lightning had just ushered it on without boarding - and she had kept her eyes on the vessel, watching for any sign of the manikin's crystal. There had been nothing, not even the smallest shard to indicate it had ever been there. Still, she was uncertain; after the persistence the manikins had shown during the war - and in hell - she was wary of believing it would be so easy to be rid of one, in these battlegrounds, as simply felling it in battle.

Armoured footsteps sounded behind her, and the flash leaned her head back. "Run into him, yet?"

"You knew he would arrive?"

The voice caused Lightning to whirl around, reaching for her Blazefire Saber. She was astonished to find Garland standing there, fully armoured, with his massive blade in hand. After a brief moment, she remembered that Garland would be on guard at the Edge of Madness; reasoning that he would not be so quick to combat as he had been in the war (though slightly confused as to what he was doing here), she loosened her stance, though kept one hand near her weapon.

"Do you honestly just carry that thing everywhere?" she inquired. "Seems like it would do a number on your arm."

Garland glanced at his weapon; after a moment, a dark light wrapped it - similar to, but distinct from, that of the blackcrystal throne - and it vanished from his hand. "I find myself more comfortable with a weapon in my hand," he admitted, turning to Lightning.

The flash parted her hand from her gunblade. "What are you doing here?" she demanded. "I thought you were stuck on Chaos' seat until someone came and took..." Her eyes went wide as she trailed. "Kefka went straight to the Edge after I kicked his ass onto the throne from the Chaos Shrine."

"So you were responsible for his state," Garland observed. "Impressive."

"Not all of it," Lightning admitted. "I had to beat him up at least once, and he was weak enough from hell that that was easy."

Garland hummed. "So he had emerged from the underworld connected to the battlegrounds. His arrival seemed more befitting the Rift... but that is no concern of mine."

Lightning rolled her eyes. "Sorry if I've got the wrong idea," she admitted, "but I get the feeling Chaos isn't going to bring his warriors out of there like Cosmos does. He probably found some link to the Rift and used it to rebound here."

The stalwart glanced around. "In any case, what are you doing here?"

He did not receive an answer immediately; Lightning turned and took her seat on the bench again. She was close to one end, and he made his way towards the other end as she asked; "You can't go to the Sanctuary, can you?"

"Did you believe I could?" Garland inquired.

"Not the way you serve Chaos," Light mused. "I'll bet my bottom gil you've been serving him since the first cycle of war. And if I've figure those things out, you can only go to the throne of the god you served, right?"

Garland nodded. "What does it matter?"

Lightning sighed. "We had a manikin here, straight out of hell," she explained. "Terra made it rain, and the Warrior said that's enough to get rid of it, but I can't shake the feeling we're not really done with that thing."

"You must have fought some creatures of a truly durable species in your homeworld quite frequently," Garland observed. "Nothing mortal should be able to survive such thorough destruction."

"It's not just that it's a manikin," the flash protested. "That armour I made from the manikin crystal, the one it took the form of... I made that with hell's desperation pulling at memories I don't actually remember. Even after my dive. Something from a second journey in my homeworld. I know it couldn't possibly be that powerful, but... manikins have proved me wrong before."

Garland snickered. "That fight at the gate to the Rift left you with quite the impression, didn't it?"

Lightning sighed. "You have no idea."

The train arrived again, and this time Lightning got to her feet and boarded, with intent to find Gabranth and tell him of the change in situation.

+x+x+x+

This time, no unfound memories - kind or cruel - caught Terra's mind as she slumbered, and she woke no more eager to dive into the waters of harmony than she had been before. Onion Knight was nowhere to be seen as she roused herself; curious, she descended to the lower level of near darkness and approached the wall where the sensory portal was placed, hoping to talk to him about another sparring session - the memories had been coming between their swordplay lessons, and she needed a kinder memory before she tried to endure the current of memories.

She found her train of thought cut off when she connected with the barrier instead of a portal.

With a grunt, she stumbled back, gripping her head where it had struck the crystal surface, and glared at the wall. "What the...?" Curious, she reached her hand out, setting it upon the wall as though expecting it to give way - but to no avail. The surface was as solid as ever. She raised her hand and cast a brief Libra, wondering if the portal had been hidden, but there was nothing. She circled the walls of near darkness, wondering if maybe she was going the wrong way - but there was nothing.

"Is something the matter?"

Terra whirled round, raising her gaze to see Lucent Storm standing on the platform where she had just been sleeping. Her feet were set upon the surface below her, and her tentacles were curled around her arms. Warily, she reached back, prepared to cast or call magic the moment it was needed. "What's going on?" she demanded. "What happened to the portal to the other version of the battlefield?"

Lucent shook her head. "If you intend to leave, you need not worry," she insisted. "The battlefield is no longer suspended in separate zones. The Warriors of Cosmos called this state... 'Omega', I believe?"

"Omega..." Terra lowered her gaze. "You mean it's going to change?"

"Yes," Lucent confirmed. "The boy asked me to release the separate suspension of the darkness as a precautionary measure, should Palazzo decide to visit this area in pursuit of the slave crown he holds. The battlefield can only be accessed in its neutral state. I have remained near enough to you while you have slumbered that the darkness' shift will take this form."

"Where is Onion?" Terra asked.

Lucent shook her head. "He is atop the Crystal Tower, on guard in case the harlequin - or any others who resist coexistence - should arrive."

Terra sighed. "He should really stop pushing himself..."

A darkness draped the area, and Terra raised her gaze as the world was blinded to her. For a brief moment, she felt the surface beneath her feet vanish; then they connected with crystal again, and the darkness faded to reveal that the World of Darkness had returned to its neutral state.

Lucent hummed, glancing around. "I should wonder what would happen if there is only one Warrior here when the darkness comes..."

"I'm going to go talk to him," Terra insisted. "You're free to stay."

"Won't have it any other way," Lucent mused.

+x+x+x+

Onion was in his Ninja garb when Terra found him on the tower's spire. Upon the Esperkin flying up next to him, he only slipped down so he was at the edge, providing a more comfortable place for her to sit next to him. "Lucent tell you?"

"Yeah," Terra confirmed. "You could've warned me you were going to do that."

"I came up with it while we were talking," Onion explained. "I didn't want to wake you - you looked comfortable."

Terra shrugged. "Thanks."

The two of them fell quiet, Onion's gaze on the doorway below.

"Can I ask you something?"

Terra's question only prompted the little knight to shrug. "By all means."

The Esperkin hesitated briefly. "When you mentioned... you had memories, through four pairs of eyes. Have you... Do you..." She stumbled over her words for a moment, thinking. "Can you remember... anything... welcome?"

"Why do you ask?" Onion inquired.

"It's just... what Lightning said about her dive," Terra explained. "She said she got the end of her journey at the start, and it was a good end, and... she clung to that memory, and it helped her endure. And you mentioned, before... that what memories you had were good memories. But..." She sighed. "A good memory... isn't always a welcome memory."

Now the little ninja turned to face her fully. "What do you mean?" he asked. "How does that work?"

Terra called Ragnarok to hand, holding it before her. "One of the memories I picked up recently... There was someone, who was part of the people who were imprisoning me. But she wasn't willing to treat me the way the others were. She actually helped me. She healed my wounds. She was patient with me. That's a good memory." She shook her head. "But even during that... I knew that it was a small kindness. I was still surrounded by people who wanted to use me, abuse me. So... it's not a welcome memory."

"...I see," Onion murmured. "And you figure something like that - a good feeling surrounded by bad - isn't going to be enough to help you through if you try to dive."

"Exactly," Terra admitted. "And it's not just me. When I told you, fighting through your memories would be hell enough to make you an Onion Knight - a real one, like you wanted - I wasn't lying. The way you described it, hating that jumble of views, I know it would be torture trying to survive all that. But... if you don't have something enough to help you survive that..."

She trailed off; and after a moment, Onion realized why she was so concerned.

"You're talking about diving at the Sanctuary," he observed.

"I am," Terra observed. "I talked with the Warrior about it. He knows about your memories, and he knows what'll happen if you dive. When I asked him about your odds... he said the heartless would put money on your blood."

"Meaning, those interested in the highest chance," Onion observed.

"Ye..." Terra trailed off upon realizing she hadn't really considered the meaning of the Warrior's words. "Um... I think so," she admitted.

Onion chuckled briefly. It didn't last long.

"I'm not gonna lie," he admitted. "When the Warrior was done explaining, I was so close to just sending one last prayer to Catastro and diving. But..." He shook his head. "I stopped myself. I thought about it for all of three seconds and almost slapped myself. I didn't want to do something so stupid until I knew there wasn't a better way. I'm smarter than that."

He paused for a moment, then sighed and leaned his head back.

"At least... I like to think I am."

Terra sighed. "Onion..."

A door opened beneath them. Both of them leaned forward and glanced down to see a figure stepping out of the link to the Phantom Train. There was a distinct sound of something sparking and shifting; then a blow struck the doors, causing them to fly open.

"Lightning?" Terra inquired.

"Probably," Onion mused. "She might be looking for Lucent." He rolled his shoulders. "Mind keeping watch for me? I want to go warn her about the World of Darkness."

Terra nodded. "Sure."

The ninja pushed himself off the roof, running down the Crystal Tower, and Terra sighed, setting her hand on her head. What do we do about this...?

Then a gunshot sounded.

Draco: UGH. Asura. Damned. Canadian. Summer. I swear I could lose weight just by not taking measures to avoid sweating if not for the fact that I really don't have a lot of weight I can afford to lose. Sorry this chapter's short, but this heat is interfering with my inspiration and I need a kind bridge to the next problem.