After Fall: 38. Bhunivelze Emerges

When I shoved Snow away from that monster, Fang, I knew it could kill me. I expected oblivion, the absolute darkness of unconsciousness - prayed for it, even, just to be sure that whatever had happened to the man who'd tried to kidnap me wouldn't happen to Snow.

Instead, I dreamed of a temple whose walls glittered gold. I wandered around that maze-like building for what felt like forever until I reached a room with two titanic thrones carved of crystal. On the smaller of the two thrones hovered the winged creature I'd seen before in my fever-induced dreams.

When the creature saw me approaching, it praised me. Told me that I... had impressed it somehow.

I felt so confused, Fang. I didn't know what I'd done that was praise-worthy to a figment of my imagination. But then...

It called itself Bhunivelze.

I was certain then that I was dreaming, that it was a nightmare formed from the subconscious fears of my mind.

Bhunivelze... sensed that disbelief, I suppose, because the next thing I knew... I was bombarded with flashes of memory: Lightning had gone missing, and the other former l'cie had gone their separate ways. I'd been alone, Fang, burying myself in research in a desperate search for something to bring everyone back. Years passed before I met Serah again, and she'd brought a man with her - a man called Noel.

I wondered then if that was the Noel Snow had mentioned to me the first time I'd gone to visit the memorial stone. If it wasn't the person Snow and Serah had named their son after. It made... perfect sense, Fang.

The memories didn't stop there, either. I experienced the pain of being betrayed by a subordinate - one who'd claimed she was a friend, but in the end, had been willing to destroy me and my friends out of fear of disappearing forever. I experienced heart-pounding fear as Noel and I fought off would-be-assassins, and I knew despair in another time, watching Noel cradle Serah's corpse in his arms as the world around us became enveloped by Chaos.

I... I wouldn't've believed it, but... I saw myself cradling a moogle, Fang, just like the stuffed toy Snow bought me when I found out Serah was pregnant. Lightning and Serah had both been so upset with Snow when he did that... I'd thought it was because they thought I was too old for childish things like that, but if what I was seeing was true...

It just explained so much. Why Lightning had been so concerned when Serah was pregnant with Noel, why she hadn't wanted me to go to the ruins... All of it.

I... couldn't handle it. I didn't want to believe it was real.

I think... Bhunivelze took pity on me, Fang, because after that...

I wake up with a cry on my lips, forcing myself upright immediately to take stock of my surroundings.

I... I'm in my room - in my own bed - but I... have no idea how I got here. Did Snow carry me home? It's... it's probable, I guess. It wouldn't be the first time.

It takes me a minute to calm myself enough to get out of bed. I stare at myself in the mirror by my closet to convince myself that I'm still myself and not the twenty-something-year-old I'd seen in my dream. It had to be a nightmare, it couldn't have been real.

Still, I'm reluctant to leave my room. Serah and Lightning could be out there in the living area, and if they are... they're probably mad that I ran, and madder still that I talked Snow into going on a crazy adventure into the ruins. But I... can't hide in here forever.

I make my way slowly down the hall, listening to the sounds of someone making breakfast in the kitchen. It's probably Serah - if Lightning was trying to cook, the smoke alarms would've gone off by now. A sigh escapes my lips - I really don't know if I'm ready to face Serah, not after those weird dreams I had...

Fate doesn't seem to give me a choice, though: I no sooner walk out into the living area when Serah launches herself at me, wrapping her arms around me and hugging me tightly to her chest.

"I'm so sorry!" she says tearfully. "I know it must've hurt you, hearing me say what I did. I can explain, just -"

I feel... really uncomfortable, standing there as Serah hugs me. It reminds me of the girl who'd betrayed me in my dream: Alyssa.

"It's okay." I lie, trying to push Serah away. "I... think I understand. It's for the lawsuit, right? To manipulate my dad into letting Lightning take care of me, right?"

"Well... sort of..."

I can tell from the look on Serah's face - and the way she bites her lip - that it's not true. That whatever her reason for accusing me of being dangerous lies far beyond simple manipulation of my father.

"What smells so good?" I ask, trying to change the subject. For a moment, I think maybe Serah's taught Snow how to cook, but when I look into the kitchen, there's a dark-haired man standing over the stove.

When he turns to face us, I feel the blood drain from my face because - even though it's impossible, I recognize him. The man from my dream: Noel.

"Hey there." Noel says with a smile. He sets a cup of coffee in front of an empty stool on the bar, like he expects me to sit there and eat with him and Serah. "You look a lot better than you did last night. Feeling okay?"

My ears are ringing, and it feels like I'm reliving a hundred years in a matter of seconds. Even though it's impossible, a voice in the back of my mind whispers: you know him, you know him, you know him...

I take a step back, feeling completely overwhelmed as I look from Noel to Serah.

"Don't you remember last night?" Serah asks. "Noel came home with you and Snow."

"In his defense, he wasn't exactly conscious when we met." Noel replies, putting a plate beside the coffee he'd set on the bar for me. "Hope you're hungry, though. I might've gone a little overboard."

/Sorry, Hope. We... went a little overboard./ Those words...

I don't know how I know them, but they make me so...

"Th-thanks but... I'm not hungry." I reply stiffly, pushing my way past Serah and heading for the front door. I step into my boots and barely zip them up before I run to the door. "I'll be at the garage. Bye!"

By the time I reach Lenora's garage, I'm out-of-breath and reeling from shock.

If Noel is real - was real - then my dream was real too, wasn't it? And if that's true, then Bhunivelze...

"Whoa there, buddy!" Yuj shouts, grabbing me by the arm before I stray into the shower of sparks flying from the machine Maqui's trying to weld together. Once we're a safe distance away, Yuj looks me up-and-down, then lets out a low whistle. "Are you okay? You look... like you've seen a ghost."

I open my mouth to lie, to tell Yuj that I'm fine... but I can't say a word.

Yuj... understands. He pats my shoulders and nods as if to himself, then shoots a cock-sure grin at me. "The back room's pretty quiet if you wanna hang out there. If anyone asks, the Maq-ster and I haven't seen you, right?"

"Thanks, Yuj." I murmur as Yuj leads me through the maze-like paths of salvaged mecha parts. When we reach the door to the office, Yuj turns the handle and reveals a small room filled with even more parts and stacks of manuals. There's a little room on a small, worn sofa for me to sit on - and it's relatively quiet, compared to the noisy thoughts in my head.

"Not a problem. Everyone's gotta have space now and then, right?"

I nod and move towards the sofa. Yuj shuts the door on his way back out into the garage, leaving me to my solitude.

~fin ?

Notes: Thanks everyone for the wonderful reviews! I hope you still enjoy the story!