Krile fought against the voice inside her that claimed she was doomed to lose. Bhunivelze was all-powerful, all-knowing, and when He deemed it time, he would discard her for her disobedience.

But if He was so all-knowing, then why didn't He discard her now and prevent her intended damage? Another presence in the back of her mind recoiled at the thought. The same pesky presence that made her undo so much of her progress for fear Bhunivelze would find out through another vessel.

Now, she chased Bartz through space and found Lenna's light close by. They approached Gaia IV in the time before the people there made their space-faring vessel. When she listened close, she caught the thoughts targeting one lady with summoning powers greater than a lot of other worlds had to offer. One raised by the otherworld forces themselves.

That and a couple of renowned mages that would serve as valuable vessels to pave the way for Bhunivelze's return. Mages that she met back on III.

This wasn't her first attempt to contact Bartz and the others, but it seemed it would take several tries. And she would try as many times as she needed to see them survive this possession.

She landed on the planet at least a mile from where Bartz touched down, body protesting the arrival. Each jump took more out of her, even with Bhunivelze's Divine Assistance.

She focused in on Bartz and re-warped there, this time not feeling the drain thanks to the negligible distance between them compared to the lightyears she just skipped.

She called to him and he started. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Saying hello, silly!" She took his hand and channeled white magic much weaker than what she knew back home. His body soaked it up with such hunger. What did he do to speed up the process?

"You're not supposed to do that," he said.

"I finished my mission early and wanted to come see you. Not that I'll stay long. I think I'm about to receive new orders."

Bartz blinked and she knew his programming stuttered. Friends like them avoided each other for a reason. "Oh. Good luck, I guess."

"Isn't Lenna nearby? Maybe I can see her, too!"

"We were about to meet up before we split off again."

"Then I'll join you!"

He gave her another funny look. With her body already so hurt from traveling, she struggled to stay consistent with the way she as a vessel acted.

When Bartz said nothing, she took it as a small victory and jogged alongside him whilst borrowing more energy to heal herself and keep up the charade. Eventually he insisted she leave, so she did.

Krile portaled far enough away that he wouldn't see her. She felt too tired to jump off world and she didn't want to stick around long enough to raise suspicion.

Her whole body ached with the fluctuating presence within her and she wondered what normal Lenna would do in this situation. Would she keep playing along? Or would she confront her fellow possessees?

Krile leaned against a tree and a deer paused to sniff at her. This world felt cold and she didn't have anything to protect her against the elements outside of her dress. Her exposed skin prickled with goosebumps and the enabling Power of Light danced in and out of her reach. In the back of her mind, she remembered the consequences of her disobedience. Not fear of Bhunivelze's punishment, but the thought that every soul in this galaxy faced damnation for her indecisiveness. Maybe she could find someone—

Without the proximity of her friends, that side of divinity clawed at her consciousness and forced her to stand and prepare a portal. The mere act of summoning it ripped through her soul and sent an echo of pain through her chest like someone cut up her heart. The deer grunted in concern.

She forced herself back, tears forming at her eyes. She could hold it back, but it hurt so much that she expected to give in again and—

Someone stepped through her portal with damaged and discolored clothes. A man with damaged skin and old eyes, someone that God took before finding His Chosen Vessel.

Krile panicked and threw a water spell at him before drawing her dagger and rushing in.

He dispelled the water and caught her wrist. "Wait."

Krile screamed and ripped away from him to try again from below. He blocked her. They should have fought on equal footing, yet there was something to him that kept her from anticipating his moves.

The deer kicked at him before he sent it away with a blast of wind magic.

"Don't touch me!" she yelled.

"I'm not—" The man slapped her hand away. "You're separated from Him?"

"Stop—!"

He forced her arms down and kneeled to look her in the eyes. She knew him, but the name escaped her. "I'm not here to hurt you."

Krile struggled to get free, but he proved stronger. "Let me go!"

"Good." The man shut the portal with a flick of his wrist and the magic in Krile gravitated toward him.

"You mean… you too?"

"Yes." He loosened his grip. "But barely. I felt you break up in the link. It won't be long before Bhunivelze dispatches someone to clean up both of us."

She channeled white magic and he accepted it. "But He hasn't caught on, yet?"

"Not yet. I won't hurt you."

"But you've hurt kids before."

"Not directly. … Not knowingly."

"Then why was it so clear on your mind when you joined? Why is that the only thing I know about you?"

He let her go. "Because I know more now than I did then, otherwise Bhunivelze never would have taken me."

"What about me? Why did he take me?"

"I don't know. But we can work together and save your friends. Just stay close to me."

"I don't want to."

Rufus stood. "We'd best look out for each other if we want to make it out of this alive."

"I don't want to die."

"I'll make sure you don't."

Krile sniffled and fought back tears. "I want to see my friends again. I want to see them be normal."

"Then let's bring them back together."

She grabbed him by the waist and buried her face in his tattered coat. She couldn't cry, but the weight of it was too much. Her body felt heavy and the thought of continuing like this left a sickening pit in her stomach.

Rufus stiffened, but she didn't let him go. If he was going to help her, he'd have to deal with stuff like this.

Eventually, Krile put out a hand to open a portal, but Rufus stopped her.

"Allow me." He formed a twisting and dark gash in space that licked at them with hungry tendrils. "This will take us to where I'm expected. Bhunivelze won't think twice about seeing us together."

"Because we don't know each other?" She didn't know why it worked that way. But Rufus looked too tired to answer so she stayed quiet after that.

He didn't force her off, so she clung to him until they entered the portal and flew through time and space.


Noel stepped into the ocean of time and by reflex held his breath against the water that enveloped him, though the others assured him it didn't work like that. The sensation of it lapping against his skin brought back alien memories of his first encounter with the ocean back in New Bodhum, when Serah giggled at his awkward attempts to wade through because he was new to lakes and she grew up in them.

He slipped far enough to open his eyes and see the cosmos laid out before him. The Historia Crux beckoned him and dragged him into its vast corridors. Corridors that made his new home.

The smell of distant smoke was a familiar sensation to him, but something about that familiarity struck Noel with unease. That was how the old Crux operated, not the new one. Or so he assumed—the old Crux sparked and shifted in places from the instability of disease and this one shouldn't grind the same.

Time wasn't the problem here, but Bhunivelze's presence. He knew it as intrinsically as he knew the sun would rise, but why?

A light appeared down the path of one fork and he followed it. Those marked gates, and perhaps this would guide him toward whatever world the Goddess had in store.

The warmth of that distant energy filled him with the urge to push forward and Noel reached for it. Remembered the thrill of chasing distant stars with the promise of new people and cultures and life.

Noel touched down in a rundown shack, whose cracked walls and rotting floor reminded him of ruins found in the farthest reaches of his home's old…

Damn it. Not again.

Shaking away that vagueness, Noel left to find the misty, humid air and rundown buildings of a poor village. The home had paneling designs etched into old wood, but he barely saw them past the fading and wear brought on by the weathering of elements. Villagers milled about, clothes poor and skin leathery.

A woman approached him. Ellone. And she was accompanied by a man in slim layers of checkered and monochrome cloth. "You made it," Ellone said.

Noel tensed. "You belong to Bhunivelze, don't you?"

"Yes." Ellone took his hand and he recoiled. "But this isn't the way it has to be."

Noel wrenched away and measured his path to the gate. Before he got far, Ellone took his wrist again and his thoughts drifted.

Sleep overtook him and Noel floated without breath. Words bubbled in without coherence to understand and he phased into a vivid dream of standing on the crest of a hill overlooking a quiet city.

Noel found the man that accompanied Ellone standing beside him. Ellone was nowhere to be found.

"Who are you?" Noel asked.

The man looked about him, confused. "Who's there?"

"I am." Noel took a step closer. "What's your name?"

"Bartz." He looked Noel's way, eyes darting about to find him. "You?"

"Noel."

Bartz blinked and reached out. His hand passed through Noel's person. "Are you new to the connection? I don't remember Him needing you. No… He meant to kill you. Man, I'm over my head."

"You can't tell this guy no?"

"Why would I do that?"

Noel hummed and turned his attention to the gathering of mages. "You're supposed to go disrupt this one, right?"

"Yeah."

"Why won't you go?"

"Just figuring my plan of attack." Bartz folded his arms and scowled. "I wish Boko was here."

"Who's Boko?"

"My loyal steed. But he went and settled down with a hot chick and made some babies. Doesn't show the same energy like he used to. Doesn't travel like he used to."

"Chocobo?"

"The best."

"Does he eat a lot of greens? Or do you supplement with roots? A consistent diet might help his strength. Try sprouts and golden flowers—that should bring his strength back up."

Bartz acted oddly to that, like he didn't hear.

Noel shuddered at the oppressive weight that settled on his back and reached to find nothing there outside his sword. It hit him that this wasn't real and that Ellone cast a spell on him. "What's your goal now?" Noel asked.

"Same as always. Find those strong enough to fight our cause and bring this galaxy one step closer to salvation."

"You don't realize how brainwashed you sound, do you?"

"Brainwashed?" Bartz blinked. "No, not brainwashed… enlightened. Not everyone understands—"

Noel took him by the shoulder. "Take me away from here."

"What? I don't understand—"

"I don't want to hear what Bhunivelze has to tell me. Skip forward."

"Skip?"

Noel reached out and closed his eyes. He lost himself to dreams once already, so he should remember how to get himself to the end or get out or whatever it was that Serah did to save him from his own memories.

The air changed. Noel found himself in a grand ballroom full of people wearing big and colorful clothes. Bartz stood near a lady on a throne at one end of the room. They watched performers in the center show off dazzling stunts of sparkling light and nimble movement.

Bartz radiated a positive and contagious energy that inspired laughter in his companions. They formed the perfect image of what Noel imagined a family to act like. A twinge of sadness soured his view, so he turned away. He found Mog.

Noel reached for the moogle and paused when he saw Hope speaking with Cinque. Hope wore checkered robes and his posture looked nothing like what Noel came to expect of the man in Luxerion.

Noel pushed his way through the crowd, but before he reached Hope and Cinque, something rippled through the crowd as an electric current. Noel froze in place and turned to see Bartz and his companions halt their speech and promptly pull their weapons, countenances changed to something confused before they turned on the crowd and attacked.

Panic erupted and screams filled the hall.

"Wait!" Noel shouted. "Bartz! There's no point to this! You know that violence won't help these people! You're a hero, aren't you?"

Bartz stuttered. "Quite a mess—"

Noel caught hold of that stutter and ripped himself free of this setting. Tore away the illusion of life and thrust himself into nothingness.

He didn't emerge back in reality but found himself in a dark void. Floated in nothingness and called Bartz's name. He wouldn't assume himself free until he saw that gate again and rolled through the Historia Crux's twisting corridors.

Noel hit a barrier and flew back. Reached out again and found a hard wall. Light glimmered where his hand touched it and he grit his teeth. "I feel your regret!" Noel shouted. "I know you don't want to do this! There's no point to hurting people for Bhunivelze!"

A booming voice whispered, "There is a point."

"You know there isn't! You know that thing lies to achieve its own ends! Killing is never the answer! And I saw you! You don't believe in senseless violence!"

Bartz appeared just beyond the barrier and touched a hand to Noel's. "You're a cool guy, you know that?"

"Stop!" Noel banged against the invisible wall. "Why do you still follow him? Even after he took your friends and destroyed your home?"

"Tycoon's still strong."

"But he tried! He made you hurt your own people! What could possibly be achieved from that stupidity? Why won't you fight?"

"Because I can't."

"You can! I see you here! You can break through! Everything formed in this place is subject to your strength and Bhunivelze's hold is only as strong as you make it out to be!"

"It's not that simple."

Noel thumped his head against the wall and felt something tug at his back. Something that wanted him gone. He resisted and said, "You can still fight. Tell me what you know. Tell me what Bhunivelze's plans are."

"Can I do that?"

"You can." Noel clawed at the barrier as the force increased in strength. "Please."

"… Bhunivelze desires preparation of the worlds available to Him. He'll wreak havoc and disturb souls to make them ready for assimilation."

"Where?"

"I don't know all the places. But I'll be leaving for Gaia IX."

"Perfect."

The nothingness vanished and Noel was yanked out of Bartz's mindscape. He woke breathless in the dewy grass of the village he found and scrambled to his feet to find Ellone glaring his way while Bartz blinked.

"How did you break out?" Ellone asked. "No one's done that before!"

"Thanks for assaulting me," Noel said. "I'll be going now."

Ellone hissed, "You'll never win."

"That's not for you to decide." Noel made for the gate and smothered that lingering sense of doubt and fear left from Bartz's mind. That repressed horror at his own atrocities.

They had to save the possesses, he thought as he broke space and teleported to the gate.