Final Cry

by Study in Elegant Death

The world no longer needed the Savior, she served her purpose of shepherding the souls of old to a New World and freeing them of the creed of Gods. Now all that had been left was trying her best to assimilate into a normal life. But fate had other plans for the Savior, and being 'normal' just didn't cut it. Especially when Yeul and a red-clad demon hunter get involved.

11. Chapter 11: Soulmates

"As it had been, since time beyond memory, you would reign supreme among supreme. A God to a God, he who destroyed his own mother in order to gain the kingdom of the living in his dominion. Father to the great and powerful Pulse, whose strength would only tremble in the presence of his maker, Etro whose name would be known as little more than Goddess of Chaos, Death and destruction to the denizens of Gran Pulse, Lindzei whose cunning would be unmatched, perhaps even by God himself. Grandfather of humanity, your divine name and legacy would never grace our lips, that is, of course until such time that a child born of mortals and men might rise up to the task of your creation. A Savior, a Goddess to be born of mortal blood, but given divine Grace of Etro. Beloved warrior, champion and righteous sword of humanity who might birth us all into each passing generation time and again tirelessly in her servitude to God. She would cast her net out into the ocean of souls, saving the forlorn who no longer had their virtue, held their loved ones in their hearts, or knew what they had left behind and deliver mankind to your world, despoiled of humankind as they were. Half-empty containers to be filled with Chaos, and the Grace of God, you would become truly omnipotent. But fate can be quite cruel to the wicked. She, along with her comrades took up arms, and through the sheer will of humanity struck down the mighty Bhunivelze." Speaking the words aloud while Yeul stood at the edge of the stagnant sea of the dead, the ocean whose waves never churned and waters brimmed with both life and death, the Goddess stared out into the horizon, not quite looking at anything in general. A light breeze cascaded along the shore and caused her hair to flutter ever so slightly in the wind, her veil easily following suit.

"Telling stories to the dead, Yeul?" Caius asked as he materialized beside her, staring out into the distance, as if hoping he could somehow find whatever it was she had been maintaining eye contact with for so long.

"Perhaps." Yeul spoke calmly and serenely, never once glancing over at her Guardian. Her eyes tinted to the very colours of the ocean, shifting ever so slightly from the radiant blues, to the darkest of navy's the further she stared out. "Or, perhaps I am speaking words of prophecy aloud in the hopes that my prayers can reach those that need them most." She wasn't arrogant and conceited to the point that she had grandiose ideas of what she was capable of, but the Seeress knew that on the eve of destruction and need, her words had cascaded along the winds and found whom they were intended for. Would it not be a stretch to say that this time around they would be able to do the same? Someone out there was crying out for a hint of salvation, and she hoped that her words might encompass this individual and be a soothing balm on the fabrics of their very being.

"And who might this person be, that they require a lesson in the past, present and futures of Cocoon, Gran Pulse and the New World?" Caius wondered who Yeul was giving her words to, if not the dead, and someone she'd willingly surrender the name of. Was it someone she couldn't tell him about? To his knowledge, Yeul had never withheld information from him, so what made now different?

"Someone special." Yeul still keenly evaded the answer. "Living, but never born, defeated, but can never die. A lonely, fleeting existence, to be used and discarded at the end of their journey. The fate of the false can also be very cruel. That is, unless you have Her blessing." Yeul could wholeheartedly relate to the fact of being born without much purpose, created as a mere feat of divine will only to be cast away. But she got lucky, Etro loved the first of her children, her beloved daughters and gave her the ultimate mercy. How the journey of one might turn out, she couldn't say for certain- the chosen were always so unpredictable in the ways that they acted and managed to change the future. How young, noble and naive of them. To strive so hard to fight against prophecy, fate, the will of nature and even the Eyes of the Lost Goddess. And yet, she herself wanted to be one of those humans, a hopeful individual who could do more than simply watch, be forced to not interfere, stare down their foe and boast words of power and wisdom- but this is all she could manage. Atonement wasn't Lightning's alone to be had. The Seeress had caused a lot of misery in her wake.

Standing in the sacred Arena that existed beyond life, beyond death and even time itself, the demonic trespasser continued to intrude on the realm of the Arbiter of Time. The unique setting of this creatures dwelling seemed to be a dimension all its own, the cosmic background of the stars, the fluctuations of light and darkness continually managing to co-exist and blend in with the Coliseum and all that it stood to represent: struggle. Walking down the steps of the worn down Coliseum, the demonic invader heard the boom of his steps one by one as he made his way through the sacred area of judgment created by the late Goddess of Death Etro in order to let her bigger 'troublemakers' come to their own conclusions of why they were in essentially purgatory. That is, until they squared off with the Arbiter of Time and received their freedom by defeating such a superior creature (if such a thing were possible) and being delivered to the Goddess herself, to receive the blessings they were denied due to the mishandling of their fates due to the intervention of the Chaos. Watching as the gears beneath him one by one began to come to life and spin as the floor went from a dull, unpolished, neglected state, the stale air that had a distinctive mix of iron and the collective smells of the heat of battle began to melt away. The Coliseum appeared to be brimming with life, as opposed to what it had been when he'd arrived.

"The Coliseum exists beyond the natural order of all things, countless warriors have shed blood and given their very existences for a chance to stand on such hallowed ground. Why is it that you believe yourself worthy of such a privilege?" The voice of the Arbiter of Time echoed throughout the empty arena that carried with it the stench of iron, blood and death perfuming the air. Seemingly outraged and offended at the presence of one who might inhabit his domain before their rightful time, let alone one so unclean that the Goddess would never give him permission to enter this sacred domain, the knight of the late Goddess Etro would not allow such an atrocity to come to pass."Begone. Lest the judgment of Valhalla and the Goddess of Death befall you." Making it abundantly clear that he would kill the intruder if he didn't heed his warning, the Arbiter gave him one last chance to leave.

"And which Goddess would that be? Lightning, or Etro?" Taunting the Arbiter, the armored being was seemingly amused by the remarks of the primordial knight of the Goddess. Wherever his loyalties did in fact lie didn't seem to matter in the slightest. Progressing forward, the armored man seemingly of demonic origin began to tarnish the grounds of the Coliseum where the Arbiter gave his judgment to even the most savvy and seasoned of fighters.

"The Arbiter of Time serves the Goddess of Death in all her merciless splendor. Regardless of name, intent, or emotion. Be it Mwynn, Etro, Lightning or any other Goddess, I shall fulfill my sworn oath tho protect this place." Still refusing to show his form, the Arbiter would give him one final chance before he died. Though speaking confidently of how his actions should be given in this situation, Valfodr was going off of how his servitude to the late Goddess Etro had been received over the countless days, months and years he'd watched over this, most sacred of spaces. Lightning had a high regard for honor and dignity in the way that she carried herself, so he knew that in some form he would be respecting her wishes in turning away a weaker foe even if the rules of Valhalla had been quite clear on how situations like this were meant to be dealt with.

"How noble. Now, how about we fight like you promised?" Taunting the Arbiter, he stepped forward and drew his weapon, his armor giving off a peculiar cyan glow to its indigo/crimson organic-like form.

"You think you can survive me?" The Arbiter outright scoffed as he appeared in his first form. The noble knight of the Goddess sneered at the demon, not daring to switch from his eloquent, more humanoid/'harmless' looking form, Valfodr would not entertain such foolishness. Lightning had not consented to such an ordeal, and the Arbiter had no policies on dealing with such a thing as he'd never encountered someone brazen enough to enter the Coliseum of their own volition. Well, that is until Serah Farron. Noel Kreiss and their loyal moogle companion sent by Lightning herself had arrived. If he had known that Serah was to be the sister of his current master, perhaps the Arbiter would have shown her a much better kindness. No point in dwelling on the past. "That I would fall to such an unclean, lesser being." Valfodr didn't draw his weapon, but he did calmly produce his spear at his side and stare down the callous demon.

"Lesser? You think being made by a Goddess makes you special?" Scoffing right back at him, the demonic opponent laughed. "You were made to be strong."

"I am the unyielding blade of the Goddess, he who strikes fear in the hearts of sinners or those who dare go against the principals of Life and Death. The natural order of things must be protected above all else. Do you believe your sins to stack up against my judgment?" Valfodr had absolutely no intention of allowing him to intrude on his realm and make a mockery of him, the previous deities he had served and walk away unscathed. His current master Lightning Farron was battling with such distasteful creatures and he supposed it was fate that such a confrontation come to pass.

"I suppose we'll just have to see." Charging forward, he rushed forward at a blinding speed toward the Arbiter of Time who didn't bother to move or defend himself in any shape or form. Perhaps he'd underestimated his opponent. Or perhaps not. Despite Valfodr never having moved, the attack had been successfully blocked by a peculiar, pink sword.

"We can't let you do that." Serah freely declared to the person before her, frowning as she stood between Valfodr and the mystery attacker. Pressing her blade against his, Serah forced him back and advanced so that there was a healthy distance between the Arbiter and his assailant.

"One of your tricks?" The demonic opponent sneered. "You think this girl is enough to hold me back?"

"Do not underestimate her. A chosen, beloved daughter of Etro, she was gifted the very Eyes of the Goddess herself. Reborn in divine image like her elder sister, Serah Farron set out on a journey to change destiny with a bold young man. Her weapon a loyal and brave young Moogle, shall strike down even the most brazen of foes. Traveling through time and space in an attempt to change what was an inevitability, they saved existence at a cost. Had Lightning not called upon her, Serah would not have died such a young death before her prime. And had the young Farron not fallen at the end of her righteous quest, then Lightning herself would not have forsaken time to be reborn in a new area at the premise of being reunited with her family. Fate would have opened new possibilities for the valiant Goddess, Grail of Valhalla and recipient of Etro's Grace. " Valfodr praised Serah's efforts as the false Farron stood before him, protecting him against such a threat.

"So you conjured up such a pitiful illusion in a bid to fend me off? Despite being Lightning's sister she's the obvious weaker one. She'll give me no trouble at all." Being condescending to Serah before they even started, the demon was ready to do away with her.

"Don't count me out just yet!" Serah spoke up for herself, taking on a defensive stance. "Lightning taught me everything I know and I'm not about to give up just because my opponent may be strong. I've had too many people in my life who I loved and cared about who believed in me and were willing to risk everything just so that we might be able to meet again. And I'm going to bet on those bonds that they've made me strong enough to survive you." Shifting her sword into its bow form, Serah smiled and let out a small, kindhearted laugh as she aimed at the sky with determination.

"If you underestimate her- then you will be sorry." Valfodr concluded as Serah pulled back the string of her bow and fired three arrows in rapid succession. Reaching the top of the Coliseum, they erupted in a destructive shower surrounding the demon. Despite his best efforts he hadn't been able to dodge all of them and had grunted to show that Serah had inflicted pain on him. Her divine arrows had easily pierced his flesh and caused more than just a mere 'discomfort' to the demonic foe.

"Once I destroy her- you're next." He declared, ripping out one of Serah's aqua arrows of his armor. Immediately healing from the wounds, he charged toward and began to furiously assault the younger Farron sister. Breaking her guard, he instantly went for the coupe de grace. Met once more with metal on metal, he was irritated and surprised to see the peculiar blade.

"Get away from my sister." Lightning sweep kicked him in the gut and immediately opened fire on their opponent. Wasting no time at all, she launched him once he'd successfully been caught off guard and performed her Army of One ability while he was airborne. Somersaulting backward, the eldest Farron sister returned to Serah's side and narrowed her eyes at male oriented combatant who said he would end up murdering Serah. He clearly didn't know the first thing about her, or Lightning herself when it came to her sister.

"What she said!" Snow piped up, just as Lightning finished. "Not the 'sister' thing of course. But no one treats my fiance like that." Using Sovereign Fist, the blond male inflicted a heavy amount of damage after Serah and Lightning had finished their attacks. Standing beside both Farrons, he grinned and cracked his knuckles. "It's high time this legendary trio got together."

Lightning let out a mild scoff. "Just don't get in my way, hero." Mocking the title he spouted off at every given chance, the eldest Farron expertly swung her blade through the air.

"Ready when you are!" Serah smiled, once more aiming her bow.

"I hope you realize the victor of this battle gains absolutely nothing." Valfodr easily dismissed the intruder of his coliseum without second thought. His Serah/Lightning/Snow contenders were more than capable of keeping him off-guard and pressuring when the time was right. Lightning was ruthless, Serah was support and Snow would keep the enemy off balance. The trio were perfect for their intended purpose.

"You're wrong, Arbiter. After I've done away with them, I'll destroy you and take your power for my own." Declaring his intent to murder the Arbiter of Time, the demonic trespasser was more than confident these illusions would end up in the Chaos.

"Then so be it. Lose yourself in the chasms of time, forgotten and opaque to those who once dared call upon your name in the heat of battle. When you fall here, you will belong to me and I will deal with you as I see fit." Valfodr could force him into a never-ending string of punishment befitting such arrogance. "Finish this." Instructing the trio to do away with his 'visitor', Valfodr turned his back on the intruder and walked away, disappearing into nothing. He had other matters of which to intend that had vital importance.

Sitting on the steps of Serah's home, Vanille shut her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the light breeze, the gentle sounds of the ocean as waves cascaded across the sand and receded only to begin again. The salty, pleasant smell coupled with that of kelp was enjoyable because it reminded her so much of Oerba the long lost home she could never return to. Things had been much simpler back then when she and Fang had grown up in the village of people. But neither one could have guessed what fate had in store for them as they were orphans and treated like cattle toward the end of things. Being 'chosen' l'Cie for the fal'Cie Anima they were forced to pray and ask that he choose them and allow the duo to be in his servitude and destroy the world above. At each of the 13 intervals both of them did as the priests instructed and Fang eventually overwhelmed then killed one then a few more. Had Vanille not asked for forgiveness and pledged her life to him they would have killed her.

Despite the large village filled with people who were kind and caring Vanille had only formed a real attachment to Fang as her family. She didn't care about sense of 'duty' toward her village or following along with their plans of killing so many people- she just wanted to make sure that her childhood friend survived even if she somehow fell to whatever plight came their way. Damaging the outer shell of Cocoon, she and Fang were put to crystal slumber by Etro for 600 years until they could be freed and help Lightning and the others and let go of their focus to destroy the world. 500 more years would pass until they could save Serah from her dreamworld prison. 487 years later they were once more freed from their crystals and she was to be the 'sacred one' in order to serve Bhunivelze.

Tilting her head back, she opened her eyes and let out a soft sigh.

"Reliving the sins of the past?"

Startled, Vanille 'jumped' and instantly stood up, looking for the speaker. It had definitely been a male and he had been speaking to her, she couldn't just hear the voices of the dead anymore so where was he? Had she just been imagining things? Hearing a loud noise as something landed on the sand, Vanille laid her eyes on the man in question. He appeared to be in a peculiar set of armor letting off an aura of power surrounding it. Shutting and rubbing her eyes, she figured she must have just been tired and that he was a hallucination of some sort.

"You're not imagining things."

"How did you-?" Vanille was startled as he seemed to be able to read her mind.

"A typical human response is to assume that anything you don't know about which is different from what you're used to is a 'dream' or an impossibility." Stating what he believed to be the obvious, he calmly stepped forward and sized up the girl. She was definitely shorter than him but had power in her that shouldn't be taken lightly. "How could Ragnarok, the chosen one of God and one who murdered so many of her own kind possibly have anything to fear? Oerba Dia Vanille, the name that many remembered through the history of Cocoon and Gran Pulse, revered as a bringer of the end and salvation of the fal'Cie. Former wielder of the crystal curse, let's see just how worthy of your Goddess given gifts you are." Brandishing a sword, he could see the shock/fear on Vanille's face. Honestly, he expected someone who was much more hardened than her to be his opponent.

"How do you know who I am?" Vanille asked, cautiously leaving the stairs and making her way through the sand. Keeping her distance but also closing space on the man, she knew now that he wanted a fight but had no idea who he was. Had he been one of the people from Cocoon come to exact revenge for what she and Fang had done all those centuries prior?

"How could I possibly not know who you are? Born many centuries beyond what mortals are supposed to live, you've committed many crimes and sins to shackle down your soul. Oerba. Dia. Vanille. Vessel of Ragnarok, bringer of the end, tool the Gods meant to be used and discarded. You've performed a great deal many evil acts in your active years, despite sleeping for so long. Your demeanor and youth give off an air of innocence for one so guilty. Manipulating others just so that you could get what you wanted and feeling vindication toward your victims by getting a likening to you as if it was some form of atonement." Letting out a scoff/laugh at her he seemed to be amused. "It's a shame that you were born a human. Gran Pulse and Cocoon were not worthy of you. Perhaps if you had been born amongst our ranks, Sparda himself would have faltered and the rebellion ended abruptly." Singing praises to Vanille about her conquests, the demon had seemingly taken on a much more 'friendly' demeanor than he'd initially put out there, not that the peace seemed to last long between them. "Show me some of your cunning."

Dashing forward at an unnatural speed, he leapt into the air and went for an overhead slash. Vanille seemed caught off-guard and at this point it was either she pulled out her weapon or died.

Vanille saw him dash toward her but resolved to not fight. Side-stepping her speedy opponent, she barely had been quick enough to get out of his way and remain unscathed. "I am guilty." Vanille didn't deny that as her bangs covered her eyes and the red haired Pulsian girl removed her Binding Rod from her holster. "But if you know my sins, and the things that I've done in the name of survival, and my friends, then you'd know I'm willing to do just about anything. Even mass genocide." Her voice was devoid of its usual bubbly demeanor and instead seemed entirely ice-cold. Tilting her head up, Vanille's green eyes stared down her demonic opponent. "I've been forgiven by Lightning, Serah, Snow, Sazh, Dahj, Hope and all those I had wronged... I gave them a death sentence, and they still absolved me of my sins." Gripping her Binding Rod ever tighter, the Pulsian spoke up as she furrowed her brows and glared at the demon. "I'm not allowed to die." Shaking her head, Vanille was going to make herself very clear in her intentions. "For the lives that I've taken, the things that I've lost, and the dreams that I've had... I am Oerba Dia Vanille, a Pulse l'Cie who tried to destroy the world. And one who tried saving it."

"I can almost see it- the cinders sparking together to reignite the flames of Ragnarok. Misguided Fal'Cie slave with delusions of higher purpose, your arrogance earned you a shallow grave. Had your Goddess not granted you such divine mercy, you would have fallen on the battlefield all those centuries ago... Or, perhaps not. Your survival complex outweighs most and unlike your friend you were much more deserving and fruitful when it came to wielding the divine beast Ragnarok. Even now that power surges in you. Won't you show me your true strength, Vanille of the Dia Clan, from Oerba?" Formally deciphering her name, the demon trekked forward, advancing toward her in a way that he would force the young Pulsian to face him, he dragged his sword along the sands of the beach.

"How do you know who I am?" Vanille asked, afraid of the answer. When he refused to respond and kept making his way closer, she decided to try and keep him back with magic. Performing a flurry of elemental spells at her disposal, Vanille found that none of them even made him flinch. Resorting to summoning, Vanille didn't want to risk facing someone who could walk off magic. Producing Hecatoncheir's crystal, she quickly tossed it into the ground and the Eidolon's hands sprouted up from his summoning circle while she floated in the air. Retracting his arms all at once, Hecatoncheir surfaced just as the demon attempted to strike his master. Catching the blade within one of his many hands, the Eidolon forced him back and immediately used his Earth magic to catch the demon off-guard. Folding his arms and staring at Vanille, he sent her a silent look as if to ask 'are you okay'?

Vanille nodded, understanding her Eidolon. "Thank you, Hecaton."

Nodding back to his master, Hecatoncheir focused his attentions on the demon.

Metal clashed against metal as he seemed pleasantly surprised. "Sorry but she's off limits." Fang spoke up and scoffed at the man as she used force behind her weapon to push him back. "You want a dance partner? You got one." Twirling her Bladed Lance, Fang glanced over at Vanille. "You okay?" On Vanille's nod, Fang turned her attention back to the strange man. "Wait inside."

"No. I'm not leaving you." Vanille spoke up, taking out the Binding Rod and standing beside Fang to fend off her attacker.

Fang smiled at her partners insistence to stay and fight. "Then let's give em a warm welcome, yeah? Gran Pulse style."

Vanille nodded to Fang's query and prepared herself for the fight ahead of them. Using her Synergist abilities, Vanille opted to buff herself and Fang with haste then resumed buffing them with her strongest '-aga' abilities. "We're in this together!" Beaming happily, Vanille was ready to show off her own capabilities not just to the stranger or Fang herself, but to Vanille herself. She needed to prove something even after all these centuries.

"You want me to recruit Nabaat? What makes you think she'd be willing to join the cause?" Lightning wasn't sure of Yeul's words. Even if the Seeress figured that she should go and meet with the woman from centuries prior who indirectly died because of the l'Cie, who was to say that she didn't hold a grudge from all that time ago? If anything, she might just try to kill them for coming.

"Colonel of the armies of Cocoon, the ranking officer who was the last line of protection for the Primarch will gladly join your cause. However, there is an issue of time, Savior. She is not the only one resurrected from the past who may create trouble. One is coming for her, who will attempt to murder her." Yeul had foreseen the fact that Jihl Nabaat could hold out for a little while but would end up overwhelmed once her true assailant came to finish her off. Having spoken of her rank and one her duties purely for Dante's benefit, Yeul wanted to make sure he was as educated on Cocoon people/mannerisms as possible. Maybe it would come to be useful at some point.

"What's the big deal with this 'Nabaat' person?" Dante asked, a little confused and trying to keep up with both Yeul and Lightning.

Turning her attention to Dante, the Seeress looked him in the eyes as she spoke. "Tasked with the elimination of l'Cie, she was put at odds with Lightning Farron, Snow Villiers, Hope Estheim, Oerba Dia Vanille, Oerba Yun Fang and Sazh Katzroy. Using the one marked at the hands of Cocoon fal'Cie to her advantage, she lured the father and one responsible for his marking to them. Using Vanille and Sazh as bait to lure the others, she attempted to murder the chosen six of the Goddess. Doing what she at the time believed to be 'right' she stood to protect her master, Primarch of Cocoon- Dysley better known as Barthandelus, Lord Sovereign of the Cocoon Gods. However, they knew not of the charge that they so willingly stood as a last line of defense to protect against harm. Having outlived their usefulness, the God smote them with a powerful deific attack and killed every human. Including Nabaat."

Lightning saw Noel standing idly by as if he wanted to say something but was too polite to interrupt Dante/Yeul. Although Yeul was saying a few important things, Lightning didn't need to hear them from the Seeress as she'd actually lived through to tell the tale. Sure, a few things might be a little 'hazy' to her, but what use could fragmented memories of a past that none of them could ever return to be to anyone? Waving him over, Lightning took a few steps away from the other duo. "Something on your mind?"

"You gave the others magic, right?" Noel asked the one thing that was currently on his mind. He'd heard bits and pieces of this 'Nabaat' character from his grandmother and knew her to be a troubling individual that he wasn't quite sure whether or not Lightning could end up trusting the high-ranking officer of Cocoon's PsiCom.

"I did." Lightning didn't hesitate in answering his question. "You want magic as well?"

"The powers of a Guardian were gifted to the one who was to protect the Seeress Yeul from any harm by the Goddess Etro- they're the one thing I've never had." Noel explained, looking expectantly to Lightning. Yeul had told him that she was going to give him magic and allow him to join the fight.

"It still didn't stop you from casting magic and doing what was asked of you by the Goddess." Lightning wasn't going to refuse his request but felt inclined to state the obvious.

"I made due with what I had. Powers like you and Caius had I was never given." Noel was trying his best to argue his case. "I only made it that far Lightning because you chose to believe in me. Etro taking me in was one thing... But you, you gave me a chance to change the past and alter the future for my own benefit. In your time of need you called out for someone to save the world. But things are different this time around- you're a God and the rest of us are just human. So if you can bridge the gap, even just a little and make us Human+ I think we'd all be happy with that. You may not have asked for us to join the cause Lightning but we're all ready." Meaning every syllable and word he spoke aloud to Lightning, Noel hoped that she'd agree with him.

"Noel you don't have to convince me. We're friends." Lightning placed her hand over her chest where her l'Cie brand had previously been and the symbol of the Savior currently resided. Retrieving a sphere of her Eradia, Lightning held it out to Noel. The Shadow Hunter looked at it for a moment or two and hesitated until he looked into Lightning's eyes and she nodded for him to take it. As with the others he had a bit of confusion on what he had to do with the deific substance in his mortal fingertips so Lightning made a show of crushing it in her hands. Noel took the hint and promptly collapsed the palm of his hand to make a fist and forcing the Eradia to accept him as its intended target.

To his surprise he'd been marked with a peculiar brand that didn't belong to any preceding l'Cie he'd ever seen before. "So this is what it feels like, huh? It's...strange." Noel mused, testing out his reflexes. He honestly wasn't sure if this felt like he assumed it would but he was still ecstatic from having been made a l'Cie.

"There are stranger feelings out there." Lightning said shortly, trying to recall what it felt like to be made a l'Cie at the hands of Anima/Pulse's behest. Honestly, it likely felt like a death sentence and gave her some form of anxiety to be given such gifts. Who could say? Lightning honestly couldn't. That was such a long time ago and she could no longer relate to human sentiments/emotions. In all honesty, she was just doing her best to act the part and work the rest out later.

"I guess none of us'll ever know what it's like to have the powers you do." Noel had to admit that one. Was that a good or a bad thing? He honestly had no idea and Lightning herself was about the only person who could say for certain. The trouble was that she'd never say it aloud- she was far too proud to ever admit there was a problem.

"You should be thankful for that." Lightning murmured, glancing over at Yeul and Dante who appeared to be engaged in conversation just like she and Noel were. The amount of disassociation she felt because of her deific essence... was it worth the trade-off? Glancing back at Noel and thinking of Serah, Hope, Snow, Fang, Vanille, Sazh and Dahj she had her answer: Of course it was. To protect her friends, family, those that she had ever cared about in her life there was no price that wasn't worth paying.

"Fate sings many tunes for those with righteous souls and valiant efforts to preserve the cycle of life. New paths can be forged by the brave and strong who protect the meek." Yeul spoke up, catching Dante's attention and smiling at the distracted Son of Sparda. What was to come he wouldn't necessarily like, but Yeul had no place telling him what fate had in store. Revealing her prophecy to mortals had only caused pain, suffering and death in its wake. And while the Seeress would love to be more forthcoming with him, as he was now, he wouldn't know what to do with it. The disturbing images burnt into her brain would only do more harm than good. As of right now her focus was to aid them in any way possible, and hope that by keeping a few details hidden that she wouldn't hinder their journey. Lightning and Dante were surely to clash when the time came but would it become better or worse if she revealed what the Eyes of the lost Goddess had allowed her to glimpse on?

"Any of these songs or paths say we can take down the big bad demon out there? Or how the 'Maker' managed to comeback?" Dante was actually curious on that one and he'd never met someone like Yeul. He figured it wasn't likely that he ever would again.

"Until a decision can be made by you on how to act and react, they're all happening, Dante. How it unfolds rests upon your shoulders. Mankind were gifted free will by the Goddess, and once given a gift she will never take it back. Like-wise, I, daughter of Etro shall guide you on your journey if I might be of use to you and the Savior." Bowing her head respectfully, Yeul regained her composure and once more looked up to Dante. "It was the doing of Sparda's kind. Having allowed him into her sacred realm she left demons a beacon to find Valhalla and walk along the sacred shores. Seeking out powers that were beyond even their wildest imaginations, a demon stumbled upon the restful corpse of God. Attempting to harness the powers of the slumbering God, Bhunivelze quickly overwhelmed and defeated his challenger. Falling from the Unseen Realm he found himself in the nightmare realm of demonkind. It is there that God and the Demon King clashed in a ferocious battle that nearly destroyed that realm from their many displays of power."

"Bhunivelze and Mundus fought?" That detail in particular had caught hit attention. "Who won?" This was that decisive moment when they'd truly find out on whether or not 'Gods' or 'Demons' were superior to one another. From what he gathered Mundus had been the strongest opponent their world had struggled against and Bhunivelze like-wise for Lightning and the others. Sparda defeated Mundus single-handedly in what most would term to be an 'unfair' fight. If God managed to lose to Mundus then it stood to reason that Sparda would have been stronger than Bhunivelze as well.

"It depends on what you'd term to be 'winning'. To some, 'winning' means to never die and to conquer all. God and Mundus were absolutely no different when it came to this creed." Though one had lost his physical body, the two of them had become something much more than either entities could have imagined.

"Between Mundus and Bhunivelze who managed to kill the other?" Dante decided to ask her a more straightforward question this time around.

"God struck down the Demon King." Yeul swiftly answered his question. On noticing a mixed assortment of emotions from Dante on the matter, Yeul figured that she should clarify further. "However, God's victory was not to last- reveling in joy at his overcoming the other higher being Bhunivelze left himself open. Latching on to the God, Mundus created an abomination that never should have come into being. I see a great deal of hardship, death, destruction and despair should you two fail in your righteous quest to deliver us from their evil." From what she had seen, it wasn't entirely 'out there' to say or assume that Mundus had purposefully lost to Bhunivelze in order to create an even more powerful being.

"Basically a contest to see who was stronger turned into a greedy, arrogant spitting contest." Dante scoffed. "Seems about right." The only question was how were they supposed to get rid of a thing created by Mundus/Bhunivelze's 'union'? Last he checked Mundus basically laughed off any attacks he sent his way and not even Sparda's power added onto Dante's had been enough. He'd honestly been lucky to defeat him. Glancing over at Lightning, he observed the rose colored haired woman speaking with her brunette boy friend 'Noel'. At that time, he'd had Trish come to his aid and give him the remnants of her power- would the combined strength of a Son of Sparda and Goddess of Death be enough to banish such an abomination? As far as he could recall Lightning and himself only managed to 'take down' their opponents and not kill them.

"These two never should have met and engaged in combat, but their enjoining is going to test the both of you in ways that you cannot imagine. God and Mundus are both beings on different ends of the spectrum, being forged of light and darkness, 'good' and 'evil', but their intentions for now are similar. God wants his Savior and Mundus wants you dead." Neither entity was against killing Lightning and Dante but both wanted to dealing with their respective 'problem' in their own right. Bhunivelze wished to see Lightning forever in the Chaos, breathing new life into each and generation manufactured at the hand of God while she could do nothing but watch and despair at her failure to save her friends. Mundus wished to see Dante like-wise banished to the Chaos, ensuring that the potency of Sparda's blood would fade along with him as Nero was only 1/4 of relation to the legendary knight.

"So they want to kill us both? Well, if they knew the first thing about either one of us I guess they'd know that we don't tend to lose. As far as I've heard Lightning's only lost once in her track record. And me? I might take a few hard hits here and there but nothing lasting. Sooner or later the big bastard monologuing realizes that our back and forth just has to end and he's out of the picture one way or another." Dante wondered just how powerful Mundus/Bhunivelze were with the two of them feeding off each others powers. It'd be one hell of a challenge, that's for sure. But who was to say that he and Lightning couldn't enjoy killing a God/Demonic hybrid?

"With you both out of their way the world would be plunged into a pitiful state." Yeul spoke up, trying to hash things out a little better for him. While she was glad of his confidence in their abilities, Yeul foresaw that the two of them would still have their problems. "Mundus was your toughest opponent and like-wise Bhunivelze had been for Lightning. Only through combined efforts were either of you able to topple the malevolent higher beings. I have a favor to ask of you, Son of Sparda."

"Name it." Dante wasn't sure what he could do for her but he'd still try anyway.

"The current path you walk will have its many trials, you may butt heads with the Savior every step of the way, but have patience with her. She's never met someone like you, and it might take her a little time, but I know for a fact that there is no other." Yeul smiled softly at the taller man. "I might not live to see it, but I wish to see the Savior happy after all that she's endured through. You both deserve happiness."

Dante blinked at her statement. "You don't mean-?" Beginning to question Yeul, he was cut off once Noel and Lightning came back over to the pair.

"Yeul I hope you know that I didn't want this for you- Lumina just has a way of stirring up trouble." Apologizing to the Seeress, Lightning hoped that her friend would accept her apology and forgive her for what had happened.

"It was the will of the Goddess that I once more be bound to the fate of the Farseers- you are not to blame for this eventuality that has come to pass. If not by Lumina's urgency, I would have received the Eyes of the Etro at another point in time." Yeul wanted to make it fairly clear to Lightning that it had been an inevitability she could once more divine the future. "The winds of the future blow, Savior, and those of us who can aid you in your quest will rightfully do so. For it is our debt to you to repay. We owe you our lives and thanks many times over but no form of gratitude will ever repay what you have done for us." Bowing her head, Yeul performed an eloquent curtsy to Lightning.

"Even if you feel that way... I don't want people dying for me. This isn't like Cocoon and Gran Pulse where all of us is expendable because of the will of the fal'Cie Gods and their crazy ideas that humans are tools meant to be used and tossed aside no matter the consequences- each and every one of us matters." Lightning wanted to make sure none of her friends or loved ones ever felt like she was the endgame in all of this. "I'll take your soul from the very Chaos itself if I have to."

"A noble feat for one who knows not to interfere in the will of fate even more than myself. To be willing to bare even more sins in order for your beloved ones to thrive, there truly is no one else worthy of the mantle for Etro's divine grace and responsibility." Looking up at Lightning in a mixture of sorrow and happiness, the Seeress expressed emotions that only one who lived as long as she could express. "We will give our lives to your creed, Savior-" Glancing from Lightning to Dante and vice-versa as she spoke, Yeul wanted both of them to know that they were in this together and equally important to her prophecy. "-your feats of heroism will be immortalized, burned into our very souls and stand against the test of time. Just as the indestructible crystal never fades, the bonds you have forged will last eternally. You and your champion may plunge into darkness, but strive toward your own path and deliver us once more salvation." Grabbing the hands of Dante and Lightning respectively, the Seeress smiled genuinely at both.

Confused by the situation, Lightning wondered what Dante and Yeul had been speaking about. Stealing a glance at him while Yeul continued to sing her praises of the duo, she saw that he was a tad bit surprised but not quite to her own degree. The moment his eyes gazed into hers, they locked for a moment and Lightning felt it- a spark in the very depths of her soul. Suppressing a shudder so as not to lose face in front of her new companion as well as old friends, Lightning didn't know how to express or rationalize the feeling coursing through her. Something changed at that moment- had she just been caught up in Yeul's words? Turning her head away, the Goddess found herself being stared at by Noel who seemed a bit humored by the situation. Nobody had really seen a flustered Lightning before as the proud woman tended to wear an impregnable mask that never cracked. But it seemed that a few chips had made their way into her armor.

Surprised by her sudden shift of demeanor and reaction to his stare, Dante felt a grin spread across his lips. "Careful Lightning, your humanity's showing." Gently teasing the flustered Goddess, he wondered if he'd see more of the old her in this moment. The passive-aggressive, strong, confident woman who was a solo act that 'didn't need anyone else' yet everyone seemed to be working together in the background to help her. Despite some of the more crazy feats he'd managed to pull off, Dante never once felt like Lightning when it came to striking down opponents- he couldn't always per se 'do it alone'.

"Let's get moving." Lightning immediately dismissed his idea of her and shook her head. No time for dawdling. A confident glint shone in her eyes, along with a fiery passion her younger human self had garnered pre and post becoming a l'Cie. "We have a world to save."

Looking between the crowd standing before her, Nabaat's lips curved into a smile while she shook her head and let out a small, amused chuckle. "I don't know whomever plotted out this little attempt on my life, but I am genuinely insulted. Do you believe one of Cocoon's elite could be dispatched so easily? That I fell to the Chaos merely because I was 'outmatched'?" A dangerous glint shone in her eyes as the Colonel removed her glasses and folded them neatly before retrieving her weapon. At once, all amusement drained from her face and voice as her lips fell and her green eyes locked with the largest of the feral creatures to move forward. Pulling her weapon back, Nabaat raised her right arm and shielded her face with her left as it ignited in her hands. Letting out a laugh, she charged toward the creature and began her assault. Using Sadistic Surge, she ran forward and slashed the creature, spinning around she hit it again then unleashed a barrage of blows to keep it off-balance before she went for the coupe de grace. Each of her small hits raised the demon above her head and finally when it was high enough Nabaat unleashed a devastating explosion that caused damage to the others and killed the weaker demons off.

"Show some discipline." Sneering at the gradually thinning herd before her, Nabaat pursed her lips ever so slightly. Who would have employed such single-minded forces that proved to ultimately be ineffective and a mere waste of time? Catching a glimpse of one attempting to sneak up on her through her peripheral vision, Nabaat easily side-stepped its advance and scoffed once she dealt with it accordingly. Marveling at the fact that these feral creatures lacked any coherent thought for formulate any semblance of a battle plan, she supposed she'd just have to snuff them out. The quadrupedal Assault reminded her vaguely of the Gorgonopsoid experiments conducted on Cocoon and the creatures indigenous to Gran Pulse. Whether or not these creatures could poison others remained to be seen, but for now it appeared that they merely wanted to kill her.

"They're not much, I know, but their numbers are enough to overwhelm even the most brazen of combatants."

Hearing the muffled voice of a male, Nabaat looked over and found herself staring at a humanoid figure. Whoever he was he wore a peculiar form of armor that Nabaat was completely unfamiliar with. It appeared to be almost organic in nature, as if it somehow was this creatures skin and the coloring was of a crimson/black and with a rather large sword strapped to his hip. He was definitely taller than her to some degree, and went to some effort to hide his face from her and mask his voice. So that raised the question- who was he? "I'm not 'most' combatants." Nabaat stepped over the bodies of the lifeless Assault between them and addressed him directly. "I take it these are your pets?"

"You could say that. But I didn't think you'd be worthy of my mightier demons." Stepping forward yet maintaining a comfortable distance between himself and her, the taller man had admittedly underestimated her.

"A fatal flaw in your little scheme. These 'demons', was it?" Nabaat asked as she calmly and calculatingly stepped toward her opponent. Smiling and letting out a small mock laugh at the demon, the Colonel wasn't at all deterred by him. In fact, she felt like mocking him. "They're nothing but insignificant mindless grunts without much use to them. Obeying you only out of fear of being harmed by their 'master'." A dangerous gleam shone in her green eyes as Nabaat seemed rather amused by the sentiment. "As a Colonel of PsiCom's militant organization I can respect that. But you've made one grave error in employing such futile tactics." Glancing around her, Nabaat continued on her line of thought.

"And what would that be?" The man appeared to be just as humored as the Colonel when it came to their back-and-forth. However his tone of voice was just as dangerous as Nabaat's. It seemed that he could turn from 'humored' to a threat at the flip of a coin.

"I won't fall easily to someone who can't even be bothered to consider me a worthy opponent." Nabaat sneered at him, holding out her weapon and declaring a challenge. Removing her glasses, the Colonel supposed she could do away with this foe in the short amount of time it'd take to do so. "A foolish mistake, to be sure." Letting out a small, humored laugh, the light green eyes of the Colonel glittered with delight as she smiled at the demon. "When charging into battle against a seasoned opponent such as myself, how could you possibly be so near-sighted that you couldn't even be bothered to prepare for the situation?" Musing more to herself at that point, her humor all at once drained away. Taking a defensive/battle-ready stance, Nabaat supposed she could spare some of her time on him. That is, she would also like to find out who her company was, of course.

"You think you can take me?" He scoffed, cocking his head to the side and staring her down. "Very well. Show me your worth." Removing the large weapon that had been strapped to his hip, he aimed the sword directly at her.

"Oh, I know I can dispose of you. Prepare yourself for a one way trip to the Chaos." Nabaat used the anti-matter pseudo-'magic' of Cocoon to her aid and prolong the battle both of them would have to endure. Raising her weapon as it glowed with a fiery blaze, Nabaat heard more of the feral Assault demons flocking around. Letting out a much more audible laugh, Nabaat flicked her wrist and instantly found herself surrounded by the long-dead Nightblade Pumas to combat his lesser creatures. How truly intriguing it was to the Colonel having to fight with such an individual whose arrogance seemed on par with her own. How decorated was he that he believed them to at all be equals?

Through the corner of her eye, the Colonel watched as her Nightblade Puma's fought on par with his Assault and seemed to be holding their ground. Feigning to the left, she evaded a slash meant to catch her off-guard. Watching as a few strands of hair fell to the floor, the Colonel snickered and held her smile. "Is that your best shot?"

"As I said before: You aren't worth my best." He warned, clashing sword against her weapon. Although initially he had underestimated her, the demon was thoroughly surprised and rather intrigued by the skills wielded by Nabaat. But he was still correct in his assumptions. She was just a human afterall. Breaking her guard, he was annoyed rather than stunned or harmed by the assault of a PsiCom Warden opening fire, a Nightblade Puma attempting to scratch and break open his armor, or the fact that her Azure Behemoth's were trying to tear him to shreds before he could get a hit in. Working swiftly, the male demon slew as many as he could before Nabaat herself destroyed them.

"Insubordination is deserving of death." The Colonel tutted, amused as she devoured the strength of the Behemoth's, regenerated any damage received by the demon's hands from consuming her Warden's and forcing him unable to move at the cost of her Nightblade Puma. Letting out a maniacal chorus of laughter, Nabaat drew back her weapon and smirked as it engulfed in flame. Dashing forward, she performed her nastier form of coupe de grace: Malicious Surge. Attacking him at specific points on the body, Nabaat eventually caused him to lift off the ground, building up a more powerful form of her attack until she unleashed the explosion that killed off his remaining Assault and forced him back. "Who said I was trying?" Nabaat laughed as she watched the demon recover. "I'm merely enjoying myself- it's been so long so I've had someone to toy with. You're no misguided l'Cie or combatants of the Coliseum but I suppose I'll have to make due with you. Afterall, what's more invaluable than a toy who won't break?"

"You haven't changed at all." Lightning commented as she stood beside Nabaat, watching her actions with a light scoff and shaking of the head. Only Nabaat would be capable of belittling a demon, showing it absolutely no respect and somehow coming ahead of her mystery foe.

"Something to say, Sergeant?" Nabaat asked with a gleam in her eye as she addressed her lesser ranked former comrade-in-arms Lightning.

"Yeah, a few. First, I'm not a 'Sergeant' anymore. I made Lieutenant when I was a human. Second how are you managing to hold him off single-handedly?" Lightning honestly wanted an answer on that fact.

"You seem surprised." Nabaat mused. "You of all people should know we never ascended ranks in Cocoon's elite without earning our place. These beings on the otherhand-" Nabaat mused as the demon finally seemed ready to fight. Stepping forward, Nabaat drew her weapon and readied herself. "Well, seeing as you're already here, how about lending a hand?"

"Admitting you need help?" Lightning asked, drawing her Overture and preparing to join Nabaat against her mystery opponent.

Nabaat refused to answer and merely scoffed at Lightning's statement. "Is that why you brought him along?" The Colonel asked, her green eyes falling upon Dante. "I don't imagine this one to be Mr. Estheim...?" The man appeared to be a fair amount taller than Hope and a bit more well-built than the scientist as well. Judging by his attire he very much had been accustomed to the New World and as much as Nabaat would have liked to continue her spar with her mysterious stranger, it seemed that their encounter had been ruined.

"No. He's someone else." Lightning glanced back at Dante. How could anyone mistake him for Hope? Aside from hair color, the two of them were exactly nothing alike. Hope was... smart, a brilliant tactician and scientist, someone who knew more way more about the inner workings and machinations of their world(s) than Lightning could even hope to fathom. But not only that, he was her longest known companion. A friend, confidant, someone she could always count on in a pinch and open her heart to... In all honesty, it almost felt like he was the little brother she and Serah never had. And, sometimes, more than that. Lightning had heard from her mother that one day she'd be likely to meet someone, to get to know them, become closer to that person than her closest family, that they might show her how to save herself when she no longer thought she'd be worth saving and without even knowing it make her world brighter. Truth be told, the young her never believed in it; love. Sure, there was the kind she felt for her family, but that was easy. They were all people she enjoyed being around and aiding whenever the opportunity arose.

Doing things for them just came naturally because performing tasks for the people you love is easy; you feel like it'll make them love you more. It was like a good business investment. And for someone she had been so horrible to in the past to become someone so close to her that even at the bitter end of the world, all she wanted was for him to be with her, well, what else could be said? 'I'm not afraid now just like I wasn't back then. Because you were with me, Light.' Even looking at death's door, Hope never gave up on her.

You never gave up on me when everyone else had. Fang no longer trusted the 'pawn' of God, Vanille was too busy trying to atone for a past long gone, forgetting the fact that she had saved Cocoon with Fang when they'd become Ragnarok and more than repented by holding our world for 500 years together. Snow had been lost, battling an ever losing battle to the Chaos at the cries of the people who lost their way and begged for a hero. Knowing him, he jumped at the chance. The orphan who lost his bride too early and his sister who would sleep her crystal slumber until the end of the world. Lumina said that I could have changed things had I not become the container for Serah's soul and memory... would I have been able to hold together the world? Would God's Light and 'Love' not have reached me, had I not given in to despair and became his Savior? Could I have substituted for her, with my divine powers?

All of the speculations in the world would get her nowhere. But in the back of her mind Lightning vowed to never let any of her friends/loved ones come to harm or torture in the name of God ever again.

Coming out of her thoughts, Lightning saw the demonic challenger of Nabaat disappear from sight. Somewhat jumbled from not paying attention she looked over to Dante. "Someone you know?"

"Not that I can think of. Seems to be a lot of 'newcomers' since you showed up." Dante commented. Trying to think of all the peculiar demons he'd come across, this one definitely seemed different.

"Yeul did say God and your Demon King were working together. Seems like they're making monstrosities." Lightning frowned.

"Bhunivelze..." Nabaat pursed her lips at the mention of God. "I thought you did away with that obnoxious creature over a decade ago?"

"I had hoped that I killed the God of Light... but it seems not even my prayers could have been answered on that one. God was too strong even for the physical manifestation of Chaos itself to destroy." Lightning wasn't sure what could rid the world of God if even her combined powers with that of the souls of the dead wasn't even to get him out of the way.

"It would seem that your game is back on." Nabaat tutted. "The King and the Pawn... though who might be whom in this scenario? His Savior who struck him down... I know that if I were in his shoes, I'd be thinking much more carefully about how to deal with you. After all he does know you're a person now with your own mind and capabilities not to be scorned. I suppose our meeting was not coincidental?"

"Yeul said we need you. That you were in danger and we had to come now." Lightning answered her question first and more or less ignored her theories on God. She forgot how much of a handful Nabaat could be. Looking to Dante she had a few things to say. "I need to get her out of here. There's no telling how many more are out there, and if the others are safe. Magic or not they don't know what they're dealing with. I don't even know what we're dealing with."

"Don't wait on my account." Dante completely understood her reasoning. "I'm gonna stick around. Like you said there could be more of them and I'm not taking any chances that humans could get hurt. Besides you've got Serah and the others to worry about, right?"

"Worry about?" Lightning lightly scoffed. "Snow would probably yell out some stupid monologue on how he's her and everybody else's 'hero' and the only protection she needs while pumping his fist in the air and Serah dumbly agrees with him and reinforces his bad behavior." Trying to act not so thrilled about her brother-in-law, Lightning was glad he and Fang were there to help out. Not to mention the fact that Noel had joined them. She wasn't discrediting Hope, Serah or Vanille- they were the 'casters' of the group and while they could perform physical oriented attacks they more or less performed support in the forms of healing, buffs, magic offense and helping the 'warriors' of the group. "Plus, he's a Snow-type. They're full of themselves and even when everyone else is just waiting for the tedious part to end they just keep coming with more and more nonsense."

"And Hope." Dante teased her lightly, though the feeling wasn't there he more or less was checking her reaction on things.

"I don't need to worry about Hope- he's my first and only protege. If anyone can take care of themselves- it'd be him. I trained hims myself and sometimes it feels like he knows my mind better than I do. I'd be more worried about you. You're a Snow-type. Always getting into trouble, cocky, borderline-arrogant, strong, like to put yourself in harms way just to save someone else... a 'hero' but at least you don't go boasting about it." Lightning reached into her armor and produced a peculiar, foreign vial of an unknown liquid that Dante had absolutely no idea why or how she kept on her person. Nonetheless the God held it out to him, expecting him to take it from her. "It's an Elixir. When/if the fight gets to be too physically exerting or you get hurt too much... drink it. It's rarer than even Phoenix Down so don't waste it."

'Then why give it to me?" Dante was honestly surprised at the fact she admitted herself to be worried about him. And a little unnerved at the fact she was 'more worried about him than Hope'. Was that an insult? But otherwise her description was pretty on point. Still not accepting the gift, he did stare at the odd liquid. Something about it did seem 'heavenly' for a lack of better description. Why hadn't he seen something like this until Lightning? 'Rarer than Phoenix Down' did seem to be a pretty rare object as he had never set his eyes on a Phoenix Down until Lightning had produced them.

"Just because you may seem indestructible doesn't mean you can't be taken down. You said there's lots of creatures here that you've never seen before and that's true- they come from my world. God's toying with us both and there's no telling what he's willing to do to get to me or those around me. I've seen what he did when I wasn't around to protect people- it wasn't pretty. So take it." Lightning insisted and wouldn't hear his refusal. She saw what he could do and was really impressed with his fighting technique and skill but that didn't mean he couldn't use the help. Elixir, Potion, Nectar of the Gods, she'd used them all on Nova Chrysalia to keep herself going. Even 'higher beings' needed help from time to time. So now wasn't the time to argue.

Seeing how serious she was being, how could he possibly refuse? "Well, when you argue so passionately on my behalf, how could I refuse?" Smiling down at the Savior, he stepped forward and took the vial from her hands. Carefully tucking it somewhere safe, he nodded to Lightning and ruffled her hair. "Anything else I should be worried about?"

Lightning barely registered the fact he had spoken, when even just the mere brushing of their fingertips conjured something peculiar in her. It felt like a searing heat or electricity. Almost like when she wielded her divine weapon in her hands and felt the crackling of its energy. Was that was it was, static? Feeling it again when he ruffled her hair, Lightning exhaled slightly. Trying to compose herself, she shook her head. "No. I'm sure you'll be fine." Lightning turned away from him and called out to Odin, her faithful servant coming at once and presenting himself before her and Nabaat. "Just watch your back." Climbing aboard Odin with Nabaat she turned her head and looked at Dante. "If you need my help don't hesitate to ask. I'll hear it even if you don't say it aloud. The Savior hears all prayers of mortals and she answers them without discrimination."

"I'll try to remember that." Dante nodded to her as she took off. Walking with his hands in his pockets, he made his way down the street and willed for anything to happen. Whatever creatures of the night decided to show themselves would be dealt with swiftly. Feeling the occasional cool glass against his fingertips, Dante pulled out the Elixir and stared at it. The liquid seemed to be 'divine' in nature, and the glass vial was something to behold as well. Was this the abilities of the 'light' and 'good' on their spectrum of 'darkness' and 'evil'? The divine of light were able to conjure such peculiar objects, call those of their making to their aid, bestow gifts of strength and magic to human beings to create allies, peer into the future, control divine objects, project hallucinations, illusions, control the souls of the dead and ferry them to righteous fates of redemption. The list was endless. But those of the dark, who were as Lightning described to be 'born with' instead of earning their powers had rapid healing (that could easily be counteracted by Lightning's many smoke and mirrors magic displays, or immortality stance), sheer might, specific weapons corresponding to their kind, fight an endless battle that never really seemed to win. And, most of all- perhaps immortality. Though Dante had only lived a few mere human decades he wasn't sure of his own vitality. Humans didn't heal like he did, they couldn't survive half the things he'd been through and honestly he wasn't sure if he could die. Call him callous, cocky, what have you- but he had almost no sense of mortality purely for the fact that he'd never really had a close call where he thought he'd be killed.

Rolling the vial of Elixir in his hands, he tipped it upright and removed the crystal top. Inhaling the scent, he was rewarded with the most pleasant, 'heavenly' smell that he couldn't quite pinpoint. It was floral, sweet and something definitely unable to be duplicated by mankind. Had this object come from Lightning, Etro, or some older God? Their 'God of Light' Bhunivelze didn't seem the type to bestow this upon his servants so he didn't think he would have done so. But maybe, just maybe this was the fabled 'food' or 'drink' of the Gods that some humans spoke of. What type of effect would it have on him? Tempted to bring it to his lips and drink it all in one go he felt like now wasn't the time to do so. Placing it back in his pocket carefully he continued along his way.

"So sis left you behind, and you summoned me- is that it?" Lumina asked, smiling as she gleefully kicked her legs from the platform she'd materialized on. "You know, ordinarily I don't show up for complete strangers... But for you, I'm willing to make an exception." The young trickster waited for any sign of response from the man opposite her.

"More or less. But I didn't summon you." Dante instantly declined her statement. Looking around for anything vital to his current predicament, he didn't see any signs of struggle, people in trouble, Devil Arms or Hell Gate's he'd have to formally dismantle. Maybe it was time for a break. But where had Lumina come from? It was honestly peculiar that she showed up out of nowhere for no reason. Did she have Lightning's ability to see into the hearts of men and do as she sought fit to make their prayers come true? Not that he'd exactly been praying for company of sorts, he'd more or less wanted his boredom to be over and done with.

"To the contrary. You were thinking something along the lines of..." Lumina paused for a moment, tilted her head back, stared up at the sky as opposed to Dante and placed her index finger to her chin and began tapping it lightly. "'I wonder where she went off to. Why does she keep ditching me?' Right?" Venturing a guess, the Child of Chaos waited for his response.

"Actually I was thinking the break would be nice. She's a solo act, right? May as well get something to eat and drink." Dante could see why Lightning didn't care much for Lumina, but he didn't really have an opinion of her one way or the other. But judging from the hair, her actions, even the way she carried herself, it did seem blatantly obvious that she was a Farron girl.

"Oh." Lumina pouted lightly, letting out a small huff. "Guess I don't know you well enough to know what makes you tick. Well, we don't." Lumina giggled as if she'd referenced an inside joke. Leaping down, she stood before Dante and stared up at the Demon Hunter. "You sure you wanna do the same old thing, Dante? I mean, sitting in a bar, drinking by yourself, drowning in those same old thoughts... Lingering doubts, regrets, hoping that that toxic liquid you put to your lips will help you to forget when all it does is numb the pain. Tsk. Tsk." Raising her gloved arm, Lumina shook her index finger from left to right in an effort to chide him. Placing her arms behind her back as she began to pace and perform menial tasks to busy herself, the child of Chaos began to delve deep into all of his secrets, the things that the Devil Hunter generally just didn't bother to share with anyone. "You're just like... her you know that, right?" Brushing off the ends of her skirt, she removed any evidence of dust or debris that might have caught up in the fabric and didn't bother to make eye contact with Dante.

Dante didn't shift his expression from any of her thoughts about him. He wouldn't let her know how on par with her ventures she'd spoken. "You seem to know more than you let on." He mused, watching Lumina as she seemed easily bored, even bored of being bored and just trying to busy herself in general. A typical child. Albeit with her knowledge. Now where had he gotten himself into such a situation before...? "Her? Lightning?" Letting out a small scoff, he couldn't help the smile, borderline grin on his face. "She'd probably try and kill you for saying something like that."

"You catch on quick!" Lumina joyfully congratulated him in a condescending manner. "She tried. She can't." Lumina smirked back at him. "What I meant is you're stubborn. You may not act the way she likes, or carry yourself the way she enjoys... But she knows it, too." Lumina's smirk shifted to a smile. "You may be more of a Snow than Serah, and she's a little less than a Virgil, but the parallels are there for her. Big sister. Little brother. Both of you missing something, parts of yourself you locked away a long time ago..." Taking a completely serious shift in demeanor, Lumina stared up at him. "If you forsake your humanity and try to go it alone... Then you deserve to be alone."

"I've never given up my humanity." Dante refused to listen to her statement on that fact. Call him crazy, but when she spoke, did he see her image shift a little? It seemed almost as if he'd seen Lightning, then Serah as she finished her berating him.

"You only accepted the convenient parts of it." Lumina wholeheartedly disagreed. "Your empathy, selfishness, egotism, sadness... But that's not much of a life, is it? You never bothered to give yourself a chance to heal. Is it because you think you're indestructible? Unworthy? Or maybe it's because of the fact that you have next to no time to socialize. At least, not with humans. Don't get me wrong! I know demons aren't the best conversationalists, but live a little!"

"I am living. Living the way I know how." Dante turned away from her, placing his hands in his pockets and beginning to walk. Feeling something slip into his hand, he instantly glanced over to see Lumina matching his stride and holding his gloved hand in her own.

"But don't you think it's time for something else? Don't you feel like the world owes you something new?" Lumina asked, genuinely asking for his opinion.

"The world doesn't owe me anything. I don't do what I do for thanks, or because I think I'll be paid some great cosmic debt at the end of the day. Do something good for no other reason than you know it's the right thing to do, and you're on the right track." Dante didn't bother trying to retrieve his hand from hers, as it seemed fairly harmless that Lumina was performing such a child-like action.

"Of course it comes naturally to you. You're the little brother with the heart of gold rather than the older brother with the heart of stone. Seem familiar?" Lumina asked, musing on the siblings. Not bothering for his answer, as it was more rhetorical than anything, she continued on her own thought process. "Though it may be a little unclear to you, they always do what's best for you. At the end of the day, Lightning and Virgil didn't always do what was best for them, but they had something they wanted to protect; more precious than glittering gold, crystal curses, even the Gods themselves. You."

"Is that why you came here? To tell me my brother loved me, and Lightning loves Serah, and that I'm wasting my life away? You're full of mixed signals." Dante still didn't quite know where to place Lumina. A little sister, maybe?

"Little sister? Bleh." Lumina didn't waste time in vocalizing her distaste for the title he'd awarded her.

Dante raised a brow. "You can read minds?"

"I can read body language. We've always been really good at reading a room." Lumina piped up. "It's just the fault of knowing how to act when it comes to those feelings. I mean you don't exactly get to the rank of Sergeant for nothing in the Guardian Corps. But enough about that- I do have a reason for staying around. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the company, but I do have important things on my agenda that our little meeting is keeping me from."

"Then don't let me stop you." Dante didn't even think of keeping her from whatever it was that preoccupied Lumina.

"Don't be silly! I said I was enjoying myself, right?" Lumina stopped walking all at once and tugged at his jacket. "So, what are you planning on doing with our 'friends'?" Pointing up, Lumina smiled as she revealed the fact that they'd been followed the entire time.

Dante followed her gesture until he saw the demons looming above. "I was waiting for them to make the first move, honestly." Shrugging his shoulders, Dante didn't seem surprised in the slightest.

"Hm. Not something they'd do with me here." Lumina mused. "Well, how about it? You gonna take care of these guys?"

"You might wanna find somewhere safe to sit." Dante warned her, glancing over his shoulder.

"Oh, don't worry about me." Lumina laughed, disappearing in a pocket of Chaos and reappearing a safe distance to a rooftop. "And remember!" She cupped her hands over her mouth, shouting not only to Dante, but also to the demons in general. "If you need my help- all you gotta do is ask!"

"I'll try to remember that." Dante mused as he drew the Rebellion. Smirking as he set his sights on the rather large demon. He'd never seen one of these before. Something about it seemed a little off, even as far as he was concerned. Watching as its vibrant, white wings tainted into a dull grey, and it wailed out an ear defeaning noise, before the feathers of its wings shot off and attempted to harm him, Dante swiftly dodged the peculiar attack. Or, at least he thought so. Though he had cleared the barrage of feathers, it seemed they had a peculiar, lasting effect on him. It wasn't like any mere wound, as that would have healed instantly- this was... debilitating to a degree. His body felt heavy, and he didn't feel his normal 100%. Despite it all, he pressed through.

Evading yet another flurry of feathers, he was caught off-guard by a large demon attacking him from behind. Getting swatted into a wall, he let out a small grunt as he collided with the bricks and dented the wall with his weight combined in the force. "That all you got?" Getting back up, he watched as more of the peculiar, angelic looking smaller demons. Watching them all continue to multiply as his condition seemingly worsened, he decided it was about time to use ranged weaponry. Firing a few rounds at the angel-looking beings, he shot a few of them down.

Lumina frowned at their actions. Debuffs, really? Against someone who had no natural defense for them? How boring. about to snap her fingers and help Dante with his very own ribbon out of Chaos itself, she was surprised when he retrieved the vial of Elixir and downed it, instantly dispelling all of his ailments, she once again smiled as the fight had a much 'fairer' theme to it. Kicking her legs, Lumina watched him obliterate one by one the quite literal army he'd had to face. Dante moved with such precision and drive to rid the world of these peculiar creatures, and when he fought and destroyed them, Lumina saw it; his carnal demonic desire to eliminate. Despite how much he may have flocked toward humanity and Virgil toward demons, it seemed neither one realized their true potential. But being the very first of their kind, surely they were just learning the heights of their limits and expectations, and doing what all humans did: struggle with inner darkness. Of course, the half-breeds would have to work so much harder to quell away their darkness. That was honestly really quite admirable.

Watching as the gargantuan 'angelic' demon was faltering, and Dante hadn't even broken a sweat, Lumina gleefully kicked her legs and giggled with delight.

"Help... Help me..." Looking to Lumina right as it was about to die, the demon demanded her favor.

"Oh?" Lumina asked, head cocked to the side. Conjuring Chaos to freeze everything exactly the way it was, the tendrils of the primordial force immobilized not only the demon, but halted Dante's hand from finishing. 'Standing' from the rooftop, she walked on the air until she was close enough to the demon. "Are you asking for my help?"

"Yes." Showing some humility for once, which was a very odd thing for their kind, Lumina smiled.

"Okay." Lumina held out her hand and a rather large portal of Chaos opened itself. Producing Chaos seeds, she gently dropped them from the palm of her hand and instantly her loyal, faithful hydra appeared. "Remember-" Lumina piped up. "-you asked for this." Releasing her hold on Dante, each of the hydra hungrily devoured the demon without any sign of being full. "Oh! They're so cute when they hatch! Don't you agree?" Lumina asked, basically squealing over the 'baby' hydra's and how she enjoyed their antics.

"That's one way of putting things." Dante murmured. "What do you do with those things now? I'm guessing they're still hungry, right?"

"Right." Lumina nodded, pleased that he seemed to know something of her hydra brood.

"And they eat... only demons?" Dante asked, going totally for a shot in the dark.

"Mhm." Lumina drew out the 'm' sound at the end, as if to tell him 'go on'.

"Which brings me to the question: Why did you offer him help and betray that demon?" Dante asked. Thinking it over for a moment, he had two questions. "Why did you bother helping me and not it?"

"Oh, that's easy! He wasn't playing fair. And I don't mean the little minion guys, I mean the fact that he was cheating! Debuffs on someone who can't retaliate? How boring." Lumina frowned. "I'm sure you don't need me telling you about unfair advantages since you take down guys way tougher all the time, but I thought it'd be fun to help. Besides, you never once asked me for anything. And he demanded my help." Letting out a small sigh, Lumina shook her head. "Is there no such thing as dying with a little honor or dignity these days?"

"You can find either of those things in being torn to shreds?" Dante asked, raising a brow.

"Would it had helped if I used a sword?" Lumina asked. Snapping her fingers, she instantly held the Rebellion in her hands, and sliced through the air with it for added heft. "Where's the fun in that? I had to use one of these things for a thousand years... it gets old." Lumina pursed her lips, promptly holding out the sword to Dante for him to retrieve.

"What are you, exactly? A God? Child? I know that you're bits and pieces of Lightning, but what exactly are you?" Dante wanted a bit of an answer on that one as well.

"Me? Well, I am Lightning, but I'm also not Lightning. I'm the original her. Us." Lumina corrected herself. "I'm the girl she left behind when mom and dad died. We loved our parents very much. We were very proud of our father and loved and adored by him in turn- it's no wonder we followed in his footsteps. Though, to be honest, neither of us can really speak of him... And mom? Well, she was a kind, loving person who made sure we never knew want. Even when dad died, she never stopped caring and loving. We tried to be replacements for both of them, but in the end, we failed to be either." Lumina folded her hands together, staring at them and acting as if what she spoke about had everything and yet nothing to do with her. "Her selfishness, her childishness, her wants, desires, needs, everything just begging to be let out and screamed to the heavens!" Cupping her hands together for the last part, Lumina amplified her voice and yelled to the sky. "I'm Claire Farron." Seemingly brimming with pride at her name, Lumina smiled at Dante. "And yes, I am 'divine'."

Dante listened to every word she had to say. Mom. Dad. Thinking of Sparda and Eva, he couldn't not see the parallels there. Sparda had been long gone and it was just him, Eva and Virgil at home. Then Eva died. And after that, they split off, had their own adventures, teamed up sometimes, but never really and truly got along. And suddenly it was Dante killing his big brother. "So Lightning gave up her chance to grow up and be normal. Accepted all responsibility for her little sister and made sure she was always comfortable and at the top of her priorities. Serah got to grow up with the best opportunities because of her big sister." Rationalizing things aloud, he was more or less analyzing the information given to him by Lumina. Claire. So that was Lightning's name.

"Oh, don't worry- you're little Dante is still fighting to come out, too, you know?" Lumina asked, smiling at him and glad he understood what she had to say. "I could let him out. Oh it would be so fun to have a playmate!"

"Don't get any ideas." Dante shut that idea down right then and there.

"Aw! You're no fun!" Lumina pouted, frowning at Dante. Folding her arms the young girl turned her head away. In truth, the child of Chaos never really intended to let him out. A child version of a son of Sparda with nothing but the rotten aspects of Dante and his demonic heritage running around? That'd be more than just Chaos- it'd be overkill.

Patting her on the head, Dante let out a small scoff. "You are her, aren't you? Just seem to want my attention all to yourself." Watching as Lumina seemingly changed her temperament at his actions, he definitely could see the parallels between the prideful woman and the young girl.

"Hey, wanna see something neat?" Lumina asked, a plan formulating in her head.

"I guess." Dante shrugged his shoulders, figuring he had nothing to lose.

Forcing her hydra to leave in the same instant she conjured up an oracle drive, Lumina placed it right in front of Dante. "Put your hand on it."

Obeying what she had to say, Dante touched the peculiar object in the center and watched as varying images came to be.

"Alright. You're better than the usual run of the mill demon- I'll give you that." Lightning recovered from the blow she'd received, formally addressing her opponent. Seemingly in the third perspective, Lightning's opponent was just over her shoulder, but the Savior's image was just enough in the way that he couldn't be seen. Dante saw himself appear in the picture, and say something to Lightning that he couldn't quite catch. His hand held her forearm, and he seemed to be pleading with her in a sincere way.

"Stay out of my way." Because of how well she enunciated, it wasn't hard to make out her words. Lightning had warned Dante, the Savior having absolutely no patience for his interference. Ripping her arm out of his grasp, it seemed the two of them were going to have a rather unpleasant interaction that was going to turn physical. Lightning didn't seem to be going for quite that 'direct' approach she was so fond of. Call him conceited, what have you- it seemed more like a 'I don't want to hurt you, but if I have to-'.

But knowing himself, Dante didn't move.

Observing the situation even more thoroughly, it seemed he didn't need to figure out what was being said as it actually more or less seemed to come to life. Dante was forced to stay put when she used the same peculiar tendrils to hold him still as she fought her opponent. Just as before when she summoned Bahamut, Lightning was invoking some sort of primal power in this vision. Watching the sacred symbols of the Goddess Etro appear, Lightning spoke each and every syllable of the incantation but the part that stood out to him were the words; Legendary. Netherknight. Right as she was about to say the name of her summoned servant, it cut right to his insignia forming and the large, humanoid creature appearing beside her. Dante wouldn't lie to himself; he thought it may be Sparda. And despite himself and knowing what he did, he still had to wonder if it was his late father.

Lightning held out her sword, and pointed it at her opponent, narrowing her eyes as she did so. Her mouth opened and he made out what she had to say; finish him.

Wanting more from the confrontation, Dante was disappointed when it faded away and he was instead left with him, sitting in a bar by himself. None of the bar stools beside him were occupied, and he seemed lonely. His head was slumped, and drink upon drink was piling up. It seemed like any other day, really. Well, maybe not. Had the previous events with Lightning left him shaken up? Finishing a drink he'd been working on, he ordered another and didn't seem on the track to stop. After a few moments of the same routine he was surprised to see Lightning enter the picture. Though hesitant she sat beside him and after a few awkward moments of starting and trying to say something, she finally settled on shutting her mouth and placing an arm around his shoulder. The action seemed to convey something she had a hard time vocalizing aloud; I'm sorry.

Though Dante had been focusing more or less on his alcohol consumption, Lightning was consumed in the process of apology. The moment he'd ordered another and left himself open to grab the drink, Lightning had forced him to stop and hugged him. He more or less seemed surprised by the action, and probably more than likely drunk. Lightning helped him off the stool, draped his arm around her shoulder and spoke aloud the words: Come on. Leading him out of the bar, he wanted to see what came next. But just as with the previous interaction, it abruptly ended.

"What was that?" Dante asked, looking over at Lumina.

"That? Well, 'that' was your future, of course." Lumina made the oracle drive disappear and looked at him. "Angel of Death... inheritor of Etro's Grace, Grail of Valhalla. Demonic half-breed, son of Sparda, inheritor of his mantle of responsibility... It seems that you and sis have a grand destiny ahead of you. I don't think I'll be here to see it... But I know you two will make the bad guys shake in their boots. After all, what could the strongest man on Earth and the strongest woman from Cocoon, Pulse and Nova Chrysalia have to fear? I bet God and Mundus are even more scared of what the two of you could do together than they ever could." Speaking words of great wisdom for a change of pace, the young Farron hoped he understood her.

"Why does this feel like 'goodbye'?" Dante asked, meeting her gaze.

"You're hungry, right?" Lumina asked, changing the topic entirely. "There's an ice-cream shop around the corner! Let's go!" Tugging on his coat, the young girl began to quite literally lead him by the hand to the shop in question. After a few moments they arrived to the promised location and Lumina found them a booth to sit at.

"You kind of avoided the question." Dante said, once his order arrived and Lumina's was placed in front of her.

"Because I'm not meant to be here, Dante." Lumina spoke calmly. "I served my purpose a long time ago, when Lightning and Serah needed me. Claire had to look out for her little sis, so she wouldn't fade away into the Chaos and be lost forever to the crystal shards of time. I was a container for Serah's soul. But this time around, I don't have that purpose." Speaking eerily seriously, Lumina looked him directly in the eyes.

"But you came back for some reason. Can't you and Lightning just go back together?" Dante was genuinely curious on that one.

"Tell me, when you look at me, do you see my face, or do you see someone else's?" She asked, walking around with her arms behind her back and once more pacing. "If it's just me, then that means I have more time. If you see her then I guess she doesn't need me anymore."

"I see three people. Lightning. Serah. You." Dante spoke honestly, wondering if this meant she'd be rejoining Lightning. Eating part of his ice-cream, he watched and waited for some form of answer from Lumina.

"Then that means I'm almost ready." Lumina traced around the outer rim of her glass and stared down at it with vague curiosity.

"You can choose when to go back?" Dante asked.

"No. She has to be ready. If Lightning won't accept me then I can't." Lumina glanced up at him. "'Don't leave me- I don't wanna be alone!'." Smiling as she spoke the words of Lightning/Serah/Lumina and even Dante himself wanted to vocalize at times, her image flickered once more between the Farron sisters. "You really are like her!" Lumina couldn't help the small laugh that came from herself. "You don't tell people when you're lonely, and feel like they should either know, or you should keep to yourself and be isolated because you're the 'strong' one. It's okay to be strong, Dante. But it's also okay to let someone in."

"It's not always by choice that I'm alone. But I know that being with someone just isn't feasible." Dante didn't really know why they were dwelling on it.

"Because it's 'never the right time', or you can never find the 'right' person, right? Well." Lumina drummed her fingers on the tabletop. "What if she's here, and you've finally met her?"

"I'd say it's weird, considering you're a little girl." Dante deadpanned.

"Not me." Lumina made a disgusted face.

"I was kidding. Don't worry- it doesn't happen often." Anymore. Dante had a clue on what she was hinting at, but he more or less wanted her to say it. "And who might this mysterious person be?"

"The only other person on the planet you can relate to." Lumina knew he wasn't being dense, just an 'ass' so to speak. "Lightning."

"Kind of odd to be getting the pep-talks from technically her but also not her. I mean, doesn't she more or less hate and put up with me? Can't really say I think that she'll end up liking, let alone loving me at some point or other." Dante didn't exactly know why he was fighting it. Probably because he knew that Lumina could be an active liar, and he didn't wanna end up on another one of Lightning's 'I hate you, die' binges. Least of all if he made the wrong move and she decided to get all gung-ho about it.

"Can I tell you a little secret?" Lumina asked.

"Sure." Dante shrugged.

"Yeul decreed it. And the funny thing about destiny, is that Lightning more or less always finds a way to change it or not play into its hands. But this time around, it's not something that's as simple as killing a fal'Cie, protecting a Goddess in her throne room or saving humanity. It's finding the other half of her soul. The part that's been missing since the beginning." Lumina explained the situation a little better, since he still seemed more or less skeptical. "And I don't mean me, of course." Stirring the ice-cream around in its glass, she seemed rather bored and uninterested in the confection. "There were very old stories, told before the time of cliques and religious sects devoted to only one God out there. Tales of how humans used to be something different, that they were joined together, and their souls were one. Until one day the Gods sought fit to split them apart, and leave either halves saddened by the split and ever longing for their missing pieces, the other halves of their soul." Looking up at Dante, she had a little more to say. "But there's also more to that story. Should I go on?" Giving him the choice on the matter, Lumina wouldn't bother with drivel if it seemed uninteresting to her guest. Besides, she did have a reason for this meeting, and while it may or may not be entirely clear to Dante, she would make sure to plant a few ideas here and there for him.

"If you want to. It sounds interesting." Dante wouldn't deny the fact that she had piqued his interest in some form or another. Though it was a little odd to say that Lightning and he may have apparently 'shared the same soul' and had been a little more than 'out there' a theory considering the fact of the massive age difference, being born on different worlds in different times, polar opposites when it came to species, etc. And yet, somehow it all seemed to make sense. Lumina was seemingly closing the gaps between him and her, and the fact that Lightning and he weren't really so different after all.

"You're more unique than you know, Dante. And I don't just mean because you're the son of Sparda, either. Twins weren't something heard of in the old world, they were rarer than even the down of a Phoenix. Maybe because Etro knew better than anyone else on what could happen to a soul when it was fractured and split up into sections. I mean, look who you're talking to!" Lumina beamed happily. "But that's beside the point. As a twin, you only have half of half a soul. That's where things get a little tricky, as Lightning may very well be your other half, but it also means there was someone else who completed the puzzle." Inwardly smirking at her statement, the young trickster waited for him to take the bait.

"Virgil." Dante spoke the name of his elder brother aloud. "So what exactly are you trying to say? That Virgil and I were supposed to sit around and wait for Lightning? That she'd be happy with both of us?"

"Not exactly. But the thing about souls, is that they want to be whole. You and Virgil enjoyed each others company very much, and that's because you both felt a sense of belonging and being whole together. Not even a coffer of souls would be a substitute for what the two of you had. But you feel it, right? When you're with her, when you hold her divine weapon in your hands, how it jolts to life with divine energy and obeys your every command- that's not a coincidence. Only someone with the Grace of Etro could do that. She may be the Savior, and you may be the Son of Sparda, but you're both very much the same... Particles of dust, brushed off the palm of a God." Enjoying the rather cryptic place to leave off of, Lumina also took amusement in the fact that he seemed a tad bit confused.

Dante's facial expression never once changed during her explanation. "So you're saying a God and a Demon are somehow soulmates? That even though she was born long before my world existed, somehow we were destined to be together? I think Lightning would have something to say about that." What was the endgame here? He highly doubted this was from the 'goodness of her heart' or something cliche like that, but Dante wanted to find out the answer.

"Etro had her reasoning for that. I mean, how could she let her champion's focus be blurred by you? She had her little sister, Hope, Snow, Fang, Sazh and Vanille all to worry about. And she was a force to be reckoned with without a lover in the mix. Could you imagine how dangerous she'd be if someone she loved more than a friend or family member was in jeopardy? She tried to kill God because he took their souls hostage... What's more poetic than a Human and a Demon finding love, in the midst of battle and war with each others worlds than an Angel of Death and their son doing the same? But don't just take my word for it- you'll see in time!" Lumina smiled and let out a small laugh.

"You're really serious about this, huh?" Dante could more or less she was telling him the truth. "Is this her selfishness trying to hone in on me, or are you just expediting the process because you're bored?" It was rather hard to tell and he couldn't much read her very well. Probably because it was their first meeting or more than likely because of the fact that she was Lightning.

"She's too much of a stubborn, proud egotist to do anything about it. I know her, and I know how we think. Besides, she hasn't even realized she likes you yet. Well, that's not exactly true. She's not trying to kill you anymore which is more or less progress when it comes to Lightning. And me? I am selfish, very selfish. I want someone we can lean on to share our burdens with, someone who understands and doesn't hesitate to shoot toward their goals, no matter the cost. We bet on saving the future to the point that we gambled away Serah's life. And you- you actually killed Virgil. If it came down to it, and we had to make that choice, I don't think Lightning could do it. At least, not again. We saw her die, the moment that she changed the future, rejoiced in the fact that Noel and Serah had completed their 'focus' given to them by Lightning. It's different from sticking a sword into their abdomen, Dante." Lumina spoke as if she had somehow managed to guess his inner thoughts correctly like before. "The symbol of Etro appearing in her eyes, one last jolt in her body as its strength finally failed her, her knees buckling as she fell backward and almost plummeted a few hundred feet down only to be caught by Noel. Watching as a stranger holds your little sister until everything that was leaves her and knowing that you're responsible. You may not have been the one to physically take her down, but you're the reason she's gone." Lumina's image once more flickered as she displayed Lightning's image, this time completely overwriting herself as she stared at Dante and seemed more or less depressed.

"Even in the divine realm of Valhalla with the gifts of Etro bestowed upon you, becoming more than human and less than what you were, even with your renewed strength and virtue, nothing you did would ever atone for what came next. Serah's soul was taken hostage by Caius and Yeul's who demanded she be kept with them and end with the world together with her. The Chaos enveloping your sister, eating her away and holding her prisoner." Seemingly unsure of what to do next, 'Lightning'/Lumina seemed to be pained by what she was speaking about.

"What happened next?" Dante was genuinely curious. Lightning had told him a few details here and there but honestly he hadn't heard this story.

"War." Without hesitation, the word escaped her lips. "'By what right, do you demand her release? At your bidding, she embarked on a journey to save the world. Serah's death is your doing.'" Repeating the words she had heard so long ago, Lumina frowned. "Putting salt in the wound, we demanded the challenge for Serah's soul. Yeul retreated and we faced her champion, the embodiment of Chaos and self-righteous arrogance. Immortal vs Goddess. Holding the weight of Serah's death and the longing to be reunited with her in our heart, we defeated him time and again until he disappeared into nothingness. Reclaiming the soul of our sister, we held her tighter than the day our last parent died." Finishing her thoughts, she moved on to Serah's portion. Instantly, the apparition changed to the younger Farron. 'Don't forget me. When Cocoon fell, and you seemed to just disappear... Everyone was so sure. They said that you were gone. That you were dead. But not me. I just knew. I knew that you were alive somewhere, and I'd find you eventually. I never gave up hope... and now here we are. Just keep me in your thoughts. Remember me, and we'll see each other again. No matter what happens to me... Even if I vanish from this world. Promise me, Lightning. Promise you'll remember me'."

"She wasn't lying when she said that Virgil wouldn't disappear so long as you keep him in your heart. So long as you live, he'll never fade away into nothingness." Lumina/Serah assured him, even going so far as to smile at the Devil Hunter.

"Why are you telling me all of this? I'm sure you have your reasons, but why exactly are you doing this? I don't think you're the kind to waste your time trying to be matchmaker." Dante wanted a clear cut answer from Lumina. She seemed to be bringing up Serah and Virgil quite a bit to him, and the aspects of their deaths.

Holding her smile, the Serah version faded away. "You're right, I do have my reasons! But it's too early to tell. And ask yourself this Dante, why would she give you an Elixir if she's so 'cold' to you? Lightning doesn't just give those away to people she hates, let alone doesn't trust. So you have to know that in the back of her mind she does have some form of ulterior motives. But that's beside the point. We're out of time. I'll see you around!" Lumina giggled before teleporting away. Stepping out of the portal of Chaos, Lumina let out a small, long-suffering sigh.

"What a colossal waste of time and efforts." Scoffing at the Child of Chaos, her demonic companion wondered why she even bothered doing such a foolish thing.

"Oh? You think so?" Lumina asked, smirking at the demon. "I think it was fun! Besides, he doesn't really know what's in store for him, does he? I mean, neither of them really do, and this little surprise might be enough to send either of them over the edge." Clasping her hands together, Lumina seemed very excited.

"You're not subtle in your hinting. If you interfered with anything-" He started, his tone of voice becoming threatening, the Demon instantly stopped all at once when he noticed the tendrils of Chaos enveloping his legs, each of them weaving their way around his thighs and moving up to his torso.

"You'll do what, exactly?" Lumina asked, tilting her head to the side and staring at him. Her hands glowed with the aura of Chaos itself, and she easily reappeared behind him, mocking the demon. "Do you know who you're dealing with? I'm not just some human you can talk down to or a subordinate who'll start shaking in their boots because you raise your voice. You're in charge here." Lumina warned. "Now, if you'd like to be civil and talk like people, then by all means. But if you're not going to be nice, then I'll just leave you here and work on the many other little pet projects I have running around." Once more standing in front of him, she looked up at the demon. "Think carefully before you answer!" Becoming cheery, the young girl paused. "Are you going to be nice?"

"Yes." He grumbled at her in a sneer/borderline snarl, clenching his fists as he felt the tendrils of Chaos tighten around his body.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Lumina asked, putting her hand close to her ear and mocking his tone of voice.

"Yes. I will be nice." Wanting to behead the little girl, he grit his teeth and was thankful for the fact that his facial features were covered by a helmet. Otherwise the annoying Child of Chaos would know what he was thinking of doing and how close to murdering her he was.

"That's what I thought you said." Lumina smiled. The tendrils of Chaos instantly retreated and she found herself a place to sit and stare at her companion. "I don't know why you're angry at me- I'm not the reason you're lagging behind in your duties. Won't your master be upset that his little pet isn't doing what he wanted him to? I mean losing to Nabaat, Fang, Vanille, Snow, Serah, Lightning and Noel? Ouch. Maybe he overestimated your usefulness."

"I intended to test the strength of one. Others decided to interfere. Regardless I haven't given them my full limitations." Scoffing at Lumina's mockery of him, the demon wasn't amused. "I'm no ones slave."

"Now where have I heard that one before...?" Lumina asked, tapping her index finger on her chin. Recalling the memory of Lightning/herself fighting against their former fellow brothers in arms up the few menial steps to Orphan's cradle, she recalled taking down two sacrifices while Fang, and Snow helped with the physical aspects and Hope/Vanille/Sazh worked on the magical aspects. "Does he know how you feel about your arrangement? What am I saying? Of course he doesn't! You'd be wiped out of existence before you could say 'oops'."

"I just need to play my part long enough. Lightning and Dante will kill him and it'll all be over." Semi-explaining some of his intentions to Lumina, he merely wanted the God-King to be destroyed. Killing Lightning, Dante or their comrades didn't at all interest him in the slightest.

"That can be arranged. But are you sure you can hold on long enough?" Lumina asked, rather amused by the situation.

"Nothing compares to the pleasure of vengeance. He'll pay for everything that he's done. And I want him to know that I had a hand in it." The demon made his intentions very clear to Lumina.

"So, in your mind you just... defect to team Savior/Son of Sparda, it's all sugar and rainbows and supposing they don't kill you for trying to hurt their friends, what? You think Bhunivelze or Mundus or the entity they've become even has a sliver of forgiveness to it? Do you know what they did for me visiting?" Lumina decided to spell things out for him since he appeared to be having troubles.

"You came to gloat. While he may not agree with it, Lightning has a deep sense of honor. I know that she won't destroy me." The demon remained confident in that fact.

"Maybe." Lumina agreed. "But are you willing to bet on the possibility that she won't allow the others to have their revenge? When Fang puts her mind to something... It usually ends up happening. This isn't just 'their souls are mine, come and get them' you're playing at- you've threatened their lives, families and everything they've fought to maintain. Lightning may have a sense of honor- but people tend to turn a blind eye to things and pretend not to see." Smiling at him, Lumina knew fully well that he understood what she had to say.

"Maybe I'll broker a deal with the Savior. In exchange for not ramming my fist through each and everyone of her friends' hearts, she'll give me amnesty."

"Interesting." Lumina mused, letting out a small, suffering sigh. "Let me know how it works out!" Disappearing from the mind of the demon so as not to arouse the suspicions of the God King who commanded his very being, the Child of Chaos made her way to where she was needed most and could create more Chaos. Had Dante bought her little exchange with him? Only time would tell. But Lightning more or less would end up ruining things as she usually did by saying this and that about Lumina's true intentions/way of dealing with people: truth laced with lies. But the fun part was always finding out which was which.

Yeul solemnly stared out into the horizon of her surroundings. The wind gently cascaded along her blue locks of hair as the Seeress watched the waves along Snow/Serah's beach churn with life. 'He is a body! A vessel! An instrument for evil! That is all!' Lightning's words of throwing away a person dear were chilling to the bone. The others didn't know it yet but she was in for a very heated feud that would likely tear apart her alliance and create very thick fissures of distrust/hatred between them. "The winds carry along them the words of the hopeful, that they might not yet be forgotten in the vestiges of Chaos that may ravage the remnants of hope, love, despair, envy or lingering emotion used by the speaker. In a time of great need a hero listened to my words to save the world. But I wonder if these words might cause more harm than good. Seeing and interpreting the future are two very different things: to watch and see your prophecy unfold like you had foretold, powerless to do anything but watch the death, devastation and harm that may be done. Your actions may be noble, you may wish for justice and peace to win out amongst all the other injustices of the world; but your hopes and dreams must come last. Emotion can get in the way." Speaking to her companion without even so much as glancing over Yeul knew that they would be listening intently to her words. It was the will of the Goddess and Etro's will be done. There was no changing fate such as small glimpses as these. But perhaps the willful would make more sense of things.

Patting her on the head, Snow smiled softly. "Sounds like you've been thinkin' a little too deep, kiddo. Try to let loose and have others take the reigns for a change of pace. If someone needs that message of theirs then they'll get it. We know that you can't mess with things the way that you see them they have to be done. But that doesn't mean you can't point us in the right direction and let us do whatever needs to be done." Pausing for a moment he decided to add another thought. "Emotions are more than for 'getting in the way'. They make us stronger, help us grow and be better people, knock us down, make that 'light at the end of the tunnel' blurry but that doesn't mean we can't pull ourselves out of the situation and come back together." He was living proof of that. Not only him but Lightning, Serah, the others. They'd all managed to get over their centuries long absence of emotion and somewhat return to their old lives/the people they'd become.

"Be warned beware by closing your eyes you can see what isn't there. By opening your eyes you may see deceptions and fall to despair. Lies may be truth and truth may be lies. Destiny knows what has to be; you have to pay the price, nothing is free." Yeul warned Snow. Despite his happy-go-lucky disposition on things, there was a great storm to pass. Though the chosen children of Etro may want to aid their friend, confidant, sister that may not be entirely possible in their futures to come. As it had been said before; Dante and Lightning were the owners of this stage. Should the world fall to oblivion and be destroyed or salvaged at the hands of the chosen would only be determined by the Son of Sparda and the Goddess of Death.

Snow wanted to say something, anything at all- but what could he say? She'd more or less given him a riddle in the form of a rhyme. Lies. Truth. Destiny. Paying a price? What more could they have to offer that the group hadn't already given up? Lightning had in his opinion become even more of a lone wolf/recluse in her decade long absence from the rest of the group. How she'd managed that he honestly didn't know. Maybe it had to do with that weird white stuff that she'd given to him. Hope had explained it to be the life essence of a God, 'Eradia' and that it had more or less preserved life on Nova Chrysalia for days at a time in order to pass the trials of God. But what had it done to her? She seemed disconnected. Lightning had stepped aside previously for him but it wasn't anything like this. The fire in her eyes more or less seemed gone and like she'd been going through the motions.

Maybe they weren't the ones paying the price for it all. Maybe Lightning was burdened to walk through life alone now. How could any of them understand what she'd been through at the hands of Etro in Valhalla or Nova Chrysalia as Bhunivelze's 'Savior' to become the Goddess of Death? They couldn't. They'd been given small doses of what was constantly within her and that had felt amazing to everyone. But what would it feel like to be the permanent container of Eradia? Even when they'd fought in Nova Chrysalia in his Palace he'd been able to determine that the Lightning he was dealing with had been very different to her former self. What the hell gave these Gods the right to screw with a person so much that she lost herself? She'd even brought Nabaat into Serah's/His house without any regard for the fact that she'd been a key person in hunting them down like animals and tried to kill them. She more or less seemed to feel like it had nothing to do with her. From the way that Hope had spoken about his time as Bhunivelze's Ears it more or less seemed like the same thing had come to be about her. The only real time he saw Lightning be the old Lightning was around her new companion, Dante.

Something about him must have sparked her to come out for some reason.

Glancing over at the house he saw Dante arriving and looking more or less tired, maybe bored? In either case the older male had his hands in his pockets and calmly continued across the sand until he made his way inside. Stay out on the beach and miss the interaction between him and Lightning or go eavesdrop? Looking around in all directions, Yeul had deserted him so it seemed. Not used to being the last one when it came to information Snow ran up to the house and went inside only to find Hope, Noel, Serah, Fang, Vanille and Yeul gathered around a table and Lightning and Dante nowhere to be found. "I miss the party invitation?" Snow asked with a grin.

"Evermore the carefree slacker, Mr. Villiers." Nabaat tutted with a push of her glasses. The Colonel more or less hadn't been surprised he'd rather be outside and do whatever leisure duties he wanted outside as opposed to formulate a plan of attack for their mysterious combatant so many of them had managed to fight against.

"Real heroes don't need plans." Snow held his grin and winked at Nabaat.

"Is that so?" Nabaat asked, rather amused by his answer. "When the assault on Eden came to pass, who was it that rallied you and yours? Cocoon? When Fang defected to the side of Pulse since none of you would back her up? Honestly, having a backup strategy isn't an option- it's mandatory." Reading the room on the fact that she knew sensitive information that she shouldn't have, Nabaat simply shrugged her shoulders, let out a small, gentle sigh and decided to elaborate. "I was curious on how events would unfold. Even in death I still had to know what would become of my former home, of the tenacious l'Cie and their righteous quest to bring about the fall of the fal'Cie Gods regime and somehow unify Pulse and Cocoon. It was rather intriguing to say the least."

"That sounds like some kinda compliment. Comin' from you, of course." Fang spoke up, her arms folded and smiling at the fact they were somewhat begrudgingly being praised by the Colonel, their former enemy.

"But of course." Nabaat agreed.

Looking back at her friends, Lightning more or less faintly smiled at the group and their interactions. She wished she could have been inside with them and talking about whatever they were talking about, smiling, laughing and feeling emotion as it came so quickly/easily to human beings. But she wasn't a human anymore and none of it came easy. How could she tell any of them that she didn't really, technically feel? They deserved their happiness and if ignorance was bliss then Lightning wouldn't shatter the illusion and settle with a lie. Feeling a gentle pat on the head, she shut her eyes and immediately opened them to find Dante standing beside her. "What are you doing?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Dante pointed out as he saw her being a loner amidst so much company. "You saved the girl, brought her home to your friends, brought more friends home... I thought you'd be happy."

"That was the idea. But that's not reality." Lightning said simply. She knew he'd keep prying and bothering her until she said the truth so there was no point in trying to lie to him.

"It's hollowing, isn't it?" Dante asked. Seeing that he'd piqued her interest, he decided to speak up a little more. "Being the only one of your kind, not knowing how to deal with others because of the fact that you're too different to even begin. And it's not because you feel 'special', 'better', or that they're 'less than' you, but at the end of the day you're alone."

Lightning knew that some of that must've come from the fact that he had suffered like she did. But she was new, and he was older and more used to this kind of thing. How bleak could a world be where you felt no companionship with others? "You had your brother, even Nero." Trying to find a 'way out' of things, she didn't know where to start.

"They're different. We're all different. Sparda left behind a difficult brood." Dante shrugged his shoulders. It felt like that time to him already. He'd earned a drink.

"Maybe. But I don't know them enough to say much about it. Does anyone else know about your isolation?" Lightning asked.

"Do they?" Dante countered as he motioned to her friends.

"Point taken." Lightning stared up at him and sighed. "How do you deal with it?"

"You know the bars you don't like? I go there." Dante wondered why she all of the sudden decided to open up to him.

"Sounds boring. And like a temporary fix." Lightning sighed. "Come on." She nodded to the balcony and their exit point. "First round's on me." She waited for a moment but at his hesitation to follow her Lightning simply grabbed his gloved hand with her own and began dragging him to the bar. Unknown to her, her outfit had changed back to her outfit attire and she looked more or less like a simple human as opposed to the deific Goddess who slew the mighty Bhunivelze in a bid to save this world.

"Do you do that purpose?" Dante asked. Her outfit just seemed to change either out of her wanting it to or simply at will.

"Do what?" Lightning asked innocently.

"Change your clothes." Dante nodded to her outfit.

Looking down Lightning was surprised at the change. "No. I guess it more or less is subconscious or reflexive. Maybe it's just context sensitive."

"Maybe." Dante stared down at their hands, wondering why she opted to treat him like a child. Thinking back to Lumina's words he knew it would be naive to say she'd simply throw herself at him. But as of right now it seemed the two of them had some common ground as Angel/Demon/God/Son of Sparda/Savior and that had to be something.

"I don't drink often so it's going to be more or less me following your lead." Lightning admitted. She'd never been interested in the pointless hobby. Dulling ones senses in her case didn't make any sense. But what was the point in being lucid? There wasn't much else they could do until Hope and the others figured out a few more things. Without a plan of attack then her and Dante's potential were more or less wasted.

---

Lumina playing 'nice'? That's usually a double-edged sword. Too bad Dante doesn't have the advantage of knowing her true nature.

Any guesses on what she's up to?

-Elegant