The flow of time through the Historia Crux felt much heavier previously compared to the many times used by Serah and Noel. The gears in the Crux looked darker and the copper color of the passages changed to an auburn shade, as if something was corrupting even time itself on a whole new scale. However, none of the three took notice, the ride was filled with silence and anticipation to reach their next destination. Each face held a different emotion but their eyes were practically empty as if their efforts were all for naught, that continuing would make things much worse than they were now, and their goals and motivations were simply lost to them the instant misfortune fell upon the three. Serah was hit the hardest though, her eyes and expression were full of angst as if seeing Lightning again was just a stupid fleeting fantasy being crushed right before her eyes once more. Eyes downcast to the never ending flow silent cries escaped her clenched shut lips.
'What have we been doing all this time? What were we trying to accomplish by messing with the timeline? Even Mel said our efforts weren't how it was supposed to go and things are changing much more with his world crashing for our own home... Maybe I should have just stayed home in my time, looking for Lightning was meaningless to begin with, even though I'm going to die at the end of this journey. My future is much more bleak than humanity dying.' Serah thought bitterly to herself and a lone tear fell over her pale cheek praying that her two companions ahead of her would hear her thoughts.
Noel on the other hand was furious at their efforts than sad, nothing was going right but then again when did life give anyone a fair shot? This was all wrong but he believed that things could be changed in the past now he has so much rage he doesn't know who to blame to take his anger out on. Instead the Hunter pulled out his dual blades, roared at the top of his lungs in rage and slammed the flats of his swords in a nearby circuit, shattering it to pieces before watching the timeline repair itself. Serah and Mel looked to Noel with mixed expressions of worry and a dark aura cast over their eyes to condemn Noel for what he did moments before.
"You crazy!? Time is already out of whack and your trying to damage it more!? What if the time you hit was essential and could never be repaired again? That time and possibility if a better time could be forever lost to this world!" Noel glared at the Interloper and bared his teeth in anger, thinking irrationally however with purpose.
"Tell me something that can actually point us in the right direction then! Everything we have done feels like a damn goose chase going from one place to the next and solving nothing while picking up more freaking questions than answers. I swear this place, 'Academia' better have some answers or I'm tossing you over something really high!" Noel points his finger towards the nearing gate and threatens the Interloper once more.
"There better be a miracle waiting for us on the other side of this gate or Etro help me..." Mel brushed the Hunters words off with a shrug and a light enveloped the trio whole
Academia:
When the trio emerged from the Time Gate they were greeted with the sound of sirens blaring in series and the high speed aerial vehicles within the air going in several directions. It reminded Mel of Mass Effect but being from a past primitive compared to this world she was trapped in awe from the sight and sounds of a future that may be in her world and never had a chance to admire back in her L'cie days. Rushing over to a nearby railing, nearly toppling over from excitement, looked around from where she stood craning her neck in various directions to get a better view of this strange new world. Noel would have done the same thing due to him being fascinated with a whole sea of people living a life he barely had in his time bustling around in a grand community and saw the good things from the bad. Serah just thought this was just another day in Cocoon back in her timeline so she was just indifferent compared to her two companions. However, beside the Interloper, the Hunter noticed something below the three. On the ground with the team groups of what looked to be Authoritative figures of the Guardian Corp and PSICOM were questioning people and ran in various directions. The city was in near chaos than a false paradise used to fool the Fool searching for a Haven to call home.
"What the heck is going on?" Serah asked as the trio made their way through a sea of bodies, trying hard to avoid separating from one another, towardstowards the grand building across the bridges owned and operated by The Academy.
"Excuse me?" Noel began as he stopped a passerbyer. The middle aged man dressed in blue stopped and looked at Noel quizzically.
"Yes?" The man responded with slight politeness and irritation in his eyes of being stopped so suddenly.
"Could you tell me what is going on around here? Why is the Police Force acting as if hunting for the worlds most dangerous criminal?" The bystander raised an eyebrow in surprise and replied in a belittling voice.
"Academy affairs, that's all the people were getting. Not like the Government cares to confide classified information with the public." With a cigarette in the mans mouth and clicks of a lighter the person huffed and walked away from Noel without another word.
"Wow, rude much." Mel began but was cut off again.
"Your the one to talk, Boy. Eavesdropping on someone else's conversation like that." Rolling her eyes in annoyance the trio continued walking towards the bridges that led to the Academy building taking in the scene of the new Cocoon and the sirens blaring everywhere you went.
"Did you find anything out from that guy, Noel?" Serah asked trying once again to defuse the all too familiar tension between the Hunter and the Interloper. Noel's dark expression softened to the shorter pinknette and gave a slight smile.
"Not really, it's all hush hush. Seems that if anyone asks the Armed Forces are telling them its for the Academy or whatever bull they say to keep the public from getting a little on the edge of what is going on around here."
"So, basically, the information is sealed so tight that the radios don't offer any information like in the past." Serah deadpanned as her face fell and sighed. Arriving at the end of the bridge that led to the Academy's main office two heavily armored Reaver's stopped the trio from advancing any furthur.
"The building is under strict lockdown, no one is allowed in let alone out. Turn back and have a good day." One of the Reaver's spoke in a calm and gruff voice holding his weapon close.
"Excuse me but we were told that we could get some questions answered here, could you make an exception. It's really important that we get by!" Serah tried pleading to the guards but they both shook their heads.
" Didn't you hear me? Building is under lockdown, now leave or we will resort to force." The same guard threatened and both guards held their spears firmly in their grip. Noel was reaching for one of his swords while he held the other up to show he meant no harm. They just arrived so there was no point in getting into deeper trouble.
"Okay, we'll leave. Sorry for the trouble, have a good day officers." with that the Hunter led the pinknette and the younger brunette away but the Interloper struggled.
"What are you doing? Let me try something, maybe I can persuade them to let us through." Mel said impatiently as the three were now on the other side of the bridges away from the Academy. Noel looked at the younger teen and shook his head.
"Look, I'm not going to argue with you so just listen to what I have to say. One, We just got here and we have no idea of what is going on. Two: with your freaky powers that you obviously have no control over and could draw too much attention to ourselves I suggest that you avoid trying to 'persuade' anyone PERIOD. Three: I think we should lay low and gather the information ourselves, try and see if we can find a way into that building without alerting the guards. I say we split up." Serah hit Noel across his arm with alarming speed and gave him her signature ' are you crazy?' Look.
"Split up!? I'm not going to split up and compromise our chances to get our answers by acting as criminals and be jailed. Come up with a better plan than that, Noel!" While the two adults were arguing in the crowds she was just watching the sea of people pass by, getting on with their lives, all ignorant to the fact their world is on a one way path to oblivion. And somewhere in that crowd she saw the familiar shine of silver hair going in one direction(no band pun intended) and an all to familiar shine of rose pink colored hair going through what would have been a back alley. Torn between her suspicions and curiosity Mel poked Serah in the rib to get her attention.
"I'm going to agree with Noel on this, let's split up." Mel spoke as if mesmerized by something enchanting. Both adults, mostly the Hunter, was shocked by the response.
"Wow, finally we agree on something. Okay here is what we will do w-"
"Yeah, yeah I heard ya. If we find nothing new we meet by the walkways of Academia. Bye!" And then the Interloper was lost in the sea of bodies. Serah and Noel stood there with confusion and then walked off in their own direction opposing from the Interloper. Walking away Noel held his arms behind his head and said to Serah jokingly,
"Hey, since we agreed on something I think that by the end of the day I think the boys going to be found dead from his excitement and tumble over the railing. My luck is changing." With that said the pinknette placed her hand to the Hunters ribs and gave a strong shove to throw him off balance and into an obsidian column.
"Karma, Noel. Beware of Karma."
Mel's POV:
'That pink hair, could it have been? No... It couldn't be her, she's not allowed to leave Valhalla, right? Maybe, I should have followed the silver hair it could have been Hope. He is still acting Director of the Academy and all. But that familiar pink hair, I was the last person to see her to speak to her; so what is with this sudden burst of urgency to see if it was actually her? Maybe its nothing but please, Etro please, let it be her!' The alleyway had barely enough people to be charged with soliciting or suspicious activities but the woman with the pink hair was nowhere in sight. I rush to the end of the alley and looked in both directions; one leads to the area I was just in with Serah and Noel so that turn was eliminated so left it is. The left led to an open industrial area with many stairs and walkways that held a few places to hang out. I searched and searched until, from far away, I caught sight of pink and walked that way trying to catch up to the woman. It felt like a chase, the game Cat and Mouse, the closer I thought I was to her the faster her pace became. Time became irrelevant to me but I was getting winded and the urgency was increasing, why is she running from me? Usually in movies I'd point out the obvious but that logic is thrown out the window and the woman cuts the corner. I follow suit and I was led to an open are with the sun setting and for some reason no visible vantage point of alerting anyone nearby. Breathing heavily the woman had her back to me, no sign of fatigue just calm. Just like SOLDIER girl. With a small smile I walk up to the woman but in the back of my head it feels wrong but I ignore the feeling. I slowly reach out to touch the woman's shoulder and I gently speak out her name,
"Lightning?" The woman slightly turns her head and she raises her hand clutching something, I stop and get a quick glimpse at the object to see a small black item with a red button under her thumb. A bomb!? Crap!
"STALKER!"
"Wait what!? No, I thought you were someone I-" the woman shouted something so suddenly like that my surprise and shock increased tenfold as she sprayed something in my eyes. I screamed in pain and fell to my knees. Nothing I did helped and I started to cry more tears.
"What the hell!? Ah! What is this stuff!?" I shouted in agony, with no response the woman who believed I was stalking her must have left and rushed to get authorities. Leaving me in pain and terribly blind. Groaning in pain I slammed my fist into the ground and grunted out the very first thing that came to mind.
"I should never have agreed with Noel!"
Serah's POV:
After Mel broke formation me and Noel had been investigating of why the Academy locked its doors to the public for some time now. And as we were about to turn the corner near the shopping areas Noel stopped me abruptly and held me pinned to the wall with his arm.
"Hey! What was that-"
" Ssshh! I hear something over there. A couple of soldiers, no civilians in sight. Maybe if we stay here and listen we might get a ideas of what's going on." Noel explained after he cut me off. I trusted him and I leaned in a little over his body to be able to hear what he hears. There were a few voices and it was a bit difficult to hear what they were saying but I managed to hear something.
"We almost had the target cornered! Damn it." One soldier said.
"Can't believe we sent nearly every patrol squad and every available officer to hunt this woman down. What is she, an escaped criminal?" Another said.
"No one has any details. Director Esthiem said to bring her back to the Academy alive. That's all, nothing more." The same soldier from earlier replied flatly.
Wait. Esthiem!? That's Hope's last name. I looked up to Noel and he looked at me weird.
"What?" Was all he asked.
"Director Estheim, that is Hope's last name. Do you think they could be talking about the same Hope or someone in his line?" I asked in return. Noel scratched his head in contemplation and thought for a moment.
"Well, I doubt it's the same Hope that you know that I just met. It could be his descendant. Do you want to confirm it again?" At that I shook my head.
"They mentioned a woman. Maybe if we listen more we could get more details and help close this case and get into the Academy quicker than breaking in!" Noel looked at me with his mouth open to argue but reluctantly stepped down and we began to listen more.
A com. Unit sounded and an officer answered. He was silent for a time and hung up, returning to his conversation with his colleague.
"What was that about?"
"Another unit said they found a woman with rose colored hair near the square. Said they were going to check if its our target. Other than that nothing much. We better head there though before something goes wrong, said this woman is a pretty formidable fighter. A fast one too." Once the officers stopped talking they ran in our direction, Noel and I pressed our backs against the wall to avoid being spotted and watched the officers vanish around the corner down the street of the shops. The description they said of a woman with rose color hair, a strong and quick fighter. It couldn't be my sister, could it?
"Do you think they were talking about Lightning?" Noel asked me but I didn't answer, I was still trying to wrap my head around the idea. We have to check though.
" I say we follow them." Noel agreed and ran ahead of me. I clutched Light's necklace that I wore with my engagement necklace and muttered to myself feeling hope overtaking my despair with a smile.
"Hang on Lightning, we're coming to get you!" Rushing to follow Noel I came to an alleyway, suddenly I felt arms wrap around me and a rag covered my mouth.
"MMMHH! Mhhhhmm!" I tried to scream and call out to Noel but the rag prevented me from doing so. Wait, what is that awful smell? Drugs!? The mere thought sent me into panic mode and I started to thrash around. I managed to get my arms free and tried reaching for my bracelet but my head felt heavy and my stomach, alongside my strength, significantly dropped. My eyelids were drooping and I saw I was heaved onto someone's shoulder, before my eyes closed I saw that my captor was feminine.
'Lightning...'
A/N: hey everyone, Legacy here again, sorry for the slow updates again and for leaving a cliffhanger on this one. The chapter was shorter than the others still it's something. Hopefully the sTory is alright, I don't know if I should attempt to add humor but you know, trying to lighten the mood. Anyways, Serah and Noel heard of a woman with rose colored hair sighted in the area they arrived in hours ago through the time gate, is it really Lightning or just another sick trick? And who kidnapped Serah and why? Will Noel realize his friends are missing and will Mel recover from being sprayed with Mace? Who knows... Find out next time. Please leave a review, like, good or bad critiques, etc. And have a good day, Ciao!