Hey guys, a quick update here. Thanks for the wonderful reviews for the last chapter. Cheered me up a lot.
Now enjoy.
Chapter Seven
Focus
Éclair and Lightning were both facing the strange robed man across them. The soldier had her weapon now trained toward him, her blue eyes flashing with anger.
"Two Pulsians for the price of one," she said, "Today must be my lucky day."
The robed man laughed.
"Do you really believe that you can capture me," he said.
Then the man suddenly disappeared from where he was standing, causing Lightning and Éclair to gasp in surprise. Then the man's voice came from behind them.
"When you're only a mere human," he spoke.
The two women turned toward him, finding the man there, his hood shadowing his face.
"Who are you?" Éclair asked.
"I am a servant of the Goddess of the Crystal," the man said, introducing himself, "She had sent me to this world…a world that had long abandoned the old ways. Yet, all hope is not lost for one of the children of Zanarkand still breathes to this day."
The robed man turned his head in Éclair's direction causing the latter to stiffen a little. She had a feeling that the man was talking straight to her.
"Why would I believe your word Pulsian?" Lightning asked, raising her weapon toward the man, "Your very words are nothing but poison."
The robed man raised his head slightly, and Éclair can see the mouth quirking into an amused smile.
"Your hatred is misplaced Lightning Farron," he said, "You hate because you were told to hate. You fight for a cause that had long twisted into a mere shadow of its former glory. Your world is nothing but a shell that it's only salvation lay in destruction."
"What?" Éclair said.
But the robbed man didn't continue, for Lightning had opened fire, but he suddenly disappeared again letting the bullets fly into the emptiness.
"But I have not come for a fight," he said, his voice now coming from the archway where he stood.
The two women turned toward him again.
"Your magic will not destroy Cocoon," Lightning yelled at him, "I won't allow it."
"As I said," the robed spoke calmly, raising his hand toward them, "your anger is misplaced."
Then the world disappeared from around the two women. They were now floating into nothingness, as the world around them was filled with floating crystals. Éclair glanced around herself finding, Lightning beside her.
"What are you doing?" the soldier spat toward her, "What kind of magic is this Pulsian?"
"I'm not doing anything," Éclair retorted.
The in front of them a shape appeared, catching the attention of the two women. The shape was dressed in large robes that were floating around its womanly shaped body, two hands on each of her side.
"Let us out of here at once," Lightning yelled at the woman.
Then the women raised her head, showing her glowing eyes, taking both Éclair and Lightning's breath away. The power behind those eyes was something that Éclair didn't really understand but she knew that it was powerful…godlike even.
Then a pulse of magic spread across the woman's body, washing over Éclair's body making the woman gasp. She couldn't understand but something about this was strangely familiar. She heard Lightning let out short gasp from beside her and she knew that the other woman felt the same thing as she was feeling.
She looked up at the woman's glowing eyes, and Éclair found herself being drawn into them. She couldn't understand what was happening to her…
Then images flashed in front of her eyes…
A city, beautifully lit, yet everything were crumbling…
Then a gold figure, power reading all over its form…
Then an otherworldly scream…
A collision of a bronze planet, crashing into Pulse…
Above all that destruction…
An ethereal light engulfing everything as two large wings opened…
Then everything was succumbed by darkness.
Vaan was suddenly shaken awake from where he was sleeping. Groaning, the young man seated up, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.
"Vaan…Maker's sake wake up,"
"Basch…" he groaned, "Five more minutes."
"Éclair had gone missing," Basch said.
That caused Vaan to sit up quickly, throwing a glance to where he had last seen the woman and sure enough, she wasn't here. He turned his attention toward Basch.
"How long?"
"I don't know," Basch answered, "I just woke up myself."
Vaan groaned turning his attention toward Paine. The silver haired girl was still out of it, though she looked better than before.
"Has she woken up yet?"
Basch shook his head.
"No, but she'll probably wake up later today," he said.
"You keep an eye on her," Vaan said, "I'm going to find Éclair."
"I'm coming with you," Basch said.
"You need to keep an eye on Paine," Vaan told him.
"I…I'll be fine," a voice said.
The two turned toward it finding Paine, her red eyes looking tired but she was fine, well, as fine as someone that had been shot could be.
"Paine," Vaan said, relief showing across his face.
The silver haired girl gives him a smile.
"It will take more than a bullet in the elbow to keep me down," she said.
The girl glanced back up at the two in front of her.
"I heard crazy girl disappeared during the night?"
"Yes," Basch said, "We were going to go look for her, but…"
"Go then Basch," she said, "Vaan you there can start explaining to me how we are still alive?"
Vaan groaned slightly, as Basch gives her a nod.
"I'll be right back," he said.
The soldier, walked off toward a direction. It was still dark in where they were considering how deep in the lower side of Cocoon they were. The sunlight doesn't reach those deep places within Cocoon. The young man walked wondering what could have caused the young pink haired woman to take off without telling them anything.
She could just be exploring, he thought.
Basch glanced around himself, at the large and tall rocky walls around him, wondering where she could have gone when he stumbled upon the front of a large archway that took his breath away…
Woah, he thought to himself.
The archway was impressive in height and grandeur even as old as it could be, the archway hadn't lost any of its beauty. But his eyes found something extremely strange, stranger than he ever seen in his life.
Pale forms of pink lights were flying around the place as he looked around himself, marveled at the phenomenon. He stepped forward and a form lying on the ground, a form dressed in armor…
"Éclair," he called.
He ran forward, getting on his knees beside the woman.
"Éclair…can you hear me?"
The woman groaned softly, before opening her eyes.
"Basch…" she murmured, sounding exhausted.
"What happened?"
Éclair groaned softly and Basch glanced around…his eyes finding another woman, one dressed in a Sanctum soldier outfit, one he knew her.
"Colonel…?" he whispered.
His mind was reeling. How did the Colonel got here…how did she found Éclair and what had happened?
Éclair seated up, feeling her head pounding. She didn't understand what had happened…or what she had seen or make the remote sense into what it was. Her chest was throbbing real badly too, as if someone had just burned a hot metal right into her skin.
She put a hand there, as if to appease it.
"What happened? Are you hurt?" Basch's voice asked her from beside her, sounding worried.
"I…I'm fine," she told him.
Basch pulled her up and he glanced toward something beside her, and Éclair followed his gaze. Lightning was lying on her back, unconscious, though her hand was twitching ever so lightly.
"How…how did she get here?" Basch asked her.
Éclair glanced at him.
"You know her?"
He nodded.
"She is the Colonel of the Sanctum Army," Basch said, "She…she was my superior."
Éclair glanced at him, seeing the confusion in his eyes.
"But what I don't understand…is how she is here in the first place," he spoke looking down at the woman, "I didn't see her anywhere around the Hanging Edge."
Lightning chose that moment to start waking up, groaning softly and put a hand on her head.
"Maker, my head feels like it's about to burst," she said softly, thought in the silence sounded quite loud.
She glanced around herself, her eyes finding both Basch and Éclair watching her and then quickly stood up, but her movements were sluggish as she falls back down on her knees.
"Shit…what happened to me?" she said.
"Colonel…" Basch said.
Lightning looked back up at him, her blue eyes piercing, causing Basch to step back a little.
"You're…Bartholomew Basch aren't you, A Sergeant of Bodhum?"
"Yes, Colonel," Basch answered.
"Then what are you doing here soldier?" Lightning snapped at him, "The enemy is right beside you and you're not arresting her?"
"Enemy…" Basch repeated, sounding confused.
"Her," Lightning said, pointing at straight at Éclair, "She is from Pulse, an enemy of Cocoon."
Basch stepped away from Éclair, his eyes showing disbelief at what he was hearing.
"You…you're from Pulse?" he whispered.
Éclair noticed that Basch hand was going for his weapon that was in the holster handing from his back, causing Éclair to tense. Lightning smirked slightly, noticing that things were going in her favor.
"I told you before Basch," Éclair said, "I don't remember anything about my past."
"It doesn't matter," Lightning said, pointing straight at her, "For you are an enemy of Cocoon. It is under my jurisdiction that you become my prisoner, and to put you down."
Éclair turns her attention toward Basch seeing that the man was pulling out his weapon, which was shifting into a gun. She could feel a slight fear go through her seeing the man that had been her ally for a short while turns against her like that.
"Basch…I'm not your enemy," she said, trying to plead with the man.
"You're a Pulsian," Basch said, "That's enough to be an enemy."
Éclair stepped back.
"Basch?"
They turned around, finding Vaan accompanied by Paine, the young man looking quite confused seeing that his brother was aiming his weapon at Éclair and that they was another soldier there.
"W…What is going on?"
The robed man walked through the large room he was in, seemingly quite at ease with himself. He had given out the task he was appointed to do, now all he had to do now is step back let the events play out.
The Fal'Cie had left their mark on this world, he thought looking at the star filled sky, and it is time to erase that completely. To free the people from its grasp, just as you have done before Éclair.
He approached the edge of the window, at the Crystal world around him.
Etro's prediction about Cocoon, will soon come to past, he thought.
He looked up toward the sky and whispered.
"When the war of the beasts bring about the world's end,
The Goddess descend from the sky,
Wings of light and dark spread afar,
She guides us into bliss, her gift everlasting,"
He sighed.
They were so many things that could have been done to prevent everything from happening. But the Goddess had forbidden him to interfere with the events that lead into Zanarkand's destruction, and Ragnarok's defection. He didn't know what the Goddess could see into this world future, but she had her reasons…even if she didn't lift a finger to save the people of Zanarkand.
It was how it was meant to be young Guardian, she told him, their actions and mistakes caused their demises to happen…but for every action, there is a reaction, no matter how heartbreaking the action really is. Humanity must learn to adapt from their mistakes and grow as a species…just as how we, The Fal'Cie had done years before.
He never doubted the Goddess before, but now, he seriously doubted her. He didn't see how this task could be accomplished, thought the Goddess could have done it herself…but she wouldn't saying it will upset the balance of the world for her to personally interfere. Thought, that didn't stop the Goddess to set the events in motion.
Guess, it's all in their hands now, he thought, thinking of the two pink haired women, let's hope they can accomplish the task set to them...
With that last thought, the robed man walked back into the large building he was in, his robe bellowing behind him he walks away.
And here ends this chapter ends here. well, as you can see, Lightning is an enemy so far...XD
Basch had turned on Eclair...and what will Vaan do when he learns what Eclair truly is?
Next time: Parting of Ways.
Jacques0 out.
R&R.