Here's the next chapter to my fic, a lot of u r getting anxious of when Zack is going to meet lightning so I promise this will b the last chapter with Noel and Serah, plz enjoy :D
Chapter 10- an old friend
As the group collected the artefacts they headed straight towards the time gate to warp them to a new world.
"we better be getting close to lightning" Zack said
"don't worry we are gradually" Serah said
The group then vanished along with the light from the portal taking them to a new valley in time. The group then found themselves in the land of Yaschas Massif where the land is in darkness and where the sun no longer exists
"wha- where are we now" Zack said
"I recognize this place abit, why is the whole place dark" Serah replied
"well legends state that a massive Fal'Cie appeared and blocked the sun causing an eclipse 500 years back in my time" Noel explained
"this must be it then" they all stared at the eclipse in amazement
"but why is it only effecting this area" Serah asked
"maybe it's a paradox, ah you see me using my head there" Zack boasted
"oh yeah the first smart thing you've ever said well-done Zack" Noel chuckled
"hey" he snapped at Noel which made Serah giggle a little
"I've realised you two are like brothers you know" they both stared at her in confusion then back at each other then back at her
"what come on" they both said at the same time which makes Serah laugh even more while she holds Mog
"Anyways let's get going to discover more about this place" Noel said as he led the group
They wandered through the land of darkness discovering ruins in the shades of darkness and people still trying to make a living.
"can't believe their surviving like this as if the eclipse is nothing to them" Zack said
"well they probably have been living like this for a while so they probably got used to it" Serah replied to him
"yeah probably" they then stumbled upon the Paddra ruins and tried to gain entry but were refused
"I'm terribly sorry but you do not have the business access to pass here" the guard said
"let me handle this Noel" Zack whispered to him
"oh great" Zack went up to the female guard with one of his famous smiles
"hey gorgeous, what ya say you let us in and I'll take you on a date" Zack assured which made her blush
"oh…well…uhm" she was interrupted when a huge creature, resembling the Gogmagog appeared though a portal
"well I'll take this as our business access Noel said while lunging at the beast with Serah and Mog close by
"sorry babes duty calls"
"wait do we still have a date" Zack gave her a salute and then dived down to the monster to aid Noel and Serah in battle.
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After a hard fought battle the Aloedia looked defeated
"is it dead" Serah asked
"not sure" Noel replied. To their surprise the monster gave out one loud bellow and started sucking in the trio in the vortex it was in.
"it's sucking us in" Zack shouted. But in a flash a boomerang was seen hitting the monster with electric pulses and came round to hit it once more which caused it to vanish from the fray
"electric impulses usually send them back" said the mysterious man who was walking towards them and brought upon a familiar face which Serah recognised
"it's been a while Serah" he said
"Hope" she said. Zack and Noel analysed the man and saw that he was dressed smartly and looked around 24.
"is that… really you" she gasped
"I'm glad you remembered me"
"uh who's this" Noel asked
"oh this is" she was cut off as Hope introduced himself
"director of the academy research, team alpha, Hope Ensthiem at your service" he said
"you must be Noel and you…" he added turning to Zack
"let's see spikey hair, blue eyes ,humongous sword ah you must be Zack" Zack and Noel were amazed on how he knew them already
"hmph nice guess who told you" Noel asked
"well you appeared here with Serah and Zack a few years ago at the Bresha ruins, huh I never knew time travel was possible, but here you are" Noel answered then he turned to Zack
" and the reason I know you Zack is because Lightning told me stuff about you" he said
"really like what" Zack gloated
"like how Zack saved her life many more times than she can count and how he has the brain of a dunce but the heart of goodness" Hope said
"wow is that what my sister really said" Serah asked
"yeah"
"wow aren't you glad about that Zack" she turned to Zack who looked a little depressed but then turned back to his upbeat mood
"uh yeah great" he quickly said
Hope then looked at Serah and grabbed her hands in relief
"I'm glad you're safe, everyone I knew is completely gone from my life" Hope cried
"Hope" she whimpered. He then realised what he was doing and let go of her hands quickly
"from your point of view it's like you haven't seen Serah in years" Noel said
"not just Serah, Snow, Sahz and his kid, I haven't seen any of them for ten whole years" he replied
That left the group silent for a while
" I thought if I could fix the paradox then everything would go back to normal but…"
"Director, I've been looking everywhere for you" said a girl they recognized from the Bresha ruins in the past
"uh Alyssa" Zack said in shock. After she arrived Zack, Noel and Serah explain their journey so far and the experiences they have dealt with.
"there's something I want to show you we can continue are conversation while we walk" Hope said. As he walked ahead his arm was grabbed by Alyssa playfully until managing to get free
"I'll show the way" she insisted but Hope still led the way while the others followed closely.
The Hope was discussing with the group about the wonders of the paradox and strange apparitions that have been happening while they head towards his experiment
"well here it is… the Oracle drive" Hope said to them
"we started using this to foresee the future ever since the seeress Yuel kept on dying out" he added. The expression on Noels face changed
"how come they died out" Zack asked
"it's because they could see the future" Alyssa replied
"but why" Serah asked in curiosity
Hope then described what the seeress Yuel saw and what happened to the people of the city after hearing the prediction. Telling them how people wanted to avert the disaster by fleeing the city and just abandoning hope and how others fell into despair and took their own lives.
"this is just messed up" Zack said
"being able to see the future is very dangerous it messes with people's heads" Alyssa added
"tell me about it" Noel replied looking towards the sky with all eyes on him.
"the nations fell apart, and the survivors fled into the wild lands, avoiding contact with others" he explained
"oh so you know the story… well that's where this device comes in" he said while pointing at the oracle drive
"how did you get it to work though" Noel said in amazement
"wait your familiar with this device"
"uh well… yeah I heard about it in books and stuff"
"hmph nerd" Zack chuckled as Noel gave him a stone hard glare
"it appears to be some kind of recording apparatus from the ancient times, we have dug up a number of devices but they give recordings of things that are not possible" he explained. Zack and Serah look at it in amazement
"maybe you should see for yourself" Zack was about to go and touch it but was stopped by Noel who insisted himself
"this is how it works" Noel said while he placed his hand above the device. As he placed his hand on it, it began to glow and produce an array of light that left projecting images in the sky which showed the destruction of cocoon and also two runaway soldiers which were Zack and Lightning. Showing how the escaped from their custody and how Zack protected lightning form the massive army of soldiers. It ends showing Zack charging off at the soldiers.
Zack looked a bit disturbed because of the sadness he saw on Lightning's face during the projection while the others gaze in wonder.
"it showed Zack and Lightning" Serah said
"yes but were trying to find out how it was recorded, maybe it was the seeress Yuel herself" Hope explained
"but the one were concerned about is this one, excuse the quality" Hope said while placing his hand on the Oracle Drive.
The array of light joined up once again in the sky to form projecting images, this time showing Lightning leading her army against Caius and also showing the part where Zack descends from the sky to save Lightning from Caius attacks and then ends.
"that was Lightning and… you Zack wasn't it?" Serah said while looking at Zack who still looked disturbed
"yeah it was, I couldn't do anything do stay with her" Zack cried which makes Serah put a hand on his shoulder comforting him.
"well we can confirm that's Lightning but we are still going to do some further analysis" Hope said
"how come is it broken" Noel asked
"no it all normal, we check the readings, the data, everything is normal but we still just get this" he replied
"then it could be a paradox, because the surrounding space-time is twisted, it might be affecting the device. So if the paradox is eliminated then the space-time will return back to normal. Then we could see the prophecy and find out where my sister is" Serah explained
"huh looked who turned into a smart ass" Zack teased
"yes you're correct" Hope said while he turned to retrieve two objects
"you have two artefacts" Noel said in surprise
"this object serves as a key to you guys, am I right, we've had no success with it whatsoever"
"yeah that's we use to travel through time" Zack said
"oh then I guess these will be much more use to you than us" Hope hands Zack and Noel the artefacts and with that they make their way back to the gate.
They travel through the dark ruins to finally stumble upon their gate until Zack spots something shining.
"hey it's another gate" he tells the others
"and" Serah said in confusion
"I got an idea I'll take this artefact through this gate while you guys go through that gate with yours" Zack stated
"but you don't know where that's gonna take you, you could just end up getting lost" Noel said
"yeah he's right Zack" Serah added
"but it's a much quicker method, it's like Noel said through every gate we go through we get closer and closer to Lightning. So let me do this"
Serah and Noel looked at each other then back at Zack who had a serious look on his face
"alright then" Noel said which made Serah gasp in surprise
"but Noel"
"Zack looks determined and he's right it will be faster, just promise you'll make it back in one piece" Noel said with a smirk
"you bet" he said returning a smile and then turned to Serah who looked upset about the idea
"hey don't look so glum, I'll be back" Zack said
"you promise"
"promise" he said with a smile which made her return a smile
"okay then just don't die okay" she said while hugging Zack
"hey heroes never die" his words flooded through Serah's mind as she remembered that's what Snow said. She then became a bit tearful.
Zack then turned to Noel and gave him a fist pound like what he would do with all of his close friends and then turned to Mog
"I'm gonna miss you little gut" he said while patting his head , which in return was hit by his wand again
"OWW. C'mon really" Zack chuckled"
"Mog will miss you too kuppoo" Mog said
After saying his farewells Zack headed to his gate and activated it with the artefact and before fading away he turned back at the group and gave them a smile and a cheeky salute. Serah and Noel smiled and waved back. Zack was then found himself in the historia crux and floated there for a while when he quickly fell in a realm. Once he landed he looked around the place and recognized the place and it brought a smile to his face.
To be continued in the next chapter, please review my story on what you think so far :D