One Fantasy,

Part Two Chapter One: To Hold You in My Arms

One year. It had been a full year since the free company Skybound had defeated the primal Ifrit, and secured themselves within the adventuring world. They soon brought Garuda from the sky, and crushed Titan as well. They, Skybound, had become the most successful free company in nearly all of Eorzea. Kimpach'e, of course, had soared through the ranks, until she was a Knight-Captain, standing at the second most powerful title except for the guild leader himself. Kanade was the co-founder so she could technically overrule Kimpach'e but often found little reason too. The Miqo'te had led them against Garuda with several new recruits helping defeat the summoned primal. The young gladiator now sat on the deck of their company home, basking in the warm sunlight. The Lunar two-piece bathing suit felt soft against her skin, and she was smiling. She was happy for the first time in a long time. She hadn't had much time to herself lately on account of all the work she had been doing for the company. But she was able to talk Kanade into giving the contracts to the new recruits for today, so she could take some time to relax. It was at this moment that there was a soft knock from the door behind her.

Kimpach'e leaned up on one elbow and shielded her eyes from the sun as she tried to see who her visitor could be. She smiled when she saw whose face was standing in the doorway. Kanade strode through the wooden arch, her hips gently swaying with each step as she drew closer and closer to the Miqo'te.

"This letter came for you about ten minutes ago, it looked important so I thought I should bring it to you," the woman said, choosing her words cautiously.

When the paladin raised an eyebrow, she continued, "It is from a one 'Fate Maya', if that name means anything to you?" Kimpach'e's eyes grew wide to an astonishing degree, as she nearly lunged at Kanade to retrieve the paper. Kanade shrugged her shoulders in her neutral way and left the Miqo'te to her letter. The other woman paid her friend no heed as she greedily tore open the mail and began reading the parchment within.

Dear… Ms. Ramasamma,

It seems impossible to be writing that name after so long, but here I am it seems. I hardly believed you to be alive when Kagu came bursting into the meeting hall with Nick in tow, going on about how you had survived the ambush we walked into several years prior and you were alive and well somewhere in Thanalan. I was upset, angry even, that they would drag your name back into the cold light after all that time. I called them every insult, name, and curse I have ever heard; at one point I held a blade to Kagu's throat. Can you imagine: Fate only an inch from ending Kagu's life? Nickolas was the one to talk me down, Rose was too stunned to react and Yuki looked like she was terrified… I have never felt like that before. That calculating, icy voice in the back of your head somehow letting you know how deep the wound needed to be in order to kill.

But more to the topic at hand; there I go with my rambling again. If this really is Kimpach'e, if this really is the woman that I fell in love with, please... Just, please don't be another baseless rumor. I can't take another one, I just cannot. I will be waiting at the spot we first kissed, and if this is truly the fire-haired Miqo'te I fell for, you will know where to find me. I don't know how long I will wait there, or for how many days, but I will be there.

Yours Then and Now, Fate Maya

Kimpach'e could make out dark stains dotting several spots of the page, which she realized were tear stains. Her stomach tightened into a knot as her crystal-blue feline eyes scanned the name at the bottom. Kim didn't remember hitting the ground, but she suddenly realized that she was on her hands and knees. It took a few more seconds for her to feel the tears trailing down her cheeks to fall on the thatch flooring of the deck. Behind her the door swung quickly open and the sound of feet padding on the thatch brought the woman somewhat back to her senses, although she remained prone and didn't turn to look at whoever had arrived so suddenly.

"Kimpach'e are you hurt? What happened," Rasputin chimed, already scribbling a summoning in his tome. She turned her head to look him in the eye, the action fully halting his quill mid-stroke.

"My Fiancé is alive. The love of my life, the woman I would travel the world twice over for is alive, Ras. She heard about our success with the primals and sent me this letter," She stopped here, as her eyes grew very wide.

"And Kagu… and Nickolas, Yuki T'soni, Rose. They are all alive, Ras… I didn't dare dream for a moment that they would have survived the ambush. I came to live with the burden that I was the only one to have made it out of it alive, but this is not true. They are all… Alive." Her voice shook and caught on words as she struggled to steady her uneven breathing.

Rasputin clipped his book back on his hip and walked over to rest his small hand on the woman's shoulder. He didn't know what she had meant with those words, but he could tell that it shook her to the very core of her being. That fact scared the lalafell more than any primal ever had. So he stayed with her, in somber silence as she wept. He had never seen his friend cry, and he was starting to think she never would. He was wrong. He didn't know who the people Kimpach'e named where, or how they were connected to the gladiator, but he had a growing feeling of one certainty.

Skybound was about to meet them.

It took a full week to get the free company ready for the trip. The leader and senior officers would be absent and their responsibilities were handed down to the junior officers, who saw this as a chance to prove themselves capable of the duty of a senior officer. Rasputin and Kanade would be going with Kimpach'e to the New Shroud, where Kim stated Fate and the others would be waiting. Kanade didn't let it show that she was worried about Kim, but even the strongest masks can crack. If Kim did notice, she chose to not bring it up, and the three took a very ordinary airship ride to the city-state of the shroud. Kimpach'e had chosen to change into something a little more comfortable than her normal plate, and wore ink-blue tights with a midnight-blue tunic and sandals. Rasputin and Kanade, however, chose to keep their battle gear on. The three stepped off the landing platform and sat their bags down to stretch. Kim had to admit that it felt good on her tight muscles, but it did little to quite the anxiety in her stomach.

It was when they took a corner that opened into a clearing with a clear pond in the center that Kim stopped them. There were several individuals sitting around the edge of the water, also in battle-gear. Two Elezen men, one Miqo'te female, and a single Hyur woman seemed to be lounging near the water. One of the Elezen was dressed in full paladin regalia, while the other seemed to have little protection aside from the twin daggers on his hips. The Miqo'te held a fishing rod instead of a weapon and looked like she should be deep sea fishing instead of casting into the pond, her long purple hair held back with a veteran fishing hat. The Hyur woman is what caught Kim's attention, causing her breathing to momentarily halt within her throat. She was clad in dark Dragoon armor, making her look more sinister than she was, but this wasn't what caught the Miqo'te's breathing. The woman's lacking helmet, which revealed long pink hair reaching to the base of her neck, and sharp eyes were. Kimpach'e let her bag slip off her shoulder and land on the grass in a pile as she slowly escalated to a dead sprint towards them. The ninja was the first to notice her, as he threw his daggers into the dirt and sprinted to meet her. The paladin and fisherwoman followed with a breath of hesitation. They all collided at the halfway point of the two groups, the three crowding around Kimpach'e in a tight group hug. They fell to their knees as one, some laughing and some crying from the sheer emotional saturation of the reunion.

"I knew you would be back! Lion will have to try harder than that to take you out, Kim," the ninja gave her a thumbs up and his largest smile once they had broken the hug.

"Don't listen to him, he's full of hot air. I, however, knew somehow that you had made it out alive," the paladin interjected, casting a sideways grin to the ninja, who glared in return.

"Glad you made it back, Kim. I would have hated to drag your body in on one of my lines," the other Miqo'te said, the joke being told through a tear-stained smile. She looked to each as they spoke, tears soon forming in her own eyes. Kimpach'e couldn't believe it at first, she thought it was just a dream, but a subtle pinch on her arm told her that it was real.

"Kagu, Nick, Yuki, I have missed you all more than you can ever know," she addressed them in turn. But she knew there was another that she had yet to be reunited with.

"Fate, my Love," Kimpach'e gingerly asked, looking at the Hyur who stood in shocked silence. The Dragoon cleared the distance between them in one smooth leap and slapped the other woman across her face, sending the gladiator to the ground.

"Do you know how worried I have been, or stricken with grief since the ambush? Do you have even a clue," She screamed at the Miqo'te on the ground. Without missing a beat she landed on-top of Kimpach'e, locking their lips in a passionate kiss. The ninja turned his head away and stuck out his tongue, earning another sideways half-grin from the paladin, and a small giggle from the Miqo'te. Kim wrapped her arms around her lover's neck, as if she would float away in the wind. It was then that anyone seemed to notice Kanade and Rasputin, who stood silently across from the group.

"So who are they," Kanade whispered to the side. Rasputin turned a page in his grimore and glanced at her.

"If she didn't tell you or me, should we be invading her privacy so freely," he responded with a question, keeping his place on the page with a finger.

"You seem like a very smart scholar," a third voice joined their conversation, making Rasputin drop his book in surprise, and nearly causing Kanade to react, but only nearly. The ninja had appeared behind them hanging from a tree branch, and Kanade wondered how she had missed him. Rasputin wondered the same, his face losing some color from the scare, in contrast to Kanade's cool reaction of her usual indifference. It was then that the branch gave way under the ninja's weight and snapped, sending him crashing into a pile at the pair's feet.

"Kagu, I talked to you about using your flash technique to eavesdrop," the paladin said as he and the Miqo'te fisherwoman joined them. The ninja called Kagu, quickly gathered himself and stood; His speed impressed even Kanade.

"I know not how Kimpach'e met you, but if she trusts you, then so do I," the paladin said, planting the tip of his blade into the soft ground and saluting them before adding, "Nickolas of The company TLC, pleased to be at your service." The fisherwoman tipped her hat in greeting and said, "And I am Yuki T'soni, owner of the largest gathering and crafting cooperation spanning all of Black Shroud and over half of Thanalan." Rasputin's jaw nearly dropped to the grass.

"The ninja you so rudely met earlier is Kagu Starks, best assassin this side of Vesper Bay. He can be childish at times, but that doesn't make him unpleasant company," Nickolas inclined his head to include the ninja, who gave them both a goofy smile as greeting. Kanade kept her stone mask of emotionless indifference in place and nodded a greeting to each. Rasputin introduced Kanade and himself to each of them, making up for the bard's silence until this point. As the introductions came to a close, Kimpach'e joined them with the Hyur close by her side.

"Kanade, Rasputin, this is Fate Maya, my Fiancé," Kimpach'e introduced the woman, who bowed deeply in greeting. Fate smiled to them and motioned with her head.

"Let's have dinner at our company house, and get everyone out of this weather before we all catch a chill," The pink-haired Hyur said as Kagu, Yuki, and Nick began walking to the dock. Kanade exchanged a look with Rasputin before the pair followed Fate and Kim towards the adder soldier waiting for them by the boat.

Kanade hoped that they had wine with dinner, she was planning on taking a look around their mansion. It was in her very nature to not trust people, so it only made sense for the bard to want to know what Fate and her officers were really like. She cracked her neck, but other than that didn't give any hint as to her plans. It was time for a dinner party, and Kanade was ready to play spy.

Once the boat had left the dock everyone seemed to calm themselves, or at least leashed their excitement. Aside from Kagu's seemingly random conversation with Nick the ride was largely silent. Kanade glanced at the lalafell to her left and lightly nudged him with an elbow, bringing him out of the barrier spell he seemed so lost in.

"Did you happen to notice what they said when Kim first arrived? About who had attacked them," she whispered in a way that masked the fact she was talking at all. In response Rasputin simply rolled his eyes and returned to the spell, mumbling about starting over. Kanade brushed him off and chose instead to think to herself in silence.

The Mansion did not disappoint when it came to comfort. The largest home within the Lavender Beds belonged to the free company TLC, and had been named 'Fate Manor' upon completion of construction. Fate disagreed, but the senior officers all seemed to think that the credit had been earned by the Hyur, so the name stayed. As they stepped inside Rasputin noted the rosewood stairway leading to the second story and the maple stairs that descended to a basement.

"The basement is where Yuki does most of her crafting, and the forges are open to you all. Behind the wall on the left is a hot tub that you are also welcome to while you stay here. The second story is more business, and contains the meeting hall and war room, but we will be through here," Fate said, motioning to a doorway right of the entrance. It was the dining room, which contained several dark wood tables that could fit the whole company, and already had plates of hot food laid out with a bottle of wine and cup of tea resting at each chair. Fate sat at the table against the far wall, which had windows displaying a waterfall feeding into the lake and rivers that ran through Lavender Beds. It didn't take much to see why TLC had chosen this plot of land to build their mansion on. Nick and Yuki joined her soon, and Kim smiled to Kanade and Rasputin before taking a seat there herself. Before long the stoic bard and lalafell scholar joined them, and Kagu dramatically dropped from the ceiling into his seat without making even a small sound. Kanade was beginning to become annoyed by his seemingly perfect technique, although she would never let it show. The bard knew that she would never hear the end of it if the ninja suspected that he got under her skin.

Kanade took care to close the door without noise. Wine made it easy to slip away from dinner, and it was time to find answers. She carefully crossed the room to one of the two large desks which sat in front of a smaller table with many chairs. When she found nothing in the first desk, she checked the one next to it. She could guess that the leader and co-leader owned the desks and the senior officers sat at the long table during meetings. The second desk turned out to contain many more letters, bills, notes of hire, and the like. The bard allowed a smile to pull on the corners of her mouth, knowing she was alone. Kanade sat and began sorting through them in hopes of finding anything that could explain if TLC was indeed connected to Lion, a cold and ruthless band of mercenaries that often took jobs other free companies deemed too severe or exceedingly dangerous. She knew what Kagu had said to Kim, and she would find out what had happened between TLC and Lion those years prior. It wasn't until she had finished shuffling through a stack of construction bills that she realized that she wasn't actually alone.

"Step from the shadows and meet me face to face," Kanade said, voice like gleaming steel. She noticed the alchemists' coat first as the man stepped from between two bookcases. His hair was chesnut brown and he wore circular glasses often carried by master alchemists.

"No need for all the hostility. After all, you are our guests and should have nothing to fear from us," he spoke with a voice of silk and gold. She did not respond to him right away, and he smirked at her in a way that even Kanade found extremely attractive.

"How about a deal? The silent beauty tells me her name, and I share my own," he proposed, cocking his head to one side slightly in question. Kanade found herself unprepared and stumbled over her words.

"Fair enough. I am known as Tachibana to many," he raised a white-gloved hand and wiggled a finger at her.

"I asked your name, not what you prefer people know you as," he told her, his eyes gleaming somehow dangerously behind his glasses. The bard was honestly caught off guard. He had seen through her words without hesitation or a second thought.

"My name is Kanade," she eventually answered. The man smiled with straight, white teeth and removed his glasses to clean them on his coat.

"And mine is Voyce Witte, Miss Kanade. If I may also ask, what you are doing at Fate's desk," he pursed his lips together and waited. She glanced back to the folded papers she still held in her hands before looking back to him.

"Searching," she stated simply. This seemed to please the alchemist as he smirked again, looking at his feet before leveling his eyes back to her.

"And what would the lovely lady be searching for in our meeting hall," he pressed, stepping over to lean on the corner of Fate's desk. Kanade noted he was slim and toned under the coat. He probably knew how to fight just as well as she did.

"Answers. I need to know how TLC is connected to the mercenary group Lion," she told him honestly. Upon mentioning the name Lion, Voyce's smirk faltered for half a second, but the bard caught it.

He frowned, glancing down at the desk before answering her, "That is nothing but a painful memory," he looked back at her eyes before adding, "to many of us in TLC, the senior officers included. Until today, it was thought that Kimpach'e had given her life to end the threat Lion held over us. There is an old Hyur saying popular in my home village: 'The brave seek to know, while the powerful seek to understand.' I believe it applies here," he crossed the room, leaned against the officers' table and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Now Kanade, would you rather know of the ambush Lion caught us in, or would you like to understand it," he asked, words saturated with mystery. She took only a second before answering him, "Understand." Voyce smirked again, as he produced a glass vial from his coat. It was sealed with a cork and the liquid was white the color of snow.

"This is something I created on my own, all my design. Once it is consumed, it allows a person to see through the veil of time and space. In short, if you concentrate on the Lion ambush and drink this, you will see everything that took place that day," he explained, giving the vial a small shake to drive his point home. Kanade looked into the swirling white for several long seconds before reaching for the vial, only to have Voyce move it out of her grasp.

"I only have one condition if I give this to you: Once you have the truth, and every ugly detail is spread out on a table for you, there can be no hesitation to do what must be done. You will understand more after, that is if you choose to drink it," he said, the last part forming a question that Kanade somehow knew she had to answer.

"I agree, give me the vial," she said simply, presenting her empty palm to him. His smirk returned to his lips - which Kanade was finding more and more attractive each time she saw it - as he placed the small vial in her hand before closing her fingers gently around it. The bard examined it for a moment, before removing the cork and downing the entire thing. Voyce watched silently, still leaning against the officers' table.

"I don't feel any different. When does it-" Kanade's world exploded, both in her vision and in her ears. She felt like it took a lifetime and a half before the white noise faded, but only ten seconds had passed. She was no longer sitting at Fate's desk, but was instead standing on the Limsa coastline in spring. The sun was nearing the crest of the sky, meaning it was roughly noon. Lush green grass grew over white limestone under her feet, and she could hear the nearby water as it cascaded into the ocean below from a river stretching farther inland than she could see. Then she was suddenly aware of voices. Voices that she knew.

"Fate, just let yourself believe for a second. Let's say that the Black Record is real. Just imagine it: a tome filled to the brim with spells that can cripple armies, flatten cities, all at the click of the tongue," Voyce was telling Fate as she, along with Nickolas, Yuki, Rose, and a very bored-looking Kimpach'e walked along the coastline.

"This was before Kagu joined them," Kanade thought to herself.

"If you speak truth, and that is still unproven, but if you did then what would we do with that unstoppable force," Fate countered right back. The past-Voyce tapped his chin for a moment before responding.

"How about just anything and everything we want? Just that, you know nothing big," he shrugged sarcastically, causing Yuki and Nick to snicker quietly to each other. Fate heard them and smiled as she answered him, "It doesn't work that way, Voyce. Sorry to be the one to tell you." The alchemist scowled and fell several feet behind Fate with Nick and Yuki.

After thirty more minutes of travelling the coastline they came upon what Yuki called a mineral pit. It was a large pit about twenty feet down and roughly as large as Forgotten Springs in diameter. Yuki let a drawn-out whistle from her lips as she looked over the pit.

"There will be more than enough ore in here, we hit the jackpot guys," she told them from over her shoulder.

"No one will touch land claimed by Lion company. I ask you once: Give me your name, the company you belong to, and why you are currently standing on Lion soil, and I will consider letting you go," Words cold as steel cracked behind them, causing the whole party to swing around in unison. A single Hyur man stood behind the group, with the biggest axe Kimpach'e had ever seen slung casually over his shoulder, as if he would take it everywhere like that.

"I am Fate Maya, leader and founder of the company TLC, and this land is free and belongs to no one," The Huyr said. Kanade noticed that Fate was also just a lancer at this time, but Voyce still wore the same alchemist coat.

"Leader Bitch then, is it," the man asked, swinging the axe down against the limestone and leaning on it.

"What did you just call her," Nick stepped forward, suddenly involved. The man glanced over at the paladin for a second and spat on the ground at Nick's feet.

"Your lot doesn't belong out here, and it would be best if you left while I feel generous." The soft sound of bowstring vibrated briefly.

"And your lot has no claim to free land. So I think it would be best not to force me to prove my point," Yuki calmly said between grit teeth. Her arrow stayed perfectly still as it remained trained on the Hyur.

"Well now, the cat-bitch has some fire in her. Tell me, little kitten: do you think you have enough arrows?" Yuki wasn't sure when or how, but people almost appeared from thin air. Marauders, Black Mages, Rogues, all wore the same two-headed profile of a lion. Yuki's bow went slack.

"Look, we will leave without the ore. We don't want this turning ugly," Fate said, her voice laced with faint urgency.

"Oh, little miss bitch your kitten has made this ugly all around," The Hyur responded, shifting his weight on the axe and causing it to scrape the limestone loudly.

"But, there is one thing that we would bargin for," He said to Fate.

"Name it," Rose interjected. The Hyur looked at her before he answered.

"You see, my boys get lonely something fierce out here. Our camp isn't much, just enough to keep us alive. We could sure use some… company," on the last word he ran his fingers over Fate's cheek.

Kanade nearly missed the movement from her left with how fast it was. Kimpach'e was now between the Hyur and Fate, her blade drawn and shining crimson. The man leapt backwards, clutching at where the Miqo'te had just severed his forearm from the elbow.

Chaos erupted.

Voyce summoned a barrier from a spell in his grimore which threw any of Lion that were too close.

"Yuki, make it rain on them, keep them panicked. Nick, pick off anyone who gets too close to Yuki or Voyce. Kim, you're with me making sure that I am safe," Fate ran down the list of stratigies to each person, and each nodded their understanding when their orders came. Lion was fully throwing themselves against the barrier in some attempt to break it open. Yuki, notched a handful of arrows and launched them in the air above the battlefield. A second had passed before arrows began landing, while many missed their marks, the panic it caused was more severe than being hit in the first place. Chaos quickly spread over the battlefield as if a plague had been released. Nick and Kim locked eyes and nodded to each other, as they took position in front of the others. They lowered their shields and charged where the enemies were thinnest in number, the others forming a tight pack behind the two tanks. The group burst through the wall of bodies and made a break for it, sprinting as fast as they could from the people that still pursued them.

Rukkus lounged peacefully against a rock. The sea-spray beside him coated his labcoat in chilling seawater, which brought a frown to the pilots face. He ran a hand through his shaggy black hair and wiped the water away.

"Rukkus!" The pilot looked up.

"Rukkus," Fate was yelling, with what appeared to be Yuki slung over her shoulder.

"Get the ship ready, we are taking off," Fate continued, as Voyce came into view with a staggering amount of angry marauders chasing him. Rukkus stumbled over to the parked airship that waited a few feet away and began turning knobs and pulling levers.

Kanade came crashing back down into her own head, the white glow on her eyes fading.

"So now you know about the ambush," Voyce said, holding her arm to steady her. "How do you feel?"

"Like shit," the answer came honestly.

"Maybe I should reduce the amount of quicksilver," Voyce mumbled to himself.

"So, how did Kimpach'e get separated from the group," Kanade asked, rubbing her eyes. Voyce looked down.

"She pushed us ahead, yelled at us to run and not look back. We never saw her after that," He responded, producing a vial from his coat.

"Here," he handed the vial to her. She examined the contents: swirling hues of red danced inside the glass beaker. She glanced at him questioningly.

"It's for the effects of the flashback potion I gave you earlier," he said, watching her drink it. She could taste something odd, but she couldn't quite place her finger on what it was. When she tried to stand she found that her legs wouldn't fully work, and fell to the ground in a pile.

"Voyce, what the hell is this," she spat onto the wood floor, now unable to move any of her body.

"This, my dear, is the beginning of the end for TLC. Soon I will be the leader, and everyone will look to me for guidance. You can watch it all from right there," Voyce said, smirking to her one last time before turning out the lights and closing the door, leaving the bard in darkness.