There was a bit of a deliberate wait on my part to upload this; I had the chapter done around two weeks ago. However, I've been trying to write ahead in order to give myself a little leeway with updating. To that end, I can guarantee an update either next Friday or Saturday (I haven't decided which day yet). I seem to have a lot more inspiration for this part than I've been having, and I'm trying to take advantage of it while it lasts.
Begin!
Book I, Part IV: Mortal Conflict - Dissension in the Ranks
Chapter III—Exile
[July 6, 2152 | Centra, Kramer Orphanage | 6:48 PM]
Destine valued few things ever since those long centuries ago when peace still ruled the Ethereal Plane, when Freya's rule wasn't openly being challenged by any Erudite bold enough to make accusations and remain unscathed of her judgment.
Quiet was one of them. Even peace was ill-valued to the sorceress, as she had long since learned that peace was as much of an illusion as happiness.
After Will's visit the previous day, she had taken…a trip, of sorts, in order to do something that the mortals would call "soul-searching." The more she thought about Will's words, and the feelings behind them, the more she realized that it had been fifteen hundred years since she was really, truly happy and at peace. She told no one where she was going save for Will, who had suggested the idea to start, and that nagging voice in her mind that had become harder and harder to ignore over the centuries told her that it didn't matter, that she wouldn't be missed after what she'd done. Thus had she traveled, visiting an entirely different realm of existence outside of the Author's jurisdiction in hopes of finding the feelings she'd lost over the years…in hopes of regaining her humanity, as ironic as that sounded to a being that was as far above mortals as the sun was above the clouds. She'd seen…many things in that realm, time as meaningless to her as it was to the feelings she sought, but for all her knowledge, she found she didn't have the knowledge of whether she'd truly learned or merely watched, letting the emotions roll over her instead of through her. Fifteen hundred years of resentment and hatred towards not just the one she called "Mother," but many others of high rank in the plane had hardened her, finally leading up to the active attempt at revenge she had enacted, and she didn't know just what it would take to finally unfreeze her heart.
So, she was doing the only thing she knew to do in a situation like this – meditate. She sat peacefully on the grass in front of the abandoned orphanage, listening to the occasional sounds of birdsong or the rolling of the waves nearby, even the wind-blown grass around her. Her hands rested calmly on her knees as she thought, trying to get back in touch with both the world around her and the world within her. Inwardly, she was glad that she'd gotten over some of the self-loathing and hate that she'd come to identify with, but she knew best of all that she still had a long time to go before she could forgive herself, regardless of whether or not Freya had already done so. She felt, somehow, as if she needed to apologize to Fayt, as well – she was the youngest and weakest of the Pillars, by technicality, and Destine had treated her like a little sister in the past much as Will still treated both Fayt and Destine now.
The sudden flapping of wings caused her eyes to snap open, her meditation interrupted by the sounds of several birds taking off from the ground nearby. She scanned the area for a moment, seeing nothing around her that would've spooked the animals, and her eyes closed again as she started to once more relax into her meditative state.
"Destine."
Her eyes shot open again at the sudden voice from behind, her body leaping up and spinning rapidly as she took in the unfamiliar voice…or, at least, what she had thought was an unfamiliar voice. She almost rubbed her eyes in stark disbelief as to what she saw, convinced that she was seeing things due to all the personal reflection, but shock seemed to paralyze her as she stared at the figure before her, unable to blink or turn away. The first thing she noticed was the attire – black boots with a long, black cloak that revealed a faint bit of dark red fabric beneath it – but the face…
She'd seen the face a million times before, in every sleepless 'night' and every darkened corner when her anger and vengeance weren't controlling her. Memories, dreams, visions, anything and everything detached from reality had shown that visage to her, searing it into her memory and ensuring she'd never forget it. Destine didn't want to forget, no matter how much it hurt to remember.
"Arragious…" she breathed, unable to truly find her voice as she stared at the one person who had treated her like more than just the Pillar of Destiny.
"You sound as if you don't want to see me," Arragious Nicholai spoke, his shoulder-length dark hair waving as he started stepping towards the Pillar of Destiny. To Destine, nothing was further than the truth, considering how long it had been since she'd seen the Gilead Order's Captain-Commander – nearly three centuries had passed since Freya had forbidden him to return. She felt a spike of anger welling up inside of her at the memory, but forcefully pushed it down as she looked at the black-clad Erudite.
"This…isn't a good time," she finally said, watching as Arragious stopped a few feet in front of her…then noticing that something seemed subtly off to her. She'd spent so long around Arragious that she couldn't begin to give a number in years, decades, even centuries, and she'd seen all of his myriad moods, the best and the worst of the Ethereal being before her. Likewise, he knew her as one might a well-read book; they had connected on a level that was beyond mere physicality or emotion, and each knew the other as well as they knew themselves.
It wasn't until he spoke again that she realized what she was feeling, what she was seeing about the man in front of her. It wasn't until his hand brushed aside the folds of his cloak to reveal the sheathed blades she knew he always kept that she saw underneath the words and emotions of the one before her.
"I know."
Arragious Nicholai was angry.
In the next moment, she found she had no chance to question Arragious' actions or intentions, as they made themselves perfectly clear when the black-clad Erudite lunged forward. A hilt without a blade that was held in his hand still, somehow, tore a sliver of fabric from Destine's clothes without making contact as she reacted, waves of fire instantly emanating from her body to deny the attack and attacker in equal measures. The mere sight of the blade brought back memories to her, soothing emotions clashing violently with the hatred that threatened to bubble back up and consume her even as she wondered why her once-lover was attacking her so. The blade was known as a "mesmeric blade," a special weapon crafted with a blade of pure magic and enchanted so as to be invisible in varying degrees to those with weak magical senses – those with little ability to sense magic would see barely an outline, if that, but someone like Destine could see the blade just as if it were made of tangible material. It was a unique weapon that few still used, which was one of the reasons why Arragious had chosen the blade many centuries ago.
Again, words failed the former Pillar of Destiny – she found that she just couldn't comprehend why Arragious would be attacking her, especially given their history together, despite the undeniable truth of the situation. Her body moved on reflex and honed senses rather than consciousness as Arragious attacked again, the magical blade glowing keenly in her sight as the curved weapon dove again for her chest. Lightning flashed brightly in front of her, a bolt striking the weapon in hopes of acting as a conductor only to be violently thrown off by a quick sweep of the blade as Arragious abandoned the attack.
"What's happened to you, Lady Destine?" Arragious asked, measuring Destine as he collected himself once again. "What happened to your fire – what happened to the witch that I admired so, all those long centuries ago…?"
"I could ask the same of you," Destine replied, feeling the anger start to build once again…no, not anger. Betrayal – betrayal by the man she once loved. She kept a tight grip on those feelings, though, refusing to let them pollute her again. She was above that now, above the indignation she'd once felt at the path that fate had chosen for her.
"You would ask that of me, knowing full well of my exile after the war?" Arragious said, his tone rising in intensity as his gaze grew colder. "Have you truly forgotten all that happened back then?"
"I've forgotten nothing," Destine countered, feeling her hackles rising alongside the volume of Arragious' voice. "Did you forget about back then – about us?"
The only response she found was the point of Arragious' blade diving once more for her as he darted forward, grass trampled under the soles of his heavy boots as he moved. A rapid burst of magic redirected his blade aside, forcing him back a step even as another ball of raw energy seared towards him. His strikes continued to rain down upon Destine – a cut, a stab, a slice, a thrust, all parried elegantly by perfectly-timed bursts of magic…
…up until the second blade cleared its sheath in the aftermath of a particularly blinding burst, cutting out below the level of Destine's arms and shallowly ripping across her torso. She staggered back at the sudden sharp pain, reflexively letting loose with another fiery burst in an orb around her that forced Arragious to retreat again or be scorched by the flames.
"You're playing with me," she remarked sternly, her eyes piercing Arragious. "If you're going to fight me, fight like you mean it." Arragious smirked, his mind wandering back to one of the first times they'd met when the Gilead Order was instated. He'd said almost the same thing to her back then, when he was testing her worthiness to be even the liaison to the prestigious order.
"How times have changed."
The second blade returned to its sheath, leaving only one of the curved blades in Arragious' hands as he started to pace in front of Destine.
"So serious, so angry…all that fire comes from hate now, it seems, instead of the joy for life you used to have. Did you finally learn to see the world as I have? Or is there something more lurking behind that mask that you wear so proudly, witch?"
The flash of emotion that flew across Destine's face was akin to a physical flinch.
"…I'm not like you," she said coldly, a small part of her protesting the statement only to be forcefully crushed in its objections.
"So you're not," Arragious stated casually, moving his robe aside slightly and allowing the blade in his hand to fall back into the sheath. "Or so you want to claim. I saw what you did here. I watched as you manipulated and calculated in order to get your way, to have a chance at taking down the Creator…or, once again, so you claimed."
"Shut up…"
Destine could feel the anger building again, and this time, it was anger, she knew, rage directed at the one person she'd once loved.
"Look at yourself. Shunned by everyone you thought may have cared about you, betrayed by the one who once loved you…you've fallen further and harder than I ever did, witch."
"Shut up…"
"This is reality. They've cast you out, like they did me – there's no going back for you, no forgiveness, just the harsh realization that your life is just a fragment of everything it used to be, that you're just as alone as I am now."
Destine felt the tenuous grasp she had on her temper snap like a worn rubber band.
"Shut up!"
Her hands rose again, magic gathering in them for a spell, any spell…only to stop, Arragious' hand firmly around her throat and cutting off her air before she even realized he had moved.
"I want you to deliver a message…to Freya, and all those who wronged me all those years ago. I want you to tell them that the exile of the Gilead Order has returned, and that it's time for them to pay their dues."
She gasped as he shoved her backwards, letting her fall roughly to the ground as he turned away from her, seemingly unconcerned any longer with her.
"…Why…?" she choked out, looking up towards Arragious' back. "Why do this, after so long? Why do this to me?"
She didn't know how long she sat there, waiting for a response that never came, but it felt like an eternity as she hoped against hope. Arragious' form vanished with the wind, leaving Destine sitting on the ground, feeling alone and helpless in a way that she'd never felt before.
[July 6, 2152 | Trabia Garden, First Floor, Training Center | 7:07 PM]
"You ready?"
My words ring loudly and clearly in the rather-deserted area of the training center that I'm standing in, reverberating in the open air as I stretch out my arms and legs. The trip to Esthar had been mostly uneventful with the exception of a careless driver, one who nearly ran me over while I tried to cross one of the unusual and colorful roads in the city. It left me with a passionate desire to exercise my magic and ice the entire vehicle over until it sank back to the ground from its hovering position, preferably while at a high rate of speed, also proving to me that bad drivers exist even across dimensions – another fact that makes the world feel just that much less unusual.
"Funny – I was gonna ask you that, what with all the acrobatics you're doing over there," Tetsuya's voice calls back, carrying an amused note with it.
"Junctions are no excuse not to stretch properly," I deadpan, ignoring the quip and moving back to a more normal standing position. Ever since the field exam, Tetsuya and I have gotten used to having sparring matches in-between or after classes every so often, in order to both to keep ourselves in shape between missions and class work as well as to just practice our styles of fighting. I've noticed ever since we began practicing that Tetsuya's style of fighting is a lot like how I used to fight, back on Spira – the kind of style I'm starting to move away from now. He favors a lot of heavy strikes, seeming to try and make every blow the last one in a fight and just overpower anyone and everyone he fights. Even his magic is like that; much like Darius, he seems to have an inordinate fondness for Lightning-element magic, though he's not shy about using Fire or Earth-elemental spells either.
I've finally started to figure out that the heavy-hitting style of fighting isn't the type of fighting that's really suited for someone like me. The fight I had with Destine served as somewhat of the final evidence for that, after all the SeeD training and the few missions I have under my belt now. Instead of trying to take an opponent out of the fight with every swing – especially someone that can stand up to lots of punishment, like Tetsuya or any average junctioned SeeD – I'm better off just biding my time and trying to wear them down as the fight drags on. My speed and agility really are my best assets, all things considered, and I would be stupid to not try and play to that. The junctions I have now are primarily tailored for endurance, in order to make sure I can last long enough to have my strategies work, and I've been working on using my Alchemy both offensively and defensively in order to come up with better ways to attack and defend, even to do both at once.
"Let's see if you can trip me up this week," I call, removing one of my twin blades from its sheath. "You had to have learned something new by now!"
"Hey, if it's working, why change a good thing?" he replies, taking out the bulky form of the gunblade he prefers to carry on him. His gunblade, the Punishment model, is almost solid-black in coloration, featuring the revolver-styled hilt that I've come to associate with gunblades as well as a uniquely-styled blade, edged on both top and bottom with open space in the middle of the blade itself that runs about two-thirds of the way down from the blade's tip. The blade looks somewhat heavier than it actually is, though it's still quite heavy – a couple pounds, easily, though I've never actually weighed it – which makes the strikes have an incredible amount of force behind them when the concussive force shells are added into the mix. Thankfully, Tetsuya keeps his gunblade unloaded for our training bouts, since our bouts are more about trying out techniques and perfecting our forms rather than actually hurting each other.
"Can never be too careful," I say, shrugging and lifting my blade up to rest on my shoulder. "Whenever you're ready!"
(Play: Full Frontal Assault (Tetsuya's Battle Theme) – norg, SnappleMan; OverClocked Remix: Voices of the Lifestream)
Tetsuya is the first to move, bringing his gunblade up and then swinging it down into the ground as green energy flows from it, causing the ground between us and under me to begin to rip itself apart as the Quake magic infuses itself into the earth. The dirt beneath me collapses several feet as I move, bounding forward and leaping off of a chunk of rock that rises in front of me in order to take to the air before charging and firing a Blizzard spell downward. Tetsuya's gunblade swings across, slapping the spell away like another piece of dirt as I land, only to immediately reverse its momentum and dive towards my chest. My blade snaps up to block immediately, causing my entire arm to shake for an instant as the heavy blade meets my much smaller sword. In a straight battle of strength, Tetsuya can beat me easily whether junctioned or not, something that he's demonstrated several times before.
I break the lock after a second or two, leaping back and taking a moment to regain my focus and let my arm regain feeling again. Tetsuya isn't as relaxed, knowing that he has the initiative now, and immediately channels energy back into his blade, causing it to begin glowing red as it becomes enchanted with Fire-elemental energy. He charges again as the magic finishes taking hold, sweeping the blade out before raising it again and letting it swing down in a powerful vertical arc. This time, I don't bother blocking, instead sliding out of the way as the gunblade impacts the ground beside me and shifting my sword into my left hand as I move. The circle on my right hand shimmers, and I press my hand to the ground quickly, beginning to transmute the ground around us from earth to ice in order to use it as a weapon. In actuality, I'm not really transforming the dirt itself into ice, but rather drawing out the moisture in the ground and then freezing that into ice which overlays the ground. The newly-formed ice suddenly begins to take on a life of its own, reaching up in stabbing points that lunge for Tetsuya, and the look of surprise on his face makes me smile right before several of the formed spears are decimated by one swing of the fiery gunblade.
"Using Alchemy already?" he asks, also moving back so as to be out of my attack's immediate area of effect. "Not like you to be pressed so soon!"
"Pressed? Please!" I retort, smirking and standing back up from my kneeling position. "I haven't even used my second katana yet!" In truth, I wish my transmutation had been faster; it took two or three seconds for it to complete and actually attack, which is much slower than I'd care to have it work in the heat of combat. The sword in my left hand starts to glow with energy right before I slice out vertically, sending a thin wave of energy towards Tetsuya that he casually avoids – or, at least, what passes for casually to a trained and junctioned SeeD.
"Oh, so you just want to get serious? Alright…" he says, expression widening into a grin as the gunblade rises back to rest on his shoulder. "Let's get serious, then!"
I can feel a telltale increase in the amount of magical energy in the air, but I see no signs of Tetsuya casting a spell at all up until faint traces of yellow-colored energy begin coalescing around his body. His body tenses as the energy becomes more pronounced, covering more and more of his form, and I can see the energy almost beginning to crackle across his clothing and skin, faintly like…
…like lightning, actually.
Hesitantly, I take a step back, not quite sure what to make of the change. I'm no mage, so I can't really tell much about what effect it might have just by looking at it, so all I can do is hope to figure it out during the fight.
"Ready to go?" he says, pointing his gunblade out towards me again as sparks of energy flicker over the blade.
"Sure your hair isn't gonna turn yellow, too?" I ask, smiling pleasantly…but at the same time, reaching for the second sword at my waist. Whatever he's done, I've never seen it before, so I don't want to take any chances.
"You're a regular comedian," he replies dryly, right before taking off towards me once again with the gunblade held out front and close to his body. I steady my stance, ready for another rather direct attack…right before my eyes widen as red fire erupts around his body, Tetsuya's Haste magic propelling him forward faster than I expected and forcing me to block the downward strike that flies in rather than evade it. If the force from the last strike I blocked was painful, this strike is downright murderous – if I hadn't blocked with both blades, I'm fairly sure he would've just broken straight through my guard. The gunblade slips off my crossed swords as I back off again, calling up Haste magic of my own, and I can see the ground shatter in a small area in front of me as the gunblade's tip impacts the dirt. The weapon flies back up remarkably fast, but by that time my own spell is taking effect, letting me react normally again as my reflexes and thoughts speed up. A quick parry leaves me free to slide around his gunblade, transmutation circle flashing again as I start to draw moisture from the air, condensing it into a semi-solid form. While I haven't gotten incredibly good with normal creation, alteration, or destruction Alchemy yet, using elemental Alchemy for something like this isn't much more difficult than what I normally do with spells. The air around me grows cold as bits of frost and ice start to rapidly swirl around me, combining with the residual magic in the Alchemy to form a sort of icy cloak – in theory, it should help defend me from attack by taking some of the force out of any strikes that get through, but that's still just a theory right now.
I may as well see what happens in practice while I have a chance.
The next few seconds are a blur of flashing blades and ice as Tetsuya's attack escalates, the speed-enhancing magic around both of us rendering our movements blurry to normal eyes. Both my blades swing in only to be parried and knocked aside by the heavy gunblade, followed by a retaliatory strike that cuts in and slices away a piece of the icy cloud around me seemingly without resistance. My right-hand blade begins to glow with watery energy as I focus, aiming to both give myself a quick means of attack if needed, but my follow-up swing is deftly evaded as he jumps back suddenly, the crackling energy around his blade suddenly increasing drastically. Before I fully realize what's happening, the blade is swung downward, a motion which causes the electrical energy around it to arc out into two fang-like shapes that dive for me, attracted immediately to all the water around me. As the electricity arcs through my body – he purposely used little power to not hurt me greatly – I can't help but think about how much electricity is a terrible weakness for me, given that all my Alchemy relies on the presence of water or some form of moisture, which make for excellent conductors.
'This armor won't do anything if the blade doesn't actually strike it,' I think to myself, trying to get my muscles to listen again after the jolt of Lightning-elemental energy. 'He knows to play the range game until it wears off.' Hoping to buy some time, I reach inside my mind and touch the spirit residing there, calling up its power even as Tetsuya decides to strike again. The energy builds around his blade like a static charge as he holds the gunblade out with both hands, letting the energy gather as he braces himself. In the next instant, the energy leaps forward like a cannon shot, forming into a glittering, sparking beam of energy that crosses the distance between us in barely a second…only to explode violently in front of me as both the icy shroud around me and a newly-erected shield of transparent force before me absorb the blow. I smile as the energy inside me builds to a satisfactory point, and the alchemized ice around me dissolves into so much water and falls back to the ground as the shield disappears. The temperature around me suddenly drops sharply as the ground in front of me ices over, bits of frost and snow giving way to a massive ice crystal that suddenly bursts from the ground. It shatters musically a moment later, revealing the form of a blue-skinned woman with white markings on her skin – the Guardian Force Shiva, which causes Tetsuya's eyes to widen as the energy around her starts to build. While Guardian Forces have an inherent weakness in that the summoning can be stopped if the protective shield around their summoner takes too much damage before the GF itself manifests, they are also capable of being stopped after summoning just like anything else; they may be incredibly difficult to hurt, being only manifestations of their true form on the mortal plane, but those manifestations can still be damaged and forced to fade by injuring them enough.
Tetsuya also knows that fact, and though I can't see him for Shiva and the swirling ice in front of me, I can feel the increasing magical energy across from me that tells me he's preparing something big. The ball of frost in Shiva's hands seems to have grown powerful enough for the Guardian Force's liking, and I can only watch as she unleashes the torrent of snow and ice in Tetsuya's direction, a localized blizzard meant to engulf the SeeD in front of her. The energy I was feeling spikes briefly, and I can suddenly see a red-hot flash of power in front of Shiva, apparently some kind of Fire-element magic from Tetsuya that crashes into the oncoming wall of frost. There's a brief moment of the two elements warring for dominance right before the energy simply erupts in the center in a large explosion, forcing me to shield my eyes and making me want to cover my ears as the area is engulfed in light, noise, and magical energy. Bushes and trees around us shake as if being hit by a hurricane, the energy stripping leaves and even some branches away like mere twigs or blades of grass.
When the storm of power dies down, I take a look at the area around me, immediately noticing that Shiva is gone. Granted, I expected that, given the massive release of energy that happened as well as the tendency of Guardian Forces to not manifest for long. However, what I don't expect to see is that Tetsuya isn't immediately visible either.
"Did he get pushed into the trees…?" I whisper to myself, looking around the area in hopes of seeing him. My vision's just a tiny bit hazy from the leftover magic and dust in the air, and so I cast a quick Blizzard spell onto the ground beside me, ready to use the ice for a defensive Alchemy move if he decides to surprise attack. A second later, a blade dives at me from the side, forcing me to spin and raise my blades to block again, also realizing in the process that I need more time to react in order to use my limited Alchemy skills right now.
'What…?'
I backpedal for a moment, surprised at what my eyes are seeing – I had expected to see Tetsuya, but that's most certainly not who I'm seeing right now. Instead of Tetsuya's white trenchcoat, SeeD uniform, and black-colored gunblade, my eyes are instead gazing upon the flowing white shirt and pants and heavy, rhombus-shaped greatsword of Revolver DeValle. My surprise lasts only for a fraction of a second as the blade dives in again, parried quickly by a wild swing from my left blade as I leap back further in order to rationalize what I'm seeing.
'What happened to Tetsuya…he must be in the bushes after that attack,' I think to myself, countering an incoming Fire spell with Water magic of my own. 'Revolver must've been watching, and decided to interfere…that's it. I'll wrap this up, get Tetsuya, and figure out why he bothered jumping in.'
I'm not sure whether it's the sudden change in combatants or the adrenaline that's making my thoughts jump so, but as it turns out, I don't have much time to worry about it. The thick, rectangular blade arcs out a third time as Revolver closes the distance, fire wrapping around the blade again only to be angrily met by my own blades and shoved back as I decide to go back on the offensive. I'm still a little miffed about how easily he beat me when I first came to Garden, and I certainly don't intend to give him the satisfaction of doing it again. Another wave of energy is gathered into my blade and fired as quickly as I can manage, then sliced in half by the rectangular weapon in the blacksmith's hand. By that time, however, I'm in front of him again, lashing out angrily with both blades in a rapid flurry of attacks that sets him back on the defensive. One strike gets through, cutting a gash in his shirt and drawing just a bit of blood, and I finally let up as Protect magic flashes into existence around him. Seizing the opportunity, I draw on my Blade Knight skills and start to focus as dark energy swirls around me, leaking out and beginning to encompass the area in pitch-blackness. Revolver looks momentarily surprised as the spell begins to take effect, with good reason – the field of darkness should be making it rather hard for him to see right now, while I can still see just fine, which means he'll have to mainly rely on his hearing for the moment.
The blacksmith doesn't make a move as the magical darkness settles over him, which suits me just fine, leaving me free for the moment to cast Haste magic on myself again and prepare to attack. Once the spell has taken effect, I start to run back towards Revolver, leading with a Blizzard spell that he just barely manages to block. Unfortunately for him, the combination of the block and the field of darkness gives me a much bigger opening than I would've had otherwise, and my right sword rakes across his chest suddenly, causing him to stagger back as the field begins to wear off. Realizing that I won't get any more advantage from hindered visibility at the moment, I let out a yell and slide around towards his left side, cutting out again and just missing as he twists aside, arm rising over my blade. The thick greatsword comes down again in a chopping motion that smashes into my left blade, causing my entire arm to shake from the impact. He presses harder, and my left arm suddenly gives way from the strain, letting his sword finish coming down to tear a gash vertically down the left side of my shirt and chest. The sudden pain makes me flinch, but only serves to infuriate me more as I step back, rapidly sheathing my right hand's blade and calling up magical energy in my now-free hand. My Firaga spell explodes nearly in Revolver's face, the blacksmith just managing to shield his face with his left arm and let it take the brunt of the blast instead, an action which leaves his sleeve and part of his shirt scorched and blackened. I don't give him a chance to retaliate, though, and press the attack, leaping forward and kicking out towards his stomach with my enhanced strength. I wind up clipping the flat of his blade, but the momentum behind the kick still knocks him to the ground, and I'm following him even as he falls, sword poised to come down and strike a final blow if he –
"Hey, hey, hey! Lay off, geez – what in Hyne's name are you doing?"
(End: Full Frontal Assault (Tetsuya's Battle Theme) – norg, SnappleMan; OverClocked Remix: Voices of the Lifestream)
The voice that carries through the air is both remarkably close and not Revolver's, serving to break me out of the trance that I seemed to have gone into during the last minute or two. My eyes focus again on the person I'm standing over, sword undoubtedly a bit too close to their neck for their liking, and my mind suddenly comprehends that I'm standing over Tetsuya, not Revolver like I was just thinking. I jerk back almost as if I was slapped, stumbling back for a moment as my heart pounds away in my chest and my hand shakes.
"I…what happened to Revolver…?" I mutter, trying to make some sense out of what just happened.
"Revolver?" Tetsuya asks, starting to stand up and holding one hand over the cut across his chest. "What are you talking about?"
Now I really am breathing heavily, and it's not just from the exertion…was I just seeing things? Was Revolver ever really here, or did my mind just make the whole thing up? I had to be hallucinating – that's the only explanation, to me, and I don't like anything that it implies.
"…Hey, it's okay…I mean, you didn't hurt me t -"
"No, it's not okay!" I snap, now thoroughly freaked out. I've never once had anything like this happen to me, either before or after I first went to Spira, and I don't know what to think of it. "I…I just…need to go, go somewhere…"
I can't see the look on my face, but I'm pretty sure that it's not making Tetsuya feel any more calm about the situation. "…You want me to come?" he asks, looking just a bit unnerved by my rapid change in demeanor and cautiously taking a step forward.
"No!" I yell, holding up a hand to stop him. "No…I'm fine, just…I just need some time to think, is all," I say, lowering my voice again and turning away. I just want to be somewhere, anywhere but here right now, until I can figure out what's going on. I don't even think about what I'm doing as I start to walk away, focusing on my extraplanar abilities as I step onto the Crystal Path, sword still gripped tightly in one hand even though I'm not sure I trust myself to have it drawn right now. I'll just go back to my room and try to calm down, try to figure out what could cause me to be seeing things in the middle of a training match…even though I'm sure that I won't like any of the possible answers I come up with.
[Ethereal Plane, Upper Court, Palace of Creation]
Destine stepped through the shining halls of Freya's palace, unsure even to herself what emotion was fueling her steps – simmering anger, or choking sorrow. Step after step, she kept moving, afraid of what she might do if she let herself turn back. Erudite moved out of her way as she passed, some knowing of what she had done and giving her wide berth as if she were a plague to be avoided, others moving from her path respectfully but quietly without acknowledgment. She locked eyes with none of the Erudite, her mind focused by some combination of the emotions inside her as she made her way towards Freya's chambers. At the same time, her mind was strangely disoriented – hallways passed in a blur as she moved, unusually unable to focus on her surroundings but instinctively knowing the way, almost like walking in a daze.
Which, to be certain, may not have been far from the truth.
Her ears picked up whispers that she was sure were about her, about what she had done on the mortal plane and tried to do to her own Creator…or perhaps they were delusions. She couldn't tell in her state; her every thought seemed to be focused either on her own failings or what had caused the failings of others. The thoughts only made her rage and sorrow stronger, ever increasing the stew of conflicting emotions inside her.
"Halt," one of Freya's guards stated as she approached, halberd rising to block the door from Destine's reach. "Lady Freya –"
"– needs to hear what I have to say," Destine finished firmly, interrupting the guard. She had little patience for interference at present, even less so than usual. Apparently, the guard could read the frustration and anger that was becoming evident on her face, for he offered no further objections. The ornate polearm slid aside again, and the doors to Freya's chamber began to open, being pushed aside smoothly by Destine to speed their opening as she moved forward. Freya looked up at the sudden entry, surprised but not showing feelings of unease at Destine's entry. The former Pillar noticed that neither one of Freya's advisers were present, something that was a rarity in her memory. One of them was usually with the Creator more often than not, often both, unless they were engaged directly with their respective forces.
'Does she already know?' Destine wondered, stepping before Freya. Unlike most, she did not bow or kneel; both actions implied subservience, and Destine had never been one to admit that she was the servant of another, no matter how benevolent.
"Destine," Freya began, her expression returning to the kind and serene one she usually held. "I am surprised to see you here after what Will spoke of."
"…I wouldn't have come back yet, but this is too important for me not to," she responded quietly. No matter how much she refused to show subservience, shame was a different matter entirely. "I won't waste time. I was told to bring a message to you…from the Exile."
"Arragious Nicholai?" Freya questioned. "What message has the Exile sent?"
"He's…angry," Destine said, suddenly feeling as if she didn't even want to mention his name. "He said to tell you that he has returned, and that the ones who wronged them would soon pay their dues."
Freya didn't react with surprise or anger at Destine's words, merely…resignation, as if she'd known what Destine had relayed was inevitable and that she was only ignorant of when it would occur. "I expected this to happen at some time," she said, her voice quieting. "He has come for revenge, as I always knew he would. I would do the same, were I he."
Destine was surprised to hear the one she regarded as her 'mother' say something of that nature, but her other emotions dampened that surprise almost to nothing in the eyes of observers. "He…attacked me, on the mortal plane. I wasn't his target…just his messenger."
"You are uninjured?" Freya asked, earning a slight shake of the head from Destine. "That is good to hear. I will have Lord Odin and Lord Xeios prepare their warriors immediately. If the Exile truly is bound for a course of revenge, we will need to deal with it appropriately. I am glad that you brought this information to me so quickly, Destine."
The dark-haired sorceress said nothing, only nodding briefly before turning to leave, ready to be out of the room and away from the shame and sadness she felt. Before she could pass through the doors, however, Freya's voice again stopped her.
"Destine…are you well?" Freya asked, concern filling her voice as she looked at the back of her 'daughter.' Destine's head slowly turned back towards Freya, her eyes seeming weary and her smile full of sadness.
"No…not really."
(Play: Passion ~after the battle~ – Utada Hikaru, Kingdom Hearts II)
It was as if someone had opened a floodgate on her emotions, letting everything pour out right then and flood her mind as she turned back towards Freya, unable to contain herself any longer.
"Everything I know is falling apart…it's all been falling apart, ever since the war, ever since you exiled Arragious, ever since this whole plane was nearly torn apart for the worst reasons!" she cried, eyes starting to fill with tears. "I lost the only person who ever really loved me, I lost the respect that everyone had for me, and now I've had that same person tear down every good memory that I ever had about the person I used to be! Haven't I suffered enough without being forced to look at him and know that he's right – that my life's not even worth living now?"
Freya looked down at her subject…no, her daughter…with an expression full of remorse. She had spent far too long, it seemed, worrying about only the stability and safety of the plane that she had never noticed the pain that the ones closest to her were going through. Even as she watched Destine, she realized that she should have known all along that Destine was affected more than she let on, that she was feeling as much hurt from the decision's effects as Freya felt from making the decision herself.
Quietly, she stepped down from her throne and moved across the tiled floor before reaching out and putting her arms around Destine, embracing her like the mother figure that the Pillar saw her as.
"Destine…never say that. There is always hope, even in the darkest times, wherever there is life. I cannot even begin to tell you how much I regret the decisions I made back then. My only hope was that it was all for the best, regardless of how it seemed at the time…but I know now that I was wrong. If only I had been a better leader, this may never have come to pass, but the past cannot be changed." The blond-haired Creator finally released Destine from her embrace, seeing the tearful eyes of her daughter mixed with surprise that she would admit those things, but kept going anyway, knowing that she needed to be honest with both her daughter and herself now more than ever.
"The future, however, can be changed. I promise you that I will do all I can to see this to a peaceful end. Arragious was once someone that I trusted as much as I trust you, and I am ashamed that I could have ever done something to break that trust."
Destine was at a loss for words. Never in a million years had she expected Freya to openly say that she still trusted her, considering what she had just tried to do to both the Creator and her position. "You're…not serious, are you?" she finally asked.
"Why would I lie to you about this, Destine?" Freya responded, looking her in the eyes. "What you did was wrong, that much is certain, but I understand why you acted as you did. Whether to forgive you or not was mine to decide, and I have chosen to forgive."
(End: Passion ~after the battle~ – Utada Hikaru, Kingdom Hearts II)
Destine's mouth opened as she started to speak, but she found herself interrupted by the opening of the doors to Freya's chamber from behind her. She turned quickly to see the cause, finding a sole figure entering the room that, after a few seconds of examination, seemed almost familiar despite the fact that she was sure she'd never seen before. It was a young-looking woman with pale skin and dark hair past her shoulders, similar-looking to Destine's own appearance in passing. Her attire was plain by the standards of elaborate dress that many in the plane favored, merely a simple sleeveless white dress that fell to her ankles along with a blue sash that tied at the waist, but the attire was not what caught Destine's attention. The power that she could feel radiating from the woman was innately familiar to Destine – the power of the Pillar of Destiny, marking her as the recipient of Destine's own powers when they were taken by Freya.
"I am glad you came, Lady Nicholai," Freya said, greeting the woman with a polite nod that was met with a formal bow.
"I couldn't just ignore the request, not after…what you did for me," she stated, looking over at Destine. "Who…?"
"Nicholai," Destine broke in suddenly, looking at the girl beside her with a voice full of surprise. "…Kitaras?"
"Yes, Destine," Freya interjected, speaking before Kitaras could. "This is your daughter, Kitaras. I offered her the powers of your station in your absence, so as to preserve the balance of this plane."
Destine suddenly felt as if a great weight had lifted from her shoulders upon hearing Freya speak. Her daughter…she'd never known if she had done the right thing when she had sent her to the mortal plane to live in the war's aftermath, but seeing her now just assured her that her choice had been the correct one. Without thinking, she walked over to Kitaras and wrapped her in an embrace, just as Freya had previously done to her.
"I'm…sorry…I'm sorry that I never told you about any of this," she whispered, holding Kitaras close. "I just didn't know what to do, not after everything that happened."
"…It's not your fault," Kitaras said, suddenly not sure how to feel. She'd grown up on the streets of Timber, with no one that truly cared until she'd fled to Deling City, finding hospitality in the unlikely hands of Vinzer Deling. She was used to having no one, to being alone and in the shadows, but now…she was suddenly back outside in the light, looking at the face of the mother that she was sure she'd never see.
"I've got…a lot to tell you," Destine said, letting go of Kitaras and stepping back with an honest smile on her face for the first time in a long time.
"I'm sure," Kitaras replied, nodding. "There's so much about this place I don't know. I've only been here a short time…at least, I think it's been a short time."
"Nearly two days have passed in the mortal plane," Freya explained. "I will allow you both all the time you wish to speak with one another, but I must attend to this matter first. Kitaras, you were summoned for a reason," she continued, looking between mother and daughter. "I believe that Destine is once again worthy to hold the powers of the Pillar of Destiny." Destine's eyes turned back towards Freya in surprise, but she held her tongue, believing that she couldn't say anything that hadn't either been said already or intuited by the Creator.
"I understand," the young Erudite said. No matter how kind and amiable the Creator acted towards her, she couldn't help but have a spike of nervousness while around her – perhaps it was the new senses that she now possessed that made it so.
"Destine, are you prepared to retake your station and resume your duties to the Ethereal Plane?" the Creator asked, looking over towards Destine. She didn't know if Destine was ready to take back her powers and responsibilities, but the fact that she was here was a good sign in her mind.
"I…"
She hesitated – was she ready? She would've liked nothing more than to simply leave and find somewhere in the realm where she could escape to until she felt unashamed enough to return, but…
Freya trusted her. Even after all she'd done, all the years of constrained scorn and silent hate, the open rebellion and attack on not just her subjects, but Freya herself…Freya was willing to forgive her, to give her another chance to use her life for better things.
"…I am."
Freya smiled, her hand rising towards the younger Erudite.
"Then let it be so."
Energy began flowing from the Erudite's body, keeping her still as it streamed out of her form and towards Destine, infusing her once again with the powers that she'd grown used to feeling inside of her over the centuries. To her, it was like having one's sense of sight or hearing restored, a vast improvement of senses that felt dull and unused all at once that almost left her dizzy from the feeling. She hadn't realized just how used to the power she'd become until it had left her, and she felt a rush of joy at its return.
"Thank you for becoming the Pillar of Destiny in Destine's absence, Lady Nicholai," Freya spoke, earning a polite nod and a smile from the young woman. To Kitaras, it was all worth it for the look on her mother's face alone.
Destine looked towards Freya as she felt her power return fully, trying to find the words to adequately convey what she wanted to say. Finally, she said the only thing she could, the simple statement saying more than the words themselves implied.
"Thank you…Mother."
I had a lot of fun with this chapter, particularly the last piece with Destine - this is the first time that Freya has really shown any kind of motherly affection for any of the Pillars. Until now, she'd never really gotten over what she did to Destine, indirectly, after the last war by exiling Arragious. Destine, for her part, was too caught up in bitterness to bother really speaking to Freya about it or trying to understand, and it only made the tension between them and Freya's feelings worse as time went on.
Well, as I stated, there will be an update at the end of next week, either Friday or Saturday. As always, please read and review.