Chapter 2:

Episode 1-1

A taste of modernity

"I..." Lumina blinked, hoping her eyes were just a little fuzzy. Granted, that was stupid seeing as no amount of blurriness would make someone shrink down into a six-inch collectable in questionable dress. Considering this fact, Lumina spat out a blunt "huh?"

"C-can you please not look at me like that?" The little Serah in her hands, having been scooped up and was held as Lumina sat atop the grass, had little need to cover herself up - seeing as Lumina's hands did that for her. With embarrassment written across her plastic face, it looked almost cartoony how the plastic mold flipped between varied expressive stills, looking almost to be in stop motion. "I'm not exactly loving this look."

Shaking her head from the reboot it had been going through, Lumina asked the obvious question.

"What happened to you?"

"I don't know!" Shooting her arms up, the toy version of the younger Farron sister did her best to appear appalled, although that emotion was unfortunately expressed via a silly, almost chibi-fied expression. White angry eyes with solid black outlines paired with the single-line scowl with a single fang on one end; add on to that the little puff on the other end of the face and it nearly had Lumina snorting.

Unfortunately, neither had time to really react as something began beeping.

Noting the direction again, Lumina looked at her left wrist, only to be mildly surprised when she spied a rather stylish digital watch wrapped around her wrist. It shared in design with Caius's greatsword he always loved swinging around, with wing-like petals of deep purple flaring out from the core, whose backlight surface was a deep red with a black dot, giving off the appearance of an evil eye. She made to put Serah down, only to tighten her grip when an image of the God himself shot up from the eye...

Or rather, his head did... His fuzzy, holographic, and sporadically lagging head.

Lumina didn't know what ping the afterlife got out there, but it had to be in the triple digits with how choppy his image moved.

"Lumina, Serah, can you both hear me?"

Standing and twisting her wrist, Lumina opened up her hand and allowed the doll-fied Serah to stand atop her palm. Like her toy appearance suggested, the once full-sized woman didn't weigh that much anymore, and now both were able to face the face who faced them off against the unwanted faces of this world.

"You're lagging," Lumina stated bluntly, curling up a curious eye. "Shouldn't the Gods get better Wi-fi?"

"We do not get Wi-fi at all," Caius calmly told, only to follow it up with a mild contradiction - Lumina could already see this becoming a habit. "However, you are not viewing me through Wi-fi. I am contacting you via a direct connection to the chaos."

"Divine Wi-fi; got it." Although, she really shouldn't have been all that shocked by his poor connection; with nothing but that dainty town over yonder, they probably only had a single cell tower, if at all. Sure, the old dying world didn't have much after Caius literally summoned the apocalypse with the aid of Serah and Noel, but that didn't mean people just gave up on their technology.

Hope literally built an entire fucking planet last she recalled, and that was before disappearing to play tech-support for her creator slash technically-mom.

Ooooooohhh... Now that, that got a solid shiver running up her spine. What would happen if Claire saw her? The New World was big, gargantuan even - just about the size of the old one, minus the huge looming moon that was Cocoon - so it wouldn't be suspicious to come across someone who looks identical to your old backup personality... right?

Such thoughts were shoved underwater when Caius started up again.

"Call it what you will, but know that we are able to communicate whenever either of us wishes. However, in light of that, I will only call you myself at the beginning and end of every job. I cannot risk exposing myself when others are present, and neither can you, so to avoid unnecessary and unwanted attention, try to find someplace secluded before contacting me. Once you have done so, simply speak mine or Yeul's name into the eye of the communicator, and you'll be able to summon us as I appear to you now."

"Does this mean you can hear us twenty-four seven?" Lumina did not like the idea of him being able to hear everything all the time; privacy may ignite feelings of abandonment in her head for the first few seconds of thinking about it, but being listened in on when either bathing or other delicate affairs upset her far greater than that. Still, she wasn't one to whine without putting a little spice into it. "Awe~ I'd be touched, if I wasn't afraid of being touched."

"It seems your wit hasn't dampened since last we met; contrary to moments ago." Looking to shake off any misgivings and annoyance, he carried on professionally. "But to answer your question: no. I may only listen once summoned, and when I am visible to you like this."

"Caius," Serah spoke up from her place in Lumina's hand with a sheepishness to her. "Why am I... like this?"

"Yes... I figured that would be a point of contention." Honestly, Caius didn't sound all that amused either. "Lumina is just unique enough that most people wouldn't bat too much of an eye her way. You, however, mimic an influential figure far too closely for that."

"Influential?" Serah muttered, just as confused as Lumina herself. Sure, Serah was cool, but last she checked, Claire was the one with literal battalions named after her - although that probably meant nothing now, seeing as Cocoon no longer existed period. Caius rectified their understandable confusion quickly enough though... and yet the answer wasn't exactly what they'd expected.

"Yes. Serah Farron has, over the past year, gained a bit of notoriety. Without going into detail, she's become a popular guest character in an online video game. Along with earning royalties from the agreement, her contract also included in it permission to run production of several collectable figurine lines representing that appearance. Being a near perfect copy of Serah herself, I decided that Lumina would appear less suspicious if she carried one of those on her."

"I fail to see how that makes any of this better." Flatly stating so got her point across well enough, Lumina bit back anything else - such as how creepy the whole thing sounded. But Caius went unfazed.

"With how closely you resemble yourself, carrying around a Valkyrie Princess Serah Farron Collector's Icon will, at the very least, paint you as an obsessed fan of the character. To most people, and perhaps even the Farron sisters themselves, you'll come off as nothing more than a disturbed child."

"Nice idea, really…" Lumina, unfortunately, had to poke a few holes in that boat of thought. "But I look the exact same as I did in the Old World."

"Yes, you do." Caius didn't seem that worried, but then again this was Caius she was talking with; the man always acted like he owned the place. "And the Warrior Goddess believes she'd absorbed your presence back into herself. Lightning, unlike her time as the Savior, now emotes and lives freely in this realm, striding through life as she always should have from the beginning. You do not exist anymore, and while the sight of you may disturb her momentarily, a strong dose of ignorance will keep her questioning."

"I still think this is... kind of dumb."

"That is a mindset I cannot help you rise above."

"Sure you can," Lumina smirked. "Just put a plug in this stupid idea."

"Believe me, I wish I could." Sighing, he dropped another revelation atop her shoulders. "Unlike Bhunivelze's puppet who wears her plastic well, I am unable to alter your physical properties."

"Couldn't you have given me a new set of clothes? I mean, I like my chaos digs, but they're not exactly inconspicuous." Lumina never knew why her body adorned itself in the gothic dress she'd grown to love; maybe Claire was a goth geek at heart - she was certainly edgy enough for it.

"The only thing we have on hand to fit you would be Yeul's outfits. But as you've probably seen, they're in the middle of wearing them."

Lumina paused for a second, letting that settle in, before shooting an unsure eye back.

"Are you telling me the Yeuls never change?"

"None of us do." He said that like it was perfectly normal, and not at all incredibly disgusting. "We live in the realm of chaos: the new afterlife of the world. We are Gods now, and our current bodies are mere imitations designed to match the visual appearances we are most comfortable with. As such, it is a part of ourselves, and cannot be removed unless we recreate our bodies anew. We do not sweat, or expel odors of any kind. Neither do we-"

"Please stop." Lumina held back a minor gag. "Wow; never asking that again."

"Then allow me to set you on the right track." Caius's head spun right around, facing the town in the distance. "For your sake, I've planted you a fair distance from your target. Any closer and your entrance could be read as rogue radio waves."

"Magic really is picked up as every little thing, huh?" Lumina got no response to her question, with Caius ignoring her in favor of the job.

"The Villiers household is just along the outskirts of town, although that's more towards the back end. If you so choose, you may try and find some clothes to better hide yourself, although I would not recommend it. Most people here hang their laundry out to dry, but this is a quaint little community; the one where everyone knows everyone. Take anything, and someone - if not all of them - will recognise who said clothing belongs to. You may get lucky mixing and matching from various sources, but folks are bound to notice in time."

Serah, from her hand, perked up with some worry.

"Are they really so perceptive?"

"For both better, and worse." Caius hummed, before whipping back around to face them. "With that in mind, I'd suggest you try and move along the outer edge. The Villiers house isn't all that large, and there's a cellar door around the back where the couple store most of the wines and liquors both bought and gifted to them."

"Isn't she cleaning up a spill right now?" A cellar, huh? They're living the good life, aren't they? A small part of her envied the pair, but then a sneaky little thought came to mind. Surely, with that much, you wouldn't miss a few smaller things~

Taking what doesn't belong to her: a classic behavior in her repertoire, and one used for more than a few of her practical jokes. She didn't care too much about the money, but seeing the couple run around for a little while would be a nice break from the silence she'd endured alone with God's doll. Said doll surely wouldn't mind either; it would be better than the void.

"They bring their drinks up into the living room," Caius clarified, "If you can hide anywhere, it'll be the cellar. You might also find the Discord Sprite dwelling there as well. Seeing as a sinkhole is the result of its meddling, it might be waiting for a change in terrain to act, such as a miniature earthquake or some unstable land ready to shift. Once the chance arrives, it'll spring into action, exemplifying the event and causing chaos."

"Chaos, huh?" Lumina chuckled a little, letting an evil grin spread between her cheeks. "Mayhem brought about by the God of order... Just goes to show that 'irony' isn't a concept he fully understood either."

"The Gods were rarely consistent to begin with; even Etro flew by her heartstrings. Most simply decided to embody one element of the world as their core, but they were all capable of delving into the rest. Had Bhunivelze recognised that, he may not have fallen so dramatically. Regardless, it is imperative you move; I've given you a few hours at best, but it is all I can do. From our experience, changes made by any means or magic significantly alter the brief flow of events we are privy to; your very inclusion has blinded us from spying what becomes of your presence here."

"Yeah yeah." Lumina wasn't sure why, but it felt super easy to get back into the old routine, as if her solitude had never even happened. Chalking it up to her wicked adaptability, she shushed him quickly and claimed, "I got this. It's just like wrangling a lost puppy, but I don't need to worry about hurting it this time."

"Make of it as you will." Caius cut contact here, leaving Lumina and the mini Serah in the silence of night again. Feeling more than confident in her abilities, the chaos weaver plopped the little doll up on her shoulder, and Serah anchored herself by grabbing hold of Lumina's side-ponytail.

Sneaking into a cellar couldn't be too hard, right?

.

.

You're getting too worked up again.

Telling herself that whilst vacuuming up the last bit of moisture from the carpet didn't exactly convince Serah of that truth, but her emotion-filled opinion on the matter would win out eventually.

"He's a goofball; but he's your goofball." Speaking to herself aloud, on the other hand, made it significantly easier to overlook Snow's usual brand of... let's just call it thick-headedness, and leave it at that. Pulling back, she checked the carpet again, leaning down to rub a few fingers over it, and smirking devilishly.

Finally! I got you now.

With a kick in her step, she moseyed on over to the closet, stuffing the vacuum away once more and finally let the tension in her shoulders relax. Returning to the carpet to give it one last look for any rogue damp bits she may have missed, Serah deemed her job complete and let herself fall face first on the couch, digging it into the pillow placed perfectly up against the end.

Snow Villiers: her hero, her lover, and her one-day husband - granted, they'd been married once, but that was in the old world, and they had yet to do so again here. He was strong, skilled, and smart - relatively speaking. But what won her over was his unwavering determination to see through any and all challenges. He wasn't perfect, and he had a bad habit of not really thinking too hard when he believed everything was going well, but when things eventually fell apart - like the last 'new year's eve' party - he stood tall and dug them out of whatever pit of problems threatened them - rebuilding their shed for a second time when the flankers of the fire pit they'd set up had the local fire department at their door.

These were the qualities that made it significantly harder to really punish him for mistakes he really should have known better than to make, but punishment was a necessity when it came to growth; she'd learned that from her days as a teacher in the Old World, assigning extra homework when certain students wouldn't pay attention in class. But discipline had levels you needed to account for, and while homework and time-out were well and good for rowdy children, a full grown man was another beast entirely.

What to do?

She could sternly seat him and spend a couple of hours talking down to him, making it both uncomfortable overall, and starkly clear that he needs to watch himself better. Problem was, Snow had dealt with Claire - nope, still weird to say her name - most of his life before, and while Serah herself could get pretty scary, she had nothing on her older sister. But as they settled into the New World, Earth, Claire had drastically cut back on the level of primal aura she expelled when dealing with anything serious or anger-inducing.

The great Lightning had become little more than a spark, only zapping when pushed a significant ways.

Upon twisting over and letting her back squish into the cushions, an idea came to mind. The couch, while comfortable, was only so for her because she wasn't all that tall. Snow, in contrast, would easily dwarf it, to the point his legs would stretch beyond the arms, leaving him in a skewed U-shaped angle. She could feel an evil idea blossoming in her noggin.

Sometimes, the more traditional ways of solving problems could come in handy even now.

Disregarding the fact he'd be denied their more lovey-dovey time, it would leave a serious crick in his neck if he were kicked from bed and forced to resign on the sofa. If he had work tomorrow, it would be downright unacceptable, so it was a good thing they'd just begun their weekend.

You think sis is bad? Oh boy, you haven't seen anything yet!

Grinning evilly, Serah whipped herself around and off of her resting place, intent to celebrate a little on her own. Noel and Yeul were out with Snow, currently off to enjoy the nightlife. Noel's arts and crafts shop he ran with Yeul in the neighboring city, about a couple hours drive north, dealt mostly in furs and other more... some would say "primitive" styles and designs. Usually practical, he put his hunter training to use, opting to take some of the more rowdy men out to put their guns and aim to the test, bagging invasive wildlife who came too close to the roads. Yeul, upon receiving the pelts, would work alongside Noel in both tanning and prepping them for whatever clothing or other product they had in mind; Serah quite enjoyed wearing her fuzzy boots from time to time, as it made her feel powerful - although most of Snow's old buddies in NORA thought it was kind of weird.

"Psychotic" was the exact term they used, but she saw herself instead as more of a huntress, especially since she'd been the one to hunt the pelt herself - Noel, apparently, expected she'd want to bag her own piece, and thoughtfully, they always kept a spare bow around for good measure.

Anyway, what was important for now was that the three of 'em were off to continue their drinking escapade at a local pub, since she'd banished them due to Snow's mess, which left her all alone to do as she pleased. Seeing as the previous bottle of whatever was empty, and the pub was a mere ten-minute walk up the road, she wouldn't need to drive anywhere tonight. Moving around and through the quaint little kitchen of theirs, Serah slid open the back door and stepped out into the soothing moonlight.

I missed nights like these. Normally, they faced the harsh chill of winter, however spring had recently come through around three weeks ago, and this was the first warm night of the season - said past three weeks were a mix of rain and lingering chill. After allowing herself a calming breath, she started off towards the cellar. Having been built by them after they first purchased the land - mainly by the royalties earned from her likeness being marketed, which was mostly thanks to Claire - Snow and her agreed to keep all of their booze down there. As silly as it was, the wine cellar made her feel fancy, which was precisely why she kept only wine and preserved cheese down there.

So it startled her a bit when she reached the bottom of the steps, only to come face to face with a little girl so similar to herself who was stuffing said cheese into her mouth.

Author's note

…

So, we're back quickly.

I had this one, like the last chapter, ready for a while - which is why you're getting it so early. Again, don't expect this too often; I have no more left after this one, so I'll actually need to write them out before uploading.

Yes, you read the title of the chapter right: events are being separated by episodes. Since I'm treating this more like a silly little goof, it means I can have stupid titles if I desire.

So immediately, Lumina is caught in the basement with cheese. Now the real questions can arise, such as "How did she get there?" and "Why cheese?" These will all be answered next time, but for now, you get to settle on the idea that our spicy summoner is creeping around like a little rat, swiping at the good stuff and scurrying in the dark.

Until next time.