paixaorpg | Final Journey [Active]

Entry tags:

Final Journey [Active]

Character(s): Noel Kreiss, open
Content: The city gets a boy from the ~future~
Setting: Vanaheim gate
Time: Middayish?
Warnings: None expected.

Noel closed his eyes just for a moment as he walked through the gate. But what he hadn't been expecting was to feel grass under his feet. "What?" He opened his eyes, and looked around. Domes rose up over the horizon, and around him as far as he could see was white grass. The light reflected off small sparkles in the air, and it was kind of relaxing, really.

A line was set up filtering people slowly into the dome. "Nothing else out here, I guess. But where did Serah and Mog get to?" As he joined the line, he looked around more, trying hard to scan for Serah's telltale hairstyle, or Mog's glowing pink crystal. Seeing nothing of either was starting to get him a bit worried.

The line was shuffled through the gate pretty quickly, and before he knew it, Noel was getting a box shoved at him. "Welcome to Paixao," the guy said as Noel took the item. Moments later the line was moving again, and Noel was inside. Apparently "Paixao" was a pretty fancy city. The buildings were extravagant, and the streets were paved with stone. Nothing he'd ever seen on Cocoon or Pulse looked anything like it.

Noel sat down on a bench and took out the box he'd been handed, flipping it open. "A keyboard, huh? Let's see what I can use this thing for..."

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It wasn't the place they'd expected to arrive, but aside from that there didn't seem to be anything immediately dangerous about the place. The fact that her sister and so many of the others were there was a huge plus.

Serah rushed through the streets as quickly as possible, rushing out apologies on the occassion that she bumped someone's shoulder in passing. Mog, unresponsive, remained in hand for the moment. If that didn't change she'd have to see about a holster to carry him until they could sort out what had happened.

It really didn't take long at her pace to spot a familiar head of brown hair, and clothes of black and blue. Serah finally allowed herself to slow down and catch her breath, thoughts racing with the information they had swapped over the message board.

"Noel, there you are..."

Noel looked up when he heard that familiar voice. Somehow, even just seeing Serah there made him feel a lot better about being in a new place, even though they were stuck here. They'd been through so much together, it would've been terrible to have gotten separated now.

He stood up and grinned. "You sound like you've been looking everywhere for me. Just how far away were you, anyway?"

Lightning had agreed to meet this boy only because he claimed to know Serah and had been sent by her. She wasn't particularly worried about learning things from her future - after all, she'd told Hope and the others things from their futures - but this Noel had seemed a little worried anyway. She shrugged it off and headed forward, towards the gate.

She heard his voice before she saw him and was just about to call to him when she noticed his companion... and stopped short.

"Serah?!"

Guess who hadn't noticed her sister's arrival?

Serah just offered an almost sheepish looking smile, but she was also too relieved to feel too worried or embarrassed. "Joutenheim. I kind of ran most of the way here."

Nearly clear opposite of where they were now. Serah was about to ask how long he'd been waiting when a familiar voice caught her attention. The younger-- well, previously younger Farron straightened up almost instantly, turning to face Lightning.

"Lightning!"

It was a reunion that was ridiculously overdue, despite having met her a couple of times already on their journey (it was never long enough or on the terms they would have wanted).

"Just to see me? I'm touched." Noel laughed a little, then heard Lightning's shocked voice, and turned to look at her.

The reunion couldn't help but make Noel smile. Lightning was in much more normal clothes here, which meant she hadn't been to Valhalla--just like he'd been thinking. That meant that her endless fight with Caius was still in her future. But where was she in her battle against the fal'Cie?

Either way, seeing Serah's excitement at meeting her sister again was heartwarming.

"Sorry I kept it a surprise from you, Lightning. Hope you don't mind."

Lightning barely glanced at Noel. Her attention was focused entirely on Serah at the moment. She hadn't seen her sister in so long, it felt surreal to see her now.

"...What are you wearing?"

Forgive her, Serah. Lightning had just recently been through an ordeal with Hope and turning Cie'th herself. It had not been a pretty few weeks.

In the back of Serah's mind she knew Noel would understand. She'd barely been able to contain all her questions last time, all her focus went right to her sister. The question didn't even immediately register. Serah went right for the hug that she'd been holding back for... well, gods only knew how long now.

Lightning hadn't quite been expecting the hug, but she took it anyway, wrapping her arms around her sister. No matter what clothes she was wearing, this was still Serah. She could tell that much.

"Serah... It's been so long."

Had they not been standing in front of some random guy who apparently knew Serah, Lightning might've apologized. But for now, the hug would have to do.

There was a lot that either needed or wanted to be said, Serah wouldn't mind putting it off until later when and if that talk came. It wasn't hard to remember that for Lightning none of the last three months had happened.

Serah, on the other hand, wasn't the least bit worried about Noel overhearing her own emotion. They probably should move things off of the open road, though, so she allowed herself just one moment more, a slight squeeze, then stepped back with a smile that spoke volumes.

"I missed you, Light."

At which point she finally addressed the change in attire, remembering that her new outfit was... ah... nothing like what she normally wore. She actually paused for a second to move her arms and look down, as if suddenly remembering the change in attire. She'd been fighting and running and traveling in it so long now it wasn't even on her mind anymore.

"About my clothes, well that's... kind of a long story." An amused (and grateful) look at Noel, then back again. How much Lightning had already heard she wasn't sure.

"Probably one we should save for another time, yeah?" Noel cut in. "First...I guess we need to tell Lightning about how we know each other, before she decides to force the information out of me."

He grinned. The light-hearted tease was meant to show that he was kind of familiar with Lightning, and hopefully she wasn't going to take that the wrong way. He might know a little about her, but that didn't mean he knew how she'd react to that sort of joke.

"So, Lightning, know of a good place we could sit and chat? Like your sister said, it's a pretty long story. We'll be standing here for a pretty long time if you want us to tell it right now."

Lightning didn't quite know how to reciprocate Serah's response just yet, so she shook her head when they pulled back, glancing at Noel. They'd talk in a little bit.

"We can go to my apartment. Unless you'd rather sit in a cafe to avoid seeing Hope just yet."

It didn't matter to her just yet. She just didn't know what would be easier on the two future people.

"And Serah? Snow's here." The way she said it would suggest that she'd finally gotten over how annoyed she'd been with him. She'd finally accepted him and she wanted her sister to be okay with him still. Otherwise... she didn't want to think about it.

"Right." Serah nodded, agreeing with Noel. Best not to get tied up just yet. Once they started talking it would be a while before they were done.

They had no reason to avoid Hope, but then again, maybe he wouldn't want to know about the future yet. Too much tampering with the timeline might land them back where they started. And, wait, what?

"Snow... He's here too?"

The last time they saw him had been pretty emotional for her. She looks visibly relieved and just a touch shaken all at once. In the back of her mind there'd been a fear that maybe, just maybe their actions hadn't been enough to reverse all the changes made to the timeline. Her hand instinctively came up to clasp around the pendant she wore, feeling her eyes get a bit wet unbidden. So maybe all the good news and reunions were getting to be a bit much, but they hadn't come this far for her to break down now. When she lifted her head again she was smiling.

"I guess we kept you guys waiting."

The mention of Snow had a pretty different effect on Noel than it did on Serah. He gave a bit of a sneer, maybe a little growl, but tried to keep it to himself. He made sure not to make any sort of outburst, and with luck neither sister saw his little display.

"We might want to be careful around Hope," Noel said, changing the subject from Snow as quickly as he could. He wouldn't deny Serah the chance to talk about him, but after everything that had just happened...He'd rather save talking about the big damn hero for later.

"He was the one we saw most often along the timeline, and it might not be the best idea for us to talk to him when he's still a lot younger. Not until we know more, anyway."

Something kept nagging at the back of Noel's mind, but, for now, he shoved it away. Now was a bad time to bring it up, and it would probably become part of the conversation later, much as he hated the idea of having to talk about it.

Lightning ignored Noel's response to Snow. He wasn't the easiest person to deal with, she knew that firsthand, but he was good for Serah and that's what mattered.

"The closest cafe's this way," she told them, cutting straight to the chase and turning to walk in the right direction. "It's safe. We can talk there."

By now she knew better than to press, even had she seen that response. Noel and Snow, well, yeah, they might never really get along that well, but they could work together when it counted and that was what was important, right? ... Well, it didn't hurt to be optimistic, anyway.

Her brow creased slightly in thought at Noel's offered insight. Made sense, there was no telling how he'd take any of what they had to say, since they were talking about around ten years age difference, after all.

Which reminded her, this meant that she was probably about Light's age herself. This... this was the Lightning that should have been in her timeline, she KNEW she hadn't been imagining it. Serah looked towards her sister, then Noel, offered a smile speaking volumes, and moved to follow. She wanted to walk much closer, felt a need to reassure herself that it wasn't just a dream or another temporary reprieve, but she didn't want to crowd Lightning either, and something seemed off. She would ask once a chance presented itself.

"How long have you all been here?"

Because of course time traveling made it less a question of HOW and just a matter of how LONG.

Lightning was just having a hard time wrestling with the idea that Serah was finally here. She was safe, somehow, and perhaps from a future Lightning hadn't experienced yet, but that didn't matter. Lightning no longer cared. She had her sister back and a chance to make things right. That was what mattered to her.

She paused at the mention of time, giving a slight lift of her shoulders as they walked. "Hard to say when the city's light doesn't seem to appreciate a real day and night cycle. A few months, I guess." She managed to glance over at her sister, her expression a little twisted. She was very glad to see Serah, but having a hard time adjusting, especially in light of recent events with Hope. "I've been here the longest. Snow's the most recent. We've also got Fang and Vanille. I don't know if you know them, but they're good people. And you just missed Sazh, another friend of mine."

Lightning had questions for them, such as how they knew Hope, but she would ask those later, once they were inside.

When Serah smiled at him, Noel grinned back, nodding. But still, he kept himself quiet for a minute or so, just listening to the sisters talk and getting himself to calm down about Snow. Being angry at the guy when nothing had even happened yet was kind of stupid, and it wasn't going to get anyone anywhere.

"Fang and Vanille are here? Really?" The daughters of the Goddess...Noel had never thought he'd ever have the chance to meet them. It was kind of exciting, actually. Meeting the two women who held up Cocoon for so long in the crystal pillar...

Serah gave a nod of confirmation.

"I know Vanille and Sazh, we met a while ago, and I finally got the chance to meet Fang too."

Though details could wait till they were inside. It was turning out to be a pretty busy day, more or less just what they'd hoped for in a completely unexpected way. Noel would finally get to meet the two, everyone, the way that she had remembered them. It was a little sad that they'd be the only ones to remember all their adventures, and without Mog it would always feel a bit wrong, but if people could come and go here then she had faith that they'd all be together again someday. At least Noel would remember with her, right?

Up ahead she thought she could see the building Lightning must be guiding them towards, and at the prospect of sharing the events that had transpired she felt her heart rate pick up a little. It probably sounded pretty unbelievable to most people, recalling NORA's skepticism, but then again this was Lightning, right? They'd done the impossible once already.

"But it'll be great to get to see them in person again."

"Yeah, they're both here."

The comment from Serah was what made Lightning stop with her hand on the door to the cafe. "Be careful with what you know."

It was all she would offer for the moment before she turned and pulled the door open, leading them inside and to a table out of the way.

"Order whatever you want. I'll get it."

Since she was fairly certain she was the only one who knew how to pay for things around here.

"Let me guess, they don't take gil?" Noel wasn't too surprised, everything looked different around here, from the roads to the domes. He would be surprised if they had any of the same food, really.

"Thanks for picking up the tab, though. Suppose that means we owe you a favor." His lip curled into a familiar grin as he pointed at Lightning, then pulled out chairs at the table for both the girls and himself.

He plopped into his own without much ceremony. "Man...what a day."

She had to keep her focus. There were things to talk about, getting tripped up now thinking about the others, that could wait until later.

It shouldn't be too hard to avoid details, so long as they didn't have to tell their story to the others, really. Between Hope, Fang, Vanille, and Snow Serah was a little worried about how they'd take it anyway.

She gave a nod, then let the topic slip by for the moment.

"Thank you, Lightning."

And sitting, eating, and getting some sleep later-- all of it sounded really good after the fights they'd just had. Serah was grateful for the chance to rest, sitting in the chair Noel offered with a quick, grateful look.

"Hm, yeah, it's been pretty hectic."

She wasn't exactly privy to everything Noel and Lightning had said over the message board yet, but if there was any question she'd be glad to answer. How much should they tell Lightning? That was another question on her mind.

"They might, if it's shiny enough," Lightning answered, waving over a server with a flick of her fingers. All she really wanted was something warm to drink, a cappuccino. She waited for Serah and Noel to decide what they wanted before she kept going.

"What happened?"

Caius. But Noel didn't say that out loud. That part of the story could wait for later. He was still fuzzy on all the details anyway.

He looked over to Serah, then back to her older sister.

"Today is where our story ends. But we need to start from the beginning. I guess I should go first, since this whole deal kinda started with me, anyway. I suggest you keep an open mind, or you're gonna get lost pretty quick." He paused to take a drink of water.

"I'm from seven hundred years in your future. In the time I'm from, you and your friends are just legends, saviors of a world long gone." He cast his eyes downward a moment. They changed this part! It wasn't true anymore! So why was it still so hard to talk about? Looking back up at her, he steeled himself. "I was born into a dying world. As I grew up, everyone I knew died. Eventually, I was the only one left. Then, by some miracle, I got thrown into Valhalla, and met you. You sent me on to Serah's time, and told me to protect her."

He nodded to Serah. This was where she could pick up. He could only hope that his way of speeding through things didn't throw Lightning off, but he didn't want her to ask any questions just yet. For one thing, he couldn't answer most of them. For another, he'd finally gotten free of that empty future--thinking about it was the last thing he wanted to do.

What happened? That was a question that could be answered a lot of ways, and with Valhalla's lack of time it really didn't get any easier to follow, but it was simple enough for them.

She looked towards Noel as he began his part of the tale, having heard it before-- having SEEN the most life-changing parts of it with her own eyes, but still. It wasn't just him, she still felt pulls on her heartstrings thinking about that future they'd changed. It didn't erase the memories for Noel, didn't change the fates of the people he'd grown up with. She'd remember as well, so he wasn't the only one to carry those memories anymore. She remembered how much it meant to her to know that she wasn't the only one that had memories that "no longer belonged" when Alyssa told her story, and the other way around. It was even a discussion that she and Noel had on their way through the old ghost town.

Maybe in some way it helped.

"For me it all started the day that you all fought Orphan." She began, looking to Lightning then, hands curled around her cup on either side. "After the battle, we all woke up on Pulse, six of us. Fang and Vanille stayed behind to form the crystal pillar that stopped Cocoon from crashing into Pulse."

It seemed strange to be recounting the tale that Lightning shared with them to Lightning herself, but here they were, doing just that. For a moment her fingers coiled a bit tighter around the glass. After everything, and given what she was about to say Serah found it too difficult to take her eyes off of her sister, as if she might disappear again if she did. This part was still hard to remember because just like the past that only Serah could recall, the past that shouldn't have been had also been real. She couldn't think back on that moment and NOT feel the ache.

"In the past that I remembered you were there with us, Sazh, Snow, Hope, and Dahj, but our timeline was warped, and you disappeared. I was the only one that remembered that you'd been there at all."

Yeah, okay, keep it together, Serah. She felt the same weight Noel did. This part of the past had been fixed, but still--

"Everyone else thought I was just making it all up, but Snow believed me. He went to try to find you. That was over three years ago.

"I saw you meet with Noel in my dream the night that he showed up in town through a time gate, and... that's how we met. Of course it was kind of hard to believe he was a time traveler at first. He told me that you were in Valhalla, and wanted me to come and find you, so the next day we left to try to make it to Valhalla."

The more she heard, the deeper the frown became across Lightning's face. It wasn't entirely that she didn't like what she was hearing - she really didn't. They were supposed to have saved everything, not messed it up! - but more that she didn't like the idea of all of this happening to her little sister... or someone Serah had become friends with. It didn't sit well with her.

But there was a good part of it. They'd defeated Orphan. But did that mean... Cocoon was saved? Fang and Vanille-?

Lightning's frown deepened, tinged with emotion she couldn't quite place. "Fang and Vanille... stayed behind? They sacrificed themselves for us?" That was something her new experiences hadn't been able to tell her. In a way, it made sense, but it was still a surprise that they would have given up what they'd fought so hard to get back. "You can't tell them that. They don't know anything about it. They don't even remember fighting Orphan and Vanille... she barely remembers meeting the rest of us. I might be able to handle knowing things, but not everyone can. I don't know how Fang will react to knowing she'll be stuck in a crystal until the end of the world."

The rest of it took a little time to wrap her head around and even before she'd fully come to terms with it, Lightning had moved on. There would be time later to understand it all. "Did you make it?"

That was Noel's cue to take back over again. He took a deep breath, and exhaled.

"We did, but there are two other people I need to talk about first, Caius and Yeul. Yeul is the Farseer, a girl blessed by Etro who can see glimpses of the future. Caius and I were her guardians, though it was Caius who had the Heart of Chaos. It was a gift from the Goddess Etro herself, and it made him immortal. Only another Guardian could kill him. That was how it worked; if I could defeat him, the power of chaos would be mine." He paused for a moment, and put a hand to his chin in thought, wondering how to continue from here. Worrying about Serah didn't help anything.

"The trouble is, Caius didn't tell me anything about what the job really entailed. Every time the seeress saw a vision of the future, it took part of her life away." Noel sent a concerned glance over to Serah. She hadn't seen anything since they got here, but...

"Yeul's Guardian is meant to protect her...but eventually, the visions kill her while she's still young. Nothing Caius could do would ever prevent that, so he decided that he wanted to change it." Noel clenched a fist. "So he left us, to go to Valhalla. Then he started causing paradoxes up and down the timeline. Since Yeul told him all her visions of the future, he knew everything. The Unseen Gate opened, and sucked you into Valhalla.

"Caius' goal was to create a world where Yeul would no longer have to be reborn. He thought that she was stuck endlessly in her cycle of rebirth, so he sought to spread the chaos that resided in Valhalla over the entire world. To do that, he had to kill the goddess. You, Lightning, were her protector there. You were fighting him endlessly in a world with no time, no life or death."

This story was getting harder to tell as Noel went on. "Once we made it to Valhalla ourselves, Caius was alone. We don't know what happened to you. We fought Caius, and we won, but not the way I wanted to."

A dark look passed over his eyes, one of regret, anger, loss, and pity all at the same time. "Caius grabbed my sword, and plunged it into his chest. He...killed himself, thinking that would be better for Yeul." Noel couldn't keep his voice steady. He wanted to shout, to cry, to do something, but now wasn't the time...and there was no way he could change what happened. Especially not now that they were here. Wherever "here" was.

"Caius' death closed all the time gates. We thought we would end up back on Pulse, in the city that Hope built, but instead we came here. We fixed the timeline, but it looks like we don't get to see it for ourselves."

"We won't, I promise."

That should be easy to keep. She'd been cautious when talking to Fang before.

It shouldn't have been hard to believe, but truthfully it was a bit to take in the fact that Vanille was from such an early point in their adventures-- early enough not to clearly remember meeting everyone. There wouldd have to be a lot of conversation dodging in the future, but... they would cross that bridge when they reached it, right?

Serah's focus shifted to Lightning and Noel instead, listening as he told the rest of the story, nodding at points, and hoping that he wouldn't reveal anything worrying about her possible future to Lightning. It seemed inevitable, though. He was worried. She wasn't entirely sure. Had they made it in time?

"Did you make it?"

That was the question, wasn't it? Maybe she didn't have to worry.

"I don't think time flows for us here, not like back home." She cast Noel a meaningful look that was hopefully discreet. "With everything you've told told us, Lightning..." Her gaze went back to her sister again. "... everyone is from a different point in time, right? I'm sure if we make it back we'll see it, along with everyone else. Maybe there's a way out at the top of the castle...?"

Something else had her concern, too. Hearing Noel telling the rest of the story, something specific caught her attention, but that could wait for later. Hearing the tension in his voice worried her and brought other thoughts to mind. What had been done had been done, and what Caius did had been out of Noel's hands... literally enough to count. It would take time for those wounds to heal, not something a cure spell could hope to fix. There ware a lot of questions that they probably didn't have the answer to yet. Different points in time... Was it possible that Yeul and Caius might show up here, just like Fang and Vanille? Other people from their past and future?

Edited (A deeerp. I'm done this time sorry.) 2012-03-24 22:55 (UTC)

It was an information dump that Lightning wasn't quite ready for, no matter how much she thought she was, and her frown deepened as she attempted to sort it all out. She did notice the looks the pair sent at each other and she didn't like what those implied. A question formed in her mind, but she pushed it aside for later. She would corner Serah later.

"You'll see it," she confirmed, returning to the point that she could address without her mind spinning around what they'd told her. "I came here originally without knowing about having to fight Orphan. Then I went back to Pulse for a few days and came back in the middle of the fight. Maybe a week had passed on Pulse, but only a day or two had passed here. Time's different here, but if you do go back? You'll be stuck right where you came from."

She looked earnestly from one of them to the other and back. "You will see that future. And so will I someday."

What they had to work on was the intermediate stuff, everything in between. And Lightning was nothing if not determined to make it all work out.

"Is there anything else I need to know?"

If that was true, that time here was more or less frozen in place for each person...that would make Noel feel a lot better. Otherwise, he'd never be able to stop worrying. There was still what would happen when they got back, but...they could face that later.

Hearing that from Lightning...she wasn't a woman to take her promises lightly. She wouldn't go back on her word, no matter what happened, or who got in the way. He nodded to her at her words, and grinned.

But when Lightning asked if there was something else, Noel clammed up immediately. He should tell her...he knew he should tell her. But if time was frozen here, there was no possible way anything could even happen, right? Wouldn't it be better not to tell her at all, then? It would keep her from worrying.

Lightning's question made her heart stop dead in her chest. Her best effort, and she still couldn't help but tense up a little.

What they were theorizing and saying was all well and good, but with just one problem. Even if time froze for them here, eventually they'd have to go back. In a way it was just putting off the inevitable answer to the lingering question. She knew how much it worried Noel, and she hated to think of subjecting anyone else to that same worry. Lightning, Snow, Hope...

But could she flat out lie about it?

No answer from Noel, she had to decide now.

"That's everything up until now..."

Okay, no, she couldn't flat out lie. She swallowed her nerves quietly and tried to look confident. She had to be strong for both of them here, and worrying them with what-if's wasn't exactly going to do any good. She meant it when he'd asked before coming here. She felt great. She felt fine. The final paradox was resolved. She had to believe that she'd make it to Valhalla, and they did. They'd made it to Valhalla and done what they set out to do-- save the future --and now that that was over she had to believe that they'd made it in time.

Once again, what else could she do? So she smiled.

"The rest, we'll see when we all make it back home, right?"

Serah might have been from her future, but Lightning still knew her sister. The answer hung in the air between them, just as clear as if they'd said it themselves. Lightning's lips pursed together, but she didn't push it. Having just made it through being a Cie'th herself and seeing Hope deal with it twice, she could understand why they would lie about it. Who would want to burden someone with a truth like that? It was just the same as not telling Fang and Vanille about their future, keeping Vanille protected about everything Lightning knew. Maybe, in time, Lightning would ask Serah for clarification, probably once they got home and Lightning herself caught up to her sister's time, but as long as Serah was safe here, it wouldn't matter.

She just had to make it okay later on.

"Right," she answered, her expression softening as much as she could make it. "Thanks for telling me. Is there anything you want to know about this place or should I just start from the beginning?"

This wasn't how Noel had been wanting this part of the conversation to go. But then again, if he'd had his way, he probably would have barely told Lightning anything at all, considering how long it had taken him to open up to Serah. With her here, though, it was all a lot easier...and so was looking forward, instead of back.

"You might as well start from the beginning. I can't talk for Serah, but I barely know anything about this place at all. And what I do know could probably use repeating."

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