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Thread: Final Fantasy Chronicles of Exigo - Brave New World VIII

  1. #1
    Memento RK Final Fantasy Chronicles of Exigo - Brave New World VIII Yoko's Avatar
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    Final Fantasy Chronicles of Exigo - Brave New World VIII

    ========To Join FFE: Brave New World VIII========
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    Kyra-1.jpg

    Kyra needed to be alone. She had too much on her mind. Mainly of the world she’d just left behind. She pushed through her thoughts as she took off her boots and went up the stairs to her study. She walked in and noticed it was just the same way she left it. Well kept, too. The room was kept clean with only a few pictures on the wall. An empty vase by the window. Her desk was full of her research papers still scattered across it, untouched. The rest of the room was kept sparse. There was a chair by the window where she’d done a lot of thinking. She remembered all of the endless nights she'd spent drawing the monsters she's encountered and listing their weaknesses so she wouldn’t forget. Part of her wished the space station hadn't been pushed off course so she could have brought more research back, but, then she wouldn't have met everyone...

    Thankfully she was able to keep her beloved Gunblade and her magic bag. She piled her scattered papers neatly to the side of her desk, then unpacked her inventory. She found the process calming: sorting through what she had, making a list of what she needed. Something she wasn't able to do at all while in Spira. She used her magic, but didn't gain anything back. It was strange to her because she hadn’t felt she’d really ‘lost’ anything while she was there. Now that she was home, the feeling of loss crept up on her. She really did miss everyone.

    As she sifted through her bag, she noticed an extra piece of paper that wasn’t there before, at least as far as she could remember. She still had Aiko and Akio’s letters, but there was a small sheet of paper. Not folded or creased in any way. It must have been put in her bag recently. She pulled it out and immediately recognized the drawing. Suki’s drawing skill was unmistakable and remarkable. She was a talented girl. She looked at the picture and tears started to fill her eyes. It was a picture of Nikki and herself in Nikki’s garden. She remembered that night clearly. It was a drawing of the night they’d finally opened up to each other thus sprouting their interesting relationship. She placed the picture on her desk and all her emotions came out at once. She didn’t want to be home! As much as she cared about Akio… she didn’t complete her mission! Their mission! She missed Gideon and his snide remarks. Joseph, Yuki and Yuubou, Mishka and Cyan, Val and…. Nikki. The kids from Kyley’s house. Rhyse and Raine... She spent two years in Spira trying to find a way home when she found a real purpose and place for herself. Anger swelled up inside as she remembered Sanika’s arrogance. The look on her face as she finally had Kyra in her grasp and sent her away. She then felt extremely helpless as the reality sunk in. There was no way she could go back. This picture was all she had. Spira was just a mere memory. She sobbed more at the thought.

    Kyra got out a pen and paper and started to write. All of her emotions began to spill as she was able to put her thoughts into words. She wrote out everything on her mind. From the crazy nuances about the Via Infinito to the Al Bhed language. She wrote about how the magic was different on Spira. How confused she was when she was still able to use magic. She wrote about all of the people she met, all of the things she remembered. The different types of monsters, or fiends, as they were called. The mystery about the pyreflies and the concept of ‘unsent’. She still had questions about everything. A lot of them she would never get the answers to. So long as she was able to write, she was able to calm herself down.

    After a while, she looked out the window and noticed the sun was well below the horizon. She found a frame for the picture so she wouldn’t ruin it. She placed it on her bedside table beside a picture of Aiko. Exhaustion hasn’t quite made an appearance yet. She exited her study and walked down to the kitchen. Everything was still basically the same as she remembered it. There were a few additions here and there, but none she would disapprove of.

    “Hey, everything okay?” Akio said as he entered the house from the back garden.

    ”Yeah, mostly. It’s just…” Kyra’s memory flooded again. She couldn’t hold back the tears that started to form in her eyes.

    Akio went to comfort the distraught Kyra. “It’s okay. I’m here.”

    He had said that to her many times before. She had forgotten all the times Akio had comforted her during all of her struggles. His embrace always calmed her.

    ”I wasn’t meant to come back yet…” she started. She told him everything. It was nice to be able to talk to him again. She explained her two year journey in Spira. He listened, laughed, nodded, and tried to understand everything she was explaining. He would also explain that he was looking for her as well. He had searched all over, but when she suddenly appeared by the front door, he was glad. He gave her Diablos back, and exchanged the small amount of magic he had left. It seemed as though he wanted to say something more, like there was something on his mind, but Kyra didn’t press further.

    A wave of exhaustion hit the both of them. They decided it was best to rest for the night. She changed into more comfortable clothes. It wasn’t long before she drifted off to sleep.

    "No, I don't want this I'm bringing her back!" a little girl’s voice could be heard.

    "It's not working." Asuka’s voice.

    "Please come back!" The voice was getting more and more desperate.

    "No, try again!" and then the surprising thought of a scared girl a gasp and then…

    "Nikki, you're hurting me!"


    Kyra woke abruptly and noticed she was sweating and breathing heavily. She looked out the window and noticed the sun was just about to rise. She knew she was rested, but the feeling of exhaustion was still prevalent. ”I must be stressed… Might as well start my day anyway.” she thought.

    As she walked down to the kitchen for breakfast, she went over the events from the evening prior in her mind.

    "Hello Akio I'm coming in!"

    Kyra’s thoughts were disrupted by a slightly familiar voice and person entering her home. The girl took off her shoes and immediately went into the kitchen opening Kyra’s fridge, walking right passed her.

    "Ah, jeez again? What are you like? I swear you just live on noodles. If Aiko was here she would stop you from eating so many noodles." she mumbled to herself and closed the fridge. She looked on the fridge to see Aiko's photo there. She sighed, "Aiko, I think I'm on a losing battle with your brother. Oh well!" she took a piece of paper off the side and began to write a shopping list.

    Kyra moved from the doorway since she realized the girl hasn’t seen her at all. She recognised the girl as Akio’s younger cousin, Koemi. The last time Kyra had seen her was shortly after Aiko died. This was the girl that blamed Kyra for Aiko’s death.

    “Oh so you are home, did you- AHHHHHHH!!!”

    "Uh, Hey..."

    In her fright the chair rocked, slipped and she fell backwards.”Ow, ow, ow”

    "Hey, sorry to scare you. Are you okay?"

    She managed to get up while she held her back. “Ow, I'm alright just a little bruised. Where have you been for two years? My cousin was worried sick we heard only a few days ago from Ellone that you were okay and happy. He looked for you everywhere!”

    "It's a long story.. I guess. Was that only a few days ago?" Kyra remembered the day. She cringed as she remembered exactly what took place. The feeling of her bones breaking slowly crept into her mind, but the young girl continued.

    “Yeah, Ellone had been looking for you too but had no luck. We were with her when she was looking this time. She said another power connected with hers; A desperate child looking for help and then she found you. Then it went weird cause Diablos just disappeared. Akio was looking after him for you and he said he just went for a few moments. Kinda freaky really.” she explained.

    "Ah, right. I do suppose Aeon's tend to worry. Maybe I should connect with him soon. I was teleported back somehow. Someone with even greater power than Ellone sent me back from a place called Spira. I really miss it actually. I was in the middle of a mission..." she trailed off. Her thoughts had been wandering since she got back.

    “Aeon?” Koemi blinked at her "What are you talking about?"

    "Diablos. Aeon. Oh! That's what they called them on Spira. Guardian force always had a weird ring to it. Don't you think?"

    “Aeon seems pretty weird.... Did you say Spira? I’ve heard that somewhere before can’t remember where though”

    "Did Akio ever mention it?" Kyra questioned.

    “I don’t think so hmmm....” She paused, then looked down at the shopping list in front of her. “Wanna help me shop? He has only got noodles again.”

    "Sure! I've been wondering who's been getting food for him! He works so hard he only has time for noodles! I swear he only has noodles for brains..." Kyra said jokingly. "Thanks for looking after him.."

    "Of course he is my cousin it's my responsibility!"

    The walk to the shops brought back some good memories. It was better than sitting in the house brooding. The air was warm and refreshing. There was no temple or Via Infinito to worry about. There was only one thing missing.

    As they were picking out different fruits and vegetables, something had caught the corner of Kyra’s eye. A blonde woman with long hair and a familiar physique had just walked past the shop. Kyra couldn’t believe her eyes. She put down the apple she was holding and immediately left the shop in a rush. Every step she took told her it couldn’t be true, but she had to be sure.

    "Hey Kyra?!" Koemi chased after her. Finding out if this person was Nikki was much more important. Kyra quickened her pace until she finally caught up to the woman.

    The long blonde haired woman turned around, "Yes?" She was seemingly annoyed.

    She was taken aback. Her heart skipped a beat as the realization hit. It wasn’t Nikki. "Oh, sorry. Thought you were someone else..." She said softly.

    "Okay?" the stranger walks off.

    "Someone you know?" Koemi said as she caught up to Kyra.

    "It wasn't her..." Kyra was disappointed. It looked so much like her. “I must be losing my mind.”

    Koemi watched the girl walk away for a moment to ponder on what she said "You okay?"

    "Not really, but I also don't want to talk about it. Can we go?"

    "Yeah I think we got everything, at least he doesn't have just noodles for at least a week now!"

    "Ok…Hmm. Anything interesting happen while I was away?"

    “The Lunar Cry happened shortly after you disappeared, it brought down a monster called the Slayer. It was…” She sighed.

    “Was what?” Kyra encouraged.

    “It was awful it completely nearly destroyed a whole army of SeeD, I don’t know if I believe it but apparently it only stopped when a ghost appeared. I was… In that battle.”

    “That would have been about two years ago…” Kyra thought aloud. She silently cursed at SeeD for their lack of consideration for young people at times of war… “Are there any rumours of what the ghost looked like? What the Slayer looked like? Where this happened?”

    “Apparently it was a girl with a sword. That’s all I know though, I do know that the Slayer was huge, it towered over everyone, people were afraid it would come towards the cities. It disappeared shortly after.” She paused and looked and smiled and waved. “Oh hey Aiko!”

    “You back for the weekend?”

    “Yep, I’ll just put this food away.”

    After Koemi went inside Kyra saw that his face dropped in sadness as she skipped away.

    “Akio, did something happen?”

    “You could say that. Shortly after you did Koemi disappeared two years ago, she was only found outside of Trabia three months ago. I thought she had died Kyra just when I thought I wouldn’t see her again, she just pops up again out of nowhere. Her and her friends were sent out on a mission to find out what these lights were all about and they never came back except for Koemi. This was before we knew what the lights did to our junction system.”

    “What happened to our junction system?” Kyra said with concern.

    “It’s only when you get too near them, but you can’t cast magic and you can no longer hear your GF, you’re completely cut off and left defenseless. Koemi was only found by accident, No one is allowed to go out and search for missing people because of the danger it poses.”

    “But they’re not dead…” she whispered while kicking the dirt on the path and looking down. Akio turned to her, she had obviously come outside while they weren’t looking and heard the conversation.

    “Koemi, your friends were nowhere near you when you were found, they haven’t been seen for two years. I think sooner or later you are going to have to realise that they are not coming back. You don’t even remember the last two years.”

    “I know but… I just feel it, I know they are not dead, they are out there somewhere.”

    Kyra felt sympathetic for the girl. She had no idea what she’d been through. Kyra also figured this was what was on Akio’s mind.

    Later that day Kyra heard some noises as she passed by Koemi’s room. She was staring down at her radio, it looked old and battered. Her brows were furrowed in confusion.

    “Are you okay?” asked Kyra. Koemi looked up startled.

    “Oh yeah, I was just looking at this, apparently they found me with it. I’m not quite sure why I had it. I can’t really remember, it just looks familiar.”

    “Do you remember anything?”

    Koemi shook her head. “Nothing, I mean sometimes I think I’m remembering something when a blurred picture hits me but I couldn’t tell you what it is about. I think it might be my friends, but then again it might not be.”

    “Tell me about your friends. What were they like?”

    She beamed a bright smile, “Well there was… No but then there was… Maybe it was… I know, Tross! He was always goofy like, sort of like annoying big brother. But I can’t remember the others maybe because I met them in those two years I don’t know…Can you tell me about your friends on Spira? Maybe it will help me if there is someone who is like one of your friends it might help me.”

    Kyra’s face lit up, “Sure! Where do I even start? Yuki and Yuubou, Joseph, Mishka, Cyan, Gideon, Rhyse, Raine, Kai that little bugger. And Nikki. Oh, and Asuka! Yuki and Yuubou were twins. Probably has enough energy for the whole team twice over. Joseph was the samurai. He was like a brother to me more than anything. Got himself into trouble, then we’d go in and save him. Mishka was a Guado. Not sure how to explain species her here, but she was-”

    “A fairy?”

    “No, not a fairy. More like a forest dweller, but she was a warrior.”

    “Wow!”

    “Cyan was a stoic warrior too. She used a massive sword to protect everyone. Especially from some nasty cactuars. Gideon was the one with all the snide remarks, but he was a good fighter, too.”

    “All these weapons sound old fashioned.”

    “They were. Things were a little primitive there from what I saw. It was difficult to find a way to fix my gunblade at times.”

    “I bet,” Koemi said nodding. “What about Asuka and Nikki?”

    “Asuka was an 8 year old who saved my life on more than one occasion. She was a psychic.”

    “A what? Did she like read your future?”

    “Sort of. Since she was only 8 her powers were only still developing. I believe she was mostly wrong about the future, but I was say she’s more like a sorceress.”

    “Wait… Isn’t that bad?”

    “No. Not Asuka anyway. She was just an innocent child.”

    Koemi raised her eyebrow at that. “Uh huh and I still think that power is bad no matter who wields it. But if she saved your life… Hmm.” Koemi went into a deep thought. “I guess it’s fine.”

    “Sorceress here are under the influence of Ultimecia or Adel. There was nothing like that on Spira.”

    “Okay, so… What about Nikki?”

    Kyra’s heart skipped a beat every time her name was mentioned “Nikki was sort of our leader. She’d hate being called that though. She was amazing. Thoughtful. An ace with a bow. She… I…” Kyra cast her eyes down trying to hide the tears falling from her eyes.

    Kyra felt Koemi shift closer and felt a pair of arms wrap around her. “It’s okay, was she like Aiko?” she whispered gently.

    Kyra nodded. “To me….yes.” She said through her sobs.

    “I’m sorry you came back, but don’t lose hope. We’ll get Ellone to find her.”

    “That’s not possible..She’s on a whole different timeline… I only got there through time compression, and I was sent back by someone who is stronger than any sorceress I’ve ever seen!”

    Koemi made a noise with her lips. “Pfft, we found you using Ellone a few days ago, I’m pretty sure Ellone would know where to look now since she’s done it once now.”

    “Maybe.”

    “And you know what, I bet that little girl that Ellone was talking to is searching for you right now, at this very minute, all Ellone needs to do is connect with her again.”

    Kyra was starting to feel slightly better, “Do you know where Ellone is?”

    “Balamb most likely, heard she was going to see Squall Leonhart, the big saviour, blah blah blah.”

    “Really? His name makes me cringe. He did ‘save the world’ then?” Kyra said sarcastically. She really wasn’t a fan of Squall.

    “Oh yes along with Rinoa Heartilly, Zell Dincht, Quistis Trepe, Selphie Tilmitt, Irvine Kinneas. And you know what? I’m sick of seeing magazines plastered in articles about Rinoa and Squall’s relationship, it’s boring.”

    “No kidding. Although, I suppose I should be thankful. Without time compression I wouldn’t have met everyone from Spira.”

    “Yeah, We’ll make our own time compression and kidnap Nikki!”

    “Yes! I’d really like that.” She smiled, still wondering if it was even possible. At this point, Kyra was beginning to think anything was possible. She was back home, afterall.
    Last edited by Yoko; 01-12-2017 at 05:55 PM. Reason: Minor colour edits

  2. #2
    The Mad God Final Fantasy Chronicles of Exigo - Brave New World VIII Heartless Angel's Avatar
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    William stood in front of three younger SeeDs, staring down a T-Rexaur and a clutch of Grats.

    "So... We're here today to teach you spell spammers some magic-free combat tactics. With these anomalous energy spikes shutting down GFs, you can't rely on magic in the field right now. Well, one obvious disadvantage of physical combat is that we can only effectively target one enemy at a time. In a situation like this...", he said, as he ran into the fray, closing in on the Grats.

    He unsheathed his twin gunblades and made a cross cut into the first Grat, following up with a flurry of quick attacks to finish it off. He turned to face another, and charged it as he fired off a volley of magnum rounds. Another Grat chased behind him, but as soon as he reached the one in front of him, he leapt onto it, and kicked off hard, vaulting over his pursuer, and putting a round into its back before lunging forward with a heavy downward cleave from both blades. He quickly returned to formation, guarding his juniors.

    ​"We target the weaklings first. That may seem counter-intuitive, but trust me, you don't want the small fries swarming you while you try to deal with the bigger threats. It's more important to reduce the enemy's numbers quickly than to take the biggest threats off of the board early. You don't want to be trying to fight that T-Rexaur while Grat poison wears you down.", he said, as he reloaded his Gunblades.

    "Alright, now that we're down to just the Rexaur, we're going to want to coordinate our attacks so we can hit his weak points. Remember, teamwork is absolutely vital to bring down an enemy like this.", he said.

    Just then, a page could be heard over the intercom system. "William Steele, report to the Headmaster immediately.", it said.

    William looked up to the speaker, and then quickly shifted his focus to the T-Rexaur. He rushed straight at at the beast, firing rounds towards its head. The Rexaur, predictably, tried to bite him as he closed in, but William slid under its attack and recovered just under the creature, where he began an assault of its legs. He landed a crippling blow, and the Rexaur fell forward. As it fell, William ran underneath it, slashing it from belly to neck before rolling out from under it to avoid being crushed. As he returned to a standing position, he aimed his weapon right between the creature's eyes, and fired a single round to end it.

    "All right.", he said with a slight sigh, "That's enough for today. Good training session."

    He sheathed both of his weapons, and nonchalantly walked towards the training area's exit.

    The younger SeeDs looked to each other, their expressions showing some combination of awe and bewilderment.

    "What in the **** was that?", one asked.

    "Teamwork?", answered another, sarcastically.

    "Yeah... his left and right hands made a hell of a team, there...", said the third.

    William took the elevator to the headmaster's office, where he was promptly intercepted by Squall.

    "Steele. I've got a task force, and I want you on it.", he said.

    "Yeah? What's the job?", he asked in response.

    "Right now, it's only in the preliminary stages, but I need people to investigate the lights that are shutting down GFs...", he began.

    "And because I don't use GFs or the Junction system, I am theoretically immune to them, and am therefore the logical choice to spearhead this team.",
    William completed the thought.

    Squall nodded. "Hopefully it won't be much of an issue, but if something happens in combat, I need at least one person who won't be fighting at diminished capacity.", he said.

    William nodded. "I accept. Keep me updated as this project develops.", he said, before turning and walking towards the door. "Oh, and could you please find someone else to teach the rookies how to fight? I don't know a damned thing about teaching.", he said, before leaving the room.

  3. #3


    “Hellfire!” I commanded as Ifrit replaced my body.


    The Guardian Force had slowly become my crutch as I navigated the ruined landscape. Enemy forces were many in number and friends were far too hard to come by. The few I’d found scattered and I was as alone as I’d been since I first found myself here.


    The last thing I could distinctly recall was the Time Compression. The Sorceress Ultimecia had done some bizarre time magic of hers, but this was planned by the Headmaster. His team had gone inside of Time Compression to face the sorceress head on, though the result of it was unclear. I guess the magic was too much for the rest of us to handle.


    “I say that like I even know who the rest of us are.” I told myself aloud, having survived the latest monster attack.


    The monsters were so strong. Or was I just weaker? Was I ever powerful? At least, I don’t recall ever being that. Still, it would be better if I didn’t have to keep relying on Ifrit seeing as how my memory was barely holding up. The part of the world I had woken up in was foreign to me. It definitely wasn’t anywhere near Balamb, its garden, or my old digs in the Fisherman’s Horizon.


    “They did tell me not to stick my nose where it didn’t belong.” I said, picking up where I left off before the attack.


    I didn’t know where I was headed, but I could believe my head wouldn’t be all together there when I got there. I was talking to myself, after all. It wasn’t exactly healthy, but I didn’t know if I’d lose my sanity even faster if I didn’t say anything. There was no one around here, whereever here was, and the land pretty much screamed death.


    “I just mentioned that three times, didn’t I?” I asked myself, “I’m really feeling the lonely, huh? I’ve got to find one of them, at least! Come on!”


    And just like that...


    “More monsters.” I grumbled.


    Taking out my pistol, I loaded one of the bullets I’d had Ifrit refine, screaming an indignant, “Give it a rest!”, and firing.

  4. #4
    chocolateer Final Fantasy Chronicles of Exigo - Brave New World VIII 01habbo's Avatar
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    I stared out to sea as the boat sailed along. I narrowed my eyes as I began to worry what I was going to tell my cousin. “How will I tell him that I’m about to embark on the same mission before my disappearance two years ago? Oh, he is not going to like this.”

    Earlier in the week, I had been told by the Headmaster Squall Leonhart, that I was to join a small team to investigate these lights that had appeared, again. He hoped that if I joined them then maybe my memories would return about what had happened the day that I had disappeared.

    I brushed a strand of my black hair behind my ear as I began to feel guilty. I knew that Akio would definitely not like this, after all I had only been found a few months ago. I remember waking up in the snow near one of those weird lights. I remember it humming, it was quite enchanting. But anything before that is a blank. I can’t remember anything about any of those two years.

    I let out a big sigh and leaned my head on the railing, I kinda wished that the sea just could wash all my problems away. It would be nice, just this once to visit my cousin with no problems. I stared out at the sea some more, to try and calm myself down. My heart was beating faster as we got nearer to shore.

    When the boat docked I took a deep breath and began to walk confidently off the boat. “Hey kid, we leave early tomorrow morning make sure you’re here then.” Said the male voice.

    I raised my hand waving their comment away. “Yeah, yeah I’ll be here” I answered not even turning around. I had hitched a ride with the boat from Balamb who were making a delivery to Winhill. It was now only a matter of a short walk to Winhill

    “Hmph, make sure you are.”

    I grinned to myself. “Yes sir!” as I turned around to do a mock salute. I then turned and ran down the road before I could see their reaction.

    I finally got to Winhill and opened the door to Akio’s house. "Hello Akio I'm coming in!" I took off my boots and walked through to the kitchen. I immediately went to the fridge, I wanted to check whether he had been eating right. "Ah, jeez again? What are you like? I swear you just live on noodles. If Aiko was here she would stop you from eating so many noodles." I closed the fridge door and paused when I saw a photo of her. I smiled sadly at it as I tenderly touched the photo. I missed my cousin a lot. I sighed. "Aiko, I think I'm on a losing battle with your brother. Oh well!" I grabbed a piece of paper and began to write a shopping list making to include a lot of fruit and vegetables.

    I then heard some movement from the squeak of the floor I looked up thinking it was my cousin. “Oh so you are home, did you- AHHHHHHH!!!” I suddenly feel backwards in fright not believing who I saw.

    "Uh, Hey..."

    I had fallen on my back and it had hurt a lot. “Ow, ow, ow,”

    "Hey, sorry to scare you. Are you okay?"

    I instantly recognised her voice not believing my ears. I stood up as I held my back getting a proper look at her. Kyra looked well, but her clothes, well they were pretty weird. The blonde woman was wearing a white top with a blue cross on it, a bright blue short skirt and black boots. The skirt was far too bright, the design of the top was weird and the belt was weird. Almost immediately though questions began to fall out of my mouth I grew irritated she had been gone for over two years, and just recently we were told by Ellone that she was okay.

    “Ow, I'm alright just a little bruised. Where have you been for two years? My cousin was worried sick we heard only a few days ago from Ellone that you were okay and happy. He looked for you everywhere!”

    "It's a long story.. I guess. Was that only a few days ago?"

    “Yeah, Ellone had been looking for you too but had no luck. We were with her when she was looking this time. She said another power connected with hers; A desperate child looking for help and then she found you. Then it went weird cause Diablos just disappeared. Akio was looking after him for you and he said he just went for a few moments. Kinda freaky really.”

    "Ah, right. I do suppose Aeon's tend to worry. Maybe I should connect with him soon. I was teleported back somehow. Someone with even greater power than Ellone sent me back from a place called Spira. I really miss it actually. I was in the middle of a mission..."

    “Aeon? What are you talking about?" I was completely lost on what she was talking about, in fact the whole situation had been weird. I mean I still couldn’t believe she was here, it sounded like though she was in the middle of something and hadn’t wanted to come back. The word Spira though was bothering me it was like I had heard of that somewhere before.

    "Diablos. Aeon. Oh! That's what they called them on Spira. Guardian force always had a weird ring to it. Don't you think?"

    “Aeon seems pretty weird.... Did you say Spira? I’ve heard that somewhere before can’t remember where though”

    "Did Akio ever mention it?" Kyra questioned.

    “I don’t think so hmmm....” I looked down at my shopping list that I had written to try and distract myself. “Wanna help me shop? He has only got noodles again.”

    "Sure! I've been wondering who's been getting food for him! He works so hard he only has time for noodles! I swear he only has noodles for brains..." Kyra said jokingly. It was a bad joke. "Thanks for looking after him.."

    "Of course he is my cousin it's my responsibility!" Afterall without me he wouldn’t even have a varied diet.

    The shopping seemed to ease the tension between us, last time I saw Kyra was at Aiko’s funeral. I had been told that my cousin had died because of a Behemoth attack. I had blamed Kyra because she had been on the same mission and I directed all my grief and anger at her. Over time I began to realise it had been no one’s fault but I had a lot of resentment towards Kyra. Basically I had been a brat, I grew jealous that Aiko spent so much time with her and when she died I treated Kyra badly. Now that she was back this was my chance to make things up to her.

    Suddenly as I was deciding what apples to get Akio, Kyra suddenly rushed past me and out of the store. “Hey Kyra?!” I called, I hurried went to pay for the shopping that I had in my basket, I gave the girl the right amount of gil and ran out of the shop with the bags of food. I managed to catch up with her as a blonde woman walked away.

    "Someone you know?"

    "It wasn't her..." She sounded disappointed.

    "You okay?"

    "Not really, but I also don't want to talk about it. Can we go?"

    "Yeah I think we got everything, at least he doesn't have just noodles for at least a week now!"

    "Ok…Hmm. Anything interesting happen while I was away?"

    “The Lunar Cry happened shortly after you disappeared, it brought down a monster called the Slayer. It was…” I sighed it was one of the last memories I had before I went on that fateful mission. This huge monster just looming over the battlefield. I shuddered at the memory of it.

    “Was what?” Kyra encouraged.

    “It was awful it completely nearly destroyed a whole army of SeeD, I don’t know if I believe it but apparently it only stopped when a ghost appeared. I was… In that battle.”

    “That would have been about two years ago… Are there any rumours of what the ghost looked like? What the Slayer looked like? Where this happened?”


    “Apparently it was a girl with a sword. That’s all I know though, I do know that the Slayer was huge, it towered over everyone, people were afraid it would come towards the cities. It disappeared shortly after.” My memory was kinda fuzzy about that battle. I paused and then saw my cousin walk out the door of his house. I waved and smiled at him. “Oh hey Aiko!”

    “You back for the weekend?”

    “Yep, I’ll just put this food away.”

    As I put the food away in the kitchen I heard Kyra and Akio talking, mostly about me. My heart hung heavy as I realised I do need to talk to him before I leave tomorrow. I came back outside just in time to hear his thoughts on my friends. Friends that I don’t even remember but know that they are alive.

    “Koemi, your friends were nowhere near you when you were found, they haven’t been seen for two years. I think sooner or later you are going to have to realise that they are not coming back. You don’t even remember the last two years.”

    “I know but… I just feel it, I know they are not dead, they are out there somewhere.”

    Later on I was in my room fiddling with the old radio. I had hoped it would be a clue to what had happened to me it was with me when I had been found but it was very old and rusty and I’m not sure it even worked. After a while of fiddling with the radio Kyra came into my room. She talked to me about her friends at my request, I had hoped learning about her friends on Spira would help me remember those who had been on the same mission as me. Tross though I could never forget, he was my best friend I had known him for years and he didn’t die easily. I had faith that he was still alive somewhere.

    As Kyra talked the conversation turned towards a friend of hers called Nikki.

    “Nikki was sort of our leader. She’d hate being called that though. She was amazing. Thoughtful. An ace with a bow. She… I…” Was she crying? I saw tears run down her face. She must have been someone very special to her. I suddenly felt sorry for her if she had found that sort of happiness then she should have never come back here. She should have stayed in Spira.

    "It’s okay, was she like Aiko?” I whispered.

    “To me….yes.” She said through her sobs.

    I’m sorry you came back, but don’t lose hope. We’ll get Ellone to find her.”

    “That’s not possible..She’s on a whole different timeline… I only got there through time compression, and I was sent back by someone who is stronger than any sorceress I’ve ever seen!”

    “Pfft, we found you using Ellone a few days ago, I’m pretty sure Ellone would know where to look now since she’s done it once now.”

    “Maybe.”

    “And you know what, I bet that little girl that Ellone was talking to is searching for you right now, at this very minute, all Ellone needs to do is connect with her again.”

    “Do you know where Ellone is?”

    “Balamb most likely, heard she was going to see Squall Leonhart, the big saviour, blah blah blah.”

    “Really? His name makes me cringe. He did ‘save the world’ then?”

    “Oh yes along with Rinoa Heartilly, Zell Dincht, Quistis Trepe, Selphie Tilmitt, Irvine Kinneas. And you know what? I’m sick of seeing magazines plastered in articles about Rinoa and Squall’s relationship, it’s boring.”

    “No kidding. Although, I suppose I should be thankful. Without time compression I wouldn’t have met everyone from Spira.”

    “Yeah, We’ll make our own time compression and kidnap Nikki!”

    “Yes! I’d really like that.” She smiled, I was glad that I had made her smile but quite frankly I did not know how to get Nikki to come here. Maybe I should think harder on how to do that.

    Later in the evening I found Akio. “Hey can we talk?”

    “What’s up?”

    “Well ummm I’m not staying for long I leave tomorrow so I wanted to talk.”

    “Spit it out already,” I saw how he smiled at me gently encouraging me. I took a deep breath.

    “I’m going on a mission to find out about the lights.” I said very quickly with my eyes closed. I dared not open them.

    “What?”

    “I’m going to find out about those lights.” I said more slowly I carefully opened one eye to gage his reaction.

    “The same mission that-“

    “Yes I know but it might help my memories” I interrupted him.

    “And you’re sure you can do this?” I didn’t expect that question from him. I opened my other eyes paying full attention to his facial expressions, as usual he wasn’t giving anything away. “You still don’t have full control of your guardian force.”

    “I know but I’m learning, we’re both learning.” My guardian force got rather excitable at times.

    “Well I’m not happy about it, what is the Headmaster thinking?”

    “Uhh…” I was at a complete loss for words.

    “Well I suppose I have no choice in the matter he has chosen you to go on this mission, Just promise me one thing.”

    I beamed “Sure anything.”

    “Take Kyra with you.”

  5. #5
    Memento RK Final Fantasy Chronicles of Exigo - Brave New World VIII Yoko's Avatar
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    Kyra thought over the conversation that happened between herself and Koemi. The girl had helped her feel better, although, she wasn’t exactly sure how to feel about it. The last time she had spoken to Koemi wasn’t on the best of terms. It was nice to see she was okay. Akio had taken good care of her, but if she had to be honest, she didn’t think she would get along with this girl anytime soon. Then again, she hardly knew the girl before Aiko died…

    Kyra found herself in Akio’s workshop. He was always busy with his work, and she had given him her Gunblade shortly after she returned. Kyra liked to watch him as he worked. His thorough process was calming. She also missed being able to talk to him whenever she needed. After the two years spent on Spira, she had almost forgotten it.

    “You’re thinking about Aiko again, aren’t you?”

    He always had a general idea what Kyra was thinking. She nodded.

    “I’ll let you in on a secret. You always reach for your neck, where the necklace was. Isn’t that right?”

    Kyra never noticed it before, and no one really caught her in the act. Probably because they just didn’t know. “I do miss her. I also miss Nikki now as well. I… didn’t get her anything. The mission kept us really busy…” Her thoughts shifted to the necklace Aiko had given her. She had lost it the night of the fateful mission.

    “I can only imagine.” He said, bringing her back to their current conversation. “I think I’m close to fixing your Gunblade though. It was banged up pretty badly. The repair work done while you were away was pretty good. From your story yesterday, it sounded like you didn’t have much to work with.”

    It was true, the person who found her to begin with ended up being an absolute dolt aside from his ability to fix things. “Yeah, they simply didn’t have the tools we do. The Al Bhed were tech savvy, but there was a monster who destroyed literally everything, and they blamed the use of machina, and the Al Bhed. Their tools became forbidden, therefore basically a rarity.” Kyra explained. “That was until someone showed up and saved their world.”

    “You?” He asked.

    “Not me. They called him a dream. I was mainly oblivious. I ended up finding a man who taught me about all the different monsters there. That kept me busy there for a while, too.”

    “I see. Oup, annnnd, Got it!” He celebrated. It was fun to watch when he celebrated a fix. “Here, take a look.” He brought over the Gunblade for Kyra to hold. “I added something, and fixed the hilt properly for you. There’s a Protect Stone here to balance the weight a little better. The Protect Stone will only activate during an emergency. How does it feel?” It was nice to see him bubble with excitement.

    Kyra judged the blade carefully. It felt nicer than it did before. Balanced right on the hilt, her muscles didn’t feel strained by the weight of the blade, and her hands felt comfortable where they were placed. “It feels great. Is this new leather?”

    “It sure is! Glad you noticed. It’s synthetic. A little new to the market.” His excitement was refreshing.

    “Nice! I think I’ll approve of this one. I’ll let you know if I find anything wrong with it. Thank you.”

    “Always welcome, Kyra. I’m just glad you’re back…” he smiled softly. He genuinely cared about Kyra. It must have been hard on him to lose both Kyra and Koemi over the last couple years.

    “I meant to ask though, what’s with the weird clothes? You don’t normally wear skirts” he stated.

    “Ah, my other clothes got tattered pretty badly during the mission. I thought it was time for a change. You don’t approve?”

    “It’s not that. Just not used to seeing you in a skirt and not wearing black. It looks good on you. Aiko would approve, too.”

    “Thanks.” She blushed a little. She remembered Aiko’s words for her to wear more colour.

    She did have something she meant to ask, “Hey, I know I just got back, but I was thinking about something Koemi said…” Kyra paused looking for the right words. She didn’t want to leave him again, but her heart was tugging at something on her mind.

    “And what did she say?” He encouraged. He always showed her that he was willing to listen.

    “Well, since Ellone was able to connect to Spira once, maybe she would be able to do it again. There could be a way to send me back, or create another time compression, or bring her here...any of those would be fine with me...”

    Akio sighed. “For as long as I’ve known you, you’ve always followed your instinct. You really did like Nikki, didn’t you?”

    Kyra nodded.

    “Follow your heart, just like you always do. There’s nothing I can do to stop you.” He smiled.

    “Thank you. I will.”

    Kyra exited the workshop. She made her way to the kitchen with hopes of finding a bottle of wine. She looked in the cupboard where it was normally kept, but found nothing. She started looking through every other cupboard in search of something which might contain alcohol, then stopped herself once she looked at the fridge. The picture was what caught her eye. “Aiko.”. She searched her mind to try to justify what she was doing just now. “Was I just...looking for alcohol?” The memories flooded into her mind. She pulled a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water. She took a seat on one of the kitchen stools and sorted through the thoughts raging in her mind.

    The thoughts of the tenebrous bar she frequented in Timber began to swirl. She started to remember the smells, the atmosphere and him.

    “That is in your past!” The booming voice of a burlesque elder man scolded in her mind. It almost shook her entire body. She had heard his voice what seemed like only a few days ago, but before then her mind had been silent for the years she spent in Spira. ”You overcame that hinderance of a human being. Do not waste your thoughts on him!"

    Kyra cleared her mind and finished her glass of water. She was no longer the mess she was after Aiko died. ”You’re right, Diablos. Thank you. Although, I don’t know why those thoughts came up like that...” Kyra thought a little harder. It was uncalled for…

    ”There are other ways to relieve stress.” his tone was harsh as always.

    Kyra should have known she was stressed. Her thoughts had been in disarray since she returned. She walked up the stairs to her room and sat at the chair by the window to watch the sunset in hopes it would help her relax.
    Last edited by Yoko; 01-08-2017 at 07:29 PM. Reason: Change required for next post.

  6. #6

    I couldn't let another volley like that happen. These monsters weren't letting up, but they'd been scatterbrained mostly. The last attack was just unlucky; the three of them happened to move one after another and land their hits side by side right along the route I was dodging. It wouldn't have been as big a deal if it hadn't been for what type of monsters they were. Two of the three were Chimera and their leader, the third monster was a weapon. I counted my blessings when the battle started that it was just an Atma Weapon, just a sort of smaller, weaker version of the likes of Ultima Weapon or Omega Weapon. Still, I think it was just a bit much for one person to handle.


    While I was thinking to myself, another Quake came my way. Ducking and rolling got me right in the face of one of the two Chimeras and I had to do some tricky acrobatics to miss its lion head's jaws. The distance only led the Chimera's reptile head to use Aqua Breath. I still had to count myself lucky. Because this Chimera was launching attacks, the other one only stood around growling and Atma Weapon was just charging up some energy attack. I did some guesswork and figured it was going to be a doozy. Whatever it was, I wanted to use it. With that in mind, I kept at it with the Chimera that was attacking me. I just needed to bait them both long enough. Atma Weapon was definitely locking on to me so all I needed was the right timing. I wasn't really my strong suit, but it ended up working. When I turned to gauge the energy attack one last time, I took too long because I saw that it was about to complete. Just then, the Chimera swiped at me, knocking me back just in time to take some beam of light right down through all four heads. It went down hard and I used the fancy light show to move on the other Chimera, tagging it in the lion's head with my tonfa.



    As the light died down, I took stock of the situation. One monster down and the other Chimera unable to use one head, but the Atma Weapon was still at full. Maybe I could do a reverse of what I did before. Atma Weapon looked like it was charging another one of those energy moves so I just needed the Chimera to do something to it first. Since it couldn't use the lion, the Chimera switched to its hawk head, casting magic instead. Magic wasn't going to stop Atma. In fact, nothing the thing did was going to stop the weapon. I needed it to slow it down instead and that meant I'd need its tail. With it using magic, it wasn't about to help me with that so while Atma charged, I'd only have that much time to get it to focus on it.


    It's spells came incessantly, but they were slow. I'd need to use Ifrit again, but at least I wouldn't need a full summon. As it cast a Waterga at me, I returned with Fira and bathed the both of us in steam. Through the fog, I managed to find it and take out the hawk and even move into the ram head. My next move was to feign more attacks to lure it out. If it thought I was too difficult to hit, it might just consider using its tail. Lady luck must have taken pity on me because that's exactly what it did. All I had to do was bait it some more. It followed me, trying desperately to bite into me. My footwork was good enough to keep at a safe distance and I managed to back my way towards Atma. As soon as I knew I was in range, I ducked out of the way and the Chimera fed Atma a big dose of its poison, debilitating it. It was my chance; without any teammates around and the two of them so close together, I didn't have to worry about using Mad Rush. The surge of power and speed hit me all at once and I made full use of it. Dashing right for them, I swiped at them over and over with my tonfa. The added strength increased the damage output and both of them were taken down before long.


    I took a huge breath after I saw them collapse. Berserk was still in effect and made it difficult for me to relax, but I knew I was safe for the time being. Riding out Ifrit's ability until it wore off, I let my mind wander. It was also a way to remind myself of what had happened. My memory wasn't exactly doing me any favours.


    How could you not know what a Garden is?” The girl I was traveling with at the time asked.


    It was surprising. The two of us had found each other some time ago and were wandering around the barren landscape. We'd been trying to see if we could recognise where we were, but both of us were having memory problems. Even so, the girl we ended up finding had our amnesia in a bad way. She couldn't even remember what a Garden was or a Moomba.


    You need to use your GFs more carefully, miss. Those things are great in a pinch, but man do they mess with your brain.” I still remembered telling her.


    And that only made things more confusing. She didn't know what those were, either. In fact, I think the only thing she did know was about gunblades, but even that didn't make sense the way she was talking about it.


    She said she's been out here a while, didn't she? Maybe she was forced to use her GFs. We can't blame her. The monsters out here are strong.”


    You got a point. If we're messed up this bad, just think how rough she's had it. We did find her after seeing that crazy thing you talked about showed up. I'm just glad it didn't see us.”


    I still can't believe she fought it and lived.”


    Well, no point dawdling.” I said, standing up with a good stretch, “I'm back to normal and those two don't look like they're going to find themselves anytime soon.”

  7. #7
    chocolateer Final Fantasy Chronicles of Exigo - Brave New World VIII 01habbo's Avatar
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    Koemi Akiyama

    “Ugh, I don’t care what Rinoa is doing,” I mumbled to myself as I flicked through a trashy magazine. I looked up when I saw Kyra come through the door to the kitchen. I smiled at her. “Morning!”

    “Morning,” yawned Kyra. I took a moment to watch her, as she got herself some tea and came to join me at the table. I probably wasn’t Kyra’s most favourite person, so it was going to be tricky to get her to come to Balamb with me. I took a deep breath.

    “I wanted to talk to you.”

    “Sure, what’s up?”

    “Well I have to go back to Balamb today, and well… I have to go on a mission to investigate these glowy lights again. It was… The same mission I did just before I disappeared. Headmaster Squall thinks it would help if I went again not only to recover my memories but also to help…”

    “Go on...”

    “What I wanted to ask you was, can you come with me? I mean on the mission for cuz’s piece of mind? I mean you’re a White Seed right? I’m sure if you asked the Headmaster you could come with us?”

    “Doesn’t the headmaster realise you could have died the last time?”

    “Yeah but if I can unlock my memories, then I might hold the key to the weird lights that are hurting people, without the Junction System people are getting killed I gotta do something if I can.” She didn’t seem to understand how important it was that I go on this mission.

    “I’ll have to think about it.”

    That wasn’t the answer I wanted, guess I had to give her a little incentive. “Well I leave in half an hour so I’m afraid there’s no time to think, you either can come with me, or make sure cuz doesn’t eat noodles, and survive his wrath of why you let his little cousin go alone.” I said grinning.

    Kyra stuttered, “Alright, I see your point. I’ll go with you, but that doesn’t mean I’m joining the mission yet. I’d like to speak with that headmaster of yours.”

    Alright so I got halfway there but I needed to push further. “Noted, but don’t forget I know lots of secrets.”

    "Secrets? What secrets?”

    I grinned, “My cousins know lots of things about you.” Like the time she nearly burnt the house down because of a spider, or when she laughed so hard drink came out of her nose while on a date.

    “Oh yeah, like what?”

    “That’s for me to know,” I cheekily smiled, I wasn’t about to tell her. So I went to get ready while thinking whether I had pushed too hard, Probably not the best way to get someone to like you.

    I was waiting by the boat for Kyra, wondering if Kyra was going to come, the captain of the boat was getting impatient. I got worried that maybe I had pushed too hard, after all, the last time she had saw me I hadn’t been very nice to her, it’s going to take her time to come around, I shouldn’t have really expected her to come on this mission.

    Just when I was about to lose hope I saw Kyra coming up in the distance.

    “Before you say anything, I have one condition”

    “Okay,”

    “I have to see Ellone first,”

    I relaxed at that. “Yeah, sure.” I smiled at her.

    As we travelled on the boat I saw a spider and immediately stamped on it, I then looked at Kyra, I seemed to remember something about Kyra being scared of spiders so I had to ask.

    “So, I heard you were scared of spiders and killed one with a fire spell.”

    “Where’d you hear that from?”

    “Was it Akio that told me? Maybe Aiko?... I dunno but I heard it from somewhere” I said smiling, I was pretty confused by it.

    “Well, I guess it wasn’t much of a secret. I freak out when I see spiders. Have since I was little.”

    But this was bugging me, “Was it Diablos?...” It’s couldn’t of been him I’ve never really spoken to him. "“She is afraid of spiders, she burnt my wall.” That was what I was told, but where did I hear that?” I screwed up my nose in confusion.

    “I burnt Nikki’s wall just a couple days ago...but there’s no way you could have known that.”

    I laughed “No way,” I confirmed “I think you just have a bad habit of burning walls.”

    “Probably. Then again, I can’t count how many I’ve burned.”

    The rest of the boat trip went by uneventful, I was still trying to think of who told me that, but the voice in my memory was unrecognisable. I felt like I should know who it was, it could be connected to my lost memories. It reminded me of the word Spira I had heard of it somewhere, but when Kyra asked I couldn’t place it.

    “Is it possible they are connected?” I looked at Kyra but couldn’t make head or tails of it. I sighed as I just went back to staring at the water.

    When we arrived at Balamb, Kyra went to see Ellone and mentioned something about seeing the Headmaster as well. I went straight to the cafeteria.

    I got some hotdogs and went to a quiet table near a group of girls gossiping.

    “We had an awesome teacher today, can you believe he had two gunblades?!”

    ”He was pretty cute as well” The girls then giggled and I rolled my eyes at that. This would be when I missed Tross. He was much older than me, we had an unique friendship. For one he didn’t act his age, he was like a big brother to me, he got me through my darkest moments in my life. Two we could talk about anything to each other, I would talk about the ridiculous gossip and he would poke fun at it.

    Sometime later I headed to the lift to the headmasters office, thinking since Kyra wanted to talk to him she might already be there. As I walked over I noticed someone else with short dark brown hair also waiting for the lift. As I got closer my eyes darted to the weapons, two gunblades. Just my luck I was going to share the lift with a teacher, and not just any teacher, but he one those girls were discussing earlier. His outfit wasn’t very teacher like either, he was wearing leather for one thing. No wonder the girls liked him.

    As we both got in the lift I noticed he pressed for the floor that I had wanted too, So I decided to strike up a conversation.

    "Oh hello sir,"

    He responded with some sort of grunt, just to let me know he heard me.

    "I haven't seen you here before sir, are you a new teacher sir?"

    "A teacher? Me? Not technically. I'm temporarily serving as a tutor in close combat tactics, to bring the kids who rely too heavily on their magic up to speed, so they don't end up neutered in the field when one of those damned energy spikes hits.", he answered. "At least it better be temporary", he mumbled under his breath.

    So he didn’t really consider himself a teacher and didn’t really seem to want to be teaching, I decided to introduce myself. "My name is Koemi,"

    "Steele.", he replied brusquely.

    "Isn't that heavy to use two gunblades sir? I know someone who uses a gunblade but she has to use two hands."

    He unsheathed one of the weapons, and nonchalantly tossed it into the air, catching it near the barrel, and offering it for appraisal. "They're not full length blades, so the weight isn't as high as it would be on a weapon like Squall's, or presumably, your friend's. Still have some decent heft to them, good for cutting into armour. Also a slight difference in the mechanism. In a normal gunblade, it's the force of the discharge that vibrates the blade, and no projectile is actually expelled from the weapon. This one can actually shoot, and it's the recoil that creates the sawing effect on the blade.", he explained.

    "Wow... I've never seen one like this, technology has really refined it." I said out loud just peering at it, it was pretty awesome.

    “Ha sounds like a worthy opponent kid.” I pulled a confused face.

    “Quelzacolt I’m not going to fight him.”

    “Heh, you could use the training though, I’m itching for a good fight kid.” I just shook my head at that, the lift then arrived and so I stepped out.

    Arriving at the headmaster’s office, Kyra was already there with the headmaster and another person who seemed to be wearing a blue hoodie, with black cargo pants and white trainers. As Kyra turned to face me I saw she was not happy. I wasn’t quite sure about what though, but her mouth was at a thin line and she didn’t say anything, the other person turned as well and I could see now a male with blue eyes, short black hair with a fringe far too long, his hands were in his pockets and I gathered he was at least a few years older than I was. My eyes travelled to his pair of sheaved weapons at his side. Daggers I guessed, or maybe they were short gunblades like Mister Steele’s.

    “Ah, William Steele, Koemi Akiyama. This is Kyra Odinhart and Swain Kita, they will be joining you on your mission ” Swain just seemed to give a nod in our direction and I heard Kyra say a greeting, but the biggest surprise was Mr Steele.

    “Wait, you’re coming on the mission too Mr Steele?!” I said in surprise. “This is awesome, if he is coming along then I get to see his gunblades in action.”

    Mr Steele nodded with an affirming grunt. "Combat specialist. I don't use GFs or the Junction system, so based on our intel, the lights shouldn't hinder my abilities. In the event of our unit being hit by one of these things, I'll likely be the only one unaffected.", he explained.

    “Cool…” I said in awe. He was so amazing, definitely will make this mission easier.

    “To the mission at hand, I want you to investigate the lights near Trabia Garden, Specifically where Koemi was found a few months ago. But also along the way I want you to gather intel in the towns, find out if anyone else has gone missing or if anyone else has returned after going missing.” Said the headmaster.

    “We’re going to find Tross and the others?” I asked hopefully.

    “No, it’s too dangerous for a full on search party. Your objective is to gather information on the lights nothing more.” My heart fell at that. I really hoped that somehow we could find Tross at the same time.

    William cleared his throat to draw attention. "Should we discover that this is some sort of weapon, or monster, are we just to report back, or should we attempt to neutralize the threat?", he asked.

    I looked back at the headmaster he seemed to consider his options. “For now report back. Then we can decide what to do once we get enough information.” The head master then turned towards me. “Koemi has your Guardian Force told you anything about the lights.”

    “No sir, he refuses to tell me anything. He says that I have to remember on my own.”

    “Damn right kid.”

    “Well keep on trying, and anything you do remember report back to me.”

    “Heh, you can try kid, but really do have to do this on your own.”

    “Yes sir,” I said replying to the headmaster ignoring my Guardian Force.

  8. #8
    The Mad God Final Fantasy Chronicles of Exigo - Brave New World VIII Heartless Angel's Avatar
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    William closed his eyes, and lowered his head for a moment, taking this new information in. "Hmm...", he thought, "Odinhart, a White SeeD if my recollection is accurate, so her stature and relatively light build likely conceal her true strength. A single gunblade wielder, specialized in magically augmented melee. Adequately covers my lack of physical elemental attacks, and supplements my close combat specialization... Akiyama, Chakram user. Light build indicates preference for flexibility and speed over brute strength and durability. Possible focus on either close or midrange combat. Difficult to predict possible synergies from known information... And this one... I've never heard of. Can't really gauge this team with the information I have, but knowing that they could all have their powers jammed in the middle of combat, my role will most likely be that of a vanguard. Should be... interesting.", he thought to himself as he opened his eyes and looked forward again.

    "Well... when do we leave?", he asked to no one in particular.
    Last edited by Heartless Angel; 02-04-2017 at 05:00 PM.

  9. #9
    Memento RK Final Fantasy Chronicles of Exigo - Brave New World VIII Yoko's Avatar
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    Morning came sooner than Kyra thought. She opened her eyes as the sun was beginning to shine through the window. A headache was beginning to make an appearance. She figured she wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep again, so she eased herself out of bed.

    “Ugh, I don’t care what Rinoa is doing,” Kyra heard as she walked down the stairs to the kitchen. It was Koemi. She wondered what she was doing awake so early.

    “Morning!” she said. Must be a morning person.

    “Morning,” yawned Kyra. She poured hot water into a cup she’d gotten from the cupboard and placed a tea bag, hoping the tea Akio kept might have caffeine in it. She sat at the table across from Koemi.

    After a few moments, she heard Koemi take a deep breath. “I wanted to talk to you.” she noticed her tone was a little serious.

    “Sure, what’s up?” Kyra asked.

    “Well, I have to go back to Balamb today, and well… I have to go on a mission to investigate these glowy lights again. It was… The same mission I did just before I disappeared. Headmaster Squall thinks it would help if I went again not only to recover my memories but also to help…”

    “Go on...” her blood started to boil slightly. What was this headmaster thinking?

    “What I wanted to ask you was, can you come with me? I mean on the mission for cuz’s peace of mind? I mean you’re a White Seed right? I’m sure if you asked the Headmaster you could come with us?”

    “Doesn’t the headmaster realize you could have died the last time?”

    “Yeah but if I can unlock my memories, then I might hold the key to the weird lights that are hurting people, without the Junction System people are getting killed I gotta do something if I can.”

    “I’ll have to think about it.” She wanted to find a way back to Nikki, but this mission was important to them. She wanted to know more, but also had some unfinished business.

    “Well I leave in half an hour so I’m afraid there’s no time to think, you either can come with me or make sure cuz doesn’t eat noodles and survive his wrath of why you let his little cousin go alone” she said grinning.

    Kyra shuttered, “Alright, I see your point. I’ll go with you, but that doesn’t mean I’m joining the mission yet. I’d like to speak with that headmaster of yours.”

    “Noted but don’t forget I know lots of secrets.”

    ‘Secrets? What secrets?” She began to think.”That comment seemed out in left field...unless…”

    She grinned, “My cousins know lots of things about you.”

    “Oh yeah, like what?”

    “That’s for me to know,” she cheekily smiled and left the kitchen.

    Kyra continued her thought, ”Blackmail? Don’t see that as a persuasion tactic very often…”

    Kyra walked back to the workshop to speak with Akio. They were right that she was with the White SeeD once. She didn’t consider herself one of them anymore.

    Akio greeted her as she walked in.

    “I need to talk really quick, are you busy?”

    “I’ve got a lot of orders today, something on your mind?”

    “I know we talked yesterday, but-” she paused.

    “Koemi said something...” Akio finished the sentence.

    “Uh, yeah. How did you know?” The question should have been how didn’t he know. Everyone went to him for advice.

    “You’re the only person I know who can keep her safe.” He looked at her. “Please go with her. Maybe going with her can help you with your goal, too, but she needs you.”

    Her thoughts went back to the last time she went on a SeeD mission. It ended in utter failure. How could he trust her? “You remember my last SeeD mission, right?” She said in a low voice.

    “I do, but that wasn’t your last mission. You just came back from a great eye opening adventure, right? I believe in you, Kyra.”

    The Via Infinito was by no means great, but he did have a point. “Okay. I’ll go.” She said quietly, keeping her thoughts to herself. She didn’t have time to argue.

    He smiled. “Good. Take this with you. It isn’t much, but It’ll help.” he handed her a small leather pouch with potions and antidotes.

    “Thanks.” She said, still full of uncertainty. She hugged him tight before going to grab some of her belongings, a change of outfit, and met Koemi at the boat.

    They’d made it to Balamb later that afternoon. Kyra had gotten a basic summary of what happened over the span of time when she was away on top of what Akio had already mentioned to her already. A lot had happened in the last two years. It was almost reassuring to know that Balamb Garden ended up being unharmed after what it had been through. As they walked onto the property and past the gates, it looked just as it always did when she’d been there. Hard to believe anything had happened at all.

    Her first priority was to go to the library to speak with Ellone. She found her sitting at the back reading a book in one of the small studies as she always did. Ellone heard Kyra approach and gave her a warm smile.

    "Thanks for not giving up on me."

    "There's no need to thank me, to be honest I feel partially responsible. I was worried though when that little girl contacted me. Whatever was going on sounded awful. I didn't tell Akio or Koemi though. I didn't want them to worry.”

    "I told Akio what happened already. I haven't told Koemi much."

    “But despite all that it sounded like you were happy with where you were that was one message that came back to me loud and clear "Nikki is looking after her, she's happy with Nikki." That's the message that I passed onto Koemi and Akio.”

    "I was. Really was... Is there a way i can go back?"

    Ellone pauses seemingly to work out what she is going to say, "I don't have the power to perform time compression you understand that, right?" Ellone’s face was gentle choosing her words slowly.

    "Yes, your ability is different. You can see the past. But, it happened once, can't it happen again?” Kyra was getting desperate. "There has to be a way."

    "I don't know, what you got caught up in I don't know what happened. By all logic you should have been sent to the same point in time that Squall and the others were. You should have never gone to Spira because the time compression was focused on going to Ultimecia's time.” She paused. “I also don't understand Where Spira is in the timeline it certainly isn't mentioned in any of our records. I was contacted though and I can only connect to the past, so it is in the past.

    "Hmm. Nikki said Aiko had contacted her through a dream. Do you know how that might have been possible?"

    “I don't know, I'm sorry but I can do one thing. I can show you the events of the past by trying to find that same girl again.”

    Kyra's eyes lit up, "Really?"

    “Don't get too excited it might not even work. But if she is looking for you then it might.”

    "She might be... I had a dream the other night. I think I could hear what Asuka was thinking shortly after I was sent back here. Her powers are still new. Maybe she is trying to figure something out."

    “Okay then. Now what I need you to do is think solely of Spira and think of who you want to find close your eyes and breathe slowly in time with your heartbeat.”

    "Okay." Kyra did exactly as she asked.

    A moment passes without anything happening. “I’m really sorry Kyra, I just can’t seem to connect to that point in time or find the girl. Last time I felt a weird power before I connected, but I have no idea where that power came from.”

    “Could you try again? There has to be a way!”

    “I would if I had some sort of connection. Last time I connected I saw someone before it happened…”

    “Saw who? Is there something I can do?”

    “I’m not really sure it was like I knew her but at the same time I didn’t. She was this beautiful woman with long blonde hair, blue eyes, fair skin, The most comforting and loving light came from her, it was like…”

    “You just explained Nikki…”

    “No, not Nikki. I saw Nikki after connecting I saw the chaos that day. This was something completely different. This was someone with a lot of power but graceful at the same time. She had a staff and shield, her armour was mostly gold with an intricate design. She wore a gold headband I think. The way she smiled it was like how a mother would smile at a child. She was gone in a flash though, I remember though it was like she lead me to that little girl.”

    “I never met someone like that while in Spira…”

    “I don’t think she is someone you can meet, because Koemi and Akio never mentioned her. I was the only one that saw her, and it felt like someone that was not human.”

    Kyra was losing heart “Is there really nothing I can do?”

    “I’m sorry Kyra, it’s like Spira never existed in the timeline. I’m got absolutely nothing when I tried to connect.”

    “I don’t understand, if it doesn’t exist, how did I get there?”

    Ellone goes to hug Kyra, “I believe it existed Kyra, it’s just that I don’t know where it is, there are so many questions that I don’t have answers to, I’m really sorry. But maybe, maybe there is something somewhere. Maybe we just need to look for it, there must be some record somewhere.”

    “Like a book somewhere? Where should I look?”

    “How about we start here first at the Garden, they have a library.”

    “Okay. I’ll start here. And if it isn’t here, I’ll go elsewhere. There has to be something on Spira.”

    “I’ll start looking here too, there are some questions I want answered too.”

    As Kyra started to look through the books on the library shelves, someone approached her and tapped her on the shoulder. “Are you Kyra Odinhart?”

    “Yes.”

    “The headmaster has requested to see you immediately.”

    She sighed, not wanting to leave her research, but she did have a promise to keep. The person who tapped her shoulder walked with her silently. She noticed he was wearing a dark blue jacket, black undershirt, dark cargo pants, with white shoes. He wore a gold necklace with a pendant of something that looked important to him. He wore two sheathed daggers around his waist. He wore a neutral expression, so she didn’t know what he was thinking.

    “Swain.” He said suddenly. “Swain Kita. I already knew your name. Thought I’d introduce myself. Headmaster told me you were in the building somewhere. Took me a while to find you.” he seemed annoyed.

    “Right, thanks. You’re joining the Headmaster’s mission?”

    “Yup. Gotta make myself useful somehow.” He said as they’d entered the Headmaster’s office.

    “Kyra Odinhart. I thought you had disappeared” Squall said as he stood. He seemed to know about her disappearance, and seemed shocked to see her there.

    "I did. I was 'teleported' back yesterday." she explained.

    “Can you tell me what happened?” Squall asked.

    Kyra searched her mind for what happened two years ago. The very event that started everything. "I was on the space station on an assignment to research the monsters on the moon, until there was an order to evacuate. I took an escape pod and entered the wrong coordinates by mistake. Then I heard from Ellone after a while of drifting. She mentioned time compression, and told me to think of Home. So I did, but didn't end up home at all. I woke up in a place called Spira. I spent the last two years until a psychic sent me back here." She felt her explanation didn’t give her experience justice at all. She gave the information she knew and understood so basically.

    “Go on. What is Spira and what is a psychic?”

    "I'm not sure exactly what a psychic is. The only way I can explain it was much like a sorceress. You have experience with Edea, yes?” She asked. He nodded. “As for Spira, I feel like I still had more to learn, but I felt it was a primitive form of this world. I don't know how or even if they are connected. Ellone can't connect to Spira at all it seems."

    “Interesting I wonder if it is connected to those lights”

    "I'd like to join your mission to find that our, sir."

    Squall paused for a moment before saying, “Are you sure?”

    "I made a promise to a friend to join this mission with Koemi. I am sure."

    “I believe that is a wise choice. Koemi barely passed her seed exam and she just got back. I'm worried about how much control she has over her Guardian Force” He furrowed his brow as he said that. This had Kyra concerned.

    "If she’s so new to being SeeD, why was she put on this mission?” Kyra anger started to boil.

    "Koemi volunteered. I wasn't initially going to but Koemi was very convincing. Her memories could come back and they would be very valuable."

    "She volunteered, and you let her? You realize she almost died the first time!"

    Squall puts his hand to his forehead and sighs “She lost her friends. She is looking for closure I can't deny her that.”

    "What if we don’t find them and it’s all for naught? Then what do you do?" she raised her voice.

    “Don't mistake me this mission is not to find her friends. It's about the lights. Koemi is very aware of the danger and has one of the most loyal Guardian Force with her. This was her decision and she could be the key to stopping this.”

    Kyra considered his words, but it did nothing to calm her anger. She heard the elevator door open behind her, and saw Koemi and an unfamiliar man walk out.

    Squall made the introductions. Kyra eyed William's weapons. They looked interesting to her. "Should be nice to see those in action as well, Nice to meet you."

    Squall explained the mission, and mentioned as a group to stop by at towns along the way to gather intel. Kyra might be able to use that to her advantage to look for books or anyone who might know anything about Spira. Asking people might be a long shot, but she was willing to grasp at straws if it gave her a sliver of hope to get back to Nikki.

    “So, when do we leave?” She heard William ask bringing her out of her thoughts.

    “As soon as possible.” Squall responded.
    Last edited by Yoko; 02-04-2017 at 04:05 PM.

  10. #10
    chocolateer Final Fantasy Chronicles of Exigo - Brave New World VIII 01habbo's Avatar
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    The Via Infinito, cold and unforgiving, I watched as my sister tried to use the light within her to free Mishka and put everything right again. To make sure that Paine’s and the twins deaths weren’t for nothing.

    “Emi, your light!” I shouted towards my little sister. I could see that in her tiny frame something was going wrong. The light from the Farplane was distorting, the light she had absorbed was turning purple and jagged.

    “Nikki, get your sister out of there!” Stated Val the brown haired pistol wielder.

    “What are you seeing, Val?”

    “I don't know. The Farplane's light should have kept Via Infinito back, but it isn't!”

    “No, this is what I expected. It is struggling with me, struggling with the Farplane. And it will lose!” Emika explained, I had to believe in my little sister. She would win and then she would find peace in the Farplane.

    “What if we destroy that thing in the middle? Will that help?” Asked Rikku, but as soon as she asked the whole cloister became dark, and I had a terrible feeling. “Emika!”

    “Something's wrong with the Farplane's light! It's being subdued by Via Infinito!” Val’s green eyes showed he was afraid, they all were.

    “How is that even possible?” Gideon gasped. I couldn’t even see what he was thinking he was clad in so much armour

    “We've played the fools.” Joseph suggested, the blue cloaked warrior.

    “This... This isn't the Farplane's light.” Emika struggled to say, I felt awful I could see the 5 year old was in pain, “At least, not all of it. This is only me. This is only what belongs in the Farplane, but without any of its grace.”

    “What?” questioned Rikku

    “But you merged yourself together to draw out the pure Farplane!” I said in desperation how could this plan even fail?

    “I'm sorry.” Was all she said before the light disappeared, I watched in terror, I tried running towards her but some sort of force was stopping me, stopping all of us. Then Emi came out a fully grown woman but coated in magical armour, she had become a puppet of the Via Infinito, her expression motionless.

    The sounds around me dulled as I saw the guado, Mishka scream out in pain as she brought towards Emi in a trance. I watched as she transformed into a monster, covered in spines and jagged hooks. The Slayer.

    The scene changed then to Cyan’s lifeless form her body hanging limp, having been pierced by one of the hooks.

    “Please... you must end it. Kill me.” Looking up I saw that Mishka had spoken, the voice was unrecognizable, it hissed and was raspy. But it was her, it was Mishka, she had stopped fighting and had gained control back.

    “If this doesn’t end, then those illusions might come true, if we die here, those kids…” I looked at Mishka, and looked at the monster she had become, there was no saving her now, there was no going back. My responsibility now was the rest of her team and the safety of Bevelle.

    I raised my bow I was determined Mishka would not die a monster she would die as her, a sense of self, at least I could give her that.

    “Nikki! What are you doing?!” exclaimed Joseph.

    “Mercy.” Was all I said with tears in my eyes I fired a single arrow that went through Mishka’s chest and straight through her heart. Something I believed I was able to do easily because Mishka had lowered the monsters defenses.

    The scene changed again, everyone was dead because of me, I had failed I had let everyone down.

    “I just want to go home.” Cried my sister Emi. The pryeflies came together around her, bathing her in a light. I found myself in a void with her, where time had stood still, “But I know I can’t.” A single tear fell down Emi’s face as she gently smiled at me. “Please! Save my sister.”

    I was struck in the stomach right through. I felt myself being thrown, With little strength I moved my head to find Joseph holding his wound coughing. I was back in the Via Infinito and I was dying.

    “Keep… Fighting… And-“ but that was all I heard from him before he lay still. My own strength fading fast I accepted my fate. Tears rolling down I had failed to protect. Flashes of faces came at me of all the people I cared about.

    “No Sissy!!!”


    I woke up, sitting straight up in bed. I was sweating and panting. I had that nightmare again of my final moments in the Via Infinito I had failed, and then somehow I had got here, a wasteland. I was currently staying in an abandoned house, it was falling apart but at least it was safe for now at least, I couldn’t stay in one place for too long. In order to survive I needed to keep moving.

    I got out of bed knowing that I wouldn’t get anymore sleep I headed outside. The chocobo greeted me, she nudged her head against my shoulder with a soft “Kweh”. I gave her a scratch under her head and then headed on and explored the town that we had found ourselves in.

    This place suited me, and was a suitable punishment for my failures, this wasteland matched perfectly with my emotions, dead, numb, lifeless. I couldn’t ponder too long on this though since I could easily fall further, easily drown myself into my thoughts about killing myself. “That wouldn’t do I still had to get back.” It was the only thought that kept me sane these days.

    I reached a big worn down building, the roof was only half there, the bricks dotted around it, the door surprisingly was locked though. Looked like though I could force my way in. So I kicked the door and managed to get in.

    It looked like I had stumbled upon a library. “Finally some good news,” I immediately began looking round, seeing if I could find anything on Spira or Time Compression.

    After a while I hadn’t gotten far, there was nothing on Spira but I found a book that described the process of Time Compression, knowing that it could possibly be useful I took it with me. I went over to the chocobo outside and put it in the bag that i was carrying.

    I then scoped out the other buildings trying to find anything edible that was in a tin, I found a few tins and a few bottle of water, and then I went on my way.

    It didn’t matter how far I would ride on the chocobo, The Slayer was always in the distance, always reminding me of my past never leaving me alone. She never approached me, she was just a huge monster always on the horizon. It didn't really make sense though because I pierced her with my own arrow, maybe it was another punishment.

    Exhausted and tired I decided to make camp, summoning Shiva constantly throughout the day had been tiring, the price for survival. I allowed myself to rest my eyes as I laid my head on my bag, knowing that the chocobo would alert me if any fiends came near.

    “Is she not with you?” a voice asked before I could fall asleep. I opened my eyes to see a man standing over me.

    I sat up narrowing my eyes. “What do you want?”
    Last edited by 01habbo; 02-07-2017 at 02:47 PM.

  11. #11
    The Mad God Final Fantasy Chronicles of Exigo - Brave New World VIII Heartless Angel's Avatar
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    "As soon as possible", Squall answered. William took in a deep breathe, sighed softly. "Alright. I'll begin my preparations at once. You can come find me in my quarters when you're ready to set out.", he said, glancing towards his new team as he made his way for the elevator before taking it down alone.

    He again closed his eyes and began visualizing combat scenarios with his new team during the short ride down. "Hmm... I'm really not coming up with any good team strategies for this group... Especially if I can't count on them being able to access the junction system reliably...", he mumbled. He held up one hand, as magic began to visibly swirl around it, forming into a small orb in his palm. "I may end up having to use THAT. This will be a good opportunity to test it out, away from Leonhart's prying eyes.", he said with a slight grin.

    He hadn't been on an actual mission since his escape from NORG's facility, partly due to his fragmented memory, but more in part, at least in William's mind, to the fact that Squall didn't trust him. It made sense, after all, NORG had tried to brainwash him into a mindless slave who would kill his enemies on command, and he was only released because NORG sought to use him against Squall and his comrades. If not for the situation at hand, he likely would have spent at least another year before he would gain Squall's trust to go out on a mission as a SeeD, but with the Junction system failing all around the world, it would be foolish not to make use of the only solider he had who didn't rely upon it.

    The elevator at last reached its destination, and William allowed the spell in his hand to dissipate before exiting, and making his way through the crowd towards the dormitories. A few girls waved or called out as he walked by, but he did his best to pretend he hadn't noticed. His students were annoying enough during classes, he certainly didn't want them involved in his off hours. He opened his door, and slipped into the dark room, closing and locking it behind him without a word.

    He flipped the light switch, illuminating his austere living space. Everything in this room was dedicated to honing his craft. Several ammunition refinery machines lined one wall, each producing different types of ammunition. He opened a few up, and took what he thought he might need for this mission. "Let's see... 100 dark rounds, 20 fire, 20 demo, and 50 AP. That should cover just about any situation we could conceivably encounter.", he said, as he placed the ammunition in a pack on his bed.

    He made his way over to a workbench in the corner of the room. This bench featured a pair of stands made to the exact specifications of his gunblades. He spent a good deal of time here, changing out blade attachments, calibrating his sights, or performing general maintenance on the weapons. "Hmm... I should probably stick to the anti-armor blades for this. Better to have excessive cutting power than insufficient. Even if they do slow me down and wear me out a little faster. Can't carry enough AP rounds to account for the number of armored enemies we're likely to run into, and my team should have sufficient options for dealing with quicker targets...", he said to himself, as he swapped out the standard blades on his weapon for a thicker, heavier pair with a wave-patterned edge, and a fine thrusting point.

    After finishing maintenance of his primary weapons, he slid over to the other side of the workbench where his sidearms lay disassembled. "I'd better come armed to the teeth for long range combat, since none of the other carry long distance arms", he said, as he quickly cleaned and assembled the two 9mm pistols, and attached their holsters and another pouch filled with spare magazines loaded with fast rounds to his belt.

    He leaned back in his chair, and looked towards the ceiling. "Well... May as well do some basic swordplay drills to kill a little time", he said, as he got up and reached for a pair of wooden practice sword he kept on a rack above his bed. He slipped the practice sword into the sheathes on his belt, and removed his leather vest, tossing it on his bed next to his pack. His chest and back were both covered in battle scars, mostly incurred from training with his fellow test subjects in the facility. Sometimes he was still haunted by flash backs of that place. Mostly when sparring with other people. Monsters were easy. No indication that they had friends, or families, hopes, dreams, or a reason to live. No feeling that obeying the gnawing voice in the back of your head, commanding you to kill was somehow wrong... That it was better to resist the urge, and feel the lash of the tormentors...

    Kill... kill... kill...

    "HYAAAGH!" He unsheathed the practice swords and exploded into a flurry of rapid strikes against the training dummy positioned in the middle of the room.

  12. #12
    Don't mock me! I have a big stick! Final Fantasy Chronicles of Exigo - Brave New World VIII Magi of Worlds's Avatar
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    As night descended over Deling City all of the street lights came on at once. Between these lights and the full moon shining overhead there was a cascade of brilliance illuminating most of the street. Passerby stopped and stared upwards towards the heaven's enjoying the view for it was also a cloudless night as well. Shops, bakeries and bars down the strip were either opening or closing for the night as a rush of people entered and exited. On one side of the street stands a luxurious hotel that is well known for it used to be the home of a famous songstress long ago. The restaurant and bar are still open but this songstress has long gone. Every night there are acts that try to equal or surpass her grace and beauty, but none have come close. Tonight's act happened to be a traveling violinist and pianist duo who were rumored to be married. Exquisite music swam over the dining room and many reveled at the duo's magnificent tune. That is, all except for one table in particular. The fellow at this table did indeed enjoy the music. It was just unfortunate that his mind was preoccupied elsewhere. He was waiting for someone to sit down across from him. Not knowing who the individual was that requested this meeting didn't exactly sit well with the young man either. I say young because for all intents and purposes this man looks to be nearly in his mid twenties. The truth was that this man was a decade older than he looked, with all the experience this entitled to him. He wasn't a normal looking individual to boot. His pale skin was unnatural in this part of the world and shone even brighter under the high powered lights near the stage where he was seated. The large scar above his right eye however was no where near remarked upon as his clothes were. No one in Deling City, let alone Galbadia had seen a genuine ninja's outfit. Not even a uniquely black one. The sword at the man's belt was also a rarity for wakizashi's weren't even heard of in this part of the world. No, this fair man was definetly a foreigner in everyone's eyes in the hotel as well as the city itself.

    Arc Masters was the man's name, or The Shadow as he was usually called. He was a bounty hunter when the age of bounty hunting was starting to become obsolete. Who needed bounty hunters when there were schools that trained soldiers called SeeD's for much cheaper to hire? Instead of questioning why he was being hired, Arc preferred to reflect on the nature of his contractor. He literally knew nothing about the man from the note that he received telling him to go to this particular hotel in this particular city to wait on a representative. The letter wasn't even signed, apart from a single S at the bottom. Suspiciousness was one of the few things that kept Arc alive in this monster infested hell hole called a world, and his suspicious feeling was calibrated at a high ten at this point in time. As he reflected deeply in thought he noticed that the seat had been occupied across from him finally. He had blunk for a second and while it had been empty right before suddenly there was a black hooded figure sitting down afterword. "Are you The Shadow?" a cold voice hissed out from underneath a cowl pulled down low over the face to conceal it. Although the voice appeared very male and human it still sent a shiver down Arc's spine. "Yeah... And who are you?" The man gave no mention as to his name. He just nodded, pulled out an envelope from his robe and dropped it on the table. In another split second he was gone just as quickly as he had arrived. Blinking a few times to make sure he wasn't being played a trick on and that the man was indeed gone Arc finally let his gaze fall on the envelope. He gently picked it up and was surprised to find that it didn't feel as cold to the touch as it's former carrier seemed to be. Opening the envelope he was shocked to see that only another note was contained inside. He unfolded it and began to read.

    Dear Mr. Masters,
    I have a contract I would like you to fulfill if you're interested. You are aware of the strange phenomenon happening involving the lights I assume? The task is quite simple really. I need you to investigate them for me and report back when you have found enough information on them that I deem worthy. Upon your completion of this mission you will be awarded 1,000,000G! To accept all you need to do is stay the night in a prepaid for room. The clerk at the desk is in my employ.
    Signed, S


    Arc's mouth almost hung open at the amount mentioned in the note and he almost dropped it outright, but at the last second he managed to keep his cool. Yes this was a lot of money for such a simple job, but the question of who this mysterious S was still rocked around in the back of his mind. If the man who dropped the envelope was anything to judge by the actual contractor could be quite scummy. Arc was honest and straightforward and hated to work for someone that didn't share those qualities. Sighing Arc stood up and walked over to the bar and sat down. Hiding the note in a side pouch he ordered the strongest whiskey the bartender had and waited for it. He was weighing the pros and cons of taking the job when the drink was set down in front of him. He downed it in one gulp and ordered another. Four shots later he had made up his mind. He paid off his tab and headed for the lobby. It was clear this late at night so he had no trouble getting to the counter. "I believe there is a prepaid room for me?" he asked simply. Smiling the clerk handed him a key and motioned up the steps behind the desk. Heading up the stairs Arc glanced down at the key in his hands. A big 101 was in display in the middle. Finding the corresponding door he unlocked it and headed inside. After closing the door and relocking it behind him Arc chose now to turn on the lights. There wasn't a mysterious figure in the room like he had expected.

    As a matter of fact, there wasn't much in the room period. A single bed with a nightstand and a chair by the window seemed to be all the decoration on display. Heading to the window Arc opened the blinds. Nothing strange outside the window either. He closed the blinds again and turned around back towards the bed. An item was sitting on it that his gaze had missed before. It was a small, black oriental lantern. Attached to it was another piece of paper. Picking the paper up Arc glanced through it.

    I'm glad you chose to accept the job after all! This lantern is a mysterious artifact that summons the Guardian Force, Tonberry King. I know you don't use GF's but it may come in handy. Who knows for sure? Anyway, to start you should probably head to Balamb in the morning and have a talk with Headmaster Squall Leonhart. I hear he's putting together a task force to look into the phenomenon as well. I want that info before he gets it btw! Signed, S.

    Balamb? Squall Leonhart? Damn... I'm in a mess I'd say! These thoughts passed through his mind as he passed out on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

  13. #13
    Memento RK Final Fantasy Chronicles of Exigo - Brave New World VIII Yoko's Avatar
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    The group filed out of the Headmaster’s office and went their own way. Kyra caught up with Koemi.

    “Koemi, I need to clarify something.”

    “Yeah?” she said as they continued walking.

    “You volunteered for this mission, yes? I just… would hate to see history repeat itself…” she trailed off, trying to word this carefully. Her swirling thoughts weren’t helping.

    "History will repeat itself anyway if I do nothing, only with someone else."

    "...That might be true, but that isn't what I was referring to... Your actions remind me of your cousin."

    "What do you mean?"

    "She was always trying to help as many people as she could, often volunteering for missions that might have been too much for us to handle..." Kyra trailed off.

    Koemi stopped and whipped around to face Kyra. "What happened was an accident, that wasn't her fault, don't you dare say it was! The headmaster wouldn't have agreed if it was too dangerous! Now, I'm going to go and pack a few things and then I'm going to get Mr. Steele. I'll see you outside." Koemi stormed off.

    Kyra noticed she completely failed with her wording. “That...isn’t what I meant either…you just remind me of her...”

    Kyra was starting to remember her crazy ideas, and all of the missions they’d accepted because she always wanted some sort of adventure. The circumstances here were much different. Koemi was pulled into something she shouldn’t have been pulled into. Aiko was just… trying to help as many people as she could, and would often take on tasks what seemed too big for the team to handle. They managed… somehow. Except for that last mission. The one that has haunted Kyra since it happened. It wasn’t Aiko’s fault...Kyra blamed herself! It was the reason she didn’t want to return home at all. Maybe she was running, but she found something else. Something she thought was better. Something she had enjoyed for two years, but was snatched away in an instant. Kyra was beginning to see it was a recurring trend. Now that she was back, her memories were slowly returning, reminding her why she started running in the first place.

    Kyra sighed to herself, waving off her spiraling thoughts, and found herself at the front gate. She continued her thoughts as she sat on the steps to wait for the others. If she hadn’t gone to the space station, she wouldn’t have learned about the things she had set out to learn. She wouldn’t have been able to grow herself into the person she had become. Looking back, she was proud of that experience. Spira was an added benefit of that experience as well. Now that she was back, she greatly missed Spira and all it had to offer. Now that she was here, she could use the experiences she’s gained to help Koemi. At least, she hoped she could help her. She’ll definitely have to work on her wording...

    As her mind shifted between Earth and Spira, she realized how much she truly missed that place. The Via Infinito wasn’t the part she missed, it was the people, and the fact it wasn’t here. Everyone she met played an important role in her life over the past two years, and now all of that was gone. Rey and Yui did what they could to understand her situation and helped her get to Besaid. They figured speaking with some of the people there might be able to help her get back home. Eventually she started to think she didn’t want to go back after all. She separated from Rey, even though he was who helped her fix her blade, and spent time in each city, exploring whatever she found interesting at the time. She didn’t typically stay in one place for very long. She took on small jobs here and there to make some gil, but eventually moved on from one city to the next. Eventually she found a place in the Calm Lands where she could study fiends. She felt that was similar to continuing her research on the space station. Eventually, the man grew too ill to carry on the research and he closed his shop. Kyra went in search of something else that could sate her desire for adventure, something she’d got into the habit of doing because of Aiko. It wasn’t too long after that she happened to find a flyer in one of Rin’s Innkeeps about helping one of the former Guardians of the High Summoner being lost in the Via Infinito of Bevelle. It was there that she’s met Nikki, at the time suffering from a blast from a Malboro. The first thing she noticed was her foul mouth, thus not leaving a very good first impression. Kyra learned that she was the leader of their mission, and likely not by choice. She eventually got to know Nikki, and fell for the person she’d discovered underneath her stoic personality. She’d also met Yuki, and Yuubou: the eccentric and energetic twins, Val: a shy but rather skilled gun mage, Cyan: a warrior who wielded a massive sword, Joseph: a samurai, who reminded Kyra of Akio, Mishka: a Guado who wielded a two handed broadsword and a wrist mounted crossbow, and Kane, or later Gideon, who wielded a primitive gunblade, and a suit of armour. The team she’d grown to care for during the time she’d spent with them. That time was cut way too short for her liking due to a very jealous Sanika, who had used Kyra feelings for Nikki against her on multiple occasions. Kyra felt her anger rise again as she remembered Sanika’s smirk just before she sent her away.

    ”Wait, did she not say something before she sent me away?” Kyra thought as she searched her memories.

    “Last time I did wrong, but this time I will not fail! I’ve learnt it requires a connection and a gentle touch to the spell, all I have to do is trigger your memories of home for you to go back!”

    “But if Ellone can’t do that, I need to find someone who can! There has to be a way to get back to Spira.”
    Last edited by Yoko; 02-20-2017 at 05:32 PM. Reason: Added more content to the post

  14. #14


    My name is Damian.” The kid had said, “My name is Damian.”


    Over and over. Just like me, he was suffering from memory loss. Just like me, he had junctioned Ifrit to himself. Just like me, he'd been using the GF a bit too much as of late. I suppose I was lucky. Most of my memories had stayed put. The ones that were off on a wander took place during and after Time Compression. Damian, on the other hand, was starting to forget his friends and family. With those closest to him vanishing from his mind, he was panic-stricken.


    I'd found him hiding from a scavenging band of monsters. Whatever he did before I arrived, it worked and the monsters were leaving. I held back until they were a safe distance away before checking on him. He was repeating the same words even then... except, there were more words back then.


    After I took him along, we would end up finding another stranded SeeD, Yelena, who'd lost some memories through her junction with Doom Train. Of the three of us, she had kept her memories together best, but there were some conflicting accounts between the three of us. Apparently, something else had happened after the headmaster's team returned from Time Compression, but her placement of those events contradicted the ones I recalled. It must have fit together somehow, but we didn't retain enough to make a complete picture.


    But that's what happened.” She had whined, throwing her arms down in her exclamation.


    While Damian was still struggling to keep the precious memories he had left from slipping away, Yelena was much more adamant about what she thought she remembered. At least, she felt it was important to believe them that she would accept no other information. In the end, she was probably just as scared as Damian to lose them. I only tried to see if we could fit enough pieces together to get a sense of direction. Even with three of us, we would wander the barren wasteland devoid of any progress. After losing them, I was still just as lost.


    Oh, right. I did lose those guys.


    “Maybe I should start saying some of that 'my name is Tross' stuff now.” I said to myself, looking up at the sky with a sigh.


    A full party, but I still ended up losing them. I guess it wasn't disappointing to me anymore. I'd lost more since then. I was still trying to find the last two that I'd encountered. Unlike Damian or Yelena, I'd recognised Koemi the second she ran smack into me. She'd confided in me in the past. I didn't really know what she got out of it, but I was happy to listen. As for the other one, well, who could forget her? In spite of Yelena's weird memories, the ones that girl had were on an entirely different level. She even called the planet by a different name.


    “How pitiful. Typical of humans.” Same old Ifrit charm.


    “You know, I'm in this mess thanks to you.” I grumbled back at him.


    “You still live thanks to me.”


    “Don't sound so smug because you've been helping me beat back the monsters. There just happens to be a lot of them and I can't figure out how to get away from here.” I spat, “Would've been nice if I could remember how I got here, but my memories aren't what they used to be.”


    “Don't complain to me about your human feebleness. Or do you hold me responsible for the boy, as well?”


    The boy...


    Damian was getting worse the longer we were stuck out here. By the end of it, he didn't even remember me. After we'd had another run in with some monsters, he had decided to use Ifrit again in fear. It was the last time he'd do so. The strain of the GF cost him the last of his memories and he ran from me after the battle, thinking I was an enemy in confusion. I tried to calm him and explain what had happened, but be it that he was losing his language or that fear had overrun whatever was left of his mind, he kept running. We were in an inhospitable environment. Eventually, you run into the wrong things. And the thing he ran into, not even Ifrit would have saved him, if he even remembered how to use him.


    It took too long. It was taking too long for us to make any progress on finding out where we were and, more importantly, how to get back. The longer we were out here, the worse our chances and that was why it was very important that I find the ones I still could.


    “You had best do so before you humiliate me as the boy did.” Ifrit grumbled again.


    I decided to ignore him. Instead, I thought it was hopeful that I was still remembering what had been happening since I found myself out here. It could mean that my memory loss was slowing or, with any luck, at an end. I should look for draw points. Using magic wouldn't have as much of a detrimental effect as fully summoning Ifrit.


    “Curse the cold. The one housing Shiva must be near.”


    That, I took to heart. Shiva was a Guardian Force that Koemi and I encountered after we found Nichola. I already had Ifrit and Koemi was protected by Quetzalcoatl, but she was seriously injured when we found her and had no GFs junctioned. It was too dangerous to be out here without one even if it meant memory loss. To that end, Koemi suggested we join her with Shiva.


    Hiking up the nearest hill, I looked out into the distance. The only thing nearby that could be used as shelter was a large razed building, still sturdy enough for a temporary stay. However, when I made my way closer to it, I saw that monster again. On the day Koemi and I found Nichola, we were attacked by a wicked creature. It wasn't anything we documented before. There was no information in the bestiary and it didn't seem weak to any element. I guessed it was a weapon class monster, but even for a weapon it was too strong. If I had to describe it in weapon terms I would say the humanoid portion of it was female. It didn't have the same quadruped haunches as typical weapons or the second head that appeared at the torso. In place of these features, it had large collections of hooks that seemed to meld with its hair. It even looked like it had clothing, but even the clothing was a weapon, every edge sharpened and glistening like a razor.


    We were lucky there were other powerful monsters out there. Before the thing got close enough to use any of those nasty looking hooks, another weapon got its attention. As they brawled, we got out of dodge. That gave us a chance to grab Nichola and get the girl to safety.


    Just like that day, I hid from that monster and waited for an opportunity. It didn't look like there were any other monsters around to lure it away or keep it busy so I might have been out of luck. But just as I thought that, it stretched out an arm and then started wandering off like it was trying to catch up with something.


    Once it was gone I snuck through where it had been and got myself to the library. Of course, once I'd gotten that close I realised there was a lot more there than just that one dilapidated building. I also noticed that I'd not be needing to search a single one of them. There was now a makeshift campsite outside of one of them in the far distance. I sighed in relief and took my time to get to it, relaxed now that I had found them. I had to admit Ifrit had been useful on many counts thus far, but I didn't expect his bickering to be the most useful.


    Finally, I reached the camp. Nichola was flat on her back with only her pack to cushion her head. There was a chocobo resting nearby, as well. Did she feel safe out in the open like this? If a monster were to attack, she'd have only the chocobo to warn her of it and little else safeguarding her. And that made another thing immediately clear to me.

    “Is she not with you?” I asked, rousing her.

    “What do you want?”


    Koemi wasn't with her. It was good that I'd found Nichola, at the very least, but Koemi had been gone almost as long. We needed to find her, but I would first need to convince this one to come with me and, as she'd gone back to resting, my task wouldn't be an easy one.

  15. #15
    chocolateer Final Fantasy Chronicles of Exigo - Brave New World VIII 01habbo's Avatar
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    When he didn’t answer right away, I just rolled over ignoring him, I was so tired I just wanted some peace. “Yeah right, like that’s even achievable at this point.” I thought closing my eyes.

    “So are you just going to ignore the boy?” asked Shiva, she rarely talked to me and mostly left me on my own, so why was she deciding to talk to me now?

    “If she isn’t here then we need to go and find her. She said she was going to try and find you.” It seemed like he wasn’t going to give up.

    “Being in a group would be better than on your own.”

    “I don’t need anyone else.”

    “But the girl is on her own, and it is dangerous for her to be on her own. The boy said she was looking for you. Don’t you think you owe her one?”

    Shiva did have a point there, they both did save me from near death.

    “Hey, she’s waking up!”

    “How do you feel?”

    I slowly opened my eyes and let my eyes adjust to the light. I could see two silhouettes through my blurred vision. My head was pounding and I felt very sick. As I sat up my vision cleared. “Was it a dream?” I thought.

    “You’re so lucky, we thought you were-“

    But that’s all I heard from her as the events from the Via Infinito caught up with me. “No, no, no this can’t be happening, no this is some damn sick joke. Maybe Sanika made me see all that. I mean I should have died right? So maybe the others are here.” I thought and with my heart in my mouth I tried to stand, but my legs were so weak they couldn’t hold my weight.

    “Woah there, you’re still weak” said the male voice catching me in their arms, all I could do was look at the floor. “You were struck right through the stomach.” My eyes widened and with tears in my eyes I didn’t want it to be true, I looked up at the two people. My vision had cleared now. The male in a white coat with red straps and black trousers had blue hair and green eyes, His face shape reminded me of Joseph. The male looked older than me whereas the girl looked younger.

    “Hey it’s okay” she said bending down to her level, she took my hands in my own. “It’s all going to be okay I’m Koemi, and that’s Tross.” Koemi has blue eyes, with a rounded face and short black hair, a blue strapless top, and very short black jacket, a red skirt held up by a belt and long black boots.

    As I looked around I noticed I was in a run down room, the bed that I was on wasn’t ideal as it was very hard. There was a window but all I could see was a wasteland. Swallowing a lump in my throat I began to speak. “Where the fuck am I?” I noticed the girl immediately dropped my hands, taken aback, not that I cared. It had now began to sink in that my team were truly dead. That somehow I had survived that last attack.

    “Uhhh… Well we don’t really know.”

    I suddenly felt nausea rise up my throat and I quickly turned, having no time to do anything, threw up the contents of my body onto the floor behind the bed.

    Suddenly there was a hand on my forehead and I was guided to lie down by the both of them. “She’s still hot Tross and white as a sheet, why hasn’t the healing spells worked?”

    “Well they have, her wound is fixed,”

    “I’ll junction Shiva to her, we need her to have a Guardian Force out here anyway.”

    “I agree.”

    “What are you-“ I began to say trying to lift my head, before I knew what was happening Koemi touched my shoulder and I felt magic flow into me, but it was a different kind of magic, certainly not the magic I was used to at home. But I did feel less sick now.

    “Woah, hey, her colour is coming back. Is this how it’s meant to work?”

    “Couldn’t say but Shiva has seemed to have done some good.”

    My mind suddenly clicked, “Guardian Force?”

    “Yes, they protect us, did you forget that? Don’t worry everyone forgets stuff here, I’m sure you will get your memories back.”

    I sat up and looked at the both of them, clinging onto a little bit of hope. “Kyra, do you know a girl called Kyra?” They both looked at each other and then Koemi turned to me to speak.

    “We don’t know anyone.”

    “Or rather we don’t remember.”

    “You see I already told you everyone forgets stuff here, we can hardly remember anything, only a few basic stuff. I mean I remember Tross, but I don’t know how close of a friend I am to him.”

    “Fuck” I thought. “I thought she might have been here at the mention of a “Guardian Force.” But no, why would she be here? She described her home as something completely different, but how did I-"

    “Those bells in your memory they indicate a time compression spell.” said a new voice, I held my head.

    “I must be going crazy there’s a voice in my head” I mumbled.

    “Oh… You really forgot a lot huh?”

    Jeez she might not even know how to use Shiva, this is bad.

    “Shiva?” I didn’t understand I could feel like my anger welling up, I stood up now that my strength had returned. “What the fuck did you exactly do to me?!” The girl Koemi took a step back.

    “Hey there’s no need for that.” Said Tross now standing in between Koemi and me. Koemi laid a hand on Tross’s shoulder.

    “It’s okay Tross, she’s just confused.”

    “You need to calm down, these people just saved your life,” I suddenly then just sat down on the bed and just cried.


    I never did tell them what had happened to me in the Via Infinito all they knew was that a monster attacked me, they didn’t probe for more either. Tross was surprised at how quickly I picked up at casting the spells that I was junctioned with. It was similar to casting spells at home only it felt like I borrowed the power from Shiva, I missed the warming sensation that the magic at home gave me.

    When I could, I decided later on to just leave the both of them, as I could just put their lives in danger. They hadn’t picked up on it but I knew that the Slayer had been following us, and when I split from them I knew it was the right decision since she had been following me.

    “Fine, sit.”

    “Huh?”

    “I’m tired and the chocobo is tired, sit”

    “But that monster is nearby, the one you fought, we should keep moving.”

    “The Slayer won’t move for a while, sit.” I said getting a little more annoyed. I noticed that the chocobo had lifted her head she had probably sensed my anger, she was now looking at Tross. When he didn’t make a move the chocobo began to stand with her wings raised up, she then started to squark at him. “Just sit down.” Tross then did what he was told. I then looked to the chocobo, she had seemed to have relaxed and laid back down.

    “How do you know it won’t move?” I threw a can of food at him, which was caught, he was looking at me, probably wanting more information. To be honest there wasn’t a lot I could tell him or wanted to tell, I tried to distract my mind from Mishka’s fate most of the time. I didn’t really understand how she was here but she had predictable patterns.

    “Even fiends need to rest.”

    “So isn’t this the best time to get some distance?”

    “She always closes the distance.”

    “She?”

    I didn’t answer him and instead laid back down and turned on my side, deciding that getting any sleep was a much better plan.

    The Via Infinito, cold and unforgiving, I watched as my sister tried to use the light within her to free Mishka and put everything right again. To make sure that Paine’s and the twins deaths weren’t for nothing.

    “Emi, your light!” I shouted towards my little sister. I could see that in her tiny frame something was going wrong. The light from the Farplane was distorting, the light she had absorbed was turning purple and jagged.

    “Nikki, get your sister out of there!” Stated Val the brown haired pistol wielder.

    “What are you seeing, Val?”

    “I don't know. The Farplane's light should have kept Via Infinito back, but it isn't!”

    “No, this is what I expected. It is struggling with me, struggling with the Farplane. And it will lose!” Emika explained, I had to believe in my little sister. She would win and then she would find peace in the Farplane.

    “What if we destroy that thing in the middle? Will that help?” Asked Rikku, but as soon as she asked the whole cloister became dark, and I had a terrible feeling. “Emika!”

    “Something's wrong with the Farplane's light! It's being subdued by Via Infinito!” Val’s green eyes showed he was afraid, they all were.

    “How is that even possible?” Gideon gasped. I couldn’t even see what he was thinking he was clad in so much armour

    “We've played the fools.” Joseph suggested, the blue cloaked warrior.

    “This... This isn't the Farplane's light.” Emika struggled to say, I felt awful I could see the 5 year old was in pain, “At least, not all of it. This is only me. This is only what belongs in the Farplane, but without any of its grace.”

    “What?” questioned Rikku

    “But you merged yourself together to draw out the pure Farplane!” I said in desperation how could this plan even fail?

    “I'm sorry.” Was all she said before the light disappeared, I watched in terror, I tried running towards her but some sort of force was stopping me, stopping all of us. Then Emi came out a fully grown woman but coated in magical armour, she had become a puppet of the Via Infinito, her expression motionless.

    The sounds around me dulled as I saw the guado, Mishka scream out in pain as she brought towards Emi in a trance. I watched as she transformed into a monster, covered in spines and jagged hooks. The Slayer.

    The scene changed then to Cyan’s lifeless form her body hanging limp, having been pierced by one of the hooks.

    “Please... you must end it. Kill me.” Looking up I saw that Mishka had spoken, the voice was unrecognizable, it hissed and was raspy. But it was her, it was Mishka, she had stopped fighting and had gained control back.

    “If this doesn’t end, then those illusions might come true, if we die here, those kids…” I looked at Mishka, and looked at the monster she had become, there was no saving her now, there was no going back. My responsibility now was the rest of her team and the safety of Bevelle.

    I raised my bow I was determined Mishka would not die a monster she would die as her, a sense of self, at least I could give her that.

    “Nikki! What are you doing?!” exclaimed Joseph.

    “Mercy.” Was all I said with tears in my eyes I fired a single arrow that went through Mishka’s chest and straight through her heart. Something I believed I was able to do easily because Mishka had lowered the monsters defenses.

    The scene changed again, everyone was dead because of me, I had failed I had let everyone down.

    “I just want to go home.” Cried my sister Emi. The pryeflies came together around her, bathing her in a light. I found myself in a void with her, where time had stood still, “But I know I can’t.” A single tear fell down Emi’s face as she gently smiled at me. “Please! Save my sister.”

    I was struck in the stomach right through. I felt myself being thrown, With little strength I moved my head to find Joseph holding his wound coughing. I was back in the Via Infinito and I was dying.

    “Keep… Fighting… And-“ but that was all I heard from him before he lay still. My own strength fading fast I accepted my fate. Tears rolling down I had failed to protect. Flashes of faces came at me of all the people I cared about.

    “No Sissy!!!”

  16. #16
    Memento RK Final Fantasy Chronicles of Exigo - Brave New World VIII Yoko's Avatar
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    Kyra was lost in thought and didn’t notice the others had gathered already. She gathered her thoughts and put them aside as Swain tapped her on the shoulder. She looked at him and nodded.

    Koemi was the first to speak as they’d started walking toward Balamb. "We're here! So Swain you got Leviathan right? What is she like?"

    Swain nodded, "How did you know?"

    “Quezacotl told me, and Kyra has Diablos. Mr. Steele has none so there was only you.” she answered.

    Swain didn’t respond. It did seem that Quezacotl was rather vocal to Koemi.

    Koemi bounds over to Swain, “Wanna fight?”

    "Not really" he said with disinterest. Koemi pouted at his response.

    "If you're looking for a warm-up, I suppose I could accommodate you." Steele said, accepting her challenge.

    "Oh you don't have to Mr Steele, I don't want to waste your time.” she responded.

    "Is it you, or your guardian force that wants a fight?" Koemi didn’t answer. Kyra sighed. Right, Kyra had pissed her off. She doubted Koemi would talk to her. Kyra did want to explain the misunderstanding sooner than later, but opportunities keep slipping.

    "Anyway... I vote Mr Steele should be our leader" Koemi said, changing the topic quickly.

    "No objections here" said Swain with his hands in his pockets

    "Leader?", he asked with a slight, but noticeable sense of disbelief. He looked towards Kyra, possibly seeking some sort of approval or disapproval. Kyra couldn’t tell.

    "I don't object either, but I can see you're hesitant. Care to share your thoughts, Steele?" Kyra asked. She didn’t know much about him. He seemed strong from his demeanor, and his weapons were modified, lightweight gunblades. If anything it looked like he knew a thing or two about battle.

    "Hm? Oh, it's nothing, just that I haven't been out in the field for several years, the world has likely changed quite a lot since I was last a part of it.", he answered. He closed his eyes, and stroked his beard for a moment. "All right. But I'm going to delegate some responsibilities. Who among you has spent the most time in the outside world lately? I need someone who has a better idea of what's been going on in the world than I do to act as an adviser. I'm about 4 years out of date on politics, foreign relations, scandals involving SeeD, and the like.", he said.

    "Can't help you there, this is my first time going out since I returned and she has been away for two years." said Koemi pointing to Kyra.

    "Uhh, yeah. I'm also not originally from this Garden." Kyra was annoyed the girl answered for her.

    "I do jobs here and there and pick up on a lot of things, I mostly work alone so I'm no good at leading but I can update you." Swain said, offering a bit of insight to what’s been going on here.

    Steele put his palm to his face and sighed. "Well, I guess it's not going to be much of a debate then. The job is yours.", he said, nodding towards Swain.

    As they approached the city, Kyra noticed there were many Galbadian Soldiers on patrol.

    "Why are there Galbadia soldiers here?" Koemi asked.

    Swain responded, "They have been a few disappearances here lately"

    "Oh, wait how? There's no lights nearby here?"

    "There's been one recently spotted nearby, rumors are that Galbadia wants it as a weapon."

    Kyra was surprised, but the others didn’t seem to be. “A weapon?”

    "Not surprising, with that power, most SeeD effectively become powerless. I consider it a very strong possibility that this is a weapon someone has deployed deliberately already." Steele voiced his thoughts.

    “That was what I was thinking too" Swain agreed.

    "So if it's nearby can't we just go and see that light?" Koemi asked.

    "It's heavily guarded with the land being so flat they will spot us a mile away."

    “And the one near Trabia?”

    “It's more difficult to guard with the mountains, and they can't get near either."

    Koemi asked, “So what do we do?

    Steele tilted his head to one side, and put his hand on his chin. "Exactly how heavily guarded are we talking about? Would I be able to push alone and allow the three of you to slip through unnoticed?", he asked.

    "Unlikely they've set up a perimeter around the light, even if you pushed through someone would still notice us."

    "Well... how about we ask the townspeople about the light then? We could found out exactly how many have gone missing." suggested Koemi

    “I would have to agree with that.” Kyra gave her own input. The sound of a direct approach seemed tempting, but since they didn’t know much about the lights, it would be better to see what they were truly up against before going in head first.

    "Great, I was thinking we could split up me and Swain can go that way and ask at the inn, and you guys can go that way towards the docks."

    Steele smirked slightly. "Seems to be about all we can do here if we can't get near the damned thing. I'm fine with those groups if nobody else objects.", he said.

    Kyra watched as Koemi and Swain headed toward the inn. This girl was going to be impossible to talk to if she kept this up.

    "The docks are that way if memory serves correctly. I used to spend some time here on days off, but I haven't been here for quite a while." She said, remembering why she didn't like visiting this city. She began to recognise all of the places Aiko took her. All of the back alleyways and secret pathways to show her the best parts of this city. She pushed the sadness aside to try to find out more about Steele. "You mentioned you haven't been out of date on things for 4 years. That'd be just about the same for me. I spent a while at the space station, and two years away, as Koemi mentioned. Care to share a bit about yourself?"

    He motioned his head in the direction of a bench, as he walked towards it and took a seat.

    "Well, if you've been out that long, I can assume you haven't read my personnel file. None of this is classified, so it's pretty much all there. It pretty well covers the big picture, but it's a little light on detail. First and foremost, my memories don't really go back much further than 4 years. I mean, I guess I still have a few of them, but they feel... fragmented, hollow, I guess would be the best description. Like remembering a book I read a long time ago, rather than something I actually lived through. What memories I still have don't feel entirely real. The raw information is there, but there's no weight to it. No impact.", he said.

    He looked further down the road they traveled, trying to see the dock in the distance. "I couldn't tell you whether the dock is in that direction, yet to the best of my knowledge, I grew up here. Most of what I know about my life back then came out of my personnel file. The one... vivid... memory I have of that life was of my last mission before the facility. It was my first command. I'd just reached Rank 9, barely qualifying to lead a low difficulty mission. And maybe it actually would have been a low difficulty mission if not for the bizarre migration habits of a certain Ruby Dragon. Most of my team were fresh recruits. Never had a chance. I managed to escape with my life, barely. Next thing I remember were a few brief moments of consciousness in the infirmary back at the Garden.", he said, reaching into one of the pockets on his vest and taking out a small stainless steel flask, and taking a small drink from it.

    "Well, as it turns out, I picked an unfathomably shitty time to wind up in the Garden infirmary with near fatal injuries. I don't know if this would have been something you remember or not, but the Garden Master, NORG attempted a coup of the Garden a few years back during that whole mess with Edea. Well, he'd actually been planning it quite a bit earlier than that. Underneath the Garden was a facility he was using to experiment on SeeDs to create an enhanced soldier. As you might imagine, finding willing subjects for human experiments isn't all that easy, so, like any good psychopathic asshat suffering from delusions of grandeur, he settled for unwilling subjects taken from the infirmary when their injuries were bad enough that nobody would be surprised by a declaration of their death. NORG's people faked my death and moved me into this facility where they conducted experiments and performed various surgical procedures in an attempt to create a Super-SeeD. The ultimate goal was to create soldiers that could use magic without GFs or the drawbacks that come with them. For the most part, he accomplished that objective. I don't use the junction system, but I can still draw and utilize magic like anyone who does. Arguably even better.", he said, forming a ball of fire in his hand as a demonstration.


    Kyra was surprised. The ability to use magic without the help with GFs. It no wonder he was chosen for this mission.

    "One of the biggest drawbacks of using a GF is that it affects your memory. So it's ironic that one of the side effects of the regimen of surgical alterations, drugs, therapies, and 'special training' we endured was acute memory loss. Though, somehow I doubt NORG appreciated the irony when his army of super amnesiacs nearly took over the facility in a bout of confusion and rage. Some of us were affected more than others. As best as I can tell, I was one of the lucky ones. Couldn't remember shit, but at least my head was still on straight enough that I wasn't trying to attack everything that moved. When it was all said and done, NORG pulled the plug on the project, put us all out with some kind of sleeping gas to stop the riot, and hauled us off to cryogenic storage. And that's where we come to the 4 year gap in my memory.", he explained.

    “Holy, that's quite the story. That sounds like you've truly been to hell and back. I hadn't heard much of what happened on the surface aside from the rumours. Any news we got was either hit or miss regarding political affairs. We always took any news we got with a grain of salt. That being said, we weren’t told of NORG, or his league of ‘Super-SeeDs’. It also sounds like this was completely separate from Headmaster Cid’s Garden policies. From what I heard, he wouldn’t do anything like that.”

    Kyra paused to look at Steele, “You did mention you grew up here though. Would there be any chance, to your knowledge, that anyone would recognise you?”

    "Well, the whole super soldier army thing didn't really pan out for him. That riot happened when he tried to unleash us, but that whole situation went to shit long before any of us actually left the facility, it wasn't until much later he actually started his coup, and he did it without us, since he never actually found a solution to the problems we had. So the facility and the experiments never really became news. Squall and his crew ended up putting NORG down and stopping his coup. During their fight, NORG tried to turn us loose as a last resort, but he couldn't make it happen quick enough. I'm the only one that actually got out. Another reason this never really became news. But yeah, this was all done in secret, Cid had no idea what NORG was up to with the facility, or that he was planning on taking over the Garden.", he explained further.

    "Hmm... Well, while I suppose it's possible I could be recognized, I'd say it's pretty unlikely. According to my files, I was only about 9 when my family moved out of this town.", he answered. "Even if anyone here knew who I was, they probably wouldn't recognize me now.", he finished.

    “Interesting. That’s one less thing for us to worry about, I suppose. I would also assume you look much different now than you did then. Shall we get going? I can explain my story along the way.”. Kyra almost worried she sounded insensitive. The fact was she didn’t know what to say. She’d been away from this side of the world for too long to realise other crazy things happened in the meanwhile. She didn’t know how to react.

    "Right. Let's move.", he said.

    Kyra lead the way to where she thought was the docks, according to her memory. Not that she’d lost it, she just wasn’t paying attention whenever Aiko brought them here. She brushed the memory aside again as she spoke about her past.

    “I’m not sure if they keep a file for me at Garden. I wasn’t a student there. I was enrolled into Galbadia Garden at a young age. Their military type training was intense, but it just wasn’t my thing. I stuck with it, and kept up with their standards as best as I could. Didn’t enjoy it, though. I was approached by the headmaster shortly after I turned 16. He’d offered a secret position to train as a White SeeD. At the time, I only hoped for a break from the militaristic lifestyle. It was an interesting time of my life. I enjoyed it, up until my last mission. We were investigating one of the forests around Esthar when we were suddenly attacked by a wild Behemoth. I got away with a massive scar on my back, but my partner...wasn’t so lucky. I had left the White SeeDs shortly after, and had dedicated myself to research. Monster research specifically. I didn’t want to be caught off guard by a Behemoth, or any other monster like that ever again. I was eventually accepted into the Space Research team to study and monitor the Lunar Cry. Since news was so few and far between, we’d only just heard about Galbadia’s plans with the Lunatic Pandora many weeks after it was already set in motion. Before we knew it, Squall and his crew were already on board the Lunar Base trying to bring Rinoa out of a coma. By that point, the Lunar Cry was dangerously close to starting. We didn’t have much time to act. We all had to scatter to the evacuation pods quickly. I took one of the last available, and in a panic, forgot to set the coordinates. I drifted in space until they initiated Time Compression. To the best of my knowledge, I was meant to go to where Squall and his team went, according to Ellone since I was able to connect with her before it started. That wasn’t the case. I ended up in a place called Spira, and didn’t have any way to get back.” she explained.

    "A Behemoth...", he mumbled and seemed to be in the midst of a thought, then responded, "Dangerous foes, if you're not familiar with how they move. They used to throw them in an arena with us for 'training' at the facility. More than a few candidates fell before them.", he said.

    His training sounded much more intense than anything she’d ever gone through.

    "You said this place was called Spira?", he asked. Kyra nodded. "I can't say I've heard of it... but it can be reached through Time Compression? That... has some interesting implications.", he said without elaborating further.

    “From what I’ve gathered so far, no one here has heard of Spira. Ellone’s been looking into it, and there doesn’t seem to be any books on it in the Balamb Library. I plan to search on my own….” Kyra said. She looked up to see someone running toward them. The person was wearing a blue Galbadian Soldier uniform.

    “-yraaaaaaaa!”

    “Uh.” Kyra said as the person got closer to them. “Do I recognise that voice?” she thought while trying to search her memory. She didn;t have much time to think as the soldier got close very quickly.

    “Kyrrrrra!” The female voice yelled as she tackle hugged Kyra to the ground.

    Kyra wasn’t expecting this. “Ow, ugh. Yes, I’m Kyr-”

    “You’re alive! We all thought you were dead after the Space Station incident. You’re okay!”

    “Lieutenant Katarina Bixel! Get back here. Don’t tackle civilians!” said the red uniformed Officer.

    The soldier got up and dusted herself off. She held out her hand to help Kyra up. “Sorry about that.” She said. She removed her helmet to show her face. “You were reported missing, presumed dead after the Lunar Cry. I can’t believe you’re still alive.”

    Katarina Bixel, an old roommate of Kyra’s from Galbadian Garden. She’s one of the last people who Kyra thought would move forward with actually joining the Army. Her high energy was hard to manage even when she was younger.

    “Ah, yeah. It’s a long story.” Kyra said.

    “Lieutenant, this is your last warning. Get back here or you’ll get demoted.”

    She put her helmet back on and turned to acknowledge her officer, “Yes, sir!” before she left, she said to Kyra, “Meet me over at the docks in 5 minutes.”

    Kyra turned to Steele, “That was someone I knew from Galbadian Garden. She was my roommate back then. Looks like she continued and made it into the Army….”

    They made their way to the dock to find the energetic soldier. If Kyra was honest, she couldn’t tell who was who. There was so many soldiers around here.

    “Pssst, over here.”

    Kyra looked to find her hidden behind some crates.

    “Kat, what are you doing? Aren’t you meant to be on guard like the rest of them?”

    “Guard? Have you seen how many are out there? They’re fine. I saw you and couldn’t believe it! You’re here! What happened to you?” She said while she grabbed her shoulders.

    “It’s a long story, and I probably don’t have time to tell you everything now. I’m on a mission from Garden to gather information about the lights. Do you know anything about them?”

    “Well, you’re going to have to tell me about it sometime, you hear?” Katarina said. Kyra got that her friend was concerned, but thought it was best to keep it quiet for now. Who knows what could happen if she told the army… “Balamb’s investigating? A little slow to act if you ask me. I guess they would their students have gone missing, too. I don’t know much. Only been able to guard the one here once. They’re weird, and sort of just float in a weird pattern. They’re uhh, iridescent? Changing colours depending on how you look at it. Sort of mesmerizing and beautiful. And it hums! Like a peaceful hummmm. I almost fell asleep watching it. Weird eh?”

    Kyra thought for a moment. She remembered something close to that from Spira. It doesn’t make any sense though. They wouldn’t be here. It had to be something else. “Yeah, it does seem weird.”

    “Oh! I have a picture! I took one when no one was looking. Here!”

    Kyra examined the photo. It was too close to see any detail of what she was talking about. It was mostly white with a small bit of colour on the edges. “It looks like...just a light….” Kyra commented.

    “I know the photo is terrible. You can keep it. Look, I don’t think I’ll stay in the army much longer. Their missions are the worst! I feel like I get stuck doing all of the dirty work, you know? I’m only here because father won’t let me leave.” she sighed.

    “Bixel! There you are! I’m docking your pay again this month!”

    “Shit, gotta go! Catch you later!”

    Kyra remembered she was only there because her father was a high ranking officer. She watched as her friend left, and got a scolding from the Red uniformed officer. She felt bad for her.

    Kyra looked at Steele and shrugged. “It looks like this is the best information we’ll get. Let’s go back to the Inn to see what Koemi and Swain found.”
    Last edited by Yoko; 07-03-2017 at 07:13 PM.

  17. #17
    The Mad God Final Fantasy Chronicles of Exigo - Brave New World VIII Heartless Angel's Avatar
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    She sat before a small fire, gazing across the vast reaches of this place, a desolate realm that seemed to stretch on in all directions without end. This place seemed totally unfamiliar to her... or did it? It was becoming difficult to tell. Her memory was in ruins, yet a part of her felt that that was for the best, a vague intuition that she was better off this way. One might expect that being alone in such a place without even the comfort of memories of better times would break a person, but she wasn't alone. She was never truly alone. Nested in the darkest regions of her heart was something... difficult to explain. She didn't even fully understand it herself. It was more presence than person, yet she felt as though it was a friend, perhaps even more than a friend. It's nature was clearly dark, yet somehow it also filled her with a sort of guiding light. It's voice was powerful, and cold, yet somehow gentle and warming. She was cautious of this place, her situation, her fragmented memory, but the one thing she was certain she could rely upon was the presence.

    "Eat. You need to keep your strength up to survive in this place",
    the voice thundered from within her mind.

    She looked towards the blade embedded into the barren earth, skewering a thick cut of meat as it roasted over the crackling flame. The carved remains of a chimera laid lifeless on the ground nearby. It was the only beast she had encountered that her companion had deemed fit for human consumption, and it was worlds better than the nutritionally bankrupt food she'd been finding in the ruins.

    "With no ice magic available, you won't be able to preserve any of that, so eat whatever you can now, it's hard to say when you'll be able to draw another of these away like this to fight it alone."
    , it said.

    "Okay..."
    , she answered in a dull monotone voice, as she pulled the sword from the ground, and sat down to eat as much as she could. The meat was tough and fatty, and the flavor left much to be desired, or at least it would have if she could recall what anything else tasted like. Regardless, it would keep her in fighting condition, which in this place, was all that really mattered.

    You might expect that someone in this situation would be trying to figure out how they had gotten here, or how to get back, but that would be rooted in the assumption that they knew they had come from somewhere, or that they had somewhere to go. Such thoughts hadn't even occurred to her with her memories in their current state. As far as she knew, there was nowhere else, and nothing else here. From her perspective, this wasteland was all there had ever been, and that she, her companion, and the beasts were the only ones who were ever here.

    "Zodiark... Who am I?"
    , she asked.

    It gave no answer, it only filled her with a warm sensation, perhaps it didn't know how to answer her question, or perhaps it simply thought it best not to.

    She smiled, and laid down on the bedroll she had scavenged from one of the buildings. It was tattered and worn, the decaying fibers were rough on her delicate skin. She took a deep breath in through her nose, and it smelled vaguely of mildew, but somehow, this was familiar. She laid on her back, looking up at the sky. She couldn't be entirely sure what, yet she expected to see something there, but whatever it was, she didn't. Though she had no memory of right for comparison, somehow she knew this place was wrong.
    Last edited by Heartless Angel; 08-02-2018 at 08:22 PM.

  18. #18

    Rinoa!”



    Times have certainly changed. Galbadia wasn't causing us problems anymore. The big ordeals seemed to be behind us.



    “But.”


    What were these lights? Why was the Junction System failing us? In the end, even after all the peace we'd seen since that day, I couldn't help but to think that it isn't over. We defeated Ultimecia in the distant future. Was that future still there? It wasn't as if we'd made any changes to the present. There was every chance Ultimecia was still waiting to be born into that future.


    “Flowers.” I mumbled to myself, lifting up the picture on my desk of the gang at the orphanage.



    Rinoa found me there after I was brought out of Time Compression. I still wasn't sure how I made it out that day. After we won, I was separated from everyone. I'm not even sure for how long and why I was sent to the orphanage, though it was fortunate. It was exactly where I'd promised to find her if we'd gotten lost. I don't remember a dreary day in that place since. Even those yellow flowers were still blooming. It was definitely not the orphanage where I grew up. I want to keep it that way.



    I found myself walking, more like wandering, and so absent-mindedly that I hadn't figured out where I had gone until I saw the view. Same venue. Same balcony. Only this time, what was the reason for me being here? Applause resounded behind me. There was a ball again tonight, a party just like we had had then.



    “I'm a little young for nostalgia, right?” I asked, scolding myself for losing my way.



    Taking one last look at the SeeD cadets enjoying themselves and then out at the night sky, I got my head back on straight and made my way back to my quarters. I had a meeting tomorrow that would get to the bottom of the lights with any luck.



    Early the next day I decided to gather my thoughts in the library. There was a sizable section devoted to the garden's researchers. Though no formal study had ever been done yet on the lights – they hadn't been present for long enough – I didn't have any answers at all. If there was even a chance of some information relevant to the current situation, it might help the team I was setting up.




    A couple of hours passed and I gave a sigh, “If only I had any mind for this stuff.”



    The data was technical and beyond my level of comprehension. I had been adept at field work not analysis. Not much of a headmaster if you ask me, but Balamb had put its faith in me. I needed to honour that.



    “You look tired.” A friendly voice said to me, “Are you getting enough rest?”




    “After Ultimecia I feel like I've only been at rest.” I lied, “It's been quiet lately. How've you been, Ellone?”



    The petite girl brushed away some of her short black hair, tucking it behind her ear. After the pleasantries, I decided any resource was too valuable to pass up, even if it did feel like exploiting a friend.



    “You have a sort of power, right Ellone? We've had a few recent occurrences.” I told her, trying to be as delicate with my words as I could.



    “Squall, you know I've made my peace with it, don't you?” She said with a frown.



    Shaking my head of my idiocy, I replied, “Sorry. My head's been somewhere and I can't seem to get it back on right.”



    “So you've gotten enough rest, have you?”



    “I'll be honest. I can't shake the feeling that Ultimecia is still out there.”



    Her brows furrowed from that one, as she asked, “Why do you think that? Do you believe she survived?”



    “No, not that. Ultimecia came from the future. I don't think we've done much of anything to affect that future. What if she's still out there, waiting to be born?”



    “Squall, you're scaring me. What's this about?”



    I pulled a video sample I had and showed her one instance of the lights. I would end up disappointed by her reaction to it. She focused on them, but her gaze was one of intrigue meaning she'd never seen anything like it before.



    “What are these things?” She asked once the video ended.



    “We aren't sure. All we know is that something is affecting the Junction System and these lights might have something to do with it. If that ends up true, we need to find out how to stop it. There are SeeD getting lost out in the field and some who are coming home injured.” I told her.



    “That's awful.” She uttered, but after a pause she began thinking about something and added, “But it isn't the only weird thing to happen.”



    “Oh?”



    “Kyra's back. Kyra Odinhart, the former White SeeD.”



    I'd heard the name. She used to be a White SeeD until she requested a leave in order to dabble in research on monsters. The last I knew she'd been on the space station near the Lunar Base when Ultimecia unleashed the Lunatic Pandora.



    “I tried to call her back home, but this was around the time we'd set in motion the plan to defeat Ultimecia.”



    “She was caught in Time Compression.”



    “Yes, and she was sent far away. Even I don't know exactly where she'd gone.” She explained, “But miraculously she was brought back here.”



    “You think she might know something about this?”



    “It's not my place to say. I'm not sure but I feel she was happy wherever she was. To have been pulled back here, it might have even been against her will.”



    “I understand. I'll be careful with my words.” I assured her, “Just if you see her first, let me know.”



    With a smile and a nod, she waved me off. If Kyra could provide any information, I'd want her on the team I was getting together. It wouldn't be too long before Ellone made contact. Surprising, but apparently Kyra was the one to seek her out.



    Heading to my desk, I made a call to someone I'd already notified about the team, “Kita, my office.”



    Swain Kita, one of two specialists I included in the team. The other had taken a bit more time to track down, but he'd be arriving soon, as well. As the only available member, I decided to have him bring Kyra. It wouldn't be long before things were in motion.



    “-Gotta make myself useful somehow.” I heard Kita say as my door opened.

    Kyra was with him so I set down the report I was reading to greet her. “Kyra Odinhart. I thought you had disappeared”

    "I did. I was 'teleported' back yesterday." Teleported...

    “Can you tell me what happened?”

    She took a moment, probably to organise the details, then recounted that, "I was on the space station on an assignment to research the monsters on the moon, until there was an order to evacuate. I took an escape pod and entered the wrong coordinates by mistake. Then I heard from Ellone after a while of drifting. She mentioned time compression, and told me to think of Home. So I did, but didn't end up home at all. I woke up in a place called Spira. I spent the last two years until a psychic sent me back here."


    If I hadn't fought a sorceress from the future who'd pulled a Guardian Force from the idea of a strong one I had in my mind, I doubt I'd have an easy time believing her wild tale. The events did line up and it did match what Ellone had told me. Shortly after the Lunatic Pandora we'd come up with our plan for defeating Ultimecia through her Time Compression schemes. Still, this other world, this Spira, there was no telling if it was just some fantasy. In all likelihood, she'd been caught up in Time Compression and suffered to a greater extent than we did in all the chaos. However, she was still the only one with different information. If there was even a chance of it leading to some answers about the current situation, I had to give her the benefit of the doubt.

    “Go on. What is Spira and what is a psychic?” I prodded.

    "I'm not sure exactly what a psychic is. The only way I can explain it was much like a sorceress. You have experience with Edea, yes? As for Spira, I feel like I still had more to learn, but I felt it was a primitive form of this world. I don't know how or even if they are connected. Ellone can't connect to Spira at all it seems."



    So that's why she went to see Ellone. Psychics. I couldn't rely on unverifiable information like this. I still needed her on board, but I couldn't let it be at my behest. I'd need to tug at her strings.

    “Interesting I wonder if it is connected to those lights.” I mumbled, pretending to be pondering her story.

    "I'd like to join your mission to find that our, sir." Hook, line, and sinker. Good.

    To cover all my bases, I added, “Are you sure?”

    "I made a promise to a friend to join this mission with Koemi. I am sure." Clever response.

    “I believe that is a wise choice.” I replied her, deciding to play another card, “Koemi barely passed her seed exam and she just got back. I'm worried about how much control she has over her Guardian Force.”



    "If she’s so new to being SeeD, why was she put on this mission?”



    If I was still just a SeeD, I'd feel for her. However, being headmaster now made me responsible for the garden and that meant making a few decidedly underhanded moves. She argued with me, lending evidence toward her volatility if it was ever discovered that her Spira and psychic story didn't pan out. I tried to mitigate what I was doing. At least some of what I would tell her was straightforward. Koemi, much like her, had recent experiences that, while incredible, could provide us with the answers we needed.



    Kyra seemed to want to continue her argument, but I was saved by the opening of my door once more, “Ah, William Steele, Koemi Akiyama. This is Kyra Odinhart and Swain Kita, they will be joining you on your mission.”

    In spite of her desire to continue, she relented and turned her attention to my other specialist, "Should be nice to see those in action as well, Nice to meet you."



    “Wait, you’re coming on the mission too Mr Steele?!”



    Koemi's youthful demeanor reminded me of Selphie. I had to admit it wasn't a comfortable decision to allow her onto this assignment. If I could have avoided it I would have, but her first hand experience might be important in the field. She might recognise something out there. Either as a warning for the others or the ability to gleam additional details if it were to happen again, having her there would be useful.

    Steele explained his skill set to Koemi before I explained the team's assignment in full, “To the mission at hand, I want you to investigate the lights near Trabia Garden, Specifically where Koemi was found a few months ago. But also along the way I want you to gather intel in the towns, find out if anyone else has gone missing or if anyone else has returned after going missing.”

    “We’re going to find Tross and the others?” Koemi expectedly asked.

    I shook my head, “No, it’s too dangerous for a full on search party. Your objective is to gather information on the lights nothing more.”



    "Should we discover that this is some sort of weapon, or monster, are we just to report back, or should we attempt to neutralize the threat?" Steele asked.

    “For now report back. Then we can decide what to do once we get enough information.” I replied before turning back to Koemi, “Koemi has your Guardian Force told you anything about the lights.”

    “No sir, he refuses to tell me anything.” She said dejected, “He says that I have to remember on my own.”

    “Well keep on trying, and anything you do remember report back to me.”

    “Yes sir,”



    “So, when do we leave?” Steele cut back in.

    “As soon as possible.”


    Once they left, I went over the new developments I'd heard. Spira, psychics, and for whatever reason Koemi's GF won't speak of what had befallen her. What did all of this mean? What if-


    “Wow, it is exciting out there!” I was roused from my thoughts as I saw her enter my office, shutting the door quickly to keep the ruckus I heard on the other side out.


    “You certainly do attract a crowd.” I said, standing up and making my way to her.


    “Do you think so?” She pondered, giving me that warm smile of hers.


    Things had been set in motion. I suppose I needed to be patient if I was to expect results.

  19. #19
    The Mad God Final Fantasy Chronicles of Exigo - Brave New World VIII Heartless Angel's Avatar
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    William sat on the floor with his back against the wall of his bedroom, a pair of splintered wooden swords, and the mangled head of the training dummy beside him. He was breathing heavily from the exertion of his sword drills, and his upper body was dripping with sweat. "Damn... Think maybe I overdid it a little", he said, looking at the damage sustained by both the dummy and his practice swords. He quickly toweled himself off, and began sweeping the wood splinters into a dustpan. "I really ought to start ordering these in bulk at the rate I go through them", he mumbled. His eyes shifted towards the clock in his room, and he was surprised at how much time had passed already. "Oh, damnit, I'm going to be late if I take the time to clean this up properly... Well, I guess it'll all still be here when I get back", he said, as he grabbed his vest and equipment. As he put on his gear, he accidentally knocked a photograph off of his desk, shattering the glass when it landed. "Oh, shit... well, one more thing to sweep up when I get back", he said, kneeling down to pick the frame up. He looked at the photograph before putting it back in its place, and something caught his eye that he hadn't noticed before. In the picture, he was wearing a necklace. He recognized it as being significant to him, yet he couldn't remember where it had come from. In the photograph, he was standing next to Alara, the first person who recognized him when he had escaped the facility. Up until now, he had assumed they were simply teammates, but looking more closely at this picture, he had the vague impression that she had given him that necklace. He was beginning to wonder if they had been more than comrades. "Fuck, what am I doing? I need to leave. I don't have time for this right now", he said, as he left the room, turning off the lights, and locking the door behind him.

    Some time later, he had, at last, joined up with his team, and they set out. Koemi was the first to speak as they’d started walking toward Balamb, asking Swain about his GF. Evidently, he carried Leviathan, Kyra held Diablos, and Koemi had junctioned Quezacotl. William was sure that at one point he, too, had utilized a Guardian Force, but he had no recollection of it. No memory of what it was like to house another entity inside of his mind. Thinking about it now seemed totally bizarre, yet at one point he was sure he'd been as indifferent to the idea as any of the rest of them. His attention was drawn back towards his team when Koemi challenged Swain to a fight, though Swain declined. Koemi's expression soured at the response. William thought that perhaps this would be a good opportunity to test out his team.

    "If you're looking for a warm-up, I suppose I could accommodate you." Steele said, accepting her challenge.

    "Oh you don't have to Mr Steele, I don't want to waste your time.” she responded. Steele was somewhat surprised, she had challenged Swain without a second thought, yet she seemed almost afraid to test herself against him. He'd noticed a similar fear in a lot of people since his return from the facility. Almost nobody was willing to spar with him, and against monsters, most of his training partners seemed to be primarily focused on staying out of his way.

    "Is it you, or your guardian force that wants a fight?", Kyra asked, returning Steele's attention to the present. An interesting thought, a Guardian Force trying to get its host to fight. Did GFs enjoy combat, or was it simply trying to help the girl get some combat experience? The very nature of a Guardian Force was difficult to understand, let alone its motivations.

    "Anyway... I vote Mr Steele should be our leader" Koemi said, changing the topic quickly. It seemed she was trying to ignore Kyra for some reason. He hoped that whatever was going on between them wouldn't conflict with the mission.

    "No objections here" said Swain with his hands in his pockets

    He had only just noticed the new topic of conversation. "Leader?", he asked with a slight, but noticeable sense of disbelief. "Who in their right mind would choose a man who had 'died' along with the rest of his squad on the last mission he had lead?", he thought, though his doubt was quickly displaced by thoughts of the alternatives. "Hmm... I don't know much about this Swain, but he seems a little too passive. Koemi seems a bit too... green. Only Odinhart is really a viable alternative.", he thought. He looked towards Kyra, hoping to see some sense of disapproval.

    "I don't object either, but I can see you're hesitant. Care to share your thoughts, Steele?" Kyra asked.

    "She doesn't have a problem with me leading? If my record doesn't concern her, then I have to assume she isn't that interested one way or the other... ergo not a viable alternative. Damn... Guess it has to be me.", he thought, quickly erasing any evidence of doubt from his face. "Hm? Oh, it's nothing, just that I haven't been out in the field for several years, the world has likely changed quite a lot since I was last a part of it.", he answered. He closed his eyes, and stroked his beard for a moment, trying to think of a way to at least distance himself from leadership. "All right. But I'm going to delegate some responsibilities. Who among you has spent the most time in the outside world lately? I need someone who has a better idea of what's been going on in the world than I do to act as an adviser. I'm about 4 years out of date on politics, foreign relations, scandals involving SeeD, and the like.", he said. Though focused on concealing it, he wasn't pleased. It wasn't that he was afraid of losing another squad, on the contrary, after his transformation in Norg's facility, he could take on the mission that wiped out his squad single-handedly; he had never been more fit to protect a team then he was right now. He just didn't like being responsible for the well being of others. He didn't like people looking to him for answers, as if he somehow knew better than they did just because he was the best at killing things.

    "Can't help you there, this is my first time going out since I returned and she has been away for two years." said Koemi pointing to Kyra.

    "Uhh, yeah. I'm also not originally from this Garden." Kyra seemed annoyed that Koemi had pointed out the facts that disqualified her.

    "I do jobs here and there and pick up on a lot of things, I mostly work alone so I'm no good at leading but I can update you." Swain said, offering the only qualifications of note among them.

    Steele put his palm to his face and sighed. "Well, I guess it's not going to be much of a debate then. The job is yours.", he said, nodding towards Swain. "Damnit, Leonhart... my first mission since I was put under all those years ago, and you send me with two people as clueless as I am... Did you just send this kid to be our tour guide, or did you not think this squad through at all?" he thought to himself.

    Eventually they reached the city, but it was crawling with Galbadian soldiers.

    "Why are there Galbadia soldiers here?" Koemi asked.

    Swain responded, informing Koemi of disappearances in the area. Koemi questioned the cause, given the lack of any of the lights in the area. Swain, however; corrected her, informing the group that one had recently been spotted, and shared a rumor that Galbadia was looking into its utility as a weapon, echoing William's own concerns. Kyra seemed surprised by the suggestion. "Not surprising, with that power, most SeeD effectively become powerless. I consider it a very strong possibility that this is a weapon someone has deployed deliberately already." Steele said, agreeing with the rumor, as did Swain. Koemi suggested that the team investigate, which at first thought did seem to be a good start, but as Swain was quick to point out, the Galbadians complicated matters. The two discussed the other known appearance in Trabia, but given the distance, it wasn't really an option right now either.

    Koemi looked to Steele and asked, “So what do we do"?

    Steele hated it when people looked to him for answers, but he'd been chosen to lead whether he liked it or not, the decision had to be his. He tilted his head to one side, and put his hand on his chin, considering the possibility of a direct assault to get past the Galbadians, but if one of the lights was there, his team could lose their connections to their GFs in the middle of combat, placing them all in a dangerous situation. For now at least, he thought, if there was fighting to be done, it should probably be left to him. "Exactly how heavily guarded are we talking about? Would I be able to push alone and allow the three of you to slip through unnoticed?", he asked.

    "Unlikely they've set up a perimeter around the light, even if you pushed through someone would still notice us."

    He sighed. "Naturally. It would be far too simple if I could just kill something and call it a day.", he thought. Koemi the suggested that the team split up and ask around town for any information about the lights from those who might have witnessed it before the Galbadians showed up. Kyra agreed, Steele hoped this meant that whatever was going on with them was temporary, and that at some point they'd be able to work together effectively. Koemi then promptly dashed his hopes, suggesting that he pair up with Kyra, while she went with Swain. Steele hoped that getting away from Kyra for a while hadn't been her plan all along. Still, his subordinates were willing too offer their own ideas, and seemed to be okay without his direction, perhaps leading this unit wouldn't be as much of a pain as he had imagined, he smirked slightly at the thought. "Seems to be about all we can do here if we can't get near the damned thing. I'm fine with those groups if nobody else objects.", he said. Soon after, the group had split up, as suggested, and he and Kyra made their way towards the docks.

    "The docks are that way if memory serves correctly. I used to spend some time here on days off, but I haven't been here for quite a while." She said. Steele felt like he should know, but his memories of this town were as much in ruins as the rest.

    "You mentioned you have been out of date on things for 4 years. That'd be just about the same for me. I spent a while at the space station, and two years away, as Koemi mentioned. Care to share a bit about yourself?", she asked, seemingly trying to learn a bit more about him. He couldn't really blame her, most people were probably curious about what he had been through. He motioned his head in the direction of a bench, as he walked towards it and took a seat.

    "Well, if you've been out that long, I can assume you haven't read my personnel file. None of this is classified, so it's pretty much all there. It pretty well covers the big picture, but it's a little light on detail. First and foremost, my memories don't really go back much further than 4 years. I mean, I guess I still have a few of them, but they feel... fragmented, hollow, I guess would be the best description. Like remembering a book I read a long time ago, rather than something I actually lived through. What memories I still have don't feel entirely real. The raw information is there, but there's no weight to it. No impact.", he said.

    He looked further down the road they traveled, trying to see the dock in the distance. "I couldn't tell you whether the dock is in that direction, yet to the best of my knowledge, I grew up here. Most of what I know about my life back then came out of my personnel file. The one... vivid... memory I have of that life was of my last mission before the facility. It was my first command. I'd just reached Rank 9, barely qualifying to lead a low difficulty mission. And maybe it actually would have been a low difficulty mission if not for the bizarre migration habits of a certain Ruby Dragon. Most of my team were fresh recruits. Never had a chance. I managed to escape with my life, barely. Next thing I remember were a few brief moments of consciousness in the infirmary back at the Garden.", he said, reaching into one of the pockets on his vest and taking out a small stainless steel flask, and taking a small drink from it. The flask was filled with single malt Winhill whisky. He found that alcohol helped with the flashbacks, so he could retain his composure when talking about that place. he swallowed the potent liquid, and exhaled, the taste of peat and smoke on his breath.

    "Well, as it turns out, I picked an unfathomably shitty time to wind up in the Garden infirmary with near fatal injuries. I don't know if this would have been something you remember or not, but the Garden Master, NORG attempted a coup of the Garden a few years back during that whole mess with Edea. Well, he'd actually been planning it quite a bit earlier than that. Underneath the Garden was a facility he was using to experiment on SeeDs to create an enhanced soldier. As you might imagine, finding willing subjects for human experiments isn't all that easy, so, like any good psychopathic asshat suffering from delusions of grandeur, he settled for unwilling subjects taken from the infirmary when their injuries were bad enough that nobody would be surprised by a declaration of their death. NORG's people faked my death and moved me into this facility where they conducted experiments and performed various surgical procedures in an attempt to create a Super-SeeD. The ultimate goal was to create soldiers that could use magic without GFs or the drawbacks that come with them. For the most part, he accomplished that objective. I don't use the junction system, but I can still draw and utilize magic like anyone who does. Arguably even better.", he said, forming a ball of fire in his hand as a demonstration.

    Kyra seemed surprised. Steele expected as much. Humans weren't supposed to be able to use magic on their own. Only a sorceress was meant to have that power.

    "One of the biggest drawbacks of using a GF is that it affects your memory. So it's ironic that one of the side effects of the regimen of surgical alterations, drugs, therapies, and 'special training' we endured was acute memory loss. Though, somehow I doubt NORG appreciated the irony when his army of super amnesiacs nearly took over the facility in a bout of confusion and rage. Some of us were affected more than others. As best as I can tell, I was one of the lucky ones. Couldn't remember shit, but at least my head was still on straight enough that I wasn't trying to attack everything that moved. When it was all said and done, NORG pulled the plug on the project, put us all out with some kind of sleeping gas to stop the riot, and hauled us off to cryogenic storage. And that's where we come to the 4 year gap in my memory.", he explained.

    “Holy, that's quite the story. That sounds like you've truly been to hell and back. I hadn't heard much of what happened on the surface aside from the rumours. Any news we got was either hit or miss regarding political affairs. We always took any news we got with a grain of salt. That being said, we weren’t told of NORG, or his league of ‘Super-SeeDs’. It also sounds like this was completely separate from Headmaster Cid’s Garden policies. From what I heard, he wouldn’t do anything like that.”

    "Well, the whole super soldier army thing didn't really pan out for him. That riot happened when he tried to unleash us, but that whole situation went to shit long before any of us actually left the facility, it wasn't until much later he actually started his coup, and he did it without us, since he never actually found a solution to the problems we had. So the facility and the experiments never really became news. Squall and his crew ended up putting NORG down and stopping his coup. During their fight, NORG tried to turn us loose as a last resort, but he couldn't make it happen quick enough. I'm the only one that actually got out. Another reason this never really became news. But yeah, this was all done in secret, Cid had no idea what NORG was up to with the facility, or that he was planning on taking over the Garden.", he explained further.

    Kyra paused to look at Steele, “You did mention you grew up here though. Would there be any chance, to your knowledge, that anyone would recognise you?”

    Steele thought hard, trying to remember if he had any friends here when he was young, any family, neighbors, anyone that might be able to recognize him, but nothing came to mind. He thought back to his personnel files. If he remembered correctly, he had read that his family had moved away when he was around 9. If that was the last time he'd been here, even if there were people here that knew of him, they almost certainly wouldn't recognize him now as an adult. "Hmm... Well, while I suppose it's possible I could be recognized, I'd say it's pretty unlikely. According to my files, I was only about 9 when my family moved out of this town.", he answered. "Even if anyone here knew who I was, they probably wouldn't recognize me now.", he finished.

    “Interesting. That’s one less thing for us to worry about, I suppose. I would also assume you look much different now than you did then. Shall we get going? I can explain my story along the way”. Kyra seemed to be in a state of minor shock. Most people, William assumed, would be quite a bit more shaken after hearing tales of abductions and human experiments within the organization that employed them. It was either shock, or that Kyra had seen her fair share of the unbelievable herself.

    "Right. Let's move.", he said.

    “I’m not sure if they keep a file for me at Garden. I wasn’t a student there. I was enrolled into Galbadia Garden at a young age. Their military type training was intense, but it just wasn’t my thing. I stuck with it, and kept up with their standards as best as I could. Didn’t enjoy it, though. I was approached by the headmaster shortly after I turned 16. He’d offered a secret position to train as a White SeeD. At the time, I only hoped for a break from the militaristic lifestyle. It was an interesting time of my life. I enjoyed it, up until my last mission. We were investigating one of the forests around Esthar when we were suddenly attacked by a wild Behemoth-

    "A Behemoth...", he thought, as imagery flashed through his mind.

    He visualized a Behemoth before him in a small arena, surrounded by one way glass, he locked eyes with the creature, "Stare it down, show no fear, wait for it to stand up in an attempt to intimidate you", the beast stood on its hind legs to make itself appear more imposing, with a smirk, he darted forward. "Bait the attack", He slowed down just before the Behemoth took a swing at him, he rolled behind the beast and took a swing at the tip of its tail, "Sever the tip of the tail, throw off its balance, prepare for the counterattack", The Behemoth cried out in pain and anger as it turned to swipe at him with the back of its hand, but with its impaired balance, its reaction was slow and sloppy, he had already slipped in between its legs, making a shallow slash at its ankle. "Sever the Achilles tendon, render the beast immobile", the beast fell to its knee, again crying out in agony, "Mount from behind", with the beast lurched forward, it was simple enough for him to jump onto its back, and move in for the kill. "Sever the spine, no revenge Meteor if it dies in an instant", he leapt up to the beast's shoulder, and drove his blade with both hands into its neck from behind, felling the creature. He pulled his blade from the once terrifying monster's neck, and turned to see two more Behemoths waiting for him...

    The muffled sound of Kyra's voice snapped him back into the present. He'd missed some of what she was saying during his flashback, but he tried to seem like he was paying attention, hoping she hadn't noticed.

    -By that point, the Lunar Cry was dangerously close to starting. We didn’t have much time to act. We all had to scatter to the evacuation pods quickly. I took one of the last available, and in a panic, forgot to set the coordinates. I drifted in space until they initiated Time Compression. To the best of my knowledge, I was meant to go to where Squall and his team went, according to Ellone since I was able to connect with her before it started. That wasn’t the case. I ended up in a place called Spira, and didn’t have any way to get back.” she explained.

    "A Behemoth...", he mumbled."Dangerous foes, if you're not familiar with how they move. They used to throw them in an arena with us for 'training' at the facility. More than a few candidates fell before them.", he said, taking a moment to try to process what he had managed to catch from the rest of her story. She'd gone to another world during Time Compression... That's what they meant when they said she was gone for the past two years. Just what kind of magic was Time Compression if it could connect two different worlds that way? He'd been researching it ever since he came out of the facility, but as of yet, he still couldn't fully understand it.

    "You said this place was called Spira?", he asked. Kyra nodded in reply. "I can't say I've heard of it... but it can be reached through Time Compression? That... has some interesting implications.", he said without elaborating further. Yet it was clear that this interested him more than it would the average person, though the reasons why weren't clear to anyone else.
    Last edited by Heartless Angel; 12-30-2017 at 07:16 PM.

  20. #20
    chocolateer Final Fantasy Chronicles of Exigo - Brave New World VIII 01habbo's Avatar
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    Koemi Akiyama

    “Wow!” I exclaimed pressing my face against the glass. “That necklace is so pretty, I’ve been looking for a new necklace for a while.” The necklace I was looking at was made in silver, carved into a small s shape with a blue jewel at the bottom of it. I just stared at it, and the longer I stared the more in love I fell in with it.

    I heard a sigh behind me. “We’re not meant to be shopping.”

    I turned to Swain “Fight me and I’ll forget about this necklace,” I said pointing at it with my finger pressing against the glass.

    “You don’t give up, do you?”

    I smiled at him and I turned back towards the necklace “It’s just so pretty… Huh? What? 10000 gil? Are you kidding me?” I said as my eye had just caught the price I stood there just blinking and then my heart fell. “There’s no way I can afford that.” I mumbled. I turned to complain to Swain who was already half way down the street. “Hey! Wait up!”

    “Hey! We could have asked the guy in the shop along the way.” I said catching up to him.

    “You seem to be easily distracted, I think it’s better we just ask at the inn.”

    I pouted at that, but quickly recovered. “It’s a shame we can’t get near that light here,” He didn’t answer me.

    When we got to the inn I was glad, he was honestly quite difficult to make small talk with. As I opened the door I was greeted with a welcoming voice.

    “Ah Koemi! Long time no see, how are you?”

    I smiled, the owner of the inn stood before me. His brown eyes and big smile gave me a nice welcome. “Hi Isao, it’s been too long.” He certainly had changed from last time his long black hair had been cut short now, he had a bit of a stubble and was wearing a white shirt, black trousers and black shoes. “You’re looking smart, dressing to impress perhaps?”

    “Hey, hey never you mind about that,” I think I saw him blush a little bit, it was nice to see him happy. “Who’s your friend?”

    “Oh! This is Swain Kita, he is part of SeeD too.”

    “Ah I see, so this isn’t a pleasure call.”

    “Afraid not, we’re here because of those lights. Do you know anything about them?”

    Isao put his hand to his chin, and closed his eyes. “I don’t know much, that thing has the townsfolk worried, everyone is on edge.”

    “Anything you do have will help.” Said Swain.

    “Mhm…” He sounded. “And what do SeeD want with it? There are already fears about it being used as a weapon, we don’t want another war.”

    “Nor do we Isao, we just want information on it so that we can better protect people.” I said trying to calm him down, he sadly smiled at me.

    “Sorry it’s not that I don’t trust you or your friend, I just don’t trust the headmaster, something about him seems off.”

    “Off?”

    He waved it off. “Ramblings of an old man, you wanted to know about the light, right?”

    “Yeah,” I said getting the topic back on track.

    “When it first appeared a few kids got too close, apparently there was a blinding light and then they just disappeared.”

    “Where did they go?”

    “No one knows, but everyone keeps their kids inside now, and I don’t blame them. Apparently the army have started tests on it, supposedly to try and bring the kids back. It’s all a bunch of poppy **** of course. It’s just an excuse.”

    “Are there any records on what happened?” asked Swain,

    “Other than a young kid watching his friends disappear, none. And I’m not telling you where that kid is, he’s been through too much already.”

    I saw that Swain was about to respond to that but I interrupted. “It’s ok we don’t need to see him, anything else?” Swain looked at me displeased, but I didn’t care I wasn’t about to interrogate a little kid that lost his friends.

    “Actually there is, I had a guest here. An old guy and his grand daughter, he owns a chocobo ranch up near Trabia. Apparently one his chocobos disappeared too, his grand daughter was very upset about it.

    “That was the light that we were going to investigate.” I thought I turned to Swain. “Might be a good idea to visit that ranch,” I said to Swain. “Do you know where it is?” I asked turning back to Isao.

    “Hmmm, I heard it’s not far from the Garden that is being rebuilt.” He said stroking his stubble.

    At the sound of the door opening I turned my head, both Mr Steele and Kyra had entered to room, I was pleased to see them, my annoyance at Kyra has worn off but I was still a little hurt at what she had said. “Oh hey, they are here.” I said motioning to Swain, patting him on his shoulder, he just raised his eyebrow at me. I then turned to Mr Steele and Kyra. “So what did you two find out then?”

    "Hey. We didn't find out much. Someone was able to tell us about the lights, and took a picture of them." Said Kyra

    “A picture?” questioned Swain. At that Kyra handed him a photo, I looked over his shoulder to see what it is was.

    "While it's not much to go, the fact that the motion is unpredictable could be a sign that rather than a device, that were dealing with something living. But with so little data available, I'm not comfortable trying to draw conclusions just yet", he said.

    “She said they were weird. It moved in an unpredictable pattern. Have a strange colour. Sort of iridescent. It also had a peaceful sort of hum. Do you remember anything like that, Koemi?"

    “Hmmm… Not really,” I said I then took the photo from Swain.

    Isao sighed, “You stare at that any longer and you might hurt yourself”

    “What kind of photo is this anyway? You can’t see anything.” I said turning it upside down, it was mostly just a bright white light.

    “I’m Isao, the owner of this establishment,” he said introducing himself to Kyra and Mr Steele

    I zoned out then going through the description that Kyra had given me, my head hurt as I tried to shift through the memories, I held my head and grimaced as I dropped the photo.

    I remembered a sound of a hum, it was peaceful, it wasn’t really a hum though. It wasn’t the sort of hum a person makes, it was high pitched, soft and then faded before starting again.

    “What is it?”

    "It's so peaceful"

    “Tross!”

    “Koemi”

    The pain then quickly went away I couldn’t remember where I was when that had happened and I didn’t see much.

    “Kid you shouldn’t push yourself so hard.” Scolded my guardian force.

    “Heh, sorry. But I don’t think you being with me is helping.”

    “What do you mean kid?”

    “I just think because you can impact my memory I just need to be without you for a while.” I gulped, my heart dropped, I had known I would have to do this for a while but I kept ignoring it.

    “HA bout time!”

    “You’re not mad?”

    “Nah kid, I was just waiting for you to be strong enough to let me go for a while.”

    I smiled closing my eyes “Thank you Quezacolt”

    “Are you okay?” asked Kyra.

    “Yeah I just need someone to take my Guardian Force from me for a while?”

    “I'd volunteer, but my body is no longer compatible with a GF," he said.

    That made sense after all Mr Steele didn’t use them. I then looked to Swain, but he sighed. “Why do you need someone to take your Guardian Force?”

    “Well, it’s just a theory but since Guardian Forces have a side effect of memory loss, I figured I might be able to remember more without him for a while, but I’ll take him right back if we need to go where the monsters are.”

    “I’ll take him.”

    “Are you sure?” I could feel Quezacolt getting excited at being junctioned to Kyra, but I knew it wasn’t because of Kyra it was because of Diablos.

    "I'm sure."

    “Well okay….” I said I then let Kyra draw from me and I could slowly feel his presence leave me, it felt extremely lonely as he left my mind, it felt empty, but it was okay. “So what now?”

  21. #21
    Don't mock me! I have a big stick! Final Fantasy Chronicles of Exigo - Brave New World VIII Magi of Worlds's Avatar
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    The next morning a bright slash of sunlight and noise downstairs was enough to wake Arc up and spike a headache that felt like he'd been punched in the head by Omega Weapon itself. Slowly sitting up and rubbing his head in his face he heard a thump and looked down. At his feet was the lantern that summoned Tonberry King. Staring at it for a few minutes had Arc starting to think about the job at hand and the mysterious force related to his employer. Finally after a big yawn and a head scratch, he finally stood up and stretched. "Guess it doesn't matter much at this point. Sighing he picked up the lantern and tied it into a section on his belt and headed for the door. There was a lot of prep he needed to take care of before heading to the train station...

    A few hours later he was finally aboard the train heading from Deling City to Timber, loaded down with potions, extra kunai and throwing stars and most important of all, a little more information. He'd spent a bit of money around town trying to get as many facts as he could from the townsfolk about the lights. He hadn't found out much to be honest, but at least he knew a little bit more now than he did before. Apparently there were two known forces of lights, one around Galbadia and another known one near Trabia. He had also found out that no one had been seen coming or going from Esthar for a few years now. That was another place on his mind to check into, especially since his mentor Kiros had disappeared up near that way on a training mission years ago. For now Arc figured he would just lean back in his seat and enjoy the train ride to Timber.

    At some point he must have fallen asleep because he was woken by the train's announcement. "ATTENTION PASSENGERS! WE WILL BE APPROACHING TIMBER IN TWO HOURS! PLEASE BE PREPARED FOR UNLOADING BY THEN! THAT IS ALL, THANK YOU!" This went on repeat a couple of more times, which did nothing for Arcs hangover that he was still nursing. Sighing he closed his eyes again for what felt like a minute or two and opened them again the jarring bump and hiss of steam as the train pulled into Timbers station. Standing up he patted himself down and looked around to make sure he had everything, then headed towards the doors as they hissed open. Descending the ramp Arc looked around himself and was surprised at how little the town had changed since he'd last been here. Wanting to hurry on his way Arc headed for the ticket master and quickly bought one for the ride to Balamb. The train was actually due to leave in ten minutes so Arc hurried over and climbed aboard. This ride should only take a few short hours. But the tension was ramping up in Arc's mind. Questions kept flowing through about not only the anomalies, but also about who this S was and why they wanted the information in the first place. Pushing it out of his mind Arc waited for the train to depart...

    "Ah, finally made it to Balamb!" Arc left the train behind and walked around town. Passing a commotion at the docks he glanced several youths talking to Galbadian soldiers of all people. Curious as to why they were there but understanding it had nothing to do with him, Arc passed them by and headed for the gates leading outside town. Balamb Garden itself was a brisk jog away and next thing he knew Arc was standing at the entrance. A friendly SeeD on staff let him in and upon inquiry informed him of the headmasters whereabouts. The library was exactly where she said it was. Inside was quiet except for a corner near the back of the room where two adults, a man and woman, conversed in loud whispers. Parting the stands of books he came up behind Squall and Ellone deep in thought and conversation. "Ahem, excuse me Headmaster Squall. You don't know me, but we need to have a chat if you don't mind.

  22. #22
    Memento RK Final Fantasy Chronicles of Exigo - Brave New World VIII Yoko's Avatar
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    “I’ll take him.” Kyra offered. Mostly because she was worried about Koemi, or was it the fact that no one else would take him, since Quezacotl wasn’t compatible with someone who held Leviathan.

    “Are you sure?” Koemi asked. Kyra was curious why she would ask that. Kyra felt there wasn’t another option.

    “I’m sure.” was her response. Kyra put her hand on Koemi’s shoulder to draw Quezacotl. She felt an odd presence enter her, different than Diablos presence. Was Quezacotl….excited?

    “So, what now?” Koemi said, seemingly to fill the silence in the room.

    “What did you and Swain find out?” She asked. She didn’t really pay attention to their response though.

    "Quezacotl, is Koemi okay?"

    "She's not, but she's trying to be. She's growing up."

    "I see. And you're okay parting from her?"

    “Ha, what a weird human you are,” Kyra could hear him chuckle as if her concern was amusing to him.

    "So you still house gramps then, to be honest I didn't expect him to still accept you as his master."

    "Gramps? You mean Diablos. What do you mean by that?" The excitement Kyra initially felt faded. "I passed his challenge. That's all he asked of me."

    “Ha you think the trial ended there, foolish human.” He chuckled again, seemingly amused.. ”We Guardian Forces constantly test you, we constantly assess you to see if the humans we serve are worthy. Diablos does not take failure well, so it is a surprise to see him still serve you. Diablos you have gotten soft.”

    Failure? Kyra thought.

    A low rumble could be heard. "Master, who let this ruthian into my domain?"

    "Bwahaha, domain we are not in your domain Diablos did you not forget you are in the mind of a human?"

    "Hu- oh. Must have been a dream. Quezacotl, why are you here?"

    "My master has important memories she must recover for the fate of the world, the prophecy has started Diablos we must be ready."

    ”Hmmm so it has begun.”

    "Prophecy?" Kyra attempted to get an answer. She didn’t have a clue what they were talking about.

    ”Despite your failure Diablos has still chosen to serve you. Perhaps the old coot can see something I can't. he sighed "However human, In respect to my former master I have some news for you, this comes at a cost though."

    "Former master?"

    ”It does not matter who my former master was! You must agree to not interrupt my current master's healing. You must not ask her anything, you must not indicate you know this." His tone was very serious. There was sadness whenever his former master was mentioned.

    "You mean, I can't tell her about a vague prophecy that's begun?" Even Kyra didn’t know what they were talking about. How could she talk about something she knew so little about?

    “My master MUST recover her memories on her own, do I make myself clear?!" he growled as he said this.

    Kyra was shaken when he raised his voice. "Yes, sir."

    “Koemi met someone she has forgotten about within her time she was away. That human was not of this world, how she got here I do not know. It was the human you call Nikki.

    "Nikki.... I know a Nikki. But are you sure it's the same person?" Kyra’s heart skipped a beat hearing her name again. She only knew one Nikki. Did Koemi really meet her? How could that be possible?

    “Do not underestimate me human, your memories are a book to me. She currently houses Shiva.”

    ”She has a GF now, too? Just what is going on here? Were there others with her?"

    “I cannot say anymore. I only gave you that out of respect to my former master.”
    Kyra could feel his sadness as he said that.

    "Your former master. Do I know them?" The guardian force remained silent. His presence moved to the back of her mind.

    “Child if you really want to know ask his master.” Diablos gave reasonable advice.

    When Kyra tuned back into her surroundings, she realized the group was looking at her waiting for a response, it seemed.

    "Uh sorry. I didn't hear a word you just said" she said. “It's been a while since I had a guardian force. Let alone two.”

    “We were talking about talking to an owner of a chocobo ranch near the light in Trabia” Swain repeated.

    “Oh, do you have ideas how we would get to there? I’ve never been up that way.”

    "By train of course!” Koemi said excitedly.

    “There's a train to Trabia?” Kyra said, confused, “Geeze, I've been away for awhile then. I don't remember a train.”

    "Ummm..." says Koemi puzzled. Did Koemi forget, too?

    "There isn't a direct train" said Swain sighing

    "Uh. Hmmm. Where do we need to go?" Said Kyra trying not to get embarrassed. She didn't have a clue how the train system worked.

    "There is no direct route." Swain said with another sigh.

    “Can't we take a boat there from here?” Koemi asked.

    “That service has stopped due to the light near Trabia. We will need to head for Fisherman's Horizon by getting a train through Timber and hope there is a boat.”

    “You don't know if there is one?”

    Swain looked at Koemi, “You thought there was a train it's the best I have got.”

    "You mean hope someone willing to take us to Trabia..." Kyra concluded.

    "Hmm... Hopes aren't the ideal basis for a decision regarding our mission. Unfortunately, short of stealing a boat I don't see that we have any other options." Steele said, finally interjecting his thoughts.

    The group filed out of the inn and made their way to the train. They bought tickets bound for Fisherman’s Horizon, with a connection in Timber.

    “Koemi, who was Quezacotl's previous master before you?” Kyra asked.

    Koemi turned to Kyra, "Oh ummm..." her eyes looked to the floor and she shuffled her feet as she fidgeted with her fingers.

    Kyra noticed she got uncomfortable with the question "Hey. Are you okay?"

    "It's just..." she paused, "Ah don't worry about it, it was no one special" she said with a nervous laugh.

    ”Was that...a lie?”

    "His former master seemed to be very important to him. Are you sure you don't know?" Kyra tried to go at this topic another way.

    “Shocking other things is important to him too I wouldn't worry about it.” said Koemi smiling and waving it off.

    "Alright. I also want to apologise for my comments earlier. I didn't mean to hurt you."

    “That's ok all was forgiven already.” she said. "Anyway, tell me more about Nikki" she said with a smile

    Kyra's heart skipped a beat again. "Nikki... I miss her a lot. One of the funniest things she did was give me an anti-spider arrow. We were in a part of the Via Infinito where there were lots of spiders. I was absolutely freaked out. She gave me the arrow to help me feel better."

    "Did it work?"

    "It did. A little."

    "I need one of those..." Kyra suddenly remembered Koemi didn’t like spiders either. Was it Aiko who told her that? “She’d kill every one she saw rather than run. Less spiders for you, right?”

    "HA!" Exclaimed Koemi as she killed a tiny spider in between her hands as she smacked them together.

    "She made me give it back to her....after....we thought she was dead." Kyra remembered the events. Clear as day. How could she forget the horrors of the Via Infinito.

    Koemi turned to her after wiping her hands on herself her face softens "Did she..."

    "There was a point I thought she sacrificed herself to save me. A little while later, it felt like years went by, but it was only hours...she was alive. There were so many fake Nikki's I didn't know what to believe anymore. The Via Infinito was a bad place. I am glad she didn't die." Kyra paused. "I still don't know why that happened." she thought for a few moments and noticed Koemi went silent. She looked over to see Koemi deep in thought.

    “Might have been the Via Infinito bringing out my biggest fear." Kyra continued her thought. Koemi still didn’t respond and seemed to be spaced out.

    "Hey, are you okay?" Kyra said getting concerned. She still didn’t seem to register.

    "Quezacotl. Is she remembering something? I don't know what to do." Kyra didn't want to interrupt.

    "Summon me and I'll sort her out." he said with a laugh.

    "But what if it's important. You told me not to interrupt her.."

    ”I told you not to give her information that I gave you. She's just spacing out. She has what you humans call an overactive imagination.”

    "Just hit her." Diablos grumbled, clearly annoyed by the situation.

    ”Not you, too!

    "Hey Koemi, Earth to Koemi."

    "Huh?”

    "Welcome back. Did you have fun?"

    "Wha, wait, what?!"

    "You spaced out."

    “AH! Sorry!”

    "Quezacotl told me to shock you, I said no."

    "Ah, I'm glad you didn't they hurt,"

    Swain noticed Koemi had spaced out and joined the conversation, “Remember anything useful?”

    “Oh well... I was just thinking about how I could squish a big spider with an arrow"

    ”I see what you mean… Kyra thought as she brought her hand to her face.

    The train pulled into the station.

    "Not surprised..." Swain said as he boarded Koemi chased after him

    "What does that mean?!"

    Kyra looked to Steele and shrugged. They boarded the train bound for Timber. As far as Kyra remembered, it was only a few hour train ride. She headed to the private SeeD suites and relaxed. She pulled out her notebook and wrote the events that had happened so far. It was a habit she’d gotten from having a Guardian Force. As she wrote, her thoughts drifted to Nikki. How could she be here? How could Koemi have met her? They were already on the train away from Balamb so it wasn’t like she could just ask Ellone. A slight headache was forming as the questions grew in her mind.

    “What happened in that damn Via Infinito?” she asked aloud. She hated that she was sent back. She wanted to be there, not here! Her eyes filled up with tears as her emotions caught up with her. She stopped writing and took a seat by the window. She hated waiting, but it was all she could do.
    Last edited by Yoko; 03-31-2018 at 09:37 AM.

  23. #23
    chocolateer Final Fantasy Chronicles of Exigo - Brave New World VIII 01habbo's Avatar
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    Koemi Akiyama

    Leaning against the frame I looked out the window as we left the station. I could feel the train slowly gain speed as we went along the tracks, Suddenly something caught my eye as we left Balamb, a group of soldiers with vehicles littered around and in the middle were the lights.

    I immediately ran down the train, desperate to get a closer look at them, anything to jog my memory. Looking out the windows as I ran I could see there were cluster of them all floating around. I finally got to the end and went out the door to the outside of the train. I flung the door open and I could hear it. It was faint as we were nearly away, but I could hear it. The only way I could describe it was a relaxing eerie hum.

    “It’s a pyrefly.” I quickly turned round and saw a flash of a woman with long blonde hair, a woman I recognized.

    “Wait… I think I know you.” I said to myself. “Ah! I got to tell them,” I quickly went back inside the train looking for the others, I found Kyra in one of the rooms but she was asleep. I quietly backed out of the room to let her sleep. It’s not nice being taken away from your home, she deserved to get some rest when she could.

    I found Swain in the corridor and he agreed to come with me to find Mr Steele since I told him I remembered something.

    We found Mr Steele further along the train in his room looking out the window, I quickly slid the door open, and I could hear Swain sigh at me as I did so, I couldn’t dwell on it though. "Mr Steele, I have remembered something. The lights, they are called Pyreflies."

    "Pyre... Flies? So they ARE some sort of lifeform? An insect of some kind?", he questioned.

    “I don’t know, but this lady told me with long blonde hair and blue eyes… OH! They are from Spira!” I exclaimed suddenly as I was slowly remembering the conversation in my head. "I couldn’t remember her name but I was sure-"

    "...Spira?", he asked. interrupting my train of thought. "Koemi, this is important. Can you remember if these 'pyreflies' are dangerous? Our reports suggest that they interfere with GFs. Is this some kind of attack?”

    “Um…” I said as I began to think, “Well I don’t remember them ever causing harm, it’s a bit hazy still, I would describe them more as peaceful, you get a calm feeling when you are near them. They feel a little bit like….” I tried to find the words. “Home.”

    “That’s an odd choice of an word.” Said Swain raising his eyebrow.

    “I know it’s weird, but yes to answer your question Mr Steel the GF’s they grow quiet, like you can’t hear them anymore, but she… she still could use magic.” I remembered her at least getting a more peaceful look when we were near one.

    He arched an eyebrow, trying to process this information. "Magic without a GF? For anyone other than me or a sorceress, that shouldn't be possible...", he said, his voice trailing off.

    I pondered on that trying to remember why she was able to use magic or who she was. “…Kyra! She said people were using magic and didn’t have GFs! Spira doesn’t have GFs! Wait… Kyra she didn’t have Diablos with her and she could still use magic there…”

    "Interesting... So that would seem to imply that it's the magic in Spira that works differently, not the people.", he said. "That raises the question, what is it about magic in our world that makes it unusable to normal humans?"

    I didn’t have an answer to that and there was a long pause.

    “…Where is Kyra anyway, shouldn’t we ask her?” asked Swain.

    “Oh she was sleeping, but we are getting near timber now so I can go and wake her up.” I went back to her room and found her exactly where she was before, asleep at the desk near the window. "Wakey wakey Kyra!"

    "Huh? Where's Nikki?"

    "No time to be dreaming about Nicola silly, we are at Timber,"

    "Oh. Wait, was I asleep? Who is Nicola?"

    Koemi waved it off "Nicola, Nikki, your girlfriend , I'm terrible with names." I wasn’t sure myself where I had got that name from.

    "Right." Kyra said still in a daze after just waking up.

    "I remembered something too,"

    "I'd like to hear it if you want to talk about it."

    "Well I told the others while you were sleeping, but the lights, they are called pyreflies."

    "They're pyreflies? But..how?"

    ”I knew it! You know what they are, come on, we have got to go and discuss this with the others.” I said excitedly.

    "Yeah. Let's meet up with them."

    As soon as we did we got off at Timber I was then about to open my mouth but Swain quickly hushed me, with a quiet “Not here.” I guess that meant that we should wait until we were in a private cabin on the train. Still Swain didn’t have to hush me like that.

    The next train was going to be a while so I decided to go to the tiny store at the platform to buy some snacks, my mind was still thinking about the mysterious woman from Spira, and I was pretty sure she wasn’t called Nikki, even though the description matched her appearance. “Could she have been called Nicola?” The name had a familiar ring to it. ‘I hope her and Tross are okay…” I said under my breath.

    “Koemi um… Sorry I followed you I’m worried.”

    I turned around suddenly, “Did she hear me?” I didn’t want to raise her hopes because I remembered meeting someone who came from Spira, I panicked a little as I thought about what to say to her. “Nikki certainly did sound like Nicola, and to be honest Nicola had a bit of an attitude, didn’t seem to like people that much and was…. “ My eyes went downcast as I thought about her. Pain, I had seen it on her face all the time.

    “Do you know a girl called Kyra?”

    Now I remembered she asked that when I first met her, I think then Kyra asked me something but I didn’t quite hear her, my hands went up to my arms as I thought about Nicola, I had been looking for her, she had separated from us and I could tell it had been a bad idea to let her go on her own. I quickly then turned to exit the shop I could feel my eyes welling up.

    “There is a possibility that Nikki and Nicola are the same person.” I thought, “However, I can’t tell Kyra because I’m not sure.” Plus I didn’t know where this wasteland was, or how to even get there to get her and Tross out. I washed my face at the sink in the ladies as I thought about this. Now was not the time to get upset. Looking at myself in the mirror I nodded to myself and headed back to the others.

    “Heya! I’m here” I exclaimed cheerily.

    “Hey, train should be here soon.” As soon as Kyra said that the train rolled in and we all boarded. We all went to a private cabin and then I spoke.

    “So Kyra, about those Pyreflies…”

    "Pyreflies are from Spira. I've seen them many times before. They appear when a fiend is killed, or can show memories when there are a lot of then together. They were very rarely single ones floating around."said Kyra. "I have no idea how they'd be here, so hearing that you've seen them is a surprise."

    "Hmm... memories. That's interesting, because a GF is said to reside within the same part of the human mind where our memories are stored. That could imply that these pyreflies aren't actually disabling the GFs. They could just be creating a sort of interference, like when too many broadcast devices are trying to use the same frequency, preventing humans from being able to act as effective receivers, to further the metaphor", he said, thinking aloud.

    “Wow! Mr Steele is smart” I thought as I looked on in awe.

    "Interesting. I can't say whether or not that's correct, but it does seem to make sense. They didn't have the technology there as we do here. That could be why Galbadia is more involved with this too. We won't be able to tell until we get close to it though. Their soldiers don't have GFs equipped. Pyreflies should be harmless unless there's a lot of them together... they'd only get harmful if someone with ill intent has the ability to control them." I noticed that Kyra shivered at that the end, she had a look on her for a moment that reminded me of Nicola, lost, sad, alone. More questions filled my head though as I thought about the woman.

    “Perhaps she isn’t Nikki I mean how could it be possible? Kyra saw her not that long ago and I met her a year ago.”

    "And... just for the sake of anticipating the worst-case scenario, what would happen if they were being controlled by someone with ill-intent?"

    "Living people can't control pyreflies. I don't think we will have this issue here."

    “Huh? What do you mean? I mean ghosts aren’t real.” I said nervously. ”I don’t like ghosts, I don’t even like the idea of them.” I thought.

    They aren't...here. Pyreflies have something to do with it. It's one of the many questions I still have about Spira. I didn't get many answers while I was there."

    This was all just too confusing for me, I’m pretty sure she never spoke of ghosts when I first heard her talk about them. My thoughts were interrupted by Kyra.

    "But something has been concerning me, If there's an interference, how was I able to use Diablos for a moment in Spira?"

  24. #24
    The Mad God Final Fantasy Chronicles of Exigo - Brave New World VIII Heartless Angel's Avatar
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    "Hmm... Maybe you just weren't near any of them at that moment, or perhaps Diablos 'boosted his own signal', so to speak, at a critical moment to cut through the interference. Of course it's just as likely that I'm wrong, that was just a theory off the top of my head. I wouldn't give it too much consideration unless we can find more evidence to substantiate it.", he said. His facial expression betrayed deep thought, more than this conversation really required, but that's because his thoughts ran far deeper than his words. He cleared his throat and stood up. "If you'll excuse me, I'd like to go somewhere quiet for a bit to... assimilate all of this new information.", he said, walking away from the team without looking back. He went back outside into the empty corridor they had found him in, and returned to his window, and watched as the scenery rushed past him with the motion of the train.

    "Spira...", he thought. "Kyra was sent to Spira by Time Compression. Time Compression creates a link between these two worlds. Pyreflies come from Spira...", he continued. A small, yet visible amount of magic built up in his hand again as he raised it to watch the energies swirl about his palm. "Could all of this be... my fault?", he asked himself quietly. "The first reports of missing SeeDs that I heard about came in about a week after that time...", he said, trailing off, as he began to focus on his memories.

    He stood in a large metal room, far beneath the original location of Balamb Garden, the ruins of the Facility, a forgotten testament to the evil that men do in the pursuit of power. He often returned to this place, for it was where his only memories lived, and I suppose it's just human nature that he would rather cling to bad memories, than to have no memories at all. This room in particular held meaning, the place where he was during the test subject's attempted escape. This is where he lost one of the only two friends he could remember. During their training, test subjects were sorted into three man squads, to learn to act as a strike team. His team consisted of a man named Jakob, about 4 years older than him, by his estimation, and Reya, a girl a few years younger. The three of them had tried to escape together during the riot, but were quickly intercepted and outnumbered by NORG's mercenaries. They fought as hard as they could for their freedom, but ultimately, Reya was killed here, and then he and Jakob were knocked out by anesthetic gas shortly thereafter. Jakob himself had perished sometime later when several of the cryogenic stasis chambers malfunctioned. While Jakob's death was an accident no one could have prevented, Steele held himself responsible for Reya's defeat. He and Jakob were both very capable combatants, but Reya was attuned to healing magic, and she was ill-suited to combat. He blamed himself for not doing a better job defending her. He often came here to contemplate that failure, and to test himself.

    "Hasteja!", he yelled, as a flash of magic enveloped him. He stood in the exact place he was when he first noticed the men converging on Reya. He visualized their positions, and hers. Back then, he was only capable of Hastega. Back then he wasn't fast enough to save her, but now... maybe now... He sprinted towards the position of the nearest enemy, and slashed the empty space where he had been, just as he had back then. He moved on to the next, and the next. Before, this was where she had been killed, but this time, this time he was faster... he reached the position of a mercenary he had failed to kill last time, he slashed at the image of Reya's killer, but still, this wasn't enough. He recalled two more soldiers on the other side of her, and rushed towards them... but even now, he wasn't fast enough to reach both of them before they would have been able to kill her. Even now, he was still too slow to save her. He fell to his knees, sweat dripping from his brow. "Damnit! Even Hasteja isn't enough! I'm still too weak!", he shouted in anger, pounding his fist against the floor. He forced himself to his feet, and raised his hand into the air. "Then I'll just push even further beyond! I know there is still power out of my reach!", he declared, as he began drawing in as much time magic as he could. He could feel the magic for miles, there was so much, but still his range wasn't enough to achieve the next level he would need to finally put this nightmare to rest. But he wasn't willing to accept that limitation. He knew he could force himself even further. He strained as hard as he possibly could, pushed further than he ever had before... And then he felt it. A magic he had never tasted. It was time magic to be sure, but it was like nothing he had ever experienced. It felt impossibly massive, yet condensed. It was so close to being within his reach, if he could push just a little bit harder...

    He felt disoriented, unsure of what had just happened. He opened his eyes, and the world came back into focus... But what he saw next, we could not have been prepared for. "Reya?", he asked, as looked upon the very scene he had just finished reliving. In far more detail than he could recall, but more than that, this didn't feel like a memory. It felt like he was really there. The moment appeared frozen in time. He could see the look on her face, the looks on the men who had killed her, and when he turned around, he could even see himself, and Jakob, fighting back to back just as they had back then. "What is this?", he asked himself. Before he could spend any more time thinking about it, he heard gunfire. The moment wasn't frozen anymore. Almost instinctively, he readied his weapons, and charged into the fray. "Hasteja!", he yelled, as the flash of light once again brought him to the limits of his speed. He had failed even at this speed in his visualization, but this wasn't quite the same. He was closer to the enemy, and there was still another one of him fighting the others. He wasn't sure what was happening, but he didn't care. He went for the furthest enemy this time, expecting his past self to have started with the closest. He struck once, twice, a third time, and a fourth... He glanced over to his past self, but he hadn't moved, he was just watching him. Fortunately, the mercenaries were just as surprised, and they had shifted their attention to him. In a moment, he finished off all six of the men that had come after Reya... and Reya was still alive. In that moment, he felt the weight of his failure lifting from himself. But this was short lived. When he turned to meet his own gaze, he realized that his past self had dropped his guard, and the man that he had been fighting was about to strike. Just before the man could kill him, Jakob pushed him out of the way, and found himself impaled on the mercenary's blade instead. Just then, once again, William became disoriented, dizzy. The world began to fade, and everything went black.

    He woke up on the floor of the room, not during the riot, but back in the present. "I must have pushed too hard and passed out...", he concluded, as he brought himself to his feet. "But damn, that sure felt real... what a cruel dream", he said, regaining his composure. He sighed, deciding that he still wasn't ready to reach the next level of his mastery over time magic. But, the dream had inspired him to go back into the stasis room, and pay his respects to Jakob. He walked past dozens of stasis chambers, dozens of other test subjects, many now deceased due to stasis failure, but many still frozen and asleep. Towards the back of the room, a single chamber door was opened, his own. Just across from it was the chamber where he had discovered Jakob's body shortly after he woke up. The glass of the chamber that held his friend was once again fogged up, but he wiped some of the fog away with his sleeve... But what he saw wasn't his friend Jakob. His eyes widened at the realization. "It wasn't a dream?!", he exclaimed, as he stood before the deactivated stasis chamber, now the final resting place of Reya Evans.


    He managed to bring himself back to the present with a little effort. He shook his head, and allowed the magic in his hand to dissipate. "No... it couldn't be. My Time Compression is nowhere near Ultimecia's. Surely I couldn't have done this much damage.", he said to himself. He let out a sigh. "Of course, now the question becomes... Should I tell them?", he asked out loud.
    Last edited by Heartless Angel; 04-20-2018 at 03:55 PM.

  25. #25
    Memento RK Final Fantasy Chronicles of Exigo - Brave New World VIII Yoko's Avatar
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    Kyra found herself staring down an endless corridor of doors. Each had a symbol that Kyra didn’t understand but saw in a place she couldn’t put her finger on. She tried to speak, “Hello, is anyone there?” She was only met with silence.

    She lifted her hand and tried to open the door on her right. It opened with ease. The room was dark and empty. The room didn’t have a light source other than the light shining in form the corridor. She tried the room across from her and was met with the same result. She tried door after door, all of them were the same.

    “Oh, have we lost something?” a familiar female voice filled the corridor. It was playful, yet had a malicious tone about it. “Foolish girl, you won’t find her here.”

    “Where is she? You know, don’t you Sanika?” Kyra yelled to the voice she couldn’t see.

    The corridor filled with an amused laughter. She hated that laugh. Knowing, yet sadistic.


    "Wakey wakey Kyra!"

    "Huh? Where's Nikki?" she said in confusion. Her mind was still half reeling about the dream.

    "No time to be dreaming about Nicola silly, we are at Timber,"

    "Oh. Wait, was I asleep? Who is Nicola?" Kyra said, remembering where she was.

    Koemi waved it off, "Nicola, Nikki, your girlfriend , I'm terrible with names."

    "Right." Kyra said. She didn’t know whether it was a lie or truth. She didn’t know Koemi all that well it seemed.

    Koemi quickly revealed the ‘lights’ causing all of the confusion were actually pyreflies. They needed to wait for the the next train before they could get into a deeper conversation about them. Kyra watched as Koemi left the group and went into a tiny shop.

    “We’ll meet back here before the train arrives.” Kyra told Steele and Swain before she took toward the same direction Koemi went. She had a feeling something wasn’t quite right, so she followed the girl into the shop. Kyra didn’t need to spend much time looking for the girl, she was starting to mumble to herself.

    "I hope her and Tross are okay..."

    "Heh, seems her memory is coming back quicker than expected" Quezacotl chuckled.

    "Her?" Kyra paused with her thoughts. "What does she mean by her?"

    "Ask her."

    "Ugh" Kyra silently cursed the need for Guardian Forces to urge their masters to figure out their problems themselves. After being away from the Guardian Force for two years, she seemed to get frustrated at this fact.

    "Koemi, um... sorry I followed you. I'm worried." Kyra said. She noticed the girl didn’t react to her presence. Koemi cast her eyes downward, seemingly lost in thought. "You've been spacing out a lot. More than I remember anyway. What do you mean by 'I hope her and Tross are okay'?" She saw Koemi’s eyes start to well up with..tears? She then suddenly left the shop. “Damn that girl.” she said to herself.

    Quezacotl only chuckled at what had just occurred.

    She knew there wouldn’t be much time before the train bound for Fisherman’s Horizon arrived. Kyra exited the shop and took some time to look around Timber. The place hasn’t changed much since she’d been there last. She did notice the large TV screen seemed to be working, but nothing of importance seemed to be showing. She wondered if it was being used as a distraction from the current events. Her thoughts drifted to the pyreflies. The questions in her mind seemed to be growing larger the more information she got about this mission. Was that all they were really meant to do? ”Gather information and nothing more.”, she recalled. What if they weren’t in a position to return with the information? ”If these pyreflies were a way to get back to Spira, would I stay here only to report back to a headmaster I don’t trust, or, would I go?” she pondered the question. Lacking any further information, coming up with an answer wouldn’t be a simple task. She needed to find out more about the pyreflies, even if it was for her own selfish desires.

    She found herself on the train platform. The train was moments away from pulling up. Koemi arrived shortly before the train did. She seemed to be in a better mood now than in the shop. They boarded the train and immediately went to a private cabin to discuss what they knew about the pyreflies. Rather, what Kyra knew about the pyreflies. She only had basic knowledge of them, she felt there wasn’t much information she could provide. Considering this wasn’t Spira, it was the only information they had to work with.

    Steele offered his theories as Kyra let them know Diablos appeared to assist her in a critical moment of a fight. Shortly after he offered his theory, he stood up and excused himself from the cabin for some time alone. This left Kyra with more questions than answers. The more questions she had, the more frustration built up in her mind. Shortly after Steele left, Kyra took her own leave. She went to a private room to ponder and write down her questions. She knew she couldn’t seek answers for them just yet, but writing them down would mean she wouldn’t forget them.

    Once her thoughts were on paper, she locked the door to her cabin and took a seat by the window. This train ride was a much longer journey than the previous one. They’d get to Fisherman’s Horizon in the early morning hours. She watched the scenery pass her by in hopes of calming her frustration from lack of knowledge. Eventually, she drifted off to sleep.

    Kyra woke up to the sound of seagulls, the sun is peeking through the curtains and there is a light breeze coming from the open window. She looked around the room to take in her surroundings. She sees a room she was familiar with, a bed in the middle of the room, a bedside table to the right, with a vase of assorted flowers, and a photo of herself and Nikki in her garden back in Bevelle. The walls seemed to be painted with a light blue background and purple watercolor splotches from when they painted the room together. She noticed her sword and a bow with some arrows leaning against the wall next to the door.

    Nikki entered the room with a tray of scrambled eggs on toast and some tea, "Ah, morning," she said with a smile as she laid down the tray on the bedside table and kissed Kyra affectionately on the forehead. "How did you sleep?"

    "Um. Okay I think. Where are we?"

    "Ah, still half asleep then." she said as she then kissed her cheek and then hands her plate with her breakfast. There was a loud knock on the front door and a familiar playful giggling outside. Nikki groaned, "Not them..." she said as her smile faded. She left the room to answer the door before Kyra could ask more questions.

    "GOOD MORNING" she heard the cheerful voices of the twins in unison.

    Kyra could hear Nikki grumble at them "Come back later,"

    "But it's already-" both of the twins said in protest.

    "No." she said quickly. They seemed to be interrupting a nice breakfast surprise Nikki had planned for Kyra.

    The door slammed and Kyra could hear the twins complain.

    Nikki then came back into the room while mumbling that twins came over too damned early in the morning. Nikki's face softened when her eyes see a very confused Kyra. She sat beside her on the bed.

    "Those...were the twins, right?" trying to piece together the events that just occurred. "Correct me if I'm wrong but-"

    "What you actually wanted to go fishing with them?" Nikki asked playfully. A smile appeared on her face, "You could if you wanted" she said. She then moved in closer and began to kiss Kyra's neck "Or you could stay here."

    "Wait no. I mean yes. I mean I'll stay... with you." Kyra started to relax and believe the events.

    Nikki smiled into her neck and then continued to kiss her up and and down and then whisper into her ear “Your food will get cold.”

    "Not with you being so hot." She said as she turned to return the kisses.

    Suddenly, a beeping from a comm sphere could be heard from the hallway. Nikki groaned at the new interruption. She nibbles Kyra’s ear before leaving to answer the comm sphere.

    Kyra quickly finished the breakfast and went to the hallway to investigate. She noticed more pictures were in the hallway. Pictures of their adventures, their friends, memories her and Nikki created since their mission in the Via Infinito ended.

    "-And then we went on a Shoopuff! It was so big! The whole class got to have a go!" Said Asuka excitedly, Nikki had a relaxed smile on her face as she looked down at the comm sphere in her hands.

    "Oh yeah did you ride it?"

    "Yep yep! It was so amazing! Oh! Has Kyra got a pet monkey yet?" The girl questioned innocently.

    Nikki laughed "No not yet,"

    "Why would I need a pet monkey?" Kyra questioned.

    There was a short pause, then Asuka reminded, "Because, you said you would get one for us for when we visit..." there was a sad tone in her voice. Had Kyra forgotten?

    Nikki smiled at Asuka "Don't worry she's half asleep, she didn't know where she was this morning."

    "ASUKA BLOCK YOUR EARS THEY WERE HAVING SEX!" announced Kai.

    Nikki facepalmed as Kai came onto the screen "Bye Asuka."

    "Bye Nikki"

    "Hey wait-" Kai said, but Nikki turned off the connection before Kai could complain any further.

    "Uh. Do you mind explaining what's going on here? Did I hit my head or something?" Kyra asked, looking for clarity.

    Nikki smiled and lightly laughed at her, "She just hasn't forgotten you promised her that you would show her the monkeys here."

    "Wait. We're in Kilika? How did we get back to Spira?" Kyra asked quickly. Her heart was beating quickly as she began to silently question everything that’s happened.

    Nikki approached her and wrapped her arms around Kyra. She began to kiss and caress her, "Did you have a weird dream?"

    Kyra began to relax in Nikki’s arms. "Y-yeah. I guess it was a dream."

    "What happened?" she asked as she kissed Kyra down her neck.

    "I had a dream I was sent home. I didn't want to be there, and was trying to do everything I could to get back. I was sent on a mission instead.” Kyra began to explain.

    "It's ok. It was just a dream." whispered Nikki as she then passionately kissed her. This was the side of Nikki that Kyra enjoyed most. Her ability to calm her anxieties was simply amazing.

    "Yeah." She said as she returned the kisses.

    "So I believe you said you were going to pay me back for the surprise breakfast this morning." said Nikki playfully and lustfully.

    "Oh?"

    "You said when I give you a surprise that you really liked, you’d want to repay the favour." said Nikki with her breathing getting that little bit faster.

    "Ah yes, of course. It's only fair." Kyra said, leading her back to their bedroom.

    The moments that follow include Kyra doing whatever she could to treasure the time she had with Nikki. She didn’t want to lose her again.


    A loud knock could be heard on the door to her cabin. She could tell someone was trying to turn the handle, but it was locked. “Kyra, we’re at Fisherman’s Horizon. We’ll meet you outside.” she could hear Swain say before hearing footsteps walk away from her cabin.

    She cursed as tears began to form in her eyes. “Fuck. It was a dream. It felt so….real.” She gathered her belongings and thoughts as her reality seemed to be falling apart. She wiped her tears away and freshen up quickly and as best as she could before leaving the cabin to meet the others.
    Last edited by Yoko; 02-03-2019 at 07:05 PM.

  26. #26
    chocolateer Final Fantasy Chronicles of Exigo - Brave New World VIII 01habbo's Avatar
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    Koemi Akiyama

    “Tell us what?” I asked.

    I saw a bit of a surprise in his face as he turned to face but it was only there for the briefest moment. "It's... nothing. Just more of my wild speculations. But I think for the moment, I've done far too much speculating, and not nearly enough investigating. Once I have more information, and a clearer understanding of how it all fits together, I should be able to focus my thoughts in a more productive manner."

    It was frustrating that we knew so little about everything, I just replied with a simple “Okay.” And then went to sit by the window.

    “We’re here!” I excitedly said as we got off the train. I could hear the birds and the smell of the saltwater hit me, I smiled, feeling much happier than I did before, it was after all a confusing train ride.

    As we walked along I marveled at all the people going along with their day to day lives, Swain was explaining to Mr Steele what was going on at the moment with Fishermen’s Horizon, I kinda stopped listening to him and noticed that Kyra had a puzzled look on her face, she then blushed.

    “Are you okay?”

    “Oh, yes sorry I’m fine, it’s just… Does he go through your memories too?”

    I laughed obviously my Guardian Force was feeling playful. “In the beginning yeah he did, he quickly gets bored though.”

    "I don’t think he'll get bored of my memories anytime soon." Mumbled Kyra she seemed to be annoyed by him

    “He quietens down if you put him in a fight.”

    “Have you seen where we are?” said Swain tuning into our conversation.

    “What? It’s true, I obviously didn’t mean here, you don’t need to treat me like a little kid you know.” I said getting irritated at him, he was the only one that didn’t seem to treat me like the rest.

    Mr Steele joined us at that moment with a confused look on his face.

    Swain gave a long sigh and turned to me stopping us in our tracks. He shook his head. “I don’t even really get why you are here.”

    “Because I have important information, I can help.”

    “All you have told us are what the lights are called and where they are from, you keep referencing some woman you can hardly remember.”

    “Nicola!”

    “Right a name, but Kyra has more information than you do.”

    “But-“

    “You are easily distracted, you are still in recovery from being awol with no memory of what happened, you don’t take anything seriously, you have no respect for the mission and you barely even passed your SeeD exam. You were what, the lowest score in your class that passed.”

    “Oh. well you weren’t there and…” I tried to desperately defend myself.

    “I don’t need to be there, you are a nice person but this mission is too big for you, you can’t even control your Guardian Force.”

    I could feel the tears welling up but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry

    "Swain, what right do you have to talk like that to a team mate? We're supposed to be working together. That sort of negativity won't get us anywhere." Piped up Kyra’s voice, I turned to her and smiled I had no idea she would defend me but I’m glad she did.

    Swain sighed again shaking his head, “You were the one that first argued against the headmaster about having her on the team, after that I did some of my own research. I didn’t realise he would pick someone that was so reliant on others. I’m just stating facts”

    I turned to look at Kyra then, I was hurt that she would go behind my back like that. I then started to focus knowing my Guardian Force was with her.

    “DRAW!” I shouted out, light went out of Kyra and entered me I could feel my friend’s presence again.

    “What’s the plan kid?”

    “To prove I am a part of this team.”

    "Woah, hey. Give me a little warning before you do that." Said Kyra, not that I cared but she did turn back to me "Sorry Koemi. I asked the headmaster why he let you join this mission even though you almost died the first time."

    I don’t care! Aiko was his last master and I’ll prove to both of you that I can do this!” I then turned and bowed to Mr Steele. “Mr Steele, I have changed my mind I would be honoured to fight you please grant my request.” I said bowing as low as I could squeezing my eyes shut.

    "Alright. I accept your challenge."

    My eyes snapped open, I hadn’t expected him to actually accept, when I was about to thank him I stood up and saw he was already in a fighting stance. I looked around and without realising it we had walked during the argument to an area on the port but away from people.

    “Heh, this is going to fun kid.”

    Suddenly before we could fight I heard a humming, a peaceful humming I turned around to see not too far away pryeflies. They were floating in a irregular pattern up and down on the surface of the water, first one, then two then three. Then I saw…

    “Tross!” I yelled he was floating above the surface, he had his eyes open but he wasn’t saying anything I ran along the dock to try and get closer to him, then someone grabbed my arm. I turned to look.

    “What are you doing?!” Swain yelled at me.

    “You don’t understand, Tross is there!”

    “No one is there!” I tried to object but when I turned back I saw he wasn’t there it was just three pryeflies again. I turned back to Swain I apologized.

    “I thought he was really there…”

  27. #27
    Memento RK Final Fantasy Chronicles of Exigo - Brave New World VIII Yoko's Avatar
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    Kyra stepped into the train platform of Fisherman’s Horizon. She took in the smell of one of her favourite locations in this world. It was a slightly salty smell in the middle of an industrial haven for those who wanted nothing to do with the mainland. Akio had spent a lot of time here before he resigned himself to staying at Winhill to keep his small weapon shop business as small as can be. Her mind wandered to what he could be doing at this time.

    She caught up with the team. Swain was catching us up on current events here. Just as Kyra thought, they tend to like to keep out of political affairs and busy themselves with tinkering and fixing what others needed. It reminded her of Luca in a way. Then it reminded her of Kilika, then quickly Besaid. Her memories were going too quickly for her to process, then she realized it wasn’t her fault.

    “Quezacotl! Stop!”

    There was no response. He then seemed to show Kyra images of Nikki. Very private images that no one else should know in a quick sequence one after the other. Her face betrayed her annoyance as she began to blush.

    “Are you okay?” Koemi said suddenly which brought Kyra back to reality.

    “Oh, yes sorry I’m fine, it’s just… Does he go through your memories too?”

    Koemi chuckled, “In the beginning yeah he did, he quickly gets bored though.”

    "I don’t think he'll get bored of my memories anytime soon." she said, voicing her annoyance.

    “He quietens down if you put him in a fight.”

    “Have you seen where we are?” said Swain. Kyra wondered why he would be annoyed with her comment.

    “What? It’s true, I obviously didn’t mean here, you don’t need to treat me like a little kid you know.” She said getting irritated.

    Steele seemed to catch up to the conversation with a confused look on his face. Kyra noticed he has seemed distant lately...or was he always like that?

    Swain gave a long sigh and turned to Koemi stopping us in our tracks. He shook his head. “I don’t even really get why you are here.”

    “Because I have important information, I can help.” Koemi said trying to defend herself.

    “All you have told us are what the lights are called and where they are from, you keep referencing some woman you can hardly remember.”

    “Nicola!” Koemi yelled.

    ”She met a woman? Maybe just another friend she lost…”

    “Right a name, but Kyra has more information than you do.” Swain was beginning to get on Kyra’s nerves.

    “But-“

    “You are easily distracted, you are still in recovery from being awol with no memory of what happened, you don’t take anything seriously, you have no respect for the mission and you barely even passed your SeeD exam. You were what, the lowest score in your class that passed.”

    “Oh. well you weren’t there and…” She tried to desperately defend myself.

    “I don’t need to be there, you are a nice person but this mission is too big for you, you can’t even control your Guardian Force.”

    Kyra took a few steps to close the distance between them. She felt the urge to defend her. "Swain, what right do you have to talk like that to a teammate? We're supposed to be working together. That sort of negativity won't get us anywhere." Kyra said thinking what would Nikki, or even Aiko would do.

    Swain sighed again and shook his head, “You were the one that first argued against the headmaster about having her on the team, after that I did some of my own research. I didn’t realise he would pick someone that was so reliant on others. I’m just stating facts.”

    “Shit. Bad timing. That isn’t helping” She then felt the urge to punch him.

    “DRAW!” Koemi shouted out a command, a light went out of Kyra and she could feel a presence leave her.

    "Woah, hey. Give me a little warning before you do that." Said Kyra. She turned to face the girl, "Sorry Koemi. I asked the headmaster why he let you join this mission even though you almost died the first time." she said as she tried yet again to communicate her worry for being assigned to protect the girl.

    “I don’t care! Aiko was his last master and I’ll prove to both of you that I can do this!” she then turned and bowed to Steele. “Mr Steele, I have changed my mind I would be honoured to fight you please grant my request.”

    "Alright. I accept your challenge."

    Kyra then thought she heard something familiar. The eerie hum of a pyrefly. She took a look around and found they has made their way to the docks. She looked around to see if she could find the source of the sound, or if she might be hearing things. There was too much going on to process what Koemi said.

    “Tross!” Koemi welled as the pointed toward a cluster of three pyreflies close by floating above the surface of the water. Koemi quickly ran to try to get closer to the cluster of pyreflies. Kyra looked out and couldn’t see anything but the cluster. The rest of them went to follow Koemi, Swain being the quickest and grabbed Koemi before she could do anything rash.

    “What are you doing?!” Swain yelled.

    “You don’t understand, Tross is there!”

    “No one is there!” he yelled again.

    “I thought he was really there…” She said, seemly defeated.

    Kyra put a and on Swain’s shoulder and squeezed tightly. He seemed to back off and Kyra approached Koemi. “Koemi, it’s okay. Tell us what you saw.”

    "I saw Tross floating with a blank look and the I turned back and he wasn't there" She gathered. "What if he and Nicola are in trouble?!"

    "I'm not sure approaching the pyreflies in the middle of the water without a boat is a good idea. Do you?"


    "I...." Koemi said trying to find words.

    “Watch out!” a fisherman yelled out from behind them. Kyra looked up to see they were quickly being swarmed by monsters. They seemed to be attracted to the pyrefly cluster and started to make their way onto the docks. One of the Fastitocalons jumped out of the water to attack us. Kyra quickly drew her blade to swing at the monster before it reached the dock. She hit the monster, but didn’t deal as much damage as she’d hoped.

    “Don’t let them swarm us! Attack the small ones first.” Steele said as he kept back and shot new monsters that were making their way onto the docks with his ranged Gunblades.

    ”This is not the time to be impressed or distracted, Kyra!” Diablos yelled at her.

    A wave of water came from behind them and pushed many of the small monsters off of the docks. It seemed Swain was using Leviathan's push back ability to their advantage.

    Koemi was focused on something Kyra couldn’t see right away.

    Kyra took another swing as more Gayla and Fastitocalon monsters were making their way onto the docks. They didn't seem to be letting up anytime soon. She was a loss for what to do without knowing why the monsters were attracted to the pyreflies here.

    A bolt of lightning caught the corner of Kyra’s eye which alerted her what Koemi was focused on. She saw a pair of monsters with large bodies and eight legs each. Although they weren’t spiders, their large bodies and amount of legs was enough to trigger Kyra’s fear.

    ”Grand Mantis! Two of them!”

    Kyra prepared a spell as she rushed in to help Koemi. She noticed two blasts had reached one of the Grand Mantis as Steele seemed to focus on the Mantis as well. Swain was busy keeping the smaller ones back.

    ”Thunder Strike!” Kyra yelled as she charged her blade with thunder to strike the monster, or at least she hoped. The blade didn't charge with thunder completely Instead she struck the Mantis with her blade normally. The spell fizzled out before making contact with the monster.

    "What the fuck, did I forget to junction?"

    In the confusion, both Grand Mantis' had turned to focus on her without her noticing. Once she realized this she quickly took many steps backward to try to widen the gap. Unfortunately she lost track of her footing and fell flat on her back. It wasn't long until they completely surrounded her. The Mantis took this opportunity to attack with it’s large claw pinning her to the docks. She felt the claw pierce her right shoulder which caused her to cry out in pain. She could see the other Mantis getting ready to skewer her as Steele had switched to melee attacks, obliterating the monster. This allowed Kyra to get away as Koemi finished the other one with her Chakram.

    Kyra took a few steps toward the group. She attempted to pull a potion out of her bag, but suddenly felt light headed and nauseous. She dropped to her knees. ”What is happening to me?” she said before she lost consciousness.

  28. #28
    chocolateer Final Fantasy Chronicles of Exigo - Brave New World VIII 01habbo's Avatar
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    I couldn’t really tell if we were making any progress, or whether we had just been walking in circles, the landscape was so barren it was hard to distinguish any landmarks. I wasn’t really sure where to look for his friend either.

    “He said Koemi had been looking for me so, where would she go?” I thought.

    “So… Are you still having the same nightmares?” asked Tross I didn’t answer him, I really didn’t want to think about that now. “You know if you actually talked about it, it might help.” Again I ignored him this wasn’t a subject I was willing to talk about.

    “Besides where would I start? He didn’t know a thing about Spira or where I came from, trying to just explain the Via Infinito and how I failed-“ I shook my head those kind of thoughts had quietly slipped back in and I couldn’t let my self think about it.

    “OW!”

    I stopped and turned around the chocobo must have had noticed my distress because it had bitten Tross. Tross waved his hand in the air. “Okay, okay no more questions, just call the chocobo off.” I whistled to her and the chocobo came trotting to my side, I put my hand out her as she nuzzled my hand.

    It was getting late in the day and we had fought through a lot of fiends or monsters as Tross called them, same thing to me, they all died the same. I could see we weren’t going to have much daylight left. So I stopped and began to make camp. “Uhhh… That monster is still walking towards us, is it really a good idea to stop now?” asked Tross.

    I looked up, seeing that Mishka was indeed still heading our way, I wasn’t worried though. “She will stop, we have only just stopped ourselves.” I go back to preparing the camp fire.

    “And if it doesn’t?”

    “Then she has finally decided to kill me and you will run away.” It was funny how so matter of fact I sounded about that. Finally finished with the fire I stood up, I feel a hand on my shoulder and then I immediately spin around with my bow and arrow drawn at his head. “Don’t ever touch me.” Tross puts his hands up.

    “Okay," It looked like he wanted to say more, but I didn’t really care that much to ask. I then began to head out. “Where are you going now?”

    “A walk.” I responded I saw the chocobo had nestled down near the fire. I stared at Tross trying to indicate to him that I needed to the time alone and I would be okay as long as I didn’t wander to far. He seemed to be at odds with himself but I left before he could say any more.

    “Head to your left.” Said Shiva

    “Why?”

    “I just want to see if my senses are correct.”

    I did as she asked and came across another camp however there were fiends surrounding it. I could see someone sleeping in a sleeping bag. I quickly focused and ran towards the fiends, striking each one down with an arrow until I reached the camp. I then heard a growl behind and turned to see a Behemoth.

    “Great…” I mumbled. I turned to my side to see a woman had joined me she was clad in black leather with a red t shirt. “A gunblade…” I said noting that it looked different to Kyra’s, I shook my head I couldn’t think about Kyra I needed to focus.

    I made the first move, focusing, my body was replaced with Shiva, who made a stylish entrance, she entrapped the behemoth in ice before breaking it damaging the fiend. When she had finished I wiped some sweat from my forehead but this battle was far from over.

    “Darkside!” The woman rushed in just as Shiva faded away, not missing a bit and keeping the advantage while we still had it, the attack looked like it was using blood magic, much like what a dark knight would use in battle. It reminded me of Gideon, only the woman was much more skilled there was no hesitation in her attack. Back in the day I would have been impressed with this sort of skill but I cared not about such things, I only cared about surviving.

    As the Behemoth turned around to face the woman I drew on Shiva’s strength again. “Blizzard!” I fired the spells at its feet hoping to slow it down. The Behemoth growled and with a flick of its tail it cast a spell before turning its attention on the woman again. I saw the ground come alive with electricity, but before it could build I rolled out of the way of the Thundaga spell, seemed like being behind it was no more safe than in front of it. I focused while the woman was distracting the Behemoth a clock appeared beneath me, “Haste!” I cried out the clock spun and I could feel I was much more lighter on my feet, I turned to the woman and cast the same spell on her.

    When the Behemoth brought down it’s claw in an attack aimed at her, she seemed to easily dodge it, as I fired some arrows at the Behemoth, wishing I had more to give. If I had been in Spira I knew this fiend would have been easier to take down with my spells, but they were gone now, the only spells available to me were borrowed from Shiva.

    I saw the girl jump up on its arm, I fired arrow after arrow at its head hoping to buy her time, as she ran up it’s arm and swung at its neck with her blood magic again. However the beast then caught her and flung her away, the fiend then started to turn to me.

    “Banish Ray!” two voices seemed to cry out and a dark beam slammed into the Behemoth before it could bring down it’s arm upon me. The Behemoth cried out in pain, I looked over and saw the woman surrounded by 12 large black wings.

    “I was correct, it is Zodiark” mused Shiva

    “You don’t normally care who is nearby.”

    “No but Zodiark’s power is normally too great for humans to control, it’s been a while since I sensed him. The girl hasn’t performed a full summon.”

    I looked over again, she was breathing heavily and it looked like she didn’t have much more to give. I looked over at the fiend, it seemed to be slowly getting back up again, I sighed. Then I ran and stood in front of the woman, facing the fiend down.

    Then suddenly a rain of fire hit the beast making it roar with pain, I looked up and there was Ifrit. I heard Shiva sigh. “Ifrit is over doing it.” As Ifrit disappeared the Chocobo ran in with a kick and then came to my side and performed a cure on both me and the woman with a “Kweh” I could feel my injuries slowly heal and my energy return to me.

    “Hey, I thought you had been gone a while, luckily we caught up” I heard Tross say, I saw him come over to us and then get into a battle stance. The Behemoth once again got up and that is when I noticed why.

    “Oversouled,” I said

    “What?”

    “In my world oversoul is bad news, you kill enough of one fiend and then a even stronger version comes along, “

    “But, we haven’t seen hardly any Behemoths?”

    “Doesn’t matter it must be the pryeflies that are affecting them” I could see though it was at it’s end because it seemed to be charging for something big. I ran in , pulling back an arrow to my cheek and then letting it fly. The Behemoth let out a roar of pain interrupting it’s attack, I hit its eye, the others used this opportunity to attack as I loaded another arrow and aimed for it’s other eye. The fiend cried out again as I got another hit, now it was blind. I then felt something familiar, like something had charged up, I had felt this feeling before but never had a chance to use it. I slowed my breathing concentrating, I was still drawing power from Shiva and borrowing her energy but it seemed to come from within me as well. Energy cackled around me and I started to charge up my attack aiming for the sky. “Ultimate Arrow” I said before releasing it , the arrow went up into the sky and disappeared into a glyph, then a load of arrows came raining down on top of the Behemoth, It roared and writhed in pain until finally it was still..

    “Okay, did not know you had that limit break.” Said Tross.

    I looked down at my bow it had felt like an age since I used that attack so long ago. I wasn’t quite sure what I should feel about it, I then just began to just walk back to the camp.

    “I’m Tross, that’s Nicola, but… Don’t worry about her you get used to it.”

    "I'm... Not quite sure who I am. My partner is called Zodiark I've had to deal with quite a few of those monsters lately, could that oversoul thing have been my fault?" I heard her say, I knew that was a question only I could answer but by this time I had enough of talking and I just wanted to sleep so I just walked on ahead.

  29. #29
    The Mad God Final Fantasy Chronicles of Exigo - Brave New World VIII Heartless Angel's Avatar
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    Steele turned to to see a group of monsters emerging from the water. He almost instinctively reached for the pouch containing his flame rounds, but quickly reconsiders once he'd evaluated his surrounding, and factored in the probable collateral damage that would result from a salvo of explosives on the docks. He shot a few Fastitocalon out of the air, but quickly came to realize that they were coming too fast for his basic ranged attacks. He threw both of his blades down, sticking the blades into the ground, where they'd be easy to retrieve, while freeing up his hands for his sidearms. “Don’t let them swarm us! Attack the small ones first.”, he shouted, as he began peppering the monsters with quick rounds as quickly as they could emerge. Though he was holding back quite a large number of foes, it wasn't enough, many were still slipping past him and heading for his team, and though his first instinct was to resume swordplay and try to intercept them before they reached his squadmates, he knew he couldn't let up on crowd control without making the situation far worse. Fortunately, as he was weighing his options, a large wave blew most of the smaller enemies back. Swain was using his GF, which was especially effective given the terrain.

    Swain's more effective crowd control left Steele free to go after the ones that had already made it past his gunfire, and take the pressure off of Koemi and Kyra. He stowed his pistols, and grabbed the hilts of his blades, ripping them from the ground as he ran off towards them, but almost immediately two larger monsters caught his eyes. "Grand Mantes, I can't let them flank those two, I need to take at least one of them ASAP", he mumbled to himself. He sheathed one of his blades, and loaded a demolition round into the other. He noticed that one of the Mantes had managed to pin Kyra. Predictably, the other was trying to take advantage and move in for the kill. Mantes were opportunistic predators that would always take advantage when it was available. Unfortunately for the Mantis, Steele himself was much the same. "Haste!", he yelled, as he picked up speed, crashing into the flanking Mantis from behind, stabbing it in the thorax, firing his canister shot into the wound as he did, quickly pulling out and rolling away to avoid the blast himself. When the canister blew, the mantis went with it, showering everyone nearby in a rain of gore, Steele himself being the closest was nearly completely drenched. He looked up to the second Mantis, as he began drawing in magic, but he was cut short when a Chakram dealt the finishing blow.

    Steele looked around to analyze the situation, though the monsters in the area had been effectively eliminated, Kyra seemed to be in fairly serious condition, passing out as she tried to administer a potion. He turned around to see Swain, still battering monsters with waves. While this could keep them at bay almost indefinitely, it likely wasn't causing much damage, and in the presence of the pyreflies, there was a real danger that he could lose his connection to the GF at any time, which made relieving Swain his priority. "Koemi, stabilize Kyra, I'm going to support Swain!", he yelled, as he made his way back to his teammate. He drew in magic as he approached, hoping to fry most of the remaining enemies with a high-powered lightning spell to take advantage of the fact that they were all still in the water. To his dismay, there wasn't much lightning magic available from his surroundings, and even with all the time he'd have to draw while he closed in, he'd still likely only be able to manage a Thundara. Once he reached the edge of the docks, he pulled his free hand back, as a ball of lightning formed within it, and after a short jump, he threw the ball into the water with the monsters. Before he could see the results, he became lightheaded, and everything started to spin. Steele's affinity with lightning magic was rather low, and that combined with the limited amount available meant he had to exert himself significantly to cast the spell... But even so, it shouldn't have drained him this much. Though he hadn't paid it much thought just before, he had noticed that something felt off when he was drawing in energy. A strange rush of emotions that felt somehow... foreign to him. He glanced towards the pyreflies, and said, "Shit, did I just..?", just before losing his balance falling over.
    Last edited by Heartless Angel; 05-10-2019 at 11:04 PM.

  30. #30

    “She always closes the distance.”

    Nicola wouldn't say another word to me after that. What happened to this girl? She acts as though she has more in common with the monsters out here than with us.

    “Why should she not?” Ifrit bellowed in my ear again, “Are you so sure of your acquaintance, boy?”

    Taking a beat from Nicola, I decided to ignore Ifrit and go to sleep. The morning would come soon and fatigue would only make matters worse. We still had to find Koemi and it had been nothing short of a miracle that I even found Nicola.

    “Mercy.”

    Some time later, I was roused by faint murmurs nearby. Wiping the sleep from my eyes I sat up to find Nicola tossing about. She was having a nightmare.

    “Die here... kids...”

    “Nichola?” I whispered to her, careful not to wake her too suddenly.

    “Don't... Just run...”

    “It's okay. You're not in any danger anymore.” I cooed, pressing my hand lightly on her shoulder to stop her frantic motions.

    As luck would have it, her eyes opened, but she didn't jolt awake. Taking in a few ragged breaths, her eyes turned to me as they began to focus. Unfortunately, that was also when she immediately slapped my hand from her and rolled over to pretend nothing had happened. I stayed by her side a while longer, but she would just ignore me.

    After an episode like that, I knew I wasn't going to take my eyes off of her any time soon. I propped myself up on a nearby rock and gazed up at the stars fading from the slowly brightening sky. If this kept up, it was very likely not only Nicola, but Koemi and I would be following Damien's footsteps. We needed to make heads or tails of our predicament and come up with a solution. I decided that I'd try get through to Nicola in the morning so that we could work together to find Koemi and then find a way back home.

    “So… Are you still having the same nightmares?” I asked, and then when she didn't answer added,. “You know if you actually talked about it, it might help.”

    The next day came and went and she wasn't in any mood to chat in all that time. I needed to pace myself. It was clear this girl had been through a lot and it wasn't going to be easy to get her to face her demons. Her chocobo ended up sensing her foul mood and decided to take it out on me, but it ended up being just the knock I needed. After rubbing my head, I happened to look in the direction where I spotted that same monster following us. It had disappeared on us last night, but now it was back.

    “Uhhh… That monster is still walking towards us, is it really a good idea to stop now?” I pointed out to her when I saw she suddenly settled down and looked to be setting up camp.

    “She will stop, we have only just stopped ourselves.”

    “And if it doesn’t?”

    “Then she has finally decided to kill me and you will run away.” That got her talking; she had history with this monster and that meant it was my in to getting through to her.

    “Don’t ever touch me.” But still with the pacing. Can't forget the pacing.

    She took off again after that, but made sure I knew she wasn't planning on running off. I thought about following her anyway, but the right move was to give her space. I had my plan now. I just needed to work on how to use it to get her to open up.

    “Darkside!”

    A short while later a female voice shouted out an attack command somewhere in the distance. Nicola hadn't come back yet, but if this girl was in trouble, I had to help. Hopping onto Nicola's chocobo I let the sounds of battle help me to track down where it was happening, but it still took me a little while to get there. Once I had I saw that Nicola was there, too, aiding a woman dressed in all black except for a red shirt underneath her jacket. They were facing off against a Behemoth and, while they did look fatigued, they also made quick work of the beast. The new girl summoned something that only partially appeared, something with a lot of black-colored wings. After it used its Banish Ray attack, she was drained. Nicola wasn't doing much better, though they had nearly beaten the Behemoth. As it slowly got back to its feet, I got Ifrit's attention and summoned him to put a little Hellfire hurting on it.

    “Hey, I thought you had been gone a while, luckily we caught up” I hollered over to Nicola.

    Oddly, the Behemoth still didn't go down even though I was sure Hellfire sapped the last of its strength. Nicola suddenly blurted out something about over souls? Over souling? Apparently, something is supposed to happen when encountering too many of the same monster, though, at least to my knowledge, we hadn't encountered too many of these yet.

    “Doesn’t matter it must be the pryeflies that are affecting them”

    It was another word I wasn't sure about, but regardless the Behemoth still stood and we needed to bring it down quickly. The two of them were not looking too great and I'd already summoned Ifrit again. None of us were in any shape to be engaging in a long battle. Nicola managed to take out one of its eyes with an arrow. When it flinched, I nodded over to the new girl and we both made our way to its legs. Her gunblade sliced deep into its thigh while I equipped my tonfa to pop out its knee. It stumbled in pain, but that only got it another arrow in its remaining eye, blinding it. Suddenly, Nicola shouted another attack command and a hail of arrows came raining down on top of the beast. That brought it down.

    “Okay, did not know you had that limit break.” I commented, applauding her for the kill.

    Limit break. That's a word I hadn't thought to say in a while, which meant I had forgotten about them. It was serendipitous that this battle happened and that Nicola was able to pull one off. My mind went to work thinking hard about my own limit breaks and running through their specific details just as an exercise in recalling anything that was starting to fade. I would introduce the two of us to the new girl, but unfortunately, she was also suffering from using her GF too much. Her memories had gone so bad she didn't even remember her name, just her GF's.

    Night had already come by this point, but thanks to Nicola's foresight, we'd already had our camp set up and the walk back was thankfully uneventful. The new girl had packed up her things to pitch up her tent by us. Once we arrived, she was off setting up while Nicola plopped herself down to sleep. Taking a sigh of relief I began considering my next moves. Koemi was still out there and we'd need to find her, but with more people in the group, I told myself that we were doing well. The next day, though...

    “Well, that's just peachy.”

    I groaned as my eyes stared forward at the empty ground in front of me. The sun was already fairly high in the sky, which meant I'd dozed off just a bit longer than I was hoping. Nicola had taken the opportunity to run off again, taking her chocobo with her and even the new girl was gone, too.

    “Guess I had better go find them again.”

    With a sigh, I lifted myself off the ground, cracked my back as having slept for so long wasn't the best, and decided on a direction to travel. There was a shaded hill in the opposite direction from where we'd traveled yesterday. It would provide me with better cover and a better vantage point. If Nicola didn't travel too far, I might still have a chance to spot her, though I admitted to myself how unlikely that was.

    The hike up was rather easy, though I did have to sneak past a few monsters lazily baking in the sun. Once I was under the shade of an overhanging cliff, I leaned against a rock and peered out at the landscape. As anticipated, neither Nicola nor the new girl were anywhere in the distance. She could have easily gone back the way we'd come, which meant I was seeking her in precisely the wrong direction. I groaned again and punched the rock, before pressing my back against the cliff edge.

    “Now what?” I asked myself, picking up a pebble to toss.

    By mid-day, I decided that there was no sense sulking. Even if I didn't have any idea where either of them could be, standing still wouldn't help me find them any faster. The hill, I found, was a bit winding. The cliff over me seemed to spiral and the path I was on would lead me up to it. I began climbing, finding myself in a small alcove between columns of rock. Unfortunately for me, the path ended at a steep incline of smooth rock, too slick to climb. I scanned around, finding a natural tunnel carved out between layers of the hill. It was small, but I could squeeze through, though did I really want to explore?

    “Achoo.”

    There was a sound I vaguely identified as human. As I wasn't sure, I listened and soon made out the sound of sniffling. Could I have been so lucky? Was one of them actually there in the tunnel? Carefully, I lowered myself on the sloping path down into the tunnel and proceeded to follow the sounds. The tunnel opened back up into a lower alcove under the path I'd come from and wound away from it further on. The area was under so much rock that even with the sun high up in the sky, the area felt damp and cool. Following the continue sounds of sniffling, I would eventuate on another gap, which I squeezed through to find another girl leaning against the far wall, shivering and clearly lost.

    “Are you alright?” I asked her, though I noticed my voice carried a bit of a disappointed tone.

    “I don't know.” She replied, “I don't know where I am.”

    Mentally scolding myself for letting my personal dilemmas show in my voice, I told her, “That's been going around, I'm afraid. I'm Tross. Do you remember your name?”

    The girl stopped shivering and stood up, pondering my question for a moment. It was obvious she was another of us, forced to use her GF too often that her memories had left her. I would tell her not to worry and explained what had caused her confusion, but to my surprise she would tell me her name was Emi and apologised for her pause; she was only distracted due to having lost her way.

    “How about we get out of here?” I asked, offering her a hand.

    She nodded, stepping over towards me and accepting my hand. I did my best to lead the both of us back to where I'd originally started up the hill. The path was rather winding and I would have to second guess a few of my directions, but I would get us out before long. We didn't share too many words during the journey. I'd been more focused on navigating the way out and I suppose she was still coping with the situation. Once we were out, I explained to her that I had had other companions before, but that I'd lost them.

    “It could get tiring, but I feel you'd be safer with me. So would you like to come with me to find my friends?”

    She hesitated, but nodded and replied, “Okay.”

    Leading her back to the campsite, I dropped my things and put my rolled up sleeping bag down on the ground for her to sit. She was hesitant at first, looking around as if she expected to find something, but straighted out her dress before taking a seat. In the meantime, I actually did have something to look for. My trek up the hill was fruitless save for having found Emi there, but all my other companions were still out there.

    It then occurred to me just how many of the people I found lost out here happened to be women. Could that be a clue as to what happened to us? It mattered little at the moment, but if we were to figure out a way back to civilization later, it would become important to know just how we had come to be here.

    “So there you are.”

    The new girl's voice said from behind me. I turned to greet her, seeing the carcasses of a few animals hanging from the flat side of the gunblade she had held upright behind her. It would turn out she'd woken up with Nicola and decided to see if she could get some food. Nicola had told her she was going to scout, which she didn't think anything of it. I'd let her know that Nicola was a flight risk and she was probably not coming back. Still, we had food and a group again and I'd found Nicola once before. If only I could have more days like this. I was reminded of Damien and Yelena and hoped their fates wouldn't be repeated for Koemi and Nicola, but I told myself I'd try harder to keep these girls safe.

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