☈ strike # 23 (accidental video / action)

[thestormishere]

[ You'd think that a woman who goes by 'Lightning' would have an affinity for thunderstorms. However, in truth... considering she grew up in the all but completely climate-controlled environment of Cocoon, her experiences with storms in general have actually been relatively rare, and... well, while she doesn't fear them by any means, she's certainly found they tend to bring more trouble than anything else- and not just because of the bothersome amphibious monsters that like to frolic in their wake.

This afternoon's no different. More importantly, water - and cold, the rumble of thunder overhead and wind gusting over her, mussing her hair - isn't something she was expecting to wake up to. In fact, she... really wasn't expecting to wake up at all. She hadn't been asleep.

In an instant she's rolled into a crouch, backing up against the nearest wall, and the soggy journal laying nearby captures the image of a woman who looks just about as good as you'd expect out of someone who just found themselves face-down in the midst of a rainy village, wearing nothing more than that ever-familiar white dress of a New Feather. Who needs dignity? ]

What...? What?

[ Oh, she seems unhappy. Especially since- even though she clearly wasn't armed a moment beforehand, when she then extends her arm... this happens, with what appears to be a sword materializing in her hand with a flurry of white feathers.

Feathers that slowly vanish with a soft light as they land on the ground, although she stays still, obviously confused yet trying not to show it.

She might be a face that's been around in town for quite a while, but it's likely that only those closest to her or close to her friends in turn will have even heard anything about how she's been missing for just over half a day now.

... Until now, at least. ]

Comments

[thestormishere]

I'm not a goddess.

[ Just... well, clearing that up right away. Her maybe-amused tone contrasts with the relative curtness of the answer, leading to a sort of exasperated in-between air behind the declaration. ]

But... their journey through time... my disappearance- all of that is true.

[ Not happy about admitting that, especially since (if she's recalling correctly) the particular point in time they were both from meant they hadn't yet heard the full story. She might have had a lot less frustration about what they had to say then if... they'd actually had more solid details to hand out.

... Zack would probably have a better idea of what she's talking about here in the first place, too. It's kind of hard to filter things through to your boyfriend when you don't understand them yourself, after all. ]

[wingenvy]

...Did they say why? Or- do you know? Why'd you have to leave?

[He kind of figured that after you save the world you ought to stick around and have a party or something. Whatever kind of celebrating is a thing for Light. Either way, it sounds overly complicated and the worst kick in the ass post-victory since... well, since he got himself apparently murdered right after escaping Nibelheim.]

[thestormishere]

[ Welp, she's explained this once before to Serah and Noel-- although then, at least she'd been expecting to have to give answers and be long winded about it. ]

... We saved Cocoon, but then that wasn't the end of it.

[ She keeps her gaze on the ground ahead of her, although she's obviously focused on something mental rather than visual; a serious frown tugs down the ends of her lips and brows as she considers the utter fuckin' mess that grew out of what should have been nothing more than a miracle for mankind. ]

With our Focus technically complete, we were crystallized as a result- and likely would have stayed that way for who knows how long... if it weren't for the goddess. Etro took pity on us, freed us from the mark of the l'Cie... and yet in doing so, she--
,
[ -- This is complicated, to say the least. Lightning shakes her head at herself, backing up a bit in her explanation. ]

The place where the goddess resides is Valhalla, the domain left beyond the end of time, where the souls of those who have died pass to after they've left the bounds of the timeline. When Cocoon began to fall, the Gate between the Seen and Unseen realms was opened too far, allowing the chaos in Valhalla that has no place in our world to fall through, infecting the timeline...

[wingenvy]

['Mess' is one serious understatement. Zack can't help but stare at her, remaining quiet because- well, quite frankly, he's having difficulty understanding it. Gate? Seen and Unseen? The souls of the dead? It sounds sort of like the Lifestream, but he'd never fully understood that, either.

He wants to say something, do something for her, but for now he just attempts to blink away his confusion and focus on the path ahead, taking in every word in silence. Questions can wait.]

[thestormishere]

[ There's a hint of frustration in her, but otherwise Lightning gives no indication she's talking about personally serving the goddess of death is... kind of odd. She considers how there's no doubt she'll have to explain all this again to him in more gradual detail some time, but-- it's better than just one chance and then she has to walk away again with no further explanation. Even if the idea of spending more time here is pretty alarming at the moment.

She glances over, but not quite directly at him. To kind of reiterate: ]

Etro closed the Gate to keep what shouldn't be in the realm of the living out... but the timeline was warped, regardless. [ A breath. ] My sister... is the only one who remembers me being alive, there at the base of the crystal pillar supporting Cocoon- before I was swept away to Valhalla.

[wingenvy]

What about everyone else? Did they forget, or...?

[Oh god, did they think she was dead or something? He can't decide which is worse. Being forgotten sounds... beyond awful, though. Like your whole life means nothing at all, even with everything you've accomplished.

He'd never want that.]

[thestormishere]

... Yes.

[ Unfortunately. Her lips press together, and she dips her head so that her eyes are mostly hidden for a few moments, voice still quiet but tense- to the point where it sounds like it's just on the verge of breaking when she continues. ]

Most believed... that I had either joined Fang and Vanille in holding up Cocoon... or otherwise sacrificed myself.

[ Of course, there would be those who would spend the rest of their lives believing she was still a monster, too. The government had been ... persuasive in their coverage centering on her: the one Pulse l'Cie who they would have had the most information on thanks to her military career. ]