Afterburn (Light only)

[cloud]

In this farewell, there's no blood, there's no alibi

I've drawn regret from the truth of a thousand lies

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(OOC: If anyone's confused, by 'Light' in the title I meant any character who fights for the Light, not Lightning's nickname as Vantias pointed out. -laughs- xD;)

He had failed.

And now Deep Jungle, bent to the whims of Darkness, was now a smoldering wreck. Cloud had done all he could to contain the jungle fire, but it had not gone expected to plan with the arrival of the Remnants arriving to exact revenge on him. If not for the arrival of Yuna, Lief, and Snow, it might have been a different story and he would not be here. But despite the calvary arriving to aid him, staying to fight the villains was only going to spread the destruction the clown Kefka had lavished in glee for. The best thing to do to save what was left of the forest was to abandon it for the moment and go back when less attention was drawn to it... Cloud had seen most of the jungle wildlife had fled to the waterfall caverns by a strange man in a loincloth, so perhaps even if a single plant or a seed survived, there would still be hope nature would take it's course and grow back the forest stronger than ever.

At Cloud's request, all the heroes with the Light had retreated to this nearby world, and hopped aboard this mysterious train to travel to a safe destination to lose anyone that might have been tailing them. Cloud Strife, part-time delivery boy and full-time mercenary fighting for peace knelt in between the sofa-like seats facing one another, having laid his massive First Tsurugi off his shoulder down beside him, taking off the sleeve on his left arm and examining the burns there. A nice amount of burns and other battle-damage wounds also covered his body, but were slowly, ever so slowly healing thanks to curative magic. It was extremely painful to move like he was over-exposed to severe sunburn, and the battle scars would take some time to heal. For now, he would have to plan what to do from here-on out.

The Phantom Train stopped momentarily at a station, allowing passengers on board at the town of Mobliz before after a moment's time taking off to destinations unknown once more. Snow, Lief and Yuna should have been on the train with him and even in the same compartment, as they travelled together momentarily in numbers for safety. But not knowing where they were at that moment in time as his inflictions seethed in agony, the leather of his glove creaked as he balled it into a fist. He didn't even know their names, but as the lament subsided some, he felt at peace enough for them to approach them. He wasn't even aware he was on the same homeworld as the clown that had sparked the trouble in the first place, and that the world being turned into the World of Ruin was his doing... he just had to figure out what to do, his reason to keep going and fight.

But he wasn't even sure what that was right now.

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[terravii]

The cursed train of myth. She'd been here previously (though even then, it was of a questionable level of existence, being inside the mind of one of her friends) but this time, she felt a particular calling. A shred of warmth she'd not felt in a long time, one that felt strangely familiar. So despite the doom and gloom surrounding this train, she was rather keen to get on board and find out what had drawn her to it, a moth to a flame. The world she'd known was now under an eerie unease, magic had since returned and Terra, with no contact from her former comrades, was forced to explore alone. Many fears still lingered in her heart, some were old fears rekindled while others were entirely new.

The people she'd spoken to on her way to the station refused to acknowledge the presence of magic, even seeing it before their own eyes in a demonstration. Despite the ignorance, Terra sought comfort in this - the people were at least returning to their old ways. It was the first time in a while that she'd been out and seeing the townsfolk working to rebuild their lives was a pleasing sight.

Her wandering thoughts soon returned to the train, which she'd boarded fully without even noticing. It certainly had class for a train of such frightening repute, with velvet carpets and sliding wooden doors giving the train a rustic yet authentic look. She gazed up and down the train's long corridors, seeing who'd come aboard before her but more to find the direction of this odd feeling. She moved down the train, taking careful steps so as not to disturb passengers... if there were any. She knew the myths. The train was haunted, right?

Well, not quite. It didn't take Terra much distance to see the spiky haired youth, knelt down observing his battle wounds. She had no idea what such a man was doing here and almost, for a moment, felt she was to warn the man of the nature of the Phantom Train. But then she realized. The feeling of warmth, that feeling of light: it was coming from him. Terra's eyes widened for a moment as she took in all the traits of the man. Blonde, large sword, abstract clothing... did she know the man? An image flashed in her head of how she believed the man would fight, swinging the sword around heavily, wide powerful sweeps.

"Um... excuse me, sir?..." she said loudly, but with an obvious timidness behind her voice. Her hands were clenched in front of her neck. If Cloud was to turn to her, he would see a mixed reception from the young mint haired girl. One of confusion, familiarity but most of all, concern.

[cloud]

So let meercy come, and wash away

What I've Done

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As the train shook and started up again, there we footsteps. Not the loud footsteps of a heavy-set male like Snow, but the dainty footsteps of a female. He glanced up, almost expecting the human form of the diminutive female treasure hunter he recognized as part of Leon's Restoration Committee. But instead of a young woman with short brunette hair and heterochromia eyes, there came a girl that was much more familiar to him in his memories. His breath hitched slightly in surprise, as he hadn't expected to see her again. Not after they had returned to all their worlds, even if he had anticipated that one day he might come across her home world.

"Terra...?"

For him, the memories were still there, since they had won the final cycle against Chaos. Of coming across Terra Branford alone and frightened of her own powers, raising his sword against her without hesitation if only because it he couldn't think of anything else to quell her immense powers. Listening to her story of losing the boy afterwards, and deciding to go against his indifferent nature to help her because of her gratitude in reminding him that he had helped subdue her magic potency regardless. And thus if he could help anyone, something he always doubted himself about after a battle like the one he had undergone. Blond eyebrows raised slightly in recognition, remembering more of listening to her concerns about Kefka calling her 'destruction incarnate', just doing his best to be there and listen to her worries.

There was also dealing with Cloud of Darkness as well so she could find her strength to handle her responsibility of Kefka alone, something which she had overcome and earned her crystal for due to her heart's desires to protect. But there was something wrong with the way she had greeted him... and the way she was staring at him now. Not just because he didn't recognize that her hair was now tinted an odd green color, but he was sure 'Sir' was not something she had called him in respect when she was on a first name basis with him. Maybe he had the wrong person and she wasn't Terra, or maybe she had forgotten and taken on a new life. "...Sorry. Guess I got you confused with someone else I knew." he apologized as he struggled to stand, not sure with what else to say in this rather awkward situation.

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[terravii]

One of Terra's hands moved across to her face, shielding her mouth as she took in a little gasp of air. The man knew her name, but why? Was this why she felt so familiar with him?
"I... I am Terra! Terra Branford. Do I... know you?" she spoke up in surprise after withdrawing both hands, one holding the other by her legs. She began to wonder if the images in her head from before were not just her imagination... but born from memories. She had no idea where to place them, if they were memories, but given how she was now feeling, she couldn't just dismiss them. She had lost her memories once before. She wouldn't be surprised if something had made her lose them again.

She took a few steps closer to the man, before reaching a distance she was comfortable with and leaning in to take a gander at the more closer features of him.
"You're not a warrior of this world... why...why do you seem so familiar?" she said, a degree of panic rising in her voice. She felt she was missing something and that something was key to the mania that was descending her world now. The man's fashion, his weapon, even his hairstyle seemed out of place for this world. Terra turned to one of the seats for a moment, before turning her body about and sitting down.

A question entered Terra's mind, the reasoning for it unknown. She had to ask the man, the man with such an odd aura about him, such a comforting feeling.

"Are you... a Warrior of Light?"

[kimahri]

Kimahri was somewhat confused by the concept of this train. When he had found it in the haunted forest, it had picked up souls. It appeared to be a train to the afterlife, someplace that the Ronso wasn't headed to. Having watched it pick up some souls of the deceased, he understood the meaning of the train.

Having heard the tales of other worlds and the Heartless, Kimahri knew he was not at home here, but this world did seem to be different from his. The Farplane probably didn’t exist here, at least not in the same way as it did at home. Perhaps the train was their way of Sending.

The Ronso walked amongst some ghosts, they didn’t seem to bother him in the cart he was in, so he started to move to other carts. If Kimahri’s right on the train and its destination, then he would surely need to get off before it came to the afterlife. But before that, he felt it was good to take a look around. He still didn’t understand how he ended in that forest.

“... of Light?” The sound of voices had reached the Ronso’s ears, apparently he was not alone with the ghosts and they didn’t sound like the deceased either, so he started to move towards where the voices came from to see if these passengers knew where they were headed.

Kimahri opened the door to the cart with Cloud and Terra.

[cloud]

I'll face myself; and cross out what I've become

Erase myself; and let go of what I've done.

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But then... so he was right, after all? The young lady confirmed her name, and Cloud had to examine her further. Emerald green hair, but the eyes were the same kind hue of azure in her eyes. Yes... this was her, there was no mistaking that now. She sure had changed... both figuratively and physically. However, her question left him paused with how he should answer such a open question that could have many answers - and consequences.

She didn't seem to remember him at all.

Maybe she had forgotten about him... or maybe Cosmos had her memory erased. And while her mind was clear and his memory foreign to her, her heart seemed to recognize him somehow. Whoever or whatever made her forget him, had it been for a reason? He wasn't sure what kind of damage he would do with burdening her with such information, or that of the memory of him and the pain that came attached to that knowledge of villains and chaos. But there was a sense of curiosity in her voice, accompanied with a sense of longing to find out more, perhaps to rediscover more of who she was. If Cloud didn't directly remind her of who he was, but just helped her find the answers on her own, perhaps the weight of of the world that came with it would not be so heavy upon her shoulders to bare.

Like his sword had been.

"We have met before," he simply alluded her with some reproach, his words low but clear. He wasn't sure how to approach this, but just did what he considered best without thinking. Just as he did the first time he met her, and his own azure eyes darted up with a glance at her as she moved her petite hands to her legs in withdrawal. He remained silent as she sat down to comprehend this, reiterating that he felt familiar to her. She, too, had a comforting presence he could feel while she was near. Her grace reminded him dearly of a certain flowergirl from his homeworld, and it seemed to do a great deal more of soothing him than the curative magic did. He took a deep breath, and moved to slowly sit down opposite her to meet her at equal eye level. Intense eyes locked onto hers once more as she asked another question, which he felt could be answered in many ways, but chose a more modest and sincere one.

"Yeah. Like yourself. But lately... I haven't been much of one. No good at helping out as a hero... just, doing what I felt was right, without thinking it through." he admitted quite honestly, having said something similar to her the first time they had met. He would continue to answer her in this fashion, just giving her information in small bits for her to discover herself so she wouldn't feel overwhelmed with the confused memories that followed. He then turned to the voice that had echoed Terra after she had spoken, looking at the large humanoid that had entered the cabin. He was not estranged to the blue-furred lion-like man with tribal attire that had appeared, as he was quite used to and accustomed with Nanaki's appearance, and nodded once to him in acknowledgment both at his presence and his query.

"Those that fight for peace, for justice... for honor. For harmony. Who are you?"

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[wol]

"Are you... a Warrior of Light?"

As the question was asked, another man entered the cart.

"I believe that would be myself. It's good to see you again Terra, Cloud."

The man then looked over at the blue feline-esque man that had arrived as well.

*Earlier...*

The Warrior of Light had found himself on yet another odd world that he wasn't quite sure about. The Warrior's wondering had taken him far and wide to Worlds consumed by Darkness and Worlds basking in the Light. Unfortunately for this World and it's inhabitants, this was one of those Worlds that was consumed by the Darkness. While he certainly wished to help the inhabitants of the World, he needed to find out more about it first. The Warrior of Light now stumbled into a grove, plucking away and wiping some stray bits of foliage off of his armor.

The first thing to catch his eye was the state of the beings in the grove. Spirits, ghosts, shades, whatever one wished to say. The fact of the matter is that this place was a gathering ground for the dead. A moment more and the Warrior of Light saw just why that was. A mighty train roared it's greeting as it approached the platforms that had been set up. While the Warrior certainly marveled at this curiosity, he saw that the dead moved to board the train, signaling it's purpose as a transportation to the Afterlife. Letting his curiosity get the better of him, he entered the train. He would have to remember to get off before it hit it's final stop though.

After the Warrior boarded, he took a look around the cart and the passengers simply sat at their seats, uncaring of the presence of the living individual. The Warrior of Light began to move to another cart, hearing voices as he did so. Infact, they were quite recognizable. He stepped through the door to the cart, deciding to reintroduce himself to those individuals again.It had been ages since he last saw them, after all. And this was quite the welcome find. Or at least, if it didn't mean they had died and instead simply stumbled onto the Train like himself.

[terravii]

Before the lion-featured man entered, Terra picked up something in Cloud's voice... outside of the rather open mention that he'd known her previously. His heart seemed heavy and his voice conveyed it as he spoke to her. Self-depreciation. She once went through that herself, a long time ago. She still felt like her power was still too much for a hero to handle, but she knew she had to do her best. It was only a matter of time before she made that one mistake she feared, inadvertently causing harm to those she treasured.
"Your heart seems heavy... you speak as though you feel you're no good..." Terra reiterated her thoughts into voice, albeit grimly and quietly.

Before the gloom of the conversation could ensnare her, two more people entered. One another familiar presence, he too spoke as though he had been acquainted with the female mage before. The other, an unfamiliar species but one who didn't provoke a sense of fear or intimidation in Terra. Neither seemed hostile, but as she glanced between the two, the Warrior of Light provoked another image in Terra's mind. Another memory buried away... or perhaps sealed away? She stood up and moved swiftly towards the Warrior but once more, she halted a distance away from him, perhaps in a manner of politeness.

She looked up to him, a small smile flashing across her face. She felt a similar sense of warmth from this hero as she had from the SOLDIER. She decided to ask the Warrior about the image she had seen.
"You... you fight with swords of light, don't you?" she asked with a certain degree of curiosity and shyness. She was recalling a time where she bore witness to the hero of Cornelia battling against foreign entities in a realm of light. The image in her mind showed this exact man throwing dazzling swords of light towards his foes. Would she be correct? Would she discover something locked away from these two men?

[Snow Villiers]

<sub>After the chaotic battle in the jungle world, Snow and his allies had been forced to retreat. During the retreat, the blond man that Snow had been fighting alongside asked Snow to meet him in the world that was the closest to the one that they were already in. Snow knew, with a certain feeling that he could not explain, that this blond man was one of the good guys. Snow looked into this man's eyes and he saw a warrior and the fact that Snow felt that he was using his powers for good was enough for Snow to respect him. Snow agreed to his plan, got into his airship and flew off. However, while he was en route to specified world, Snow's airship detected another world that was not too far off that hadn't been searched yet. Snow knew for a fact that the blond man was going to need his help but at the same time, Snow had his own agenda. Snow wanted to find his family; and that was a mission that took priority in Snow's heart. Snow sighed, knowing full well that the blond man may be weak at the moment but the girl that was with him was not. In fact, the girl displayed extraordinary power. She was able to summon and she didn't even have a L'Cie brand. Snow closed his eyes and gripped his airship yoke; he knew that they needed his help and that what Snow was about to do was selfish, but he just couldn't live with himself if he missed the chance to reunite with his friends or his beloved wife. And so, Snow left to search the other world...and he found his wife.

He looked to Serah and smiled at her. Snow was so happy that he found her, he thought he had lost her forever. Snow flew to the world that the blond man specified, hoping and praying that nothing happened to the allies that Snow fought beside. Snow told her about the showdown that he had in the jungle-like world that he was in; he had told her all that had happened to him and she was still willing to be with Snow. Danger at this point was literally on Snow's back. Snow wished that he didn't have to bring his dear wife into this mess...and then a potential idea hit Snow. What if...Snow could keep Serah out of danger...and still do what he needed to do? Snow, as soon as he found Lightning, Fang, or Sazh, could leave Serah in their care. Snow knew that Lightning would have no problem with it and then Snow could fight and know that Serah is in good hands. However, Lightning, Sazh, and Fang were warriors just like Snow was. It wouldn't be advisable to do that, plus Snow couldn't be away from Serah, he just couldn't. Snow turned and smiled at Serah, taking in her beauty with his blue eyes. Snow then looked to the airship's radar, after it had made a beeping sound, informing Snow that they were at their destination.

"Well...looks like we're here...I hope they're ok...", Snow said as they entered the world that was specified by the blond man.

Snow flew his airship into the world and they flew around the world. Snow wasn't sure about the level of technology that this world had so he made sure to be invisible. He made it a point to fly out of sight so that no one would react in an extreme matter. After a while, Snow picked up some humanoid lifeforms grouped into one area. Snow knew that this world must have been well populated but Snow hoped and prayed that it was the group that he looked for. Snow landed the airship in a place that would be able to hide it but he was able to land close enough to the area where the lifeforms were detected. He turned off the airship and got up from the pilot seat. He took his dear Serah by the hand gently and he attempted to lead her out of the airship and to the place where there were humans. In little time, Snow and Serah made to their destination. Snow walked with Serah...and they found the spiky haired blond along with Snow's other allies. Snow gave them all a greeting nod, and they all boarded a train. Snow looked to Serah, and toward the train. Snow looked to Serah and nodded, letting her know that if anything happens, he would protect her but for now, they all had to stick together with Snow's new allies. Snow let Serah get on the train first and as soon as Snow came aboard. Snow took Serah's hand into his own gently once again and then they followed the spiky blond haired man into a compartment. Snow led Serah to one of the sofa-like seats and they simply sat down, with Snow still holding Serah's hand.

Snow looked to everyone, to the girl with the extraordinary power, to the guy that accompanied her, and finally to the spiky haired blond. Snow thought about everything...about the people that they fought against, about who his new allies were, and about what they should all do next. Snow watched various events unfold, he watched as a young girl with emerald hair walked in. She seemed to know the spiky blond. After that, a blue anthropomorphic being walked in as well. Snow had never seen anyone as tall as Snow himself in all of his life, well at least not anyone that was bipedal. He also saw a man in full armor that seemed to address the emerald haired girl and the spiky blond as Terra and Cloud. Snow assumed naturally that Terra was the girl and Cloud was the guy. However, Terra mentioned something quite strange. She mentioned that Cloud was a Warrior of Light. Snow wasn't sure about what that meant...at all. Snow felt so lost, and Snow hated not knowing what was going on. However, the one that he truly understood was Cloud. When Cloud said that he was always trying to do what seemed right, which was basically the story of Snow's life. After that, he said something that lit a fire in Snow's heart, soul, and spirit. Cloud asked for those that fought for peace, for justice... for honor and harmony to introduce themselves. Snow looked to Serah with whom he was still holding hands with. Snow looked to Serah and kissed her hand. He then held her hand with both of his hands, letting her know that he felt the need to speak up. Snow gently let go of his dear wife's hand and stood up, standing as tall as the blue figure that entered the room not too long ago.

"...I'm Snow...Snow Villiers...and this is Serah...my beloved wife...", Snow said, he looked to Serah when he introduced her and mentioned her beautiful name. "Listen...uh...Cloud, that's your name, right? I probably don't need to ask this at all but...we are going back, right? I mean...we can't just let them get away with this. Who were those guys, what business did they have with you and what's their purpose?", Snow continued, he then looked his new allies along with the one that was in full armor who seemed to know Cloud and Terra and the blue figure that stood near the doorway. Snow was getting good vibes from them, he couldn't explain it, but he felt that their hearts were just as pure as his own. "Listen, if we attack them now, they won't be expecting it. First Strike; they think we are weak right now but if we turn around and fight..."</sub>

[krile]

From behind Kimahri, the door went open again. This time a girl entered, increasing the amount of girls in the room by one more to three. Krile looked kind of confused at the crowded cart of the train. The last ones she went through had either ghosts or nothing. They also appeared to ignore her entirely when she came in.

One face was familiar there, “Snow!” She called to the tall man at the other side, “what is happening here? Why the many people? Where is this train headed? Sorry,” she apologized for the many questions, but it seemed all confusing. She looked up at Kimahri, not a werewolf, a werelion maybe?

From there she looked over the others that appeared to be all humans, she wondered if she had come in at a wrong time. There was a heavily armored fellow amongst them, a knight, she thought. He did stood out of the rest like the werelion.

[kimahri]

When entering the cabin, Kimahri saw the blond man nodding his way, so he returned the greeting with a nod. This was right before all the people started to enter. First a full armoured fellow that replied to the girl’s earlier question, it appeared. The man wore blue armour and a horned helmet. He seemed to know the two, so Kimahri didn’t want to bother with their reunion.

Then the door went open and two more entered behind the warrior. The male of the couple introduced the two of them as a couple before asking several things and suggesting for an attack on some enemies they had encountered just before they arrived. Apparently they had come there right after a battle, maybe to regain some strength before returning to battle. Another war, it didn’t feel right, to find more battles, more wars everywhere.

Then the door behind him opened as well, so Kimahri stepped a bit aside to stand between two rows of seats. He wondered if he should take a seat. This one appeared to know Snow, but didn’t seemed to know the reason for this gathering. Seeing that she was still quite young, Kimahri assumed she was left out of this, which was perhaps for the best. He wondered if his presence was a bother to the others.

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OOC Note
Sorry, having a hard time thinking of what to respond with... -.-;

[Serah "Farron" Villiers]

[/color][/b] Serah said in hopes to make him feel better about it. "They sound resourceful and strong." Serah added in.

As Serah gazed at the world below and took in what she saw. Every new world that Serah had encountered, she tried to remember and learn more about it. Which made her thing of the Island that she met up with Snow at. That place would always remain special to her now. It was the reunion location for the married couple, it really shouldn't be surprising that Serah would hold the place close to her heart. Coming out of her thoughts, she noticed a group of people and then the ship being lowered. This group of people was obviously the comrades that Snow had spoken of. Seeing her husband get up from his seat, she took that as a sign it was time to get off his airship. Taking her hero's hand, she followed him out of the ship and looked at everyone. One had spikey blonde hair, another had pretty emerald hair, another had blonde hair, someone who had heavy armor covering his body, and another person? He looked a lot like a cat, looking at him Serah had a feeling he had a good strong heart. Then again, Serah was only going by her instinct and the soft spot she had for animals. Everyone else seemed to be the same way as well. After each short glance at everyone, Serah gave them each a friendly smile.

Seeing Snow's nod, Serah gave him a nod back. She knew he would always do everything he could to protect her. Maybe one day I'll be protecting you, Serah joked to herself. After entering the train and sitting down, she made sure her hand wasn't slipping away from Snow's. Looking at Snow as he kissed her hand and held it with both hands, she gave him a smile and felt a blush come to her cheeks. Even though they were married, at times Snow still managed to bring a blush to Serah. As he stood up, Serah brought her small hands together and placed them in her lap.

When Snow stood up and gave his pep talk, a small smile formed on her lips. Times like this reminded her of NORA Snow's rebellion group, also the group that Lightning never approved of. She even once said to Serah, in a way of talking down about Snow, about how it was immature. Not in Serah's eyes, she even gained the nickname Princess of team NORA. Her husband was the leader of the team and having that nickname did make her smile every time she heard it. Serah then thought about saying that she would fight with them as well. Though she did hope that this would be obvious. Even when people underestimated Serah, it did amuse her a bit, but she hoped that everyone just wouldn't think that she would just get in the way. Then again, she could be just letting things get to her to easily.

Serah waited for Snow to stop speaking and looked at everyone. "I know you all don't know me, but I will stand and fight with you." Serah said, with a voice she normally used to give advice.[/ul]

[cloud]

Put to rest, what you thought of me;

While I clean this slate, with the hands, of uncertainty

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Cloud looked up as another presence entered the cabin, one he had also not seen in the longest time. "It's you." he acknowledged, since the Warrior had already alluded to the name he was called. He actually straightened up some in his seat instead of slouching in his doubts, if not for respect for their former leader and right-hand man of the Goddess Cosmos, but because of the questions he wanted to ask him. "Warrior of Light. Tell me what you know about the goddess of harmony. So, is it true then?" he paused as he confirmed with the Knight, glancing over at the assembled people who he was not aware of being chosen to fight for the Goddess of Harmony. They were not; and yet, from what he suspected of his memories, originally neither was he.

But that was not what he wanted to ask the Warrior of Cosmos, just a reason why he felt he could openly discuss the sensitive situation with strangers present. He had fought with half of them, and sensed no hostility from the others... perhaps there was one thing right with what Genesis had said. Senses told him of the Light in their hearts, how they wished to fight for peace... and, well, to quell the cheesy sentimentality they seemed pretty decent too. The dellusionary ex-SOLDIER felt an aura of sanctuary around this cabin that he could trust these people with questioning the next words out forth from his lips. Especially from Terra Branford, who with signs of amnesia would have many queries for himself and the Warrior.

After half a heartbeat of this consideration, he continued talking to the Perfect Manikin. "Does Cosmos want a balance between the light... and the darkness... or else an end of ruin will come for both sides? Has the war started again?" He was straight to the point and didn't ask if Cosmo's guardian had even seen who he was guarding; but Cloud was Cloud. What Genesis had weighed on his mind, and he didn't want any second doubts on his next course of action that what he was doing wasn't right. If the Warrior knew anything that confirmed what the crimson SOLDIER had said... he wasn't sure if he could believe those words from his memory of that battle.

"She told me about the wars waging in these worlds... how Darkness and Light were fighting one another for control of the worlds and how an utter catastrophe awaited both sides if one were to wrestle too much control from the other."

While he awaited the Warrior to answer his and Terra's questions, he looked at the latter young woman. She and the others would surely have inquirys of their own, but what she had said was more than observation. It was fact, and it was then he leaned over in his seat opposite her and rested his chin on steepled hands rested on his knees. "You heard me. I'm burnt out. At the end of the line..." he trailed off, looking around at the people glancing back at him in realization he was making light of the situation with being on a train. "... I was too reckless. It's my fault they came after me... that I put you all in harm's way." he finished, looking down at the floor to ashamedly avoid their gaze. He wasn't being too down on himself... just matter-of-fact about what had happened before.

He continued looking down at the floor as he went silent, even when the burly blond man that had come to his aid introduced himself and his wife. But he was still listening... so their names were Snow and Serah. He didn't look up until Snow addressed him by name that the Warrior of Light had addressed him as, azure blue mako eyes meeting his own. As soon as Snow had finished the word 'fight', he interupted. "We're not going back." he simply said in a louder tone of voice, assertively but calmly. "Attacking them would be meaningless. That's why we had to run. What exactly would we be fighting for? I don't want to find myself swept into more battles... without knowing why I'm there." he went on to explain, seeing the situation pointless if they just went back there to start another fight.

They were probably long gone by now, too... because they would probably be coming after him, like Snow had noticed the first time.

He uttered a deep sigh at the forethought of Snow's previous question, and felt like after those that had helped him did so at their own expense, he owed them an explanation. "On my home world... there was a swordsman that sought the power of a god." he began his story, cutting out the finer details about his origins, just told them what they should hear on a need-to-know basis. He glanced up at Warrior of Light, who might have been familiar with who he was. "He is... the one that embodies all darkness within me... his fault for making me do some terrible things I regret. When we had no choice but to stop him from doing more... his will was so strong, that it split into three new people that arose. Loz... Yazoo... and Kadaj. Who they are, we call them the Remnants... because we cut them down too, their business with me... is revenge. And their purpose was to resurrect him, the one I need to settle things with." He hesitated, looking from Snow to Serah as they sat down next to Terra across from him.

"If you become like me, and you cross them... they will come after you. They will hunt you down. And they will kill you..." he spoke bluntly, being absolutely stone-cold serious, but he trailed off. Observing Serah's feminine frame before him, he was reminded suddenly of the image of Aerith in her place, praying for Holy as Sephiroth came down with sword aimed for her back. His breath hitched slightly from recalling something so horrific, breaking himself out of the chilling memory, shaking himself off of the emotional burden of his inability to save someone he cared for. As if a bad dream, and just as quickly as his face twisted into that of emotional sorrow, it was replaced again by the expression of indifference that was his shell. "If you value what lives you have... if you value each other. You won't go after them. You can leave the rest to me. They won't rest because they believe I'm the only one... that only I alone can defeat them, and put them back to sleep." he warned Snow as he facial features solidified back into the battle-hardened warrior, glancing at Terra.

"The one that looked like a clown... all he wants is chaos to cause ruin, and end everything. He is not from my home world." he spoke carefully, not speaking his name as well. Not because he knew it as well as he did Sephiroth's, but to spare Terra's feelings if his name and the knowledge he was from her home world brought back painful memories. He wanted to spare her the excruciation he felt, of the truth causing as much damage as it did to his memories from having an emotional breakdown. But he would tell them more if she and she alone asked for it... if she wanted the truth, he also owed her that much. As he finished, he looked up at the Warrior of Light, giving him a look in the hopes he would mutually understand Terra's mentally fragile state as well.

Another small girl came into the compartment, who seemed to know Snow. Perhaps she was from Snow's home world... but he second-guessed that with her manner of traditional dress, and the aura he felt from her Light. "They're with me." is all he said to the youngest girl, unsure how else to answer her question, and not being the social type. He also sensed the same of this about the blue-furred humanoid, who had not answered what his name was to him. However as he was standing by silently as if guarding the seated young woman listening close by, who he had heard during the battle was called Yuna, he had to guess he was one of the good guys and knew of her somehow. Perhaps from the same home world.

Finally, Serah spoke up with her small voice, but like Yuna's had been had a firm and strong-willed resolve. There was something... about the shape of her face and the color of her hair that a flicker of memory went off in Cloud's mind, not clear to him. But for some reason, looking at her reminded him of someone he had seen long ago, a woman with the same facial features. However, he couldn't put a finger on it, a memory in the foggy mist of his memories just barely out of reach. He discarded the image away in his mind for a later time, staring intently at her again. "Don't know if we should be running into battle... without knowing of a reason why, or what's going on. After all, not every fight can be won by most people. But... if you know what you're fighting for... I won't stop you."

Again, his chin found it's place resting on the cradle of his hands folded in front of him. Still waiting for an answer from Warrior of Light, his mind reverted back to the fight, and him. His mortal enemy, and what he had said of the leader of the Remnants he had fought. "They're after the χ-blade." he spoke aloud in thought to those involved in the fight, pronouncing it in it's correct pronunciation as khi-blade, contemplating in reflection upon finding a reason to fight before rushing into another one. "We have to find him... the keybarer. The one with the key..."

"We have to find Sora."

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[deumion]

”It seems I’m not the only one searching for Sora.”

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From out of the shadows stepped the Keeper of Hope, Deumion. He’d been silently watching and listening as the forces of Light had discussed the current events in the multitude of worlds. Deumion had looked deep into their hearts to see that not a single being of darkness had boarded the mysterious train. He still wasn’t sure he’d approach the warriors until he’d heard the name of the Keyblade Master of legend spoken. Sora was the only reason he’d even left his own world, he knew that a warrior of legend like this man would surely require the aide of some of the most powerful magic.

The Guardian of Destruction remained standing, even though many of the other warriors were seated. He knew he should trust them, but he also thought it would be possible to trust his own king when he was captured and imprisoned in the Arcane Sanctuary. Deumion kept his cloak wrapped tightly around him, concealing both the tome of Revive and Destroy, the two ultimate spells of his world.

”I am Deumion, and I have set myself on the mission to aide Sora in his fight against the darkness.”[/b]

He couldn’t help but mentally imagine Sora’s physique. He closed his eyes and saw the outline of a six-foot two hundred pound warrior with a build to match a bronze statue. He imagined the keyblade as a gigantic broadsword with blade-like spokes at one end. He saw the weapon as the most intimidating weapon possible.

”If Sora cannot obtain this X-blade, then we will have to aide him with an equally powerful force.”[/b]

Sora was the only one that Deumion would bestow with his knowledge. The guardian could sense the horrors happening throughout the worlds, and he couldn’t help but see it every time he closed his eyes. Clowns burning forests, leather bound warriors savagely attacking innocents, and the vast armies of Heartless plaguing even the safest of worlds. Their only true hope was the great warrior Sora.

But where was he?[/blockquote]

[cloud]

v

So let mercy come, and wash away,

WHAT. I'VE. DONE.

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(OOC: Well, looks like this thread is dead. Thanks for everyone who read and joined this thread, but exit post time.)

Wherever Sora was, he was not here.

Another man entered, also inquiring about Sora. Cloud simply shook his head at this, not even sure if finding Sora right now when he could be anywhere, was so reliable. "If you can find him, pass on the message." he said to Deumion, and looked at the window as the train was coming to a halt. It didn't matter where they were; he had done recovering while on the run, and he was ready to move again. He nodded to Terra Branford and Warrior of Light, the only two people in the cabin he recognized fighting alongside in previous encounters, in mutual respect. "Time to go. Good luck; let me know the verdict with what you decide, next time."

Pushing himself up out of his seat, slinging the massive girth of First Tsurugi on his back, he strolled through the other unknown warriors. "Don't... stop following that light." he advised them all, before he moved down the length of the carriage, and out one of the doors. Once there, it was a simple path to the platform outside the Phantom Train once on Fenrir he had parked snugly within the doorways of the train carriage. Lifting out his crystal he had obtained from his time as a Warrior of Cosmos, he thought about where to go next. And once he had, his presence and image disappeared in a brilliant flash of white light.

Cloud has left the thread and the thread has ended.

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