013 [Video/Action for Goldenrod Pokemon Center]

[soggypastry]

[It's known to quite a few people that Lightning has been sleeping for a week now. What isn't quite as well known, however, is that her Lucario hasn't left her room no matter which human is at her side. So when the gear clicks on to show Lightning still sound asleep, there's the edge of a black paw on the feed. That pretty much clenches who's

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[video]

[puppet_paladin]

[Cecil was taking a pause from calling the same number over and over again when he happened to catch the tail end of that particular video.]

...Someone certainly seems quite happy to see you awake.

[video]

[soggypastry]

[It takes her a few minutes to get Sen off of her and then to get off her bed to grab the gear, but that's a nod. Clingy Lucario is still clinging to her arm.]

Yeah. Seems that way.

[A momentary pause, then she sighs and shakes her head. There's no real way to ask this, is there?]

[video]

[puppet_paladin]

I'm surprised the rest of your team has not yet joined him.

[No, there isn't. There really isn't.]

[video]

[soggypastry]

They will eventually.

[Odin is surely going to nuzzle her when he gets the chance. But now...now she looks directly at the gear. Best to just ask this outright.]

Cecil, how long has it been since the Conflict?

[video] 1/2

[puppet_paladin]

[That particular question is easy to answer, considering the number of times it was asked to him before.]

It's been seventeen years, for me. And from what I remember, the previous Cloud came from a few years after, but everyone else is-

[video]

[puppet_paladin]

-What did you say?

[...And that headache that started when Zidane and Squall and Cloud arrived is starting up again.]

[video]

[soggypastry]

[Seventeen years. That draws her up short, but before she can say anything more, Cecil asks his question. She has to swallow hard to get past a very strange lump in her throat.]

You heard me. I asked how long it had been since the Conflict. [How long had it been since she and five others marched to their deaths.]

[video]

[puppet_paladin]

But - How did you - Unless...

[Zidane had mentioned others Cecil had not spoken of; Lightning's world resembled the others in so many ways... The headache merely worsens, but he needs to ask.]

Do you... remember a Conflict? With warriors of Cosmos named Kain and Yuna, and Cloud as a warrior of Chaos?

[video]

[soggypastry]

[A nod.] Kain, Yuna, Tifa, Vaan, and Laguna. I fought Cloud once, and he was on Chaos's side.

[Frown. This is starting to make sense.] There was another Conflict, wasn't there? After Kain and the others disappeared.

[video]

[puppet_paladin]

...Tifa is here, and Kain is at home trying to stop the moon. But the other names mean nothing to me, even though Zidane spoke of them.

[It worries him, not being able to recall comrades.]

It must have come after, for there will be no more Conflicts.

[video]

[soggypastry]

[Zidane--well. This explains how he recognized her. But then comes the second part and Lightning's eyes widen. No more Conflicts. Someone won.]

Which side won, Cecil?

[video]

[puppet_paladin]

Our worlds are still standing, are they not?

[But if she was one of them, she deserves more details.]

We killed most of Chaos' warriors, and finally Chaos himself. We discovered true darkness, and clawed our way back to the light.

[video]

[soggypastry]

[See the look on her face, Cecil? It's one of pure relief. It hadn't been for nothing after all. They'd won, and thank Etro for that.]

Good. The way things were going...it looked like Chaos was going to win.

[video]

[puppet_paladin]

It looked the same to us, most of the time. Especially after Cosmos-

[He stops himself right there. Telling her about all of that might not be a good idea.]

[video]

[soggypastry]

[Sadly, that stop draws her up short. Never a good thing, really.]

After Cosmos what? What did she do this time?

[video]

[puppet_paladin]

...Those crystals she asked us to find. They were most than mere crystals; they were the remains of her power. Once we obtained them all, she was powerless. Chaos took advantage of that.

[True darkness indeed.]