Tilting the Hourglass (FANG)

[Fate Lingod]

((I guess this takes place after the Vanille/Fate thread. ^0^;)

Fate Lingod sat on Bodhum's Beach, letting his hands play are in the sands as the waves danced ashore. It was nightfall and the scenery was actually beautiful though Fate would never admittly say it. The boy was lost in his thoughts which all seemed to be center around one person; Vanille. He felt horrible for her, horrible that there was no one left at her home of Oerba. It would seemed that Vanille and Fang were the last of the Pulsians.

Five hundred years could do that I guess. But what made Fate truly horrible was that he fed Vanille all that crap about them finding a way to get rid of her brand. So far they found nothing. Maybe the only way to save her was to destroy Cocoon. Fate let out a deep sigh as he fell back in the sand, staring up at the sky. Why must everything be so difficult? What was there left for Fate to do? He knew what he wanted to do; destroy Cocoon to save Vanille. Sadly, Vanille wouldn't want that. Besides, he didn't have the power to take down a whole world by himself.

There was one thing Fate was sure of though. He was sticking with Vanille until the very end. He had left her alone now, which he didn't want to do, so she could think alone. And before Fate would return to Vanille, he was determined to find Fang. Reuniting those two would should make Vanille feel better. He stood to his feet, brushing the sands off of his clothes. He picked up his sheathed blades placing them on his back and snapping the strap around him. "How hard should it be to find one lady... In a huge world... I know nothing about..." He rubbed his head, "Chances are she might still be in this place, searching for Vanille." Fate hoped that was the case. It would make his search much easier if she was in the town since this was the only place he had some experience with. He walked toward the tavern (I guess that's what it would be, right?) located on the beach. This would be a great place to get some information on his objective.

[Oerba Yun Fang]

[~Lithe Dragoon~]
I'll tear down the sky if it'll save her!

Fang crossed her arms and glared at the two men in front of her, a somewhat smug look on her face. They dared mess with her...? A pissed off L'cie...obviously something was wrong with their minds to be crossing her...and only two of them? She shook her head and her intense green eyes looked back as they held their guns tightly and nervously were commanding her to back down and give up. like she was gonna do that? Not a chance...

Instead she just laughed, before her hands dropped from being crossed and she stopped laughing. They had backed away, but were still trying their tough 'oh lets get this l'cie because she's dangerous' routine. Oh please. They advanced then, and she put her hands up, pretending to comply. "alright then..." And they came close, the one put his gun down and started to reach for her hands, and at that exact moment she moved. Crouching down quickly, she put a hand down on the ground, twisted her body and took out the man with her legs before pushing off again. Doing a flip in midair, she pulled out her lance and came back down on her feet like a cat. Twirling the lance in her fingers, she hit the man right and left, throwing him back and away before snapping her fingers and looking at them. "Good thing PSICOM has such strong soldiers eh?"

In a few seconds they were both down and she simply walked away. Her lance snapped back into nonfighting position and she put it back behind her back. Her steps held a swagger and she walked away like she owned the world. Eyes looked right and left, no one had noticed her quickly and efficiently take out the two men, or so she thought. She had been right at the edge of the beach, just minding her own business and thinking when they had come up. Good thing it was so late...or else people would have been close and would have seen everything. A street light had been what they had used to see her.

So now she started walking down the trail toward the beach, her steps free and easy, not caring about what had just happened. They had not been dead, just...out of the fight. Really she had no beef with them...except for the fact of course that they were trying to kill her and her best friend. Vanille...where was she?! They had parted ways in that factory. Well, she had forced her to leave so that Vanille wouldn't have to face PSICOM. But still, she missed her best friend and wished they were together now. She had been trying to find her, but that was easier said then done in a world she did not know.

So she had come back to the beach, the last place they had actually laughed and joked at. She sighed softly and her eyes looked out over the rippling water. What was she going to do? Vanille didn't want to complete their focus...but it was the only way to save her from becoming a cie'th. and Fang was NOT going to allow her friend to become a cie'th. There was no way in this hell of an earth that any stupid Cocoon citizen would keep them away from eternal life. Not that being a crystal for eternity was exactly the best way, but at least it wasn't a mindless beast, wandering, just waiting for annihilation. Her own brand was scorched...why was it Vanille that had to do this?! Fang wished it was her own brand that was unscorched and that Vanille's was scorched. She wished a lot of things...for Vanille to be normal, to get married eventually, have kids...but none of that was going to happen for either of them. They were fal'cie slaves, and as much as they hated it, they had to grin and bear it, like good little slaves. "Damnit." She spoke out then, angry at the fal'cie for picking them those 500 long years ago...

[Fate Lingod]

He sighed. So much had happened in the past few weeks. He learned that they were many other worlds besides his own. He learned that Ultimecia wasn't some story, but that she was actually real and had returned. And he had met some wonderful people, people that he could never forget even if he wanted too. Walking through this sand Fate had time to think, to actually think to himself. What reason did he have to help Vanille? Either way, Fate would lose in the end. If she became Cie'th then she would no longer be herself. If Cocoon was destroyed she turn to a crystal forever... or maybe just five hundred years. There was no way that Fate would live for five hundred years.

Becoming a L'Cie was out of the question. Vanille forbid that. He could always become one anyway and say it was an accident or something. He stopped a few yards away from the tavern, kneeling down he lowered his head toward the sand. What if he was to actually find Fang. What exactly was he going to say to her? Fate knew that Fang was the protective type. He had gather that much in the battle against Ultimecia. Here was Fate, Vanille's new boyfriend who wasn't capable of saving her. Save Vanille or save the world... He knew what he wanted to do. There was no question that he wanted to save Vanille.

Millions of people gone just to save one girl didn't sound fair at all. But it just wasn't one girl. This was Vanille. Yeah, there was no question about it now... Destroying Cocoon was the only way. Now he had new incentive to find Fang. If he found her now Fate could help Fate or at least try to help her destroy Cocoon. He stood back up looking at all the innocent people inside the tavern talking and just enjoying themselves. He quickly turned away, putting his attention back on the waters. Last thing he needed was to remember these people faces after destroying Cocoon.

He started to walk down the beach. How would he explain this to Sonuske and Angeal? He couldn't. He couldn't bare to see the looks on their faces when he told them of what he was planning to do. As he continued to walk he let his feet drag in the sand, kicking the sand up with each step. He hadn't been paying attention to where he was walking because when he looked up he had saw Fang about fifteen feet away from him, heading in his direction it would seem. "Fang.... FANG!!!" He quickly ran, closing the gap in between the two. "Oh, man! I thought it was going to take me forever to find you!" He smiled, "Uh, well, how you doing?" Fate was trying to be polite, but he didn't care how she was doing right now. Well, he did, but they had more pressing matters to talk about. Besides, she looked fine in Fate's eyes. "Vanille's going to be soooooooo happy I found you!"

[Oerba Yun Fang]

[~Lithe Dragoon~]
I'll tear down the sky if it'll save her!

She pondered her situation even more. Breathing in the warm night air she wondered just what the near future would be. She glared off over the water and contemplated her next move. Finding Vanille? Or confronting the fal’cie and demanding to know just what the hell they wanted her to do. She had no idea what her focus was…it was like, that part of her brain had been swiped free. Her childhood was as clear as day, all her memories, even journeying trying to complete their focus. And yet remembering the actual focus was too much for her.

She wanted so badly to go to the fal’cie that had turned them, bust him up and demand an answer, or revenge for what it had turned them into. Common sense told her that wasn’t going to happen, but it was a pleasant thought. Fang always thought best when she was moving, doing something with her hands…fighting someone. An excellent dragoon, she could fight with a cold efficiency, not letting emotions get in the way. A cold person? Probably. The only person that actually made her laugh anymore was Vanille. She cursed it all the time, the fal’cie, their focus, her brand. But still she knew none of it would make it go away.

She new Vanille didn’t want to go through with their focus, whatever it may be. She was torn so fully in two different directions. One, to please Vanille, forget about their focus and lead normal lives. The other…to complete their focus and make sure Vanille didn’t turn into a cie’th! No matter what happened Fang wasn’t going to allow that to happen, so the second option was the one she had to follow. If she could, she would just forget about being a l’cie, however that wasn’t going to happen, and thinking about it just made it harder to bear. She had to grin and bear it like a good little l’cie. Vanille thought her so strong, hard, cold, but she had to be to survive. Facing reality was the hardest thing she had ever had to do. Believe her, she hated arguing with her about their focus, about hurting people and their life. But what could she do? Her hands were tied…

She was walking while thinking and the yelling of her name made her jerk. Spinning around, she dropped into a fighting stance and in one fluid motion her lance was out, held in her hands and the prongs were ready to go. Green eyes scanned the surrounding area, settling on a young man running toward her. His smile just made her scowl. Who was this man?! She had no idea who he was, so she just stared him down and watched as he just went on and on. She raised a hand and narrowed her eyes slightly, a hand dropping to her hip. “Who are you? And how do you know my name?” The look in her eyes was impatience, who the guy was and what exactly he wanted she didn’t really care about…until he spoke the name of her best friend.

Her face changed, this time it was untrusting. “How do you know Vanille? And what do you want with me?” She asked, putting the lance back into its sheath and crossing her arms. She wasn’t making this easy, disregarding his question about how she was doing. She had much more important things to be thinking of then how she was doing and this boy she knew nothing about.

[Fate Lingod]

Dude, she's a tough cookie. Ya should mention that Vanille and ya are datin' now. It would amuse me to see her beat the crap outta ya. Fate sighed. How could she forget who Fate was? His name was pretty unique. It wasn't something someone would forget. But Fate didn't remember giving her his name. He had only mentioned it to Vanille the day of the battle with Ultimecia. Still, Fang could have remembered him as 'the boy who helped in the fight against that time witch.' Maybe she just wasn't payin' that much attention? That's got to be it! I mean how could-- UGH! I'm not here to focus on her not remembering me! I'm here to bring her back to Vanille.

Now for him to introduce himself. "I'm Fate. I'm a... 'friend' of Vanille. I was also there that day when that witch attacked this world," He explained, "Nice to meet you, Ms. Fang." Oh man! She had already prepared to kill Fate with that lance of her's. At least we'll die at the hands of a sexy female... No! Fate didn't want to die period. He was too young. He saw the change in her face and knew she didn't trust him. What reason did she have to? In her eyes he was a random boy who just happen to know her name.

Once she put her lance away Fate felt a little at easy. He was still a bit tense considering that he was going to have to get this lady to trust him and get her to like him since Vanille and him were an item now. "I ran into Vanille a few days back and Uh... Uh..." Fate paused, rubbing his neck. He back up a few feet just to make sure he would have enough room to avoid her rage if he said something she didn't like. "She wanted to get back to Gran Pulse... So we did. We went to Oerba because she wanted to go home and find a way to get rid of her brand. We found nothing so we came back here to find you." Fate wasn't sure how she was going to take that. Mostly likely she would say he was lying given the fact that she didn't trust him.

"... I know it's stupid to trust me since you don't know me. But I wouldn't try to do anything that would hurt Vanille in any way. You're like her big sister, right? Sadly, I don't know what to do about this whole L'Cie thing, but i'm pretty sure you two would love to be reunited," He said, staring at the sand beneath their feet. Honestly, he knew what to do about Vanille's L'Cie part... Complete her focus for her. "So... How do you plan on saving Vanille?"

[Oerba Yun Fang]

[~Lithe Dragoon~]
I'll tear down the sky if it'll save her!

A friend of Vanille's? She eyed him up and down, not talking for a moment while he introduced himself. Come to think of it, he did look slightly familiar. ahhh, the fight with that time witch. She nodded slightly, her arms still crossed as she watched him. Just because he was there and claimed to be a friend of Vanille's didn't mean anything. Besides, she didn't like how he had hesitated and said the word friend. Now what was that supposed to mean anyway? She narrowed her eyes before shrugging it off. Still she was thinking about it. And no one called her Ms Fang, it made her feel like an old woman. Glancing him up and down again, she stood there, "My name is Fang, drop the Ms."

She remained silent but her blood heated up when he explained how he knew Vanille. "So you thought by just going to Oerba everything would be fixed?! You have no idea what's really going on, so why don't you stay out of it." She suggested softly. She wasn't always this impatient and in a bad mood, actually she was quite the fun woman when she wasn't stressed out and thinking about Vanille turning into a cei'th.

And then suddenly she got it. How could she have missed it?! The hesitation at calling her friend...Fang wasn't dumb. He went on and on, but she couldn't care less. "Vanille is like my sister and my best friend, we've been together since as long as I can remember." How did he know that she was looking for Vanille? She didn't show anything while he looked down at the sand and asked her what her plan was. "My plan? Why do you really want to know?" She had and didn't have a plan. The only way to truly save Vanille was completing their focus-whatever it may be- and be turned back into crystal for eternity.

Before he could answer her Fang uncrossed her arms. "I'm going to save her the only way there is, to complete our focus and hopefully we'll land in Gran Pulse in crystal form. Its the only hope for l'cie like us. Take a word of advice and don't get involved, It'll just hurt Vanille even more." She said softly. She understood how he must feel, obviously by the look in his eye and his voice he had feelings for Vanille. It was easy to do, she was sweet, outgoing and pretty. She could understand where he came from, and in another life, with them not l'cie she might actually be happy that Vanille could date and like this guy. A half smile actually appeared on her face at the thought....eyes looked past him over the water.

the smile disappeared as she remembered that it wasn't reality. They were still l'cie, they still had a focus, Vanille still had the possibility of becoming Cei'th if she didn't carry through their focus. So she wanted him to stay away from Vanille. It would just make it harder if Vanille started to like him in that way. She didn't want it to be any harder then it already was on poor Vanille. She already had it rough...

[Fate Lingod]

"Right... Just Fang." He wasn't calling her Ms. Fang because she was old though she was over five hundred years old. It was more of a sign of respect. It was something that he did with nearly anyone until he got to know them better. Seeing as Fang he a problem with it, the boy had no choice, but to drop it or at least try to. "Didn't mean to offend you, Fang. Hey, if it makes you feel better you totally have awesome eyes and I really like your hair..."

Yeah, maybe that wasn't the smartest thing to say... Still, that was Fate for you. He always try to lighten up the mood with a little humor, though what he said was true. When she told his to stay out of it Fate sighed. It was a bit too late for that and it was mainly his fault, but he couldn't just let Vanille travel to Oerba alone. That wasn't the type of person Fate was. He loved helping others, especially those who deserved it. "We thought we could find answers in Oerba and Vanille wanted to go back home. It was reason enough for her so forgive for trying to help out a friend," He said sternly, staring at Fang with his purple eyes, "And you might be right. I may not really know what's going on, but I do know that if Vanille or someone doesn't destroy Cocoon quickly Vanille will turn into a Cie'th! A mindless monster!"

What more than that was there for the boy to understand? Everything seemed pretty simple actually. L'Cie complete their focus or turn Cie'th. That wasn't complicated at all. Vanille was Fang's best friend and she had known he way longer than Fate, but he cared too. It wasn't because Vanille was his girlfriend. He would have gladly helped her or anyone else like her. She was a sweet girl who didn't want to hurt anyone, but had this focus forced upon her. It wasn't fair! But what she said last was as if she had taken her lance and pierced Fate right in the heart... Getting involved would only hurt Vanille... It was said softly, but the words struck him.

What was he suppose to say to that? How should he had responded? He was too lost in his own thoughts to see the half smile on Fang's face for a moment. She was right, but it was too late. He was already involved. But maybe not seeing Vanille was for the best. Fate definitely didn't want to come between Fang and Vanille. Finally, after a moment of thinking to himself, the boy opened his mouth to speak again... "I--I don't want to hurt Vanille in any way. I didn't even stop to think that being involved could do that. Guess I was being selfish because I just wanted to be around her, hear her laugh and talk, to see her smile, but... I'll stay away from Vanille..." He was slumped over slightly as he spoke his little rant, but soon straighten up and look directly at Fang once again. "But there's got to be some way I can help! I can fight! I'll destroy the Cocoon Falcie!"

[Oerba Yun Fang]

[~Lithe Dragoon~]
I'll tear down the sky if it'll save her!

She didn't say a thing when he just said she had nice eyes and hair. Instead she simply crossed her arms and watched him. What exactly was he trying to do? Get on her good side? Earn her respect? He wouldn't be doing it with compliments. No Fang wasn't easy to win over, really you had to work hard for her respect or admiration. There was not many people or things she really truly respected or cared for. Vanille of course, and that other man she had met...Angeal was it? He had earned her respect, but it had caused him being punched in the face twice and running with her escaping PSICOM for him to earn that.

When he tried to be firm with her she actually chuckled. "Oh so you're gonna start showing sass already hm?" She said, but her green eyes were still hard, unyielding. But her arms were still crossed and she wasn't going to back down to anyone. Fang often was called stubborn and powerful. True she was both, so no ordinary human was going to make her back up and apologize for what she had said to him. She had told Angeal that she would never apologize for what she did. Her actions were thought through and if she preformed them, she wasn't going to just say sorry. Although she had said her fair share of sorry's to Vanille, who was the only person she had ever felt the need to apologize to.

"Oh, so now you figured out life isn't all sugar and rainbows you've come to me for what? To beg me to help you save Vanille? Do you really think I'm not doing everything in my power to save her?!" Her anger was rising by the minute. Not at Fate, but at the fal'cie, at Cocoon, at PSICOM, at everyone and everything that was standing in her way. She felt this urge to just walk into the fal'cie's quarters and slamming them around. She might not be able to get them by herself, but she would sure try. Even though she was angry she didn't let it show, although her green eyes were sparking.

He went quiet and she got her own thoughts under control. She hated the fal'cie and even herself for pushing Vanille into something she didn't want to do...completing their focus. Though she didn't know what it was, she felt confident that she would be able to figure it out. Turning into crystal wasn't exactly a comforting thought, they were still basically dead, but at least they wouldn't be mindless beasts just waiting to get killed. She hardened at that thought, although then Fate started talking again and another smile appeared on her face.

It was true, and they both knew it. As hard as it was, getting attached would just make the inevitable harder to face. She was protective of Vanille, not so much of her not dating, just...not getting hurt. Vanille and herself had already been through to much for their young lives. And yet here Fate was, ready to make Vanille fall in love and that would just make it all harder to deal with. As much as she wanted Vanille to be happy, and hopefully Fate could make her happy, it would just be that much harder on the poor girl. She sighed slightly, eyes looked at him. "Fate...in a different time, I would have just wished you luck at gaining Vanille's heart. I don't have any objections to Vanille dating, getting married, having a normal life......500 years ago before we were turned into l'cie." She finished frankly. Most thought that she would just not allow Vanille to be happy with a guy-not the case.

"I...I would have told you that if you hurt her I would come after you with a shotgun, since her father wasn't alive to tell you that. I would have told you that you had my blessing as long as you didn't ever hurt her. But its not the same anymore. Things have changed, if she goes with you, falls in love, it will just hurt her that much more. And I don't think she should have to deal with anymore pain then she's already going through. I don't mean to tell you to stay away, to try to scare you off, and it hurts me for her to have to tell you that, since you're obviously attached to her...but you cannot look into my eyes and tell me you don't realize what I'm saying is the truth..." She said slowly, quietly.

When he met her eyes again and said that he could destroy the cocoon Fal'cie suddenly her eyes snapped fully open. "Wait!!" She burst out, her hand reaching out and closing around Fate's arm, squeezed it in alarm. "Did you just say Destroy the Cocoon Fal'cie?!" She demanded, green eyes wide open. How could she not have seen that before! Destroy...Cocoon. That was they're focus!!! They obviously failed the last time they had tried! That was why they were alive now! To redo their focus, fix their mistake and destroy Cocoon. "No wonder she didn't want to complete the focus...her soft heart was getting in the way..." She said softly, speaking almost to herself as she loosened the iron grip she had gripping his arm with and half turned away...destroy Cocoon...

[Fate Lingod]

Not exactly the response Fate was itching for. He at least expected a slight smile or laugh, but nothing. Nothing, but the crossing of her arms. So it was best to keep the humorous Fate locked away for now. If ya ran away right now I wouldn't think any less of ya. I don't care what you think though. Such hurtful words. I love ya too man. Showing sass? No, far from it. "No sass here.... Just a boy who truly cares for Vanille."

This was turning out to be slightly more difficult than the boy had thought. It was safe to say that Fang actually believe what he was saying, but he wasn't sure if she trusted him well yet. Truthfully, he just wanted to fix everything. "Trust me, I know life isn't all sugar and rainbows. I just know how it feel to lose someone you truly care about it," He spoke, "I didn't come to find you so I could beg you to save Vanille. I came so I could reunite you two and try to help you save Vanille." Was that too much to ask for? They had a better chance of saving Vanille with greater numbers. Two was always better than one.

Yes, Fate understood that he was 500 hundred years too late. He understood that if he had ever hurt Vanille that Fang would break him. He rubbed the back of his head for a moment, letting his thoughts gather before speaking again. "Unforunately, I know it's the truth..." Still, he wanted to help, he had to help. That what a good friend would do. Either way, in the end, he wouldn't end up with Vanille. Who was he was trying to fool anyway? Vanille was ths perfect girl and Fate was just this flawed experiment. She was way out of the boy's league.

She startled Fate a little when she grabbed his arm. He wasn't expecting it at all since he had dropped his guard completely. But he was even more surprise that she didn't know Vanille's focus. Owww... Yo' big mouth! I thought she knew... Maybe 'Nille didn't tell Fang 'cause she knew exactly what Fang would do... He slapped himself on the forehead repeatedly for a moment. He was sure that this was something that Vanille wanted to keep a secret since Fang knew nothing of it. It was too late to take it back now and he definitely wasn't going to pretend like he was joking. Fang would kill him!

"... Uh, yeah. Destroy the Cocoon Fal'cie. Sorry that you had to hear it from me. I thought you knew..." He said. He looked over at Fang wondering what to say now. There really wasn't anything more to say. There really wasn't any point for the two to get to know each other since it was apparent that Fate shouldn't spend time with Vanille. And he doubted that Fang wanted his help so the only thing left was to leave... "... I guess this is where we cut ties... It was nice meeting you, Fang..." Honestly, he didn't want to say goodbye. After this he would never see Vanille again. He would never get the chance to say goodbye, but it was for the best.

[Oerba Yun Fang]

[~Lithe Dragoon~]
I'll tear down the sky if it'll save her!

She sighed again, why was this boy making it so difficult? He should have just nicely told her that he would leave Vanille alone and be on his way, but he chose not to do that. So instead she had to deal with his inability to say goodbye to Vanille. She scowled, but she had turned away so that her back was facing Fate. ‘A boy who truly cares for Vanille…’ If only he knew what caring for her would do to Vanille. The only way was to complete their focus! Didn’t he see that?! Getting involved with Nille would only jeopardize her ability to think clearly. Damn She thought. Why?! Why why why why why?

Gritting her teeth she thought about just exactly what she should do or say. Nille wouldn’t be happy when she found out about this talk she had had with Fate. But what else could she do? She didn’t want to be the one to have to say this. She was always the one…but enough of that. He used Vanille’s phrase about sugar and rainbows…she had turned back toward Fate, but when he mentioned that she smiled sadly off into the distance.

At that moment she could feel how sincere he was with his offer. She felt like punching someone, something. She wanted to be able to loose her temper, to get every emotion she was feeling off her chest and out into the open. Nille probably thought she was just crazy about getting their focus completed. No, she was crazy with worry, sick with it. Just thinking about Nille becoming a mindless beast to wander the earth turned her stomach and made her want to go kick some Fal’cie butt. As it was all she could so was stare down at her feet, jaw tightened. In a moment of anger, not at Fate, but the fal’cie for making them l’cie, and also at herself for not being able to protect her, she narrowed her eyes.

Her lance opened and she slammed the blade into the sand beneath her feet. “Don’t you get it?! You can’t save her! Not truly, no one can! I’ve been trying my hardest to come up with a way to do just that!” She continued on, venting her frustration. “The only way is to do the one thing she’s fought me about from the beginning, finishing our damn focus.” She shook her head venomously, “She doesn’t want that, she thinks I’m being ridiculous and obsessive, but do you honestly think I could stand by and let her become a cie’th?!”

She tried to fight down her anger, but it wasn’t helping. She didn’t ever get truly angry, but she was now. When she heard what their focus was she felt a conflict of differing emotions. Anger, pain that Nille didn’t tell her, relief, understanding at why she hadn’t and many more. It stilled her though, so she wasn’t simply angry. It all made sense…all the pieces she had been missing fit back into place. She cringed, why did life always have to be so difficult. When he turned to leave, like she had hoped he would before she looked back. “Wait!” she turned toward him, raising her lance and pointing it at him, not threateningly, though it might appear so. “You can’t just announce that and then walk away. Where is Nille? Do you know where she is??”

[Fate Lingod]

Fate did understand or so he thought he understood. Either way, he knew enough. Going to Oerba, Fate and Vanille had found nothing that could help them, no other way to get rid of that L'Cie brand without completely their focus. "I get it! The focus is the only way to save Vanille. She doesn't want to do it. Honestly, I think you don't want to do it either. But we--You have to so she doesn't become cie'th." Well, going to Oerba did provide Fate with the information that a Fal'Cie could be defeated. How hard could it be to defeat a Cocoon Fal'Cie? It was possible so that gave them some sort of hope.

As much as Fate wanted to help it wasn't his place now. The idea of going to the heart of Cocoon and trying to defeat the Fal'Cie on his own did cross him mind, but the chances of him even getting close enough were very slim. He had seen the weapons those PSICOM soldiers used and though he could handle himself, he was pretty sure that the defenses around the Cocoon Fal'Cie would be great. Then she pointed that lance at him once again. It wasn't threatening, but still it made him uncomfortable. He raised his hand, gently pushing the blade.

"So do you point that lance at all the guys who take interest in Vanille or i'm I just special?" He wasn't expecting an answer to that. It was just a little humor to lighten up the mood a bit... Given that this wasn't Vanille and that Fang didn't seem like the joking type, that might have been one of the worst idea he had. So he quickly opened his mouth to actually answer her; "When we got back here I decided to give her some time alone to think. So I decided I would see if I could find you around here or at least some information..... She's a bit down the beach, relaxing. Don't worry. She's safe though... Unless those soldiers dude have some type of equipment that can pinpoint Pulse L'Cie..." He rubbed the back on his neck, neverously. She would surely kill him if something were to happen to Vanille.

[Oerba Yun Fang]

[~Lithe Dragoon~]
I'll tear down the sky if it'll save her!

When he spit out what his conclusion was Fang sighed. For someone so young he was amazingly perceptive. Though she really should stop thinking of him as a boy, no, he had proved that he wasn’t as stupid as she had thought him to be. And in her way, she had just paid him quite a large compliment. She sighed before nodding, “Yeah, actually that’s pretty close to what’s going on. When we woke up…well…Nille’s brand wasn’t scorched like mine is.” She showed him her shoulder then, brand white instead of black. “When your brand is scorched it means that you won’t turn into a cie’th. It means I have time, I can live as one of you.” She said waving her hand, “Although at any time my brand could become active again, which means I don’t have all the time in the world either…but back to the point.” She took in a deep breath and wondered where to continue.

“I didn’t want Vanille taken away from me, so I knew; we would have to complete her focus. But for some reason she didn’t want to. I remember she didn’t want to do the focus last time, but I couldn’t remember what our focus had been or what it was now…until you told me what it is.” She turned her back to him and took a few steps away, looking out over the water. “But now I understand, why she doesn’t want to do it, why she tries to change the subject…but I can’t not do it!” She turned back toward him, “I don’t want to destroy the lives of everyone on Cocoon any more then she does, but we have to, I can’t let her become a cie’th!”

She waited while he pushed the lance away from his throat. He should feel honored, she didn’t talk to anyone except Vanille so much, and she sure as hell didn’t ever explain herself. She had done both with this man. She was watching him with those green eyes of hers when he spoke teasingly to her. Her eyes widened a bit, almost like she couldn’t believe at a time like this he had just teased her. But she surprised even herself when she started laughing. Lowering the lance, she clicked it back behind her and smiled at him, not menacing or threatening, but herself, the woman that had lived before becoming a l’cie. Though no one might believe her, she had actually been a pretty happy person before the whole l’cie thing had happened. “Well you’re the first, although I imagine I would do it to any guy that showed an interest in her. Call it a ‘her father isn’t around to do it himself so I’m making sure I do the dad talk.” She was actually teasing him. A pretty big feat for him actually, no one but Vanille could get her to relax a bit.

All teasing fell away though when he spoke more. “They don’t have equipment, but they do have a boy…he knows where to find Pulse power, so the Sanctum uses him, or will use him, to find those that have the power of Pulse, which means us, the Pulse l’cie.” She took a deep breath, “She had better be alright. So help me god if anything happens to her I’ll destroy the person that did it.” Her voice shook from the emotion she had for Vanille. It wasn’t an empty threat either, she meant what she said, she would destroy any who dared to harm Vanille.

Words: 751
Muse: pretty good
Notes: Sorry it took me forever to reply D:

[Fate Lingod]

So Fang had completed her focus or her part of their focus? How the hell was you suppose to beat this. From the way that Fang was speaking, it seemed that no matter what once you were a L'Cie, you would always be. Her brand was scorched yet it could be actived at any time... It must have been a real drag to live like that. After thinking about it a moment Fate realize that he could ask the question that he wouldn't dare ask Vanille. Mainly because he knew what Vanille answer would be before she even open her mouth. "What if someone's willing to switch with them? Like, Vanille gives her brand to someone whose willing to do the focus or is alright with becoming a cie'th?" Even if there was a way, Fate knew that Vanille's answer would be no. She was just too great of a person to put that on someone else.

Fate thought it would be best for him to turn cie'th rather than like Vanille. She had Fang, someone to live for and with. Fate had no one. There was Sonuske, but Fate usually caused him pain and misfortunate. Sonuske could easily find a new friend that actually some help to him unlike Fate. "Sorry you had to hear what her focus was from me... Guess Vanille has that pull on people, right? No one wants her taken away from them." Maybe Fate was listening to intensely, but he was sure he heard her say "...we have to..." So she wanted Fate's help? Either way, he was going to help anyway.

Fate was correct with making the assumption that Fang wouldn't attack him for just pushing her lance away. But he was truly surprised that she had smiled at him. Seemed like she did have a sense of humor after all. "We don't have to have that father-boyfriend bonding camping trip, do we? Because I would hate for you to see me cry myself to sleep," He smiled, "All joking aside, I know that Vanille knows that you're a great father that would do anything for his amazing daughter."

So they could find her with the help of some... boy? That was nice to know. Now Fate felt horrible that he had left her alone. "Yeah, you totally went from scary Fang to not so scary Fang then right back to scary Fang... Sweet. I'll take you to Vanille. Well, close enough where she want see me and then i'll make my exit." All he had to do was stick to the shadows and once he revealed Vanille he could slip out the back before she ever knew it was him.

[Oerba Yun Fang]

[~Lithe Dragoon~]
I'll tear down the sky if it'll save her!

His next question she should have expected. After all, she had asked herself the same exact question before. But she knew how futile the effort was. She wished that you could do that for a l’cie. Truth was, she hadn’t heard of anyone else that was willing to trade places with a l’cie. She had wanted to do that for Vanille, shoulder her load and let her be normal again. It hadn’t worked out though, and she had learned something. A hard lesson to learn for a young girl with thoughts of saving her world, her best friend and her fellow citizens. The lesson? Every person was at the mercy of the fal’cie, they ran things, they made the decisions and they decided your fate.

She had figured out what Lightning and Hope would figure out in time. The fal’cie viewed them as pets, slaves, things they could exterminate in mere seconds if they wanted to. It was a mess, and it was coming down to two options. She could either go her focus alone, or rather, Vanille’s focus alone, try to destroy Cocoon, or she could take on the fal’cie. Not exactly a nice thought. As of yet she had no idea how they were supposed to destroy Cocoon. Did Vanille know that too? “No, I have asked the same question, and I have found that no one can simply give their focus to someone else. If you could do that…” She stopped and thought back to the good times with Vanille, “I would have a long time ago taken Vanille’s focus as well as my own.”

She kept a strong front even though she felt like breaking on the inside. It was hopeless to do anything but continue on, to hope that the fal’cie would take mercy on you. And yet that rubbed against the grain for Fang. In fact she got angry whenever she thought about the injustice of two young girls being made l’cie. She smiled sadly then, “Life is harsh, memories are haunting, but time continues to go on through the pain.” She said softly as he mentioned that no one wanted Vanille taken away from them. “No matter what we want, what our feelings, it doesn’t matter, we’re going to have things taken away, get beaten down, pushed around and stepped on no matter who we are.”

Fang watched the moon as she said that, “It’s a hard lesson to learn, especially for those that are young. I had to learn it before I was even a teenager. You don’t get what you want; you get whatever life hands you. And most times it sucks, but we all have to get used to it.” She spoke that part bitterly; eyes narrow as she thought of the past. Thankfully she was brought out of her anger and loathing over the past when Fate joked yet again.

Eyeing him, she smirked, “Oh don’t think you’re getting out of it. And I’d love to see you dare to cry yourself to sleep.” She said with a wicked looking grin. No one! No one cried around Fang except for Vanille and got away with it. They didn’t get her sympathy, but that’s what life had made her. A tough woman with a heart that rejected getting close to any. Why bother when they were just going to be taken away from you? She actually laughed though, when he said she was a great father. She smiled, “I’m more like her sister but I’ll take father.” She said with a wink. “Vanille and I have been together since…well since we both learned how cruel life can be. Its been a long time...I’d give my life and everything I am or have for that girl.”

She shook her head, [color=FFFFFF6000nille.”

[/color] She said in an even voice. Nice Fang? There wasn’t a nice Fang. Being nice got you killed. “And you’re going to be there to back me up when I ask her about the focus.” She said in the same even voice. “She can’t lie to me with you there knowing she’s lying.” She said with a nod. The truth was it hurt that she had lied to her about the focus. If she had known…but enough of that! [/blockquote]


Words: 872
Muse: good
Notes: hey should we have Vanille come in sometime?

[Fate Lingod]

So taking someone else's focus was out of the question. Again, all the arrows were pointing to destroying Cocoon. If only there was a way to transport all the people of Cocoon to Gran Pulse then completing the focus wouldn't be so bad. That was impossible though. A few weeks ago all Fate really had to worry about was how he was going to pass the SeeD exam, but now things were different. A new world brought much greater problems that he was still capable of solving, but the solutions were way different. "... Fal'Cie just like toying with people. It would have been more benificial to them if they just picked someone who was heartless and hated Cocoon with a passion..."

As Fang continued to speak Fate did realize she was right. It was like she was talking about the boy's life as well... From being a child and up until now. Someone else was always in control, pulling the strings, and Fate just stood back and watched. Maybe when he was much younger he didn't have the power to do anything, but times had changed now. He had power and if not enough he would die trying. "I'm tired of having things taken away, tired of being beaten down, and being stepped on for no reason... I won't let some Fal'cie take Vanille away from me or the opportunity to make another great friend, maybe even sister-in-law someday. We're going to save Vanille and then we're going to have that bonding camping trip... Not on Pulse though. I've seen the creatures you have in your backyard and I rather not wake up in the belly of some beast."

Someone had to have beaten the Fal'Cie at their own game. There had to be a loop hole to get out of doing one's focus. Maybe there was a way to destroy the Sanctum Fal'Cie without destorying Cocoon? "I guess I should be writing this down? No crying... But it's completely okay for me to sob and weep, right? Well, I'll be alright as long as I have my fluffy sheep to cuddle with." Now it was hard to believe that Fate was ever frightened by this woman. She was way pass cool. "Is it alright if I call you pops? Kidding. I'll just stick with Fang or big sister..."

Fate thought it was best to leave the joke about her age out this time. He knew how woman were sensitive about their age. When she said that he was going to be there to back her up a huge grin came across his face. He was going to get to stay! "You like me, don't you!? You think i'm good for Vanille, huh? We do look cute together... " After a moment Fate joy had left and then fear suddenly dropped over the boy. Vanille was going to drag him through the sands for telling Fang about the focus. Technically, he thought that Fang knew so it wasn't his fault... "Could you just say you remembered what her focus was? I'm not completely scared of Vanille, but I seen what she is capable of."