A friend and I have been doing a RP for a while now, and it has been scattered across several threads on two different sites. It started as a group story (about fast food of all things ) but then it transformed into something else entirely.

 

We request that nobody join in this RP or post anything on this thread; if you wanna say how awesome we are, message us some other way.

 

Um...You're free to read this for fun if you want to, but this thread has major Birth By Sleep spoilers. And since we've been doing this for a while, we will probably refer to things we've done in the past and you will have no idea what we're talking about. So if you want to save yourself from confusion, then you probably wanna stay away. If not, hey, whatever.

 

The plot was discussed and posted on another website, but here's a quick summary of the whole thing: It's the return of Xehanort.

 

Characters:

Peanut: Sora, Namine, Leon, Aerith, King Mickey, Terra, Ventus, Xehanort, etc.

Forever Love: Riku, Kairi, Roxas, Yuffie, Aqua, Vanitus, Tron, etc.

 

I believe I've said everything that needs to be said...Forever Love, let's get this show on the road, eh?

Lightning picked herself up off the bed, still wearing her dark grey leggings and a black tanktop. There was no point in summoning her armor in this place, though it wouldn't be safe for much longer if she didn't strengthen the spells. But Serah came first. She put an arm under her sister's legs and another around her back as she picked her up off the chair and carried her over to the bed. She'd rest better there for a little while. Lightning and Riku would go to another room while she slept.

Riku saw what Lightning was doing, and he took that as his cue to get off the bed. It was time the day got started anyway. He rose to his feet, allowing himself to stretch out his sore muscles. He wondered what exactly Lightning had in mind for the day, but knowing her, she wouldn't take it easy. There was a lot to settle.

Once Serah was lying in bed, Lightning motioned for Riku to follow to another room. Not that she needed to, of course. She knew he would follow with or without her telling him to. Though there was a kitchen-like area, there wasn't food. It wasn't necessary to eat in Valhalla, mortal or not. She didn't sit down at the table in the first place. She walked to the center of the room and muttered spells under her breath, spells that would keep this place hidden from Caius.

Riku approached Lightning from behind, and when he was sure her spells were finished--whatever they were--he wrapped his arms around her waist. He let his head rest against hers, just holding her and taking this in. He had been so worried... He couldn't imagine what she thought when they got separated.

If Lightning was easily frightened, she would have jumped when Riku held her from behind. She was already surprised and again caught off guard by physical touch, but she didn't freak out. She just shut her eyes and leaned her head lightly against his as she tried to distract herself. What are you going to do with him? You can't keep him here to fight Caius. All of you nearly died yesterday...

Riku may not have lacked intimacy lately, but...Lightning did. That was what bothered him. Was that how she figured that she wasn't herself anymore? Was it because he wasn't around, and neither was Serah? He could understand how a year of loneliness could change someone; it changed him in the past, when he was in Darkness.

Lightning felt uneasy after a little while, getting an odd vibe from Riku. "We can't stand around anymore," she said softly after a minute or two. They had a lot of thinking to do when it came to Caius. He revealed a lot of information yesterday that needed to be digested. Like how he had the heart of Etro...

Riku's eyebrows furrowed, Lightning's voice tearing him from his thoughts. He guessed that was a good thing. "Right," he said softly, releasing the woman as he backed up a little. Down to business...that was what they needed to be.

Lightning turned around, looking up and meeting Riku's eyes while they were still in close quarters. "Be patient with me, alright?" she asked gently and a little pleadingly. She knew that she wasn't returning his affection, but that didn't mean that it wasn't appreciated. She just felt like a completely different person, and this person didn't know how to do that type of thing anymore. If she had a little bit of time, she'd sort it out.

Riku nodded slightly, understanding what Lightning was referring to: herself. She wasn't the same person, but like he said, the woman he loved was still in there somewhere. She would find herself eventually...and come back to him.

Lightning nodded faintly in return before going to a couch and sitting down. It was hard to piece together all her thoughts while Riku and Serah were here; they were such a distraction. She felt the need to dive into the persona of Rose again, but she didn't want to come across as completely cold to Riku and Serah. She leaned forward on the couch, elbows on her knees and hands clasped together by her mouth. She had a lot of decisions to make here.

Riku didn't take a seat, though he did lean against a piece of furniture not too far from where Lightning sat. "...I have a few questions," he admitted finally. He had been wondering a few things since they arrived, and "Rose" told them of Lightning's new duties. He wanted answers.

Lightning looked up at Riku, only humming to show that she was ready for questions. She should have expected that. Rose didn't put many details into what happened to Lightning for obvious reasons. It had been a part of her cover that she needed to keep up. Not that it mattered too much, considering Caius now knew who she was.

"You talked about a scar on your back," Riku reminded Lightning, crossing his arms over his chest. "Was that the fatal injury you nearly had? Or was that something else?" He was quite curious as to what exactly happened there, but he was sure Lightning would tell him what was necessary to understand.

Right...That. Lightning nodded faintly, looking across the bland room instead of looking at Riku. "That was the wound. Caius played a nasty trick that day." She shut her eyes, recalling it perfectly. "He's able to create visions, hallucinations...whatever you want to call them, so that you see the people you love. He made me see you and Serah. While I was distracted, he stabbed me in the back." And with a weapon like his...Well, it had to be serious. That thing was nearly as large as she was.

Serah and I...we're your weakness, Riku concluded. He didn't like that realization, but it was one he came to. He waited to hear more; surely Lightning would explain how exactly she got away from an attack so deadly.

"I had planned to fake my death, but not like that," Lightning said as she shook her head. "But after that, I knew that changing my identity was what I needed. He knew I would be fooled by tricks like that, but he didn't know Rose could be too." She opened her eyes and stared at the ground, getting back on track. "...Anyway. The attack he did wasn't meant to kill me right away. It was supposed to send me to a world of dreams, but I was so resistant to the spell that once he was gone, I somehow managed to make it to the temple. It was there that the goddess Etro restored me...and basically put her essence into me. I now hold all of Etro's power except for her heart."

Edited August 14, 201213 yr by Peanut

"Caius has that," Riku finished, referring to Etro's heart. Man, this was a mess. Now he knew why Caius wanted to kill Lightning; she carried Etro's essence within her. "...Why do you serve Etro? Is it because she saved you?" He could see that Lightning would pay her respects that way, but...what would happen to her once Caius was gone?

Lightning shook her head softly. "I served her before that," she confessed lowly. "It's...a bittersweet thing. She's a reckless goddess. She stepped into the timeline before and saved me, Serah, and all of my friends from being in crystal forever. But she messed up the timeline in doing so, and--apparently-- Caius's seeress suffers because of it. She herself was close to dying when Caius sought her for revenge and that was why she wanted me guarding her. Seeing that I had a debt to pay, and knowing her death would mean that chaos would flood into the worlds if I didn't, I knew I had no choice. I was manipulated into fighting after all."

You're her slave now, aren't you? Riku wanted to ask the question, but knew that he couldn't. That would be comparing the goddess to the Fal'cie, and Lightning hated the reminder of her past. He wouldn't go that far today, but he would believe it silently. He was sure his expression gave away his disapproval; he didn't like this one bit.

Lightning caught Riku's expression, and despite their time apart, she knew what it meant. "I'm basically a slave," she said as she spoke his thoughts aloud. "At least I'm partially willing to do this. If I don't, Gran Pulse dies in a way that's worse than Cocoon falling from the sky. I couldn't stop that, but I may be able to stop this." Right now it was looking unlikely, but...she couldn't give up. Slave or not, she was invested in the outcome of this fight.

"So what happens when all of this gets settled?" Riku asked, voice tense. "If this gets settled?" Would she be able to come home, or would she be forced to stay in Valhalla forever, away from him and her family? He wouldn't settle for that, and he was sure Lightning knew it.

Riku's tension and frustration was obvious, and it was hard for it not to rub off on Lightning. While she was here, she eventually reached a place of acceptance. Sort of. "This fight ends the day after Caius is out of the picture," she said. "After that, I'm done. I'm the only person who can defeat him, but if problems arise after that, it's somebody else's problem." She wasn't going to be Etro's "servant" forever.

"Does Etro agree to that?" Riku asked, and in a bitter tone. He wasn't okay with this, with Lightning being a servant, a slave. It was never going to be okay. Lightning was supposed to follow her own path, on her own free will. With him, and with Serah. It didn't seem like that was going to happen. Then again, Riku never was the optimist.

Lightning shut her eyes. "She's reckless and unfair forcing my hand like this," she agreed. "But she's compassionate. She saved me and my friends from a horrible fate. I trust that after I pay my dues, I'll be free again." If she was ever free in the first place. It seemed like she was always being controlled by someone.