Reflected Reunions (Possible spoilers for Final Fantasy XIII-2)

[soggypastry]

Who: Hope Estheim(eagletalons), Lightning Farron (soggypastry)
Where: Sudowoodo Crossing
When: July 20th
Summary: A meeting of siblings.
Rating: No higher than PG.
Log:


[It was kind of ironic; they were short two months for this to be a mirror image of when Lightning first arrived, but to be meeting here again, in the middle of chaos? It was a familiar situation. Only this time, there were no ghosts. No fog. Just people with powers beyond their control and Lightning herself more than a little freaked at what was happening to Serah and the others. This whole thing was bringing back memories of what had awaited them as l'Cie, and that was never a good thing.

What was a good thing was that they'd made good time to the crossing, and Hope was somewhere around here. Now she just had to find him, even if it meant heading to Violet City. She was going to find him. She had to.]

Comments

[eagletalons]

What's her affliction? [Most of those he knows has problems with electricity...]

[soggypastry]

Fire, I think. Her skin's turning red and she has a fever, like others who suddenly started spitting flames with no warning. [headshake.] We definitely got lucky this time.

[eagletalons]

[Pulls a thinking face. There are a few scenarios he could think of to help with that, but they're all very simplistic and short-term fixes.]

That would be a little more difficult to contain than our electrical charges. I'm not sure how we can insulate the heat without harming her.

[soggypastry]

[And Atomos isn't a short term fix for the two of them? Anything could help at this point.]

Odin's been able to help keep her from setting anything on fire because he absorbs it when she does end up spitting flames, but nothing else has helped. [sigh.] And I don't think it would be as simple as treating the fever until it breaks.

[eagletalons]

Have you tried using a water-type Pokémon to help?

[soggypastry]

[headshake.] Neither of us has one. Not since I sent Alexander back to you. [it's something they need to work on, but there hasn't been time!]

[eagletalons]

I have two, at least. If the problem persists, we can try either Alexander or Bismarck.

[soggypastry]

[Glance at Bismarck. Bitty Squirtle is the better choice when compared to the massive Blastoise she remembers.]

Bismarck would be the better choice. He's less likely to drown her by accident.

[Even if he listens to Hope and goes easy, all that water...best to not take the chance, really.]

[eagletalons]

[Bitty Squirtle suddenly becomes aware that he's being talked about, and looks up from where he's playing with Siren's feathers in confusion.]

Bismarck knows both Bubble and Water Gun, at the very least. I'll be happy to lend him to her for the duration of our... problem.

[soggypastry]

[Nothing to worry about, Bitty Squirtle. Just trainers talking, really.]

I think she'd appreciate that, if you offered. [she sighs, looking at her hands where patches of blotchy yellow disappear beneath her gloves to stain her palms. Serah's markings are much, much, much more pronounced.] This has been bothering her a lot more than she's let on.

[eagletalons]

I can imagine. [He's not going to lie and say that it'd be all right, because fire is very destructive, and they don't even know how to control these abilities.]

It's not magic, after all, and we're much more used to casting spells that we can control.

[soggypastry]

[At least these abilities don't have the same cost as their magic did. There's something positive about it...maybe.]

We also had more time to adjust. We didn't start with high-level spells right away, so by the time we knew how to cast them, we were prepared. This...[headshake.] This caught us all off guard.

[eagletalons]

Agreed. We knew what we were in for when we were branded.

We also didn't display mutations such as this, which makes me wonder just what is going on. [Unconsciously rubs at one of his markings under his mouth.] I've seen some of the others and some are taking on features reminiscent of Pokémon.

[soggypastry]

[She's not mentioning that they really didn't know what they were in for at first, because once they'd gotten to the Arc, Fang and Vanille did explain a lot of things. They knew what to expect after that, but with this...]

Almost everyone is. Some are more noticeable than others, but I haven't run into anyone who doesn't have something physical to show for getting powers.

[She makes a face, baring her teeth and...yep. Those are fangs in her mouth. Actual fangs. She's had time to adjust to them, thankfully.]

[eagletalons]

[Hope has no fangs to show, but he does have lines running all over his body-- thankfully, he's covered up, with only the two running from his mouth all the way down to his neck visible. And he still feels awkward about looking like he's gotten full-body tattoos overnight.]

It feels like an experiment-- someone was trying to do something, and I wouldn't be surprised at that, not when no one here has their powers.

[He's not a biologist though, so this isn't his best subject to make a theory in.]

[soggypastry]

[That earns him a frown; experiment, huh? Not the best thing to hear as a theory...]

Except that there's probably only one group of people with the resources to pull this off. Anything attached to them isn't good.

[She remember little from her biology classes in high school, having never needed the material again, so she's even less equipped then he is. All she has is a bad feeling about all this, and that's not scientific at all.]

[eagletalons]

They've done enough experiments before, and a lot of evidence points towards them.

[Loud sigh. That professional air is falling a little.]

[soggypastry]

[A nod, then she sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. What a day...]

Not that it matters. We have no idea where to start looking for them, let alone a lab or whatever they'd need to get something like this started.

[She cares little about his professional air. If anything, seeing it start to crumble reminds her that the fourteen year old she knew is still part of him, instead of entirely gone after thirteen years apart.]

[eagletalons]

[Hold that thought-- he's got an idea.]

... We could use some more reasons to travel aside from collecting badges and Pokémon.

[soggypastry]

[That most certainly gets her attention. Idea, shota-bro? You wouldn't have said anything if you didn't have something in that there brain.]

What do you have in mind?

[eagletalons]

As my new designation is breeder, I don't need to collect badges anymore-- besides, they do nothing, and they would take up space. [Starts pacing now.]

To properly breed, I need to find species that are compatible with one another, and we both know there are so many kinds of Pokémon around, hence the need to travel.

[Stops and puts his palms together to think more.] As you're a trainer, you're the one who works for badges and other rewards Gym Leaders give away. However, as they're scattered all over the world, travel is needed to find them all.

No one would object to a group of trainers and a breeder traveling together and poking their noses where they shouldn't be, especially when we're "just looking for Pokémon". It's not a foolproof plan, I admit, but being on the go will give us more opportunities to find out where the Rockets are hiding rather than staying in just one place till they come out again.

[soggypastry]

[She watches him pace, taking in all he's saying. He's right that it's not a foolproof plan, especially upon consideration that Lightning's been all over Johto and knows that "just looking for Pokémon" won't hold water in some places. But it's better than sitting around and waiting for Rocket to make the next move. They may have the time, but...sitting around only gave people sore legs.

So she's nod, head tilted to the side in thought. It's a valid plan, and if they can get Serah and Ven involved, even more so.]

We could start preparing now. Supplies and planning a route. Flying all over the place in random directions would draw too much attention, even if we could get everyone to believe that we were actually looking for Pokémon.

[eagletalons]

[Gives a wry smile.]

I'll think up of something a little more convincing.

[soggypastry]

[He gets a soft smile in return; it's a good start, shota-bro. Don't doubt that.]

We have time, Hope. It would be better if we let this mess die down a little before we go anywhere else, anyway.

[eagletalons]

I'll relay the idea to Ven, then-- and maybe he and Serah can help us polish this plan.