A Single Thread

[Twilight Path]

Wall-E, the strange metal creature seemed to be trying to cheer her up. Hearing the music, she moved a bare hand as if she were being a conductor. It hurt to hear the music she had made for the show being played without Acteur around her. Still, she had to be strong and follow the path she wanted. She'd find him soon, right?

Sarah then felt the Chocobo named Boco playing with her hair. It startled her at first, but she got used to it. However, with the blue eyes of the large chicken looking at her, she began to relax. Far more than she'd been able to since she had arrived on the Red rose.

Moving closer, she hugged the warm creature. "Thank you, both of you." She spoke, her head leaning into the yellow feathers in front of her. Slowly she began to fall asleep, not caring if she was uncomfortable when she woke up.

[General Beatrix]

"If you're quite ready," said the general, her boot tapping the mahogony flooring impatiently.

[Ellin Destroix]

"D-don't rush me..." Ellin would mutter, trying to fix herself to Agrias' location via shadow. It was way trickier than everyone thought it would be-- concentrate too much on the watery darkness, instead of Agrias' shadow and they would ALL be drowning! Seeing the transmission from the ipod, she was able to study the Holy Knights' shadow code. Consulting the darkness to those whereabouts, she found a good area within that whole Universal darkness that would be close to the Sister of Light.

The moment she was certain of their destination is when she held both their hands, and opened a corridor that engulfed the three... sending them through a universe of shadow...



**FOR JUSTICE!! To Sherwood Forest, Her Journey Part 1!**

[Secondary Characters]

Wall-E chirped happily to see that he had helped the girl even a little. So, when she drifted to sleep using Boco as a (forgive the pun) giant down pillow, he tilted his head curiously then rolled next to the two of them. It had been a while since he'd gotten a chance to enter sleep mode, and with Oeilvert going off to attend his own things and Culaki who-knows-where, Wall-E figured now was as good a time as any.

Flopping down a bit, Wall-E pulled all his extremeties inward to become a perfect cube. Slowly, he whirred down into a perfect robotic sleep...

[Twilight Path]

Sitting with the snake she waited, the piccolo laying her hands. She'd play it when he appeared on the gray, grassy hill. However, something strange was walking up the hill. It was a ragged Acteur, as if he had been injured beyond repair. She stood up slowly, unsure of how to understand what the strange, almost ominous presence in front of her was. She made a step forward, the snake following when she came across a barrier.

It was one that held the most infamous of heartless, Atticus the fallen. He still held a bloody claw, as if it were his unspoken warning.

"As long as his heart remains in darkness... He will obey or be obliterated. I created him for the soul purpose of taking hearts... and the moment he rebels... is the moment I take away the life I gave him... In the end... not even his heart is real..."

She put a hand to her heart, the precious heart that Acteur had allowed her to have. She moved past the Fallen as if her were merely a rock. However, the barrier of someone else formed, as if Light also was against her going towards the creature.

"That... may be an unavoidable conclusion..."

"Logically speaking, the longer your Prince protects you the more danger he puts himself in. Because his heart is artificial, the Fallen has it within his power to completely obliterate it, forever, and fully. It will be as though Acteur de la Noir never existed..."

No! She'd meet him. She'd forge her own path to find him no matter what. She moved past the strangely unemotional creature, running towards what looked to be a red path. However, at the end stood the strange woman she had met. She was not a barrier, but a curtain.

"You should... enjoy your time now."

"... before the show begins..."

"...smile for him."

The curtain opened slowly, revealing a dead Acteur, with a broken mask laying carelessly near his hand. It was as if Atticus the Fallen had left the corpse as a punishment. Just like when he had killed that strange woman...

----

"Acteur!" Sarah's eyes opened quickly, tears falling from her face. This feeling of dread was like a stranger burden, as if something were wrong. Acteur had to be alright, Atticus wouldn't kill him. Still... Why did it feel like her hope was rather simple minded? She buried her face, glasses and all into Boco's fur, letting out her tears in an attempt to clear out the strange and sinister dread. 'Please be alright my love.'

[Culaki]

Culaki had stood solemnly by as the pods were blasted out into space, giving a moment of silence for the fallen comrades aboard the Red Rose. He knew the pain of losing people he had loved all too well back at Gadgazet. His head bowed, he had then retired to a small corner of the ship, awaiting further instruction.

He noticed Wall-E settling down to sleep, and he padded over near the small box-bot, laying down around him so as to offer protection. He raised his head up, staring at the strange woman who had just cried out from the fur of a very large and tasty-looking yellow chicken. Culaki reigned in his hunger pangs; they could wait, and he knew the ship carried a larder for food.

"Culaki can see that something is troubling you, young one..." He rumbled, calling out to her from his position around Wall-E. "Come, bring yourself near and explain your situation, and perhaps Culaki can shed his light on the problem..." He laid his head down, looking all the world like a wise sage simply meditating, his breath slow and even.

[Twilight Path]

Sarah had been crying for about ten minutes before she heard a voice she was unfamiliar with. Considering she knew very few people on the Rose, it wasn't abnormal for her to keep seeing or hearing strange people. Slowly, she lifted her head from Boco's back, her arms still around the chocobo.

Examining the blue creature was rather hard. She had never heard of a big blue creature that could talk of human language. Then again, no one had heard of Gargoyle statues coming alive. She supposed this was a possible feature of a world. She didn't know if she could say anything without crying, though. The feeling of dread had dulled, as if she had managed to control it a little. At least so the feeling wasn't as strong.

The creature was calm, making it easier to try and figure out if she should trust it. Standing up a little, petting Boco's head a little to thank the chocobo, she made her way to where her hat and gloves stood. She placed her hat in her hands, the gloves in her pocket with the piccolo. She looked at large blue beast, sitting a little closer while a bare hand pet the still sleeping chocobo. She noted that her hair was rather messed up, removing the carefully placed ties with both hands.

When her hair was completely down, laying around her face, she removed her glasses, putting them on the lap. "Someone I love is in trouble. I don't know how to explain it, but I just know he's in danger or maybe even dead." She rubbed her eyes, letting her hand go back to petting the chocobo near her. "I don't know what to do. I don't know where he is now and he sent me here without following." Her free hand touched her glasses, eyes half shut. "What am I supposed to do if I can't even find him?"

[Culaki]

Culaki sat and watched the small woman make her way over to him, sitting slightly closer and still within arms reach of her Chocobo. He got up from where he was, careful to not disturb the small robot Wall-E. He motioned to Feynya, and she got up, resuming his position around the small box-bot, offering him protection. From there, Culaki moved slightly closer to the woman known as Sarah, settling down so that he could face her comfortably.

He stretched momentarily, yawning and licking his paw, his nose twitching as he took in her scent. He looked her up and down, assessing whether or not what she spoke was true. She smelled of despair, loneliness, and...deep within her heart, a passion for a certain someone that she did indeed love. Culaki nodded his head, his voice coming out in a rumbling boom.

"Culaki can see inside of you. He can smell your emotions, one called Sarah. Culaki knows that you are feeling pain right now, and he believes he can help. You love this person, and he sent you away, but have you not thought it would be for protection? If you are meant to be, you will see him again."

He licked her hand affectionately, purring to set her mind at ease before continuing.

"Life is full of hardships, young one. Culaki has seen his share of hardships, and he cannot promise you that life will be easy. But he can promise that you will feel heartbreak. You will feel despair. You will feel the loss of hope. And he will also tell you to never forget that it is always darkest just before the dawn."

His eyes met hers, and he gazed into them for a long moment, searching to see if she was understanding, or simply lost in her own train of thought and unaccessible.

"Those who go through life wallowing in despair are the lost. And Culaki can sense that you are lost. But you are safe here, among friends and allies, and those who would protect you. Culaki sees your inner strength, one called Sarah. He knows that you have the hope and willpower to overcome it. And if you don't, then Culaki will aid you in it."

He pulled his paws apart, and a small globe of water appeared in the air, moving gently along and reflecting the patterns of light in the air. It spread out, forming a rainbow and a trickle of colors as it passed over the large yellow chicken and back to Sarah. He used it to clean the glasses she had set in her lap, the small smudges disappearing into the water as he willed it out of existence.

"You must hold onto the hope and love that you have, one called Sarah. When it becomes so dark you cannot see your own hand, and all the forces of evil seek to destroy you, even then, in your bleakest hour, you must remember those you love, and those who care and protect for you. And then you will have the strength and courage to stand up and accept the reality. Do not let there be any room for doubt. Tell yourself you will see him again. Believe it with all of your heart. And it will be so..."

Culaki laid his head down on his paws, his eyes still locked onto Sarah, the gentle purring a therapeautic sound throughout the room...

[Twilight Path]

"I knew that when I decided on the path that allowed both darkness and light..." She could feel tears going down her face. "That I would always have to make hard choices. I don't believe my choice is wrong and that Acteur would protect me as we walked together." Her eyes shut, her hand still petting Boco. "I want to protect Acteur because those who love each other should be protect each other...right?" Her free hand tightened a little.

Her eye's opened a little as she continued. "I know that I'm safe here, but Acteur isn't. In my heart, I know something's wrong. I want so badly to be by his side." She moved her free hand to her heart. "I wanted to become a heartless when I thought it would be the only way to stay by his side. He told me that if I were to become a heartless..." She opened her eyes more. "That I'd lose what made me so special to him. He loves me and I love him. I know that it's hard to accept that something like that can happen in this kind of situation. I'm just scared that the next time I'll see him is dead. Like that strange woman being killed by Atticus so brutally..."

She could go on the path without Acteur, but it hurt to know he'd die. She'd have to face the pain if it happened and move on. "I'm just scared he'll die. That he won't even be able to see me smile one more time." Slowly, her hand lowered to her pocket, feeling the shape of the piccolo. She wanted to play it, but decided not to in order to remain in her current condition.

[Agrias Oaks]

The chocobo sat on its rump, acting as the composer's bean bag chair, with a helpful scalp massage. Yes, it was off nibbling away at Sarah's hair while she spoke to the blue cat known as a Ronso. Boco had grown nervous when the creature came to speak to the girl ( the reason being that he recognized those hungry eyes from across the room.)

"W-wark..." it would sound, but calm after Sarah's petting. His attention would take elsewhere toward the Cube like construct having gone to hibernation. He found it so curious, that he tried to imitate it by stuffing his head under its wing, and tightening up his wings and legs closer to his body, to look like a very oddly- shaped cube... made of feathers, of course. When he found it troublesome, he stretched a little, and moved its head out of the uncomfortable position, and went to nibble at Sarah's hat now, since her hair was inaccessible.

[Culaki]

Culaki yawned ever so lightly, blinking his eyes once, twice, then a third time, the heavy lids coming down and up slowly, as if they were in syrup.

"If you knew you'd have to make hard choices, little one, why is it so hard to make them now?" He tilted his head curiously, gazing down at her. "Even if this...Act-Oor whom you speak of is hurt, surely the thought of you will keep him going? If this love is as strong as you say it is, Culaki knows it will."

He dipped his head, giving his paws a quick wash in between speaking. "Even when someone that you know or love passes, you must move on. Do not dwell on the sadness, Sarah Sun-Hair. You must remember the happiness and joy that they brought you, and use that to move ahead in life and seek your dreams. If you give in and lose hope, you will fall into despair, and you may never come out of it..." His tone grew serious at the mention of this, and his eyes burned into hers, holding her gaze for the longest time.

"Culaki has seen his people go into despair and never come back. He has seen his own men give their lives on the battlefield to defend their home. He has even seen his men tortured and broken so much that they take their own lives as an escape. Culaki knows these men were strong, but he also knows that they gave in and lost hope. Do not let despair win, Sarah Sun-Hair. You must beat it, as you have beaten every obstacle that has come before you!"

He blinked once more, resting his head on his paws, thinking about how else he could help the golden-haired woman with her dilemna...

[Twilight Path]

Sarah closed her eyes after Culaki's gaze left hers. Part of her wondered why he called her brown hair that of the sun. Still, he had calmed down her emotions quite a bit. She knew that it would be harder to face the decisions than merely say that she'd have to face them some time in her life. She slowly began to hum, a gentle melody that came into her head, the one she had played for Setzer in order to get away from him not so long ago.

She continued petting Boco, letting the music calm her down even more. The sound soothed her, making a fragile, yet comfortable silence when she finished.

(www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nOv1rBxLcA)

[Lilith]

Lilith smashed her fist against the wall in front of her, she collapsed to her knees.
"they're all gone... its so empty"

the vampire pulled herself off the floor and she slumped down onto her bed.
her hand crawled towards her holster and pulled out one of her pistols, but as she was pulling it out she fumbled and the pistol hit the floor with a CLACK, Lilith stared at the simple weapon... this was the first time she had ever dropped a pistol...

she reached down, picked it up and placed the end of the barrel to her temple.
"so this is how I go out huh?"

[Secondary Characters]

As the two would have their conversation, Wall-E would slowly raise an eye from the confines of his box to peek at what was going on. However, he'd find that Sarah and Culaki were having a rather personal discussion, and found it kind of rude to eavesdrop. Popping out to full size, he cleared his throat mechanically and waved to the group at large.

"Maahh-sheeckkk?" he'd say by way of explaining that he was going to go look for Oeilvert, pointing off as he did. He went to drive himself away, but found the going blocked by Culaki's mate. Wall-E would let out a little "Whoa-ah!" before trying to climb over the female in a rather comical fashion (falling back the way he came once or twice, even). He was just about to try jumping over her, when she'd probably move on her own, through sleepy motions or simply being nice it wasn't clear. Wall-E would fall face-forward, but get up and brush himself off before pointing off with a nervous laugh and swiftly driving off.

He left the main cargo bay and entered the halls. Looking around, he tried to track Oeilvert's motions, but having not seen what he did or where he went certainly put a damper on that! So, Wall-E resorted to the next-best thing... checking every room as he went along.

"Hello?" he'd ask, opening a door and closing it once he found nothing. He'd repeat this a few more times, running away from one when he accidentally opened it to the surprised scream of a soldier undressing. This inevitably, would lead him to Lilith's room...

"Hellooo?" Wall-E asked as he peeked in, his optics catching full sight of Lilith holding her gun to her temple! "WOOO!!!" He'd scream out, throwing the door wide open to drive in swiftly. His headpiece seperated slightly to allow the use of his mounted laser, which he used to knock the gun from Lilith's hand at the last second! It wouldn't damage the gun much beyond a small burn mark where it had hit, but considering the alternative, Wall-E wouldn't apologize for that.

"Wooo..." Wall-E whistled as he drove up to Lilith, placing metallic hands on her knees as he looked up at her. "Oo... ahh... eye??" he sounded out, trying to form the words "You all right" but being limited due to the restrictions of not having a voicebox proper. The look in his binocular eyes was genuine, showing true concern for the vampire. After all... he barely qualified as alive, so the prospect of someone willingly giving up that title was cause for concern for the little box-bot...

[Lilith]

The vampire couldn't pull the trigger, everything was ready, the gun was loaded, safety off, hammer back... but she couldn't do that last action, pulling the trigger.
and then to add insult to injury she was taken by surprise by the small robot, who had managed to shoot the pistol out of her hand.

she stared at the pistol, on the floor again, by another of her fumbles.
another thing inside her broke down, just another brick in the wall, Lilith burst into tears and buried her tear streaked face into her knees and slumped over onto her side.
she muttered to herself. "why couldn't I do it, just why couldn't I just pull the trigger..."