A Thousand Worlds Away

He hadn’t honestly been expecting her to take the fight to a physical level, and quickly seized control of his staff once more to block her initial attack. That staff had a fierce looking, almost scimitar-like blade to it, and a brilliantly sharp point attached to that. The head of the staff looked positively tame by comparison.

The overhead swing was blocked as well, but the momentum of the large decoration that hung from the arc of the crook swung forward and caught him in the forehead. Staggered slightly, he stepped back and clutched where he had been struck and snarled.

That was a clever trick that would only work once.

He thrust his staff forward, creating a seal of magic before it from which magic sprung forth.

❝You’ll pay for that, upstart wench-!!❞

But it bought her some much needed time.

Once the great gem struck him in the face, she focused on putting distance between them and looking for a way out. That attack would only stagger him for a shot amount of time, and if he wasn’t already mad, he was gonna be now.

In the time it took for him to recover and launch a counter attack, Stary had managed several yards and whipped around as he called yet another seal into being.

Well shit, this guy was just full of surprises, wasn’t he?

“Reflect!” She cried, bringing her staff forward before her. A shimmering shield of hexagonal cells materialized before her and took the brunt of the attack before it broke and she was struck with the rest of the magic.

That hurt, but it hurt a lot less than she expected it would.

With little time to think, she glanced up swiftly and ran through a mental list of spells to come back with.

She had to conserve her magic if she wanted to last against this guy. Escape seemed out of the question now.

And those horns looked like a nicely polished set of lightning rods.

It was a scary thought. Something so real and within her finger tips was so…terrifying. It had almost been ten years since her…whatever it was, with Renji had been solidified into a hopeless venture of unlikely hearts. Ten years since he forgot all about her. Ten years till she let someone else in and…and now she felt something that she had never been worried about before. She was terrified of leaving.

She had never gotten real attached to people. It was sad to see them go, but it was just another part of the cycle of life that she had pertained to. It was no great loss. It was sad, but it was something she could easily sniffle and get over. It was the day to day. But this was different, and while Fiamma didn’t remember the lives she had lost or had, Stary did. If anyone was the emotional counterpart to Candy’s viciously cold demeanor. It was her.

Stary loved fast and lost hard. So as the words escaped her mouth, she was sure that Stary knew exactly what she meant,

Stary had honestly been expecting such a conversation to arise. Candy didn’t let people get close without a good damn reason. Even now, with over ten years of friendship between them, through countless adventures and a hundred worlds, Stary felt she was kept, sometimes, at arm’s length.

 Then there were days like today, when Candy came to her, heart in her hands, and the elder of the two would attempt to patch it up before sending her friend on her way.

It was how things had always gone.

“I mean, I always think I’m making a mistake.” The ginger stuffed her hands into her pockets and sighed heavily, “It wouldn’t be a relationship if you didn’t think you’d fuck it up somehow. And I know what you mean.”

Looking up at the ceiling, Stary heaved another sigh and closed her eyes.

“The thing is…” She started, stopped, and then continued after a pause, “The way I see it… It’s better to have loved and lost then to have never loved at all. It hurts. It always hurts when I have to leave… when we have to leave. And we’ll have to leave some time, but there’s no telling when. I usually make that one abundantly clear. It’s not ever easy. It sucks, seeing the look in their eyes when I say that I can’t stay forever, but…” She trailed off and smiled, turning to look at Candy again.

“But I have stayed long enough a few times to make it worth it. And I think this is going to be one of those times. I think we’re going to be here for a very, very long time. I think it’s worth pursuing.” As she spoke, she seemed to be assuring herself as much as she was assuring her friend.

“It hurts, but, in the end, it’s better to look back on the good memories, when you’re in your darkest moments, and remember that somewhere, someone loved you that much. And that you knew how important that was, that you made such an impact on someone’s life. It’s what keeps me going.”

                         Tseng’s angels

"Watch out for those Turks, they’ll tear your heart out"

❝Ah. The Manikins.❞ He nodded once in understanding, ❝They are rather troublesome, but if they attacked you, that means you are not one of ours.❞   

That was all the confirmation he needed. He released his scepter, and it stood upright, independent of him.   

❝And that means that you, my dear, are the enemy.❞    

 The scepter began to draw runes on the floor, a magic circle, and it sped towards the girl without further ceremony.   

Stary attempted to get out of the way, gritting her teeth and leaping to move, but the seal caught her by the ankle and pulled her into the vortex.

She was assaulted with an intense charge of energy and a scream ripped from her throat. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t fight back, and the pain was excruciating. The seal broke after a moment, and she staggered to get her feet under her, drawing her staff forward and snarling out an expletive.

She lashed out at him with the bladed edge of her staff and followed up with an overhand swing that brought the large gem that hung from the arc of the staff forward with velocity.

He was a magic user. Mages usually had terrible defense. She knew she could only take a few physical hits before she was hurting enough to want to bail.

❝You must be new… You don’t even know who you’re fighting against, poor dear…❞The Emperor’s sneer became a cruel and condescending smile, and he took several measured steps closer to her, each footfall echoing off the blue walls.   

❝I am The Emperor.❞And oh, didn’t he sound and look it. The way he held himself and the way he effortlessly filled the hall without raising his voice. She would be wise to kneel, but he knew better than to expect it. She looked ready to fight and if that was indeed the case, she would lose. Badly.    

❝You are a warrior of Cosmos, are you not? You cannot be a warrior for Chaos, else I would know… ❞ Or, at least, he hoped he would know. His comrades did like to keep secrets from him, but usually, when it came to those on their side, those they had drafted and even those they had lost to Cosmos, they were good at keeping one another updated.   

If that didn’t sound pretentious, then she was the damned pope.

He stepped off a bit, and she eased her tense battle stance back into one of observation. What he said was… confusing.  Cosmos and Chaos? What kind of world was she in this time?

“I uh… No?” She responded lamely, “I don’t think I’m a warrior for either, to be perfectly candid with you. No one’s told me anything. The only people… if you can even call them that… I’ve run into are those weird crystal things.” She gestured indiscriminately.

“Look, your… Excellency…?” She tried, “I’m just trying to get out of here. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude or… step on anyone’s toes. I’ll see myself out.”

❝Well now, what have we here?❞ 

The voice echoed out to the strange girl, and from behind the very pillar she sat against, the Emperor emerged, pacing slowly around it to come to look down at her. He had heard her enter the area and incorrectly assume that it was empty.   

 Foolish.   

 He’d never seen her around before. Was she new to the war? Had she been summoned by Chaos, and he not yet informed? Or… more likely…   

 Was she a warrior for Cosmos?   

 She had all the appearance of a Warrior of Harmony… bright golden eyes, a sweet face, she even dressed like someone who fought for light. No one for Chaos would wear stars as a motif like that.   

 His upper lip curled at the thought.  

❝A warrior for Cosmos, no doubt.❞ He hissed, tapping his scepter on the floor. The sound echoed all across the hall, and energy crackled threateningly around him and the spot where he had struck.

This was the first real person she’d seen in this world since arriving, not one of those strange crystal beings that spoke in harsh, static voices.   

 Come to think of it… he looked a lot like one of those that she’d seen from a distance before.   

 “A what?” The crackling of energy prompted her to put some more space between them, and she called forth her own staff for defense. This guy looked like he was spoiling for a fight, and while she wasn’t keen on giving him one, something told her she wouldn’t have much of a choice.   

 “Who are you?!” She demanded, sliding her feet into a battle-ready stance and grasping her staff with both hands. 

This guy looked like trouble—all gold battle armor and imposing presence. He had horns for god’s sake, he had to be bad news on wheels.   

Heels, actually.Bad news on heels

It didn’t take him long to locate the room his dragon was occupying for the moment, granted he heard the plaintive cries of said dragon, though they were muffled. 

"Daddy!" The high pitched voice of the dragon met his ears and he sighed. 

He rubbed his eyes with his fingers and entered the room, biting back a laugh at the sight of the dragon trapped beneath one of the smaller (ish) bookcases in this particular room. 

"Silver what in the world were you doing?" 

"Nothing Daddy…?" The dulled sound of a chicken squawk made the mage’s eyes narrow. “Oh? Nothing? Are you eating inside again? What have I told you about eating the animals that are meant for me?” 

"…To not to…"Kuja sighed and crossed his arms. “Come out of there, you’ve made a mess.” 

"OKAY."Oh sweet Ifrit. Silver sat up quickly, over turning the already fallen bookcase and nearly clocking Kuja with it, to which he made a startled noise and jumped back.

“Okay, what the hell.”

Curiosity piqued, she exited and followed the sound of Kuja’s voice and a higher, louder one. The palace was lovely looking, and she observed it as she navigated it, humming softly to herself. Beautiful décor and architecture, expensive taste.. but with that arcane flair that definitely belonged to a powerful mage.

She was glad now that she’d been, until now, cooperative and obedient with him.

She came upon the scene just as the massive feathered dragon effortlessly threw aside a bookcase he had been trapped under. Pausing at the threshold to the room, she pursed her lips in an attempt not to laugh as she took in the scene.

That poor chicken Silver had been hoarding  took wing as soon as the dragon rose, and Stary bent and expertly caught the panicked bird in her arms, pinning its wings and allowing it to hide its head in the crook of her arm. It fought for a moment before falling exhaustedly limp in her arms, beak parted and taking in quick breaths. She smoothed its feathers over gently while offering a smile to Kuja and his dragon.

"Goodness where are my manners….You introduced yourself to me and here I am not doing the same to you. You may call me Kuja, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, dear Stary." Placing a hand on his chestplate he rose and bowed to her, casting a smirk to the floor, before straightening.

"And I welcome you to the Desert Palace."

Somewhere nearby there came the resonating sound of a crash and a low roaring. Kuja visibly cringed. 

That name suited him perfectly. She wasn’t at all surprised to hear something like that. She smiled warmly at his welcome. She had gathered that she was in the desert somewhere, but a palace? That was slightly less expected. Did that make him a prince of some sort? He certainly looked regal enough, and it wasn’t unheard of for those coveting a throne to take up the art of magic to secure a future position… But those were merely speculations and educated guesses from past ventures.

The roar and crash both interrupted her thoughts and made her jump.

“Goodness!” She allowed, rising to her feet, but reluctant to follow him. That sounded like a dragon. Did he have a dragon? Inside the structure? That was begging to bring the place down.

By his leave, she sat down again, brow knitted in concern. She warred with herself mentally whether or not she should peer out the door and risk potentially provoking his ire, or to stay put and wait for him to come back and ask him what that was about, potentially not getting a straight answer.

Yeah, he was flirting.

And it was subtle enough that she had a hard time discerning if he was truly interested or not. Keeping up conversation for the sake of being able to charm her more, or actually curious? She pursed her lips in thought, nodding once.

“Originally, I come from a… well, if you can imagine, fairly mundane world. No magic worth mentioning, no monsters, just humans.” She frowned, “Really boring, actually, I’m kind of thankful for the traveling.” She crossed her legs in response to his, her hands folded in her lap politely.

Wait.

Hold on.

While she wasn’t unused to being told her name was unusual, or pretty, or even strange, she heard the underlying tones in his voice and blinked. Oh dear.

Now that she wasn’t delirious with pain, she took a moment to better observe him. He was actually quite effeminate, but in a beautiful way that wasn’t overstated.