(OOC: Okay, sorry for the long post. Hope it's not too jumbled up that you can't read it. Also hope I kept Crohan in character. He said I could do this, but I still worry I might not be doing him justice)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIKgTv95GTMRainii can see the Island Closest to Hell, though it seems different. Clearly this is a vision of the past. Somewhere on this island a young boy with messy brown hair and ragged clothes swings a gleaming sword against a creature three times his size. However the sword looks too big for him and he is brought low by the monster’s blow. Just when all looks lost the enormous creature bursts into flames of violet and is reduced to ash. Natalia, clad in black emerges from the shadows.
“Taking that on by yourself with a sword you can barely handle? That’s not brave, it’s stupid. “
The boy reacts with savage instincts, baring his teeth.
“Relax. I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to get you off this rock. What’s your name?”
The boy lowers his blade. “Crohan… Mechanly.”
The vision changes and Rainii can see a fully grown Crohan now a graduated SeeD out on assignment. Suddenly he’s attacked from behind by a masked foe. He throws the assailant over his shoulder and onto the ground. He’s surprised by the feminine laugh that follows.
“You’ve gotten better.”
“Natalia? What are you doing here?”
“Same as before. I’m searching for more power. You owe me, remember?”
“I told you already. Ultimecia’s dead. There’s nothing for you here.”
“That doesn’t mean her power is gone.” The witch smirks. She’s not letting him out of his deal that easily.
“I don’t see why you need me. I can use magic, but I’m not a sorceress.” He bends to help her up.
“Actually… “ she hesitates, “this is a little embarrassing but… I need some protection. I’m being hunted. “
Crohan sighs “I told you, people in this world hate sorceresses, not to mention demons. You promised me you’d be careful.”
“Is that concern for me? I’m flattered.”
Crohan sighed once more. “You’re impossible, you know that.” She just stares at him, clearly not moving until he gives in. “So who’s after you?”
“Some witch-hunter named Shaft and his cohorts.”
That settled it. Crohan may not have trusted Natalia completely, but he did owe her and he wasn’t about to let his friend fall prey to Shaft. Not only was he dangerous, Crohan had a personal grudge against him that dated all the way back to Balamb Garden. That was the beginning of their adventuring together. Over time they grew close, but as he suspected she wasn’t telling him everything. It wasn’t until that dangerous game of cat and mouse back on the Island Closest to Hell between them and Shaft that she decided it was time for the truth. They hid together, moving quickly through the shadows. Shaft had hit Natalia with a potion of his own invention that blocked her powers. She couldn’t invoke so much as a spark. It was here that she had to tell him.
She swallowed hard, trying t gather the courage to tell him what was really going on whether he’d forgive her or not. “Crohan I need to tell you something…. I haven’t been completely honest with you.”
“There’s a surprise.” He huffed sarcastically.
“Alright I deserved that. I mean from the beginning, when I told you I was seeking Ultimecia’s power. That was a lie. That wasn’t why I was here.”
He stopped dead in his tracks, whirled around and grabbed her by the arms. “Then why were you here?” His rage was making it difficult to keep his voice a whisper.
“She sent me. You know who. I had no choice. It was different then.”
“What are you talking about? What did she want you to do?”
“She wanted me to wipe out a force of good in this world that she deemed a threat.”
He paused, forming the question in his head, though he already knew the answer. “And what was that?”
She wavered under his gaze. She didn’t want to go on, but she knew he deserved the truth. “You. She wanted me to kill you, to take your soul.”
“So that’s why you were here? Why you took me with you?”
“That’s how it started, but that’s not why I came back.”
“Then why did you? To toy with me some more?!”
“No!”
“Then why?!”
“I came back because I love you!” There was a silence that seemed to last ages between them before she found the words. Even the beasts of the island seemed to be holding their breath. “I tried to fight it. I promised myself I’d never again after I lost Adam. I even took steps to prevent it the day he died. But it was just too strong. There are some things that even she can’t stop. I love you Crohan, and not she or I or anyone else can change that.”
“How do I know? How do I know this isn’t just another one of your lies?”
She closed her eyes and whispered. “I’ll prove it.” And for the first time since the day that Adam had died, a silvery tear ran down her cheek as she spread her arms out in surrender. “Kill me. I don’t want to be her tool anymore. Do it before she makes me do more harm.”
He stared at her for awhile with an unreadable expression before another voice sounded behind her.
“You won’t get the chance.” Shaft emerged from the shadows bedecked in all sort of vials of potion and shurikens and other weapons. His spear was strapped to his back. He had abandoned his cloak for a black vest, exposing his thick muscular arms. He removed his spear from his back. “Time for you to pay, monster.”
She only closed her eyes in acceptance. She heard the spear fly through the air towards her, saw its glint as it caught the moonlight. Then she felt herself being shoved to the ground. She snapped her eyes open just in time to see the weapon that had been meant for her pierce Crohan in the stomach.
“NO!”
He fell to the ground as the spear tore itself out of him and flew back to Shaft’s waiting hand. She moved closer to him, pressing her tear stained face against his bleeding wound. “No don’t. It was meant for me. Don’t die! Please!”
“You should’ve stayed out of this Crohan. Then you wouldn’t have had to die with your witch.”
Natalia rose and turned to face him, her sorrow turning to rage as he raised the spear again. Her face was stained with her tears and Crohan’s blood. She could feel her power being renewed. She stretched one arm towards her enemy who began to stagger, and the other hand towards her friend, pulling energy from her attacker and into her protector, willing his wound to close. Crohan’s breathing became easier. He would live. But she wasn’t done yet. Now she held both hands towards Shaft and recited a curse.
“In the shadows of this night, nevermore will your blade bite.
Weakened by the hand that holds it, darkness comes now to enfold it!”Shadows began to wrap around his arm and dig their way into him, forcing him to drop his spear and cry out in pain. She let him run screaming into the night, content to let him live for now and look after her friend. As she held Crohan’s sleeping head in her arms she realized something. For the first time since Adam had been alive, she had done something good with her powers.
The scene changes once more and Rainii sees the two of them at the gate just outside of Balamb. “So you’re leaving then?” he asked, his voice not betraying any emotion as she stared into the gate that led back to her home world. A world where she was a different Natalia. One that served evil unquestioningly because of a choice she had been too young to make.
“Yes.” She answered. “She has work for me to do and I’ve stayed in this world far too long already.”
“You could stay here. You could be free of her. Think about it. A second chance.”
She smiled. He actually sounded like he wanted her to stay. She could almost believe him. “I can’t. Not because I don’t want to, but because I don’t think I deserve one.”
“I don’t think so. For what it’s worth, I think you’ve proven yourself already.”
“I made this choice. It was foolish and arrogant, but that doesn’t change the fact that I made it and I must take the consequences that come with it. Besides, I don’t want to risk her trying to bring her influence here.”
Crohan froze. “She can do that?”
“It would be difficult and dangerous. But she is a goddess. If she pleases then she will find a way. But… before I go…”
“Yes?” he hesitated as she did. He knew what was coming.
“I’ve told you how I feel about you, but you have yet to return the favor.”
“I think you already know.”
“Perhaps I do.” She smiled knowingly as she turned to face him. “There’s someone else.” It wasn’t a question, just a statement of fact. One that caught him off-guard. He may have been far from the boy she had met with a sword to heavy for him to swing, but she could still see through his attempts to be mysterious. They were close enough for that. “It’s alright. You’re careful when you talk about her, but you can’t hide that look in your eye when you do. I won’t begrudge her. I already lost my chance for a happy ending.” The smile faded from her lips as Adam’s face returns to her memory to plague her with guilt. “But that doesn’t change the way I feel about you. You’ve given me something great and you don’t even realize it. Something I wanted desperately.”
In spite of himself he brushed her hair out of her face revealing the tears she had tried to hide. “And what is that?”
“A cause. Something to live for. One that I can work towards from both sides.” She could tell he didn’t fully understand what she meant. “I’m going to bring forth a new generation of heroes. Whether as mentor or villain I will find them, and they will rise up and be great. They’ll fight for what they feel is right. And maybe someday… I’ll find one that can bring her down.”
“Bring down a goddess?”
“I didn’t say it would be easy. But I’ll stand by it.” She said resolutely. Her face softened. “But… promise you won’t forget me.”
He chuckled. “I don’t think I could even if I tried.”
Unable to contain herself any longer she presses her lips softly against his cheek. She had longed to touch his lips but she knew that they were never meant for her. “Thank you… for everything you’ve done.” She turned once more to face the gate, but looked over her shoulder one last time. “By the way, I’m not sure how useful you may find this, but that sword of yours. The one that you never gave a name to. It’s known even in other worlds, by many different names. But my people call it Nata-Mandaris. Nata means void or nothing, and mandaris means blade. Translated it can either mean, blade of the void, or blade of nothing. I hope that helps you some.”
Crohan glanced at the blade still strapped to his back. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you."
She told him one last thing before she faced forward again. “Remember… You may not be mine, but I’m forever yours.” And with that she vanished into the light beyond the gate, completely unaware it would be the last time they’d see each other.
Before she left that world completely she could swear she heard him whisper. “Be careful my friend.”
Friend. Not what she wanted, but far more than she could ask.