Chapter Text
The world itself was so massive, impossible to see everything in a lifetime. Each day is an extraordinary experience. Always beautiful but calm and dangerous, as it seemed to swap out day by day. Today was a dangerous day. Another mission.
Water dripped quietly from the tall cavern ceilings. The silence was unnerving. Lake Bresha was a frozen lake of ice for miles. Within the caverns, beneath the lake, was something they needed; a rare stone of immense energy, preserved and protected behind the ice.
The books from the bunker revealed that they can form from freezing temperatures. That’s why Lake Bresha was the perfect place to begin searching. Their knowledge of this world, the landmarks described, it was all they had to go on. Their minds were their greatest strength.
The stone was called a Nethicite, and they were used as power cores. Possibly something that they could harness energy from to power a rod was what they were aiming for. But this time capable of amplifying strength opposed from weakening a target. Now they could build a healing staff authentic from it’s home, the demon world, a weapon of healing and power, stronger than the one that was destroyed previously. Only now, it would be used to protect and defend. No more destruction. No more killing.
They learned over time that the research and articles from Gracefield Manor were altered and some incorrect information was given deliberately to them, falsifying their studies. It had to be this. Based on what they’ve learned since they’ve been here, things were not adding up. The government was corrupted with lies. Which made their greatest strength now the allies they had made in this world. They were able to set things right, expand their knowledge of how things were now and what had changed over the years. It was easy for Lucas and Yuugo to talk about these things as well as Oliver, Violet, Zack, and Nigel who were also well aware of how this world worked. Though they still lacked the years of experience that the two older men had. They knew the history and the ongoing conflict between Cocoon and Gran Pulse, better known as the demon world.
Nigel and Yuugo, were sniping on opposite ends of an idle airship. They looked through their scopes at the nearby surroundings, searching for any kind of life forms. Violet looked through her binoculars. Nigel twitched uncomfortably from the cold which decreased his accuracy. It was cold enough that they could see their breath in front of them. Oliver noticed that Nigel was uncomfortable and offered to take his rifle which he handed over and just bundled up for now.
Hayato was overly worried about the steam coming off of the ship and melting the ice beneath them but Oliver knew their safety levels for idling. Everyone had a task here and they needed to be stealthy and concentrated. In this tundra, the most dangerous thing was probably the ice itself. But inside an abandoned cavern, they could have been unaware of another kind of danger.
“So everyone is just okay with him going by himself?” Violet murmured.
“The ice makes it risky.” Nigel said.
“If it doesn’t look accessible, he’ll come back.” Oliver added, reaching up to his ear to speak through a tiny mic. “Remember to be careful and watch your step.” He paused and waited for a response. “Hello?” He asked again but didn’t get a response. “The ice could be congesting the signal.” He told the others. “This biome is complicated.”
Nigel shivered. “Well, maybe you should have gone with him, Violet. Just in case.”
She scoffed. “Maybe you should have.”
Zack silently looked between them. Their playful banter actually settled the nerves of the dangerous situation they were overlooking.
One would think that descending lower into the caverns would darken the path, the sun fading as the cold and darkness spread. However, the ice was now crystallized and even in the dark, it looked like a galaxy full of stars guiding the way. The stunning sight went unnoticed until Norman looked up from the handheld radar that was tracking the energy that the gem was emitting. Only then could he look up at the roof of the cavern and see how large and deep this place was.
The radar was very helpful to treasure hunters, aiding them in large loot discoveries. But for the Nethicite, they were well out of their way and in unlivable territory. The terrain was unstable and dangerous, no way to cross without the use of an airship unless one wished to freeze to death. Even wild demons have tried to cross and frozen to death, their corpses solidified on the surface like statues.
Coming up on what looked like a dead end, Norman paused, exhaling, composing himself. The Nethicite was here, the soft pink outline of a glowing gem, distorted behind the ice; it wasn’t like it would be easy to get to. Nothing was ever easy for them.
There was a triangular shaped trinket mostly hidden on his belt that had a bright pink orb in one of the vacant slots. With the use of the nifty gadget he had, he was able to spawn a blade, silver and rose gold along the handle. It manifested in his left hand, but he switched it to his right, holding the tip perfectly aligned with the ice, barely scraping the surface.
The blade was a package deal and, starting at his wrist, his clothes began to pixelate and shimmer like diamonds until they matched the weapon in front of him. It shone white and was detailed with rose gold, additionally added were the little bits of silver metallic pieces across the chest, shoulders, and legs; it was displayed as an outfit for royalty.
It wasn’t as warm as his usual outfit though seeing there was no hood or anything to cover his shoulders or ears. He took deep breaths, concentrated his energy, trying not to focus on the declined temperature and how easily his breath was visible in front of him.
Seconds later, the tip of the blade turned bright orange and the wall of ice began to stream with water as it began melting. Norman could feel his fingertips numbing in his free hand so he put it on the warmed handle as well, pressing forward to apply some pressure to move things along quicker. Hopefully it didn’t take too much longer since his cheeks and ears were starting to tint red from the near unbreathable cold he was in. Though he hadn’t anticipated being so close to the Nethicite or even finding one within the span of less than thirty minutes. The radar had proven to be quite accurate, leading him straight to it. That’s why he had to get it now while he was here and had the chance. It was just barely out of his reach.
The blade was now blazing orange and sank deeper into the ice. He tried tilting the blade to melt a larger gap so he could reach inside the narrow space he was making, but then things took a turn for the worst. The ice cracked and a large line splintered across the wall. Norman watched it cautiously but didn’t move. He couldn’t leave without the Nethicite. It was too important. He would risk it all in order to free it.
He pulled the blade out with a downpour of water and the disturbed ice made a horrifying rumbling sound. He reached into the wall of ice, shoulder pressed against it, but his gloved fingers barely brushed against the glowing stone. So he would have to cut it out, regardless of the shifts and the danger he was now more so in. He wedged the blade back inside and with a little force, he quickly pressed forward on the blade which chipped it out causing it to roll straight to him. But that effort created the domino effect and it travelled up the wall and to the ceiling where the icicles trembled for the first time in many years. Possibly since the day of their creation.
There was a brief pause, a huff of exhaustion, and trouble on its way if he didn’t escape the caverns. It wasn’t about being delicate anymore because he would be barricaded inside if he didn’t beat the destruction that was forming around him. He didn’t waste any time taking off back the way he came. The ice was cracking and shifting and the icicles were falling all around him shattering onto the iced floor. It made all kinds of terrifying noises as if at any moment the floor beneath him would give way and he’d fall into the dark abyss.
On the outside, the rumbling didn’t go unnoticed. The giant glacier shifted before their very eyes although it was subtle.
“That can’t be good.” Yuugo muttered, still spectating through the scope as the entrance to the cavern began to crumble, caving in with mounds of hard ice rocks. A silence came over them as everyone stared in disbelief. Only the sound of the wind howling past them and the slight crackling of the ice still falling and slowly settling was heard. It continued for several painstakingly long seconds until it ceased completely.
Oliver reached up for his mic and pressed the button to talk, uneasy that he might not ever get a response now.
Gilda had her hands up to her mouth in shock. “Um, what? What’s...” Gilda said shakily as she turned to look up at Don beside her but he also wore a perplexed expression.
Hayato was on the verge of having an episode if he didn’t do something. His eyes were wide and alert as he turned to run back inside the ship from the deck area where they were watching this happen.
The fallen ice started turning a yellow color and then it gradually turned bright orange and even shades of red. It was beginning to melt at a rapid pace and became so thin that a dark silhouette could be seen on the other side. In a matter of seconds, a blazing flame exploded out of the entrance. Norman, hand raised out in front of him, glove now tattered and smoking, stepped out onto the now melting lake that connected to this cavern and paced himself to a jog to make it back to the airship.
Violet pulled away from her binoculars. “Now I’ve seen it all. I’m so confused.”
“Yeah, no joking.” Nigel said.
Yuugo lowered his rifle to see with his own eyes as if something was wrong with his scope. “I miss somethin’?” He asked Lucas without taking his eyes off the other approaching them.
As Norman stepped onto the ramp of the airship, his clothes and hair were a little damp from the melted ice he flung everywhere causing little puddles behind him. The ramp had become a little icy from the time they’d been there so when Hayato came to help out he lost traction and began sliding down the slippery slope. He basically slid right to Norman where he was grabbed by the back of his clothes to keep him from sliding any further or onto the ice below, and dragged back up again. The others who were on the deck joined them all in the lobby shortly after and the door behind Norman and Hayato sealed shut.
Norman looked cold, wet, and miserable and Hayato was leaning back in a daze. “What were you doing, boss? Are you hurt?” He certainly showed him his concerned eyes and, now that he was able to stand back up, wanted to assist him if he was. But he was a little hurt himself when his help was rejected with the way he flinched away.
The others didn’t know what to say. They had never seen Norman conjure fire before, which was shocking, but that wasn’t even what they should have been worried about. Everyone was quiet in this jaw dropping situation, making them feel as though they’d been left out of important details.
The dazzling sword was dragging behind him and Hayato didn’t even know how to react, defeatedly backing up so Norman could intimidatingly make his way further into the ship.
About that same time, a door raised on the opposite end of the hall and Zazie came out first looking right at Norman in front of him. But as Norman backed up from him, Zazie tilted his head to the side and, well, the Norman that he knew best was already here with him. Zazie’s Norman side stepped out from behind him as he still towered over everyone even after their growth spurts. His eyes widened too in surprise, stalling him momentarily before getting in front of Zazie. Norman and his replica both looked at one another, more silence lingering.
“What have we here?” They looked identical from what they could see right now. The Norman at Zazie’s side addressed Hayato. “I’m fine, see? It’s me.” The confirmation of identity did not wipe the confusion from Hayato’s face while his eyes flicked back and forth between both of the Normans in front of him. Both with the same face, only different clothing.
“Is this the Commando garment? It looks amazing, but why do you look like me? Um, exactly like me.” Norman asked, looking the other up and down. It shouldn’t have been surprising to anyone since Ray insisted he be the one to retrieve the Nethicite, knowing good and well that his fire abilities would save him if he were to get trapped. And he had proved them all right.
Imposter Norman leaned forward with an exhale and when he stood up straight again the longer strands of white hair tried to fall over his left eye, naturally resuming its home position like Ray’s hair did all on his own, although it was much shorter in this form. It wasn’t staying in place well. “Why don’t we just ask the experts that we rely soooo much on.” He was very annoyed and while he was trying to be sarcastic, they did actually rely on them quite a bit. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the glowing pink Nethicite, holding it out to him for show. It really was Ray’s voice.
“Tsk, you can drop me off anywhere.” Yuugo said, but Lucas thought he was kidding, maybe? Everyone was waiting for a valid explanation about how Ray could take on Norman’s physical appearance like this. It was making Hayato really uncomfortable.
Lannion and Thoma came scrambling up the stairs completely out of breath. “Uhhhh, okay we can explain!” Lannion said as he swiftly ran up to Norman. “But we swear we didn’t know this would happen! I did warn you that it was a prototype after all!” Thoma walked up next to him with a nonchalant expression and turned the blond towards imposter Norman.
“This one. With the shiny outfit.” Thoma corrected him.
“Oh?” Lannion looked him over and pointed up a bit at the numbers tattooed on his neck. “Ah, I see. The Garment Grid is supposed to only be for switching between your outfits and weapons. Not stealing someone’s identity. So, it’s kinda glitched.” He poked his finger against each number calling each digit out as if Ray didn’t know his own number.
He only made it to the third number before Ray smacked his hand out of the way but in Norman’s appearance it looked so wrong seeing aggression come from him. “It’s glitched because you gave me the wrong one!” Ray was more than a little annoyed even if Lannion was probably just messing around. It wasn’t funny to him though.
That tone coming from Norman made Hayato want to retreat into a corner.
“Ah, Ray, you really worried us. Can you not be so destructive, please?” Gilda said as she eyed over the clothes he was wearing. “Guess we will always worry even if we know you have it under control. But still!” She wanted to scold him further for flirting with disaster.
“When I say I got this, I mean that I got this.” Ray responded and gave her a nod. Then he popped the triangular device from his belt in which his outfit shimmered and pixelated back to his original attire as well as his face was now his own again. He tossed it to Norman who sloppily caught it against his chest. Looking down at it in his palm with the grid there, he zoned out for a moment.
Thoma pulled out a cloth and wrapped the nethicite in it before he and Lannion ran away with it.
“Dude, I didn’t know that would happen. We should just make some for ourselves and totally be each other.” Lannion suggested to Thoma who laughed obnoxiously with him as they disappeared down the stairs again. They were still such kids at heart. Kids with too much power.
“Yo!” Ray shouted. “My grid now!” At least he was in his own body again.
Nigel was impressed most of all by this invention. “Cocoon has technology like this? How long have they been working on that exactly? I didn’t know that’s what they were working on. Just… wow. It’s a little scary.” It racked his brain with how advanced the world of Cocoon had become, aside from their own world that seemed to be years behind them somehow. The government purposely did not want ground level to advance. It helped them maintain control and separate a new era of an elite human race from the grounders that kept the demons satisfied, all while resting easy in the safety of Cocoon where the demons couldn’t reach them.
Norman blinked before he turned around to Zazie and gave him a nod as if to say that everything was fine, which everything was. Well, for the most part. They were still missing a crewmember. But not just any crewmember. She was special to him. Zoning out seemed to be the closest he could get to her nowadays. That and the pendant around his neck. It felt like a link between them and it was all that was left behind from her.
With no leads, the first step was the reconstruction of his rod so that he could assist if they had to encounter demons again. Before, the six of them originally from Gracefield Manor, were each specially trained in a specific class. But even the PSICOM trainers did not teach them the full potential of the power they could learn. They realized that this was on purpose. This is why the Garment Grid was so useful, the game changer, as Thoma said. This would help them learn new fight styles and abilities that went even beyond their expectations. Only now they knew that each grid was specially designed for each of them. Taking someone else’s gave you physical consequences.
Nonetheless, it would still take some time to tweak and further develop and Norman knew that he needed more experience in every class more than anyone.
In the lab, Ray hovered over Lannion while he examined the Nethicite through a scope, using a tool to flip it over instead of using his hand. The Commando outfit was gloved but they were new to this kind of gem and didn’t know the full extent of its power. Besides, some tweaking was in store since the glove had been charred from Ray using his flames.
“Did I damage it?” Ray asked.
“Mm, nah. It’s scuffed but that shouldn’t affect the extraction. But it takes time. I mean we were already overloaded with the Garment Grid project and we rushed at the end. Gotta make some adjustments.”
“And label them. The only way we even got it this quickly is because Nigel has been helping us. He’s awesome at tinkering with things.” Thoma said and brought Ray his grid. He had just painted the outline red. “I’ll paint Norman’s a different color later so that doesn’t happen again and since we might be making more if we can get some more materials.” He said and both of the younger boys smirked.
“I don’t believe for a second that you didn’t give me mine on purpose.” Ray huffed and took the device while stepping away so he could change into the Commando attire himself, half expecting to change into someone else again.
“I swear we didn’t know it was capable of copying the user to the full extent, for the most part anyway. Though they are extremely detailed with yours and Norman’s characteristics and traits implemented into the programming.” Thoma shrugged but there was that dumb little smirk.
“Then why are you laughing?”
“Sorry, it's just so funny!” Thoma giggled behind his hand.
“Did you see your reflection and freak out?” Lannion laughed.
“Seriously, it’s hard to understand how you’re both so incredibly smart but can make such careless, stupid mistakes like that. If that’s even true.” Ray was just giving them a hard time at this point. It was all an illusion anyway as it didn’t affect his stats just by looking differently.
“We're sorry! Okay?” Lannion said, pulling on some gloves to handle the gem.
Ray was looking down at his new clothes and held the blade in his hands in front of him. The word incredible was an understatement for them. Their gadgets and weapon creations were astounding. He wasn’t even sure if Cocoon had advanced as far as they had. But they had taught them what they needed to know in order to make things happen and that is what was important.
A little flickering on the table caught his attention and he lowered the sword as he walked over to it. “What’s this?” It looked like an orb contained in a harness.
“It’s something for Hayato. Don’t touch it. As a matter of fact, can you get out?” Lannion answered.
“For Hayato? He already has a wired ability. Why does he need something else?” Ray questioned.
Thoma was sitting on a spinning stool and spun around to face him. “Wired ability? Yeah, okay Ravenger with built in firepower. Hm? Are you saying that you guys shouldn’t get upgrades? If that’s the case then give me your grid back.” He held his hand out to him.
Ray turned his hip the other way. “Shut up. I was just asking. He’s already good at what he does anyway.”
“Hey! Are you making something for me?” Hayato stuck his head out from the doorway. He had a radar for when he was being talked about or something. That or he was always eavesdropping.
“Dude, come here and let me show you!” Thoma waved him over but glared at Ray. “He doesn’t think you should have it.” He muttered to Hayato. Thoma and Lannion had been the closest with Hayato ever since he came along. They were the closest in age being only one year apart so it was expected they would group together.
Hayato was the baby of the group, so he picked up the role of little brother from everyone and was harmlessly picked on by the older boys. While he was a great asset to their team, it couldn’t be helped that he was so much fun to tease. Ray was the worst of them when it came to that. Away from Gracefield, he’d been missing his younger siblings and the others they’ve joined on this journey surely felt the same way about their family as well.
Ray rolled his eyes. “No, I actually said that you’re already good at what you do. Fleeing the scene.”
Hayato pouted, crossing his arms. “I don’t always…” He’d gotten better with picking up on when someone was just messing with him. Before being taken in by Norman, he never knew the closeness of a family or how they behaved. Too young to remember his birth family from years ago. He only had Jin for as long as he could remember. Zazie came along a little later.
So he had to toughen up and become accustomed to the playfulness of others. Norman would tell him that they tease him because they like him. That sometimes siblings say things that might seem mean but they don’t truly mean it. Hayato believed everything Norman said and so after that, he stopped taking those little jokes to heart. Everyone here cared about each other and about him. If he had to endure a bit of bullying here and there, then it was worth it. But there was one day Norman told him that he should do it back to them. He was a little wary of that but he started thinking about it.
“Relax.” Ray poked Hayato on his forehead hard enough to push him back some. “Just kidding.” There it was. The confirmation that Hayato liked to hear.
Thoma picked up the harness and held it against his chest to show them. “I still have more work to put into it but in short, Hayato,” He glanced at Lannion who just shook his head. “The power cells that we found last year, I was able to put to some use. Simplified, they’re like orbs of trapped time, unable to go anywhere or be placed anywhere. But they react together and move things from here to there incredibly fast-”
“How do you uhh...?” Ray began but wasn’t even sure what to say. He’d read about time capsule power cells before but it was a longshot to get them to work together like Thoma was describing. After this whole Garment Grid thing, he guessed he really shouldn’t doubt their abilities.
“You will be able to blink forward and backwards. I thought it would be fitting for you since you can already move swiftly.” Thoma finished.
“Sounds dangerous.” Ray commented.
“So, I can go faster with this device?” Hayato asked with a tilt of his head.
“That’s seriously all you had to say, Thoma. But how will you test this to make sure it's safe? What happened to me using the Garment Grid was pretty harmless but messing with time is extremely risky. You better make sure it's safe before you put it on or give it to him.” Ray had to whip out his older brother mode to make sure they didn’t go full mad scientist down here and make a device or creation that could unintentionally harm them. That being said, the lab has caught fire multiple times since they’ve been aboard the Palamecia and somehow Lucas has not kicked them out. Though he was one of the kindest people anyone could meet.
Yuugo on the other hand, not so much. He’s threatened to throw them overboard numerous times and one day took things a little too far, throwing Lannion over his shoulder and storming out on the deck with him. Thoma tried everything in his power to stop him but was dragged across the floor while clinging desperately to one of the taller man’s legs. Ray had to raise his book higher so he could secretly crack a smile at that.
“Of course I’m gonna be careful, don’t worry.” Thoma seemed a little disappointed at their reaction but he did understand Ray’s concern.
“Well I think it’s a great invention. I can’t wait until it’s ready! If I can ever help just let me know.” Hayato always wanted to help everyone and be in the middle of everything. Or in the way, as Ray would have put it.
“You three alone together. In here? That’s a disaster waiting to happen.” Ray said, receiving a glare from all three younger boys. Most likely they have already been alone together before considering the fires which Ray had absolutely nothing to do with.
Ray ended up staying down there for a while longer mostly out of interest in the gem. Nigel also joined them later on; because he had assisted them with the Garment Grid, now he had even more questions regarding their inventions.
Ever since they gained access to the Palamecia, life had been so much easier for them. They no longer had to thrive each day wondering if they would be alive tomorrow. Now they could go anywhere on Gran Pulse. But that was thanks to the kindness of Lucas and how he was against the dispute between the people on Cocoon and the people from Gran Pulse. He couldn’t have said it better, that it doesn’t matter where you’re from because they should still get along. It depends on the person, regardless of your past. It was only thanks to him and his crew, his family, that allowed them to get this far.
That being said, Lucas and Yuugo had very different beliefs despite being friends for a very long time. Yuugo despised the people from Cocoon. They were no friends of his. Although he had changed in some ways now, or at least he was better than he was before; he cares more than he lets on, his behavior is still off putting and disrespectful to them, but at least now they are working together without any major confrontations. The glares still never cease.
She helped encourage this. With her ‘defying the impossible’ ways. Bringing people together and then demons to people, uniting the world a little bit at a time. Changing Norman’s outlook on things, making him see clearly and showing him the way. None of this would have been possible without her.
Some time had passed after collecting the Nethicite. Everyone sort of dispersed to do their own thing for now or continued to mingle with one another. Don was trying to hype Ray up to arm wrestle with him in which Ray hesitantly accepted after a bit of playful bickering between them. Though the moment they sat down across from one another, the intercom buzzed with a bit of static, Oliver’s voice coming through. “We found another hotspot. However, we need to have a group discussion about its location. Everyone please proceed to the lobby.” The static sounded again and then it went silent. Oliver was always so professional no matter what the task was, a reflection of Lucas in many ways.
Everyone on the lower level of the airship made their way out into the hallway. Nigel typically stayed in the engine room to keep an eye on the ship’s stats and also because of the warmer temperature. If something major happened, he wanted to be able to fix it immediately.
Zack joined the lobby where Lucas, Oliver, and Norman were already chatting while Zazie and Violet lingered nearby. Ray came up with everyone else from the dining hall, and the two younger troublemakers raced to get in front of everyone. Yuugo was the last addition, staying as far back as possible as he tended to do when important meetings took place.
“Alright,” Lucas began. “We’ve pinged another site that seems to have something radiating energy, however,” He and Norman exchanged looks. “Some of you have been there before.”
“The Lambda Ruins.” Norman said.
Hayato averted his eyes. He and Zazie were the only ones from Lambda that were currently here with them. Norman approached him and knelt down. “Hayato, can you tell us what you remember about Lambda? If you’re uncomfortable talking about it, I understand.”
“I’m okay, really. I’ll tell you everything I know.” While even the name Lambda scared him, he wanted to be useful and the fact that Norman was asking for his help made him really happy. “I’ve never been inside the building.” He gave his head a light shake. “The explosion happened before I was alive and probably before all of you were too… Well, Ray told me so maybe he should explain it better.”
Ray remembered reading about Lambda at the bunker. Apparently it was a horrific place where humans were used as live experiments. He gave a nod to the blond. “First of all, the air is toxic.” He looked down to Norman where he was kneeling still. “The day we met Hayato and the others, I remember you being really nauseous. But we were still far away from the site so it’s unsettling that it possibly affected you even still.”
“And it must affect everyone differently.” Hayato said. “That’s why Zazie and I are so… different. And why Barbara has seizures. We were exposed for far too long and now the effects are irreversible. But we didn’t realize what it was doing to us. Assuming, that is, if everyone else from that area feels the same. Some of us were physically ill. Some of us were not bothered at all. I never had any physical sickness so I never knew that it was altering me in some way.”
Ray sighed, it would be more difficult than digging through ice for a shiny rock. “The Lambda facility was sealed up by PSICOM and that’s all they did to try and contain the toxic fumes. There’s nothing but deadlands for a few miles. Thankfully, it didn’t spread further and affect the planet but instead it self-sustained around the area.”
“I bet there’s some nasty demons there.” Yuugo said from the back.
Hayato gave a nod. “We were always on the run from them. For a long time, Jin and I were relocating to the Calm Lands.” He scoffed. “They actually weren’t calm at all. It’s a valley infested with demons, mutated from Lambda all those years ago. We never could catch a break.” Jin and Hayato were constantly running and fighting for their lives. It was so different for them now being involved with Norman. Life changing.
“The Calm Lands?” Ray questioned, lifting a hand to his mouth in thought. “Okay, wait a minute. I read that the Calm Lands were supposed to be the safest place in the entire world. There is supposed to be an entire civilization there. Or there was....”
“That’s what Jin said and why we were going there.” Hayato explained but his eyes darkened as he thought back on it. “But it was nothing but demons and despair.”
“Then if it's as you say, it did change at some point. This was a place that had no records on Cocoon. They didn’t teach us anything about Lambda either.” Ray said in disgust.
“They chose not to.” Norman reminded him that PSICOM was now their enemy and might have deliberately left things out of Gran Pulse’s history lessons because they either didn’t think it was relevant or didn’t want them to learn about it so they could survive the deadlands.
Then Norman turned to Lucas. “Since you guys have been doing exploration for so long, how do you feel about this?” And how much did they risk for treasure and important materials, he wondered.
“This area of Gran Pulse is uncharted territory just like Lake Bresha is. That’s why it has taken us this long to even get here. I do think it’s worth scouting out from the air for now.” Lucas explained. “I’m sure we have some equipment to use to help filter the air.” He looked to Nigel.
“Ah, masks. Can do. Might can have them ready in an hour or two with some help. I want to make sure they’ll work properly before any of us go diving into the abyss.” Nigel confirmed. Calling Lambda the abyss was rather accurate since they’ve learned it to be a very dark, cursed place.
Norman agreed completely. Then he looked back at Hayato with a gentle smile. “Thank you.” He said rising up again. Hayato was absolutely beaming with admiration.
As everyone resumed their positions or got to work on their projects, Norman stepped over to one of the windows to see the clouds that restricted his view of the world below. Absentmindedly, he reached up to touch the radiant blue pendant around his neck. She would have loved this, wouldn’t she? Being able to travel the world with him, with all of them. Before the accident, it had been their ideal plan. To grow Paradise, rescue stragglers that were thriving on Pulse, and see the world.
But now...
“I wish you were here.” He whispered to himself, exhaling slowly to suppress his feelings. Placing an arm around the window, he leaned forward a bit, thinking back to the events that took place just a matter of weeks ago already. Time was moving along and he wasn’t okay with it. Wandering the world of Gran Pulse, sometimes blindly it seemed as if just waiting for the next thing to happen. He was impatient with this mindset. She could literally be anywhere. Was he even sure she was somewhere though?
The idea of the worst case scenario was eating him alive inside. Then he had a thought. He needed to speak to Ray but it would have to wait until after they revisited Lambda. There was a location where he might be able to see her again, but the circumstances surrounding it pained him deeply.