Light Never Dies (II)

Chapter 17 - Departure

(Congratulations to the user "Silverhightwing" who correctly guessed who the new character is. Yes the new character is Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII. So without further ado, let's get to the chapter.)

This woman who I did not know just volunteered to help me. Or rather I should say help Noire. It sounded like I was going to lead her with me on a wild goose chase. Normally I would've dismissed her help but the look on this woman's face showed nothing short of utter determination without a trace of hesitance.

I'd have to take on more precautionary measures now more than I had to before. Although, I do now have an extra companion at my side. Which could possibly help in the long run. I just hope that she doesn't suspect me at all for who I really am.

We filled out the regular forms to accept the quest from the guild and set out almost immediately. I asked the woman what her name was and she replied coldly.

"Lightning."

She never asked me what my name was. She probably didn't care at all. More than likely to her I was just someone she could probably use. Just as I was planning on using her. It seems we both were already planning against each other unknowingly. She stated that she already had her belongings with her and that she was ready for departure to wherever it may be that we would go. Naturally I was the leader since I "had a tip on where this man Quinn's last location was." So Lightning was just following me making sure we could get there quickly and safely.

I went to the shop shortly after I had left the guild and had told Lightning to wait outside until I was finished. She stayed that she required nothing and agreed reluctantly to patiently wait outside. I went in and bought standard provisions like food and water and the like. I also had camping equipment for the journey as well considering we would be traveling on foot. There was also something else that caught my eye as I saw it. Normally I wouldn't care about these sort of things but this particular item was calling out to me. Almost as if it held some sort of relevance to me. So on a whim I purchased it as well.

With all my newly purchased items, I walked outside of the store and saw Lightning sitting on a nearby bench. However, instead of approaching her directly, I waited for a moment and assessed her facial expression. She seemed to be lost deep in thought and something was troubling her. And whatever it was had been troubling her for a while. I could tell.

Thanks to the tech of Gamindustri, all the items I had purchased could be formatted into data and when I needed them I could just open up a menu inside my head and withdraw them from code sort of like a universal vault. After I stashed everything away and had examined Lightning for a few moments, I decided to approach her. As soon as I spoke, she snapped out of her dreamlike trance and listened to what I had to say.

"Are you ready to leave? The last I heard, Quinn was located somewhere around some ruins around Planeptune. It will be awhile since we have to travel on foot. Probably a few days give or take."

Normally this wouldn't have made since given the time frame of disappearance and how long the distance was but she knew about my powers and how I could use portals to travel great distances. However now I needed to be as least suspicious as possible. Which means no Dimension Tripper powers for me.

She gave me a look of adamant confirmation and we started to depart from Lastation. As we left and approached the outer gate from Lastation that separated the wilderness and the city though, Lightning stopped. I turned around to face her, confused as to why she stopped. She had her head down but soon looked up to me and told me her goal.

"I'm not just accompanying you just to finish this quest. I'm also searching from someone. The only reason I chose to travel with you is because I thought this would be my only chance of finding this person I'm looking for. So if we find him along the way or hear about him at all, don't try to stop me or I will fight you. Got it?"

The look she was giving me as she spoke was one of conviction and hostility. She was indeed cold but determined. My impression of her was that of an ice queen. Only caring about those close to her and pushing all others away who held no relevance to her. But I couldn't blame her either. She told me how far she's traveled and the risks she took to get here. So it looks like I'm going to wind up helping her as well. This journey would definitely be an entertaining one.