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[color=mediumpurple][i]And if my story would lead me to my death today then so be it.[/i][/color] She watched as the people comprising their small group alit from the airship. At least they all made a cohesive group and she doubted she would have any trouble working with each -- if they didn't have any problems working with [i]her[/i], that is. She had been wandering alone in Pulse for a time now and she was afraid that she was lacking in the social skills department. Nevertheless, she had taken note of each person's name and made a personal assessment of each by their appearance. 

A girl that carried with her a scythe. [i]Yaschas Dia Nadia.[/i] While she was the youngest in the group, she had no doubt that she was proficient with that curved blade she had. While lost in her thoughts on the way to Cocoon, she faintly heard the girl getting into some sort of squabble with a Pulsian soldier. She would have stood up and helped out but she wasn't one to get into the business of others. And the look of the girl's face --- a struggle for control and a determination to be the better person -- made her hung back and watch what would happen. When she saw the man lean forward to whisper something in the girl's ear and seeing how it made the girl cry, she had no doubt that what he had said to her was some sort of threat. She had smirked when the man walked away. [color=mediumpurple][i]Cowards always make threats but never ever follows through.[/i][/color] She had almost walked over to the girl to try and comfort her when the their bearded companion beat her to it. It was a good thing, she wasn't the best company nor the best person to give comfort to a crying girl. It would all just end up being awkward. 

[i]Haerii Talim Noir.[/i] The man with the dual tonfas. He was the eldest in the group and from the way Nadia had calmed down when he came over, it seemed like he did a good job. From first glance, Nyxia initially thought he was unapproachable with his tough and serious facade. But first opinions can always be wrong.

And finally, [I]Sarii En Riya.[/i] The shorter yet older woman was their archer, obviously a hunter from Sarii. Nyxia had once stumbled upon her village while she was wandering around Pulse but had never met the woman before. She had glanced briefly at her during their flight, noting how she was taking in the sight of Cocoon the same way she was but with a less admiration on her face. The sight would no doubt impressed her the way it did Nyxia but she doubted that the woman really cared. A beautiful, unfamiliar sight should not distract them from the mission at hand, after all.

Before heading towards their target location with her team, Nyxia hung back and sought out the man that had attacked her team mate just as he stepped off the airship. She unsheathed one of her blades, pulled and with a flick of her wrist and a quick movement, had the chain wrapped around the man's throat. She pressed the blade to his jugular. [color=mediumpurple]"Hit and threaten my team mate again and this blade will find a different sheath than the one hanging on my hips,"[/color] she said in a low voice. The man stared at her, surprised apparent on his face. There was a reason why Nyxia had been assigned to this mission. While she was obviously younger than the man whose neck was wrapped in a length of her chain, she was obviously faster and more lethal than him. 

With a cold grin, she tightened the metal coil on his neck. [color=mediumpurple]"Now, if you're lucky enough to survive the war, you would do good to [i]apologize[/i] to Nadia or the blade would find a sheath in your neck even without you threatening her."[/color] When the man fearfully nodded, Nyxia loosened her chain and with a quick flick of her wrist, had it off the man's neck. Sheathing the blade back, she patted him on the shoulder. [color=mediumpurple]"Good luck,"[/color] she said before turning away and catching up with her group, leaving the man staring wide eyed after her.

As their group pressed onward to the place where they were to meet their Cocoon contact, Nyxia this time, pulled both blades out of their scabbard. As she released the blades, the chain that was wrapped around her waist tightened, giving the blades' chain some slack to allow her to fight comfortably even without releasing the metal links from her body. There was no need to release the full length of her chain for now. She can easily uncoil the chain from her waist whenever she needed to anyway.

But obviously, with the number of Pulsian soldiers with them, their little group didn't need to engage the Cocoon soldiers in combat. It wasn't their prime directive, after all. In a matter of minutes, they were in the designated meeting area. She stopped, just beside Riya, noting that she was drawing out an arrow from the corner of her eye. In response to her team mate's cautious stance, she prepared herself for battle as well, loosening her hold on her blade just in case she needed to release her chain for ranged combat. She narrowed her eyes at the unusually calm man sitting by Lake Bresha's shoreline. Was he their contact?

[b]“Stay your arrow, if you please! We have no reason for bloodshed here. I have called you here to work together, not to kill each other. Our worlds suffer a grave threat, and it’s not from who you think!”[/b]

Adrenalin pumped into Nyxia's system in anticipation of a battle. Was what the man saying true or were they walking into a trap? She didn't relax her stance, the chain that had been wrapped snugly around her waist loosening up a bit more as she looked at the Cocoon soldiers.

[b]“Inside that building is a dying Pulse fal’Cie. PSICOM captured it during the initial invasion and have been performing a series of tests on the thing. I intercepted some communications that might shed some light. It seems this fal’Cie wants to stop the war, not continue it. We need to get in there and liberate or at least talk to it.”[/b] Lieutenant Julian Cagle continued on.

At the mention of a fal'Cie, the familiar, deep hatred blossomed in Nyxia's chest. Why should they help a fal'Cie? Why should they even listen to it? These so called gods didn't care for humans. All they cared for was themselves. Anima failed to protect her village and her people when it mattered the most. The fal'Cie was the cause for her family's suffering. It made her father a monster and her, a [i]murderer.[/i] What makes this Cocoon lieutenant think that he could trust whatever this dying fal'Cie had to say? 

Her thoughts were interrupted when the Lieutenant said her name out loud. [color=mediumpurple][i]Heh. What do you know about me?[/i][/color] she thought a little sarcastically. She had no idea what sort of intel the man had on her but if he truly knew about her history with the fal'Cie in Oerba then he'd know that she would rather see this one die than help it survive. She wondered again if this whole mission was some sort of trap. Was there really a fal'Cie in this warehouse he was speaking of? Or would they be ambushed and slaughtered the moment they step into it? Whatever it was, there was no turning back now. [color=mediumpurple][i]Kill or be killed.[/i][/color] It was the same words that had run through her head when she found out that the Cieth she had killed had been her father. Some sort of desperate explanation for her actions, something to lessen her guilt. It was also the same words that had ran through her head when she signed up for the war. 

If a fal'Cie was indeed in the building, she vowed to help. But not in the way Lieutenant Julian Cagle wanted. She would help hasten it to its demise rather than help it survive. And by eliminating the fal'Cie, she would be one step to freeing the world from its cruelty.

[color=mediumpurple][i]One day it would be Anima that would be in front of me dying and I will end its life with the blade that ended my father's.[/i][/color] Her hands instinctively tightened on her blade handles.

[color=mediumpurple]"If we are so pressed for time, then we should not be standing here making small talk,"[/color] she called out.