melodiesoflife | The Sky is the Limit

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The Sky is the Limit

WHO: Natalia L.K. Lanvaldear, Naminé, Sora, Yuri Lowell, Possibly Castmates???
WHAT: Determined to get herself up to speed as a Hero of Light, Natalia marches right into that lab to face her Calamity Self. She doesn't know what she's getting into, as her biggest concern is choosing which job she should keep equipped.
WHEN: November 10th
WHERE: Palitutu's Laboratory - Aqures Ixen
WARNINGS: Tales of the Abyss spoilers regarding Natalia's origins

Natalia awoke bright and early that morning, bathing herself and dressing in her blouse and leather jerkin. She looked as fresh and clean as she always did before setting out to work, and today would be a busy day indeed. She'd contacted those few she knew and trusted to inform them of her decision to face her Calamity Self promptly, as she had every intention of returning to Trano Golsaucia with better supplies to help them protect themselves against the Calamity. Battling the monsters during her week-long stay there had helped her build up a significant stash of gil, which would be used to purchase warm blankets, clothes, food, weapons, and medicine. She kept only enough to refresh the pension she'd had to use to pay for her own needs; the rest was earned in Trano Golsaucia so she meant for it to be spent on fortifying the city. She couldn't stay rooted in that place forever, but she could at least ensure it had a fighting chance. There were other places that required her attention as well, such as Flence, Aerilon, and Nabila from the sound of it.

Hopefully conquering her Calamity side would boost her ability to move about these lands and battle the creatures that dwelled there as well.

Natalia waited outside of the laboratory, patiently waiting for the others. She didn't demand perfect punctuality, but if anyone was more than fifteen minutes late, she would simply have to assume that they weren't coming.

"Thank you for accompanying me in this endeavor," she said graciously, before turning on her heel and pushing open the doors to the laboratory. "Though I am unsure what to expect, I do know the ultimate goal, and will strive to complete my task swiftly." She led the way with a confident smile that belied the butterflies that fluttered wildly in her stomach. Naturally she was a little nervous, but she wasn't afraid. Her friends were here beside her, so what did she have to fear?

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Anise had to admit, after seeing Vanitas' shadow, she expected a lot worse out of the first appearance of Natalia's. That being said, she's not dropping her guard; she knows some of Natalia's baggage, and there was a potential for this to be a harder fight.

It's way more than not being polite, and Anise knows it, and so she's going to do her best to provoke the shadow. Partly because she has poor impulse control. Partly because the sooner it gets out into the open, the better.

"Is that all you're gonna do? Our Natalia's way stronger than this."

He's definitely not minding his business and rather than keeping things calm and collected, he's going to just mouth off to the Calamity Self because he can. Funny thing is, he can recognize everyone except one person in the room. Not that it's of any surprise. Yuri gets around a lot and it's hard to not know people.

"Aren't we a bit disturbing today?"

The swordsman crosses his arms as he leans against a nearby wall. Natalia was definitely a person that he had seen in a different light since they met. Yuri knows that fighting things aggressively in this current situation won't do much for either parties.

Natalia's head tilted slightly in Naminé's direction, acknowledging what she'd said, but she was unable to tear her eyes away from that strange duplication of her face and form. "Perhaps? I certainly wasn't aware of any such impulses prior to this moment." She hoped that didn't mean she would be expected to spit as well in order to 'accept' this part of herself, spitting was truly vile.

Both blondes turned their heads fully when Anise spoke, however. Natalia seemed warmed by the encouragement, her fingertips laid together as she stood even straighter than she already was. "Anise..."

She was about to thank her, but her Calamity self had a quicker tongue. "You're really going to insist on calling me by the name of someone dead and buried? She's not your Natalia." She looked contemptuously back at the princess. "It's Meryl. How convenient that you just so happened to completely forget about that. What a stupid bitch."

"I beg your pardon?" Natalia gasped, shocked to hear that kind of language come out of her own mouth, in her own voice. "I will not tolerate this crude behavior a moment longer. I would never repress something so--"

And then she stopped short, her head snapping around to stare wide-eyed at Yuri. Her mouth fell open.

Calamity Natalia grinned. "Now this is going to get interesting~."

"You! What are you doing here? This is extremely private!" she protested, flustered. "I must insist that you remove yourself from this room at once!"

"Wow, talk about ungrateful," the duplicate muttered with a cheeky grin, picking at her teeth. "He was one of the few that showed up to help the people of that city and even saved your dumb ass despite treating him like a servant. Now you're going to boss him around some more? What a crappy 'princess,'" she snorted with laughter, her fingers hooking into air quotes. "I say he stays."

"I most certainly do not say that!"

Sora lifted his hands to the back of his head, watching the two blondes go at it. Natalia certainly had a full out bickering fight with her Calamity self going on here. With Vanitas and Ira the Shadows had been capable of rendering the other speechless. It was the others in the room who were pipping up to make the purple-eyed creatures shut up.

They haven't known each other very long but he sort of expected this sort of fight for her. She had no problem saying what she meant and arguing with herself was probably going to be more challenging than trying to physically fight her.

"Natalia... Meryl - so what?" Sora asked casually. "A name is a name and if she wants to be one over the other then so what? Natalia is the person I know and I like her. If she wants to stop being Natalia and be Meryl or someone else entirely, that's okay too. See, that's the thing about people - they get to choose to be whoever they want."

He shifted so that he leaned back on the wall. "So it isn't a matter of forgetting anything, it's a matter of choosing. She's chosen to be Natalia and I've got no problem with that.

As for the whole matter of Yuri being here... well, he'll leave that for someone else to deal with.

If Anise looked angry before, she was absolutely livid now. Sure, there were plenty of times that Anise had wanted Natalia to act less princess-like, but she didn't want anything like this!

It was painful enough to see Natalia face this, but Natalia had an audience on top of it. Anise didn't think Natalia wanted everyone she'd just met to learn about everything back home, but that was the risk they ran facing the shadow in a group.

"Oh, stuff it." Anise almost rolled her eyes; at this point, Natalia's shadow was more annoying than frightening.

"She's our friend, no matter what you call her. I don't care if it's Natalia, or Meryl, or 'Daddy's little spoiled princess.' She's our friend, and she's the one who's come with us this far, and if she wants privacy, she should get it."

Anise had to resist the urge to pummel the shadow herself, but it wasn't why they were here, and it wouldn't do any good.

Naminé nods along with everyone's words, her brow furrowed as she tries to think of her own. She knows she tends to twist them up at the most important moments, and it's just as well that everyone else speaks first, to give her time to piece them together.

"I don't know you very well, Natalia, but I know that the best princesses work very hard to help their people. To help their worlds be better places for those people. The first time we met, while I was talking with you, I could tell. You're a kind, thoughtful person. No matter what you're called, no matter where you came from or who you used to be."

She clasps her hands in front of her.

"And you might have...disagreements with people." Here she glances at Yuri, undeniably curious, before refocusing on Natalia. "I'm sure you had your fair share even before you came to this world. Even then, it doesn't change the fact that you're a person who decided to accept the title and everything that comes with it, good and bad. You're a person who took on that responsibility." She gestures to Anise. "And you have people like your friend who believe in your abilities and want to defend you. So how could you be a bad princess?"

"Right, Private. I wasn't trying to break into your conversation Princess. Maybe a locked door would have sufficed?"

He replied with a brief chuckle at Natalia's reaction. To whatever was going on, he didn't have to say much. From the few moments he's worked and known her, she wasn't a bad person and definitely not a bad princess. He's seen his share of terrible nobles before. Natalia, fortunately did not fit that label and her other self was definitely enjoying the fact that she could cause a reaction by being extra repulsive. He moves away from the wall before speaking again.

"I'm not leaving since I'm already here. I'm waiting for you to give it a good beating-- the old fashioned way I suppose?"

He rolled his shoulders as his hands went up, "Seems like she's taken a liking to me."

It was a half joke but with a more serious tone to it, "Anyway, you're the proud type. What's to be embarrassed about anyway?" there's a pause before he adds to what the other version of Natalia is saying, "I don't need you to defend me Meryl or whoever you want to call yourself. We're not exactly pleasant with each other so the feelings are mutual."

Edited 2016-11-23 00:50 (UTC)

Natalia was halfway up the ramp, hands outstretched toward Yuri's throat as her fingers twitched eagerly. If she had to throw him out of the room herself, then that's what she would do! But then her Shadow sang out.

"Oh yeah, rough him up! Then you can compare his body to Asch's. You always did like the rude ones."

"Be silent!" Natalia whirled on her Shadow, fed up. And she wasn't spoiled, Anise! (But she appreciated the sentiment just the same.) "The others are right. It doesn't matter who I really am, it's what I do with my name that matters, either as a citizen or a princess!"

There was an edge to the Shadow's smile, and her eyes glowed a little brighter. "Then you're denying me? The girl you were truly born to be? How sickening." She raised the back of her hand to her mouth and giggled girlishly. "You haven't once spared a thought for your poor mother and father. Not even to ask after their names! Instead you insist on clinging to the robes of the man who rejected you without a second thought...the one who served you poison! Can you believe him?! 'So you wouldn't suffer.' That's where your real anger lies, isn't it? Not in Van, not in the pitiful lazy wretches who left those people to die, not in the second-prettiest swordsman standing right over there."

Natalia clutched at the front of her vest, feeling a tight and uncomfortable lump forming in her throat. Her true parents... Yes, the thought had crossed her mind once she found out about them. Why hadn't they kept her? Because the Score said so? And the king...

"I don't...I don't hate him..."

"He doesn't care the way you do. He doesn't see you for all you could do for the kingdom! He's holding you back, Meryl. Maybe you should reject him, and let him taste how bitter that feels!"

Yuri stood there staring at the princess, unaffected by her threats. If she thought it would help her feel better, then she was free to choke him. He wasn't doing anything wrong. He felt somewhere in the back of her mind she wanted some sort of assistance but not in the form of the sugar coated words that would be said to her.

He was a blunt person, and he knew he had his own flaws. With that being said, how could he ignore someone in need. She may not appear like she needed his presence, but he figured if she had more support she'd opt to talk about the things that bothered her. In the end if she wished for him to not talk about what he saw here, he'd keep it a secret for her. The former imperial knight looks at her as she continues her conversation with her shadow.

Perhaps, this was why she was not as most Princess were. Not because she was raised to be the headstrong person she was today but also because she was not really of royal blood. He wondered how long she knew about that and how long it ate her before she accepted it? Well, considering the situation right now, she looked like she was fighting it tooth and nail.

"Hey, Princess. I'm all for you strangling me up and all but can't you fight your own emotions? Now's not the time to get indecisive. Just because you have doubts right now, doesn't mean you can't be okay later. Who doesn't have doubts and who doesn't know what they truly want but deep down you know. You just got to say it."

Edited 2017-03-09 08:16 (UTC)

"I...! I don't...!" Natalia faltered, taking a step back from Yuri. She had a sinking feeling that this wasn't really the issue at hand, but her feelings ran so deeply, even she wasn't entirely sure what her shadow self wanted to say. She shook her head, pulling her fists close to her chest.

"I'd be much better suited to take the throne," Calamity Natalia preened, narrowing her eyes coolly. "Father never listened to reason. Never saw my potential. I'm sure he would have been satisfied if I'd just sat there and looked pretty, when I could have been soooo much more." She spread out her hands as her expression soured, brow darkening. "I hate him."

"No! You're wrong!" Natalia rounded her and stamped her foot stubbornly. "I love my father, with all my heart. And I love my people!"

The shadow narrowed her eyes at her, and began to laugh haughtily. "You can't even admit it to yourself! You just have to be perfect little Natalia, don't you? But deep down, you know who you really are. Meryl." She spoke the name viciously, smirking as Natalia flinched. "Just a simple mercentary's daughter. You're not cut out to rule over anyone, let alone an entire kingdom. Your life is nothing more than a lie, and it's high time you realized the truth!"

Natalia tensed, ready to fling back her own retorts. But she stopped, her eyes flicking briefly to Kumew who stood close by, paws clasped together, tiny face screwed up with worry. Natalia wasn't here to deny her shadow. She had to listen. This was a part of herself, something she'd buried so deeply that she couldn't bring herself to believe they were her true feelings.

"Please. Give me a moment to think this over." She bowed her head, eyes squeezed shut. Did accepting this part of herself mean that she despised her father? That couldn't possibly be right, her affection was still there. What was she supposed to believe?

He did say those words to lighten the situation for her. After all, he did force his way in rather stubbornly at it. It wasn't like he was trying to be subtle about his entrance. Natalia reacted just the way he thought she would when she saw him. However, in lieu of that, it did help her somewhat gain her composure.

He was okay with that and crossed his arms as he stepped back from her as she didn't get any closer to strangling him. He offered her a smile, an arrogant, confident one at it as she seemed to be recoil into herself.

"Sometimes you love them so much that you hate them. Isn't that right?"

He spoke aloud, after a moment, listening to her speak of her sorrow. Yuri didn't want to be intruding but kids with parents were lucky. Yuri had none so he couldn't relate to any of this. He was trying his best to though. There was nothing else he could do other than state his thoughts.

"It's a human thing isn't it? Sometimes you feel that you're wronged by the very person that you cherished. Sometimes, stuff just happens and you don't know how to take it. It's not shameful to admit that you harbor those kinds of feelings. It's what makes you human and it's something you can't deny."

"Think all you need. I'll be here until the end."

"What?"

Natalia raised her head to look at Yuri, her brow furrowed. Love someone so much she hated them? Initially she didn't understand, but as he continued, clarity slowly erased the confusion from her face. Her gaze fell to the floor as she stood in quiet thought.

"I suppose...you're right. If two people were to call you an insulting name, it would hurt more coming from someone you love and trust, rather than a stranger who doesn't know you. I always wished Father would recognize me, and what I could do. And to be offered poison...so I would not suffer..." Her lip trembled, and she stilled it with a tightening of her jaw. "Of course it hurt me!" She balled her hands into fists as her head jerked up, her gaze fierce as it fell on her shadow.

"But that doesn't mean I hate my father. I hate what he did. I hate that he had no confidence in me. But he changed. He accepted me, and because of what happened, we're closer than we ever were before. We may not share royal blood, but our bonds go far beyond that."

She strode forward, shoulders working with each forceful step. For a moment it looked as if she intended to slap the insolence right out of her shadow. But she didn't.

"Even so...you're right."

Calamity Natalia tipped her head back, regarding Natalia suspiciously, but listened.

"There's a lot about myself I don't understand. The nature of my birth...the role I was raised to play...the changes that are sure to come. Reconciling all of that is not going to be easy, and we don't have the luxury of time right now for me to sort everything out at my own pace."

Her shadow narrowed her purple eyes, but allowed the princess to continue.

Natalia took a breath, forcing her shoulders to relax, and unclenched her hands. "But I promise, when it's over, I'll do what I can. I want to find out what happened to my mother and father, and why they did...what they felt was necessary. I'm not fit to rule if I can't even decide who I am. The people of Kimlasca need someone with strength, and confidence. I will reconcile with my father, and we will build a stronger kingdom together."

Slowly, Natalia went to one knee, and put a fist over her heart. "I swear it. If you really are a part of me, then surely it's the same for you, isn't it? Our people must come first."

"...Please. You're embarrassing us, stop kneeling like that." She folded her arms and turned her head away...but smiled.

"Meryl and Natalia...we're the same. Thank you." Natalia rose to her feet, taking a quick, shallow breath. "I hope to reconcile with my true self as well."

The shadow inclined her head, once, before her image blurred into a bright flash of light that quickly faded, surrounding Natalia and becoming one with her again.

Her legs lacked strength, and she put her palm against one of the consoles to keep herself from sagging to the floor. She was drained, emotionally and physically, but she couldn't show weakness now. Instead she closed her eyes and focused on her breathing.

"Thank you." She turned her head to offer a weary but warm smile to the others. "I truly thank you. All of you."

"That wasn't so hard now was it?"

Yuri mused giving her a small smile when it was all over and done with. Beyond that he didn't need to say anymore. He already put the thought in her mind-- to think about how she truly felt. He was glad that she understood it to some extent and took it to heart. In the end, she benefited the most from accepting things the way they were.

The swordsman didn't need to get into the gritty details for her to understand. She was a smart person with a head strong personality.

He was happy for her and glad that things could settle down now. He walked over to her and offered her a hand when she sagged down to the ground. His smile was sincere and had no mix of sarcasm, "You did well, Princess."

Natalia's head tipped forward with a rueful, short chuckle. "It was far more difficult than I anticipated. But I appreciate that nonetheless." She supposed it could have been much worse if her shadow truly had gone berserk and attacked the others. She was grateful it hadn't come down to that. It made her wonder just how readily she would have accepted the harsh truths laid in front of her like that, if the presence of her friends hadn't been a constant reminder of the consequences she'd face if she hadn't been willing to humble herself and listen.

As Yuri held out his hand, Natalia gazed at it for a moment, hesitant. Part of her wanted to stand on her own to prove that she was fine, that she still had the strength to return to her tasks. There was no need to be concerned.

But...

Her gloved hand grasped his and held it tightly, allowing him to draw her upright once more. In truth, she did need the help, and she would rather appear weak than give unnecessary insult by turning down his offer of kindness.

"Thank you. But I do hope you choose to knock the next time you trespass on someone's private shadow confrontation," she smiled, releasing his hand. Her head still felt light and woozy, but she made no move to voice her discomfort. All she needed now was to return home and get some rest, trusting that she would feel better after a few hours of sleep. "I will see you on the morrow. Good day."

With a polite incline of her head, Natalia focused her attention on putting one foot in front of the other. There had already been too much exposure on her weaknesses for one day, she was not in the mood to showcase anything more.

"As a lot of these things turn out to be more problematic than they seem to be at first."

He replied as he waited for her to take his hand. Of course, she was also free to not take it if she felt more comfortable that way. No on knows what happens to the things that they suppress. Sometimes it's worse than others. This was just a small example of how cruel the world could be for all of them. At the very least, she accepted herself as she was and knew her own faults. That's all he really admired.

Yuri pulled heron her feet in a matter of seconds as he pats her down almost gently. Whatever protest she may have, he completely ignored it for the time being as he checked her for any possible injuries.

"I'm afraid that's not my style and like I said I didn't intentionally walk in on it. It just happened."

He shrugged with a laugh.

"If anything you should lock the door next time. That should solve your problem."

HE teased briefly as he watched her start moving outside. Unfortunately, he wasn't ready to let her walk back on her own so he followed after her as she left the building.

"Good idea, but I don't think you should be heading off on your own after what just happened there."

"Lock the-- That's completely absurd and beyond unreasonable! You assume I should accurately predict your rudene-- What are you DOING?" she squawked as he started putting his hands all over her. Natalia slapped his wrists away, red-faced. "Kindly keep your hands to yourself!"

No matter how good his intentions might have been, some things were simply not done! She stormed away from a little faster, even if it meant that it would weary her that much sooner. Honestly, this man had no respect for a lady's privacy.

"I'll be fine," she informed him crisply. "I think it's safe to assume that I can move through the streets in broad daylight without fearing an ill-timed assault, outside of your own intrusion just now." What did he seriously think was going to happen, that bandits would leap out and no one would move to her aid?

~~Suddenly a bunch of thugs jumped out of the alleyway~~

"It's for security purposes isn't it? Even if it wasn't me. Some guy who wants to find out your weakness could stumble upon your personal experience and use it against you."

He shrugged as she sputtered at him. Honestly, gender was never really a thing with him. He had forgotten that she was a girl and that she had some sort of upbringing that was completely different from his. He was quite use to patting his friends down, or doing things subconsciously. He had no ill or perverted intentions, thus her response seemed to have thrown him off guard if for a moment.

"I was only trying to help-- guess I forget your upbringing does make it difficult to do things casually."

He made no effort to apologize but continued to follow her despite her protest about being okay and that nothing would happen. That was the extent to how much he actually cared about her without saying. Honestly, he was sure she'd be fine but who knew if some dumb monster or a crazy thief would try to rob a girl? IT was that kind of world.

~~AND THEY WILL NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY AGAIN. no one knows where they went.~~

"You're being paranoid. The lab was well-staffed, and I'm fairly new to this world. No one knows who I am, so what reason would someone want to spy on me?"

It didn't sound likely, but that gullible little part of herself could have been easily tricked into believing him if he pushed at it.

"My upbringing has nothing to do with it, a man simply doesn't touch a woman like that unless they have a very intimate relationship! Something you and I do not have." Natalia stopped at a corner to check for oncoming carts, and unleashed a little sigh. She really was tired, but she was loathe to let anyone see it. Not only was it a matter of pride, but responsibility as well. The people of this city believed in the strength of the Heroes of Light, and if she flagged visibly, they might begin to doubt and lose hope.

"Please, go home. You've better things to do with your time, and I assure you I am in no danger of fainting."

"No matter the reason, Heroes of Light will always be target of some kind for various reasons. Doesn't matter if you're new or not. You got the label of a Hero of Light and that's all they need."

This wasn't really a joke in all honesty, but if she wanted to believe that nothing was going to happen. That wash er choice. He wasn't going to press it anymore since if she didn't think about danger, that's her own responsibility if something were to happen in the future right?

Needless to say, she was a valuable ally, thus his words. He really didn't get why she was so touchy about it. Honestly. He had patted down Estelle and a fair amount of other people that he knew. What was the whole idea about being intimate to touch people? Sadly, he wasn't Flynn, so none of this made sense.

"Right, because touching other people is considered intimate."

He sighed. What kind of thinking did this girl really have?! Okay, maybe he's too casual but hey, he wasn't going to change himself so he wouldn't tell her to change either.

"I'm pretty bored right now actually. Tell ya what," he paused a moment as she continued to walk behind her, "I'll stay about five feet from you until you get home. Then I'll be on my merry way."

As in he's not going to let her go on her own.

This man! Why did he insist on being so dreadfully stubborn? Surely he knew that there was no inherent danger, nor did he owe her anything. Was he truly bored? Or was this merely his very strange way of demonstrating friendship.

Her head drooped forward as she sighed.

"I simply do not understand you, Yuri Lowell. But if you must, there's no need to keep pace behind me. We are allies, are we not? We should walk at each other's side." She looked back at him over her shoulder with a little smile. "I'll be vexed if you behave like a servant."

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The Sky is the Limit

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