A few more days had passed since Faybon spoke with Tamotsu and he was still just as confused as ever about what the rough and tough guy had been trying to tell him. and, of course, Tamotsu hadn't been willing to elaborate no matter how many times he'd been asked to.
Further thoughts were interrupted by the rustling of a coat and a voice as gentle as the sea breeze. "So, Tammy tells me you're almost about ready to leave us?"
Faybon didn't bother turning around, out of the three people he lived here with, Felix still was the most confusing to him, and not just because of how hard it was to reconcile that two wildly different people shared a name.
Speaking of names though. "So are you ever going to tell me your real name?" Faybon asked calmly.
Felix paused before settling into place next to Faybon on the balcony, looking out into the night sky. "Ah, I guess the others filled you in on the whole Nobody thing huh?" He asked with a gentle chuckle. "I mean, I've had the name Felix for a long time now but..." the rustling of fabric indicated a shrug. "Tell you what, you tell me what your decision is and I'll tell you my actual name."
Faybon huffed. "But I haven't come to a decision."
"Our resident ninja seems to think you have." The tone was gentle, prompting, trying to guide without being contradictory.
Faybon rolled his eyes. "All I got from my conversation with him is a chance to vent." He said, waving his hand dismissively. Felix didn't say anything, just waited. After a moment, and another sigh, Felix continued. "I'm not a protector, I'm not a guardian, I'm not a hero in my world in any of the timelines I saw." He slumped into the balcony, eyes downcast instead of focusing on the stars above. "Bunnyx brought me here to avoid me being erased, now though I'm starting to think she just wanted me out of the way, she always was stubborn."
"And why would you think that?" Felix asked gently after it became clear Faybon wasn't going to continue. "Surely her not wanting you to be erased is a sign she cares, right?" It wasn't a rebuttal just another gentle question.
Another sigh. "That's it though, I've been erased countless times. Bunnyx has had to reset things to an earlier point so often now that, even if I don't remember any if my previous decisions or impacts, I'm very familiar with her randomly appearing and telling me what not to do."
"I see. And you believe this time is different because?"
Faybon rolled his eyes. "Well for starters, how could she possibly have known this place existed? None of you had any idea what a Miraculous was before I arrived and Caleb is the only one familiar with Paris."
Felix's lips twitched upwards ever so slightly and there was a slight sparkle in his eyes before he returned to the gentle look Faybon was familiar with, and unsettled by. "True, a time traveler like her should have no knowledge of this place as it exists outside her world. But, regardless, that's still not a reason for why you think she wanted you out of the way."
Faybon turned, resting his back against the railing of the balcony in a way that felt both familiar and strange at the same time. He took a moment, looking over the inside of this building he'd been living in, perfectly normal aside from the purpose of it's existence. "For her to want me to escape erasure, she must have given up on trying to keep me in line. Or, if she does actually care, then it must mean that something was about to happen that would undo her efforts. She plucked me from the future and set me in the past so I could meet my mother. However that interferes with her own timeline, I'm a paradox." I shrug. "Of course I don't know if anything that could reset a whole... universe..." His eyes widened as his voice trailed off, realisation settling over his face. Spinning around he slammed his hands on the railing, the ringing of metal sounding loudly in the still night. "That LYING BITCH!" He called out angrily. "She TOLD me that Hawkmoth failed. she SWORE that, once present her got the miraculous, I wouldn't have to worry." Hands tightening around the railing he shook it as best he could. "She made me PROMISE that I wouldn't forget the version of her that never met me, because after the Alix I know gets Fluff that'd be the only Bunnyx needed!"
"But the entire GODDAMNED TIME she KNEW that a wish would undo it! She KNEW they'd all forget me the moment the universe reset!" His breathing grew harsher as he felt the blood pounding in his ears. "This whole past year I've been doing as she said, grateful I got to meet and hang out with the heroes, that I got to have them as my friends, all for it to mean NOTHING because the bad guy wins?"
there was a moment of silence, broken only by Faybons panting, before the rustle of fabric drew his attention back to Felix. "C'est la vie. Sometimes the bad guys win."
"Oh don't give me that!" Faybon shot back angrily. "You don't get to use a french expression to... to..." His voice trailed off again. "You know french?" He said, folding his arms, eyebrows furled. "How do you know French?"
Felix grinned. "I mean, I'd say it's a common enough expression even among those who speak English."
"Well yeah but you must've known how..." Before Faybon could finish Felix cut him off.
"Anyway, now that you realise that, what's your decision?"
Faybon frowned but the words came easily. "She lied to me. She brought me here so I wouldn't realise what's about to happen. I don't know WHY she picked me instead of the version that would be erased by the wish, my timeline would need resetting before then anyway with what I was doing before being brought here." He shrugged and shook his head before continuing. "But either way, if I could? I'd fight. Regardless of it being just a year spent with them, regardless of the fact that I owe my life in that time period to her? it is still MY life. And I'll be damned if I'll let it vanish because that bastard Hawkmoth gets his wish."
There was silence, the weight of his resolve hanging in the air before it was broken. "See, Tammy was right. You did make a decision." Felix continued before Faybon could say anything. "My name is l'fei."
Faybon paused and turned to look at the adult next to him as everything clicked into place. "You're kidding... so that whole conversation when I arrived about languages?"
"Complete lie on my part." They answered with a smile. "Caleb and Tamotsu may be technically older but their maturity is still lacking don't you think?"
Faybon laughed. "And of course, you travel between worlds all the time."
"Is a bit confusing hearing the others refer to their worlds as singular while my home is just one amongst many." Their smile was bright, eyes glittering with mirth.
Faybon shook his head. "Oh I know someone who would love you." He said before pausing. "Wait, so then why are you...?" He hesitated, gesturing at the other man's cloaked form.
They shrugged. "When a Nobody is born there are quite a few things that can influence it's appearance." Was the calm start of the explanation. "All depending on whether the original body is fully consumed by darkness and any close connections with other hearts that may influence it further." Faybon watched as the smile faded. " Technically speaking my story didn't end in the way Caleb and Tamotsu got their ending. Mine ended as Felix, so he's how I stay."
"Oh..." Faybon didn't know how to respond to that so he just sat silent for a moment. "So I guess this is..."
"Oh it doesn't matter. You spend a few decades under a name and you get used to responding to it." L'fei/Felix responded. "I'm just a Nobody after all." They added with a joking smile.
"Actually... not what I was gonna say." At Faybon's hesitation then 'Nobody' turned to look at him fully, only to see Faybon staring at his arm as it began to fade. "I was gonna say 'guess this is goodbye' since..." Faybon waved his arm and it phased through the balcony railing.
"See, I told you you'd made a decision." Felix/l'fei said gently, reaching out to wrap an arm around the young teen. "Now you get to continue your story."
Faybon leaned into the warm embrace, the black coat no longer feeling like leather but instead a soft silk dress. Faybon smiled, transported back to when he clung to Miss Talia as a child. It was the first time he felt the comfort of a mother figure and it's what would lead to the choices he'd make in his life, long before he ever learned the truth about their actual relationship thanks to Bunnyx and her time travelling. That thought made him pause and pull away.
"Wait..." He started slowly. "My timeline was about to be reset. Even if I made the decision to fight, going back now wouldn't change anything. What could I actually do?"
The other chuckled, a soft and melodic sound before they gently ran their fingers through his hair. "Trust me Faybon, I may not be a time traveller but that doesn't mean I'm not aware of how complex it can be." An even gentler smile followed as they crouched down to place a kiss on his forehead. "Your timeline may be gone, but your heart will remember. Keep your determination burning bright and I promise you, though the world you know may fade? That strength will carry on, giving the new you the push he needs."
Faybon smiled, wiped a tear from his eye before embracing them in a hug. "Thanks L'fei." He muttered softly. "I'm glad there's at least one adult here to help everyone who comes after." Stepping back Faybon's entire body had become see through. "I've made my choice... I'll continue my story and this time, I'll make sure it's mine." He smiled before frowning. "But I think you should consider leaving too, at least for a moment."
"Oh?" L'Fei answered curiously, folding her arms and tilting her head as her raven coloured locks fell from her hood and passed her shoulders. "Why's that?"
Faybon smiled sadly. "Because from what little I know of your story? I can only imagine the pain Kairi feels once Xion and Namine spoke to her." As the last of him faded his words lingered in the air. "A child never stops needing their mother."
Standing alone on the balcony now L'fei gave a soft smile. "Sweet kid." She muttered. "Not at all like the rest of the protectors we've gotten." Straightening up she could feel her body shift, hair receding and muscles firming as she became Felix once more. "Maybe I should pay them a visit." Came the much more masculine muttering. "But not until both of us can go." With that they walked back inside.
Faybon Tules will return in....
(Final note for those curious. L'Fei does identify as female but, due to shenanigans I won't explain here, her Nobody looked like her husband instead. As she was already found and named Felix, and all she remembered was being a parent to Kairi? She assumed she was the father and spent the next decade believing that. Since she was so certain about the wrong things her memories of her real name, her husband's name and what happened the night she died never returned. Think Cloud from FF7)