A/N: This is inspired by EliteSky's L'Cie Legacies. I have never so much as touched OC territory, and this is considered that. There will be no unnecessary OCs however, so let that put your mind at ease. There will be a second AN at the bottom after you have read this.
OOO
Prologue
Wake up.
Lightning…
You've been asleep long enough.
Claire…
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I groan as different sensations hit all five of my senses at once. The metallic taste of blood in my mouth, the forlorn sound of wind echoing throughout my surroundings, the bright white shining even through my closed eyelids, the feel of sharp pinpricks sticking through my sari to poke at my skin, and the smell… It was wrong, empty.
Memories begin to rush back and I struggle to my feet, grasping my lance weakly. I take a step forward before gasping out in pain as my legs give out and I fall to my knees.
I shiver, teeth chattering and draw as much of my sari as I can around me.
I remember a voice… and then there was—
"Vanille!" I gasp, twisting around to search for my sister. I crawl toward the edge of the crystal cliff and look down at where I was sure Vanille and I were once crystallized. She… isn't there.
"Vanille…" I murmur.
I'm alone.
OOO
Three days.
I travelled for three days throughout that crystal hell before finally giving up, crashing to the ground to lay there, willing to let death have me.
I was so tired…
All I wanted was to sleep and…
Family.
My hand twitches for my lance, but stays in place, slowly clenching with no force.
I know Lightning called out to me, I know that Vanille is gone, but… wouldn't she have… left a trail or a clue or something?
Why am I alone, why am I by myself?
I can feel it, something is wrong, utterly, otherworldly wrong. The only other time I have ever had this feeling was when we woke up five hundred centuries later in a completely different time.
The air doesn't sit right, the sounds are different—it's hard to explain the feeling that you get as soon as you wake up, knowing that something isn't right, that you aren't where you're supposed to be or that you aren't in the same bloody time period.
I thought families stick together…
Guess I was wrong.
OOO
There are loud bangs from outside, and the sound of feet pounding across hard crystal before skidding to halt. I feel hands run over my forehead, checking the pulse at my neck and wrist. There is a temporary spark of pain as a needle is stuck into my arm and as the nutrients and water that I have been denied for was forcefully shoved inside me.
My eyes open, blurry and disoriented and I can barely make out the shapes of the faces around me. I know they are soilders—their uniforms were reminiscent of the Guardian Corps and PSICOM divisions.
But I can barely hear them. Their voices are so fuzzy…
"Hospital…"
"…Need emergency evac now!"
"…Dying…"
"Hang in there, Fang."
That voice.
Lightning came for me.
Everything went dark.
OOO
Two weeks later
Wake up.
"Lightning!" I jolt awake, sitting upright in one quick motion before groaning as dizziness settled in, holding my face in both hands.
"…You probably shouldn't do that."
I pull away from my hands to look at the owner of the sarcastic voice. "Light…?"
It can't be…
The woman sitting across from me can't… The only difference physically is the blond and silver streaks through pink hair—everything, from the way she held herself to the tone of her voice was the same as Lightning.
The only difference is the emotions that were rolling like a tempest at sea.
There was anger, hatred, hurt, sorrow, and… regret?
"No." She says bluntly, interrupting my thoughts, her eyes the same color, same damn shade, glaring angrily at me. The impersonator pulls out an electronic tablet, checking something off before glancing at me. "You are Oerba Yun Fang, correct?"
"Where am I?"
She sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. "Look, answer my questions and this will be painless and easy—,"
"Answer the question." I interrupt, my gaze turning hard.
She purses her lips, and I'm reminded of the time I pissed off Lightning a tad too much.
"You are currently in Oerba's local hospital—your hometown." She grits through her teeth, her patience obviously waning.
"How do you know this?"
"We have records; we are kept up to date. And—considering you were one of the two to bring down the salvation and destruction of Cocoon—it should be common sense to keep you on file." She checks another thing off of the tablet. "After all," There is nothing but hatred in her voice. "You are the saviors of Cocoon."
The beeping from one of the monitors increased in pace as my anger flared. "Enough with the patronizing."
"Forgive me if I find it hard to give respect to a person like you." The caustic, bitter remark made me hesitate, question my anger. It sounded so genuine, so full of hurt. Have I done something that I don't know about?
"If you're not Lightning then who are you?" I whisper, staring at the woman that reminded me so much of the Lightning, but at the same time was her complete opposite.
The woman crosses her legs, just like her, before looking up at me, a blank expression on her face as she says slowly. "Lightning Farron… was my great aunt."
OOO
A/N: I don't know how to explain this without giving the mystery away. To help you out, I will just say that time repeats itself, and I will follow the belief that once someone dies they are reborn again in another for this fic—not that I honestly believe in it outside of this fic. Just hang with me here, you know I can't stand unhappiness with my fics.