Of Discord & Decadence
Summary: Lost cities, ancient ruins, old magic & the prophecy of a child born to return Pulse to its former balance. On top of that Hope & the crew must deal with a myriad of death threats, arrest warrants, mad scientists, mass stereotypical hate and the dynamics of a surrogate family… How's a boy to cope?
Disclaimer: This is a Fan-fiction story of the game; Final Fantasy XIII, and is in no way affiliated with the actual game. All characters and other materials related to the game that is used are not intended to infringe on any Copyrights. Elemental-Zer0 takes sole responsibility for any mistakes or offence that may be taken but truly not meant.
However, this story plot and all characters NOT affiliated with the show are Copyright © 2012 to Elemental-Zer0.
Warnings: Welcome to the Zer0-Express line where action and adventure await. Step inside and take a seat as we journey to a place where the words may be harmful, the mysteries are hazardous and the potato chips just plain suck – sorry not a lot we can do 'bout those, they're from our sponsor.
So keep your arms, legs, hairspray, grannies and nuclear warheads inside the cart and hold on to your hats! It's gonna be a bumpy ride! Yeeehaaaaaa!
A/N #1: Ok so I had to take the prologue down and replace it with this little number because I've had to rearrange a few things to make other things fit. Sorry guys. Enjoy!
A/N #2: Sorry, had to change the ending and rethink my summary/blurb. Can you tell this is still being thought out?
A/N #3:This third and final draft is complete with a huge mega thanks to H-thar who a) helped me brainstorm this little number and b) edited and beta'd this to the perfection you see right now! Seriously, the credit goes to her.
Let me know what you think, but no flames please. If you have any criticism to make please do it politely otherwise I shall ignore your words. (It's happened before, I'm sorry to say, and I hadn't even posted any chapters…)
Chapter One: The end?
"Come little children, I'll take thee away, into the land of enchantment, come little children, the time's come to play, here in my garden of shadows…"
Hope opened his eyes.
He didn't know what woke him, or that he'd even been asleep in the first place. Falling asleep in the snow was a bad thing, he knew but he also knew that he didn't have enough energy to get out of the snow either. Given the circumstances, he decided he'd rather be back in that state of unconsciousness than aware of the freezing cold.
He remembered he'd been dreaming again. It was the same dream he'd had before he woke from crystalstasis only a few hours ago, or at least that's how long ago it felt. It had been a strange dream; he'd been floating calmly in a sea of stars, listening to a soft lullaby. The voice was soft, soothing, loving… and somehow familiar. When he woke the first time, he'd suddenly found himself falling to the cold hard earth screaming in pain as his muscles seized and shook in the frigid air. He didn't know if that was normal but after having to endure the agonizing sensation of every muscle in his body tensing and pulling at once, he didn't rightly care. Even now, though most of his body felt relaxed, his right arm throbbed painfully underneath him after having landed on it awkwardly and remaining in that same position for however long.
Awakening this second time, he was already on the floor and he'd lost track of how long he'd been out. His head hurt miserably and he suspected he'd hit it on something when he collapsed after waking initially but after that seizure, he'd lost all energy and motivation to move and find help. That should have had him worried but his mind was already drifting again. He could feel it going. He tried to stay awake but it was just so quiet. Cold, dark and quiet.
"Follow sweet children, I'll show thee the way, through all the pain and the sorrows…"
It was peaceful.
"Weep not poor children, for life is this way, murdering beauty and passion…"
His breath fogged in the crisp air as he struggled to stay conscious. It was cold as it travelled down his throat and he was having a hard time trying not to fall into a coughing fit. He was probably sick, or getting sick, he could tell; could feel it like an icy acid flushing through his veins; could feel the viscous mucus building up in his lungs; the horrible grating pain in the back of his throat and the fuzziness that muffled his senses. His eyes were cold with watering tears that froze the second they rolled down his pale cheeks. Icy patterns dotted his brow and hair, reaching their filigree fingers further as the night wore on. He couldn't seem to stop shivering.
The stars smiled down at him, winking as if to tell him their secrets but never voicing the mysteries they held. They were slowly losing the battle for the sky as the horizon began to lighten. Dawn was approaching, so he estimated that he had only been out cold for a few hours.
'Sounds about right.' He was so tired that he could hardly keep his eyes open. He guessed that two moons had already set, because he had vaguely noticed the third and final moon just setting when he woke up from his crystalline sedation. He knew, from his many night watch duties while he and the other l'Cie had been travelling through Pulse, that the third moon only set a few hours before dawn. He'd been laid out to the elements with naught but his flimsy jacket and thin cargo trousers on for that long. At least doing the calculations in his head distracted him from the ache and the cold.
"Hush now dear children, it must be this way, too weary of life and deceptions, rest now dear children, for soon we'll away, into the calm and the quiet…"
The others were still crystallised. He didn't need to look behind him to know that. It was common sense really, because it was utterly silent, and no one had tried to check on him. Only he was awake, and all he'd managed to do was collapse where he'd stood, falling against Lightning's glassy legs and Snow's crystallised trench coat.
"Come little children, I'll take thee away, into the land of enchantment, come little children, the time's come to play, here in my garden of shadows…"
Was this everlasting life? Or would he be granted freedom from this lethargy and chill? Should he care? For now he was content to just lie still and watch the sun rise slowly over the mountains. The sky was a fiery orange, its luminous colours washing away the dark of night like a painter washed a canvass with his paint-filled brush. He didn't count the minutes or hours, just watched the natural cadence with tired eyes. His head hurt horribly – 'I'm sure I struck it against something' – but he was falling asleep again. He could feel it creeping up on him, snatching at his consciousness and leaving very little left to fight it with.
He let his eyes close.
"There they are, boss. The crystals of the l'Cie that took Cocoon down." A voice… was it real? His imagination? It sounded young, but not boyish. A vague recollection of a teen calling after him filled his remaining senses before another voice pulled him from the memories.
"Good job, kid. Hopefully we'll be able to hide them from PSICOM. We can't keep up this pretence for long; someone's bound to push the boundaries." The voice was gruff sounding, but there was something familiar about it; like he'd heard it somewhere before. He couldn't remember – it hurt to even think.
"Hey, one of them isn't a crystal anymore!" The younger sounding one had evidently spotted him lying there prone to the world and its horrors. He heard the crunch of snow as someone knelt down beside him. He tried to speak, to move, but his body had all but shut down on him. He felt paralysed, trapped in his own frozen flesh.
"What?" The gruff voice sounded surprised and a little anxious but before he could dwell on it he felt two warm, burning fingers searching for the flickering pulse on his frozen neck. "Shit, he's freezing!" the younger one claimed loudly.
Hope's breath felt harsh and painfully slow compared to the emotions tumultuously roiling inside. His thoughts were sluggish but hashed together, and he could barely process the fact that he'd been found by someone.
"Is he still alive?" the gruff voice asked, sounding closer now, but that could have been his mind playing tricks on him. He could feel himself falling, fading away from the morning rescue.
"Yeah, but he's all banged up…" Before he could completely fade, a warmth so powerful it literally felt like it was burning him overwhelmed the remaining senses he had left. The change was too much for his ice-addled brain to process. Without another thought, he quietly slipped away into unconsciousness.
Maybe he would live.
Maybe…