A/N: Since I started playing Final Fantasy XV, I can't help but see the similarities this game has to Final Fantasy XIII -with the crystal, the gods and the power bestowed on those chosen by the gods. So yep, I took a challenge. I am writing a crossover between FFXV and FFXIII-2. Why? Well, if you're familiar with both stories, then you know (SPOILERS ALERT) that they don't end with happily ever after.
And that's where this challenge comes in. How I connect both worlds? Simple. I am including two characters who will be the main ones that shares the same destinies but in different ways. Now, I understand not all of you will agree with the pairing I have in mind for this story, Noctis/Serah. But from their main story lines, it seems like their love stories were doom to fail. And I have nothing against Luna or Snow, it's all me. I ship pairings that are impossible. Also, considering Serah's position with her ability to change timelines, I decided to extend it with worlds. So please do read with an open mind and I will try my best as a writer to portray both characters in this story. Thanks.
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy XV or Final Fantasy XIII-2. I am only writing this fanfiction for the fun of it.
Warning: Some AU for both games (FFXV and FFXIII-2) to accommodate for this story, some OOC and Spoiler Alerts.
Please leave no flames.
Etro granted the most selfless of gifts. Her power and strength flowed through the Unseen World, and with each passing second she grew weaker and weaker.
Now the goddess sleeps within the Heart of Chaos. Should she cease to exist, then the power she granted to humanity, the power that makes their universe whole, will disappear. When the sands run out on the goddess, so too do they on the world of man.
Yuel's Confession
OoO
It had been a long time since Noctis Lucis Caelum smelled the salty aroma on a beach. The fact was the young prince of Insomnia lived a sheltered life and when he had the chance to escape from the luxurious confines of his home, he found infinite pleasure being around open water. He inhaled deeply and the combination of drenched wood, fog, and seaweed filtered his nose. The smells sharply contrasted from the smells of chamomile and flowery fragrance of his home.
"As soon as we cross over Galdin Quay we should arrive at Altissia, your highness," one of the men dressed in black informed him. He was one of the escorts that accompanied him everywhere. Like many times, Noctis didn't want a reminder that he was a prince. He wanted to know how life was like outside the palace walls. He wanted to know the life of a commoner. Again, the fact that he distinguished the lifestyles between royalty and commoner being one so young was not what someone who served the crown would expect. To others, Noctis appeared to be a fragile, innocent and a curious boy. He was the only son and heir to the throne of Insomnia.
But he was wise enough to know he was being treated differently. The men dressed in black suits, his bodyguards, had escorted him out of Insomnia on a long road trip to Vannath Coast. He overheard them saying that he was going to stay a few days in Altissia with the Fleuret family, a royal family of Tenebrae. He had to wonder why they were staying in Altissia instead of Tenebrae but the prospect left his mind at the gray haze that covered everything. How could anyone see well enough in such a thick fog?
"Please do well to remember not to wander about, your highness. There are many monsters lurking around on the beach," the man warned him.
Noctis' only response was to tilt his head.
When the bodyguard didn't add anything, Noctis turned his attention to the sky. All he could make were dark shadows beyond the fog. His mood turned gray as he wanted a chance to inspect the fish on Galdin Quay. According to his geographical study, Gladin Quay was known to have some of the best fishes to make fine dishes.
Darker shadows moved in front of him. He blinked his blue eyes before rubbing them with his fingers. When his vision cleared, the shadows grew bigger on the sand. He found himself stepping back, footstep after another. Even now, his imagination wanted to believe that the quickly moving dark spots in gray mist weren't mere shadows, but animals stalking its prey.
"Prince!"
"Your highness!"
Could the voices calling him get any louder? He turned around, expecting to see one of his many bodyguards. Instead, he saw no one. Somehow, he got lost.
"Prince Noctis!"
His hands cupped his mouth as he inhaled a deep breath. He was about to yell when he heard splashes of water and light laughter that reminded of wind chimes. His head whipped to the direction of the sound and the sinister shadows that seemed to follow him were gone. The fog cleared up to reveal a young girl with long wavy hair of the strangest color, a rosy pink, like the roses that grew in his garden. She wore a yellow summer dress and white sandals as she knelt on her knees in the wet sand. She was playing with sand as one of the waves crashed ashore. The strange girl didn't notice him.
"Uh… hello," he replied nervously. He rubbed his hands on his black shirt. He found his heartbeat was pumping a little too loudly in his ears.
The pink haired girl turned to him and his breath caught in his throat. Dark blue eyes twinkled at him under pink bangs. Bright pink lips twisted into a small smile. Noctis had seen many females around the palace. Although he didn't hang out with girls, he seen them on the streets of Insomnia when he had the chance to venture outside but he had never come across any of them like the girl who rose fluidly on her feet. Small hands clasped behind her back as she studied him with a friendly expression on her face.
"Hello," she replied.
He looked around her, hoping to see an adult. When he noticed she was alone on the beach like him, he couldn't help the frown that displayed on his face.
"Is something wrong?" she questioned. The smile disappeared from her face. The sparkle in her dark blue eyes dimmed and Noctis felt the urge to make her smile again.
He frowned even more.
The girl looked around her for a second before turning her attention to him. "I'm sorry," she suddenly apologized.
He blinked his eyes. Why was she apologizing?
"I thought I was alone on the beach. It's not every day I get a chance to see the real deal." A wave crashed ashore and the girl turned her back to him to view how the sunlight reflected on the water.
Then her words hit him. They had something in common. Like him, she didn't get to see the beach often.
"What do you mean?" he questioned, because he was curious to learn more about the pink haired girl he just met.
"I heard stories about beaches like how the water is a deep blue like the sky, or like how the sand differs from the soil that grows plants, or like how the water tastes like salt…."
He frowned even more if possible. "You sound like there are no beaches where you come from."
"There are a couple of manmade beaches but not real like this one." There was a hint of sadness in her voice and Noctis discovered he didn't like hearing it from her nor did he not like being able to see her face.
Lightly, he approached the girl until he was standing next to her. "Manmade beaches or not, at least you get to see one."
"Yeah, but nature is not something we find easily where I come from."
"And where do you come from?" He watched her from his peripheral vision, yet he tilted his head so that his raven bangs concealed his eyes.
"A place you might not know about."
That was a bizarre statement. Noctis attended most of his lessons and part of his daily drilling was knowing the geographic locations of different places outside his homeland. In fact, he excelled in geography. There was a good chance he heard about the place she lived in.
"Where do you come from?"
A small smile twisted on her lips. His heart began to pound louder. He averted his gaze as he felt his cheeks heat up. "You won't know it."
"I know my geography," he found himself saying, which was out of his norm. He whipped his head to her and saw her smile blossomed into laughter. He watched fascinated as she tried to cover her mirth behind her hands. "What?"
"It's not you. It's what you said."
"I didn't…."
Suddenly, she took a hold of his hand. He stilled. "Believe me when I say you won't know where I'm from."
His forehead crinkled. "Why?" He wanted to tell her that he was a prince and he knew a lot of things about his homeland yet a part of him liked how she didn't recognize him as royalty like how many other people knew from a glance. It made their conversation different. She was different.
"Can I tell you a secret?"
All of a sudden, he felt wary and he started to look around them to see if he was in danger, if she was in danger. How long have they been alone? Someone should have stumbled upon them by now.
He swallowed nervously. "Sure."
She turned her body until she fully faced him. His eyes widened as he finally got to view the full image of her. She was breathtakingly beautiful as the sunlight casted shadows along the delicate peaks of her face. Her eyes lowered until the pink lashes dusted against her fair skin.
"I'm not exactly from this world."
His jaw dropped. Was she kidding?
Then her eyelashes fluttered upward and he saw the seriousness on her small face. "I'm from a different world."
His mouth began to move but he couldn't utter a word.
"I was sleeping when I saw flashes of this world. Somehow, I found a way to travel into this world. It's so different from Cocoon."
"Cocoon?" he echoed the word.
"It's where I'm from."
His forehead creased. The girl let go of his hand. His fingers flinched. "See? I told you didn't hear it."
He didn't know what else to say so he stuck with, "How?"
Another wave crashed ashore. The girl looked away. "I don't know."
There it was again, a hint of melancholy. She didn't deserve to feel hurt or confused.
"Well, we get to meet," he said, trying to cheer her up. His fingers wiggled as he realized he missed her warmth.
"Yeah, we do." She turned to him and the sparkle returned in her eyes.
"Noctis!" a familiar voice called to him. He swiveled on his feet to the sound. He brightly smiled at someone finally finding them. It took his bodyguards long enough.
He was about to face the pink haired girl when he saw shadows from earlier move around him. His eyes darted to small form in front of him. The black inkiness surrounded her form as a sad expression filtered her pretty face. Before meeting her, he was frightened of the darkness. Now, he quickly closed the distance between them. His fingers enclosed her wrist before he began to pull her away from it.
"Prince!" He was running toward the voice or at least trying to move toward it. Only he felt like he was pulling air.
He craned his head over his shoulder to see the girl's form winking in the darkness until it vanished from sight. Her words, a slight echo to a testament of her being real, said an apology. "I'm sorry, Noct."
And then he woke up in the Regalia, his luxurious black car, to discover it broke down. His three close friends and companions on his road trip to wed his bride and childhood friend, Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, were arguing on whose fault it was for the breakdown of the car. He just yawned while stretching his arms in the air.
"And your sleepy highness finally wakes up from his long nap," his chauffeur/cook/caretaker told him. Ignis was really his adviser but he did more than his duties as to personally running everything for him.
"Yeah. How was it? Did you have a good dream?" Galdio, his main bodyguard questioned him. It was Gladio's sworn duty to protect him like how his father protected the king of Insomnia.
Noctis turned his head away. He got a view of greenery along the hillsides. Some monsters were roaming freely on the roadsides. As long as he and his friends didn't engage to battle them, they were okay.
"Aww…. Noct must've had a nice dream for him to be unable to answer the question," Prompto quipped in.
Noctis turned a deadpanned expression to his long-time friend since high school. Automatically, Prompto waved his hands in the air. "You know I didn't mean it the way you interpret it."
"And just how did he interpret your remark about his nice dream?" Gladio laughed as he asked Prompto.
"Maybe this conversation isn't a suitable one to be discussing in this time of manner," Ignis replied. The brunette chauffeur's eyes remained peeled on the road although he was no longer driving the car.
"When is a more suitable time?" Gladio hopped out of the car.
"How about we focus on how we're going to get to Hammerhead?" Noctis finally put in some words. "Come on Prompto, out of the car."
"Wait, really?" the blond asked him. Then he whined, "I don't want to leave the Regalia."
"We're not," Noctis said. "But we have to depend on some roadside assistance."
The blond looked to Ignis and Gladio. The bodyguard crossed his bulging arms across his muscled chest. "You heard his highness. Get out of the car."
Prompto didn't have to be told again. Instantly, he jumped out of the car. And they stayed stranded along the roadside, looking to see if any drivers would stop their cars to offer them some help.
Already the beginning of Noctis' journey was looking grim. He remembered he told his father right before he left the walled city of his home that he was ready for anything. He was wrong. The Regalia, their only means of transport, refused to budge as Ignis tried to ignite the engine with his key.
Gladio, short for Gladiolus, was waving his arms at incoming cars. Noctis decided to close his eyes from the brightness of the sun shining down on them in an arid place. He preferred to be indoors, perhaps on a soft bed sleeping most of the day away.
Who knew when was the next time he could flop down on a mattress? He had been outside Insomnia a few times, but he could barely recall his outings. His father made sure to keep him protected since the incident, a daemon had killed his nanny and terribly injured him as a child. Ever since, he lived a life as a commoner in his home. He attended a normal school, which was how he became friends with Prompto Argentum.
Another car passed them and Noctis heard Gladio's grunt. Noctis lips strained into a half smile. It appeared that no one was going to stop for them. Could he blame them? They were four men, strangers, who were built to fend off enemies. They emitted a bad vibe.
Maybe he could take a short nap while Gladio tried to hail some help. Already the direct sunlight on his black prince fatigue had him sweating. He shielded his eyes using the back of his hands.
Behind his eyelids, blackness greeted him and then a bright light hit him square in the face. He squinted his eyes and a grunt of displeasure escaped him. When the brightness receded, he fully opened his eyes and saw a hunched over figure wearing a tight white dress with pink and black straps wrapped around her torso. The dress left nothing to the imagination. Instantly, his cheeks reddened as patches of soft pale skin was revealed to him. Familiar long, wavy rosy hair cascaded over her left shoulder. She was on her hands and knees in the dirt. At least she wore pink and black leggings to protect her knees from being abraded. There was a storage bag at her hip and she wore strange purple ankle boots. Her apparel would turn many eyes, especially men.
A frown form on his face. He didn't like that idea.
Then he heard her harsh breathing as though she had been running a marathon. His forehead crinkled even more, concern etched his face. Before where he could only view her profile, he was unprepared for the full view of her face or how her dark blue eyes that reminded of him of the ocean clashed with his own eyes. She was stunning, more so then when he met her as a child and much more mature. She seemed to radiate with light. They stared at each other what seemed like an eternity.
While panting, she lifted a hand to him. Her arm outstretched to reach his own and he found his arm stretching out to her. Only his fingers were too far away. He strained the upper part of his body to get to her to realize he couldn't move. He glanced down and saw his body was surrounded by darkness. Quickly, he darted his gaze to her and the black inkiness began to engulf her form. Her body was disintegrating into black particles before his eyes and there was nothing he could do to stop it. There was a strange flash of golden light from her eyes. Her pink lips opened in a silent scream. He began to fight the darkness that was gripping him all over his body to get to her but it was too late. She dispersed into nothingness.
"Watch out!" Gladio's voice called to him. He felt a rough push against his body until he was lying flat down on the asphalt. A navy-blue car breezed on by. It was too close to him for comfort. "What the hell is wrong with you? Are you asking for a quick death or something?"
He could only let out a "huh."
"Next time you need to sleep, take a nap in the car." Gladio sounded pissed off. Becoming aware of his surroundings, Noctis sat in an upright position. A wave of dizziness over-swept him. When it cleared, he scanned the area for the pink haired girl. She was nowhere. She just a figment of his imagination.
"Is something wrong, Noct?" his blond friend asked him. Noct. That was the name she called him at their first meeting. He never asked for her name in return.
The prince placed a hand on his forehead before slightly shaking his head.
"Must be the hot weather," the blond commented dryly.
He didn't answer him.
His friend lay down on the asphalt behind the Regalia. A tired sigh left him.
Gladio walked to the side of the black luxurious car in defeat. "I think we can forget hitching our way there…." He leaned against the driver's side where Ignis sat behind the wheel. "I thought people were friendly outside the city."
"You can only go so far on the kindness of strangers," Ignis replied as he too appeared disgruntled.
"I guess we're going to have to push her all the way." The bodyguard made his way to the back of the vehicle where the prince was yawning and the blond guy was complaining.
"I've already pushed myself to the brink of death."
Noctis' felt a light tap on his shoulder from the muscular man. "Oh, get up."
The bodyguard move to Prompto and kicked his feet non-too-gently. "C'mon, the car isn't going to move itself."
"I thought the car was to suppose to move us," Prompto quipped. All three males positioned themselves to move the car. Noctis was on the left side by the driver's door, Prompto was on the right side by the passenger's door and Gladio took the back.
"That would be nice," the prince agreed with his blond friend.
"Can it. Ready… Steady… Push!" Gladio began pushing the Regalia in the back.
Prompto whined. The prince remained quiet as he put force on the front part of the car. Prompto joined him.
As the car's wheels began rolling, the prince couldn't take the strain on his body because he did wake up from a nap. "Un. Believable."
"Not exactly a fairy tale beginning, huh, Prince Noctis?" Gladio had to rub reality in his face. He was completely wrong when he told his father he was prepared for anything.
"We let ourselves get carried away," the adviser added in the rub on reality. Ignis, usually the voice of reason, was also the one to criticize him when he allowed things to get too far out of control.
"Look, these things happen!" Prompto defended the prince and Noctis couldn't help but smile despite the dire situation they were in.
"Let's just hope this isn't some omen," Gladio continued.
His smile vanished. "Gladio, do me a favor?"
"What?"
"Push this thing by yourself."
"All by myself?" The bodyguard was big enough to handle the car.
Prompto was on the prince's side. "You won't even notice if we just let go."
"Prompto, don't even think about it," Gladio warned the blond man.
"Save some breath for pushing." Ignis had to have his input.
Noctis couldn't take it anymore. The heat was overbearing. "Ignis, c'mon- time to switch!"
"Nuh-uh! We just switched back there!" Gladio reminded him.
"And it's my turn, Noct," Prompto said.
Ignis agreed. "His turn."
"My hands are killing me," Prompto voiced out his pain. Noctis could only hope they reached a gas station soon or else they would be stranded in the middle of nowhere.
"You rather I kill you with mine?" Gladio was getting even more pissed off partially due to the hot weather and perhaps Prompto's whining. It was a good thing the blond man didn't take what people said too seriously.
"Easy there, tough guy."
"Any luck?" Noctis asked the brunette man behind the wheel. He had been quiet because he was trying to read the map. According to the map, Hammerhead was suppose to be down the road they were heading. But so far, they had no luck with getting there.
"The world is a big place," Noctis implied as they passed a blank headboard. A dull yellow truck drove around their broke down car. What a way for the prince and his companions to be teased about their dire situation.
He couldn't wait to hit Hammerhead. The first thing he was going to do was flop down on a nice soft surface and then ponder about the pink haired female who recently began to occupy his mind.
Until then, he shook his head at facing the real world.
A/N: So how did I do with the first chapter? I tried my best with keeping the characters cannon although my knowledge is limited about them. Honestly, I love all the characters and what happens to them is an injustice, especially Noctis. Since I didn't know much about Lunafreya, considering her role is limited, I chose Serah as a heroine that readers, perhaps, can relate to and she may understand Noctis since she, herself, walked a path like his.
