Hey.
I'm back. With a new username. FinalFantasyanime just didn't fit anymore.
First and foremost, I have to apologize. It's been several years since I've touched this website or written anything. I have excuses, but they're very personal. It's a long story, but I'll just say I had a really hard transition period in my life that hasn't quite ended. I politely ask you all to leave it at that.
It brings me sadness to say this, but I am discontinuing my unfinished fic Guilty Drive. I wrote it so long ago and no longer like what I came up with. I'm sure some of you are disappointed, but I feel like it's best for me as a writer.
With that being said, I've reclaimed my desire to write again after so long and just HAD to get this Lightis idea I had out. It takes place after FFXIII with no connection to XIII-2 and XIII:LR. They just didn't fit in with what I came up with. And some elements from More than a Myth are there, but they will be explained in the story, so you won't be lost if you haven't read it.
I don't have much else to say so… enjoy!
The wind howled as the moonlight covered the dark city below, its citizens celebrating and cheering for the newfound peace that would soon come to the kingdom. A small change compared to what the people hoped for, but the possibilities from this event would surely bring more fortune.
Lucis, the kingdom that had isolated itself to protect the last crystal, was signing a peace treaty with the malicious dictator of Niflheim, Idola Aldercapt. The nation had sought the crystal for years, growing envious of the progress and magical power it gave its caretaker. But now, in Lucis' capital city of Insomnia, it would appear that the tides were about to take a safer route; but one man believed there was more to the situation that what could be seen.
A young prince, only twenty-three years of age, looked up through a window and to the sky, seeing a light briefly flash before it died away, like a star as its life ended. His father, the king of Lucis, Regis Caelum CXIII, stood next to him, unable to see the phenomenon his son witnessed fairly often. He turned to the young man, asking, "Are you ready, Noctis? The ceremony is about to start."
The aforementioned prince nodded despite his mind being elsewhere. The king sensed his son's discomfort. "Noctis? Is something wrong?"
"No. Well…" Noctis paused, pondering on his thoughts. The light he saw normally was a bad omen. "Do you feel like something will… go wrong during the signing?"
Regis' expression turned sour. "I do, actually. But we have to evidence to support this assumption. The nervousness must be getting to us. It's not every day we make peace with a bitter enemy of several centuries."
"Yeah…" The man wasn't convinced. His senses were in overdrive, his powers begging him to do something. Whatever they wanted him to do, however, he did not know.
"Your Majesty," a different man called from a large doorway. "It is time."
"Alright Cor," the monarch responded. Before leaving, he gave Noctis a warning, "This is important, so please try to refrain from hostility. Only Etro knows what will happen tonight, so be prepared." Cor had heard from his position in the threshold that led to a large ballroom, where the signing would begin; where Aldercapt waited. "Your Majesty?" he asked.
"I will talk to you later," Regis informed Noctis. "Ignis will be with you soon to tell you when you are expected." With that, Regis followed his trusted general into the festivities, debriefing him on his poor perception of the near future.
Noctis was alone for a few mere seconds before a pompous voice reached his ears. "It's quite the pleasure to see you, Prince Noctis!" The tone aggravated the prince's ears, but the pain didn't compare to the annoyance that followed.
"Arkham, I didn't expect to see you so soon," his response came in the most unnatural politeness he could manage.
"Oh, but how could I wait to the heir to the throne of my country's newest ally?" Arkham's voice held the most insincere kindness in return.
Arkham Aldercapt, the nephew to the dictator of Niflheim. He and Noctis had met many times before, the distaste for each other never being masked. The two men were polar opposites. Noctis, with his blue eyes, dark hair and calm and collected attitude, was nothing like Arkham's, who was blonde with blue eyes, boisterous, narcissistic, and not nearly as popular as Noctis.
"It is quite the change, but you don't have much of a reason to be here." Noctis' tone was hard as stone, not any leaving room for argument.
Arkham's brows were pulled together, combined with a chuckle. "I realize we are nowhere near friendship, but surely you won't completely dismiss me from your presence for that."
"That isn't my point."
"Then what is?" Anger broke through Arkham's façade.
"The treaty is being forged between the royal family of Lucis and the commander of Niflheim. I am a part of the royal family. As is my father. But you do not fit into the equation."
"Then you forget that I am an Aldercapt."
"But that doesn't make you a ruler of Niflheim." Arkham's silence convinced Noctis to explain, not only for clarification, but to talk down to the only man he could ever hate with a passion. "I am the heir to the throne, so I should be present for this important signing. However, you come from a dictatorship, where successors aren't determined by blood. You may be related to Idola Aldercapt, but you are by no means a VIP."
Arkham threw away his fake smile in exchange for a vicious scowl. He took a few steps closer to the dignified prince. Now only a foot away from the other man, Arkham snarled, "You had better mind your words, Your Highness. You are making enemies with that attitude. And I may not be royalty, but I have power. And I can use it against you."
Noctis didn't flinch from his opponent's threat. Instead, his gaze narrowed, eyes cold and calculating. "Then you forget that I will be king someday. And I may not be making friends with the words I just spoke, but you are the one who sounds like he's starting a war."
A smirk danced onto Arkham's lips. "It's funny, isn't it? A peaceful ceremony is taking place, and here you are, assuming war is coming."
From the same door Cor once entered, a man with glasses appeared. "Highness?"
Noctis and Arkham continued staring at each other in a silent battle for dominance. After a few seconds, it was the blonde nephew that broke the silence. "You had better hurry. Don't want to stall the ceremony. Something might go wrong without you there."
Noctis began turning away, but not without the last word. "Maybe. But at least my role is a meaningful one." He didn't look back to see Arkham's expression. Little did he know that a the blonde smiled once again.
Ignis, the royal advisor and close friend to Noctis – who saw the prince as a brother more than a companion – noticed the steely look on the prince's face. "I know you and Aldercapt's nephew have never seen eye to eye, but why the hostility? You mustn't foil the act that you have to put on tonight."
"I know, Ignis. But something's off with him. He's always been odd, but it's different this time."
And the invasion began that night.
For those that lived on Cocoon, the idea of Pulse being inhabited by humans was considered absurd. They died or became Cie'th long ago, leaving the wild, untamed beasts to claim the land. Now, after the fall of the Fal'cie, it was believed there was no other force on the surface of Pulse. But there was much more than what was known.
Lightning was one of the L'cie that had taken down Orphan, brought Cocoon down from the sky and onto a crystal pillar. To her and the allies she traveled with two years ago, the only power struggle they had was with the Long Guis that roamed the plains near their home of New Bodhum. One of those friends seemed to believe a different thing.
"Fang?" Lightning called, entering the living room of the former's home. As a Pulsian herself, Fang was already distantly similar to the citizens of Cocoon that she lived with. With her and Vanille's escape from the crystal pillar she seemed preoccupied. The pinkette attempted to get to the bottom of this.
"Yeah?" the feral woman said.
"Something's been bothering you lately." Lightning had become a good friend of Fang's. She may even go as far as to say that Fang was her best friend, in a different way than Serah was, of course.
"Hm. Straight to the point, aren't you Sunshine?" Fang took a seat at a barstool that was placed next to an island in her kitchen, Lightning following her shortly. "It's quite the story. You got time?" Lightning answered with a silent nod.
"Well, it goes like this: the Fal'cie weren't exactly something the holy beings agreed on. More specifically, Etro and Lindzei.
Lindzei is heartless and thrives on the follies of man, so he created the Fal'cie, whom he believed would make a reality that encased suffering. And he was right. But Etro had pity on human souls. She believed humans should be given an opportunity to thrive. So, to counter Lindzei's move, she put some of her power into crystals."
"Crystals?"
"Yeah, you know. Like rocks that glow and have magic?"
"I know what a crystal is."
"Good for you then. I don't have to teach you." Fang continued after receiving an agitated glare from her friend. "Anyway, some people saw the Fal'cie as a godsend, thinking they would maintain order. A good number of people believed the opposite. They found Etro's crystals and decided to take another route.
"You see, Pulse is big. Like, huge. Back when I lived in Oerba, I – or anyone else, for that matter – would have ever dreamed of traveling across the entirety of Pulse. It's just too big."
"What does that have to do with the story?"
"Hush, Sunshine, I haven't finished. Those that found the crystals left the land, moving far away, far from the reach of the Fal'cie, believe it or not. They established their own society there while we lived in our own."
"Okay," Lightning's bemused face gave her confusion away. "Why does this bother you now?"
"It didn't before. After 'Nille and I get out of that pillar I started to wonder."
Lightning pondered for a moment before thinking aloud, "You think these crystals had something to do with your escape?"
"What other answer is there? Things like that just don't happen, and the stories we heard about Fal'cie were often true, if not a bit distorted. These crystals may be real. I don't know if they're far away or nearby, but what else could have gotten us out? Unless Etro herself decided to have a hand in this."
"It's sound reasoning, but still a bit far out. And these are all just guesses. There's no real way to tell if there really are crystals."
"No, there's not. But I can't help but wonder."
Hours later, Lightning stood in her own kitchen, washing dishes that were used earlier that day. Serah, who lived with her and Snow, assisted her. The younger woman yawned, an action that didn't go unnoticed by her sister. "You can get some sleep, Serah," Lightning said, "I can finish this up."
"But Light," Serah sleepily argued, "I don't want you to do all the work."
"Don't worry about it. It's fine, really. Just go to bed."
Serah paused for a moment to think before reluctantly putting the dishes down and complying with her sister's order. "Okay, I'll just pay you back by doing the dishes in the morning."
Lightning smiled at Serah. "Fair enough. Now go ahead."
"G'night Sis."
"Night Serah." The sound of Serah's fading footsteps was the only noise in the room until the younger sister was fast asleep not long after. Lightning took her time finishing cleaning, now bothered by the same subject Fang couldn't let go of.
The entire story seemed ridiculous. Then again, so did her own story. But it just didn't add up yet. Why would Fang and Vanille be freed when they had nothing to do with the crystals? And if Etro interfered, what was her purpose?
Her questions were soon answered. A loud ringing echoed in her ears, forcing the soldier to put her hands to her head, groaning in pain. She fell to her knees, where her vision suddenly went black.
Darkness was the only thing that consumed her vision. There were no sounds, no people, not even a surface that she could feel. Blackness was engulfing her being, but she felt no struggle, no constriction. A warmth enveloped her mind and a voice spoke. But this voice, ironically, didn't have a voice. It was neither male nor female. No sound could be heard, the words being spoken to her as if they were written into her mind, a sensation that she could never accurately describe. It came in fragments, slowly and softly.
"I have… rewarded you."
"They... are safe."
"Now I beg… for a… favor in return."
The words began to fade, the sentences becoming less recognizable.
"I send you… find them… and protect the…"
"He will… stop the war… and protect my… bears crystal's power…"
"You will return… he will guide you."
"Please… now go."
And with that, she was no longer in her home.
Lightning awoke with a start, eyes snapping open, heart racing, palms sweating. Instead of lying on the soft carpet she remembered, she felt an icy metal floor, voices echoing in the distance. She stood, assessing her surroundings. It appeared to be a prison with walls that were also made of metal and advanced technologies. A symbol of what looked like a grim reaper adorned the walls, accompanied the phrase, "the light of Lucis shines bright."
"What the hell?" was all Lightning could say. Thinking back to the strange sensations she experienced, she recalled a crystal being mentioned. And because Lucis was a name she didn't recognize she could come up with only one conclusion. "Damn it Fang," she grumbled, "why did you have to be right?" And why did it have to be Etro. Who else could have done such a deed? Seeing that questions were pointless at this time, she wandered down a hallway and around a corner to swiftly retreat behind it. A doorwas guarded by not two, not three, but five guards that looked strangely robotic.
"Damn," she grumbled again. Looking for a way through this door that led to the voices, Lighting dug through the bag she had strapped to her leg, locating a loose bullet. With the intention of distracting those that stood in her way, she examined her surroundings. She located a vent that seemed large enough to crawl through. It was an option she would have rather avoided, although there were few other choices. With careful movements, she threw the bullet down a hallway that ran perpendicular to the one she was in. The "guards" heard the clinking of metal meeting metal and ran towards it, giving her just enough time to use her gunblade to unlatch the cover that blocked the vent and crawl through, neatly replacing the piece of metal before continuing forward.
The voices were clearer now, two men was what she could hear. A light ahead signaled an exit to the ventilation system – a place for her to see the conversing men. She quietly crawled over while avoiding any movement that would make even the slightest noise. The last thing she needed now was to get caught.
Peering through the slits in the vent's cover, she saw the men she had heard. One was beaten and battered, his apparel spattered with blood and dirt. He looked like he was middle aged, contrasting the man standing in front of him. This man was much older, old enough to have gray hair. His white robe obscured most of his body. This older man spoke in a tantalizing manner, "How long will you resist, General Leonis? It's only a matter of time before we find him anyway. Why not just make it end quickly for him?"
The general laughed. "Aldercapt, you can goad me as much as you like, but I have no answers. His Highness escaped the invasion because of the action I took, but I have no clue where he might have gone. Had you asked me of King Regis' location I could find multiple answers. The prince and I think too differently. Anything I come up with will not match up with whatever plan he may map out. Even if I did know, my loyalty lies with the crown. I'd die before I betrayed the Caelum family."
"Then do you realize the actions we will take to lure him out of hiding?" The older man had become more aggressive in as a result of the interrogation's failure.
General Leonis was silent for a moment. He then smirked, "I do, but you don't realize the strength the prince has. He may do it recklessly, but he will come back for you."
Aldercapt scoffed, "Fine then. Let him. In the mean time we'll see how long you can keep yourself alive." Aldercapt left with his voice still ringing in the interrogation room. Surprisingly enough, the dictator did not immediately send guards in to escort the man back. Seeing that this general was against what appeared to be her enemies, Lightning took the risk of silently climbing down from the vent, the noise of her boots landing on the floor warning the military man.
He spun, taking a tense battle stance that was loosened when he saw the pink-haired woman. "You don't appear to be one of Aldercapt's men," he stated simply.
"No, I'm not. But you also seem confident in your ability."
"Your point?"
"I'm looking for a way out."
General Leonis smiled, "Straight to the point, hm?" The statement reminded Lightning of Fang, bringing forth a pang of homesickness already. "I've been here a few weeks, so I know the layout of this prison. As well as its weak spots."
"And I can take some of these soldiers on in a fight. At least I will if I have a hand. Can you handle it?"
"Indeed," intrigued by the sudden escape plan, he began the alliance by saying, "I don't know who you are, but I'll take this opportunity. Cor Leonis, general of the Lucian army," he introduced while gesturing to himself.
"Lightning Farron," she ignored the raised eyebrow in response to her name and concluded, "but now's not the time for a full introduction."
"You're correct. Shall we?"
There we go, chapter 1! :D
To be honest I'm not sure how frequent updates will be, but I will do my best to make this story better than my previous ones. Thanks for giving my fics a second chance! You guys rock!