AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am getting antsy for more Lightning Returns…trailers, screenshots, character reveals, anything! If enough readers would enjoy another chapter, I'd definitely think about it. I like the idea of this story becoming a series of chapters where Lightning goes off and does random missions. As entailed by the LR developers, the game will feature many side-missions and battles to add time to the clock, which is something I wanted to expand upon in this chapter. Reviews are very much appreciated!

*Side note: I sometimes refer to the people of Luxerion as the "Populi" because in Latin, it equates to "people." (We all know about SE's love for Latin!)

BGM/Song: "Black Ocean" - IMERUAT

Write on,

Cranberry Knight-XIII (new pen name changed from "WriteFF13" as of 8/6/2013)


.:LUX AETERNA:.

Chapter 1 – Standard of Living

"You'll have to take the train to the Dead Dunes, no other way around it. We're getting more runoff from the Wildlands, so expect some trouble near the Station."

With a sigh, Lightning pressed down on the comms unit tucked in her left ear, initiating a quiet signal. Her movements were modest and quick as she loped above the starch buildings of Luxerion, hitching her breath when she leaped over a particularly large gap – about twenty feet wide sometimes - and nailing the landing with ease.

"Damn. No other way then, huh? What's the Reverend's plan this time around?" she responded, releasing the unit and pumping her arms fast. In the corner of her aqua eyes, she spotted a daunting image being to creep over Nova Chrysalia. As Hope began to speak again, Lightning jogged to a halt, taking a moment to take in the scenery for just a few seconds.

"He wants you to infiltrate – what's up, Light?" Hope started. He could track her position from their headquarters using the lightning brand on her chest.

Crafted from Chaos Crystals, the emblem was more than just a symbol of her title and being; it reacted to the very same Chaos Crystal inside of Hope's office, retrieved from various places along the Sea of Chaos. Somehow, – Lightning didn't know how that boy knew so much about crystal technology – he had managed to manipulate the energy into an actual tracking device; all Chaos Crystals were interconnected in Nova Chrysalia, always slightly glowing. (Hope believed it to be a result of the impending chaos from the surrounding ocean.) That way he could provide exact information based on her location at any time. Also, Hope had insisted she accept the device, worried about the mysterious group accused of murdering eight people in the last four days.

"Nothing," she murmured, a proud smile gracing her lips. Luxerion was beautiful, and she was its savior, the protector of its people. Hell, the town was called the "City of Light." A slight breeze ruffled her white and tan chaps that flowed freely, adorned with two pockets wide enough to carry a vast supply of Potions and remedies for battle wounds. However, the tranquil moment vanished in an instant as the loud reverberation of the doomsday clock bonged, sweeping through Luxerion as if in a silent wave. When she peeked over the side of the building, Lightning watched as various civilians flinched and took their next steps just a little bit quicker than necessary. As another rang out, shaking her to the bones, she closed her eyes and silently mouthed the numbers.

1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…

With a sigh of relief, she opened her eyes again, breathing deeply. It was all right. She still had time. Every time the clock began to boom its first rings, it was like the end of the world had already come. People held their breath, hoping and praying for just a second longer, an hour, even a day was worth more than any riches gil could buy.

But it was a double-edged sword.

Every time Lightning successfully added time to the world's lifespan, to every single man, woman, child, elder's life...it meant their faith in her strengthened. If she was taking the streets and the clock went off with successful results, the people looked up to her as if she was an angel. Yet when it began to deepen and became unbearably loud that preceded bad news – news that she had failed, that's what killed her. The disappointment in their eyes, the fear clouded in the irises of people she met. They weren't just civilians anymore. They all had a stake in the end of the world, and she had been chosen by Bhunivelze to uphold the safety of Nova Chrysalia. The task was colossal, but she had accepted without any hesitation. It wasn't like being hunted down by her neighbors and friends back on Cocoon during the war against the fal'Cie. Luxerion's Populi actually cared about her… she wasn't being hunted, exiled, and threatened. She wanted to help them; they were essentially helpless themselves. Many of them didn't know about how to wield magic or a weapon since the beginning of days in the new land. Their fate rested on her shoulders. She couldn't fail. She refused to.

"Hear that, Light?" Hope whooped, snapping her out of her reverie. She shook her head to shake away the thoughts.

"Loud and clear."

"I know you're skeptical, but the Reverend is right! These missions are helping. Now, if I could get an explanation that made sense, we'd be golden..." Lightning left him to his thoughts.

Once again she began to move, sprinting, falling into a rhythm only she knew the beats to. Thoughts swarmed her brain in absence of Hope's silence. Now, time dominated every aspect of her life, she thought. Every step you took was like an alarm clock, quietly ticking away until sometimes, it drove you crazy. The longer you took doing something, the less time you had to live. That was the mindset of Nova Chrysalia's population. Perhaps a second longer tying your shoe would equate to one less second you could spend with your son or daughter. The thought on everyone's mind was: how much time did that just take up?

How much time left until dinner? Breakfast?

Until Day 7?

Until 2:30 in the afternoon?

An image of a doomsday clock was always engraved in your mind; each time you closed your eyes you could see it, the numbers lifting from the face of the clock and swirling into a jumbled mess until a headache took over.

Time ruled Nova Chrysalia.

If you didn't know what time it was, your brain was suddenly thrown into an erratic disarray. The Populi could easily be frightened. It wasn't out of the ordinary to see someone stumble out of the train station, eyes wild and frantic, shouting for the time after a long trip out to the wildlands of the world.

Even I can't stop thinking about it for much longer than a few minutes, Lightning thought.

The one upside, she supposed with a smirk, was that no one stopped to bother the Liberator of Souls in lieu of well, time's sake.

Her partner's voice crackled to life in a steady static. "Hanging in there?"

"Of course. Everything clear until the station?" she asked, wary of a chaotic monster leaping into the fray to halt her progress.

"Hmm…there seems to be some disarray right on the next block, but I'm not sure if that's –" His voice dropped off without warning. A second later, barely audible static filled her ear. "You need – four civilians – can't track – Crystal dim – run – get higher – "

"Hope?" Lightning shouted, squinting against the bright white roofs of Luxerion. "What is it?"

Static filled her ear, and she soon switched off the unit.

"Chaos Crystal technology my ass…" she muttered, flicking the emblem on her chest and jogged for the station, tightening her gloves.

She felt around in a pocket until her fingers closed around a pair of pitch-black shades, the frames accented with intricate oval patterns of purple and gold interweaving. With a flick of her wrist they snapped open and she nimbly put them on, blinking once to adjust to the sudden change of color to sepia. In the next second she was off, running hard to the station. The situation was most likely a wild monster summoned by the chaos, nothing to worry about. The entire day was a laundry list of things to do within 24 hours with little to no breaks in between, and the Reverend's mission to conclude the day.

A scream erupted from the street just below the next building's roof, dipping low over a balcony. She moved over to the edge, running while peering over. Civilians were taking off, all dispersing from of Fastidio Plaza.

How ironic, Lightning thought dryly before skidding down the roof, using the very edge of the roof as a launch pad to send her into the air, plummeting towards the ground in seconds flat. The ground greeted her padded boots as she dispersed the impact through a roll, moving into a crouch behind a merchant's stand. She could hear a monster growling, a thick, guttural roar erupting from just a few yards away. Without glancing she knew it was Chaotic. Without a sound she unclipped the crimson blade from her back, holding it firmly as she slowly peeked her head around.

Before she could register the species of monster that dominated the foreground of the Plaza, a familiar face suddenly popped out from the other side, knocking over a package of Potions and remedies. Her bright blue eyes and pale pink hair were identical to that of the trademark Farron appearance, but as far as Lightning was concerned, this girl had nothing in common with her. She yanked her head back in surprise, yanking the girl by her feathery collar and tossing her behind the cart by her side, sure a monster was about to plow through it in a second.

"What the are you doing here, Lumina?" Lightning hissed, irritated. How was it that Lumina always ended getting in her way?

"Oh, don't be so rude! I was just walking by and wanted to help out!" she chirped, smiling. "And anyways, you're the one running all over the tops of people's roofs!"

Lightning's ears perked up. "How did you know I was on the high route before I got here?"

For a second, Lumina stumbled over her words, caught red-handed. "Uh…lucky guess?"

Lightning just rolled her eyes. "You hacked into Hope's communication systems, didn't you? Don't you realize how important that stuff is?"

"What, can't stand not hearing Hope for more than five minutes?" Lumina jeered, clucking her tongue. "You need to find a real man, Light!"

Lightning felt a strong need to punch a wall…Lumina's perfectly manicured face would also do. After counting to five she opened her eyes again, trying to remember the main objective.

"Well, you're here now. Like hell if you're just going to leave without helping. I'm on a mission for the Reverend, and I don't have much time."

"Fine, fine!" Lumina smoothened her black skirt. "But really, I was just out for a walk," she pouted.

Her look-alike twin tossed her an annoyed glance.

"Right…come on, let's move."


AUTHOR'S NOTE: I hope it didn't end too abruptly, but I didn't want it to be too long. Besides, this kind of broke me out of a long phase of writer's block. You might know how irritating that is. Hope you enjoyed, and don't forget to review and tell me what you thought!

Oh, and am I the only one who thinks a perfect weapon for Lumina would be twin rapiers? Maybe I've been watching too much RWBY, but it fits…

-Cranberry Knight-XIII