Anger and Mercy
- Lake Bresha -
'Why'd this have to happen to me' he thought. 'Everything was going fine and now I'm a L'cie, enemy of Cocoon.'
The ground beneath him was neither hot nor cold but it was definitely hard, much more resilient than stone or wood, it was crystallised.
"This must be… uh… Lake Bresha?" the eldest L'cie remarked. "Guess we fell from up there… and the lake turned to crystal?" He pointed out. "Help me out here, I mean did the Fal'cie do this? How in the world did we end up here?"
"How should I know?" said a cold yet calm female voice.
Hope couldn't help being drawn to the voice after the recent loss of his mother. Although it was all their fault she was dead, specifically Snow's. 'Maker, why'd he have to get stuck with him of all people.' Hope could feel the frustration and anger welling up inside of him and he knew that no one else could feel the same as he did right now.
"We're alive… How?" Vanille started before being rudely interrupted.
"Serah!" Snow shouted. "No one survives a fall from that height, not without a miracle. Serah saved us-"
"Serah!" the stern woman interjected angrily. "Listen, it's all your fault she go-"
'Maybe someone did understand!' Hope thought triumphantly. He wasn't alone in blaming Snow. Hope gazed up from where he had rested his head in the crook of his arms, only to see a lumbering Cie'th headed the party's way. He went straight into the flight part of the fight and flight survival technique and hid as he knew he would be no help against the monster.
"Watch out!" roared Snow, urgency tingling through his normally calmer tones.
And the battle was over before it began. 'He used magic' thought Hope angrily. 'I suppose that makes sense considering that we are L'cie now.' Hope quickly returned to the group from his hiding place.
"What did I just do?" Snow whispered quietly to himself.
However Hope didn't miss his exclamation, "You used magic" he answered aggressively. "You used the power of L'cie. The Fal'cie cursed us, we're L'cie now!" Hope finished, his anger dying down a little. The outburst towards Snow had released some tension.
"So we really are L'cie." Snow started by stating the obvious.
The strawberry haired woman beside him groaned, probably because of Snow's stupidity. And the older black man checked his brand and groaned in disappointment.
"Looks like it." He replied bitterly.
Snow then asked Vanille if she had been branded.
"Yeah, right here." she turned to the side and lifted her skirt to reveal the pulse L'cie brand on her upper thigh.
"Okay..." replied Snow looking away swiftly.
"L'cie to the last…" the female soldier muttered.
Hope now stood within a circle of L'cie surrounded by the other four. The gravity of the situation finally set in, and Hope dropped to his knees, feeling hollow inside.
Even though he had asked himself the question before he voiced it out loud now. Hoping to vent at someone or something for the frustration he felt.
"Why… Why me?" He whispered almost inaudibly. "I don't even know you!" he shouted at the icy blue eyed woman. "And you had to go and attack that thing?!" the older members including Snow looked downcast and ashamed that they had pulled him into this. "Just leave me alone!" He shouted. "It's your fault… it's your fault my- You could've…" Hope couldn't finish what he wanted to say to Snow. He instead decided to unleash his fury more. "ALL OF THIS IS YOUR AND SERAH'S FAULT!" he roared. And this seemed to anger Snow.
"Hey watch it!" He growled, defending his fiancé more than himself.
But Hope suddenly felt threatened. Not just by the larger man's stature but by his tone of voice. He fell down and scooted away from his adversary before hitting into something almost as sturdy as the crystal that now surrounded them. Hope looked up into the cerulean eyes of the soldier. Whom he had seen was a force to be reckoned with. She had not hesitated to beat Snow into the ground before, and Hope was expecting the same fate. But instead she spared him.
"Sorry…" Snow muttered.
Soon after Hope was astounded as someone grabbed him by the shoulders. 'Here it comes' he thought, waiting for the punch but it never came. Instead he opened his eyes to see Vanille's cheerful features.
"Everything's gonna be alright. You'll see." She chimed and for some reason Hope felt reassured. He wondered why the soldier had spared him. Perhaps he would never know. 'If I get a chance I'll ask her.' He promised. But in the end couldn't help feeling that he had made more enemies than friends.
Authors Notes
So I've been playing through FFXIII and I thought I'd do a few one shots based on some of the interactions in the game and how I think they'd work. I'll probably focus on Light and Hope as their relationship is the most interesting to me personally. I just wanted to add a whole HopexLight spin on a few of the moments in the game. Anyway if you liked this and want to see more let me know, because I'll be doing smaller stories until my exams are over then I'll move back to my main story.
