Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from any of the Final Fantasy games or characters.
The idea for this story has been swirling around in my head for a little over a year now and it was begging me to write it down. If you all enjoy it, I'll definitely continue because I have the entire story planned out in my head and it just needs to be typed out. I know it is cross overish, but like my other FFXIII story, All is Fair, I feel the story centers on Lightning and Vanille. I really hope you like it!
It was just before sunrise; Vanille's favorite time of day. An array of oranges, reds, and pinks were beginning to reflect off the clear blue waters of Besaid.
Glancing down, she watched as the ocean rushed around her bare feet, burying them into the sand as the water retreated. The beach just had a soothing effect on her soul and she loved nothing more than to be alone in the shallow waves during the early morning hours while everyone else in the village was still fast asleep.
Vanille allowed her eyelids to slide closed in an attempt to soak up the first rays the sun had to offer. Listening to the wind whip around her, Vanille opened her eyes and was about to head back to the village when another, less peaceful sound met her ears.
A short-lived, unfamiliar buzzing sound and then a loud splash in the distance could be heard to her left and she jumped in surprise. Her heart began to race in fear and anticipation and she could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. It was extremely rare for anyone to be on the beach this early and she had been sure she was alone. Sure, there were monsters in the ocean surrounding Besaid but they rarely could get close to shore because of the shallow waters.
Squinting through the semi-darkness, Vanille strained to see the source of the commotion. Cautiously, she waded into the water towards the sound and slowly a dark figure floating in the gentle waves began to take shape. As she approached, it quickly became apparent that there was something very wrong with this person...
Vanille broke into a sprint, jumping over the waves and crashing into the water towards the unconscious figure. As the sun rose and Vanille got closer she could see that the person was in fact a woman. After pushing through the water a few feet closer, Vanille eventually had to begin swimming to close the final feet. From this distance she could see exactly what was wrong with this woman.
Blood was billowing in the water around the woman, originating from a gaping wound on her abdomen. Vanille was close enough to see immense pain creasing the woman's pale face and for a moment the woman's eyes fluttered open and met her own. It was brief, but Vanille could feel the pain in those intense blue eyes as if it was her own.
As soon as the moment occurred, it was over and the woman passed out cold, floating limply in the waves before beginning to sink. Closing the distance between them quickly, Vanille reached around the woman from behind and lifted her head out of the water. She did her best to keep the woman's head from dipping below the waves by resting it on her shoulder and supporting her upper body with her own.
Vanille's heart was racing and she could feel the panic taking a hold of her. A million questions were running through her head. What happened? Who was this woman? How did she get here? Was she going to die?
She quickly lowered her head down to the woman's and could feel shallow breaths against her face. Not knowing what to do, Vanille looked around desperately for anything or anyone who could help her.
The beach was completely devoid of life despite the fact that the sun was entirely over the horizon at this point. So, Vanille did the only thing she could think of: she snaked her left arm around the woman's waist and began swimming towards the shore with her right. Instinctively she flinched when her hand came in contact with the thick red blood that was gushing out of the woman's stomach but it only made her more determined to get this woman to safety.
Growing up around water, Vanille was a good swimmer but she could feel her muscles beginning to tire. The woman had completely passed out and Vanille was struggling under her dead weight but she didn't know what else to do.
Just when Vanille thought she couldn't go any further, she saw figures in the distance filing onto the beach. Blitzball practice! Seeing the team in the distance, Vanille found her second wind and swam forward faster than ever, eventually finding sand beneath her feet. She planted her feet firmly on the ground, still submerged up to her chest, but relieved to be able to stand.
"Wakka! Tidus!" Vanille called out, frantically waving her free arm. Thankfully, they saw her within seconds and she breathed a sigh of relief as they came sprinting into the water in her direction.
It felt like ages before they reached her and Vanille was within seconds of collapsing herself when she felt the extra weight completely lifted from her arm. She looked up at Wakka and saw him staring at her in uncertainty for a moment, as if he was unsure whether to leave her.
"I'm fine. Take her to Yuna. Hurry!" she ordered Wakka and he nodded, still speechless which was not like him.
The large red headed man didn't hesitate for another second. He picked up the pink haired woman in one sweep of his giant arms and began to run back to the beach, hopping gracefully over waves in order to speed up his progress.
"Are you okay? What happened?" Tidus questioned, placing a steadying hand on Vanille's arm before they turned to chase Wakka back to the village.
"I'm fine. I don't know what happened. I was standing on the beach… and this woman… just appeared all of a sudden…Do you think she'll be okay?" Vanille asked, trying to catch up to Wakka but finding it difficult due to her shorter legs.
"I don't know…That wound looked pretty bad… Where did she come from? I mean, there's nothing but ocean for miles…," Tidus wondered aloud as they reached the beach. As soon as she was free from the pull of the ocean, Vanille sprinted to catch up with Wakka, leaving Tidus panting behind her.
"Hey, wait up!" Tidus called behind her but Vanille's adrenaline was back and she needed to know if this woman was going to be okay. It was incredible how a morning that started off so peacefully could turn so terrifying in a matter of seconds.
Vanille quickly caught up to them, keeping pace with the large man as they maneuvered through the forest paths to the village. Vanille couldn't help glancing worriedly up at the woman in Wakka's arms and cringing as her head dangled limply over his bicep.
Once they reached the village, they burst into Yuna's hut to find it vacant. Wakka scanned the room with his eyes and then snapped his attention to Vanille. Internally making a decision, Wakka gently set the woman down on the bed, revealing the blood smeared on his large arms, before turning to the much smaller red head.
"You're a much better healer than me. I'm gonna find Yuna or Lulu. Do what you can," Wakka told her and turned, running back out of the hut. Tidus, who had just reached the door of the hut, was yanked by Wakka right back out again. If there was anyone who could find Yuna, it was him.
Attempting to catch her breath, Vanille turned her attention down to the unconscious woman, panicking slightly. She had no idea what to do. Sure, she was a pretty good healer, but this was beyond anything she had ever attempted to heal.
She did the only thing she could think of which was put her hands over the wound on the woman's stomach. If nothing else, the pressure would hopefully slow the hemorrhaging, but she jumped back as if she had been burned when a small moan of agony escaped the woman's lips.
It obvious this wound was life threatening, not to mention this woman was in a great deal of pain. She had to at least try and heal her, so she gently placed her hands on the wound once more. Closing her eyes, Vanille focused all of her thoughts and energy on the wound. Every ounce of light she had went into trying to heal this woman that she didn't even know. At first nothing happened, but after a moment she could feel the blood no longer flowing freely between her fingers and the edges of the wound starting to come together. Gritting her teeth, Vanille could feel sweat building on her brow and her power already weakening.
Looking down between her fingers Vanille could see the wound was only slightly smaller but more importantly, the bleeding had slowed significantly. Breathing heavily, Vanille tried to regain her composure to make another attempt when the flap to the hut flew open.
Yuna rushed to the bed side and without a word gently moved Vanille to the side and began to heal the severely injured woman. The former Summoner's power obviously surpassed her own and in a matter of moments the wound had shrunk to a quarter of its original size.
Taking a calming breath and standing up straight, Yuna glanced sideways at Vanille.
"I can't do much more than that. She'll be okay but we're going to need to bandage this up…," Yuna told her while rinsing her hands in a bowl of water before grabbing some bandages from a nearby drawer. Vanille breathed a sigh of relief and looked back down at this strange woman who had remained unconscious almost the entire time.
Yuna undid the buckles on the woman's sleeveless jacket, which was for the most part intact save for the blood stains. Then she pushed the torn brown turtleneck up to give herself more room to work. The former Summoner expertly began cleaning what remained of the wound and applied the bandages.
As Yuna finished wrapping the wound, she turned her concerned bi-colored eyes to the red head next to her. Vanille knew that Yuna was just as tired, if not more so, from healing the woman, but that wasn't going to stop the questions.
"Vanille…What happened?" Yuna asked quietly. Vanille knew everyone wanted to know how this woman had got here but she had no answers for them. No boats were scheduled to arrive in Besaid today and the nearest island was Kilika and that was miles and miles away.
The red head told Yuna what happened, but the confused expression remained on the former Summoner's face.
"Well, you did a good job to stop the bleeding, Vanille. I always prefer healing over a sending… I guess we'll just have to wait until she wakes up to find out who she is and where she came from. Until then I guess Tidus and I are sleeping at the inn," Yuna continued with an exhausted sigh. After a moment, she stood up slowly and Vanille looked up at her friend.
"I'll stay with her," she told Yuna, glancing down at the pink haired woman and then back to Yuna. Nodding her understanding, Yuna stepped out of the hut, the flaps falling back into place behind her.
Vanille slowly turned her eyes to the motionless woman in front of her. Unsure of what to do next, she let herself really take in the woman's appearance.
It was the first time she allowed herself to really look at her. Her soaking wet pink hair clung to her face and accentuated a strong jaw line. The woman was wearing strange clothes that almost looked uniform-like with a shoulder guard on one side as well as a cape. Underneath her legs seemed to be a holster of some kind because a red handle to some kind of weapon was sticking out.
Vanille's eyes drifted along the exposed skin of her arms and legs and, aside from the wound to her stomach, there were no other cuts or bruises of any kind. This seemed strange to Vanille but she didn't dwell on it.
Wet bangs obscured the woman's pale face and before she knew what she was doing, Vanille was gently pushing the soaking locks out of her face. A small moan made her jerk her hand away and she jumped up to give the woman space. She was beginning to wake up and Vanille stared wide eyed down at her, watching every movement the woman made.
"Fuuuuuck," was the first word that escaped the woman's lips as she lifted a gloved hand to her stomach before she dissolved into a coughing fit. Looking around, Vanille found a pitcher of clean water on a small table and rushed to pour some into a cup for her.
Her dark eyelashes fluttered open and those ice blue eyes appeared from underneath once again. Vanille approached her cautiously holding the cup of water with both hands.
"H-here's some water," Vanille murmured nervously, offering the cup to the mysterious woman.
Those piercing eyes stared into hers for a moment before reaching her hand out slowly and accepting the cup. A grimace marred her features as she struggled to sit up, but Vanille only hesitated a second before slipping an arm under the woman's back to assist her.
Vanille wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do but the woman didn't object. She helped her up and the woman took a long drink from the cup.
When she was finished, Vanille held her hand out and took the cup from the woman, refilling it before turning back to the stranger. She handed it to the woman and she sipped it much slower this time.
"Where am I?" the woman croaked, glancing around her cautiously, seeming to take in every detail around her before resting her eyes once again on Vanille.
"The island of Besaid…I'm Vanille…I...uh…found you," the red head replied nervously, gazing back into the woman's eyes. All her green eyes were met with was a blank stare then a look of confusion from the pink haired woman. She looked away from Vanille, bringing a hand to her head, her brow furrowed in concentration.
Vanille looked at her sympathetically; it was obvious that this woman had no idea where she was or really what had happened. She wanted to comfort the woman but was unsure how, so she attempted to find out more about her.
"What's your name?" Vanille asked, doing everything in her power to ease this woman's mind. The woman looked up blankly and paused before responding.
"I don't remember…," she replied, but it seemed as if there was more she wanted to say. She winced a little as she shifted on the bed, and Vanille instinctively reached out to help her again but stopped just before making contact. The woman, going back to a blank face, waved away Vanille's help, showing that she was fine and leaned against the wall.
As she was adjusting, Vanille had caught sight of a necklace hanging from the woman's neck. She cautiously reached out and not sensing any resistance, carefully held the pendent in her fingertips. Upon closer inspection, she could see it was a bolt of lightning. Unsure if she was overstepping some invisible boundary, but wanting to help the woman in any way she could, Vanille spoke gently.
"Would it be all right if I called you Lightning?" Vanille asked hesitantly, not wanting to cause the pink haired woman any more strife. The woman, once again, broke eye contact, staring off at something invisible to Vanille. After a moment of silence, the woman finally spoke.
"I would be okay with that," Lightning spoke slowly, as if trying to search the far corners of her mind for anything that would tell her where she came from or who she was.
Vanille felt a sharp pain in her chest as she saw just how lost Lightning looked. She couldn't even begin to comprehend what it must feel like to be in a strange place and not remember who you are, not to mention the huge injury she sustained. Vanille was really at a loss for words but she felt like she needed to say something to comfort this woman.
"I don't know how you got here, but I promise that I will try and help you find where you belong," Vanille told Lightning confidently, giving her a warm smile. The pink haired woman met her eyes and Vanille couldn't quite read her emotions, but Lightning nodded. She set the cup on the side table and, with a lot of wincing, lay back down on the bed.
"Are you hungry?" Vanille asked politely, having no idea the last time the pink haired woman had eaten. Lightning nodded and just as Vanille turned to leave she heard the woman's low, feminine voice.
"Vanille...?"
Vanille turned around just before reaching the flap to the hut and looked back at the mysterious woman, giving Lightning her full attention.
"Thank you," her voice was soft and Vanille just smiled and gave a small nod in response before stepping out into the morning sun light.
Vanille stepped out of the tent and released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Looking down, she could see the blood that still stained her clothes and skin. It was a wonder the woman was still alive with the amount of blood she had lost. This thought made Vanille shiver a little; she didn't want to think about that.
Gathering herself, Vanille made her way through the village to the group of people who had gathered outside of the temple, a large stone structure that was no longer used for worship but as emergency shelter. As she approached she could see the familiar forms of Wakka, Lulu, Tidus, and Yuna talking in hushed voices.
When she was close, they seemed to notice her presence and immediately halted their previous conversation.
"Did she wake up? Who is she? Is she okay?" Wakka was the first one to ask what everyone was wondering. The large man had cleaned the blood off of his arms and changed out of the stained Blitzball uniform from the morning.
"Yes… she's awake," Vanille told them, shaking her head sadly before continuing, "She doesn't remember anything…not even her own name."
For some reason it was really difficult for her to say this, but she quickly looked back up at them, regaining her composure. She could see their shocked looks and the skeptical one Lulu always seemed to wear.
"How could she have gotten here?" Tidus asked the other question that was tugging on everyone's mind. Lulu folded her arms and looked around at them and Vanille could see Vidinia, her and Wakka's son, hiding behind her dress.
"She probably knows more than she's telling you," Lulu accused, and Vanille was surprised by how bothered she was by the dark mage's comment. Vanille was about to respond angrily when Yuna cut in quickly.
"You should get cleaned up and take a rest. You must be exhausted from healing," Yuna told her softly, looking at her sympathetically.
"I told her I would get her something to eat," Vanille told them simply. The truth was that was extremely tired from the morning's events, but she didn't want to leave Lightning alone in a place that was completely foreign to her. Vanille began to turn around to leave but then remembered something, so she informed them,
"Oh, and call her Lightning."
There it is! Let me know if you think I should continue! All feedback is welcome!