A/N: Welcome to my first Final Fantasy story. This is planned to be the first part in a three part story, taking place in the Final Fantasy XIII world, and moving forwards to the final years before Lightning Returns. The three will be uploaded as separate stories as part of a series, to avoid spoiling things for those who haven't got to certain points within the games.

I do not have a beta reader for this story, as this is the first FF story I've written. If you would like to discuss being a beta reader for me, please get in touch. Good knowledge of Final Fantasy XIII, XIII-2 and Lightning Returns will be necessary for this job.

Finally, People waiting for the second part of this, or those waiting for the next part of my Harry Potter stories, I do apologise, but I'm struggling with a barely working laptop right now. I wanted to put this up now, but I don't know when I'll get chance to write more to this, OBA or BTS. I can only thank you for your patience, and promise that once I get a new laptop later this year, I'll endeavor to push them through as fast as I can.

I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII-2 or Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, and make no profit from this work.

Entwined Destinies

Promises

The world was savage. It had always been so. 'Survival of the fittest' was the only true law of the land. It was a world where evolution was king, and extinction was the only fate awaiting those species that couldn't further themselves. The results, for the inexperienced, were terrifying. Monsters roamed freely, and attacked viciously and without fear; God-like entities, the Fal'Cie, shaped the land, changing the layout in the space of days. It was a harsh wilderness. It would kill you without thought.

It was home.

But to Vanille, centuries after she had last set foot on this land, the past few weeks she had spent on Gran Pulse had contained few moments of recognition. The vast expanse of the Archylte Steppe had a vague familiarity of days of hunting for the one big game that would feed their village. Taijin's Tower had provided a towering presence on the horizon, just like it had the many years she had lived in its shadow, but even that had changed to a barely recognisable landmark, forged by the Fal'Cie that called it home.

As she stood in the center of her former village, her heart beat finally starting to slow, the adrenaline in her veins fading, it started to really hit home that she was in Oerba, on Gran Pulse. The place she had grown up.

"We'll set up camp here," she vaguely heard, and footsteps echoed around her in the silence, her companions setting off to their jobs. She knew Lightning and Fang would be scouting out ahead of them, while Snow and Sazh would most likely be setting up an effective place to keep guard from. She couldn't bring herself to find anything to busy herself with.

She looked across the sea of Ashensand, created during the latter stages of the War of Transgression. Many centuries ago, when she had called this home, it had not existed, and the area had been a communal area for the villagers and children to socialise, with entertainment and festivals that would last long into the night. Her staff fell from her hand, landing softly in the crystalline sand. Slowly, she brought both hands in front of her chest, interlocking her index and little fingers and closing her eyes. Her lips moved silently as she spoke a soft prayer.

"How you holding up?"

She didn't start at the voice behind her. She had almost been expecting it. The two of them had become so close since they had accidently started this journey together, first when she had taken him under her wing as a scared little boy who had lost his family to war, and then as close friends, accepting of each other's mistakes and providing strength to each other. He had been her secret rock, in ways that her honorary sister Fang could not be.

Keeping her eyes closed she finished her prayer. He didn't rush her. He knew, without asking, that she needed his silent support for these few seconds.

Completing her thoughts, she opened her eyes and looked back over the sands. Silently, she cast around for the words she needed.

"These Cie'th," she started, seeming to struggle with the word, "They were people once."

There was a soft noise behind her, a sign that he had heard, but was letting her continue. She appreciated the chance to verbalize what was going through her head.

"I could have known them. Friends, hunting partners, family. I might have shared a house with them."

She took a deep breath, almost to psyche herself up for her next sentence. Behind her, she heard soft footfalls, and found comfort in them, albeit, not much.

"I could have played with their children, bought vegetables from their stores, danced opposite them at the festivals."

A tear formed in the corner of her eye and slowly made its way down her cheek. She could tell that he was just a couple of paces behind her.

"I killed them."

The words left her mouth with a great sob. As soon as she said them, she felt him close the remaining gap between them, and carefully, nervously, wrap his arms around her waist. She gasped softly, before closing her eyes and letting the tears fall properly. He said nothing, simply holding her, stiffly at first, until he grew used to the contact, when he relaxed and pulled her tighter against him, resting his cheek against her back.

They had never shared moments of comfort in this way. They had given support to each other in different ways, providing light words and comforting gestures. She found that simply receiving a smile from him was enough to pick her up from her worries. She hoped that she had been able to provide some of this comfort back. But this was different. This was cleansing, as though tears that she had needed to let out since Nautilus could finally be released. She knew he wouldn't judge her.

Slowly, she cried herself out, the tears stopping falling, reluctantly at first, and then enough that she could hastily wipe her cheeks and look up again. She started to shift her weight away from him, feeling that he was probably uncomfortable with the contact by now, especially with the bare skin of his arms touching the skin of her stomach, but he tightened his grip, stopping any movement. She took the motion as he didn't want to break contact, and settled herself with holding his arms close to her, enjoying the feeling.

"Whether you knew them or not, these Cie'th are no longer the people they once were." His voice was soft, filled with emotion, and his breath felt warm against her back. "They don't have a life anymore, they're just slaves to their own grief."

She soaked his words in, each one seemingly mending a part of her soul that she had just bared to him. Despite this being the same thing she had been telling herself with every Cie'th they had battled on their journey, the words made more sense when he said them.

"We didn't kill them. We showed them mercy." His voice sounded thick, as though he was holding back a sea of emotion too. She softly squeezed his arm, and felt him snuggle slightly into her back.

"They deserve better." She said after a little while. He nodded against her back. There was some comfort in the fact that he felt the same way. They found that they had quite often been on the same wavelength during their journey. It was always a relief to be near him, always calming to see him across the campsite at night. She always seemed to gravitate towards him.

"So do we," he said softly, finally removing his arms away from her waist. The air against her warm skin felt sharp, and she felt the heaviness in her heart start to take hold once more, until he took her hand in his and interlaced their fingers together, standing by her side.

She nodded softly. The two had discussed the unfairness of the situation on a number of occasions. Indeed, he was the only one who she found comfort in talking to about it. Except Fang, but even those conversations were laden with guilt at the anger of her best friend.

They stood in silence for what seemed like hours, hands clasped together by their sides, looking over the Ashensand while Cocoon shined on the horizon in Phoenix's light. She felt calmer than she had since arriving on Gran Pulse, like she had finally come to terms with where they were, and what they still had to overcome. She turned her head, and looked at the young man next to her, who had grown up so quickly. He'd had no choice, but she respected him immensely for what he was carrying on his shoulders, even at his young age. She could feel herself smiling, despite the bleak situation.

"Promise me something," He said softly, breaking her thoughts. His eyes seemed glazed over slightly, as though his thoughts had taken him to a different place entirely. "When we get out of here, when we finish what we have to do."

He took a deep breath and turned to face her, giving her a blazing look that seemed to stare straight into her soul. "When it's done, promise me we'll still be together." He looked vulnerable, fearful, like there could be a faint chance of rejection. She felt her heart break slightly, but steeled her features, and nodded in what she hopped was a confident way.

"I promise."

Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her waist once more, and this time, she wrapped hers around his shoulders. They stood like statues, holding each other, faced with an uncertain future, but knowing that they'd do everything in their power to create a world they could both live in.

A/N: Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed my little foray into Gran Pulse. Your comments are greatly appreciated.