Hope,

1 A.F.

No one knew why she remained crystallized after they saved Cocoon.

This was supposed to be their happy ending, what they had worked so hard for. Serah and Dajh had woken up and were wrapped in their loved ones' arms. Snow had charged for Serah, sweeping her up in a giant bear hug and twirling her around while she giggled. Sazh had scooped up his son as fast as he could, holding the boy tight against his chest.

Hope was the first to notice something was wrong. Left by himself while his other two teammates joined up with their significant other, he glanced left and right for Lightning—his partner. When he couldn't see any sign of her, he started to panic.

"Guys, where's Light?" he asked, trying to raise his voice over the sound of blissful reunion.

Snow let Serah down and they both looked around. Serah's face fell. Hope looked to Sazh and saw realization creeping into the older man's face. "Did she wander off?" Sazh asked, lifting Dajh onto his shoulders.

No one had noticed her absence. Surely someone would have seen her walk off, or even heard her boots crunching the dead grass of the plain. They had all grown so accustomed to jumping at every sound, no matter how miniscule. There was no way not one of them would have let her venture off on her own without seeing her go.

"I think we would've noticed her," Hope said, an edge creeping into his voice.

"Maybe we were all too distracted." Snow shrugged easily and squeezed Serah's hand. "The lovey dovey stuff must've been too much for her."

Hope fought the urge to defend Lightning and shook his head. "No. I was just standing here. I would've heard her walk away. Or at least seen her leave."

"Lightning?" Serah called out, dropping Snow's hand and walking away from the group.

"Should we split up and look for her?" Sazh suggested. "Maybe she landed somewhere else."

Hope allowed that and nodded silently. "Snow and Serah go toward the pillar. Sazh you take Dajh and head west. I'll retrace our steps." He was almost shocked at the natural way he took charge in Lightning's absence. She had taught him well. "Meet back here if you find anything."

They all split up in different directions. Serah looked as if she might cry at any moment, Snow rubbing her back and assuring her that they would find Lightning. Sazh was explaining to Dajh that they had to look for Daddy's friend. Hope went off on his own, no partner to speak of since Vanille and Fang had given their lives in Cocoon's protection, and prayed that his instincts would prove to be false—that Lightning had survived the fall.

He found her a twenty minutes' walk from their landing point.

He could hear military personnel organizing near Cocoon's pillar and wondered if when he returned, his father would be waiting for him. Pessimism haunted his every step as he fought to remain positive. He would find her off by herself, arms crossed and staring off into the expanse of the Archylte Steppe. Maybe the mushy stuff really did get to her. Maybe she just wanted time alone to think. It was very Lightning. Everyone else had someone. She probably just felt alone. Most likely as alone as Hope felt himself. The thought brought with it a needle in his chest. He thought maybe after everything, they could pair off themselves. They could find their own niche like everyone else had. He knew it was just wishful thinking. The age gap was considerable. He was a dumb fourteen year old boy. She was a mature, smart, intelligent twenty-one year old woman. She wouldn't want anything from him. Even if she did, he had nothing to give her. Nothing but a dumb crush. Even that word was too childish. Was what he felt for Lightning, the woman who took him in and saved his life, the same as anything he ever felt for the girls at school? Not a chance.

Something reflecting the sun's light caught his eye and he turned his head sharply to the right, fearing what he would see. A blue crystal figure stood off to the side, her hand to her heart. Hope made a mad dash toward Lightning, panting by the time he reached her. He fell to his knees, pulse pounding like drums in his ears, vision blurring. He could not wrap his head around this. He did not want to believe this was how it was going to end.

Why?