Fire and Ice

A Chie Satonaka and Yukiko Amagi AU Fanfiction

Persona 4 and Final Fantasy Crossover

By Nagone

Summary: Together, we will roil this world.

Genre: Romance, Supernatural

Rated: T+

Warnings: Character death

Chie and Yukiko clung to one another, breathes coming in harsh pants. "I… I don't think we're going to make it," Yukiko whispered, body shaking. She felt all too hot, like she was incinerating from the inside. Compared to Chie's ice cold skin, she felt like she was going to boil to death.

"I..." Chie's words broke off, teeth chattering, skin turning blue. She didn't know what to say, truly didn't know what words to use. "I…" It was little use.

They had messed up, truly messed up, and now, as they sat on the ground, sinking into sweet, loamy soil, they realized how irreversible their situation was.

Chie and Yukiko had been too brazen to take on the TV World again. Rather than returning back to the world the knew, they had somehow ended in another time, on another world. They knew not the name of the place, but as they remained there, they sensed it: the Farplane.

Spirits circled around them, swirling in curious pathways, eyeing the decaying visitors. Brilliant pyres burned around them, images of the dead flickering within the bright flames. Chie continued to shiver, body temperature dropping down lower and lower.

"I think this will be our end, Chie," Yukiko whispered. She hugged the brunette tighter, trying to offer her up the excess of body heat she had to Chie to warm her up.

"Yuki, it's… it's not working. I…I'm so c-c-cold," Chie whispered, lips blue. She smiled weakly. "But… at least we're together, right?"

Sweat poured down Yukiko's brow now, drenching her clothing. She felt her lips and throat rapidly drying. "Y-Yeah, you're right. I… I can't think of anyone I'd rather be with." The spirit swam closer, drifting through Chie and Yukiko, tasting their life force eagerly.

Chie simply nodded, leaning her body against Yukiko's. "Do you think they'll find us again?" Yukiko nodded, assuming she was referring to their friends, lost to them in their own home world.

"I… I hope so. Now," Yukiko whispered. "No more talking. Let's just… be…"

Suddenly, their conditions worsened. Chie's went rigid, and her shivering stopped. Her heart seemed to have to force blood through her body, and her vision faded. Yukiko became a blur of red and black, mingling with the flames of the pyres behind them. She coughed hard, limbs going limp. "No," Yukiko whispered. She shook Chie hard, tears rolling down her cheek, sizzling on her skin.

Yukiko felt her body grow weak, and she collapsed to the ground, chest heaving as she struggled to breath. The air felt extremely thick now, as if she were breathing through a wet towel. She clutched at her throat, eyes fluttering closed, and took Chie's hand. "I…"

You poor souls.

Yukiko's eyelids open slightly, enough to allow her to see. A blue light glowed in the area, cooling the room. Snowflakes fell onto Chie and Yukiko, sinking into their clothing. "Huh…?"

Peace, child. Rest. You're time is almost done.

Yukiko couldn't bring herself to nod, so she allowed herself to relax into the soil, the smell of the Earth comforting her. "Who… who are you?"

The voice exited her mind. "I am Shiva, an entity of ice," Shiva said, voice low. Long ropes of blue, braided hair floated behind her, golden accents twined within each thick lock of hair. "Ifrit and I are here to be your… salvation."

Yukiko nodded mutely, closing her eyes again. She felt a wall of heat sweep over her and a gruff grunt sounded in the room. "Shiva, we don't have much time." Yukiko could only assume the deep, male voice was Ifrit, the figure mentioned by Shiva before.

"Yes, I agree," Shiva said. "Let us start the incantation."

Yukiko's heartbeat thudded in her ear, quick as a rabbit. She tried hard to focus on the foreign words floating from Shiva's tongue, but they were lost as she felt her body fading from this plane. She felt a hard, thick pressure on her chest before she felt herself completely go.

It is done.

When Yukiko woke, she saw the world in clear relief.

Everything was brilliant, colored in bright relief, as if she had been reborn with new eyes. Her nose tingled, the scent of souls tickling her deep within her body. She felt right.

Yet when she looked at her hands, she knew something was wrong.

Instead of hands she bore slender paws, tipped with razor sharp claws dark as pitch. Her arms, albeit human-like, were covered in a short, cropped fur that shimmered as if she was on fire beneath her skin. Jerking upright and too her feet, she found her body was more muscular, taut in places she had previously been soft. Fortunately, her sex was still the same: she hadn't changed that. Yet she had shed a human form for a more… supernatural one.

"Chie…?" she whispered, not daring to turn around. She wasn't sure she could stomach the sight of her dead friend.

"Yukiko?" Chie whispered. Yukiko turned, looking over her shoulder, eyes shut tight. Long white feathers tickled her back. She ran a claw through them, and discovered they were as soft, and long, as her was - had- been. "What… what happened?"

When Yukiko opened her eyes, she gasped.

Chie hovered above the ground, a healthy foot above the moist, packed earth. Her skin shimmer, ghostly pale with a blue tint that made her look like moving ice. Her hair, still short, was a navy blue, and was twisted into numerous small braids, each tipped with a silver bell. A simple shift covered her breasts and privates, but not much else. "What…?" She turned in a circle, looking over at her shoulder. Her back was decorated in bright blue tattoos.

Be calm, Children of Another World.

Chie and Yukiko looked around, the voice echoing about the room. They paused, exhaling in union.

We have passed our souls to new forms. Your forms. Children of Another World, it is time for you to take up our mantle. Go forth, and protect this land, and together, the world. Chie couldn't tell if it was Shiva speaking or Ifrit. The voices seemed to be one in the same.

"But… we're only girls," Yukiko said. She felt a tingle in her rear and reached back, touching a set of fluffy tails. She quickly brought her hand back to her chest, sniffling.

You were. Now, you are Shiva and Ifrit, two sides of a coin cast in union. You are… You are us, Shiva said, voice ringing clear.

Chie nodded, hands at her chest were her heart had previously been. "Yuki, they're… She's right. I can feel her. She's here. She…"

Yukiko finished, eyes wide with wonder. "She gave us a second chance. They both did."

Hot tears rolled down Yukiko's cheeks, the cooling fire landing on the ground, leaving small patches of charred soil in their wake. Chie nodded and shifted, floating around Yukiko to embrace her. "Yes, and now we can have a life together. Forever."

"But, the others…" Yukiko couldn't even begin to fathom their friends in their homeland.

"Yes, they're… lost to us, but… We have a new duty. Something more than protecting the Television World. Now, we can protect a world. Think of what Teddie'd say to that!"

Yukiko nodded, smiling through her tears. Chie had made a good point, one that warmed her through with a fire even she couldn't conjure.

Although they would not be able to return to their world, they had a new world to explore.

Together.