AN - Ohhh what. Another one started? Yeah I've probably lost my marbles at this point. My brain likes to make up AU's based on throwaway lines and then this kind of crap is created. This particular AU is in response to the gang talking about Pulse being hell. "Yeah, but what if it was?" Goes my brain, and then about 11k words later typed out on my damn phone. I'm posting this so it gives me a little more time to write the other stories I'm working on (AND SURPRISE NOT ALL OF THEM ARE FFXIII ANYMORE EITHER). Content warning (I guess) for somewhat "religious" overtones throughout this story. Using that lapsed Catholicism and bookshelf filled with odd books I've collected over the years for good!


It was the same dream as always. Every once and a while, the same twisted landscape would appear. The industrial complex in ruins, the world around her in ruins. People, tattered and gaunt would be scrambling through the rubble, trying to escape. The shadows moved, looming and stalking like a predator. And then it came.

The serpent with a thousand eyes, erupting from the ground with a terrible roar. Fire and sulphur trailed, and the overwhelming sound of screaming rose from the pit it spewed forth from. It would devour the other people around her, as they trembled or ran. It wouldn't matter. What they did, it was futile. They all were taken in the end. And then, it would turn its many eyes on her and-

-BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP-

A cerulean eye appeared from beneath one lid cracking open, bloodshot and weary. Glaring at the offending yet sanity-saving device, Lightning smashed the snooze button with her hand and rolled over with a groan. She was so tired of those recurring dreams, she had had it for years since her parents had passed. They always left her waking in a cold sweat, gasping for breath and clawing at the air. She both hated and loved her alarm clock for waking her, she always seemed to wake at the precise moment that the viper saw her. She prayed she would never stay asleep long enough to ever find out what happens next.

Time enough to dwell on the deeper existential meaning later, for now, she had to get ready for work. After a quick run through of her morning routine, Lightning hurried downstairs to find her sister making breakfast for her as usual.

"Morning Claire," Serah chirped, plating a poached egg on toast and sliding over a coffee. "I know I know, you're a barista and you can make your own coffees, I hear it every day and it doesn't the fact that I'm still going to make one for you."

The elder Farron simply smiled and hugged her sister around the side. "Thanks, Serah."

She ate breakfast quickly and headed out the door with a wave, jumping on her motorcycle and speeding off downtown. Lightning set up her day at the café, sticking her notes on the top of the machine so she could study while she worked the orders through.

"So why do they call you Lightning?" One of the regulars asked while being handed a coffee. The rough accent always drew the pinkette's attention and she rolled her eyes.

"Because I'm fast with the orders. You know, like lightning."

"Well," the dark-haired stranger breathed with a wink, "hope you slow down and take your time when it comes to other... Tasks at hand..." she finished with a raking appraisal of the barista's form and a not-so-subtle bite of her lip. "Ciao, darling."

Lightning watched her leave, a scowl plastered on her face as she went back to making orders. Same old routine, same old day. The woman with the foreign accent would come in every once and a while, order, flirt, then leave. There was always a pattern, even when she could sometimes go months without seeing her. Still, Lightning preferred it when things were simple. Predictable. At least she could predict the foreigner would be a pain in her ass whenever she showed up.

There would be the police officer from the local precinct, he was as regular as the sun rising. Coffee with cream and two sugars, already made for him as he came in at the same time every day. Simple. Predictable. The overworked business man, black coffee, to go. Simple. Predictable. The study group from her class, who would come in and sit near the counter so she could still work while comparing notes during the quiet times of the day.

She would leave her shift afterwards, and head home to shower and scrub the smell of coffee from her skin, and then head straight back out to class. Her classes were predictable when she had arrived prepared with her readings done. She fiddled with the small silver ring on her finger as she listened, a force of habit whenever she needed to do something with her hands to help her focus. Keeping with routine meant life was simple and predictable.

This particular evening though her thoughts kept drifting back to the dream that was occurring more and more lately it would appear. Lightning didn't know what to make of them, though she was sure her mother would have made a comment or several about the veil, and that the spirits were trying to send a message. She huffed and rest her head on her hand while she took notes. It'd be nice if their messages could be delivered with a little bit less terror. Not that she believed in any of that anyway.

Her apartment that she shared with Serah would suggest the contrary, her bookshelves stacked to breaking point filled with hundreds of texts and grimoires. An endless academic fascination, she called it. It was her inheritance when her mother passed. As a teenager, she scoured every book after the funeral. Studying every word looking for some kind of hidden meaning or message from her mother.

Trying to figure out why of all things she'd be left with all these dusty tomes, with barely audible parting words from her mother that she would need them one day. In light of the recurring nightmares, she found herself lazily flipping through them again, looking through old demon texts to see if anything resembled it. She refused to be called superstitious. It was just… an academic interest to see if anything married up. That's all.

Class finished with little fanfare, and she headed home. Lightning found she was reluctant to head into her apartment she shared with Serah, knowing that it would commence her nightly routines before bed. Being in bed meant sleep, and sleep meant the potential for that horrible nightmare to once again play through her unconscious mind.

The weeks passed in their boring, predictable routines. Lightning preferred it that way. Simple. Predictable. The only problem was, the nightmare that was occurring with increasing frequency. Every night the same thing now, leaving her beyond exhausted by the time her alarm rescued her. She had even started setting numerous ones during the night, to try to wake up from it sooner. In an attempt to avoid it she was taking longer shifts at the café, pushing her classes back and fighting against sleep until exhaustion took hold. Still, the giant serpent met her in her dreams, almost taunting in its appearance.

The relationship with her sister began to strain, with the time away from home and her increasing levels of exhaustion meant breakfast was being skipped, her time with Serah diminishing to fleeting waves in the hallway as she trudged to bed. If she had have taken a few extra seconds in the morning to check in with Serah, she would have noticed the similar levels of exhaustion on the younger Farron's face, the same haunted expression from her own struggles with sleep.

Lightning felt guilty for not being around as much, but she didn't want her sister to worry about her, or think she was going mad from the nightmares. Instead, Serah was retreating herself, running off to the frustrating oaf she'd been seeing and spending more time with him. She'd been with him for about six months now, and the longer they were together the more annoyed Lightning got.

After yet another night of nightmares, she trudged into the shower and rest her head against the tiles while the water came down on her. It wasn't soothing this morning, the water feeling like tiny pinpricks against her skin. The towel felt like sandpaper. This morning wasn't going how she wanted at all. Her sister was fidgety this morning, like she wanted to tell her something. The coffee tasted like ash.

"Sis… Are… You ok?" Serah asked, hesitantly. Lightning grunted and rubbed her face with her hands.

"I'm… Sorry. Not been sleeping well lately." She grumbled, pushing the barely touched breakfast away.

"Claire there's… There's something I need to talk to you about."

Lightning groaned, not ready to hear whatever was about to come out of her sibling's mouth. She looked at Serah's demeanour, her eyes darting everywhere, lips pursed, hand continuously scratching at her upper arm, engagement ring glinting from the movements in the light.

Wait. Engagement ring.

"You're engaged?" Lightning asked, incredulous in her tone, "You haven't even being seeing that idiot for that long!"

"Six months Claire, I've been seeing him for six months. He proposed last night. I said yes."

"You've got to be kidding me. You're barely an adult." The elder Farron snorted, folding her arms and pushing back from the table. "Take that stupid thing off, and get ready for your classes. I've gotta go to my shift."

Serah grabbed her wrist as she walked past, and Lightning winced at the tears in her sister's eyes. She hated seeing her sibling cry, worse still when she was the cause. "You've barely been around for me to even talk to you about it, no wonder this is coming as a surprise. You won't even look at me when you're leaving for work. When was the last time we even sat down for a conversation?"

"For Etro's sake, Serah." Lightning groaned into her hands. "You're… You're too young for this. You don't know what you want. And to marry that idiot? He's only going to drag you down. For what? All those years I've been working to provide for this household so you could have a life, down the drain?"

"I never asked you to do that! All I wanted was for you to be my sister, not my warden! He loves me, Claire. I'm marrying him. If you can't accept that, don't expect to find me here when you come home." She stormed from the room after having the final word, leaving Lightning reaching after her. She sighed and stared at the closed door to her sister's room, before growling and stalking out of the apartment.

She met the fiancé in the stairwell, smashing into his shoulder as she passed him. "So, I take it your talk with your sister went well." Snow said, immediately regretting opening his mouth with the pinkette whirled on him.

"How dare you. How dare you presume to know what she wants, when I've been raising her since our parents died. You will take her from her dreams and ambitions. You will take her from me!" She shouted, getting in his space.

"She's making her own decisions Light!" Snow yelled back in her face, refusing to be intimidated. "You can't protect her forever. You need to let her go!"

"Go to hell. Both of you." Lightning snarled and left, taking the stairs two at a time to put as much distance between them before she hit him. Her head throbbed as she got on the motorcycle, and the world around her was far too bright and far too loud. She pushed her helmet angrily onto her head and roared off down the street.


By the time she'd parked at the café, she was physically and mentally exhausted. The glare she gave her regular flirtatious customer caused the brunette to snap her mouth shut before she'd even uttered a word. For once she took her coffee with an awkward nod and turned tail to retreat into a corner. It was during a quiet period, and she was alone in the café while her counterpart was on a lunch break. Lightning was struggling to keep her eyes open and felt like she was going to fall asleep if she blinked.

She closed her eyes and sighed, rolling her shoulders to try to let movement keep her awake. She opened her eyes to go back to her study notes and instead was staring at rubble on the ground. Lightning scrambled back, startled. She must have fallen asleep again. She'd never had the dream in the middle of the day though, which was concerning. Something felt different about it. It made the hairs on her arms raise, skin prickling.

"Wait. I can feel that." She whispered to herself, fear beginning to settle into her senses. She'd never felt anything in the dreams. While the imagery was always intense, the dream was never so vivid she felt it. Then it hit her. She was aware. She was having the dream and had awareness. No longer an unwilling passenger. "This is fine, this is all fine, Lightning. You're just having a mental breakdown, that's all. Just wake up, keep serving customers, then go home and sleep. Ok… Go."

She sighed, shifting her weight from foot to foot, looking around the decrepit place. Her attention was drawn to a pile of rocks that a man came skidding around the corner of, racing towards her. "What are you standing around for!" He shouted, terror evident in his voice, "it's coming! Run you fool!"

Lightning was knocked back by a huge explosion, as the serpent she'd seen so often in her nightmares burst forth from the ruins and swallowed the man whole. She hit the ground with a thud and she grunted from the pain. Wait… That hurt. That felt… Real… The serpent turned to her like it had in every dream. "Come on Farron… Time to wake up now…" She urged herself as she got to her feet. It opened its enormous jaws and hissed, the sound shrieking in her ears and rattling the stones at her feet.

She finally got feeling back on her feet and ran, sprinting through the ruined complex as the serpent chased her. This was what she feared, what lay beyond the moment where her alarm rescued her. Worse still, it felt like she was there, and it was no dream. She staggered and tripped over debris, trying to take in the surroundings as quickly as possible to discern an escape route. She slid under a twisted ashen tree and slammed through a boarded-up window, crying out as the wood splintered and cut at her skin. "Etro… This isn't happening…" She panted, trying to climb the broken stairs. She came to a door in the hallway she arrived at and shoulder charged it, smashing it from the hinges.

Lightning burst into the room to find a figure in a hooded robe standing there, not able to discern any features on her face. "Please… Help me…" She cried, voice strained from exertion. It turned from her and moved further into the room. When she tried to follow, the floor gave out underneath her. She fell through it into darkness. When she landed, it was on hard, black ice. She was impossibly cold, shivering about her as she slowly got up and staggered through the darkness.

That was when she saw the people frozen within the ice walls, barely illuminated by an unholy blue glow. She could see the eyes moving about and scrambled away from them in horror of what she was witnessing. Her back hit a block of ice, and she reluctantly turned to find a figure outstretched, encased within the frozen tomb. She noticed the ring on the pale finger first and the colour drained from her face. She dragged her gaze up to the victim's face, already knowing who she'd find.

"Serah!" She cried out, smashing at the ice with her hands until they bled. Somehow, she could see tears forming within the ice, trailing down her sister's face. The robed figure appeared again by her side, trailing a skeletal hand through the blood left on the ice.

"Fascinating." It rasped, and Lightning turned in anger.

"Let her go!" she roared, grabbing the robes and shaking the figure with her threats. The robes around the figure's head tilted, as if curious.

"I cannot. It was not I who entombed her. You can't be here. It is not your place."

The pinkette pushed the figure back and looked down at her bloodied hands. "Take me instead. I'll go in her place."

"It is not yours to take. Still, fascinating that you are here. I wonder if you are the one to change it. You need to be prepared child. You need to awaken." It suddenly reached out and clasped the bone hands around her face, covering her vision. Her eyes began to burn and she screamed, reeling back and smashing into the counter behind her.

"Shit, Lightning are you ok?" Her colleague asked, holding her by the shoulders. The pinkette was panting, gasping for breath. Her head throbbed, her eyes burned in agony and she clutched at her face, crying out in pain. The other barista looked nervous, thinking she'd been burnt by steam and ran to get the medical kit out the back. Lightning looked up through tear filled eyes to see that frustrating foreign woman staring at her intensely, eyebrows raised.

Serah!

"I have to go!" Lightning yelled, racing from the café and speeding off on her motorcycle. She zipped in and out of traffic, through several red lights and busy intersections. She was praying to Etro the entire route home that it was just a stupid dream, caused from the fight with her sister, and that her eyes felt like they were on fire because she was working herself to the bone.

The smoke coming from her apartment building on approach did little to alleviate her attempts to convince herself that anything dire had happened. She leapt off her bike as it skidded to a halt, watching in disbelieving horror at the emergency services vehicles. Eyeing off the police officer that was a regular in the café, she raced over to him and clutched at his arm. "My sister… Is she ok?"

Sargent Amodar placed his enormous hands on her shoulders and steadied her. "Only the man was in the apartment at the time. There's no sign of your sister, Farron, so we can at least safely assume she wasn't home. Do you have somewhere to stay? Your apartment is a bit of a mess."

"Man? What man?" She urged, getting angrier and more worried by the second. The police officer pointed towards the ambulance, and Lightning ran over to find Snow laid out on the bed in the back. "Snow! What the hell happened?" She demanded, voice shaking. "Where's Serah?"

He looked at her, and she didn't miss the look of terror on his features. "I… I-I don't know. It was all… What was that thing… I… Serah…" He trailed off, whimpering as the paramedics came around to jump in the back.

"He's in shock ma'am, we need to take him to emergency for smoke inhalation." One of them said, and Lightning stepped back from the ambulance to allow them to take their leave. She turned and looked at the apartment, smell of sulphur on the air.

"Serah… Where are you…" She whispered to herself. The pinkette hugged herself, looking around at the crowd of people. Strange wisps appeared at the peripherals of her vision as the observed the gathering crowd, and she swore she could hear whispers just on the edges of her hearing. She spied a particular individual in a long grey coat who was staring up at the window with a furrowed brow and seemed to notice he was being watched. His eyes snapped down to her and their gaze met for a moment before he turned heel and quickly left the scene. Lightning chased after him, following him into an alley.

"Wait! Did you see anything? Please tell me if you saw my sister!"

The tall man stopped in his tracks and turned slowly, eyeing her with suspicion. His white hair framed his narrowed eyes and he looked her over. "You… shouldn't… How can you see me?" He asked incredulously. She slowed up and looked at him in confusion.

"The hell are you talking about? I can see you because you're standing right there. What do you know of my sister? Where is she?" Lightning demanded, fed up with the amount of crazy that had been occurring in her day. The tall man approached her and stared down at her. She refused to be intimidated.

"She was taken about an hour ago." He said, relenting to the small pinkette's demands with a slump of his shoulders. "A daemon from the lower reaches appeared to cross the threshold and abduct her. And you appear to have had the veil ripped from your eyes. A peculiar thing that is by no means a coincidence."

"Daemon… Thresholds… Veils… You know, I've had a really perplexing day and have reached my limit for insanity. Is this some weird euphemism for gang activity? What are you? Vice squad? Special detective?"

He looked at her and sighed, removing his coat. "I am Rosch, and I am Cherubim." Four wings unfurled from his back and filled the alleyway, flaming and flittering in the air. White fire shone from his eyes, and he held a flaming sword that had materialised from thin air. Lightning fell down and scrambled backwards, eyes wide with fear. The air was distorted around him, and if she blinked his appearance shifted, multiple heads appeared with birds and beasts around his shoulders.

"This is not happening. You aren't real. You can't be real. Angels aren't real."

"I can assure you, child, I am very real," Rosch responded with a sigh, his voice layered with a choir that assaulted her ears. He folded his wings back and they vanished as he replaced his coat back on his shoulders. With his human-esque apparition restored, Lightning found her heart rate start to slow and she could look at him without trembling. "Tell me what you saw that lead you here." He said, voice a little quieter as he held out a hand to help the pinkette up.

She relayed the strange dream she had been suffering from over the years, and then the black icy void she found Serah in. The angel's expression darkened. "It should be impossible for her to be taken to the Void. She shouldn't have been taken in the first place, her soul was clean."

"What are you talking about? Please... Where is my sister?"

He looked at the girl sadly and held her by the shoulder. "Your sister is imprisoned in the Void, the name for the lowest reaches of Hell, the kingdom of Pulse itself."

Lightning's vision receded and her eyes rolled back in her head as she collapsed.