A/N: My weirdness has reached a whole new level, I know... this story was written long ago, shortly after I finished 'Oblivion' in one weird night. I don't know why I'm posting this either, maybe because of the last review I got for this one-shot's prequel.. Anyways. xD Review if you wish or if you're feeling compelled to. :3

A World Away

(a sequel to Oblivion)

The walls were a bright crystalline green, as jagged edges of glowing green crystals poked out of the dark stones. The place was very visibly hollowed out, and the cavern-like room itself was breathtaking in its own way. She never imagined a place like this could exist in the depths of the caves hidden away in the Forgotten City. There was still much about this world that she hadn't had the chance to see yet, and never would.

"Ready?" Came the soft voice of her companion as he stood beside her at the water's edge.

The pool of clear water was vibrant, and glowed with an otherworldly hue of turquoise, moving and very visibly alive. She stared at it, and marveled at the stark beauty of the Lifestream weaved in its molecule composition. Of course she was ready. She was ready to return to Cocoon at the very first moment when she'd woken up on the bare plains staring at a neutral sky dotted with gray clouds.

"You know the answer to that." Lightning replied, kneeling on the ground glittering with smooth crystals. "I just..." She glanced up at him reluctantly, wishing she hadn't when she did.

His eyes glittered like the crystals around them, glowing with otherworldly light as he fixed his gaze on her. It did nothing but remind her of the ordeal she was experiencing right now. She never told him, because somewhere deep inside her, she knew it was a sin to not want to leave this new world behind—it and everything she had come to love in her short stay here. She never told him, but she knew that she was going to miss him. She was going to miss the glowing trees that shone with natural light—unlike the artificial ones in the Gapra Whitewood, she was going to miss all the new things he had shown her when they were on their daily trips to search for a means to send her home.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to, you know." Kadaj offered quietly, holding up the glowing orb of condensed Mako and examining it with renewed interest. It had been a find indeed.

"It's not a question of want, Remnant." She replied, getting back on her feet and turning to face him, debating restlessly whether she should speak her mind. "I have to. You know why I have to go. I have to find a way to save my sister. I never...wanted to come here in the first place." She looked away. "It was an untimely incident."

"People like you are always afraid of things that you cannot control. You just flee like frightened rodents instead." Kadaj replied, tossing the orb into the air and snatching it back from gravity's grasp when it began to fall. "You were a soldier. Having a clear-cut focus is something you understand. Well, you do have a real Focus now. I'm sure you would be able to figure it out—whatever it is."

Against her will, a smirk made its way to the woman's lips. "You mean this l'Cie curse." She sighed, anxiously placing a hand over her brand. "You're right. It took everything from me, and being afraid of the unknown future is no way to live. It's one of the many ways to die. I know your story. You told me, and I'm going to hate telling you this, but in a way, you made me learn from you. You know how it feels to die; to feel like there would have been so much more you had done if only you hadn't failed, and here I am facing a fate worse than death if I don't do my job right. I was never completely honest with myself." She spoke softly, looking up to meet his eyes. "I was running away... Running from an uncertain future and a goal I could not understand. I'm alive, I might as well search for a clear focus that would keep me alive. I'm not running anymore."

Kadaj returned her mild gesture with a crooked grin. He held out the glowing materia to her, nodding in encouragement. Lightning tentatively took it from him, remembering the moment when he taught her how to cast the spell contained in it. She focused on that now, focused on conjuring a powerful doorway that would lead to her world. The air before them shimmered and began to form a hazy picture. It was slightly grainy, but the images spoke true and clear. Lightning knew she was staring at no other than the landscape of the Vile Peaks itself. Though, why it chose to bring her there, she did not know. It was kind of stupid, but an image of even a restricted zone in Cocoon was better than nothing at all. She could find her way out of there anyway.

The Remnant standing beside her whistled lowly, in slight amusement. "I've seen better scenery."

Lightning glared at him exasperatedly. "Don't judge the book by its cover." She smirked, turning back to the image. It felt like she was staring through a rectangular glass window. "You haven't seen all of Cocoon yet. My hometown for one. This place is found in the area of Cocoon's cracked shell."

"And I suppose you're suggesting that you take me to Bodhum someday?" Kadaj joked, eyes lighting up with mirth.

"Maybe." She replied, and curiously reached out to skim the surface of the 'window' with her fingertips. It rippled like water yet it was solid as glass. Lightning turned around to face Kadaj, both grateful and saddened at this. "I can't thank you enough for doing this, even if you did try to hide the truth of who you really are from me. You don't owe me anything."

The Remnant just shrugged, keeping a considerable distance from her, though what he really wanted to do was come close. "We had a bargain, Soldier." He took a step closer, reached out, and cupped her chin in his hand.

"I tell you to stop calling me that every time, and yet you never listen." She scowled slightly.

"Well, you keep calling me 'Remnant' ever since you found out." He shot back. "I think it's only fair."

Despite the situation, Lightning could not help the short amused chuckle that left her lips. He always had a canny response for everything, and she would never tell him, but it made her smile all the time. Upon this realization, she also found that it hurt. It hurt to leave when you knew that this person held half of your soul now, had part of your heart and would never let it go. Her amusement faded when she broke out of her reverie and found that the expression in his eyes mirrored her own. In those glowing green depths lay the memories of intimate encounters and special moments of uncompromising companionship.

"This is goodbye." She whispered, hating the emotion in her voice.

He shook his head. "I hope not. You promised to take me to Bodhum to see the fireworks display someday." It was meant to be a joke, but even she knew how half-hearted it sounded, and he didn't smirk or smile when he said it.

She bit her lip and didn't complain when he pulled her close and embraced her.

"Go back and do what you have to, Claire. Save your sister, figure out your Focus, and don't turn into a Cie'th. If your arrival taught me anything, it was to value the ones you care about." He mumbled into her ear, and she pulled back slightly, staring into his eyes, trying to measure the content of his words. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Lightning Farron, and I know my path will cross yours again someday." He smiled a real smile this time, and she could not help her heart from melting at the sight of that.

Returning the gesture for a brief moment, she did not stop to think whether her actions would play a part in her despair somewhere in the near future. Damning everything that screamed unwanted attachment, she tilted her face up and pressed her lips against his, shuddering with contentment and joy when he returned her initiated kiss with fervor. He wrapped his arms around her lower back and pulled her closer, pressing every dip and curve in her body to his, molding himself to her as another moment of passion exploded between them. He could remember the first time he held her like this, and kissed her with the same amount of desperation. He remembered the way she had suddenly fit so perfectly in his grasp like she was really made for him. He remembered how they both hated the other for making each other fall, and that was exactly why he knew he loved her.

They both had the fiery determination, the stubbornness, the want for control and dominance, the temperament and impatience when it came to goals that needed accomplishing. The only queer part in the whole picture was Lightning's natural affiliation to day, and his morbid allegiance to the night. But that was love, wasn't it? It could turn even the biggest of contradictions to nothing in the face of that illogical and overwhelming emotion. Kadaj knew he would never understand it, and unbeknownst to him, Lightning felt the same way. It hurt to leave him, and now she knew that only love could hurt like that. There might be an event in the distant future where their paths would meet, but whether it was sure, none of them would be able to say. Only fate and time would tell...

Lightning pulled away and rested her forehead against his, breathing his breath and inhaling his scent. Thoughts of men had always been pushed to the very back of her mind, until they met... Now she could never blame Serah for agreeing to a marriage with Snow. With quite a lot of reluctance, Lightning forced herself to pull away.

"Time to go." She whispered sadly, and the Remnant planted one last kiss on her forehead before stepping back and ushering her forward.

"Remember what I told you." He advised and Lightning paused before reaching out to the 'window' in space and time.

"You told me a lot of things, Kadaj."

Lightning whirled around to face him and held her breath as if she were about to plunge head long into uncharted waters. She walked backwards, and Kadaj watched as her form shimmered and glittered as she finally crossed over to the other side; the image of the Vile Peaks swallowing her up.

He hastily slipped his glove off of his left hand and touched the surface of the window with fading hope and a slight tinge of happiness; happiness that she had done it just like he knew she would. The surface of the portal was smooth solid glass as thin as paper yet hard as a cruel shale of rock, and it did not ripple as he touched it; placed his palm flat against it. It was rather sad that traveling to her world wasn't possible right now after all. On the other side, Lightning looked on at him with a profound sadness in her eyes. He couldn't hear her voice anymore, yet he found her lips shaping his name. She mimicked his actions, placing her hand against the glass—palm flat—as if to try and reach him one last time through the void of space and time, but it wasn't possible.

The cruel wall of paper thin glass separated them. Lightning was still lost in their version of a goodbye. Her palm lay flat against the glass, directly on top of his. She locked her gaze with his one last time, fighting so hard not to cry as she found the tears began to choke her voice. His name came out as a harsh sob when she said it, and she saw that he knew. Nothing could have prepared her for this moment. This really was goodbye...

And as if it heard the silent plea of her heart to end the pain of bidding a farewell, the portal shattered. Shards of glass littered the dusty earth, and in a piece of it, she could still see the image of the crystalline cavern that bore witness to the final exchange. Squaring her shoulders and releasing her gun-blade from its sheath, Lightning resolved to lose herself in her newfound goal. And as if the universe knew her wish, the sounds of rapid footsteps on the earth alerted her to the presence of a PSICOM hit squad searching for the l'Cie fugitives.

It was going to be fight after fight, and there was no time to waste...

'There might not be a 'someday.' But I did promise to let you see the beauty of Bodhum's annual fireworks display. I'd fight and survive if it means seeing your face at least one more time...'